A visit from your parents or family can garner mixed emotions - and you shouldn't feel guilty. While you’re surely excited to see them, not to be blunt, but they can kinda cramp your style.
To put your mind at ease, I’ve curated a perfect day in St Andies with your older family members. These are tried and true activities, tested over a period of 2 1/2 semesters by an array of older adults ranging in age from 46 to about 85.
Breakfast at The Cottage Kitchen
This may seem like a given, but there’s just something about Cottage Kitchen that gets older visitors to St Andies excited. I prefer this to Gorgeous because there are no stairs to get up and the seating is less cramped, which is good if your visitors are less mobile. They do an array of egg benedicts as well as classic Scottish breakfasts (with a veggie option!).
You can point out the golf decor on the walls to beat them to the “So, have you picked up golf yet?” and contain the golf conversation to comments about the silliness of the obsession (unless you do golf, because in that case you don’t need to avoid the golf conversation at all, of course!).
Credit: St Andrews Now.
Lunch at Mitchell’s
Hopefully you’ve walked slowly enough that it’s lunchtime. Back on Market Street, you can stop in any souvenir shops and stores on the way, they should all be open now that it’s midday.
I think Mitchell’s is a good place for parents because of its Scottish aesthetic. The menu items feel special to St Andrews, especially for an international visitor. The prices seem reasonable and the food is generally reliable. The exterior is appealing and memorable and the staff are very kind. I recommend the pies, steak and ale or chicken and leek, depending on what they’re serving.
Since there’s also a deli, they can buy Scottish-specific snacks to take back home (or eat on the plane).
Cathedral Ruins and East Sands
This is a good activity because the route from the ruins to the beginning of the Fife Coastal Path are sprinkled with scholarly signage to educate your elders on what they’re seeing (so you don’t have to!).
If your group is feeling up for it and the weather obliges, walking part of the Fife Coastal Path is also a good use of time, the unique view of St Andrews you get from just a couple minutes of walking is definitely worth it. If that’s not convincing enough, you might get lucky and see some Highland cows!
Credit: TripAdvisor.
Afternoon Snack at Jannettas Gelateria
A guide to St Andrews wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Janettas (or three trips, as my flatmate’s dad did on a visit last year). I’m someone who considers herself to be a gelato connoisseur of sorts and I can cite my notes app file of trying 20 different types of gelato at Jannettas as proof.
I find myself going back to tiramisu and hazelnut, and for the more fruitier palette, I would recommend the tayberry and elderflower flavours.
Evening Trip to St Mary’s Quad
Ok, the clouds are pink and the sun is setting on your day out. Your job as tour guide (and jester) has nearly come to an end. St Mary’s Quad is absolutely beautiful and the perfect place to have a heart to heart conversation. Sitting on a bench, they may reveal to you something very important about life back home without you.
Something that’ll stick with you: your dog sits on your spot on the couch now, your room has been turned into a home gym, your car that’s been sitting in the driveway for 3.5 months now houses a family of mice. As you admire the architecture of St Mary’s, you remember that your parents are experiencing life for the first time too.
Credit: LookPhotos.
Dinner at Forgan’s
Yes, we are back to the Mitchell’s/Forgan’s circuit. Why mess with perfection? With its beautiful decor and dining experience that begins before you even get seated, Forgan’s is peak parent dining.
The menu is just nice enough that it’s somewhere you probably don’t go to with your friends but not extremely pricey that you feel like you’re taking advantage of your relatives (which, if you are, I’m certainly not judging). End by walking them back to their hotel, you’ve done your duty as an all-day guide.
Now you can go have a pint with your friends, you’ve earned it.
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