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Foreign

Scotland 2014 – Part 1

By Sheetar 25 June 2014 24 July 2014

I think this is best in three parts because the vacation was kind of huge and amazing and it will be SO hard to fit this into just one post.

TL;DR: The vacation was possibly the best we’ve ever taken. We spent two days in Edinburgh and then hopped up to Inverness for a day. Then it was on to a boat to cruise the Caledonian canal for a week, up to Fort William and then back to Inverness and then a final day in Edinburgh before heading home. The pace was just right – we had time in a busy city, sightseeing, hanging in crowded pubs, but we also had relaxation time on the boat to enjoy the beautiful scenery and stop to take nice hikes. Honestly, top 3, possible top vacation ever.

On to the detail for those of you who like to read 🙂

Day 1, May 27:
We landed in Edinburgh around 10am, collected our bags and hopped a cab to our hotel (I think about £25), the Grassmarket Hotel. Our room wasn’t ready yet, so we dropped our bags with reception and popped over to the White Hart for a pint and something to eat. I remembered they had Haggis Nachos, so that was a necessity. Had a few pints along with lunch and by the time we were done, it was time to grab our room. The rooms at the hotel were small (think NYC size rooms) with very little room around the bed, but plenty of storage underneath the bed and in a small open closet space. We set back out to walk around Edinburgh, up to the Scott Monument, Edinburgh Castle, and winding around some small streets and such. Upon the recommendation of a friend, we went to the Edinburgh Dungeon, a totally touristy thing to do, but pretty hilarious. If you pay attention, you get a decent overview of Edinburgh’s seedy history from Burke and Hare to the plague and hangings in Grassmarket, and if you don’t pay attention, you get a fun show and carnival ride. Later that evening, we found some local Ingress players and went to the Cloisters bar with them for a few pints. It really was a fun evening and we had an absolute blast meeting Scottish Ingressers, but we were completely exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel and slept VERY soundly.

Day 2, May 28:
On the suggestion of a coworker of Doug’s, we took a short train ride to the town of Stirling to see Stirling Castle. I can’t really say which is better – Stirling or Edinburgh Castle – because they’re SO different from eachother. Stirling feels more like castle/residence where Edinburgh feels more castle/fortress. Spent most of the day wandering around the castle (there’s SO much to see), Argyll’s Lodging, and the small town. Had a late lunch, stopped in a little candy shop where we found Irn Bru rock candy. Took the train back to Edinburgh and went to Brew Dog for a few beers. They make some really unique brews that are hard to find in the USA so that was a real treat. While we were sitting at the bar, we saw that they had Victory beer in bottles in the fridge! We live really close to the Victory brewery, so it was crazy to see beer from home in a pub in Scotland. Headed back to the Cloisters again for dinner since we didn’t have dinner there the night prior and were told it was really great. Also, the selection of cask ales is incredible.

Day 3, May 29:
Got up, found breakfast, and hopped the train to Inverness. It’s about a four hour train ride, so we go into Inverness around 2pm. The plan was to hang out around Inverness the night before picking up our boat at the marina, so we booked a room with an old favorite, the Strathness House. The owners recognized us immediately and welcomed us back – SUCH a nice place, I can’t get over how lovely the hotel is from the staff, location, and everything about this hotel. Walked around Inverness for a while before having a pint at Blackfriars (beer tourism is just as important as regular tourism, in case you hadn’t noticed the trend!) where we met some Inverness Ingressers briefly. We had dinner at Hootananny, only to find that they had switched their Thai menu to a more traditional Scottish menu – no complaints from me! The thai was good, but traditional Scottish fare is delicious. Walked around some more, enjoying the extra daylight at that latitude – it doesn’t really get dark till after 11pm or so, and only stays dark for a few hours that time of year. It’s probably the hardest part about travelling to Scotland in the summer since my internal clock is based on daylight – getting dark? Must be about 8:30pm! Nope, 11pm. Really a mind blow.

Thus ends part one! It’s a little short, but I wanted to separate this part of the trip from the boat cruise which I’ll split into two parts. Having these first few days to adjust to the time zone (and extra daylight) REALLY helped us get on schedule for the boat. I don’t think we would have done quite as well if we had arrived and gone straight to the cruise.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Foreign

Scotland – August 2012 – Part 2

By Sheetar 20 February 2013 13 February 2013

Wednesday, 1 August 2012: We didn’t really have any plans again, so we set out to see what we could get to by bus around Inverness. We were told that the Glen Ord distillery was a short bus ride away, so we decided to do that. Visiting distilleries is always fun (especially the sample at the end) and this one happened to produce a single malt that was not available in the US, so that was a real treat. From there, we took the bus a few stops back to the little town of Beauly where we had lunch and explored the old Beauly Priory. The priory is another ruin, so even though it was cold and rainy (again), I was still pretty happy to be there with the camera. We made it back to our hotel for a quick change, then it was off for a dinner, and a pint or two at our favorite pub in Inverness.
Thursday, 2 August 2012: We were up to catch a 7:30 bus from the Inverness bus station to go all the way up to Orkney. At the time, it seemed like a good way to get there without spending more than just the day there (bringing along luggage, etc). We probably should’ve made the trip to Orkney for a day or two, but it ended up being a nice primer, should we ever get the chance to go again and spend more time. The bus ride involved a tour guide, who did a great job explaining the sites as we went along. Finally we made it to a very foggy John O’Groats and hopped the ferry up to Orkney where we met a smaller bus with a driver/guide. We stopped first at Kirkwall, grabbed some sandwiches for the bus, and saw St. Magnus Cathedral. Then it was off to Skara Brae, a site I had wanted to see since I was a child and our school was visited by the author of a book about Skara Brae. Then it was off to the Ring of Brodgar, a quick stop at the Italian chapel, and then back to the ferry at 5pm. We made it back to Inverness around 8pm where we got dinner and then collapsed back at our hotel. The whole day was a whirlwind adventure, with lots of time spent on the bus, but both fantastic tour guides totally made up for the time spent sitting around. We got a ton of information that we might not have gotten had we hopped a quick flight up and stayed in Orkney a few days.
Friday, 3 August 2012: After much deliberation, we decided to rent a car for the day. We debated over it a lot – Doug was pretty worried about driving on, “the wrong side of the road,” whereas I was pretty confident that it wouldn’t be too difficult. The roads aren’t nearly as congested as ours, they don’t drive as fast, and I had a nervous co-pilot to help keep me in line. We picked up the car (a zippy little diesel, manual transmission Ford Fiesta) and made our first stop at the Black Isle Brewery. Really fascinating operation – all organic, grown on the property, brewed on site, complete with a sweet brewery dog. Then we were off, grabbed some food at a grocery store and found a nice spot in Elgin to have lunch. Then, with our Diageo whisky passports in hand, we made a stop at the Cardhu Distillery where we were given a sample of two of their whiskys, but skipped the tour. Our last stop was at Cragganmore where we took the last tour of the day. None of the distilleries allow photos anywhere inside, but we did get samples! We had dinner, watched a beautiful sunset, and had another pint at Hootananny, and then back to the hotel. I wish we had decided on the car earlier since we would’ve had time to see more, but it was still an incredibly fun day.
Saturday, 4 August 2012: We had signed up for an all day tour of the Isle of Skye, complete with an incredible guide/driver from the area. We had originally planned on having two other people with us who were unable to make the trip last minute, so it was a little pricey, but for what we got (the information, being driven around and not getting lost, the knowledge, special little stop offs that aren’t on the maps), it was WELL worth it! Our first big stop was at Eilean Donan castle, the famous castle that’s splashed all over travel advertisements for Scotland. Gorgeous! Husband wore his kilt for the day, so I managed to prod him to take a really great photo in front of the castle. From there we were off to Skye. We made some lovely, picturesque stops along the way including a quick stop to have a drink of fresh, peaty water coming off the hills before lunch. From there we grabbed some ice cream and head off to see more sights which included Kilt Rock (and a hilarious warning sign). The whole trip was amazing and I can’t get over how absolutely beautiful Scotland is. We just have nothing at all like it at home. We got back to our hotel around 7pm, and then were off to our dinner reservation at Hootananny. We timed it so that we were able to have a table and see Tweed when they came on stage that night. They’re a fantastic local band we had seen once before and couldn’t wait to see again. They didn’t disappoint! It was a great night.
Sunday, 5 August 2012: We slept in a good bit after being out a little late the night prior. We decided to take it easy and take a walk down to Floral Hall, the local botanical garden. On the way there, we heard this strange sound, and as we turned around to see what it was, we saw a Border Collie bolting at top speed, dragging a sign behind him. At one point, I’m sure the sign was upright (it was weighted, but clearly not enough) in front of a coffee shop, but something spooked the poor dog and he took off running. He was coming straight for us, so as he got closer, husband and I lined up to block the path. I stuck my foot in the middle of the sign which was a big metal frame with a swinging sign in the middle, coming out with a REALLY badly bruised ankle, which stopped the dog. Moments later, a woman comes running around the corner yelling, “MY DOG! MY DOG! STOP HIM!” Good thing we already had! She came over, explained that he was a new rescue and had been badly treated on a farm before joining their family and was still easily spooked. She thanked us over and over. By this time, the coffee shop owner had come along to collect her sign while we snorgled the dog, applying liberal amounts of love. Then, we were on our way to Floral Hall which was really beautiful. The weather, unfortunately, was not – a persistent drizzle and chill – so the outside areas weren’t quite as nice as we’d have liked, but it was pretty nonetheless, and much bigger than it looks from the outside. We walked back along the canal, looking for blackberries, but it was a touch too early in the season. We went to lunch and took our time, and did a little shopping around Inverness. Then it was back to the hotel for more of the Olympics while we watched my ankle turn even funnier colors.
Monday, 6 August 2012: Hopped a train around 11am for Aberdeen. Arrived at Aberdeen around 1pm. Husband had a class to take which was our excuse for taking an extended vacation, so now it was time for him to get going on the class. We did lunch at our local favorite, and were back to the hotel somewhat early for dinner and more olympics coverage.
Tuesday, 7 August 2012: My ankle was still swollen and achy (not broken, just banged up) from the encounter with the dog in Inverness, so I took it easy and did some shopping. Husband had his class, so I was on my own for the day. We met up for dinner back at the hotel and got to bed early again since husband had to be up early again for class.
Wednesday, 8 August 2012: I decided to head out to the beach with my camera since it was a nicer day and I was feeling up to a good walk. It was still a little overcast, but the beach was empty and chilly which suited me just fine. I wandered around, finding that a bunch of bright purple jellyfish had washed up on the beach along with a few red/orange ones as well. The tide was out, so there was a LOT of beach to cover. I zig zagged back and forth, watching snails inch along the rocks, wee little fish trapped in tide pools, and took great big breaths of fresh air. I had finished my project for the Ravellenic Games, so I brought that along and grabbed some pictures of it too, since I had a nice background. Met the husband back at the hotel for dinner.
Thursday, 9 August 2012: Husband passed his class earlier than expected, so we were off for a day in Stonehaven, a really lovely little town I enjoy visiting when we’re in Scotland. We had a great lunch and some pints, and hten we were off to Dunnottar Castle. The regular route up, along the coast, was closed for construction which was a shame, because it’s a really beautiful walk, so we ended up taking the shorter, detour route. Then it was back down to Stonehaven and the railway station, and eventually Aberdeen. We had dinner at Slain’s Castle which is this really neat pub inside an old cathedral. It’s all decorated in a style Dracula himself would approve of – maybe a little goofy, but the theme works, and it’s definitely unique.
Friday, 10 August 2012: We were up EARLY to be at the airport by 5am. From there we hopped through London. On the way home, our flight was diverted to Bangor, Maine since weather, severe thunderstorms, has closed the Newark Airport. We sat there for I think two hours until the storms finally passed. A bunch of other planes had landed as well, so we weren’t alone. However, since it was an international flight, we couldn’t leave the plane, so it made for a boring situation, just sitting there waiting for the go-ahead to take off and then land again at home.

All in all, the trip was wonderful. If I could’ve changed anything, it would’ve been to switch days off Inverness and over to Edinburgh or take a few of the Inverness days off to Orkney. The little taste of Orkney did give us a hunger for more though, so hopefully on another trip, we’ll schedule in some more time! The rest of the photos exist over here on Flickr.

Foreign

Scotland – August 2012 – Part 1

By Sheetar 17 February 2013 14 February 2013

This is going to be another VERY belated post about travel we did last year. Seriously, I need to get better about putting updates on the blog in a more timely manner. I’m splitting this up into two parts since it’s going to be WAY too long otherwise. Here’s Part 1, Part 2 to follow!

For photos of the trip, see the complete gallery on Flickr, here.

Thursday-Friday, 26-27 July 2012: Left Newark airport late in the evening on the 26th and arrived at Aberdeen, Scotland (via Heathrow) on July 27th. Got a cab to the hotel which was in downtown Aberdeen with both my big travel backpack and husband’s. Originally, husband was supposed to meet me in Aberdeen and take the train down to Edinburgh, but his schedule was changed last minute and we decided to meet in Edinburgh since he wasn’t going to make Aberdeen on time. At that point, it was too late to change any of the reservations, so I just went ahead with the plan as it was. The only downside was having to tote around his luggage and mine (two enormous backpacker type backpacks). Had dinner and some ale at Old Blackfriar’s and went back to the hotel early to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I had decided to participate in the ~~Ravelympics~~ Ravellenic Games, so I picked up my yarn and needles and cast on, somewhat tickled to be casting on while watching the opening ceremonies in the local time zone.
Saturday, 28 July 2012: Got up and walked the short walk to the railway station with both bags, and made it there for a 11am train. Arrived in Edinburgh around 1pm where husband was already waiting for me. He’d even checked into the hotel already! We had lunch and wandered around Edinburgh for a while. Husband had been there years ago in college, so some of it was familiar for him. Edinburgh was all decked out for the Olympics with a big olympic rings display setup on the hill, visibile for quite some distance. We signed up for a tasting at the Scotch Whisky Experience (the Platinum Tour), so around 6pm, we headed over there. It was totally a touristy thing to do, but it ended up being very educational, and a fun way to start our trip. The staff was very knowledgeable and we got to see the world’s largest whisky collection. It was REALLY impressive to see all the bottles lined up like that on lighted shelving, dates ranging from the late 1800s up through the present. The guide explained that most of the stuff wasn’t fit to drink anymore since the seals had come undone and it had been evaporating over time, but it’s still worth a lot. We went on to have dinner and some ales and then it was off to bed, but not until we watched a little more of the Olympic coverage.
Sunday, 29 July 2012: Got up and had breakfast and then it was off to tour Edinburgh Castle. On the way up to the castle, we stopped in the gift shop where we sampled Bruadar whisky which was AMAZING. A bottle may or may not have followed us home. The castle was more than just a castle – it’s a whole complex of chaples, war memorials, prisons, residence for the guards, among many other things. We were done with the castle, having seen the crown jewels and all, around noon, and headed off for lunch. Then, it was off to The Real Mary King’s Close, a small alleyway that had been built on top of over the years and forgotten about. The tour was FASCINATING – the way people lived, how tight and cramped the conditions were, but that they made do with what they had. The close and the homes off the close, now underground, had largely been left as they were for hundreds of years. Photos weren’t allowed since the Royal Exchange is above the close (security and all), but it was well worth the visit. After that, we wandered around and had some ales, took a ghost tour of Edinburgh, and had more ales and dinner before going back to the hotel.
Monday, 30 July 2012: We decided to head out to Incholm Island for the day since the weather was nice, and the trip involved a boat ride (for my mariner husband). It was a gorgeous day for it, and we spent a good while wandering around the island – through the old abbey where we encountered a man who broke into song, inspired by the acoustics of a little chapel room. This is the kind of place I love – a partially ruined old stone building with LOTS of character, tons of fun to photograph. The island also had remnants of battlements from WWI and WWII. Wee baby seagulls were almost done fledging, so the adults were still on alert. Doug happened to step just a little too close to the edge of the path where a fledgeling was hiding on the ground and he got dive bombed by an adult gull. Hilarious. He kept ducking down the whole walk back, thinking he’d be attacked again. Sometimes it pays to be the short one since they didn’t bother me at all! The boat took us back down the Firth of Forth, underneath the bridges, including the Forth Bridge which only carries rail traffic and was opened in 1890! On the trip back, we also saw a few seals in the water and basking on buoys as it got colder and started to rain. When we got back, we made our way to pre-dinner pints, then to dinner where we had things like Haggis nachos, including their famous, fresh caught haggis, and sat with a couple from Wales, a family from Belgium, and another group from Scotland. Had a blast and spent a lot of time there, enjoying the random company and food. Really lovely way to end our stay in Edinburgh, and I wish we could’ve had a few more days there.
Tuesday, 31 July 2012: We woke up, had breakfast, and then it was off to the train station for a train to Inverness. We arrived at Inverness and made it to our hotel by 2:30. We had no real plans for the day, so we took a relaxed walk around Inverness, had an early dinner, and went back to the hotel for an early bedtime (and some more of the Olympics).

Foreign

Scotland!

By Sheetar 22 June 2009 22 June 2009

From June 13th to the 20th, I was in Scotland with the husband. Husband had a class in Aberdeen for work, so I had a great excuse to go and play tourist. The flights getting there were a little weird – I left from Philadelphia on Saturday and ended up at the hotel in Aberdeen on Sunday with the husband coming from Angola (Africa) straight from work, arriving a few hours after me.

Once settled, we went into town for dinner and wound up at Old Blackfriars for food and their incredible selection of cask ales. Went back to the hotel and had a hard time falling asleep since the sun set and rise times are drastically different from those near Philadelphia. The sun set at about 11pm and rose around 4am – we get about 9pm for the set and 5:30 for the rise. The hotel’s black-out curtains did the trick though and we finally got some shut-eye.

Monday I took my time to explore the city. Picked up a walking tour map from the tourism office and walked all over town, stopping off at the Duthie Park winter gardens. By that point, I had made a HUGE circle around the city and was pretty hungry. Thankfully, the husband called up and came into town for dinner. We ended up at the Illicit Still for some neat atmosphere and great food.

Tuesday was spent on a castle tour in the local area. Picked up the van outside the tourist office and went immediately to Crathes Castle and gardens. Sadly, no photos were allowed inside the castle, but it was really neat to wander around and check out the rooms. Outside was a beautiful garden that was in perfect bloom – talk about the right time to visit! Then we went on to Stonehaven to wander around and check out the little fishing village. I was able to take a walk out to the beach and dip my toes in the north sea. It felt like ice water, but the view of the surrounding area from there was really gorgeous and it was nice to be alone on the windy beach and just take it all in. Then we were on to Dunnottar Castle – a big ruin on a cliff with the waves crashing around you. Very dramatic. Also dramatic was the ridiculous staircase that led you down to the bottom of the cliff and then back up into the castle (lather, rinse, repeat to get back to the van). 100% worth it though and I got some incredible photos. Got back into Aberdeen and met up with the husband at the hotel for dinner along with two of his classmates for a relaxed evening.

Wednesday was the rainy day, so I took a quick trip out to Wool for Ewe to check out the local yarn store. From there I went to the Maritime Museum and the Art Museum to try and stay out of the cold and wet weather. Also did a little bit of tourist shopping and finally went back to the hotel again for dinner with the husband and his classmates.

Thursday I took the train out to Inverness and went on a tour with Jacobite Cruises after doing some shopping around the Victorian Market. I picked up the bus in the center of town and took it down to the boat dock while a guide gave us a history of Loch Ness and some of the mystery behind the monster said to inhabit the huge freshwater lake. Sadly, we didn’t see Nessie during our half hour cruise, but we ended up at Urquhart Castle so I guess that was okay. The castle was another huge ruin and I had just enough time to run around with the camera and get some great photos. After a short video on the history of the castle, I was back on the bus and taken into Inverness again just in time to catch my train to Aberdeen. Got back to Aberdeen around 7pm and found the husband at the Irish pub, Malones (yep, Irish pub, in Scotland). We went over to Slains Castle Pub which was inside an old cathedral. Really neat ambiance – the sort of place you’d expect Dracula to show up for dinner. Then I went over to the Belmont Cinema Cafe to meet up with the Aberdeen Stitch ‘n’ Bitch group. Got in about a half hour of knitting (I showed up late) and then went back to Slains to meet up with the husband and go back to the hotel.

Friday, the husband was done with class for the week and we had scheduled a whisky tour, but it ended up being cancelled due to lack of interest (meaning, we were the only people who wanted to go on a whisky tasting tour on Friday, geez people). We got on the train and ended up in Keith at the Strathisla distillery, the oldest constantly running legal distillery in Scotland. Most of their whisky goes into the Chivas Regal blends, but we got to sample some of the distillery’s whisky that they sold outside of the Chivas brand. A lot of the beer brewing knowledge we have helped us appreciate the tour more and understand the whole thing better. We brought home a bottle of cask strength whisky that was aged in a sherry barrel. Did a quick lunch in town and then went back to the hotel where the husband went straight to bed while I went down and grabbed dinner at the hotel’s bar.

Saturday was up early and on the plane back to home.

A few other things of note about the trip:

Seagulls. Aberdeen has lots of them, and they’re the BIGGEST seagulls I have ever seen in my life. I’m fairly sure they could eat most small dogs for dinner and not blink twice. They’ve been known to go on shoplifting sprees and attack people for whatever food they’re holding. There’s even a facebook group dedicated to their demise.

Temperatures were about 60F for the high and only about 50F for the low. The north sea pumps out some cold air that keeps the temperatures steadily cool. There was only one day that it rained all day, Wednesday, but most days would give you a few brief periods of rain mixed with sun. They say that if you don’t like the weather in Scotland, just wait 15 minutes – it’ll change.

To make things easier, the husband and I picked up a pre-paid SIM card for our phones at T-Mobile in Aberdeen for 5GBP. I got a week’s free internet access which helped me out A LOT with the G1 phone I’ve got – I was able to pull up google maps wherever we were and know exactly where I was and where to go. When the husband finished his classes, he’d call, we’d meet up, and it made life SO much easier. Definitely worth the money.

The exchange rate sucked. 1.62 GBP to the US dollar. And most of the prices, say a pair of jeans was 24.99 GBP.. about what you’d expect to pay for the same jeans in USD, just take out the pound sign and put in the dollar sign. But NO! No. The exhange rate made them 1.62 times more expensive.

Just a few photos here, the rest are in this set on flickr.