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Scotland

April 2018
A make it up as we go along journey through Scotland. Read more
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  • TravelerScotland
    Day 1

    Starting Out

    April 15, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Scotland...a romantic place to visit....perfect for our 40th wedding anniversary.

    We are packing our stuff and supposed to leave in 30 minutes, but we are spending time on less productive things like looking for the selfie stick and arguing (discussing) who was the last person to have it. Rob finally said, “don’t you two have to get going?”

    So we did, obviously Dianne is already making her shopping list.

    Our flight leaves at 18:25 for London arriving at 10am and after a short flight on British Airways we will arrive in Edinburgh shortly after 3 tomorrow afternoon.

    I got through security unmolested, but Miss Perfect rang the bell for further random sniffing. It is an electronic dog that does the sniffing, and it seems Dianne smelled alright because there was no further woofing or bell ringing.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland
    Day 2

    We walked miles and miles

    April 16, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We arrived a few minutes early to Heathrow and it was a good thing too. AC parked at Terminal 2; British Airways leaves from Terminal 5. After clearing customs, Tom asked for directions to Terminal 5; he was told simply go thru the doors make a right then left to the train. What they didn’t say it was miles to the train.

    Eventually we made it to terminal 5 and since we sprang for business class tickets on BA we are in the lounge.
    I am such a Prima Donna when it comes to travel now! As we travel standby we had high hopes to be bumped up to business class. Our hopes were dashed when we saw row 38 on our boarding passes. We took our usual seats near the washrooms which didn’t improve my bad mood.

    I knew a couple of the flight attendants who worked the flight to London so of course I was well behaved.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland
    Day 2

    Edinburgh Tram and Scotsman Steps

    April 16, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    The tram ride into Edinburgh was pleasant enough. Like riding the C-Train in Calgary, but places for your luggage. We arrived at St Andrews Square, got our bearings and headed off to the Scotsman Hotel. Our book said there was an entrance to the hotel off of Market Street. Well that’s easy enough we thought but what we didn’t know was there were 104 steps up to the entrance! The Scotsman Steps, made from different colours of marble. The steps separate old town from new town, and you do step back in time as you ascend. Tom grumbled but offered to carry both our bags up.

    After waiting on Dianne for what seemed like an hour, we headed out to get moneyed up, scout train schedules and find a pub to eat in. First two on the list, not that tough, and you would think that finding a pub with good eats wouldn’t be a challenge, but we sometimes have difficulty agreeing on what would be a good place to eat. First it has to have people in it and appear popular. It can’t be too highbrow. One place was populated with what Dianne describes as “old geezers” and she felt we would not fit in. We walked up and down stairs and hills around the neighbourhood and finally settled on a pub just a few steps from the Scotsman. When we found it, Dianne pointed out that she liked this place from the time we passed by it on our way to the hotel.

    The Doric Tavern is the oldest gastro pub (whatever that means) in town. The mood was subdued,and the surroundings old and creaky. We had fish and chips with no ketchup. I wasn’t sure I could pronounce ketchup in Scottish so we went without. When Dianne ordered her wine she asked how big a serving it was. Our server replied “it’s a turd of a bottle”.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland
    Day 3

    Train Tickets and the Royal Mile

    April 17, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Needing transportation to Fort William and beyond, we stopped at Waverly station to get tickets. I remember the Scots as having a reputation of being frugal, and our ticket agent did not disappoint us. He suggested a rail pass that would meet our needs, but we would be required to have passport style pictures of ourselves for the pass identification. Further he suggested that we could save some money on the pictures by going to the photo booth outside Marks and Spencers and quickly switch places while it was taking our photos. We both loved the idea of saving some money while performing a Chinese fire drill in the photo booth. This particular booth is more complicated than I remember them being. There is an array of options to choose from and we ended up doing the seat changing fire drill, but spending more than twice what we wanted and having about 11 non flattering pictures of ourselves. One was portrait size of a very stern looking Dianne. I see the humour in it now but nobody was smiling then. The ticket agent was amused.

    The royal mile is just around the corner of our hotel. We walked down the hill to Holyrood Palace, stopping in every Christmas store and walked back up the hill towards Edinburgh Castle stopping in every Christmas store we missed on the way down. Mostly Dianne is a browser when it comes to shopping at the stores. I want to buy from the first shop we go into so we can stop looking. We compromised by getting a coffee around halfway.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland
    2
    Day 3

    Edinburgh Castle

    April 17, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    You can tell by the history recorded at Edinburgh Castle that the English and the Scottish have had some difficulty getting along in the past. The castle is described by Rick Steves as “ an iconic hilltop fort and royal residence, complete with Crown Jewels, Romanesque chapel and a fine military museum.Read more

  • TravelerScotland
    1
    11
    Day 3

    Ghilley Dhu

    April 17, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    On the way to our planned eating establishment we walked through Princes Street Garden. It is a nice green space that separates old Edinburgh and new Edinburgh. The park has a good vibe with a great view of the castle. Ghilley Dhu is the name of a pub we researched from home. It is said to be traditional Scottish food and fare. It was Scottish alright, and the food was good, but I can’t confirm that steak is traditional Scot. The servers wore kilts and we were too early for the live music. Adam Morris is the featured artist tonight. I’m pretty sure he isn’t hip hop or rap. We’ll check the reviews tomorrow.Read more

  • TravelerScotland
    1
    1
    Day 4

    Quick visit in Glasgow

    April 18, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    I’m not a big fan of the selfie stick. We have a lot of pictures of ourselves with me and what looks like a fake smile in front of whatever church, castle, monument, boat, shopping centre, or cutout celebrity that is on hand. If I don’t smile enough for Dianne’s satisfaction, we take another pic. That being said, I don’t think I was the last person to have our missing selfie stick.

    We took the train to Glasgow this morning on our way to Fort William. We had enough time in Glasgow to go shopping for a new selfie stick. The last one I purchased in China at the Pearl market. It was very inexpensive. So much so that I thought there was no chance of getting a poorer quality version. I was wrong. We were able to find a shorter, less functional version, making me long for the old stick. We also picked up a couple of sandwiches for the rest of the journey.

    As I write we are training through the Scottish highlands. The scenery is spectacular with hilltops obscured by cloud. Some snow in the higher elevations, and early spring emerging everywhere around us. We fit in with the granola crowd on this train. We have our hiking shoes and layered clothing along with our backpacks and my weathered old man face for a selfie.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland
    1
    Day 4

    We are in the Highlands!

    April 18, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Just after 4 this afternoon we arrived in Fort William after a scenery filled 4 hour train ride. The country side is beautiful. Along the way some hikers would wave as the train went by. We found the b&b within a 20 minute walk from the train station, which was good because I booked it on line, and you never know for sure until you’re there. Our accommodations are very pleasant and bright. Nice to experience, but boring to talk about.Read more

  • TravelerScotland
    Day 5

    The Hogwarts Express

    April 19, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Our travelling companions today are a couple from Australia, sitting across from us, and two Scottish couples sitting beside us who keep trying to get us to pay them for the excellent scenery. The train we are on is the Hogwarts Express. The steam engine and railcars are in the Harry Potter movies. Dianne has the window seat and I have the aisle. We sit facing the Aussies, with whom we make good conversation. The Scots beside me have one loud and entertaining lady who keeps their foursome going with a constant commentary about her take on life. She has tried to get me interested in a possible two for one divorce, mentioned when she saw a pretty garden shed that they had a Granny annex, and true to Scot form, berated her husband when he fell asleep. “You paid for the view.”

    We both agreed that it was a good day even though we were apprehensive at the start. We only had one way tickets. When we booked, they said that it was the full coming back. Our reserved seats on the way to Mallaig were not together, and I was concerned Dianne would find a new beau. No worries though. We showed up early and they found us seats together and return tickets at a fraction of the price we would pay if we booked a later ride on a different train. To celebrate our good fortune, I splurged for a ride on a small boat that cruised the western islands. It was only two islands in the end. I'll call them seal island and seagull island. You can imagine.

    Malliag and the boat ride remind us of Newfoundland. The rugged coastline and the difficulty discerning what the locals are saying adds to our sentiment.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland
    Day 5

    Fish & Chips and Haggis

    April 19, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    We didn't have enough time to sit down for lunch after our boat ride, so we got some fish and chips to go. As I sat and spread my feast before me, the loud Scot lady looked at me sternly and said "no food or drink on the train". Her husband chimed "we'll have to confiscate that". We all started to laugh. The ride back was the same scenery in reverse. All good, and when we returned to Fort William put together a loose plan for tomorrow, that is weather and bus schedule dependant.

    The Austrailians had asked us if we had tried Haggis. We admitted we hadn't, but said we would like to. Now was the time and we went into a restaurant on High street and ordered Haggis Neeps and Mash... and a salad to wash it all down. Dianne has some Irish blood according to her family tree, and my Grandma Gillis (nee Griffin) claimed to be Scottish, so it is really no surprise that we both enjoyed the Haggis. It has oatmeal in it with various other meat ingredients like liver, heart, lung and maybe a few other things. Around here it is made from sheep, but it depends on the local favourite. Neeps is mashed turnip and mash is potato.    Read more

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