Tea, Coffee and Castles

Dunnottar Castle, Stonehaven, Scotland

Nescafé.  Mmm mm mm.  The only time I drink it is outside the US.  Tea can't seem meet my coffee addiction needs as I thought it could.  This morning, finding a jar of Nescafe kernels in my grandfather's cabinet was further celebrated by  "best used by August 2015".  I knew my grandmother had often kept a jar both for herself occasionally and if visitors stopped by who preferred coffee to tea.

When in Scotland, one must watch the weather in order to have a chance of finding a sunny spot to visit.  We thought yesterday was the day of sun!  Therefore, my mom, cousin, and I drove along the twisty windy roads passed Fife and beyond Perth up to Stonehaven, where we visited the castle of Dunnottar.  Within an hour of walking around, the sea mist began rolling in.  It settled all around us between the time it took me to walk from one window to another.  Once it comes in, the scenery disappears: the castle and the cliffs are gone.

All you can hear is the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks.

The strategic location of Dunnottar had been used throughout the middle ages as property of the Keiths, a hiding spot for Scottish crown jewels, a refuge for the Jacobites, and the seat of Earl Marischal until he forfeited his title in the 18th century.   Through every window, one can look down at the rocky descent into the ocean.  We read in the admission booklet about how over a hundred Covenanters were imprisoned for nine weeks in a tiny windowless space, having to take turns to get air.  What a bloody history.

The mist stuck around while we drove to Stonehaven and found a respite to eat food and drink drink.  That's where I realized an americano and cappuccino can lift the fog in my brain better than tea.

Yes, I do actually order an americano - and yes, it feels cliché (a white americano, in fact).

After a walk around the harbor draped in a gray cloth, we drove back to my grandfather's castle: a tiny stucco fortress with all the comforts one could want.  Despite the striking scenery and sites to see, I find myself eager to sit in his own wee castle to drink Nescafé while he reads the paper.

What could be more epic that spending time with a walking history book?