Did I say how much fun the town is? Probably! A gem of Old Europe, the streets are for walkers, young, vibrant, sometimes thronging sometimes quiet, always something unexpected around the corner, endless shops, small to tiny, all offering different wares, tons of crafts by Scottish artisans from delightful, inexpensive souvenirs to astonishingly fine original jewelry, clothing, accessories and gifts of all kinds.
And there's more than the explosion of Starbucks to make an American feel at home: it has become quite the fashion for service and sales people to ask customers to have a nice day. What once seemed incongruous ('Yes, but they can't really mean it!'), is now quite commonplace. Nice!
And kudos also to England and Scotland (doubtless the rest of the country as well) for providing such ready access to fresh, healthy food. Nearly every grocery and drug-type store I visited had refrigerated displays of freshly prepared, individual portions of fruit, vegetables, small sandwiches, etc. Restaurants serve soft drinks in 6oz. bottles. You have the fun of drinking them, but don't take too much! In the several Boots and M&Ss I visited, the offerings of were much smaller. Worked for me!
Oh and if you eat out at a nice place, to wit, one providing cloth not paper napkins, be sure to let your waiter shake it out and place it on your lap for you. This is always done with a smile and appears to be a perk of the job.
