Back in Scotland

Once again, I find myself among the Scots, thanks to a husband who enjoys having his wife tag along on yet another business trip.  

Let's face it, I really do have the better deal.  While he drives off to work in the morning, I have the day to explore this fascinating country!  How much better can it get?

We decided to start out the trip with a change of scenery.  And lovely scenery it is!  Our room is in a B&B located near Dunfermline.  The place is charming, the room is quite comfortable, and our hosts are extremely entertaining.  I can already tell that it is going to be a memorable stay here!

When Marty headed to the plant today, I ventured into town to the visitor center, where true to form, I was greeted by a friendly, informative woman who handed me a guidebook and sent me in the direction of the Abbot's House. I was greeted at this door by Fay, who gave me a private tour of the 12th century residence, showing me all of the unique features of the house,

the most exciting being a painted wall that was only recently discovered during ongoing renovations of the building.

She let me have a peek:

One of the rooms is a replica of the original Abbey interior.  Fay explained how brilliant colors were used on the floor and the walls.  This festive way of decorating the church interiors was put to an end during the reformation.  If any of the originals do exist, they would be extremely faded.  This room gives an example of what the people in the 12 century would have seen in the church.

Queen Margaret brought Catholicism to Dunfermline.  Her husband, Malcolm III, merged Catholicism with the Celtic Church in the town, and together they had a monastery built in the town.  Queen Margaret's devotion to her family and her strong religious beliefs resulted in her canonization 150 years after her death, as St. Margaret. 

Oh, by the way, a little piece of trivia pertaining to the outside color of the building.  Apparently pink represented manor home while buildings that were painted orange were palaces.  The "pink" color came from mixing milk and blood.  Nice to know, don't you think?

Dunfermline is the birthplace of Andrew Carnegie.  Our B&B is located near the park where a larger than life statue of the man stands facing the town.  

Don't you just love the brilliant colors in the park where this man is honored?

I couldn't help but smile as I walked through the park, thinking of the many delightful encounters that I had today.  

One thing that I realized is that the locals are really quite similar to Pennsylvanians.

The talk of the town today was the predicted "Arctic blast" with a possibility of snow by the end of the week.

Everywhere I went, I heard concern about the impending weather, particularly the snow.

Which got me to thinking:

 Do you suppose that we'll have to worry about toilet paper?

I'll keep you posted!