It is very strange to come home to an empty house after 6 months on the road in Europe. We did have a bed to sleep in but that is all. We moved some of my office furniture into the the family room. 
We got my dining room table back from my sister and got an outdoor table with some patio chairs that we had in storage. I got my long art table out of the storage unit and am in the process of setting up my studio again.
I have vacuumed and mopped the floor two times. Cleaned and waxed the teak table and even put up a painting in the dining room.
We bought a new TV and are slowly finding things that we need from the storage unit. This is our dear son Brian and David working together . 
We swan in the pool the other day and it was heaven. It is coming together.
We have a large house and have decided to only live in the downstairs. We are used to living in small spaces now and are trying to only add what we need. It is refreshing.
We have also had time with our son, his fiance, our family, our dog and our friends.
This is the best part of being home.
The train goes to St. Erth where we got on the St. Ives train. This train only goes back and forth to St. Ives.
St. Ives is a seaside town on the western edge of Cornwall. It is a popular summer resort. We went on one of the few days of sunshine that we experienced in Cornwall and it was crowded. Here is a photo of the beach.
Many people put up wind breaks and small pop up tents. There is a lovely harbor where the local kids jump off the pier to go swimming.
There is a picturesque Lighthouse on the end of the pier.
And some local seals patrol the harbor walls hoping some of the fishing boats might lose some fish.
We did get some fish and chips in a fun restaurant on the harbor front. Here is a photo of David looking happy after eating salmon. 
It was a wonderful day train trip.
By Tuesday , we knew we would have to see a doctor. What do you do when you are in a foreign country?
It was being able to see how a single working woman survived in the 20th century that was so affecting. She rented her apartment, like most people in the city. She was very thrifty and saved whatever money she could. Here is a layout of the apartment she and her mom lived in 
She and her mom slept in the double bed recess in the kitchen and rented out the bedroom to a boarder to save money. The kitchen would have been the warmest place in the house to sleep in those cold Scottish winters. The docent told us that the bathroom was very luxurious in 1911 because it had an indoor toilet and hot and cold running water. There was a shared wash house in the back of the building in which everyone had a day to use to do their washing.
That is a coal heated stove and oven. Above the the oven she had a drying rack that pulled down to hang clothes and up to dry them. Miss Toward did not want to pay for electricity to be put in for her landlord’s benefit, so she made do with gas lights and no refrigerator. She did break down and converted to electric lights in 1960, but the stove was still working so no replacement was needed. She left the flat exactly the way it is now when in 1965 she went into the hospital. Not having a refrigerator was not as hard as it seems. The door in the upper right hand of the photo opened into a cold larder. A shelf room that had holes drilled into the walls that kept everything as cold as outside, which in Scotland is pretty cold.
This room was only used for company. Here is the table as it would have been set for tea. In this room there is also a stand up piano that both Mrs. and Miss Toward used to play. No electricity meant no radio and no TV .
They seemed to like all kinds of variations on skulls and cross bones, possibly to make sure they remembered that death from disease, famine, or religious disagreement was always imminent. 
This particular medieval monument would keep me on the straight and narrow . 
And even an angel keeps a skull on her knee in case you thought about sinning. But the decorations are just the beginning.
Here is a husband and wife united in death ; holding hands under that famous skull.
Ironically, I believe this was the grave of a surgeon. He knew how to keep those pesky body snatchers away.
I think this would be the perfect place for a Halloween party or a seance .
John Gray the policeman who owned dear Bobby and the grave where he sat for 14 years until he died, 
and James Brown, the graveyard sexton who kept the story alive and well to attract visitors and collect tips.
If you look at the dates on these stones you will notice that perhaps the second wee Bobby outlived the sexton by 4 years. I image the next sexton picked up the gig. Anyway, this story has been so successful that Disney made a movie about it, and there is an entire pub dedicated to Bobby in front of the cemetery .
Want to lift a pint to Bobby’s memory? Amazing Bobby is still earning money for all involved. I would say that is a loyal and excellent doggie.
We walked up the hill (which we regretted as it was straight up) to the church of the Holy Rude (means Holy Cross). We decided to look inside and catch our breath. 
As with most old ( it dates from the 15th century) churches in Scotland, this one was a Roman Catholic church until the reformation. Now it is part of the church of Scotland. It is a place where in 1567 the infant King James VI was crowned. After exploring this church and graveyard, we walked up to the castle. Here is a map of the castle; 
The castle sits on the top of Castle Hill with 3 steep sides for protection. Most of the principal buildings of the castle date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In 1542 Mary, Queen of Scots was crowned in the castle.
We were told by the tour guide that all of the buildings would have been painted gold to show people the power of the Steward kings. Inside the castle (restored to the time of 1540s) you can see many examples of King James V’s desire to show visitors that he was the glorious king of Scotland. Almost every room has a large and colorful coat of arms over the fireplaces.
Here is a photo of the throne room of James’ queen, Mary of Guise ; 
They were the parents of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary’s father James V died when she was only six days old, leaving an infant queen on the throne. Her coronation was held nine months later at Stirling, one of the most secure places in the kingdom.She would spend most of her childhood here and return frequently during her adult reign.
I have always been intrigued by the sad story of Mary, Queen of Scots and it was moving to be in the same castle and rooms that she lived in during part of her life. This is one of the reasons that travel is so valuable. Now when I read the history or see a film about Mary, I can put her life in the place where she lived.
It is up above the entire city. We also had to walk up the many steps to get there. Here is a photo of David starting up the last of the stairs to the castle. 
They have a pair of guards in front, and we saw them change guards, which is done hourly. Since it was one in the afternoon, they also fire one gun so everyone below knows what time it is. This seems to be a tradition that they keep up for people without watches or iphones.
On the way in we had to stop and try out the luxury Scottish ice cream. It was very good.
It was a cold and rainy day (so much for Scottish summer ) but there were still lots of visitors roaming the castle with their umbrellas. Here is the inside of the castle gate.
The castle is the number one visitor attraction in Edinburgh. It was very crowded, which made the visit less enjoyable . But we had paid about $35 for the two of us to get in so we made the best of the situation. Inside the great hall there were lots of fireplaces and suits of armor 
and in case of an emergency there were lots of swords and spears decorating all the walls to use. 
There has been a royal castle on the rock since at least the reign of King David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until 1633. Then it was used as a military barracks with a large garrison. There are still some military units stationed there but now it is a money making tourist castle. And we were quite happy to be tourists within its walls.
Senior Gap Year 