We had a slow start to the day, not least because my tummy had misbehaved during the night. John got up and walked to the station. He waved my sister and brother in-laws train goodbye, but didn’t see them.
Having caught up with emails, claimed my lottery win….yeah!!!! Ok …you guessed it was £5 …..well!! ….my Grandpa used to say if you “look after the pennies the pounds will look after themselves” ….so £5 is not to be sneezed at…I decided to frivolously reinvest it !!!
At midday we took the car, the stones throw, down the hill to the Eastgate shopping centre carpark….not because we are lazy but because the steep walk back up is too much for us.
Dad went and sat in The Royal Highland Hotel lounge, while John and I went to meet Steve off the Aberdeen incoming train. Steve and Mags have been friends of mine for 35 years. We met while I was working in Africa. Several years ago they moved up to Nairn. Very sadly Mags passed away, recently, unexpectedly. However she was very much with us in spirit today as we laughed our way through a very pleasant lunch in The Royal Highlanders Ash restaurant. We were extremely grateful to Steve for making the considerable effort to come into the city to meet up.
Lunch and afternoon coffee went far too quickly. The hotel still has the wonderful charm of a bygone era. The ladies loo is more like a good old fashioned powder room….huge with superb large oval table combined with modern sinks and toilets…..and strangely enough a photocopier ….that made me laugh…I suppose they have to put it somewhere……On several occasions we have stayed here, but this time they were full. I had thought about turning the trip around but when I looked up the price, it made me gulp….we are very comfortable in our AirB&B…But that didn’t stop us enjoying the hotels ambiance and getting the “must have” photos on the impressive staircase.
We walked with Steve back to the station, so he could catch the 20 minute trip home. He knows he has an open invitation to come and visit us…it had been so lovely to spend time with him.
We decided to take drive across onto the Black Isle. Enjoying the wonderful scenery before driving back along the edge of the Beauly Firth.
We arrived back at our accommodation which was snug and warm.
2 J's World of Adventure 