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jamesqSaturday was for recharging the mental batteries. Sunday was for some time exploring with Brain. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
zapgun4hire insisted that I try an Arbroath smokie while in Scotland. It took me awhile to realize he didn't mean a smoked sausage. I asked where we could get them and he insisted that we get them in Arbroath (which is a few towns over from Dundee). We decided to train over there on Sunday.
What we hadn't counted on was the fact that it was Father's Day. This meant that everyone else was out for brunch. We got to Brian's favorite place in Arbroath only to find that it was booked solid for a couple of hours. We then hunted up and down Arbroath's high street looking for another restaurant or pub that was 1) open 2) not full 3) Had smokies. We were unsuccessful and resolved to have a quick bite for lunch (neither of us had breakfast and it was pushing 2 pm at this point) and get reservations for supper.
The place we ducked into was called "Sugar and Spice". and it looked like a sweets and tea shop. I was just going to get a sausage roll to go, but then Brian came in behind me and suggested having tea in the back. There was one table for two unoccupied so they seated us.
Opening up the menu I spotted "Arbroath Smokie". Score! We both ordered it. Brian got some tea and I got a concoction called "Chocolate Violet", which was a hot chocolate with essence of violets added. It wasn't the best hot chocolate I've ever had, but it was in the top ten!
And the Arbroath Smokie? Delicious. I was definitely experiencing some fish bliss by the end of the meal, and it wasn't even sushi. I'd have to say it was the tastiest meal I had in Scotland (so far, I hold out hope for even better meals before I go, in much the same way that I hope for sex before I go). Probably the only cooked fish I've ever had that tasted better was a cedar plank salmon from a now vanished eight street restaurant in Cowtown. This was a close second.
We lounged about in the shop for a bit, sipping tea, trying some squares and otherwise enjoying something not entirely unlike high tea.
Then we went hiking and rock scrambling along the coast. It was a good two hour hike with some wonderful scenery. We tried to check out Arbroath Abbey, the ruins of a palatial twelfth century abbey that had a loose connection to Thomas Beckett (thus indicating he wasn't a fictional character created to torment Canadian high school students with boring plays). Luckily the interpretive center was closed early, so I didn't have to spend £5 when all I really wanted to do was take a few photos. This I did.
We went back to Dundee and did some grocery shopping. I was expecting to do just the parts needed for the evening meal, but Brian took the opportunity to stock up on lots of stuff given he had an extra pair of hands to help him carry stuff back to his flat. Oh well.
Two days of relative down time with Brian. Time well wasted.
zapgun4hire insisted that I try an Arbroath smokie while in Scotland. It took me awhile to realize he didn't mean a smoked sausage. I asked where we could get them and he insisted that we get them in Arbroath (which is a few towns over from Dundee). We decided to train over there on Sunday.What we hadn't counted on was the fact that it was Father's Day. This meant that everyone else was out for brunch. We got to Brian's favorite place in Arbroath only to find that it was booked solid for a couple of hours. We then hunted up and down Arbroath's high street looking for another restaurant or pub that was 1) open 2) not full 3) Had smokies. We were unsuccessful and resolved to have a quick bite for lunch (neither of us had breakfast and it was pushing 2 pm at this point) and get reservations for supper.
The place we ducked into was called "Sugar and Spice". and it looked like a sweets and tea shop. I was just going to get a sausage roll to go, but then Brian came in behind me and suggested having tea in the back. There was one table for two unoccupied so they seated us.
Opening up the menu I spotted "Arbroath Smokie". Score! We both ordered it. Brian got some tea and I got a concoction called "Chocolate Violet", which was a hot chocolate with essence of violets added. It wasn't the best hot chocolate I've ever had, but it was in the top ten!
And the Arbroath Smokie? Delicious. I was definitely experiencing some fish bliss by the end of the meal, and it wasn't even sushi. I'd have to say it was the tastiest meal I had in Scotland (so far, I hold out hope for even better meals before I go, in much the same way that I hope for sex before I go). Probably the only cooked fish I've ever had that tasted better was a cedar plank salmon from a now vanished eight street restaurant in Cowtown. This was a close second.
We lounged about in the shop for a bit, sipping tea, trying some squares and otherwise enjoying something not entirely unlike high tea.
Then we went hiking and rock scrambling along the coast. It was a good two hour hike with some wonderful scenery. We tried to check out Arbroath Abbey, the ruins of a palatial twelfth century abbey that had a loose connection to Thomas Beckett (thus indicating he wasn't a fictional character created to torment Canadian high school students with boring plays). Luckily the interpretive center was closed early, so I didn't have to spend £5 when all I really wanted to do was take a few photos. This I did.
We went back to Dundee and did some grocery shopping. I was expecting to do just the parts needed for the evening meal, but Brian took the opportunity to stock up on lots of stuff given he had an extra pair of hands to help him carry stuff back to his flat. Oh well.
Two days of relative down time with Brian. Time well wasted.
