Letter from Dora Giffen to her family from Edinburgh, Scotland, July 1, 1926

Buchanan’s Temperance Hotel
High Street, Edinborough, Scotland
Thursday, July 1, 1926

Dear Ones at Home:

Nelly Anne, Edna, and I are sitting in our room at the hotel at Edinburgh. With the exception of a letter and a card to you I have written nothing to anyone since I left Egypt. I must get busy! - By the way, I hope you did not have to pay postage on the letter I mailed to you at Marseilles. You did, however, if what they told us in Paris was correct. We have been having two different kinds of money and postage to get used to this past week and I find myself a little mixed at times. Just tonight I went out to the post office nearby to find how much postage a letter home needs. Edna would not believe me when I told her, on returning, it is the same as postage on a letter from London to Edinburgh.

I have been enjoying the wonderful scenery we have been seeing in France, England, and Scotland. After Egypt, it is beyond words to describe. Egypt is certainly, like its people, entirely void of inspiration. It has been cool up in this part of the world. Two weeks ago I left Fayoum at five o'clock in the morning to escape some of the heat of mid-day. Now I have almost forgotten what heat is. I bought a cheap sweater in Paris to help bring back the warm feeling of Egypt, since most of my clothes were made for warm weather. I have not suffered though. We have been having just the kind of weather for sightseeing. Nelly Anne knows the history of this part of the world much better than I, and it is very nice to have her along. She is good company.

What if I forget or don't have time to tell of my trip by letter you can soon ask me about in person. On Monday we went to see the Chateau at Fontainbleau. That is where Fidelia Duncan is taking an eight-weeks’ music course. She showed us around and we enjoyed the trip immensely. We left Paris Tues. morning, and, landing at Dover, took a taxi to Canterbury. We spent our four hours there looking the cathedral and town over. It is not hard to realize we are in a Christian land again. Everyone is so kind and accommodating. Even France is such a big contrast to Egypt.

London we reached about eight o'clock Tues. night and engaged rooms in a small hotel near Victoria Station. By extreme good fortune we got places on a train leaving London for Edinburgh the next morning. As soon as we reached Edinburgh we got our reservations on the train from Edinburgh back to London for next Mon. morning. On account of the coal strike only certain trains are running and they are always crowded.

I started this on Thursday. And now it is Sabbath afternoon. A bad cold caught on our Friday's trip is keeping me home from church; I cannot read; so I might as well be finishing this letter to you so that I can mail it tomorrow. Thurs. we spent knocking around Edinburgh finding things for ourselves. Friday we took a motor trip to the Trossacks, the scene of Scott’s Lady of the Lake. It was a great trip but we had not realized how cold it would be, and before the sun came out in the morning we nearly froze. However yesterday, Saturday when we took a motor trip to Abbotsford and some Abbeys near the Scottish border, Miss Nesbit, the manager of this hotel, gave us three nice heavy coats to wear and we were plenty warm enough. We are having some good laughs these days over the warm weather they are having in Scotland. The people here think they are having hot weather.

Goodbye. I hope to get something more written in two or three days. Next Sat. we start on the last lap of the journey. I will be seeing you soon. Much love from your Dora.