Happy Hogmany!

Abe and I and The Belly celebrated New Year's in Scotland with our friends Tony and Alison (a couple of the Brits who were in Ft. Worth working with Abe and brought him over here).

We stayed at a sleepy little fishing village outside Edinburgh (pronounced /ed-in-bur-oh/). We traveled around the countryside. The first stop was St. Andrews. All you golfing buffs know this is the mother of all golf. All the famous golfers take their picture on this little bridge. Next stop, a Scotch Whiskey distillery. As usual, would have been a little more fun if I could have participated in the free dram. Loch Ness was too far away, but we stopped by another loch and played in the snow a little. The 3 of them tried some proper Hagis for lunch. When in Scotland, do as the Scots, right? Of course being cursed as a super taster I passed. However, it wasn't as bad as I expected. It is actually like 'lamburger' in a huge roll much like a monster sausage, so it's not like you're really eating the intestines or stomach or whatever it is people talk about.

New Years Eve, or Hogmany as referred to by the Scots, was celebrated in Edinburgh on Princess Street. They claim it is one of the largest New Years celebrations in the world. We walked around the street festival and saw a live concert. They were Scottish bands, but we have actually heard some of the music since we've been here--KT Tunstall and a band called Texas. At midnight they had a huge fireworks ceremony. Great people watching, as it had rained off and on most of the evening and we were on a grassy hill watching the bands in the park. Drunk people sliding down the hill was quite entertaining. Once again, would have been a little more fun if I had been participating in the drinky drink, but this way I got to watch the drunks fall instead of be one. The Scots are nicknamed "Jimmies" by the English. We got a Jimmy hat for the babysitter's sons. Quite becoming on Abraham! One of the locals was a bit offended (it's like saying all Kansans are farmers and all Texans are cowboys). They almost duked it out right there in the take away shop.

New Years Day we toured Edinburgh Castle. It's high on a hill right in the center of the city, above where we were the night before. This castle is still all intact, and they have been adding on to it since the 20th century. Very neat. Unfortunately, I forgot how early it gets dark here and we didn't get many good pictures. That's Abe standing by one of the canon holes.

PS Look what town I found. Randolph, Scotland. Who knew?!