So sorry for the gap in posts! Our much anticipated two-week Scottish vacation, planned years in advance, was fun for three or four days and then descended into disaster as both Mike and I came down with Covid. A sore throat woke me about 1 a.m. and, sure enough, I tested positive in the morning. We immediately made plans to abandon our fellow workshop participants so as not to expose them further and headed to a hotel in downtown Edinburgh where we holed up in isolation for the duration of the trip.
Instead of an idyllic drive to the Highlands, a ride aboard the “Harry Potter” steam train on what is advertised as the most beautiful train trip in the world, a ferry ride to the Isle of Skye, more touring of Skye and Inverness, and a couple of days in the spectacular Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar to cap it off – we whiled away the days in our hotel room in Edinburgh, ate room service, and only ventured out to stock up on vitamin C, zinc tablets, cold medicine, and sore throat lozenges. No refunds were forthcoming from our cancellations, although the train company kindly offered us a credit good through next year should we come back to Scotland. And, of course, there was the added expense of 8 nights in the Edinburgh hotel. Our room did have a great view of Edinburgh Castle out the window, however!
Once our symptoms subsided and our recommended five days of total isolation ended, we did slip out to see a bit of Edinburgh. Primarily we toured the city aboard double-decker sightseeing buses with open-air seating on the upper decks. The city was in a celebratory mood. Queen Elizabeth was in town, staying in the royal residence of Holyrood Palace which was therefore closed to tourists until she departed.
We did manage to visit this beautiful palace once it re-opened to the public. It was built in the 16th century adjacent to a 12th century abbey, and has housed royal residents including Mary, Queen of Scots in the 1500s and Bonnie Prince Charlie during the Jacobite Rebellion in the 1700s. To tour the lavish rooms is to be acutely aware of the hundreds of years of history embedded in its walls, including weddings, intrigue, murder, looting, riots, fire, and cannon barrage.
The disadvantage of catching Covid in a foreign country is the lack of familiarity with the resources – no family doctor to consult, no real idea of what the local protocol for treatment would be, where the hospital was, etc. Neither of us got sick enough to need emergency services, but it certainly was a thought lurking in the back of our minds – what to do if?
At least the date of our flight home conveniently coincided with the end of our mandatory isolation, so we didn’t feel guilty boarding the plane – which thankfully departed on time, connected in Heathrow without complications, and our baggage made it back to Arizona with us – all serious concerns with the massive disruptions of air service in Europe and especially Heathrow.
Oh well. We’re home, feeling fine, and didn’t suffer too badly thanks to our fully vaccinated and boostered status. I am rather put off of international travel for the indefinite future, however!
