Scotland: part 2

Wednesday night we drove into Stirling. We found a more American style restaurant to give us a break from the traditional Scottish cuisine. Thursday morning we toured the Stirling Castle and then ventured up a pretty steep incline- via gondola- to see the William Wallace Monument. Back in the car, it was off to Glasgow. On our way, we stopped at Inchamahome Priory. Once an Augustinian monastery, it was used to hide out Mary Queen of Scots when she was a child. A small boat ferried us to the idyllic island where nothing but ruins of the monastery remain.

Stirling Castle

View of Wallace Monument, sitting at the top of the hill

Friday we drove to the Glasgow Cathedral. During the Reformation the protestants came in and white-washed all the walls, removed any art or statue that had been present, and cleansed it of everything Catholic. Fortunately, the stained glass had been recreated and reinstalled and what now stands is a beautiful, historic church. We drove to Edinburgh later that day. For the first 3 weeks of August, Edinburgh hosts the International Festival, which is the biggest Performing Arts festival in the world. The city was insanely crowded, hosting a multitude of shows in all kinds of venues. We saw a comedy show on Friday night on the history of Scotland and a contemporary dance performance on Saturday evening.

Stained glass in Glasgow Cathedral

Welcome to the Edinburgh International Festival

Night out in Edinburgh

Sunday morning we fought the crowds to get into the Edinburgh castle and took the tour. After the castle, it was off to St. Andrews!! The weather had gone back to being cloudy, so we grabbed our rain coats and headed to the Old Course, first thing. It was amazing to walk where the greats have played, and the still standing leader board from the Open was a reminder of just that. The 9 holes of putting that we played on the practice green, however, proved we were merely tourists taking in the sites!

Edinburgh Castle

Leader board for The Open

The Old Course

Monday morning we perused the British Golf Museum, and thenwalked to St. Andrews Cathedral stationed in the middle was a band (almost like a high school marching band) of bagpipers and drummers. They were fantastic!! St. Andrews castle was next on the list, and we finished off the town with lunch and some shortbread cookies before heading back to Edinburgh.

St. Andrews Cathedral

St. Andrews Cathedral

St. Andrews Castle

It is amazing how much ground we covered in 11 days, seeing most of Scotland and experiencing everything we could! I can't wait to take Caleb and go back...maybe next summer when the Italian heat is too much to handle. Until then, it's back to pizza and sunshine!

Ciao

Scotland: part 1

While Caleb has been TDY for the past few weeks, I had the privilege of meeting my friends Brianna, Tiffany and Lindsey, in Scotland for a whirlwind adventure. The girls had long before planned the trip, and when our next assignment brought us to Italy, we decided that it was perfect for me to join them. What better way to spend the beginning of August than in rainy, 60 degree weather, eating haggis and fried everything?

We started our journey in Aberdeen, on the north-eastern coast of Scotland. After landing in the airport and a quick rendezvous, we packed up our rental car and headed out. First up was a hike to a WWII memorial and Dunnottar Castle. It was a great introduction to Scotland (complete with fish and chips for lunch). We spent the night in Aberdeen and woke up early Saturday morning to start our road trip. We drove in the direction of Inverness, stopping at The Glenlivet and Glen Moray whisky distilleries. At Glen Moray we took the tour of the distillery, learning the ins and outs of distilling genuine Scottish whisky. I even got to bottle my own whisky after the tour! We pulled into Inverness later that evening, just in time for dinner and a good night's rest at a quaint b&b.

Dunnottar Castle

Glenlivet Distillery

Glen Moray Distillery

About to put on the label

Sunday morning we went to the Highland House of Fraser kilt maker workshop/museum/tourist trap, and wandered around picturesque Inverness. From there, we drove to Loch Ness and had a picnic over looking the lake from Urquhart castle. Unfortunately, no sign of Nessie! That night we made our way to a tiny village type place called Ratagan. We managed to find the only restaurant for miles and made ourselves at home. We had an interesting dinner and breakfast at this restaurant (which we deemed, "Grandma's house") before moving on.

Inverness

Urqhart Castle with Loch Ness in the background

Kilt Museum

After breakfast on Monday, we drove to the Eilean Donan Castle, one of the most iconic and photographed castles in Scotland. The tour was fascinating and included a fully staged kitchen to reflect the workings of a medieval castle kitchen. Our next stop was the Isle of Skye, where we made a 4 hour driving loop around the northern most tip of the island. Along the drive, we pulled over to see some beautiful waterfalls, Kilt Rock, and Hammish!

Eilean Donan Castle

Kilt Rock

Hammish the Highland Cow...the most famous animal in Scotland!

Tuesday we set out for Glencoe, making a stop in Fort William for lunch and taking a gondola up Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK. We bunked up for the night in a hostel in Glencoe after finding, again, the only place to eat in town. The next morning, we went on a hike to find a noted waterfall. Not sure the length of the hike, we decided it would be smart to bring the essentials with us...water and shortbread cookies. And finally...the sun came our for the first time!! Next on the list, we drove to a town called Killin to see the Falls of Dochart- another series of waterfalls. Lucky for us, it also happened to be the day for the Killin Highland Games. Big men in kilts throwing hammers, bag-piping competitions, and Scottish dancing...what more could you ask for?!

Enjoying our first morsel of sunlight

Falls of Dochart

Highland games competitor