What.a.day! I needed to pick up the rental car this morning and started off getting a tad lost trying to find the bus stop to get to the plane station. I walked around in square circles and eventually saw the bus in traffic. The driver noticed me turn around and run after it. Bless that man! He drove slowly so I could keep pace with the bus but then I got caught up at a red light. He pulled over, waited until I’d caught up before he pulled into the bus stop. I could have kissed him. With tongue!
Got to the plane station to pick up the car. The helpful dude upgraded my car because it would cost the same as getting a separate GPS so he gave me a car with a built in one. Wee difference. I asked for the SMALLEST car they had, he upgraded me to a big one. Dear God in heaven and all the angels and saints. MY NERVES ARE SHOT TO HELL!!!!!! Never thought I’d say this but thank the pope he gave me an automatic! It took me 40 minutes to get out of the car park because I couldn’t figure out how to set the GPS or even turn the heating on.
My brain was fried trying to a) stay on the left side of the road b) avoid all the other cars on the world’s narrowest roads and c) navigate traffic. And for a laugh, on the way to Roslyn, my GPS developed laryngitis and was completely silent the entire way. So driving, watching the road, the GPS , the road signs, the cyclists, the roundabouts….
Rosslyn was amazing. The entrance fee is £9 and well worth it. Unfortunately you’re not allowed to photograph the inside of the church but it was epic! Seriously GO THERE!
The outside of the chapel is every bit as beautiful as the inside. Each window arch is carved differently and each statue is unique. The level of detail is incredible. Inside the chapel, there are carvings on every available inch of stone. There are write-ups that tell you what to look for in each part but you really have to search for them. You could spend months there and never decode all the meanings in those walls.
I read somewhere once that every religion is depicted in the carvings at Rosslyn. I’ll need to go back and spend some time there figuring that out.
There were some school kids giving .a tour of the chapel and they were dressed in character. What a brilliant show. The history and character they brought to it was great.
I took a bunch of pics outside the chapel but it was freezing cold. My hands started shaking to the point where I wasn’t getting clear pics, so I headed back inside to the coffee shop for a cream tea and hot chocolate. After I’d warmed up, I headed out to go and see the cemetery; it’s a weird thing I have.
The wind was howling but I took a stroll through the cemetery anyway. There is a legend that says everyone dies 3 deaths. The first is when your body leaves this world. The second is when the last person who remembers you dies. The third is when your name is spoken for the last time. So I always look for the oldest graves so I can say their names. That way they lived just a little bit longer.
Home at last. Downing a glass of wine to calm my shattered nerves then I might just take myself down to the pub again for a monster plate of haggis, neeps and tatties because why the hell not! Tomorrow, Culloden.
