Scotland: Day 2

Saturday, April 27th. Carnoustie. 

We had breakfast in the dining area overlooking the first tee that Sylvain would be playing the following afternoon. He was very interested in seeing how the other golfers did.

After our Scottish breakfasts (vegetarian for me), Sylvain wanted to do some practice at a driving range, but the Carnoustie course doesn't have a manned one. We bundled up, got Sylvain's golf gear and headed up the coast to the golf course in the next town of Arbroath. Unfortunately, their driving range was closed, but we were directed to the nearest one in Forfar, a twenty-minute drive inland along smaller country roads. It was past eleven by the time we arrived, but Sylvain still had time to hit a bucket of a hundred balls before we had to head back to Carnoustie for lunch at Jenny's mom's house.

We arrived at Joyce's house shortly before 1pm. Jenny's brother, Gary, and sister-in-law, Carol, were also there. We had a light lunch of quiches, sandwiches and salads. Jenny had instructed her mom to get Sylvain a bridie, a steak-filled pastry. We learned that bridies actually come from Forfar, where we'd just been for golf!

We stayed for a little over three hours, chatting about sports, whiskey and various other things. Then we said goodbye and made the forty-five-minute drive to St Andrews, so Sylvain could visit the famous Old Course.

In St Andrews, we parked along the edge of the 18th fairway. Luckily, no stray balls hit the rental car, though at one point we saw one hit the road we were parked on! We walked around the Old and New courses for about 90 minutes (in Scotland, all land is public access), making a final stop at the iconic bridge on the 18th fairway that Sylvain had to have a photo at.

Then we headed into town for a stroll around. We ended up at a pub called The Keys. It was crowded, but an elderly couple was just leaving and pointed us to their table. We had Ice Breaker Pale Ales.

We've noticed that pubs in Scotland always serve their draft beers in the proper glasses. In the six days since we've been here (I'm writing this Wednesday morning), we've never once been served our beers in mismatched glasses.

We decided to stay in St Andrews for dinner. While looking for a restaurant, we went into a tourist shop for postcards for Laureva. Sylvain also found himself a turquoise St Andrews baseball cap. We then headed for a restaurant called Ziggy's. We'd seen a sign out for it on the sidewalk and it looked like it had good steak options for Sylvain. They said they could have a table ready for us in forty-five minutes, so we went into the pub next door for another Ice Breaker Pale Ale while we waited. This was where we had our first encounter with unfriendly Scots. The barman Sylvain ordered from and one of the waitresses in the section we sat in were both cold and unwelcoming. At one point I wanted to ask the waitress where the washroom was. Another customer looked at me and said, "She'll never come by. Even if you wave your money in her face."

Dinner at Ziggy's was worth the wait, however. It was decorated in music memorabilia, primarily the Beatles, the Who and David Bowie. Sylvain had a rump h-bone steak. I had sizzling jumbo prawn fajitas. The staff was pleasant and friendly. A few minutes after Sylvain's order had come out, the waitress showed up with a second bowl of fries, explaining the cook had made him more as she'd been unhappy with the ones she'd put on his plate! Sylvain bought himself a Ziggy's t-shirt as we were leaving.

Unfortunately, staying in St Andrew's for dinner meant we had to make the drive back to Carnoustie in the dark. Driving on the left is exhausting, both for Sylvain behind the wheel and me as a nervous passenger. Driving on the left in the dark along unfamiliar roads was even worse! But we made it safe and sound, then collapsed into bed.