Arriving in Scotland

Beth, Julian and "Nanny Suzanny" on the plane.

Well, we made it. It's been a blurry couple of days, but we are adjusting to the time difference pretty well. Beth's sister Suzanne is traveling with us to help us out with Julian and getting settled in a flat. Julian did really well on the plane and slept most of the night. Beth and I on the other hand only slept about two hours. I think Suzanne may have slept as much as Julian. We arrived in Edinburgh on Thursday morning and were met at the airport by Beth's Rotary Host Counselor John Mackenzie and his wife Johan. They loaded us up in their two cars - yes, all of our luggage fit - I was amazed, and drove us to Mike and Maureen's house in Dunfermline which is about 17 miles north of Edinburgh. The drive was quite an experience. It was very weird being in the left front seat and not having the steering wheel in front of you. We are all having to get used to getting in on the left side as passengers.

Katie and Joshua playing with Julian.

Beth and I met Mike and Maureen through my parents who had met them on a trip to Scotland with their church a few years back. We are so grateful to them right now. Without them, I'm not sure we could have done this. They have been so gracious and helpful since we arrived and continue to amaze us with their generosity. I only hope we can return the favor someday. They have two children, Katie is 4 and Joshua is 2. They are both so very cute and fun. I think they make it a little easier for Suzanne to be away from Sullivan and Shelby, but she still misses them greatly.

Thursday afternoon, Beth saw an available flat online and arranged for a viewing on Friday. So, Suzanne and I took a train into town the next morning to take a look at it. It was very close to the school. In fact, it's right below the castle. It looked very clean and bright and the owner was currently living in it. It's on the 2nd floor (which for Americans means the 3rd) so the street noise won't be much of a factor but the stairs might be. It's a two bedroom (1 double, 1 single) one bath with a washing machine. The kitchen is VERY small, but manageable. Suzanne and I both really liked it, but were unsure if we wanted to stay in the heart of the city.

Me, Beth and Julian on the train to Edinburgh.

We had a viewing scheduled on Saturday morning for a flat that was a little further out. The four of us (Me, Beth, Suzanne and Julian) went to town this time. It was quite the little adventure. We showed up at the flat a little early (keep in mind we are walking everywhere) and decided to look around the area. There was a park nearby, so we sat for a bit and Julian had his first outdoor feeding. When we met the agent at the flat, she informed us that she could not get a key. Talk about a downer! So, we just told her that we really need to find something soon and told her what we are looking for and asked her to call us on Monday to let us know what they have available to view next week.

We then decided to show Beth where the flat was that Suzanne and I viewed the day before. So, we walked back towards the castle, and got some lunch on the way. After we ate, it started to rain and we then realized we forgot the rain cover for the stroller. DOH! Luckily it wasn't a downpour, so we just covered Julian up the best that we could. He was laughing at the rain, so we knew he was doing fine. By the time we got to the flat the rain had stopped and the sun was out again. Beth really wanted to see the flat, so we buzzed the intercom and asked if we could view it again. The owner remembered us from the day before and let us in. Yay!

Living Room - that's the letting agent that showed the flat to me and Suzanne.

Well, Beth loved it! We had a chance to talk to the owner while we were looking around and found out that he is moving to London to start on his Ph.D. We told him about Beth starting on hers also and so he was happy to know that we were "mature professionals", and felt comfortable with us letting the flat. Now we just have to get in touch with the agent and work out all the details, which means we will have to wait until Monday. The owner said he would tell anyone that calls that the flat has already been let. We are all very excited and hopeful since this would mean Beth can walk to school in under 15 minutes.

Well, that gets us up to date. Today we are just taking it easy and preparing for the upcoming week. Hopefully everything will go well and we will be in the flat soon. Stay tuned!

Double Bedroom		Living Room/Dining Area

We miss you all. Beth and Julian say "Hi"