We started our day off with a hearty English breakfast at the B&B. I think it was the first time I’ve had beans for breakfast. We loaded our bags into our little Hyundai i10 and headed off. The road north was quiet, switching from double to single lane highways. I was finally getting the hang of driving, far less nervous than the day prior. It was only a couple hour drive up to Grantown on Spey, a small community in the north of Scotland. Since I was able to get my phone working with data the evening before, I was far more comfortable with navigation. We arrived at our friend’s place, deposited our stuff and went out for a walk around the town and down to the river. It was a relatively relaxing day, without much going on.
This was the day we discovered clotted cream and flat white coffee. Clotted cream is basically whipped cream in the form of butter, so basically bad for you, but so amazing! Flat whites on the other hand are espresso with silky milk added in an 8 oz. cup. I have really come to appreciate the smaller sizes of coffee drink. One would think that you would just down it rapidly, but the converse is true. I took my time, sipping it and enjoying our little snack and conversation.
That evening, we went to a bible study at a local Baptist church. Our host is actually a missionary who is working with his parents to reignite Christian community in Scotland. Churches are everywhere, but the people who fill them are scarce. Many of these historical buildings are now being repurposed as book stores, coffee shops or historical museums. With the even shorter day due to being even further north, it was dark close to 3 pm, making our night feel so much later than it was.
