Sunday, April 29, 2007

Girly Weekend

I've just come back from a nice weekend away in The Kingdom of Fife. I thought our camera was in the front seat of my car when I took off on Friday, but I was mistaken. I've had to use stock photos pinched from other websites about Fife and the seaside town of Ellie.

A dear friend of mine rented out a lovely cottage for three days and invited a bunch of women friends to join her there.
This is Golf Cottage in Ellie, Fife (sleeps 8, pets allowed)


I've never spent any time in Fife before this weekend. I must say, It's beautiful! I'll go back there again. No bother!



In case you didn't know, this is the portion of Scotland where the game of golf was invented.


These are the links that were just outside the front door of our weekend cottage. We walked the dogs along that wonderful beach. By the way, while we were walking we heard and saw larks singing. There were lots of Eider ducks and gannets swimming in the bay and parking themselves on the rocks. To top it off, I saw my first swallow! They're back! Henry had reported seeing a swallow two weeks ago in the next village over, but I didn't see one until Saturday.

The oldest style of golf course were created on these areas of coastal dunes or seaside links. There really isn't enough grass there for grazing livestock, there is too much salt spray and sand to grow a crop so what do you do with vast, unusable tracts of land like this? Invent golf! By the way, in St Andrews, just a few miles up the coast from where we were, local people still have the right to dry their laundry out on the links, the only other use for this scrubby, windswept area.

Now of course, the area near the scrubby land is prime real estate for seaside cottages. I wish I could afford one. The area is so pretty

My friend Kim who was the one who planned this all did ALL of the cooking! She is a generous and talented cook. I think that if I am suddenly deprived of food, I won't be hungry until Wednesday.

It was a perfect girly weekend that included good weather, lots of food, wine, gossip magazines, a chocolate fountain (!) some babies to play with (Annabelle 6 months and Carys 2 years old) and two incredibly well behaved dogs to induce us to take walks!

12 comments:

J-Funk said...

Way to go Peggy! Everybody always talks about taking a vacation with their girlfriends but this is the first I've heard of someone who actually DID IT. You've inspired me! Now I just need to find some girlfriends here in Seattle...

Xtreme English said...

a few babies and good food....wot more cud a gurl want on a fun weekend?? so glad you had such a good time.

xo, ma

Peggy said...

j-funk - My friend Kim organized it. All I had to do was attend and eat! Try getting one of your new Seattle pals to invite you along to something similar.

xtreme english - Ma, you would have loved it!

Jay said...

Sounds like a really great weekend! Love the little tid-bit about people drying their laundry on the links at St. Andrews. That's too cool.

Anonymous said...

It sounds wonderful! I'm glad you had such a great time.

Peggy said...

Jay - I don't think that anybody actually does that anymore. Just like some folks have the right to practice archery in the town square and don't.

Susan - It was really relaxing. Haven't slept that well in ages!

Anonymous said...

looks like you had a great weekend Will be In NG this weekend from Sat till Mon as dads birthday if you want to visit
Anna

Tink said...

Oh! What a wonderful getaway. I'm so jealous. :)

Kell said...

Sounds and looks heavenly. A chocolate fountain?!? How decadent. How wonderful.

Shammickite said...

The KINGDOM of Fife? There's a KING? Did you see him?

Peggy said...

Anna - THIS weekend???

Tink - I bet you could do it in Florida. There are plenty of furnished vacation places on the coast

kell - I'm going to get me one of those chocolate fountains!

ex-shammickite - It is now officially the Peoples Democratic Republic of Fife. No king anymore.

Anonymous said...

What a brilliant idea!
The cottage is lovely and the photos really evocative.