>KLM – Delta’s partner for these itineraries – has their own draconian baggage limits. Where in the US there are no weight (only size) restrictions on carry-ons, KLM imposes a limit of 12 kilograms – about 26-1/2 pounds. I don’t remember now what my carry-ons weighed out to, but whatever it was, the woman at the KLM desk wasn’t going to let me take it on the plane.
“But it was fine when I checked in with Delta in Nashville,” I protested.
“You’re not flying Delta now. You’re flying KLM” she replied, with all the kindness and compassion of a Nazi saying “you’re in Germany now…”
I struggled to get enough cameras and lenses into the already quite full bag that I was going to check in (the first one is always free…) so that I could carry the rest on with me. That struggle included feeding 1-pound coins into a scale each time I was ready to re-weigh what I’d re-arranged. I did that to the tune of four pounds… all to no avail.
By the time I’d gotten the carry-ons down to 12.2 kilos there was almost nothing left in the camera bag, making it pointless to drag it around with me. So I repacked everything back the way I’d originally packed it, and then paid the seventy euros (about U$90*) to check in my camera gear – at which point all I could do was cross my fingers and hope that it would a) show up at the other end and b) show up undamaged.
Once I’d cleared that hurdle – i.e. just getting checked in, then I went through the usual security corridor… you know, take everything out of your carry on (laptop, iPad), take of your boots, take off your belt, take everything out of your pockets (including my passport??) and then assume the position.
But what really floored me is what you see in the photo below: once you’ve gotten your bags checked and cleared security, before you can get even close to your departure gate at Glasgow Airport, you have to run a hundred-yard gauntlet of Duty Free Shopping outlets. A serpentine corridor of liquor, makeup, high-end chocolate and I don’t know else stands between you and your actual departure.
I haven’t really said much about it here, but I really didn’t like Glasgow all that much to begin with (it sure isn’t Edinburgh – or maybe I just didn’t quite find the cool parts…), and this experience just gave me one more reason to figure I’ll probably never go back there again…
Behold: the Duty Free Gauntlet:
And finally…
This shot is pretty cliche. The east tower viewed through the west wall gate.
But it’s gonna look really cool once it’s been “portalized…”
In addition to the cathedral in St. Andrews, there is also a castle ruin.
St. Andrews Castle was home to the bishops of the cathedral – yeah, the bishops, they lived in castles, too… This one figured quite prominently in the conflicts surrounding the Scottish reformation. One Protestant was burned at the stake, and then the townspeople stormed the castle and killed the Cardinal who’d ordered the execution.
From the grounds of the castle ruin, this is the look back toward the cathedral… 
Sometimes it’s the little things that make for finding your way into a comfort zone in otherwise unfamiliar surroundings….
A coffee mug, for example…
I think the British must learned how to drink coffee by drinking tea.
Now THAT’s a proper coffee mug.
How else to explain the ridiculous coffee cups I found in most of the country? You know the type… it’s really a tea cup. There is a little handle that’s barely big enough to get one finger into.
Clearly they haven’t done the physics on those things … a hot cup balanced on the 3rd and 4th fingers… they do know that coffee is hot, right? And that the heat transfers to the vessel holding the fluids? And that heat then transfers to the fingers trying to balance the cup? Apparently they haven’t figured that out yet, they’re too busy keeping their upper lips stiff…
So, regrettably – since I’m really making an effort to avoid the multi-national chains and patronize the local shops – I finally had to give in and go to a Starbucks to get a cup of coffee in a proper put-your-fist-in-it mug.
The last stop on the journey… arriving once again before sunrise, waiting for the gates to open…. St. Andrews was the largest Catholic church in all of Scotland… and now all that stands are the twin towers at the eastern end, and half the wall of the western entrance. And a lot of rocks… 
The final leg of the trip, traveling this Sunday afternoon from Harrogate in Yorkshire to St. Andrews in the Kingdom of Fife, Scotland. This rainbow followed me most of the way… a most unusual rainbow, I might add, because it formed in an otherwise perfectly clear sky. There wasn’t any rain to speak of… just… this rainbow…
Hot and cold water from the same faucet… something of a rarity in this part of the supposedly civilized world…
At the AirBnB home where I stayed in St. Andrews, Scotland.
One of my favorite shots from this whole excursion… this couple peering avidly through the window, listening to the choir performing in the cellarium… 
I travel with thousands of dollars worth of cameras, lenses, and accessories. But all too often, the most valuable bit of gear in my bag is this $5 pair of Home Depot knee pads… 
