Well, phoo

so much for the best-laid plans of mice & men, huh? I knew I wasn't going to get in my 6-miler yesterday, and I was OK with that. I just was hoping I'd get to make it up today, and that didn't happen, either.

I woke up in a panic at 4:30 AM Scotland time, convinced by some hideous dream that my Longhorns had lost the Texas-ou football game (in overtime, no less), so I had to get out of bed and check ESPN. Luckily, we pulled it out with a very ugly win, but a win nonetheless. After that, I had a hard time going back to sleep, but it was too early to go running outside - even I'm not nuts to go out in the streets in a strange town at 5:00 AM. At home, yeah, and in NYC, yeah, and even in Boulder I'd go out, but not here. Besides, I had to be ready to catch the bus to the City Centre by 8:00, which meant I had to forage for breakfast by 7:30.

Turns out, nothing around here opens until 8:30 or 9:00 am on Sundays, not even the Starbucks! It was odd to walk down the street to all the coffee shops, advertising breakfast specials in their windows, no less! and finding them shuttered, with no signs of life in them at all. I ended up getting a container of yogurt and a pack of shortbread at the Scottish equivalent of a 7-11 across the street from the hotel (Sidebar: I could LIVE on shortbread for the rest of my life. Yes, that life would be short and artery-clogged from all the BUTTER, but dang, that stuff is good, even the off-brand stuff I found at the psuedo-7-11!). The bus came right on time, and I hopped on and paid my fare for the short ride downtown. I took the subway to the same spot the day before, but the subway doesn't run until 10:00 am on Sundays - again with the sleeping in! I jumped off a few blocks early and walked to the tour meeting point, which was a good thing, since it was noticeably chillier than the previous day, plus it was grey and semi-drizzly. As I've told a few folks, that is a good thing - gave the tour of the Scottish castle and lochs a nice Braveheart feel!

I got a chance to walk more in the castle itself (plus climbing stairs and such), plus around the little village that we stopped in for lunch. The food here, shortbread aside, is a bit odd and too heavy for me - the deli counter at the sandwich place is crowded with strange meats and fishes in odd sauces, and there's lots of Indian-influenced menu items, too, along with the heavily fried standard of fish and chips, of course. I did have haggis last night at dinner, along with neeps and tatties, which while they sound nasty (and a little naughty, actually), are among the best things I've had in a while! I'll definitely be having haggis again before I leave for home! I've been mostly subsisting on yogurt and shortbread or scones for breakfast, ham and cheese sandwiches with fresh fruit for lunch, and a fairly light dinner from room service. I am trying to be adventurous, but sometimes you gotta stick with what you know, OK?

Anyway, the castle and loch outing was great, but wiped me out to the point where I couldn't get out of bed this morning. I snoozed the alarm too much and didn't have a chance to go out before work like I'd planned. I always forget how hard it is to go out at the end of the day. And with a ton of stuff to do still tonight before I turn in, I best sign off now so that I can get it done and hit the hay, so tomorrow I can be sure to get a few miles in. Or, I'll be saying "phoo" again this time tomorrow.