August 13, 2013 day 28 The Alsar b and b is a lovely old house with pretty appointments. We have a room on the ground floor with a king sized bed, sitting area and a good bathroom. The breakfast room is right next door. I think there are 6 rooms in total. We had breakfast about 8:30 and there were lots of choices, Richard again had the full Scottish and I had a bagel with cream cheese and salmon plus excellent French press. We headed out to see the old course first. Mary had suggested the Russell Hotel for dinner tonight so we stopped there to look at the menu and make a reservation for 7 o’clock. We were above the course by the Martyr’s monument when we realized we didn’t have enough clothes on. With the sun shining a light sweater was good but when it went under and you were near the sea it was downright freezing. Stan said never does the temp go above 24 here. My gallant husband walked back to the Alsar and got scarves and coats for the rest of the day. We walked to the Royal and Ancient clubhouse (very private) and saw people on the practice putting green and first tee. Then we went into the British gold museum which was built in 1990. Very comprehensive with a lot of emphasis on early play, clubs and balls. There was a French filming company working and a man dressed as Tom Morris and his caddie did a lively interview for them. After the museum we went to see the Himalayas which is a putting course on the same type of grass and undulation as the old course. The place was jammed with young kids and families. We then walked along the Scores Rd. passing St. Salvador’s College that has a pretty quad plus all the gorgeous houses that now are owned by the university. We walked past the castle on our way to the Cathedral. It is only ruins but absolutely beautiful. The cemetery is very large and it all overlooks the harbor and North Sea. We walked back to our hotel via the fair again and even though it was mid afternoon lots of people were riding, eating, enjoying the craziness. We had a short rest and a cup of tea to get ready to go out shopping. We went to Johnston’s cashmere store, touching but not buying anything. We then went in many Old Course gift stores including Tom Morris. It was fun to watch people come into 18 and there was even a 10 year old playing with his father and he was quite good. People were still teeing off at 5 but then it doesn’t get dark until 9:30-10. We took a bunch of pictures of Rusacks Hotel that overlooks the 18th hole because my parents stayed here when they played St. Andrews. We went to dinner at the Russell Hotel and sat in the bar. They also have a formal restaurant with a similar menu but we thought the bar would be more fun. Our waitress was Julie and Richard asked to be surprised with a single malt. She brought him a talisker 10 year old that was great and I had a Stella. We started with cream of cauliflower, cheese and ham soup that was outstanding. Richard had great fish and chips and I had scampi. We thoroughly enjoyed the place and the meal. Towards the end a foursome arrived to check in to the hotel and wanted dinner but they were told it was full. Within minutes (now 8:30) a full sized bus arrived and all unloaded to go into the restaurant. We were glad to have our dinner over with. We walked back to Market St to the Tesco to get an ice cream bar. The fair was starting to close down especially the food concessions. They have to be packed up and gone by tomorrow morning.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 07:16:11 +0000