Scotland and a New Car

I was just in Scotland two weeks ago for a retreat - and let me tell you, it was gorgeous! It has just the scenery that I love: High, barren mountains and empty, windswept countryside. Of course, we were surrounded by the Lochs, including the famous Loch Ness. Just like every other tourist on the planet, I searched for Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, but sadly she didn't appear that day. But now I can say I've been there, done that. Kind of like going to the Louvre just to say you've seen the Mona Lisa. All in all, a lovely time. I spent time with dear old friends, and met great new ones. I was especially happy to meet Teresa, a American girl studying in Glasgow. She has two adorable ginger cats, and she also introduced me to embroidery, which has now officially become a weird obsession (no one warned me about this...). But that's a story for another blog entry.

Anyway, I rented a car for the trip, but made a friend of mine drive most of the time, because I always have this initial terror of driving on the left-hand side of the road. I finally got the courage toward the end of the trip, and neither killed nor maimed anyone in the process. I also rented a Sat Nav for the car, which turned out to be both useful and hillariously funny. For instance, when you took a wrong turn (in spite of what the thing told you), it would say - in a slightly resigned voice - "Take the fourth exit at the roundabout". In other words, "Go all the way around the roundabout you fool, because you've gone the wrong way and need to get back. Moron." We all swore that the navigator voice really did sound irritated when it had the re-calculate the route because we messed up.

And speaking of cars, I now have my own! The Sunday after I got back, one of the members of my church mentioned that he was selling his car. I trust him, so I said I was interested. And 4 days later, I was in possession. It's a 2001 black Ford Fiesta. It's actually been a bit "pimped", with added body mouldings and speakers and an amplifier. It's also been lowered. So it looks really like something a 19-year-old boy would drive. But I love it. It's also got a big engine for it's size, so it's got some oomph to it when you accelerate. This is needed in Ireland to avoid all the crazy/drunk drivers on the road (but that's for yet another blog entry!). I also bought a Tomtom Sat Nav, and let me tell you, it's been a lifesaver! For an American girl used to western roads that are wide and straight, the chaos that is the Dublin street system is really intimidating. Remember, I was terrified to drive in rural Scotland, where there was nothing but sheep to get in my way. But that sat nav got me through central Dublin at rush hour, and helped me find a gas station, and got me home. I'm hooked! I still need to take lessons, though. I'm lousy and parallel parking, never mind backing into a parking space. And the narrow streets still freak me out.

Now I'm just coming down from the euphoria of buying the car, and I'm in the what-have-I-done phase. That could be because I've had to spend a huge amount of money buying insurance (expensive in Ireland), AA road assistance membership, a few other gadgets, and spent 40€ filling up my tank!!!! But I'll get over that. I'm excited that I can now easily visit my friends, see more of Ireland, and most importantly, buy huge stockpiles of toilet paper!