Up bright and early for the first day of the conference.
Once again we were the only people eating, this time in the breakfast room. A continental breakfast for me, with plenty of stewed prunes, but Simon went for the full Scottish: fried bread, potato scones, haggis, black pudding, sausages and poached eggs. Breakfast of champions and/or a heart attack on a plate.
Headed off into town for the conference shuttle rendezvous, which was next to the railway station where we arrived yesterday. A much quicker trip without luggage. I took an unanticipated detour but still arrived in plenty of time, although there were already a number of other delegates waiting. Time passed, the scheduled departure time came and went, and we started looking at our watches, muttering and shuffling our feet anxiously. After 20 minutes, a splinter group broke off to catch the public airport shuttle, which would end up in the same approximate vicinity. By the time the rest of us figured out we should do the same, the bus had driven off. Well, by then I was quite pissed off. I’d missed the lecture I was most keen on anyway, so I just decided to give up and go back home. I don’t know what the rest planned to do. I had suggested sharing an Uber but no one took me up on it.
So, an extra day to explore Aberdeen. I asked the club receptionist where the old part of town was, and she suggested Seaton park, near Old Aberdeen. This would give us an opportunity to practice catching public transport too. There are multiple bus companies here, and you pay different ways, but you can use a credit card for all of them. Some you tap on and off, and some you tell the driver where you want to go, and they sell you a ticket. We had to learn this on the hoof, so that was worthwhile.
The bus ride took us through the university district which is an old part of town with very narrow streets. Our double decker bus was on the footpath more than once, not that that bothered the young enthusiastic driver at all. Neither did being hit by various tree branches. It was all very picturesque.
Seaton park is very large and beautiful. There is a small area of formal gardens, but also large grassed fields, meadows and wet lands, as well as a river and some hills. There’s even a Bronze Age burial mound.
From the old town we wanted to get to an old fishing village as recommended by our guide yesterday. It’s called “Footdee” but pronounced “Fittie”. Our bus route back into town was less exciting than the trip out, and we were soon walking along the port to the harbour entrance, in the drizzle. It took about 20 minutes and was very unlovely. Simon had been guiding us all day using Google maps and doing a very good job, but I exclaimed a number of times on our journey about how ugly it was, and were we on the right track? I know I’ve said in the past that Simon has a poor sense of direction but he enjoys being in charge and I figure it’s good for his brain to keep practicing. But I don’t think he likes me second guessing him.
Eventually, as the drizzle was getting heavier, we found what we were looking for. It was probably very quaint and appealing in the summer sunshine, but today it was all a bit sad and grim, so we hotfooted it to the famous local eatery, The Silver Darling.
This was an unexpectedly posh restaurant on the second story of some old building, which gave us beautiful views across the harbour mouth. We both had fish and it was delicious.
Several ships went past while we were eating; it’s obviously a busy port.
After lunch we decided we were ready to head back home for a nap. This is where the trouble started. I had downloaded the app for local public transport, and it conflicted with what google maps was telling us. Both suggested we catch the number 13 bus, but mine said to catch it at a very nearby stop, and google maps said to walk 15 minutes and catch it further away. In the end we gave my option a go, but unfortunately I’d misread where the stop was, and we were several hundred metres away at the vital moment, and never even saw the bus. In my defence, we were at a bus stop which had number 13 listed on it, but only at certain times, it seems. So, then we followed Simon’s instructions. This actually got us walking along the beach front of a nice sandy beach, so that was fine, except that it was drizzling again and there was a cold wind. I kept on thinking out loud, wondering about the discrepancy between our two apps, until I could see Simon getting tight lipped and quite short with me, and I suddenly saw in my immediate future Simon beating me to death with his phone whilst repeating “Don’t question me! Don’t question me!” So I stopped talking. We found the bus stop and our bus arrived shortly afterwards, taking us virtually right to our front door, which was nice. I eventually figured out what the problem was: my app was directing us to the nearest bus stop, whereas his was faster, cutting out a slow loop on the bus route. At least, I think that was what was happening. My main concern now is how I’m going to get to the conference tomorrow.