Train to Edinburgh - Good bye to Fife

Nothing like taking the train from Fife to Edinburgh. It gives me a thrill of the possibilities that are before me.
The man in the Kirkcaldy train station reminds of the man who produced Mrs. Miniver's rose. I can see Edinburgh just across the water, sail over the railroad bridge Hitchcock made famous in THE 39 STEPS, look up at the Edinburgh Castle, and arrive at the marvelous Waverley Station in under 45 minutes.

Have tea at the new Missoni Hotel on the George IV Bridge.

Walk down Victoria Street, discover the BEST Tweed shop. New jacket.

 Observe the Library.

 Walk over the Bridge from Old Town to New Town.

 Stake out a photo of St. Andrews Square.

 Wish I'd had a drink at the club room in the Dome. Makes me feel as if Noel Coward will turn round the corner at any minute.

and walk past Robert Lewis Stevenson's Edinburgh townhouse.

Edinburgh, a city of half million that hosts the most fabulous festival every August, has the old town and the new, and a flat in my future, I believe.

"World is ball." 

The Kingdom of Fife - The Royal Burgh of Pittenweem

 In Pittenweem, fishermen harvest prawns, crab, lobster, and the all important haddock. Just a small village of 3,000 living in stone cottages and doing their shopping on the high street. The summer arts festival brings 20,000 people into town each August, and locals open their homes for the artist's exhibitions. Set in a small neuk that juts into the North Sea, overlooking the Firth of Forth and the Isle of May, Pittenweem is a step back into time; relaxed, friendly, and filled with some of the most interesting people one would want to meet.

James II of Scotland (1437-1460) described the East Neuk of Fife with its burghs built around sheltered bays and rich farmland as "a fringe of gold on a beggar's mantle."

Pittenweem's history dates back to the 7th century. Its name is of Pictish origins and means 'place (pit) by or of the cave (weem)', where it is said St. Fillan chose to live while he converted local Picts to Christianity. Nice, eh? No conversion or dragging into the cave today, but one can visit if it doesn't creep you out.

Today, Pittenweem is the main fishing centre of the East Neuk, a fact celebrated at the annual East Neuk Fish Festival also held in August, and has the best chipper ever.

The Fife Coastal Path hugs the coastline and connects neighboring villages.

Pittenweem = beauty.

Late Spring in Fife

We made it. The journey was smooth, but long. Scotland had a very harsh winter, and the late spring daffodils are still out in full bloom everywhere. The apple trees are budding, which splashes the countryside with various levels of green. The sun shimmers on the water. Today we drove to St. Andrews to shop for food. The bleachers are up in front of the 17th & 18th holes on the old course in anticipation of the British Open this summer.

Jet lag city. Back to the bed.