After the train trip and an evening in Edinburgh (described by P.J.), this morning it was time to get the rental car and drive to the countryside. The line at the rental place was an hour long, but I finally got the car, a Fiat 500 Diesel. It does well over 50 mpg on the highway. The Scots (and the Italians) are frugal!
Then the fun started. The distance from the car rental place to the hotel, where I was to pick up P.J. with our luggage, was only a 3-minute walk up the city stairs P.J. described in her blog. But with all the complicated one-way streets, I could not figure out how to get there. I turned on Google Navigator and found out it was a 6-minute drive! When I had to make a crucial turn, I missed it. Then all of a sudden it was a 10-minute drive!
Anyway, after I picked up P.J., we had to drive out of Edinburgh, and I do not know how we could have accomplished that in the old days without Navigator. The road out of town was full of roundabouts. You barely went through one before the woman Navigator voice began giving instructions for the next roundabout. The phone was chattering at me almost constantly. Some of those roundabouts had five or six roads coming into them. So, when she said, “Take the fourth exit,” I had to start counting. I had the feeling I was on a roulette wheel, hoping I would drop into the right slot. P.J. likened it to being in a pinball machine.
Anyway, we did miss a few turns, but after whirling and swirling westward through the Edinburgh suburbs, we finally got on the motorway, which was much simpler. I have to admit my aging brain did not have enough parallel processors to concentrate on driving on the left (most important), following the incessant Navigator directions (second most important), and talking to P.J about other things (not important), so I got a little testy.
Now we have arrived at our place in the Scottish countryside where we will be for the next five days. The weather has turned beautifully sunny and pleasantly warm. All we hear is the breeze and the birds. Aaahhh!