The final weeks of school holidays we spent in Scotland - summer break is very long in Sicily, kids go back to school around mid-September. It was great to escape from the heat and mosquitoes, see our friends in St Andrews and visit all our favourite places. West Sands, East Sands, Tentsmuir, Botanic Gardens, Coastal path, Lade Braes, and of course Carnie fruit farm!
We came with quite a bucket list of things we wanted to do during our time in St Andrews, and we planned some of our walks and outings so that we were back by the time school is over and they could see their friends at Canongate. This was one of the downsides, different school schedules and limited time they could be with their school friends, so we tried to squeeze in as many play dates as possible. I think being back showed just how much has changed for us in this year - new country, big city, new language, new schools for everyone, different climate, different outdoor culture. Being outside and going for walks is one of the things that's so different in Palermo and in Sicily in general, compared to St Andrews and Scotland. There are beautiful natural places in Sicily, but there are less trails, its more difficult to find good information, and then between June-September it's too hot outside for anything but the beach. Which we did, a lot, not complaining here. Still, Scottish outdoors is one of the things we missed most, so we spent a lot of time outside during our visit, checking all our regular and favourite spots, some more than once.
West Sands
kids asked to go till the very end, to the sand dunes. It was windy, West Sands is often windy, and the tide left a lot of treasures behind. We built a little fortress for Mara, Maya found a crab that was still alive so a rescue mission had to be organized, and we hope the little creature made it. We came to West Sands twice, just to run on the beach and play in the grass, hide and dig in the sand and look for pirates.
East Sands
our house was quite close to the beach, so we went there very often, it was almost like our backdoor playground. Kids went for the usual, as if we were not away for a year - exploring rockpools, playing with seaweed and splashing around till everyone was wet, also quite the usual!
Coastal path
Our plan was to take a bus to Kingsbarns and then walk back to St Andrews - had to be amended on the spot because of road works, so we just went up from East Sands, visited the small beaches on the way, collected shells and blackberries and admired the views. Stopped for picnic, and walked back. Another day we came down to a small sandy beach, that became tricky to reach due to muddy path going down from the main trail, so it's easier to climb over the rocks from the neighbouring beach rather than sliding in the mud. This beach is small and sheltered, and mostly you have it all to yourself. Maya and Matteo have their favourite jumping rock there, which Mara tried to climb as well, without much success. She was content to play with shells and water, so everyone had fun. The tricky part is to watch the tide, if you don't want to climb up the muddy path - during high tide the way to the next beach is partly under water.
Tentsmuir, Botanic Gardens and Lade Braes
The highlights of our Tentsmuir walk were - blooming heather, beautiful sunny day, fun on the playground, chasing our friend's dog and sharing snacks that Mara calls 'nyam nyam'. Bigger part of the walk was dedicated to nyam nyam, good thing walking and snacking can be combined, otherwise we'd never leave the parking! Not much has changed here, familiar trails and stick huts, and beautiful beach.
In Botanic Gardens, on the contrary, we found so many changes - whole new habitats, new playground (that is amazing with all the climbing and activities, but for older kids so Mara was upset), new treasure hunt that kids were more than happy to complete. Old friend Gruffalo is still there, he got some hugs.
In Lade Braes we had several favourite spots, so we visited them all - especially the meadow with half fallen tree close to Canongate school, and Hallow Hill. And we found a lot of blackberries, so many that we decided to come back with a little basket! Which turned out to be not really necessary, because Mara ate them all faster than I could pick. Hence purple coloured face, fingers and clothes. Maya and me were a bit more careful, so we only had purple fingers. Blackberries are delicious!
We also picked apples in a public orchard close to our house, sweet and crisp and wonderful. Some walks did not require me carrying any snacks as kids were happy to forage. We visited this orchard in different seasons - in spring it's beautiful with blooms, and now with red apples. It's small, with only a footpath, so a perfect place to let kids roam around and play and explore, and pick some fruit too.
Cairnie fruit farm
last but not least - we missed Scottish strawberries! Visiting on a weekday during school term meant less people and more fun on the playground, which is amazing there. Kids visited all the rides and trampolines and the giant bouncing pillow many times, had a ride with go karts, and wandered around in the corn maze. Berry picking we kept for the very end of our visit, Mara was excited and tried her best, all on tippy toes to reach the berries. It was fun to watch her copying her siblings, and tasting the strawberries.
Somehow it's hard to believe a whole year has passed, so much has changed for us, things have changed here too. Yet we revived old habits and traditions straight away, as if this year in Palermo did not happen. St Andrews and Scotland will always be special for us.
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