We arrived in cold, cloudy weather. Our room on the third floor of the hotel, no elevator and no help with the bags up the steps, was like a garret. Slanted ceilings and one window. It reminded me of the set for the opening of La Boheme. Went for a walk on the Old Course and enjoyed seeing the ocean. After dinner I took a shower in the very narrow shower stall and found the water tricked out of the shower head. Very conducive to unkind thoughts for the hotel.
The person who drove us to St Andrews from Pitlochry recommend a few places to us. A pastry, coffee/tea shop, cafe named Gorgeous and the pub at Greyfriars Hotel, https://www.belhaven.co.uk/pubs/fife/greyfriars-hotel. We walked to Gorgeous in the afternoon and meet another couple waiting to get in. Tables are upstairs. They recommended we stay for the 10 minute wait. We did and it was rather nice.
They also recommended book a dinner at The Saint, https://www.the-saint-bar.co.uk/. We did for the following night. Excellent fish and chips.
Still it was a cold dreary afternoon. One bright spot was a Harris Walz sign in a window above the North Point Cafe, https://northpointcafe.weebly.com/, which happens to be the place where “Kate meet Wills for coffee !!” We didn’t learn of its notoriety until the next day when we stopped in for a slice of Victorian Sponge.
We finished up the evening out by watching a soccer match, Arsenal vs Manchester City, and having dinner at the pub at Greyfriars. Then back to our hotel up several flights to our room to be met with the disappointment of the dripping shower head. The next day I sent an email to McKinlay Kidd complaining about our room. They contacted the hotel and the shower issue was resolved.
Conditions the next day were better. We visited two museums that dealt with the histories of the city and the university, respectively. The first had a nice tea room. The latter had an outdoor deck facing the ocean.
Walking through the city and along the ocean we had dinner nice views of the town, parts of the campus, and the sea.
St Andrews is a university towns with lots of students in the streets day and night. It is also famous for its golf courses. Groups of golfers were regularly at breakfast or checking in and out of our hotel. Typically a foursome of white guys from the states, probably in their 40s or 50s, talking about their games, their household repairs, their experiences with Scottish food, or their jobs. Guys at a conference, convention, or meeting, but one that focuses on playing golf.
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