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| Driving on the "wrong" side |
The others however were not so optimistic and they took it upon themselves to "help." In one instance we were going around a roundabout. Now I knew the the UK loved their roundabouts and I had seen European Vacation so I was prepared.
On our third roundabout I was doing well thinking, "this is easy, what is everyone whining about?" When everyone in the car shouted, "RED LIGHT!!!" There was a red light I almost blew through completely and had to slam on the brakes. Who puts a red light on a roundabout anyway? That's the whole point of a roundabout is to avoid a light.
But we continued on well after that. Other than a few curbs, almost driving off the side of the road a few times, forgetting to set the car in park while getting out, running the front fender into a guardrail while trying to unpark, and almost killing a nice Russian family while parking at a lookout, I did great.
So back to the journey. After doing tons of research, I had picked the places we should see and plotted out a nice course. Fortunately once again it was another picture perfect chamber of commerce day.
We started late since the breakfast this morning was later than expected, that put us behind the whole time but the best part of vacation is that nobody cared. Except me a little bit which amused the others.
The first stop was Stirling Castle. This is where Mary Queen of Scots lived and ruled. It was great and some of us even preferred it to Edinburgh Castle. The views of the surrounding countryside are spectacular and it was easy to see what it must have been like to live there back then since they had a lot of it set up with the medieval furnishings and actors. Plus it had some garden areas which were delightful.
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| Stirling Castle Stands High Upon the Cliffs |
After a fun time there, we headed West to Glencoe. We instantly knew we would be further behind schedule when the road was small and the cars were slow. But fortunately the drive was beautiful. We passed many cute little towns with adorable cottages and shops. And coming closer the Glencoe, the mountains rose and imposed their will upon our gazes. The colors were striking as the blue of the sky contrasted with the green of the mountains and the dark gray of the rocks.
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| The Mountains at Glencoe are Phenomenal |
By the time we arrived in Glencoe (which is a quaint little village at the bottom of the peaks and on the water) we were famished. We arrived at 2 pm which was two hours behind schedule so we needed lunch. Luckily we found an unassuming little cafe called the Glencoe Cafe that was perfect. We each had soups and sandwiches which hit the spot and we topped them with glorious desserts including cheesecake, carrot cake, and Rice Krispie treats. Yum!
We were then ready for more driving so we set off again. This time we went past Fort William, one of the larger towns on the western side of scotland, and up the west coast, of Loch Ness, the largest lake in Great Britain. We visited the scientific themed Loch Ness Exhibit and thought it was interesting, but those of us wanting to believe in the monster were hoping for more solid evidence of Nessie. But we looked ourselves and didn't see anything. Shux.
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| In Front of Loch Ness |
After Loch Ness we went into nearby Inverness, the largest town in the northern Highlands. We briefly saw the Inverness Castle (nothing special) and then went to the Castle Tavern (really special). The waitress loved us because all four of us ordered the special: Sunday roast beef. It was amazing: roast beef with succulent brown gravy, carrots, broccoli, 2 kinds of potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding. Incredible. And perfect British food. We all crushed it.
Then we went to an archetypal Scottish pub which had a band playing traditional Scottish music. It was lively and filled with locals who sang along to patriotic Scottish songs we'd never heard yet instantly loved. Even the ladies danced.
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| Dancing to Traditional Scottish Music! |
Following the pub it was time to head to our next accommodation, Dunallan House where Jayne, our cheery host, welcomed us with great hospitality. She also recommended a nightcap at the pub across the street (how convenient) which turned out to go well as it was a lot of fun.
Click on the link to view pictures from today. And, we can't organize our pictures so they're a little out of order. Oh well! Enjoy!!
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