Dumfries, Scotland

We arrived in Scotland Tuesday evening and took a train from the airport to the center of Glasgow. At each station, an announcement would come over the PA system telling us to “Mind the gap when alighting from the train.” It took me about five or six attempts to understand this message. (I finally had to read the screen instead of listening because I just couldn’t understand the announcements.) I’m still not really sure what alighting means or how else I could use the term. I did, however, mind the gap when I alit (alighted?) from the train.

Our train from Glasgow arrived in Dumfries, where Jess’s mom was born and her family lives, at around midnight. Her mom picked us up at the airport and drove us to the farm where we’re staying. We’re sleeping in her mom’s cousin’s house. There are two or three other houses on the farm belonging to the cousin’s siblings and mother. The farm is a working dairy farm and there are cows surrounding the house.

Wednesday we toured Dumfries with Jess’s mom. We went to an old church and to see Robert Burns’s grave. Burns is a national poet of Scotland. His grave was in the churchyard until some people decided to dig it up and erect a mausoleum. It’s a really strange structure because it’s white and the surrounding tombstones and buildings are all red sandstone. Actually, most of the buildings in Dumfries are made of sandstone. They’re picturesque: red buildings against green hills and blue skies. However, the stone is really soft and they don’t last long.

After lunch we went for a drive around the Scottish countryside with Jess’s granddad. We were trying to find these arches built by Andy Goldsworthy. We were able to locate a stone egg he constructed on a hillside, but the arches were too far down a winding road. The countryside is really beautiful: green, rolling hills, tons of sheep and cows everywhere you look. The houses all have at least one chimney; most are book-ended by a pair of them.

Our final stop of the day was a visit Tesco, a giant supermarket. I was delighted to find a ton of foods I can eat, including gf pretzels!!!! I stocked up on snacks and soy milk and cereal. Then we went back to Jess’s cousin’s house for a barbeque. Their barbeque is actually a tripod with a grate which can be raised or lowed to regulate the temperature.