Sept 20 - We started the day with our typical Scottish breakfast. Have I mentioned this before? Just in case I haven't, the day starts with eggs, sausage, bacon, hagus, blood pudding (if you can handle it), toast, beans, tomato, and potato, plus juice, cereal if you choose, and tea/coffee. Good for most of the day, so only a little bit of lunch is quite adequate until dinner.

On we went into St. Andrew's, to the Old Course and the British Golf Museum. The first thing we saw upon arrival was the destruction of the tents set up for the upcoming  Dunhill Cup, out just to the shore side of the 1st hole of the Old Course. Storm Ali did a number on everything that had been set up, with winds up to 101 miles per hour, to the extent that all of the tents and framework were a total write-off. We talked to one of the techs, who was quite matter-of-fact about it. They did the set-up for the Ryder Cup last week, in Paris, and are part of a large company that does this sort of thing. So once the insurance people do their thing, they'll have all new replacement equipment ready to go in time for the tournament.

From there we went to the first tee, which is very open to the public. Took me back 38 years, to when I teed off there. The burn across the front of the first green, the old bridge, the road hole, all within easy vision. The wind was howling, so the urge to play was less than it might have been. Also, when I played the course, it cost 12 pounds. Now it's 180. So that's a bit of a disincentive as well. But there were players going out, despite the cool and the blowing wind, so more power to them.

Then we did the British Golf  Museum. It was a little like visiting Golf Mecca, not unlike the visit we made to the World Golf  Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida. In this case, the story was of the development of the game from the earliest days, back to the 14th Century. And all the way up to the modern period, with focus on the Championship, to the development of course construction, the development of clubs and balls, and even the progression of clothing. Champions are highlighted, going back to Old Tom Morris and up to Francisco Molinari.

All in all, it was a grand visit. A few souvenirs were purchased, and a little tour of the main street followed. St. Andrew's is a much a student town as it is a golf town, as their famous university is right next to the golf courses. We stopped into the student's tea shop, called the Chrichton Room, after the Admirable Chrichton, and shared a table with a German young lady who is doing her second year of Masters study here. She was charming, and gave us some insight into the life of a grad student here. Two classes a week, one three hours, one an hour, and some structure, which is quite different from her experience in Germany, where there isn't much guidance or supervision. Her responsibility is to do a lot of research and reading, then write papers on selected topics. So the onus is on her to do the work as required in order to get her degrees, one here and one at her home university in Koln.

From there we went on to do the Fife coast road, down through a series of towns and villages along the North Sea and the Firth of Forth. We stopped for a good while at the town of Crail, and had a fine time walking about, exploring the area, finding the harbour, speaking to a piper who was taking a break during the photo session of a wedding, having a scone in one of the tea shops. Old town, hundreds of years of history. A hotel that still operates after opening in the late 1700s. Substantial buildings, narrow streets, winding alleys, sharp breeze, lovely old gardens. A good stop it was.

We wound our way along the route: narrow roads again, playing chicken with oncoming cars and large vehicles on tight corners, ducking into the other lane to dodge around vehicles parked on our side of the road, following the GPS, which has been a god-send. Things tightened up as we got closer to Edinburgh, with heavier traffic, tight roundabouts, and the usual speed demons dodging around whenever they got a chance. But we made it to our hotel, the Davaar, in Dunfermline, and were pleasantly pleased. This building was a home, at first, then converted to a hospital devoted to the delivery of babies. Now it's a lovely guest house with a beautiful dining room/lounge. We went to the local pub, the Glen Tavern, and got a great meal. Stuffed we are, and now we recline, watching the telly outline how tough things look for the Prime Minister. She's in trouble trying to work out a deal.

Tomorrow we go to Edinburgh for the day. Should be interesting. Stay tuned. More later.