Category Archives: Scotland

Monday, May 18 — Moving Day

Posted on by
Reply

We woke at 6:00 AM. Too early? Well, for some reason it seemed rather easy to rise, perhaps because I knew we had a flight to catch.

We checked out and got our taxi easily, and then drove to the airport. I was surprised by the expense, but Dan said it was what he expected. The driver was quite nice and we understood most of what he said. There were times, though, when I was at a loss!

Getting into the airport there were a lot of people in lines. Many were school kids — we are guessing high school. They were all in matching sweatshirts with their names on the back. I wondered if they would all be on our flight. I also wondered how long it would take us to get through the line we saw since we did have to check our bags. Thankfully Dan asked at the help desk and we were told that our line was further up and there were only a few people in front of us. One of those in front had a very very red baseball cap on with someone’s name on the back of it.

For the first time on this trip we encountered a maga hat. Dan mentioned to the woman at the desk that it was the first time we had seen one and that we weren’t a part of that group. Her response? “I’m glad.” She was very friendly and clearly relieved that we weren’t maga folks. It just made me sad to see the hat. Even if one is maga it seems as if they should be savvy enough to avoid announcing it. Most countries aren’t too thrilled with the United States at the moment. Ah well.

We got through security in absolutely no time at all, and found a spot for coffee and a sweet roll. We had tons of time to wait. I’m always okay with that!

When we walked to the area where our plane was probably going to be (still not posted on the board), all those kids were there as well. I finally could see their sweatshirts and there was the name of an Aberdeenshire school, Westhill Academy, and “Valencia ‘26”. I didn’t manage to find anything else about it at the time, but I did see they weren’t going on our plane.

Finally it was time to board. This was one small plane. That group of kids probably wouldn’t have fit on to it!

We were in the second row and poor Dan’s knees were right against the seat in front — and then the young man sitting in front of him leaned his seat back. At least it was a very short flight!

I took a couple photos and Dan made a video for me since he had the window seat.

You can really see the bright yellow canola from the plane.

I pretty much spaced out and even snoozed a bit. We were on an Aer Lingus flight and even water would cost money, so never mind any drinks or food. Not that we needed them in any case.

And then we arrived.

Greetings, Ireland! Hello Dublin!

Our taxi driver was very chatty and gave us a lot of information abut the area. I could even understand most of what he said.

We arrived early to our hotel, so we dropped off our luggage and went on a walk in search of lunch. And not “not lunch” but real lunch which was fine by me since my earlier sweet roll was quite burnt. (Darn!)

We ended up in the Temple Bar area. Clearly tourist country. Our driver had told us it was a place to visit during the day even while drinks were more expensive than in other areas. He explained that there was live music and the extra cost was due to paying musicians. I’m okay with that! In the later hours it gets a bit wild and crazy (I’d already read about that as well, and one had to be careful about theft and all.)

We randomly chose a place and went upstairs (where we couldn’t hear the music at all) and ordered our meals. I had soup and Dan had fish ‘n chips. I neglected to take photos but no one really needs to see those — just use your imagination! Instead here’s a photo of Dan and his beer!

From there we did more walking in our typical random way. (The first shot is of the restaurant for lunch.)

We ended up in a shop with tons of gorgeous Aran wool sweaters as well as other wool items. Oh how tempted I was! I know it’s all about the tourists, but honestly the prices for such beautiful sweaters didn’t seem at all unreasonable and they were 100% wool. There was one long one that I drooled over. (Not literally, you’ll be relieved to read.) Still, I resisted. I wish I’d taken a photo of the green one I loved, and the men’s purple — a color I wished they’d had for women. I only took these two photos. One of the jackets and vests and the other of the fishermen’s sweaters. And who knows … maybe I’ll cave and return to buy something. They do say they are made in Ireland, and they are just so doggone beautiful.

From there we just ambled a bit.

I think we were both a bit weary from the early wake up. In addition the bag Dan was carrying was rather heavy (full of his photo gear, I think). Due to all of that we went back to the hotel to get our keys and luggage and up we went to our room. The room is spacious, and the bed is the first truly king size bed we’ve had, I think.

I looked outside our window as well.

A bit of snoozing may or may not have taken place. Just guess!

Eventually we decided to head out in the rain in search of a light bite. I did find one spot we passed rather humorous.

I had done a search on restaurants, and then pubs, but finally I realized the best way to search was to plug in FOOD. That way I’d see even more suggestions. We walked to the closest place but it was burgers and that didn’t grab us. Then we walked a bit further to a small pub but it was so crowded and we didn’t see that they served any food at all. Another place, just a short walk away, was nearly empty and looked okay, but Dan said the one he saw on my map that was only a block or so further down was rated higher so we went to check that out. And that was the spot! It was incredibly noisy, but it seemed more like a local place and we really wanted that. They had all of one food option: toasties. Well, that was something I wanted to try in any case, and it was the small bite kind of thing we were hoping for. PLUS the prices were much more reasonable. The place was full of, primarily, younger people — perhaps college aged. I’m certain we were the oldest people there the entire time! The video I shot doesn’t really show the crowd so much: many arrived just after we did, and some of the slightly older guys had left. (Older as in older than college aged, not nearly as old as us!) You might want to turn your sound way down!

Then it was time to make our (short) way back to our hotel. I did have to stop for this little guy, though:

I mean how very encouraging is that?!

We aren’t sure what’s up for tomorrow. Maybe the immigration museum. Maybe a Guinness tour. Maybe something else. So check in tomorrow to find out! I’m really hoping we get a day without rain, but I’m going to bet that won’t be the case. S’okay — we are having a great time no matter!

And now …

Oíche mhaith!

If what I just read is true, that is pronounced “ee-hah wah” … I don’t think I’ll be speaking Irish any time soon.

It means “goodnight”!

Friday, May 15

Posted on by
1

7:30 and time to rise ‘n shine for our 8:00 breakfast here at the Altnaharra Hotel. Sleep was fine, but I’m still adjusting to the “king size” beds here — they are a tad smaller than ours at home. You’d think kings would be larger in a country with a king. Or not.

Breakfast was nearly gone when I realized I hadn’t done my photo. Why a photo? Well, it helps me remember where we were when I go back and reminisce about a trip. So here, have the remains … and my driver as well. I’ve decided he’s Driver Dan and I’m Whimpering Wife. At least for the next couple of days. I’ll just bet he’ll be happy to be back to trains and planes!

On most of the walls in this place are prints of wildlife, fishermen, highland scenes and the like. But on this one wall …!

We got whatever we needed (cameras, and warm clothes) and went on our way. First we had to retrace our final drive from yesterday, which took over an hour. (Closer to 1 1/2 hours I think.)

Here are shots up to our first destination:

I’ve written before about the passing places. Today there was one spot where some cars were stopped and no one was moving at first. Finally the red cars started to back up. But it took a while. Turned out that the vehicle in front of them was towing a huge camper (or whatever it’s called). When he passed the second red cars they had a little chat. My bet is that Red Car had a few choice words to say about how they were all stuck, but who knows? Maybe he was admiring the gigantic thing in the back. I was just amazed that someone would bring such a thing on a one lane road like this. I’m guessing it’s not advised.

We stopped when we saw this area, which was right before the small village of Durness I think:

Then, when we hit Durness, we went in search of health food. I’d seen a sign for chocolate, after all. So we went to the area (kind of a curious little spot, including this haunted house bit and some craft stores we didn’t visit). We ordered coffees and rocky road bars. Plus, because it would have been rude not to, we chose four pieces of chocolate for later.

Between Durness and Tongue we saw these views. (Yes, Tongue! There is a village called Tongue and I need to look that up sometime to see what that name is about. Perhaps the end of a loch? Dunno!)

This is Loch Eriboll. I only shot this photo because of the curious tunnels I saw. I’ve no clue what those are about. (Not sure you can see them without enlarging the image.)

Here is Tongue:

Then we had some “not rain” as we call it, since we look at the weather and it says it’s not going to rain.

Going through the village (town?) of Thurso we purchased gas and proceeded to miss the right turn we were supposed to take, so we ended up on a lot of little country roads. It was a pretty drive, though, and I don’t think it added much more than a few minutes to our drive.

And finally, we reached today’s main destination: John ‘o Groats, here we are.

Getting out of the car was a challenge: the wind was something else. We donned our warm jackets and rain jackets, as well as our beanies. I don’t believe I’ve ever been in such wind before. Despite that, we headed out.

If you watch the video perhaps turn down the sound: I have no idea how horrendously loud it will be, nor do I know if you will even be able to hear me talk!

Honestly, this walk was intense! But gorgeous, too.

A short time before we got back to the car Dan noted that the rain was moving toward us. We walked a bit more quickly, but we still ended up getting hit by the rain and then hail. In my face. Hail in the face hurts! I was just about to get to the parking lot when wind gusts were so strong I grabbed on to a post to keep from getting blown over! I was quite relieved to get into the car, wet though I was.

A bit later Dan said, “I can smell the sheep,” assuming it was due to the rain. I said, “No. You are smelling my pants!” I was wearing my wool pants, and yep, they smell when they get wet!

So from John o’ Groats our next destination was back to our hotel. These drives take a long time and we were done. Still, we had over 1 1/2 hours to get back. I took a few shots along the way, and had we had more time would have stopped for more, as I saw a number of monuments as we drove along our one lane road. I suspect it was about WWII, but don’t know for sure about them all.

In any case, here are just a few shots, the first from Thurso. (Dan took photos 2 and 3 from his window for me.)

We reached our hotel and made our dinner reservation, which took place shortly after. I had sea bass and Dan had salmon and all was delicious, but I forgot photos until our sticky toffee pudding so you only get dessert tonight.

Tomorrow is, again, moving day. Hmmm. Where will we go? Guess you have to tune in tomorrow to find out!

For now I will take my leave: my eyes are weary and even while it’s only 9:45PM here I doubt I’ll be able to stay awake much longer!

G’night!

Thursday, May 14 — Moving Day

Posted on by
Reply

We woke and headed down to breakfast fairly quickly. And yes, it was down: we are on the first floor (second floor in the US). I am reminded more and more about bringing our packs rather than the roller bags!

Breakfast was much more simple today: granola, yogurt, and berries in a bowl, one half slice of toast (for me, that is), orange juice, and coffee. Still, it’s more than I would have had at home, due to the toast, and of course it’s about four hours earlier than I would ever eat my first meal. I’m convinced that’s why we end up eating again midday. At home I only need two meals since I delay the first. My weight gain will be, I fear, a bit significant unless I get more exercise.

From my chair at breakfast … exciting, I know. Shortly after taking this it started to rain. Go figure. Mostly it was that misty sort of rain, but it can really drench a person!

After that it was shower and packing time. We’ve got the packing down — doesn’t take me any time at all to get that suitcase packed and zipped.

Before heading back on the NC500 we had to fill the tank. Dan commented that it’s nearly as costly as filling our BigMobile. So it goes!

From there we drove off. The first time we pulled over I saw a sign that told me there were some “Geopods” for the Northwest Highlands Rock Route” on our drive today, which could be found when there was a sign with the blue and white design you see in a photo. We stopped, though, for the view.

Another stop was at the Knocken Crag Nature Reserve. I haven’t yet mentioned that the scenery here is simply staggering, so let me say it now. The scenery is simply staggering! There. Done.

The next stop was at the Loch Awe View Point. We do a whole lot of stopping on these kinds of trips, but we don’t stay long — between the wind and the cold and sometimes rain I’m quick to get back in the car.

Yep, another stop. This time at the Ardvreck Castle. I should have taken photos of the info there. One fascinating tidbit was that a supporter of Bonnie Prince Charles thought he’d be safe escaping to this Highland spot but whoever was at the castle at the time traded him, supposedly for oatmeal. He was then hanged. (I have been missing oatmeal, but I don’t think I’ll trade Dan for some: I need him as my driver.) Sorry I don’t have the names at the moment and internet is rather slow so this is currently all you get. Perhaps I’ll update later. And of course that could all be a myth for all I know. We only took quick photos of the castle and the Calda House in the other direction.

Just a few shots from the area of Elphin.

… and then some from the Lochinver area.

We decided to take a detour to a lighthouse. Once again Your Royal Wimpiness did a bit of whimpering as Dan the Driver made his way there. It was a longer drive than either of us expected, and I did fear, at times, that we would fall into the sea. (The other day I instructed Dan that if we were to go over a cliff he wasn’t to swear as one might do in such a case, but he was to yell out, “I love you!” I figured I’d do the same. I’m not sure how keen he was about my instruction.)

On the way … some more hairy coos!

We continued the drive and then made it to the lighthouse. Anyone want to rent it? It was SO SO SO windy. (That’s a lot of wind.) At one point it nearly blew me over. We didn’t make it all the way into the lighthouse (I’m not sure that’s allowed in any case) because I’d had it with the wind.

Then back we went to reconnect with the main drive. As we went I used the passenger assist brake (on my left) and the passenger assist steering wheel (in the cup holder) a number of times. I’m helpful that way.

We’ve seen a few beaches on our drives. Too bad I didn’t bring my bikini.

Oh. Wait. I don’t own any sort of bathing suit at all! Never mind.

We reached the Drumbeg Viewpoint.

We saw a sign for some sort of secret tea garden and figured it was time to stop, relax, and have some “not lunch”. I did puzzle over all the signs I saw for the secret tea room, though. Not much of a secret, if you ask me! Anyway, it was a nice spot where we bought a bit to eat and enjoyed not only the secret tea room but no wind!

The secret tea room had no secret bathroom, so we had to amble back up the road a bit to find the WC. I took a few shots during the walk. And … now goats!

We drove on, eventually crossing a bridge and then pulling over to see a monument, read about the river below where the military did submarine training, and take a photo of the bridge.

With about an hour and a half more to get to our lodging we did a very small amount of photography, and took a five minute snooze. At this point I think we were both weary of driving. I can’t tell you how taxing it is to handle my emergency braking and steering! Plus I have to whimper every now and then. Thankfully the last bit of the drive was much easier for both of us.

For the most part, I think Dan has got this driving on the left side of the road down. We are even at a point where we grumble when someone coming toward us doesn’t know how to use the passing places correctly. We’ve been known to say, “Americans” with disdain when they get it wrong. And yes, we are being goofy. Because that’s what we do. (I’ve often said we should record our conversations because we clearly are a comedy team. Then again, I fear a lot of eye rolling should we do so.)

At a very decent time we arrived at our lodging for the next two nights. We are at the Altnaharra Hotel. This use to be a popular place for fisherman and climbers, if I read the blurb correctly. It’s old and rather charming. We enjoyed a nice dinner here as well, as there is absolutely no place nearby to eat. Dessert was the “Altnaharra Mess” and it was quite something!

We still have to figure out what where our drive will take us tomorrow. It’s impossible, I’m guessing, for us to do the entire NC500 on this trip, but we’ll try to hit a lot of it.

And now … Oidhche mhath! (Good night!)

Wednesday, May 13

Posted on by
Reply

We are home quite late after a long day, but I’m going to do my best to write and post everything tonight. Otherwise I fear I might forget things (if I haven’t already.)

We woke to some of what I call “nothing music” on my phone. Turns out that when I put my sleep watch away it then plays the alarm on my phone. Normally it’s just the haptic thing I feel on my wrist. (One of the reasons I do like to use that watch and haptic is because if I’m sleeping on my side and my left ear is what should hear an alarm I simply won’t hear it — silly almost deaf ear!) We took a bit of time rising, but the noise below us was growing louder: we are right above the breakfast room, it seems!

We dressed and went down and Dan had the Scottish while I have the vegetarian breakfast. I neglected to take a photo of the breakfast room or our thrilling breakfast. You will have to use your imagination. But here — have a menu.

The four men behind me were in heavy garb and we heard their motorcycles later: the NC500 is a popular ride for motorcyclists, as Dan had told me.

After breakfast we went up to prepare for our drive. We will head south a bit today I think. The blogs and articles I’ve read suggest at least a week for the NC500, and some suggest even longer. I’m sure we won’t do the all of it, but we’ll certainly hit a lot of spots. (The actual map for the drive begins and ends in Inverness and we do end there since that’s where we return the car on Saturday, and we did start out from there as well: we just inserted Isle of Skye into the mix.)

The first map I set up for the car was to Gairloch.

We started out by heading down a street here we hadn’t yet been on.

From there it was out of the village, and while I’m not sure I should bother naming all the villages I’ll start by doing so. (I may run out of energy.)

Lochluichart:

Dundonnell (the small plant caught my eye … no clue what it was):

Laide:

Poolewe:

I’ve seen these “Elderly People” signs a number of places. They bug me. But sort of crack me up, too. Sure, I think an elderly woman who is hunched over should follow and hold on to the back of a man who also can’t stand up straight and must walk with a cane. Makes perfect sense.

We arrived in Gairloch, where we wanted to stop for what we now call “non-lunch”. We found this rather interesting coffee shop/bookstore. Lots of things about John Muir. A lot about Bob Marley, too. And a lot of anti-Trump things. We ordered scones (that didn’t really seem scone- like) and coffees. Then we found (finally) an actually NC500 map in the bookstore so we picked that up as well.

And now I’m confused because the next photos also say we are back in Poolewe. Hm. Maybe we did turn around for a bit. Or maybe my brain is befuddled. Or maybe both. You choose.

It started to rain while we were driving by Loch Maree. What a shock. Who knew it would rain in Scotland?!

There were lovely trees as we drove by Kinlochewe.

We stopped in what the iPhone says is Annat due to a mountain with snow on top that was lovely. It’s interesting to see the snow-topped mountains here. I also have seen several signs that say “Private Fishing”. No problem for us as we most definitely don’t fish.

Here are shots from Kenmore:

Arinna (assuming the iPhone is correct, but that’s the case with nearly all these images and who knows for sure?):

And we reached our next goal: Applecross. Yes, I was scared of the road, but it turned out to be mostly okay going to the place. And we say more hair coo! One even came running up to the fence, but I wasn’t yet out of the car so I missed that, as well as the running all of them did at one point. And those beasts are speedy! We also saw deer.

We thought we might get dinner in Applecross but there wasn’t much there and the one restaurant that had indoor seating had no openings at all. So instead we opted to find our way back to Ullapool. Little did I know that that was when the drive would get scary for wimpy me! I will post photos and videos below, but please know they look like a breeze. But on a skinny road with drop offs on the side and the occasional car or van coming toward you on a one lane road is SCARY. Honest! But there were also pretty views at times. So there’s that. Some of this is from the area called Kishorn, and some Sutherland and Ross

Dan indulged me and stopped (ON the road) so I could shoot this rhododendron, but I MUST get more shots of some plants, as some are so covered in flowers you can’t see anything but a big poof of color. Truly amazing. This one, though, was just so tall, so I put my phone out the window and shot looking up.

In Ledgowan we spotted a rainbow. (Later there was a double rainbow but I could easily shoot it.)

After about 1 1/2 hours we reached Ullapool. Whew. One incredibly day with scary drives and all. Dan is my driving hero!

Once we put things into our room we walked down to dinner. Nothing super special, but I told Dan he deserved his beer (and more, but he stuck to just that).

Tomorrow we again move on. We will still be doing the NC500, though. Stay tuned!

Oh … and NO stats for today. For one thing I forgot to even wear my watch but, more significantly, we simply walked very little and it’s not worth posting. So I’m not going to bother writing that I walked a measly 3,246 steps, went 1.37 miles, and climbed 3 flights. Because no one needs to know that.

Right?

G’night!

Sunday, May 10 … With Photos & Stories

Posted on by
2

We began the day with breakfast at Redwood House. ALL that salmon they put on the plate is rather amazing. But that’s Scotland for you.

Then we readied ourselves to drive the north part of Skye, and off we went. I had set up a map and then we connected that to CarPlay. Quite handy!

I took a quick video as we headed out.

We drove first to Portree to get a few snacks since we weren’t sure what we’d find in the way of food on our drive. I’d read about the drive, about having to pay for parking at each of the places we’d visit, about the small number of bathrooms (or should I write “toilets” since that’s what they are called here for the most part), and few or no restaurants. Being as it was Sunday, I wondered if even more might be closed.

After the grocery store we started on our route. I’m getting more comfortable being on the “wrong” side of the car, and Dan is getting better at driving.

Until that huge pothole.

That really scared me! He had pulled over in the passing spot (they have these frequently on the roads here, since the roads are narrow), and at the start of that passing spot there was a hole he didn’t see and I didn’t have time to point out. (I do try to point things out sometimes, since I have his encouragement to do so.) I was just sure there would be damage, but all was well. (We did get out to check on the car.) Whew! But these potholes are one of several reasons we are encouraged to purchase insurance in Scotland!

And then … wonder of wonders! We spotted the “hairy coos”. I hadn’t expected that, since while I’d read they might be on the island I’d also seen a video of some women searching for the cows and they found it difficult to find them. Not so for us!

Next up was this little waterfall. Sweet, but when you’ve seen falls in Yosemite … well ….

One destination we knew we had to get to was The Old Man of Storr. Not that we would do the entire hike, but one never knows. We arrived, found parking (for £6 … parking isn’t exactly cheap here), and prior to starting out some sprinkling started up. We popped into the gift shop and spent a short time there, but decided, finally, to put on rain gear (including rain pants). I’m sure glad we did, although we probably would have been wiser to put everything on before the rain got harder! You can see the weather pretty clearly. Or maybe “rainily”.

Up the trail we went. It was a pretty good climb, and it really felt great to get a bit of a workout.

Photos along the way:

I wasn’t willing to do the final climb. It was just too wet, and I figured we’d done enough. I’m sure going up all the way would have been super, but I know my limits, and I also didn’t want to deal with slippery walks due to all the rain.

We then went back down a different route.

Next up was the spot below, near Lealt Falls. We saw a sign for coffee so figured we’d grab some. But first photos:

We got to the coffee/hot dog truck and they were out of hot dogs, and the coffee grinder had broken. So never mind. On to Kilt Rock.

After a short drive we found a coffee shop that actually had coffee.

Some of the houses have this great stone work:

Next we drove to Duntulm Castle.

It was tremendously windy. I couldn’t shoot flowers very well, so I thought I’d try a video. I have no clue how it will sound so perhaps turn down the volume!

Yes, I tend to like the sheep and sweet lambs.

We have to pull over at times. You can see that below if you can see the video. (Let me know if it works … I keep seeing a notice that it’s set to private but It most certainly is not!)

We drove back to Portree to see the rather well-known colorful buildings. I’m pretty sure the Redwood House (where we are staying) painted the buildings to mimic Portree. We saw some more coos there … well … stuffed ones, anyway.

As we drove for our evening meal it of course had to rain. And the sheep had to stand there looking as if they owned the road.

Our dinner … our very expensive Mother’s Day dinner … was at Monkstadt 1745 and it was delicious. I will share photos, but honestly they look rotten and it was such a fine meal!

So that’s the story of our day with photos and videos.

14,072 steps, 5.64 miles, 55 flights climbed (I’m skeptical of this last bit!)

Friday, May 8 — Our Full Day in Inverness

Posted on by
Reply

Finally, sleep is pretty much normal! My “sleep score” on my phone wasn’t terrific, but for some reason the doggone watch and phone are tremendously confused about things. It seemed to now think my bedtime should be 9:00PM. It’s never been that early. Sometimes it the watch is off, sometimes not. I guess both devices have also been suffering with jet lag. Or something.

We didn’t leave our room until after 10:00. Lazy bums!

Speaking of rooms — this place, Aye Stay, is similar to a B&B, but there is not only no second B, but it appears will we never even see the owners. As I mentioned yesterday we entered the house to check in yesterday, we just looked at the list with our name and grab the correct key. Earlier, when we dropped off our luggage, I didn’t know where to put the bags so I buzzed the owners and I was just told over the speaker what to do. I think they live in part of the house, but who knows? It sounds like our supplies will be replenished (I’m hoping they replenish the little package of cookies — I tend to collect those for emergency snacks!) They don’t do much, though. It’s all very impersonal. I’m okay with that, being the introvert I am, but it just feels odd.

Looking out our window, as well as checking the weather app, I could see that we were in for another windy day with temps in the low 50°s. I’m glad that I packed my turtleneck at the last minute! It’s definitely a lot of layers day.

With few plans or ideas of what to do, we did know that first stop was coffee. Dan had found a place nearby that looked good. So after his shower and both of us getting ready, we headed out.

We both had a sweet roll (which is much tastier than a sweat roll which was what I first typed) and coffee. The Bakery was a nice little spot!

Then we walked toward the River Ness, to go visit the Ness Islands I’d read about (and where we had headed yesterday, but ended up returning before we arrived there).

The Ness Islands were lovely. While there we met a couple who chatted with us for a while, which was also lovely. They live in Scotland, although the man was originally from South Africa. They had visited the United States so we enjoyed hearing about their travels.

But back to the Islands … just gorgeous!

Saw this poster for Parsifal, too.

Then we went to the Botanic Gardens for a brief while. (Thank you, Dan, for tolerating my flower love!)

Normally we don’t eat lunch if we have a good breakfast, but while the sweet rolls were tasty we decided we should actually have a decent meal. If you can call what we chose decent! But hey, we had been to the Victorian Market yesterday and had said we’d return for lunch, so what could one do but stick to what we said.

After lunch we attempted to find a map of some areas we will be visiting. Climbing some steps, we landed at what looked to be mostly a children’s bookstore, but there was a map of all of Scotland so we did pick that up.

The bookstore is at the top of these stairs.

Then some more walking took place, passing this interesting building (I remember it from our first visit).

We had to go into Leakey’s Book Shop, having seen it mentioned numerous times.



From there we walked by The Hootananny, which had been recommended to us back in 2023 when we took our Great Glen Way Walk, so I checked and (hooray!) we could make a reservation. But that meant there wasn’t enough time to go back to our lodging for any meaningful amount of time so … okay … don’t tell anyone … we stopped at a place to have a beer. Mind you, it was merely to take up time. Honest!

Finally it was time for our dinner at Hootananny’s. The person taking us to our table was a bit harsh when I said something about the sound and my bad ear — scared me, in fact. But I guess he’s just that way. He did give us a great table, further away from the musicians. He also told us we had 1 1/2 hours to eat and then we’d have to leave the table. Fine. We could deal.

Or could we? We had placed our orders and while our drinks and appetizer arrived quickly, our dinner did not. The two women next to us got in after us and were served quickly. Hmmm.

Speaking of those women, they had just finished the Great Glen Way walk! We ended up chatting for most of the time we were there. Both live in Arizona and, now both widowed, do tons of traveling.

I finally talked to our server and asked her about our meal and my concern that we now had 20 minutes left. She assured me that we would be able to finish. Meanwhile we listened to the music. I don’t have a clue how the videos will be, but I at least recorded some bits.

And our dinners did finally arrive!

When our server returned and we ordered a dram for after our meal she did tell us we’d have to vacate the table. But by then it had been two hours so we could hardly be upset! So we got our drams and headed downstairs.

While there, some altercation must have happened, as a man was escorted out. I suspect a bit too much to drink, but who knows? I think they have pretty tight security (we saw one guy outside as we left).

We drank and listened a bit more.

I’m glad we made it to the place this time around.

Walking back to our lodging it was really quite nice out.

We spotted some people bowing on our way, and one of the players came and chatted with us a bit. Such a friendly man!

Tomorrow we move to a new destination. I’m close to packed and ready, as I like to set the next day’s clothing out the night before. We just have to go get (GULP!) our rental car. I am betting Dan does the driving as I’m not too excited about driving on the left side of the road.

Goodnight!

18,137 steps, 7.29 miles, 5 flights climbed

Final Full Day in Edinburgh

Posted on by
Reply

We had a late start due to our scheduled 9:30 breakfast. Having these breakfasts is fairly crazy for me since I normally only have a cappuccino in the morning. Today I finally went lighter — toast and a small bowl of cereal. To be honest I could have skipped the cereal!

Our first destination was New Town. This is an old area but newer than the older one. Got it? We just wandered around a bit, and eventually managed to get cappuccinos (the coffee at the hotel isn’t my fave and today I tried tea but that didn’t work for me either).

Walking more, we just sort of enjoyed the sights. We did walk to Queen Street Gardens, but apparently it’s not open to the public. Ah well!


Finally it was nearing the 1:00 entry time for the Edinburgh Castle, so we headed over in that direction. We even went in a souvenir shop, which is rare for us, but we were sort of killing time. I never really find anything I want there. What I would like the most is simply more expensive than I can handle and larger than my suitcase can handle! Yes, that wonderful Harris tweed coat … and one for Dan too.

But never mind. We don’t need them and we have no room for them.

This is the pub Jameson recommended and we returned to after the castle.


And then it was the castle. Shortly after entering we bought a light lunch on the grounds. And then we just ambled about, using the audio guided tour at time. We ended up spending over three hours there.


Nearing dinner, but not quite, we went to a pub Jameson had recommended. We thought we’d be getting dinner there as well, but they stop serving food at 4PM so never mind that. Instead we enjoyed a pint. Sitting next to us was a man in a kilt. Later a man in FULL regalia walked in and chatted for a short time with the other man. It’s really amazing to see the full dress. Dan joked with the man at the table next to us that he felt a bit underdressed. Heh.


From there we went to a pub that did serve food and I had a veggie/lentil pie and was surprised it came with no crust. Dan had the fish pie and the same went for that. I’d had a chicken one earlier this last week and it was a true “pie” so I was somewhat disappointed, but I guess “pie” doesn’t necessarily mean with crust. In any case it was delicious and much better for me than fried food!

We then went back to our hotel, via a new street to us that seemed to claim Harry Potter connections. I wonder how many cities and villages claim HP in some way or other.

This is a line to get into Mary’s Milk Bar. It’s the shortest line I saw there, as it usually stretched up the stairway.
This is where we had dinner last night. I missed this sign yesterday.
Our hotel street.
The hotel entrance. Yep, just that exciting.

Tomorrow it’s a train day, as we say goodbye to Edinburgh. Time is passing far too quickly and I’m sad about that, but I know we can’t travel forever.

G’night!

June 1 in Edinburgh

Posted on by
Reply

We had breakfast at the hotel this morning. At least this place does come with that, as it was quite expensive for what it is. I have a feeling Edinburgh is just an expensive place.

After our breakfast we took a walk to Greyfriars Churchyard and Kirk. There were several tours going on there, including one that was, we think, a Harry Potter tour.

There’s a story about the dog … but I’m too lazy to write about it now. You can always google it!

After that we walked to Holyrood Park and took a trail that led to Arthur’s Seat. It was a bit more of a climb than I had expected, and when I reached a fairly high spot I realized I’d not be able to go the rest of the way: my fear of heights is just too strong! But where I stopped had amazing views. (Thanks, Phil Kemp, for suggesting it!). Dan made it to the very top and assured me that I would not have been comfortable!

When we both got down off the mountain we went toward Holyrood Palace. There was a cafe in front so we stopped for sandwiches. Then it was in to the palace for a guided audio tour. Photos here are all from the outside, as there is no photography allowed inside. The narration on the audio cracked me up a bit: both Princess Anne (is that right?) and Prince Edward talked about the “intimate” rooms. Um … they have no clue what a normal house is like, I think.

Following the interior tour we saw a the Abbey, which is pretty demolished. Things were blocked off because they found some weaknesses that were dangerous. Then it was a little walk around the garden.

We had thought we’d walk over to New Town next, but we were so fried we opted instead for ciders and onion rings. Tomorrow we’ll again try for New Town (not really new at all, but newer than Old Town!).

From there we walked back to the area we had dinner last night since we knew there were a lot of options there.

Sure enough, we found a place and enjoyed our meal. But boy had I hit the wall by then.

It’s funny — I did all that walking on the GGW and didn’t feel this way. I think I’ve just sort of gotten into lazy mode. Or something.

Now we are back in our room. We signed up for breakfast, and sadly we can’t go in until 9:30 since all the earlier times are full. Oh well. Guess it’ll be a nice shower where I will even wash my hair IF there is hot water (there wasn’t much this morning).

Cheerio!

Moving On

Posted on by
Reply

We woke, packed, and went downstairs for coffee and a croissant. We could have paid £15 each (or was it more?!) for a bigger breakfast. But no thanks! We thought we were getting one chocolate croissant each and it turned out we each were given two. No clue if that’s normal or if the person just opted to be generous. Second croissants were saved for the train ride.

The final view from our hotel room.

Walking to the train station was easy — just a gentle downhill. And then we waited, because of course we were early. For this (and the last) train we (I) had booked first class, only because the price really wasn’t much different. Both times we didn’t end up in first class because we didn’t see that carriage quickly and just wanted to get on board. When Dan talked to someone who worked on the train he suggested we NOT buy first class, because if we then opted to move there we would just pay for the upgrade on board, but he didn’t seem to think it was worth it. Ah well. Too late now, as this was our final Scotrail ride.

Waverly Station in Edinburgh

And now here we are, in our very old hotel, in Edinburgh! When we arrived the room wasn’t yet ready, so we dropped off luggage and headed down the street for sandwiches at a nearby spot. When it was 2:00 we were back at the hotel to check in. Breakfast comes with the price, so we scheduled tomorrow’s at the leisurely time of 8:30.

The fourth grader in me wants to get a black pen and put an “I” between “TO” and “LET”. Yep. That’s my brain!

I think this is the most basic of places we’ve had, but it appears to be clean and the room is a decent size. It’s just a walk away to the city center. I can’t remember now why I booked this: odds are it was a Rick Steves recommendation or some such thing.

We then caught up on our sites, emails, and set up our charging area (we both have a tri-fold device that charges phone, watch, and if necessary AirPods. I’ve realized that I could easily leave a number of cords at home since the tri-fold charger takes care of all but my iPad. It had been recommended that I get an extension cord, but so far I’ve not used that at all. I really need to start a list of what to leave behind next time. Basically less of everything!

When we started up we both thought “Meh” … not impressed. Turns out it’s just our area. I know I’d read to stay slightly outside the center, and I guess when one does that it’s not the most splendid spot. I’m sure, though, it’s much more affordable.

Near where we are staying … but with a glimpse at the castle above.
I had to stop to take a photo of the clematis. They were stunning!

A short walk later we saw a whole lot more people, and things were quite lively.

Our goal was to get up to the castle, so we headed that way. And stairs — lots and lots of stairs.

Looking down at the first section of stairs.
Okay, sometimes it wasn’t stairs we were going up on.


We saw what used to be The Tollboth Kirk, and is now “The Hub” … used by the Edinburgh International Festival.

From there we went toward the castle.

Looking back at The Hub

Turned out today was sold out. Not a big deal since we have more days here, but it made us realize we’d better buy tickets in advance. In front of it it looks like they are setting up for the Tattoo, but that doesn’t happen until August.

Since we couldn’t even walk close to the castle we headed back down the “Royal Mile” and landed at St. Giles, a Presbyterian church. It’s a very impressive church, although seeing a craft fair taking place IN the church brought to mind Jesus overturning tables. Hm. I opted to ignore that section (no photos of it at all), and enjoy the rest of the once Catholic cathedral.

We continued down the Royal Mile, only visiting one store: a Harris tweed shop that was out of this world gorgeous. For £299 I could have bought a fabulous coat, as could Dan. Ah well. We headed onward instead, and eventually turned around and looked for spot for dinner.


Running somewhat parallel to the Royal Mile we found a place to eat. It was what appeared to be quite a tourist street so I wasn’t expecting much, but actually my duck was pretty darn delicious!

The photo below was on the wall right above us at the restaurant. I liked it. That is all.

And then it was back to the hotel. Time to figure out what we do for tomorrow since our tickets for the castle aren’t until the following day.

Cheers!

Our Day in Glasgow

Posted on by
Reply

Of course more than one full day would have been great, but at least we had this one day and we did try to get around the area a bit.

We began with coffee in our room. Now how exciting is that? But they had one of those pod machines so it wasn’t as bad as what other places so far have provided. After showering and putting things away we headed out.

We began by walking one long street, aiming for the direction of Glasgow University. As we walked we kept our eyes open for a spot to get better coffee and a light breakfast and we did find that eventually, having our coffee and pastel de nata. How fun to have something we remembered from our Portugal portion of the 2023 trip.

From there it was more walking. I could see evidence (some towering, Harry Potteresque buildings) of nearing the university. That also mean we were getting close to an art museum that had been recommended. We walked by a small river, and again a coned statue.

Sure enough, we landed at the Kelingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

It had been recommended several times, and one reason was to see a Salvador Dali piece. Heh … not there! Turns out that was on loan. But still we enjoyed it, as there was definitely more to see.

There was also something to hear. Which we did, while eating a very light lunch.

Then we aimed for the university itself. The old buildings are pretty amazing.

After spending time there we went toward the west end. We (or at least I) was hoping to see some of the graffitied walls (really more art than graffiti) and while we saw a few things we didn’t wind up where more of that was, but time was ticking.

We headed down toward the river and walked along side of that. A nice man saw us looking at our map and told us how to get back to the city center, which was only an hour or so away. It was a nice easy walk, although I wasn’t wearing my walking shoes. This turned out to be an issue: the doggone Velcro on my nice Rieker shoes wasn’t sticking well. How annoying! In addition every time I bent over to reattach the strap my back would loudly complain. It took a bit of time to get back to standing up straight! But so it goes. I’m stubborn and I managed.

We walked past the other train station in Glasgow …

And another two walls that caught my eye.

When we got back to our hotel we had crisps and a pint. Do I sound like I belong here now? I think a wee bit.

Back to our room to put our feet up before we went out to our dinner at the Butterfly & the Pig, only a short walk away.

My squash risotto
Dan’s chicken sandwich

As we were leaving we noticed there were two (conservatory, as we read on the sign) musicians playing in the bar (fiddle & guitar). I’d have taken a photo, but right above them was a huge TV and a McDonald’s commercial was playing. Sort of ruins the mood.

Now we are back in our room, and I’ve packed all I’m able to pack for the train ride tomorrow.

G’night!