Leaving Scotland

Today is Thursday and we have worked our way down the west coast of Scotland, down out of the beautiful Scottish Highlands. The skies are crystal blue, the air is clear and the sun is welcome warmth. Our route takes us through the valley of Glen Coe, past the Loch Lomond, around Glasgow, and stopping in Alloway at the Robert Burns Museum for lunch.  Loch Lomond is over 20 miles long and 5 miles wide at the southern end.

Our guide tells us that this area, as well as many other Scottish site, has been the location for numerous movies, the latest being Skyfall with James Bond.

We have arrived in Cairnryan at the ferry which will takes us to Ireland.  The ride is 2 1/2 hours, certainly enough time to write and upload this posting.  We have free Internet.  This is quite possible the most upscale ferry we have ever been on.  We have a cinema, full service meals, gift shop, casino and probably a lot more.  Seems more like a cruise ship than a ferry.

Our journey through Scotland has been spectacular.  It hardly seems possible that we have been here a week.  We have seen the highlights and a few of the back roads, but are leaving so much unexplored.  I guess that yearning is what makes people return.  Bob says he doubts we ever will return, but I would in a heartbeat.

     On board the ferry to Ireland

          Old Robbie himself......quite a ladies man he was

        Glen Coe

        Glen Coe

        One the banks of Loch Lomond

Leaving Scotland Part II

All the while we were in Scotland, we enjoyed the beautiful blooming gorse along the sides of the road and in the meadows.  It smells a little like coconut and is as prickly as all get out.

         This the ferry taking us to Ireland

They pack us on there quite tightly.

   This is our wonderful driver Niall.  Can you believe he can park this in here this close!!

We are in Belfast this evening, all day tomorrow and tomorrow night. We are all looking forward to sleeping in a little later tomorrow morning.  Weather is beautiful in Belfast.  Sunny and quite comfortable.

Part II of the Scottish Highlands

With so many photos and some on high resolution, it takes too long to upload with slow hotel Internet. So, I have decided to  upload  a Part II and see how that works.

Armadale Castle of the Donald Clan

just one of the rhodie blooms at the Donald Castle

Lydia, Peter, our Guide and Joyce

Ben Nevis....highest peak at 4,406 ft

Our Hotel Ballachulish on the shores of Loch Lennhe

Can you possibly Imagine a better ending to a perfect day?

The Scottish Highlands

We have indeed been blessed with the most fabulous weather in Scotland.  My sister said I sounded like the Chamber of Commerce for Scotland.  This is Wednesday and the 4th day of our tour.  We leave Inverness and head west toward the Isle of Skye. Thought I would share this Scottish thought:

" High in the misty Highlands, Out by the purple Islands, Brave are the hearts that beat beneath the Scottish skies."  Cliff Hanley from Scotland the Brave. 1951.

Scotland has always been home to epic adventure. Through the ages, an intricate blend of cultures, including those of the Picts, Celts, Vikings and Normans, have intermingled like the weave of a tartan to fashion cobblestoned villages and fairy-tale castles. (Extracted from a Purdue travel brochure.)

We have seen it all....the villages, the castles and the tartans. Today, we enjoyed such a pleasant ride down through through the Highlands and past the beautiful lochs and on toward the Isle of Skye.  The weather has been cool and dry this spring and the heather is still a brown mass on the hillsides and the grass is a pale yellowish and not the intense green that everyone associates with Scotland.  We still revel in the fabulous sun.  We actually eat lunch outside. 

We visited the Clan Donald Centre at Armandale Castle to discover the history of powerful Lords of the Isles.  The castle is in ruins, but the grounds and gorgeous flowers remind us of Biltmore in Asheville. The lengthy history is way more than we can absorb.

We stopped at the Glenfinnan Monument and a shot at a trestle bridge which was featured in Harry Potter.  The monument honors Bonnie Prince Charlie who led the rebellion of 1745, trying to release Scotland from the rule of England.  On our way to our hotel, we are treated with a grand view of the highest mountain in Scotland, Ben Nevis at 4,406 feet.  There is still snow on top.  Our guide says this is a rare treat to see this mountain from top to bottom as 300 days of the year it is shrouded in fog and mist. 

We finally arrive at the Ballychulish Hotel and a chance to relax.  The hotel is amazing and a  great example of one of the grand European Boutique hotels....slightly shabby in places, but truly elegant in a rare way.

Urquhart Castle

Lock Ness ( no Nessie)

Eilean Donan Castle

The bridge to the Isle of Skye

I have lost track which loch this is....so many to see

ON THE ROAD

 

We left Edinburgh this morning and headed north toward Pitlochry and on to Inverness.  Right before we reach Pitlochry, we stop at Blair Athol Distillery for a very interesting tour of the distilling process of Scotch Whisky. Without going into detail would have to tell you that this was so fascinating.  At the end of the tour, we were offered  a "wee" dram of the whisky they market under their own label, Blair Athol Single Malt Whisky.  As a non-whisky drinker, I would have to say this was a smooth ride for sure.  Doubt that this this will ever turn me into a whisky lover, but a great first time experience.

 

Clear, abundant water is necessary for distilling spirits and this is their source 

After we leave Pitlochry, we pass Blair Castle which has been turned into a destination tourist opportunity near the ski slopes.

From the distillery, we went into Pitlochry to eat lunch and on to a tenant sheep farmer.  He has 2500 sheep grazing on 5,000 acres. The most interesting part of this was the sheep herding demonstration by the  border collies and their master, Neil.  He was fabulous with his directions to the dogs.  We also were invited to feed the baby lambs and Joyce played with the new Border Collie puppy who was only 24 days old and just adorable.  

 

A short distance beyond the sheep farm, we arrive in Inverness. (inver means near by, so near by Loch Ness)  This time, we are in a quaint old hotel that must be over 100 years old.....but they have FREE WIFI.  Really Free, so I am trying to post in a hurry.

We enjoy dinner and a delightful cellidh (pronounced caylee) which is a blend of Scottish music and dancing.  A great time was had by all, and Bob even danced one of thee Scottish dances. 

It doesn't get dark until nearly 11:00, so after dinner Bob and I walked for about 15 minutes along both sides of the River Ness.  It is still chilly and there was snow on the mountains, so we believe this isn't really high season yet.

 

Monday in Edinburgh

Today is a bank holiday and many offices are closed.  We enjoy a nice buffet breakfast and continue on our tour.  We are taken on a city tour which ends up covering areas that we have missed on our weekend trips on our own.  The weather has played put the script of what many of us think is typical weather in Scotland-- blustery, cold, and a little pissy rain for good measure.  Just totally nasty. We were so spoiled our first three days.  After our tour, we went to see the Royal Yacht Britannia which Queen Elizabeth decommissioned a number of years go.  Good idea as the yacht much have cost a bloody fortune to operate--an Admiral, 19 officers, and 200 yachtsmen.  That doesn't count the Queen's special attendants.  

We then were free to explore downtown Edinburgh and some visited the castle or the palace.  We shopped a bit, but the exchange rate is horrible and we literally have no room for stuff.

We return to our hotel, grab the free wifi and eat on our own.  

This is one of the salons in the royal yacht.

The grand staircase in the yacht.

The entire harbor area has grown around the exhibit of the royal yacht.  Cities were invited to submit a proposal to house the ship on exhibit and Edinburgh won.  

This was a bridge we used to pass over one of the downtown roads.

After we returned to the hotel, Bob and Jerry made a trip out to photo the local sheep.  Our guide said we would see more sheep on the trip than we ever wanted to see.

Today is Sunday in Edinburgh

Today is our third day in Edinburgh and the weather is teasing us a bit.  We awoke to bright sunshine which eventually turned to cloudy and cool.  We all grabbed the rain gear and walked to the HolyroodHouse  (Palace) which is the official residence of the Queen of England when she visits.  This has been closed for the past 10 days or so as the Church of Scotland had an Assembly and the Queen's representative was in residence at the Palace.  The house is quite spectacular.  We loved the oldest part of the palace which housed the rooms of Mary Queen of Scots.  We had recently viewed the movie of the same and were fascinated by the rooms occupied by Mary.  She led quite a miserable life which also ended in tragedy.

We walked back to our apartment and had arranged for a driver to pick us up to take us to the tour hotel which is a very nice Marriott about 30 minutes outside of Edinburgh.  We met up with other members of our tour ( 39 total ) group and headed off to the Stirling Castle, Northwest of Edinburgh.  If you were a fan of Braveheart, you know why this place is famous.  Our guide said forget everything you saw in the movie as there were many errors to the truth.  We enjoyed a tour of many areas that had been totally restored to 11th Century grandeur.  There were people dressed in the Medieval period sharing activities of the time.  The view from the castle was spectacular.  One of my favorite parts of the tour was seeing the weaving of the tapestry.  This one will take 2 people 2 entire years to complete.  The original is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York City.

We returned to the city to a pub for dinner and then a walking ghost tour of the city.  By now, it had been a very long day and we were most happy to be back in our rooms.

 Entrance to the Holyrood Palace

The section here is the oldest and houses the apartments of Mary Queen of Scots.

In front of the Queens Gallery

Very fascinating section of the old abbey that was on the site before the palace.  The roof has long disappeared, but the ruins are quite amazing.

This is the view from the Stirling Castle into the countryside.

  

This is a photo of the tapestry they are working on.

One of two tapestry workers

Day 2 In Edinburgh

After a refreshing 10 hours of sleep, we all awoke ready for a full day of touring.  We had purchased a Senior Pass for 48 hours that allowed us access to 5 different Hop-on-Hop Off tour buses.  What a great deal as no matter what bus came along, we could hop on and ride, and ride we did.

Our goal today was to see the Edinburgh Castle, so we headed there first.  We were so glad we had purchased tickets online as the wait line for purchase looked liked hours.  We walked right in and strolled through the extensive grounds of this huge fortress, actually built on volcanic rock. the oldest building was St. Margaret's Chapel built in the 12th century. This was a very tiny space, holding only 30 people.  We saw a wedding party heading into the castle grounds and wondered if they were having the ceremony in the chapel.  The views were spectacular from the castle grounds.  The weather was flawless with bright sun all day and a light breeze.  Next time, we will ignore Weather.com as it was not as positive.

We found another local pub for lunch, then toured some more of the city.  We especially enjoyed touring the St. Giles Cathedral which is considered the high Kirk (church) of the city.  

Bob and Joyce walked from the cathedral back to our apartment where we regrouped for dinner.  Just up the street, we found this charming local pub, Tolbooth Tavern which was delightful.  Everything was just perfect.  We learned on the tour today that J.K. Rowling went to school at the University of Edinburgh and studied to be a French teacher, barely 3 blocks from our apartment.  Our guide said she taught French for a few years, but has since quit her day job!

This the view from our apartment.

This is near the castle.

Second from the left is Colin, a Castle Guide who was most helpful in answering all our questions, both of the castle, but about Edinburgh in general.

 St. Giles Cathedral

Irish Food

In the Dublin Airport this morning we had our first porridge (oatmeal like).  I have a feeling I might be eating a lot of porridge as the full Irish Breakfast didn't appeal to me much--lots of sausages, watery scrambled eggs, bacon, stewed tomatoes, mushrooms and toast.  We'll see what the Scottish breakfast is like.

The Holiday from Hell (with a happy ending)

Today is Thursday and is our travel day to Europe....Edinburg, specifically.  We enjoyed a nice leisurely morning at the Embassy Suites in Charlotte.  Bob ended up making an emergency run to the CVS Clinic just to verify that his horrible coughing and rattling was not pneumonia.  ($90 later..because he forgot his insurance card) he had a clean bill of health and the nurse said it was drainage.

We were shuttled to the airport and greeted by a very nice man named Stephan who literally took us by the hand, with our luggage and slipped us by the waiting lines to check us in at the kiosk.  In less than 3 minutes, we were checked in.  The security checkpoint took much longer, but thankfully all bags passed that, too.  We had time for a nice airport lunch ( yes, they are still available) before ambling down to our gate.  We knew we had a flight delay of about 90 minutes, so didn't worry too much.  Joyce finally went online to check the status of our flight and much to our dismay saw the dreaded words CANCELLED!!  We spent the next two hours on hold for UNITED as well as in line for a gate attendant to get us rebooked.  

Mother Nature had wrecked havoc on the entire upper east coast with torrential downpours and nothing was going in or out of Newark. Bob finally was able to get someone online at UNITED and they confirmed that we were rebooked on a flight out that left on SATURDAY.  This would mean that we wouldn't arrive in Edinburgh until early Sunday morning.  By now, we also had Chuck and Janice from All Seasons Travel in Jacksonville trying to get us out of the country sooner.  Thanks to their perseverance, we are in the air over the Atlantic on our way to Dublin with a transfer to Edinburgh.  This is the same route the Beehlers are taking, but we will arrive about 3 hours later than they will. 

 Now, the next challenge will be to find our luggage.  It was supposedly rerouted, but I am a little short on optimism.  We don't leave Edinburgh until Monday, so surely we will be reunited with our bags before then.  Ask us what the best thing that happened to us today was, and it would have to be getting on this flight to Dublin AND having EXIT ROW seats ( without paying for them).  Thanks a bunch, Janice!

Stay tuned to the next chapter of our saga.  

The coast wasn't quite this rugged when we flew into Dublin this morning, but we will surely see sights as glorious as this.  Everything was quite green.

DEPARTING THE USA

Today, Thursday, May 23, we depart the USA.  Initial look at the weather  indicates that we may be in for some delays.  Fortunately, we have a 3 hour layover in Newark.  The challenge may be in getting there in the first place as severe weather is forecast for late in the day.  The Miles are in Charlotte awaiting a 3:00 PM flight to Newark and the Beehlers are in Chicago awaiting their afternoon flight to Dublin.  Bets are still on if we arrive in Edinburgh within 5 minutes of each other.  The odds just got bigger with the weather conditions.

 

We are finally on the move

Realized that I forgot to tell all of you who is going on this trip.  It is the "Fearsome Foursome", all Purdue graduates:  The Beehlers and the Miles.  We have just about stopped counting how long we have all been together as we can't possibly be old enough.  Lydia and Joyce have known each other since high school and 4-H days and then roommates at Purdue.

This was

in Muncie, Indiana last September, at the end of our 30 day trip out west to 13 National Parks.  Guess that cured us all from ever schlepping the bags in and out every night.  This time, we are on an escorted tour and someone else lugs the luggage!  Yeah!

 

The Beehlers have traveled today to Chicago where they will see their two youngest sons, daughter-in law and two grandchildren.  They fly from Chicago to Dublin, Dublin to Edinburgh where we will meet them after we fly from Charlotte to Newark to Edinburgh.  We are to land within 5 minutes of each other.  Any want to make a wager that this won't happen?  We leave tomorrow for an overnight at Charlotte to leave on Thursday afternoon.

A map of our Scotland and Ireland Tour

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Our Itinerary for Scotland and Ireland

We arrive in Edinburgh on Friday, May 24, staying for 2 nights in an apartment several blocks from the Holyrood Palace, Queen Elizabeth’s home when she visits. We have plans to visit the Edinburgh Castle and ride the hop on hop off tour buses.

On Sunday, we move to another hotel and join the 15 day tour of Scotland and Ireland you see below.

Day 1 : Edinburgh & Stirling Castle

Day 2 : Edinburgh & Royal Yacht Britannia
Day 3 : Whisky Tasting & Ceilidh; Pitlochry to visit Blair Athol  Distillery; Leault Farm where dogs herd sheep, Inverness

Day 4 : Isle of Skye & Clan Donald Centre Loch Ness, Clan Donald Centre at Armadale Castle, Glenfinnan Monument.

Day 5 : Glen Coe & Rabbie Burns, Loch Lomond, Alloway to visit the Burns National Heritage Park; Cairnryan for a ferry ride to Larne; arrive in Belfast in time for dinner.

Day 6 : Titanic Belfast & Mount Stewart
Day 7 : Giant's Causeway & Derry's Walls
Day 8 : Glenveagh Castle & Ulster Folk Park
Day 9 : Rose of Innisfree Boat Ride & Belleek Pottery Tour
Parke's Castle, Innisfree, Kilronan Castle Hotel

Day 10 : Galway Bay & Cliffs of Moher
Bunratty Castle for a fun medieval-style banquet.

Day 11 : Dingle Peninsula & Brewery; Slea Head, Killarney

Day 12 : Killarney & Jaunting Car Ride
Take a traditional horse-drawn jaunting car ride to Ross Castle,  Kenmare, Moll's Gap, Ring of Kerry

Day 13 : Blarney Castle & Abbey Tavern
Blarney Woollen Mills, Rock of Cashel,Dublin, Abbey Tavern in Dublin for dinner

Day 14 : Saturday ; National Stud Farm Tour

Day 15: Open-top bus tour, Guinness Storehouse or Old Jameson Distillery

Day 16 : Depart for Home; June 10 which is actually day 18 for us.