Day 10: Isle of Skye

Phew. What a full day! I'm exhausted from all the running and going. I'm enjoying every minute of it, but 10 days in and my brain is full.

This company definitely believes in keeping their tour group busy. Which is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because we're seeing as much as we can. A curse because our brains are full and we can't take in much more.

We drove around the Trotternish Peninsula today. Lot's of bus time again today. The scenery is so magnificent that it's hard to even capture in photos. I likened it to taking photos of the Grand Canyon. You know it's beautiful and big, but until you're standing on the rim, you really can't appreciate it's grandeur.  The same is true for the scenery in Scotland.

Our first stop is the Museum of Island Life. This little museum is a series of thatched huts that are put together to show you what life was like on the island in the early days. The family who owns this has done a great job of setting these up.

Just off the beaten path a bit is a cemetery where the "legendary" Flora MacDonald is laid to rest. I put quotes around the word "legendary" because our tour guide really didn't provide us any history about her, but I saw her name everywhere....so I did a little research.

Turns out, Flora MacDonald (1722 –1790) was a Scottish Jacobite heroine made famous by her part in the Young Pretender's escape after his defeat at Culloden. She helped hide Bonnie Prince Charlie after the battle of Colloden. So there you go!

This wasn't my favorite spot today. It was interesting, but not interesting. The one GREAT thing about this place was their little shop. A couple of days ago I fell in love with this Harris Tweed bag that I wanted to buy for a new computer bag. The other stores all wanted between 95 GBP and 105GBP. I just couldn't do it. THIS little shop has the same bag, but for 60GBP. Now THAT I can do. And I'd much prefer giving this little family my $$ than some bit tourist shop. 

Harris Tweed bags are 100% virgin wool taken from flocks only on the Scottish Islands. They can't put the name Harris Tweed on these bags without verification of the wool...or so I was told. 

I love every thing about this bag. It's roomy, easy to carry and oh so beautiful!

Right...what was next? 

The scenery...I mentioned it was beautiful. We had such good weather too that it makes the green of the island so beautiful against the blue of the sky. 

We pulled off to see these fantastic rock formations called Kilt Rock. There was supposed to be a great waterfall next to it, but there didn't seem to be any real water falling.  It was, of course, windy on this cliff, but that didn't stop us from getting our photos and oooh'ing and ahhh'ing at this coast. 

Our lunch stop today was in the small fishing village of Portree. We stopped in a cafe and had a pretty darn good lunch. We had time to wander around the little town before getting back on the coach. 

The best part of today is our evening excursion to Eilean Donan castle. This castle is THE castle that shows up on almost all postcards, or traveling brochures for Scotland. It was one of the two that I've been waiting and dreaming about seeing since I did my initial research. And it did not disappoint. 

Hopping off the bus you are immediately greeted by bagpipes playing out front of the castle and then you're transported back into time. I don't even know what to say about this castle, other than it was a beauty. 

Eilean Donan is a small tidal island where three sea lochs meet, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh.. Eilean Donan is part of the Kintail National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland. Eilean Donan, which means simply "island of Donnán", is named after Donnán of Eigg, a Celtic saint martyred in 617. Donnán is said to have established a church on the island, though no trace of this remains.

The castle was founded in the thirteenth century, and became a stronghold of the Clan Mackenzie and their allies the Clan Macrae. In the early eighteenth century, the Mackenzies' involvement in the Jacobite rebellions led in 1719 to the castle's destruction by government ships. Lieutenant-Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap's twentieth-century reconstruction of the ruins produced the present buildings.

Finishing up at the castle, we were treated to a pint of beer at a local pub. And while at the pub we got serenaded by a young bagpiper that was not only good, but deliciously handsome. Of course he was a young buck, but fun to watch and listen to. There was some dancing too. The bagpiper gathered 6 of our team and "taught" them a jig...it turned out to be more of a disaster, but a fun disaster. 

Tomorrow we leave Isle of Skye and head to Isle of Mull. Our bus driver Alistair says we'll love Isle of Mull more than Isle of Skye. I trust him, but Isle of Skye will be pretty hard to beat. 

Day 9: Ullapool and Isle of Skye

We left Thurso this morning to head to Isle of Skye. Today was a long day in the bus, but the breathtaking landscape made it all worth the while. This northern coast is lined with miles of yellow sand beaches and pretty estuaries and rolling hills of green. Oh and a few sheep...also called the White wave.

While driving around the island we stopped at this little place called Smoo Cave. This was an unexpected beautiful stop. There's a cave at the bottom of this cliff and walkways that allow you to climb down. Janet, Billie and Sherrie took the plunge while I decided to walk over and visit some sheep.

That little blue spot on this hill is Sherrie climbing out.

We passed through Durness, on our way to the small, quaint fishing village of Ullapool.  A Fish n Chips lunch was waiting for us when we got here. Sherrie, fortunately, got to splurge too with some gluten free batter.  This lunch was fantastically delicious.

This little village, though, will likely be one of my favorite spots. So cute, so quaint and so totally Scotland to me.

As we walked through the town, we stopped to watch this little dog, who's "human" was clearly inside this store. He sat there for 15 minutes until his family came outside and they were off.

Here are some shots of Ullapool...

From here we headed to our hotel for two days. Rumor had it that the hotel was "less" than all the other hotels. In fact, most folks on the tour who had been here before said it wasn't that great at all. They were, in my opinion, a bit hoity-toity about it. All I really care about is that it's clean and warm. Turns out it was both. No it isn't the Hilton or Ritz but its dry, warm and has a shower. Though admittedly the shower was really just a trickle of water...had to run around it to get wet.

Tomorrow we'll be touring more of the Isle of Skye.

Day 8: Orkney Islands

Today we hit our first of many island tours. In doing my research I found that these particular islands are full of beauty and interesting historical information - which you could, probably, say about every island in Scotland I suppose.

We took off early, as usual and headed straight to John o'Groats and boarded a ferry to the Orkney Islands, just a mere 6 miles away.  We had about 5 minutes in John o'Groats to snap some photos of this nothing town, literally, it's probably not even a town, but just a ferry stop. John o'Groats is s the traditionally acknowledged extreme northern point of mainland Scotland. 

As with everything in Scotland, there's history as to why it's where it is and why it's called what it is. This tiny village takes its name from Jan de Groot who was a Dutchman who managed the ferry from the Scottish mainland to Orkney, which had been acquired from Norway by King James IV.  Local legend has that the "o' Groats" refers to John's charge of one groat for use of his ferry, but it actually derives from the Dutch de groot, meaning "the large". People from John o' Groats are known as "Groaters". I didn't see one person in this tiny, tiny village, but I'm sure they're there. 

Once on the other side at South Ronaldsay, we were greeted by another coach and river who would give us the scoop of the island. I really don't remember the guys name, but he was born and raised on the island and had all the history down pat.

The bus tour took us over the 4 Churchill Barriers and overlook Scapa Flow. What are those you ask? Well, I'm glad you did.

The Scapa Flow is a body of water sheltered by the islands. Its sheltered waters have been used for years by travelers and by boats during war times.

As we drove through the we crossed what are called the Churchill Barriers. The Churchill Barriers are a series of four causeways in Orkney, Scotland, with a total length of 1.5 miles. They link the Mainland in the north to the two smaller islands

The barriers were built in the 1940s primarily as naval defenses to protect the anchorage at Scapa Flow. 

The other big thing about Scapa Flow and this part of Scotland is it's part it played in WWI. You remember WWI from school? And all the studying about it, and yet, I didn't remember a single bit of this from school. Which isn't too surprising. WWI doesn't get much attention since it's bigger brother WWII seemed to be all that we studied. AND, as with everything, each part of the world has it's own story of how the wars played out for them. 

Directly from Wikipedia: 

The scuttling of the German fleet took place at the Royal Navy's base at Scapa Flow, in Scotland, after WWI. The High Seas Fleet was interned there under the terms of the Armistice whilst negotiations took place over the fate of the ships. Fearing that all of the ships would be seized and divided amongst the allied powers, the German commander, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, decided to scuttle the fleet.

The scuttling was carried out on 21 June 1919. Intervening British guard ships were able to beach a number of the ships, but 52 of the 74 interned vessels sank. Many of the wrecks were salvaged over the next two decades and were towed away for scrapping. Those that remain are popular diving sites.

There were several ships that you could still see in the water. It's used for sea life now and a ton of divers love to visit the sunken ships. 

Our first stop was the Ring of Brodgar. It's a henge, like stonehenge, but not as elaborate and not as well maintained. They aren't really sure what this ring was used for. There's a lot of speculation, as with stonehenge. It was cold and windy, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to walk this ring and really check it out.

 

This photo is from the Internet. I wanted to show just what the ring looks like as reference. Photo creds go to whomever took this fantastic photo. 

Our next stop was to the Orkney Brewery. It's a small micro-brewery that puts out some fantastic beer. We had lunch, a tasting and a tour. Big shock, but they don't create beer any different than we do here in the good ol' USA. 

Our lunch was these 4 little tea sandwiches and soup accompanied by a tasting of three of their beers. 

After the brewery, stuffed and happy, we headed off to Scara Brae and Skaille House. 

Skara Bra is a stone-built Neolithic settlement.  Consisting of eight clustered houses, it was occupied from roughly 3180 BC to about 2500 BC. Europe's most complete Neolithic village. They're still slightly buried and have been excavated. There was one "hut" that they set up as if it were done by these neolithic settlers. The rest of the site is viewed from above. I find these types of things VERY interesting and curious about how people lived 5000 years ago. Then I marvel at the fact that people were ever around 5000 years ago!

The house on this property is called Skaille house. The name Skaill derives from the Old Norse word for "hall". The names of all the surrounding farms are also derived from that language, and it is presumed that the lands have been permanently settled for over a thousand years.

After the execution of Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney for treason in 1615, the lands were given to the Bishop of Orkney. In 1620, Bishop George Graham constructed a simple manor house, the first part of what is now Skaill House. His son became the laird of the estate, and the property was from that time passed down to succeeding lairds.

The house was nothing fancy. Still, it's always fun to walk through the past. 

After all that we were dropped off for some free time in the small town, Kirkwall. While in Kirkwall we got to witness a tradition for, I think all of Scotland, but for sure this small community takes it seriously, that just had me in stitches. It's called "The Blackening". 

The Blackening is a wedding tradition that takes place days/weeks prior to the wedding. Think Bachelor and Bachelorette party on steroids. 

Basically, the bride AND groom are "captured" by their friends and family, covered in food of some sort or other preferable "adhesive substances - in this case, these poor lads were covered in beer, molasses, flour, etc. They stunk to high heaven too. Anyhow, they are then paraded publicly for all to see. 

Their driven around in the back of a truck, accompanied by the clattering and banging of pots and pans by the "captors". The only rule that I could understand is the poor lad had to be messy and uncomfortable and as many people as possible witness this. 

This community ends up tying their victim to the market post in front of the cathedral in town. And by "tying" I mean completely tying them to make it as difficult as possible to get free. Once freed, they have to sprint/run back to the starting point.

There were two blackenings going on this particular day. The two crossed paths at one point and a beer free for all took place. It was absolutely hilarious. 

I got curious as to how this custom came about. Wikipedia solved my curiosity for me: 

Blackenings occur predominantly in rural areas of north-east Scotland, the Highlands and the Northern Isles. The origins of the custom are obscure, however researcher, Dr. Sheila Young of the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen has shown that the blackening has evolved from an earlier Scottish ritual called the feet-washing. There is uncertainty surrounding just when it began, but it probably started as a solemn washing ritual for both men and women on the eve of their wedding and included a blackening of the feet and legs by the early 19th century. A little later, it had developed into a kind of a game, with the legs and feet being alternately blackened and scrubbed clean, and then by the end of the 19th century early 20th century escape, capture, tar and feathering, and pillorying had become part of the ritual. In order for this to happen the ritual had to move out of doors. The move out of doors appears to have coincided with a change in wedding practices, with more people marrying in the summer months. A ritual, which began as a washing ceremony, developed into a dirtying ceremony. It is probable then, that a change in the form of the ritual led to a change in name. The blackening's roots are Scottish, though a similar practice, called a doing, is to be found in Northern Ireland.

Kirkwall was a nice quaint little town. The cathedral had head stones and burial plots in it from the 1600's. That always blows my  mind. 

My favorite part of Kirkwall was the ice cream that Billie and Sherrie found. Orkney fudge ice cream...oh good Lord was that ever good. 

The rest of the day was spent getting back to Thurso for dinner. 

A little about Thurso, this town really does roll up the carpets early. All the shops were closed by 4:30/5pm. We couldn't so any shopping. Booo...

Tomorrow we leave Thurso and head to Isle of Skye. I cannot wait to see this lovely area. I can't imaging Scotland being any more beautiful, but if it is going to be it'll be on Isle of Skye...or so I've been told. 

Day 7: INVERNESS and THURSO

Today we left Inverness headed to Thurso (pronounced Turso - forget the "h"). We didn't get much time to wander around Inverness, but what I saw of it, I loved. Small ish town with a big heart.

Our first stop today was at the Glenmorangie Distillery. I'm slowing learning to like Scotch/Whisky and today's trip sorta sealed my fate with respects to a favorite. Naturally, it's a bit expensive. Still, the tour was fun to see how its made and then, of course, we got a tasting. MMMM. Belly full and warm.

Leaving there we went to Dunrobin Castle. Dunrobin is massive. Probably the biggest castle we've seen and full of rooms we got to go into. I hate the castles in which we haven't been able to see any rooms. Balmoral only let us into one and it was set up as a museum. But Dunrobin had all the rooms open. The Duke of Sutherland owns Dunrobin and has kept it up. No one lives there currently, but it's stayed in the family and they've done a fantastic job preserving it.

After that we ended up in Thurso. Talk about small town. Our hotel doesn't look like much on the outside, but man the rooms are nice. Billie and I got what we're calling "the suite" because we have a huge room with single beds, and a massive bathroom with stand up shower AND tub. Poor Sherrie and Janet got a smallish room.

Thurso is sure cute though. We got out and took a walk about. Everything was closed and it was only 5pm. We found a pub and popped in for a pint.

Dinner was provided tonight in the hotel. I wasn't expecting much at all. But this sweet little hotel is family owned and they take serious pride in the place. The meal was the best I've had yet. I can't remember what I had as the appetizer, but the main course was Chicken Pie - OMG sooo good, And the dessert was Toffee Sticky Pudding. Lord. Where has that been all my life?

Tomorrow we visit the Orkney Islands. The Ring of Brodgar is tomorrow and I'm hoping it's as cool as the research I've done lends it to be.

Day 6: Inverness, Clava Cairns, Culloden, Brodie Castle, Loch Ness and Urquart Castle

Steps: 11442

Today we broke our steps record. My feet are sore and tired, but my heart and my belly are full.

I was looking forward to today as one of the most interesting I thought we'd have. I was sure it would be one of my favorite days. And so far...it is. There are 8 more to go, so there's a chance another day will out shine this one.

We started bright and early (we always do on these trips) and headed off to the Clava Cairns. These are an ancient burial sight (they think) and it's most recent claim to fame is, you guessed it, Outlander. Though the Outlander series too some serious artistic liberties in that the area doesn't really look anything like what we saw today. Still I find places like these very interesting. The scientest are still not sure what this place was used for or what it existed. I often wonder if ancient people put stuff like this together thinking, "Ah hah...we'll confuse the future generations."

We had a highland cow sighting today too. They were too far away to get good photos...and we were on the bus, but I promise you...I'm going to get a photo of one.

After Clava Cairns we went to the Culloden Battlefield and visitor center. Having watched Outlander and then did some history reading before the trip, I was very interested in this stop. I wanted to learn more and understand about this battle that really ended the highlander way of life. The highlanders were out numbered and out gunned. The lost. Tragically, they really lost. Not only was there confusion among the highlanders, but the charge from one side of the field to the red coats was in a marsh boggy type field. Difficult to get through. The red coats had muskets and knives on the end and canons etc. There was really no hope for the 700 clans men. Still they fought bravely.

Finishing there, we headed to Brodie Castle. Nothing super special about the Brodie family other than they were wealthy and owned this castle. Which, technically, wasn't a castle, but in Scotland, why not call a big house a castle? The house is huge and we got to see so many of the rooms. ALL the furnishing in the castle is from Brodie family members throughout the years. There are some rare finds here too. There's a table gifted to them from someone in ... um...Greece maybe, and the wood used in this table is from a tree that extinct. Fascinating to me.

After that it was back to Inverness for a bite of lunch and drink. We found a nice little pub and had some decent food. I had a sausage and BBQ pizza. I thought it was odd to begin with, then when I got it it was polish sausage, BBQ sauce and mozzarella. Bizarre.

This afternoon it was Loch Ness. Probably the most famous Loch in Scotland, to be sure. It was WINDY ...many it was breezy. We didn't see Nessie as she was off in the Caribbean on holiday.

Along Loch Ness is Urquart Castle. It has a history dating quite a ways back. Last inhabitant I think was in like the 16th century. They castle kept getting sacked and "taken" by waring tribes that the last owners just burnt it down to avoid all the violence.

Tomorrow we leave Inverness and head to Thurso.

We're all exhausted and mentally drained, but having a blast.

Day 5 - St. Andrews, Braemar, Belmaral and Inverness

Steps: 7503

Today we left Edinburgh. I don't feel like I got enough of that city, so I may have to go back.

We left bright and early heading to the Scotland highlands. The drive was going to be long, but we'd be stopping along the way AND we'd be going through some pretty spectacular scenery...we were told.

Our first stop, St. Andrew's. Billie and I argued about what St. Andrew's was. I said it was a city and she said it was a world famous golf course. Turns out it's both. We were stopping for the golf course though.

The golf course runs along a white sandy beach which was famous for the Chariots of Fire scene when they're running on the beach. AND it's the North sea. So I'm checking off the North Sea on my list of seas I need to see.

Back in the coach - slightly late...dammit and off to Braemar for lunch. This took us through some of the most beautiful country. Lunch was delicious. I had a sandwich called Chicken Coronation. Turns out it's chicken salad with mayo, curry and raisins. Fantastic.

Back on the bus ON TIME for a change and off we went to Belmoral.

Now the Belmoral Castle was not on our itinerary originally. But for some reason they added it. I was so excited because the research I had done on this one had me wanting to see this splendid castle. Turns out, however, they don't let you inside. Gah. So we just got to see the outside grounds, gardens and of course the castle.

The rest of the day was spent on the coach driving through the Grampian mountains. They are beautiful. Sparse...in that it's not a foresty drive like what we'd have in washington. Their hills are covered with heather. COVERED...with heather. I cannot imagine how beautiful they must be in September when heather blooms.

Finally we landed in Inverness...a bit later than normal.

The highlight of the day, if you can call it that, is Miss Blueberry had to go visit a hospital. She fell in the tub because it was super slippery...and I myself almost bit it, and jammed up her wrist. To be 100% sure it wasn't broken she went off to the emergency room with our bus driver. Turns out it's a bad sprain and all will be well. Phew.

Tomorrow is another one of the days I've been looking forward to Clava Cairns are on the list as well as the battle field of Culloden. Both places that I got interested in since watching Outlander.

Day 4 - Abbotsford, Melrose Abbey and Royal Yacht Britannia

Steps: 10246

Man, we're only 4 days in and I'm almost exhausted. Almost. It's mostly mental exhaustion...you're given so much historical information, that I really don't know where to store it all.

Today, though we were up bright and early headed to Abbotsford House, which is the house of Sir Walter Scott. I'm not a huge fan of his, because I hated reading him in high school. But having seen his house, and heard the story of his life, I'm intrigued. I might have to pull out some poems or some of his stories. His house was amazing, and so full of cool items. It put a lot into context as to why he was such a fantastic writer. It's been said he's the person who started historical fiction books.

After Sir Walter Scott's house, we headed off to Melrose Abbey. The burial place of Robert the Bruce's heart. Yes, just his heart. His body is in...um...somewhere. I can't remember. The abbey is a ruin and so magnificent it's hard to explain. There were some steps to lead to the tower, which we had to climb. Only 73 of them, so it wasn't horrible. The staircase, however, was. It was a spiral staircase and narrow. Almost too narrow...if you know what I mean. I couldn't get up there fast enough. Then coming down we encountered other people trying to get up. It was a disaster.

We had about an hour and 15 minutes left to grab lunch. So we ducked into this little cafe. Seemed good enough and wasn't overly busy. We ordered pretty quickly and then waited. We had to be back on the bus at 1pm. At 12:45 we still didn't have our meal. They were just bringing it out. So we woofed it down and ran to the bust. We were late, of course.

Turns out our little group as been the last people on the bus more times than I care to admit. It's a funny group of people we're were. If the tour guide says be back by 1pm, most of them are back by 12:45. So when you do get on the bus at 1pm they look at you as if you're late. Which technically we aren't, but I guess if you were early and you're sitting waiting for us, then you think we're late. At any rate, its becoming annoying.

This evening Billie and I went off to visit the Royal Yacht Britannia. This wasn't something I HAD to do, but Billie wanted to so figured why not. It was quite interesting and really put what being royal meant...it wasn't opulent or "over the top" fancy. The Queen actually didn't want it all fussy. Its a massive yacht though and we got to visit 4 floors of it. Afterwards, we had dinner at a restaurant just down from it. Delicious!

Tomorrow we leave Edinburgh and head to Inverness. The highlands! The main reason I wanted to come to Scotland was to see the beautiful highlands.

Day 3 - Edinburgh

Steps: 9856

Up bright and early today. We had a full day in front of us. Starting with what I thought was going to be a walking tour of Edinburgh from our hotel. Turns out, it was a bus tour. Oddly I prefer the walking tour because you see so much more...but on the bus means I don't tire out as much.

We had a special guide for the tour of Edinburgh, Richard was his name. Kilt and all. He seemed quite knowledgeable, which I guess you have to if you're going to be a tour guide in such a historic place.

Our tour started at Edinburgh Castle.  Edinburgh Castle sits on this massive hill, which, turns out, is a volcano. Or a volcano is around it, I can't remember. The castle is massive and has a ton of buildings and out buildings. The hike up, and I mean hike up, was a bit daunting, but we got our steps in and exercised...which I think pointed out we could have anything we wanted for lunch.

The castle is pretty cool though. Perfect position high on a mountain. The castle has been "in business" as I like to call it, since the 12th century. Every time! Every single time, I'm visiting something that's hundreds of years old I like to think about what life was like for those people back then. Fascinating to me to think how people lived.

The Castle has several buildings in it now...AND the crown jewels are there. We tramped through a maze of historical things to see them...only to find out I couldn't photograph them. Still, they're pretty neat looking, well, ok, they were stunning. To read the history about them, honestly, had me a bit mesmerized.

After the castle, we drove down to Holyrood Palace. The Queen still stays there from mid June through mid July. We saw 30 of the rooms...all are still considered "working" rooms, meaning if there's a state dinner they'd use the dining room we saw.  Tons of rules the staff have to follow in the palace too. The art work throughout was amazing. Hundreds of paintings of the misc royal family members. It was pretty interesting. I'm finding I'm learning much more about the royal family, and it's quite interesting for a foreigner like me.

Back at the hotel, we dropped our stuff, visited the little girls room, and head out to explore. First order of business was lunch! We found a little pub called Whiski's for some food. Delicious food and more importantly delicious beer.

After we just walked and walked. Snapping photos of cool buildings and what not.

Later that afternoon we took an excursion to Rosslyn Chapel. You may remember this chapel from the DaVinci Code. This chapel is amazing. Small, as chapels go. But inside is so incredible ornate and so beautiful. No photos were allowed inside, which really bugged me, but I get it. And for once I didn't break the rules.

I forgot to mention last night we did this fantastic Spirit of Scotland dinner theater thing. I knew it would be very cheesy and very touristy, but we wanted to do it anyhow. They did the "Haggis Ceremony" and that was followed by 2 hours of singing and dancing. Now, I didn't really expect that much from this, having done these in the past. But man oh man was this amazing. The bagpiper is some world famous guy (who's name I forgot), the food was off the charts good, and the singing. Man the singing was fantastic. The one main female singer was sensational. She sang Amazing Grace, and when she announced the song, Janet and I just looked at each other as if to say, "OH god. Keep it together." I'm proud to say, I did...Up Until the DAMN Bagpipes. Sheesh.

Tomorrow we're off to Abbotsford and Melrose Abbey.

Day 2 Doune Castle, the Kelpies, Culross and Edinburgh

Steps: 9679

Every day I'm trying to ask what's the best and the worst of the day. Today determining the "best" will be difficult. So I'll hold on that.

The "worst" would be doing my hair this morning. Apparently the converter I have has two settings, Low and High. And apparently the "high" means "OMG so much electricity running through it" that one probably shouldn't have plugged in her flat iron on that level. I fried, burnt to a crisp, a small portion of my hair this morning. It stunk to high heaven AND it burnt out my flat iron. Thankfully, in Edinburgh I just bought a new one...

This morning we were up early to head to Doune Castle (Pronounced Dune). Apparently this place has a small amount of audio thingys and our tour guide wanted to be sure we got some.

Doune Castle was built in the 1400s. We got to wander throughout the castle with our little audio guides telling us the history and the purpose of the rooms. Fascinating stuff. Every time I stand in something like this I think that it was built in a time when they didn't have technology like we have now, and some how it's still standing.

The claim to fame of this castle is Monty Python Holy Grail - mostly. You know the scene, when the French guy is up on the castle walk hurtling insults down to the Monty Python gang...yah, that scene. The great hall was used for the Knights of the Round table, where they danced and sang in the movie.

The other claim to fame, which is ALL OVER Scotland is Outlander. Doune Castle was in the first episode. At every stop that we had a historic audio track to listen to, we also had an Outlander track to listen to. Our tour guide, Ian, said the Outlander series has put Scotland on the map again.

After Doune Castle, a special treat for me. We had time to go by the Kelpies! They are the large horse heads. I cannot explain why I so wanted to see these, but I did. And because we had a shift in our plans we got to swing by and see them. According to wikipedia, "The Kelpies name reflected the mythological transforming beasts possessing the strength and endurance of 10 horses; a quality that is analogous with the transformational change and endurance of Scotland's inland waterways." They were pretty darn impressive. 

After the Kelpies we went to Culross (don't pronounce the "l" - Cu Ross). It's this tiny little village that was just so cool to see. Very medieval and very quaint. There's a "palace" there unlike any palace you're likely thinking of. It's small, but ornate. It was pretty interesting to hear about the history around that area and how it, at one point, died out completely because of trade issues. 

There are a couple places in Culross where Outlander was filmed too. Our tour guide was quick to point out several of these. He was all, "Say what you will about the series, but it's brought tourism back to Scotland." He's got a point. There have been so many places we've already seen promoting the Outlander thing. 

On to Edinburgh. Can't wait to see what this city has to show us. I've done so much research and have a list of things I want to see. I also recognize I won't see like 80% of them...being on a tour and all, you don't control a good part of your day. Ah well....We shall see. 

June 2 - Arrive in Glasgow, Scotland

By far the worst part of traveling is the actual traveling part. The plane ride...GAH so long.

Still, we left bright and early on Friday morning. Got to the airport in PLENTY of time.  No lines anywhere...which is typical when you have plenty of time.  Got on our plane and we were off. There's something magical that happens to me the moment the plane door shuts when I'm going on vacation. It's like it's my On/Off switch. "AAAHHH the door's shut. NOW I'm on vacation."

We landed in Philly with enough time to grab a quick bite. Had a Smash Burger for the first time ever and man was that delicious. Lil' Sis Billie made it, barely, and the four of us were off to Scotland.

Landed in Glasgow and waited in the world's longest custom line.  Thankfully our shuttle driver and guide waited for us all the same. In the coach and off to the hotel.

We spent just enough time in the hotel to pee and drop our luggage. Then we headed out. Our goal was to find a hop on and hop off bus and ride that around for an hour or so.

Success! We found it and we sat on the top level because the sun was shining.

Glasgow is an interesting little town. They say it's the largest in Scotland with 800K people. Its a nice enough town, but wasn't really doing it for me. The architecture is magnificent though....as any is to me when you're talking centuries old buildings.

Following our hop on hop off we met the tour group for dinner. Janet and I were slightly bummed in that they didn't do an orientation, nor did they have everyone introduce yourself. It's weird. It's like they think you're going to do it yourself. We're a large group of 44 people and all ages. I'm not the youngest on this tour this time. We've met a couple of folks and they seem quite nice.

Tomorrow we're off to Doune Castle and Edinburgh!

The Scotland Plan

Its 10:26 on Thursday May 31st. We leave tomorrow morning....and I'm all set. I have all day to do whatever I want and not stress about leaving. Just last minute bathroom items need to be tossed into the suitcase.

Man this feels good.

No guilt about leaving work behind either. Didn't think I'd ever get here. I hope by the time I get back the job is all changed and my hours will drastically be reduced.

Anyhow, I wanted to type out what our itinerary is not only so you all can tag along with us, but because some day I'll be scrapbooking this and will want to look back.

I recently took a class about travel scrapbooking and one of the things it brought up - that I hadn't ever really put to words - but that your trip itself may be a certain amount of time, but you live it longer than that brief moment. You spend months planning and then you'll spend the rest of your life talking about the trip. It's very true and I think that's why I love traveling so much. The stories. That and experiencing different cultures and seeing how others outside the US (or even inside the US) live.

So here goes...

Scotland June 1 - June 15th.
Scottish Highlands and Islands

DAY 1, SATURDAY JUNE 2, 2018
We get in around 7am -  by the time we get to our hotel we'll probably have a half of day to go and do something. I've suggested the Glasgow hop on hop off bus - it covers a lot of ground in a short time. That evening we'll have a welcome dinner and meet our travel companions.

DAY 2, SUNDAY JUNE 3, 2018
GLASGOW–DOUNE CASTLE–ROYAL BURGH OF CULROSS–EDINBURGH
Apparently on our was to Edingurgh we'll stop a couple of places. If you've seen Outlander some of them you may recognize. Trossachs National park to see the Doune Castle (castle #1). I love castles. I have secretly thought about doing a tour of Scotland and hitting all their castles.

Then, at the Royal Burgh of Culross - a charming little town, I hear...

That night we'll be doing the optional Royal Burgh of Culross, follow your Local Guide through Scottish evening with Highland dancers, bagpipers, and the Ceremony of the Haggis. Lil' Sis won't be doing this particular excursion. But the rest of us are. I will be trying Haggis and I most likely will be hating it. But I have to...


DAY 3, MONDAY JUNE 4, 2018
EDINBURGH
We'll start the morning sightseeing with a local tour guide.  We'll be visiting the 200-year-old “New Town” and the famous scientists, inventors, and novelists who lived there. Then we'll visit the “Old Town,” drive up the narrow Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle (Castle #2).  If available we'll get to visit Holyrood Palace.

We opted in for the extra excursion this day too. We'll be heading to Rosslyn Chapel, made world-famous by Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code, and also one of Scotland’s most remarkable buildings It will be the one place I may regret bringing the big camera. I suspect my breath will be taken away with its beauty (I may have already googled it).

DAY 4, TUESDAY JUNE 5, 2018
EDINBURGH. ABBOTSFORD EXCURSION
Today we'll visit parts of the Scottish Lowlands and Border Counties. The countryside will be on display as we drive through what I assume are the rolling hills and leafy valleys ultimately stopping at Abbotsford House - which is Sir Walter Scott’s home. I'm not sure I've ever read anything from him so I'll have to do some brushing up on that on the airplane.

After that we'll hit Melrose Abbey, the burial place of Robert the Bruce’s heart.

Later that evening Lil Sis and I will be doing an extra excursion to board the former
Royal Yacht Britannia to see how the Royal Family and crew of 240 lived and worked on board.

DAY 5, WEDNESDAY JUNE 6, 2018
EDINBURGH–ST. ANDREWS–BRAEMAR–INVERNESS
Today we'll leave Edinburgh behind. My Scottish Friends (R and G) have pointed out to me that as we pass over the Forth Road Bridge we'll pass their old house!

We;ll cross the Firth of Tay and from Dundee, head into the Highlands with a lunch stop in Braemar. The highlands are HIGH on my list and cannot wait to experience them. We'll drive through the Grampian Mountains and Cairngorms National Park to Inverness, the Highland capital - and where some of Outlander takes place. If only I can find my highlander who's wealthy and looking for an American bride. :-)

DAY 6, THURSDAY JUNE 7, 2018
INVERNESS. HIGHLANDS EXCURSION
Today we'll stop first at CLAVA CAIRNS, featured in Outlander and one of Scotland’s most
evocative sacred prehistoric sites with three exceptionally well-preserved burial cairns, each enclosed by stone circles. I'll be careful to not lean on any stones just in case I get hurled back into the 17th century.

We'll visit the Culloden Visitor Center, the story unfolds of the crushing Hanoverian victory over Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Scottish clans.

Then, caslte #3 Brodie Castle, the ancestral home of Clan Brodie. Back in Inverness, That afternoon we'll be taking in the famous Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle (castle #4). It includes a boat ride on the loch. I'll have my camera ready in case I see Nessie.

DAY 7, FRIDAY JUNE 8, 2018
INVERNESS–THURSO
Today is going to start off the Scottish way...a tour of a Whisky Distillery. Then we hit castle #5 Dunrobin Castle. I think we have the evening free for this day.

DAY 8, SATURDAY JUNE 9, 2018
THURSO. EXCURSION TO THE ORKNEY ISLANDS
At John o’Groats, we'll board a ferry to cross to South Ronaldsay, one of the Orkney Islands. We'll cross the four Churchill Barriers and overlook Scapa Flow, where the German fleet scuttled itself in World War I.

After lunch we'll get to tour the Orkney Brewery. SIL and I are in a win win situation here. Neither Lil' Sis or Blueberry drink, so SIL get their servings! Hiccup!

Then, we go to Skara Brae, where we'll see the remains of a 5,000-year-old Neolithic village and visit Skaill House. And then the Ring of Brodgar, the Orkneys’ Stonehenge. Some day the real Stonehenge will be seen by me.

DAY 9, SUNDAY JUNE 10, 2018
THURSO–DURNESS–ULLAPOOL–ISLE OF SKYE
Our guide book starts today with, "A day to sit back and enjoy the breathtakingly wild and unspoiled scenery, some of the finest in Britain." The northern coast is lined with miles of yellow-sand beaches and pretty estuaries, and the hills and mountains take on a purple hue as the summer progresses." Ok. I'm in. We drive through Durness to the quaint fishing port of Ullapool, where we get to enjoy a traditional fish and chips lunch at a local restaurant.

DAY 10, MONDAY JUNE 11, 2018
ISLE OF SKYE
Isle of Skye is by far what I'm looking forward to the most.  I've heard so many tales of it's striking landscapes, weird rock formations, and dramatic waterfalls that I cannot wait to see them all for myself. We will drive around the Trotternish Peninsula and visit the Museum of Island life. Then, we'll drive up (or down) the spectacular coast route, stopping for photos, I hope, of the many waterfalls and gorges, and finally visiting the island capital of Portree. On the way back to Broadford, we'll take in the views of the jagged and dark peaks of the Cuillin Hills.

I always wonder if people who live in these types of places recognize just what an amazing place they live in. I'm not sure we Seattle folks really recognize it either though. I mean, we know it's beautiful and all, but do we understand why people flock to visit our city?

We're doing the extra excursion to the Eilean Donan Castle (castle #6 I think). What is said to be one of the most iconic images of Scotland, Eilean Donan Castle is situated on an island where three great lochs meet.

DAY 11, TUESDAY JUNE 12, 2018
ISLE OF SKYE–GLENFINNAN–ISLE OF MULL
Today we'll be at the Museum of the Isles to learn all about the Clan Donald  and insight into 13 centuries of clan history. We will board a ferry at Armadale to cross the Sound of Sleat. Rejoin the mainland at Mallaig and follow the “Road to the Isles.” Stop at Glenfinnan with its viaduct, as seen in the Harry Potter films, then take the ferry to the Isle of Mull, where we will conclude our day with a visit to the quaint island capital of Tobermory.

DAY 12, WEDNESDAY JUNE 13, 2018
ISLE OF MULL. IONA EXCURSION
Another day to "leisurely relax and enjoy the best of Scotland’s western isles". We'll drive across Mull to visit the beautiful Isle of Iona.  We'll have time to visit the Abbey and explore the religious settlement before returning to the hotel in the early afternoon. Maybe a nap.

Part of our trip to Isle of Mull is the extra excurstion to the Duarte Castle (castle #7). Duart Castle is the ancestral home of the Clan Maclean. Standing proudly on a cliff top guarding the Sound of Mull, Duart enjoys one of the most spectacular and unique positions on the West Coast of Scotland. This tour includes a glass of whisky in the banqueting hall.

DAY 13, THURSDAY JUNE 14, 2018
ISLE OF MULL–INVERARAY–GLASGOW
The final island ferry crossing brings us to Oban. Then, over the Pass of Brander and from Inveraray to the “Bonnie Banks” of Loch Lomond. I most likely will be singing this song the entire time. Everyone will enjoy that...

Back in Glasgow this afternoon, we'll get a city tour...which we may have already seen on our first day. There's a 12th-century cathedral, (another cathedral for SIL and I to explore...I've lost count of how many she and I have seen in all our travels).  Later that night we'll have our farewell dinner. I'm sure I'll be ready to come home while feeling sad about leaving.

So that's it. If you're still reading...thank you. I'll be posting throughout the trip...

Scotland...it's here

I cannot believe that Friday morning I'll be on a plane to Scotland. Seems like just yesterday SIL and I decided to go to Scotland. Man time sure did fly.

This will be a different trip in that we have more with us. Blueberry, My lil' sis, SIL and I are all going to take Scotland by storm. It may never be the same again.

I'm 98% packed. I still have some last minute things to throw in a suitcase, but by and large, I'm packed!

The lead up to this trip has been unlike all others. Work didn't allow me extra time do my normal research and I'm feeling a bit "behind". But never fear, I have a plan. I took tomorrow off so all day I can research, finish packing and generally get into the Scotland spirit. I'm leaving work behind.

I'm usually pretty good about checking out when I go on these long vacations. About a week in I get curious what's happening, and may peak into my email. This time I don't plan on doing a think. I turned my email off of my phone (which won't work in Scotland anyhow) and plan on NOT visiting our internet email site to "check in". I promised some folks photos, and will send those from my personal email only.

Another BIG decision I made is to NOT bring my big camera. My Canon and I had issues last trip in that it's just getting too big and too cumbersome to carry around for a trip like this. So I purchased a Lumix ZS100 (made by Panasonic) shortly after we returned from Ireland. It takes fantastic photos. It has everything I need. So I made the brave decision to  leave the Canon at home.  One side of me wants to bring it "just in case" and the other side of me says, "No need. You're good." It'll come down to the moment I'm walking out the door. My photos are very important to me, so I want to be sure I'm confident of the camera.

And with that...the next time you hear from me I'll be writing from Scotland. Woot!

2nd Mom's Day without her

I have been contemplating this day all week. I kept wondering just how bad it was going to be. And here I am...and it's fine. I have found myself thinking happy thoughts more today than sad thoughts. Yes, I miss her. God how I miss her. But I miss her every day, so today isn't any different.

Have you ever stumbled onto something that you'd been looking for? And it was like the universe was saying..."Hey...Look here." Today I was moving papers around the office when two papers feel out of a folder. When I looked to see what they were, they were copies of an interview The Niece did with Mom when the Niece was in high school.

Hmmm...is Mom talking to me?

Anyhow, I wanted to share it.

"Wow, you are asking me to remember a way, long time ago. But here goes. What were my teen years like? I was a teenager in the 1960's. The 1960's were a time of change for the United States. when I was in school, in southern California, there were "gangs" in school, but they were more like different groups. There were the "bookies", which now would be the "nerds"; there were the Chicanos, which were the Mexican group; there were the "surfers", no explanation needed; the "jocks", again, no explanation, and the "preppies" or the popular, into everything school leaders. I can't say I belonged to just one group, I hung around with all of them, but probably more in the "Preppy" group. In my junior year and senior year I was a cheerleader and in the drill team. I also worked for Von's Grocery company behind the cookie counter (now it would be the bakery). I could work legally at 15, and I went to work part time after school. I had to work for anything extra I wanted (i.e. extra "cool" clothes, surf board, class ring, extra spending money, etc.)

I had a lot of friends in school, and spent as much time as I could with them, but between school, working, cheerleading and drill team practice, I didn't have a lot of time left. and I was expected to help around the house as well. I had my regular chores of keeping my room clean (my mom would NOT ACCEPT a messy room - there was no option); vacuuming once a week, doing the dishes every other night (no dishwasher); cleaning the bathroom once a week and helping with dinner when I was home.

My mom and I got along okay, but I was a teenager and there was some tension between us from time to time. I had to be home on the weeknights...I was only allowed to go to practice and work, and then I had to be home by 9pm.  My homework had to be done either before I went to practice or work, or immediately after I got home from either one. If I didn't have practice or work, my homework was done as soon as I got home from school...that was the rules of the house and I never challenged them. The way I looked at it, it was easier to go along with the rules than to fight them. At least it kept me out of trouble. On the weekends, if I went out, i was to be home by midnight...no later and not bargaining about a later time. I missed curfew a few times and was grounded, once for a month...no phone, no friends, only work and practice. And after I bought my car (my grandmother and I bought it...she helped me buy it - the car was a 1953 Chevy, and it cost $100, I only had $85 saved up, so she loaned me the $15 to finish paying for it...and I had to pay her back on my next payday) i had it about a month when I missed a curfew and my dad took away my car for two weeks. I was back to walking to school, practice and work! I had to decide which was more important, keeping curfew and my car, or walking...I chose keeping curfew and the car. Lesson Learned!

I did have an eating problem in high school. Back then there really wasn't a name for it. I just didn't eat. In my sophomore year I got really sick from not eating. I would eat, just not a lot. My parents were frustrated with my not eating and very worried. I was anorexic as they call it now. I was forced to eat more and more very day and I was expected to gain a point every week. That was so hard for me...I thought I was fat!  I weighed 82 lbs my sophomore year and was 5'4" tall. Not healthy at all. After numerous doctor visits, the doctor told my parents they would hospitalize me if I didn't start gaining weight and "force feed me". I didn't want to find out what that was all about, so I started to try and eat and gain weight. I never realized how horrible I really looked being so thin. I finally gained 13 lbs and was at the lower end of acceptable weight. When I was underweight, I had very littler energy and my hair had started to fall out from being malnourished. I was starving myself to death. It took a long time for me to overcome the disease, but I finally did. I did some teen modeling when I was 14-16 for an agency in LA. When I was so thin, they wouldn't use me because I was too thin. I liked modeling and wanted to be a model, so it was a goal for me to gain some weight so I could model again.

What happened in my teen years? Hmmm...the hippy movement began when I was a teenager. some of my friends dropped out and became hippies. the Viet Nam war began and there were a lot of war protesters. Since my boyfriend was in the marines and I didn't really believe in the war, but supported our troops. I didn't really understand the war, and I don't think anyone really did. President Kennedy was shot my junior year of high school. that really scared me. to think someone would shoot our president. we also had he "Cuban crisis" when I was a sophomore. I remember everyone was scared we were going to war (remember our parents went through WWII) and began stockpiling food, they were remembering when during WWII there were rations on food, gas and other commodities.

What is the most important learning from those years? Ugh...what a question. I think the most important thing I learned is to like myself for who I am. My anorexia stemmed from me trying to be someone I wasn't. I wanted to be a model and I thought I had to be extra thin, but that was not true. I learned to be who I was and like myself. I also learned to chose my friends carefully. Some could lead me down the wrong road and my life would have been much different than it is today.  I learned to make wise choices, choices that were good fro me, maybe not the most popular choices, or what my friends wanted me to do. I had a good set of values and I learned to use them wisely. "

Miss you Mom!

Wine Wine the magical fruit...

Wow, two posts in a row with Wine in the title. Hmmm...

This last weekend SIL, Bluberry and I went out to do yet more wine tasting. It was "hidden" behind the veil of "let's go play with out new cameras". But I wasn't fooled. It was about wine tasting.

I've gone back and forth on the "wine goal" for this year. I find it amusing I even have a goal around wine. But here you have it.

I originally was going to try to taste 50 wineries this year (you know because it's my 50th year). Then I thought that my be too, oh I don't know, wino-esk.

So I changed it to 50 new wines. Well, shit 4 wineries and you've almost hit that goal.

Officially, my goal is to taste every winery in the Passport that I bought from Costco.

Done.

Know how many are in that...42! I'm going to give it my best though.

In other news, Scotland is a short 3 weeks away. I finally pulled my suitcase out and it's ready to go. The packing list is printed, and it's starting.

In more other news, Mother's Day is Sunday. This year has been different. I haven't been "a mess" leading up to Mother's Day like I was last year. Which makes me wonder if this year the actual day is going to be a mess. I miss her so much and it's amazing how much your heart can hurt.

Thank god I have all this wine.