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2024 London/Scotland
  • Juliet Sinclair's Trips
  • Juliet Sinclair's Trips

2024 London/Scotland

Un’avventura di 22 giorni di Juliet Sinclair's Trips Leggi altro
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  • Inizio del viaggio
    18 maggio 2024
    Juliet Sinclair's Trips2024 London/ScotlandViaggiatore

    Day 1: London

    18 maggio 2024, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    After an easy travel day, we arrived London just after noon. The immigration process was surprisingly easy and fast!! Way better than the process we endured on our recent trip to Toronto. The Canadians should really learn something from UK.

    Our hotel is located at the heart of London. Walking distance to many attractions in the city.

    I was fortunate enough to book a tour at the Parliament House, since they only open to the public few times a month.

    Walking towards the Parliament House should’ve been an easy 18 minute walk, but a massive pro-Palestinian protest slowed down our pace.

    There were at least 40,000 people, carrying cease fire and pro-Palestinian signs, shouting slogans, and making speeches on a stage. Many Met Police officers were watching the march with vigilance. It was chaotic but peaceful.

    We also encountered protests for Zimbabwe and Sir Lanka on our way. Not as big as the pro-Palestinian march, but they also made their voices heard.

    The entire heart of London was sea of people everywhere we looked…until we reached the Palace of Westminster, where House of Parliament is.

    The Big Ben clock tower soared into the sky, welcome us with its magnificence. The line for the visitor entrance wasn’t too long at all.

    Walking into the massive hall where past Kings and Queens made their speeches to public was definitely awe inspiring. The signature gothic architecture style is consistent throughout the entire palace. The magnificent mosaic window reaches all the way to the celling.

    The staff working here were very polite and efficient. I accidentally dropped my water bottle and spilled water on the stairs, a staff was by my side almost immediately, smiled at me to ease my embarrassment, and talked on the walkie to ask for cleaning up.

    Considering the house of parliament is a working space for the lords and MPs to make policies, it’s remarkable to us that they open it to the public at all. We got the chance to walk through the glittering halls with golden ceilings, viewing the royal portraits and the statues of important Prime Ministers, like Churchill and Thatcher. Most amazingly, the halls of lords and commons where they actually debate and making laws and regulations. I wonder if they allow the public to walk through the halls in US congress like this.

    By the time we completed our tour, all the protesters had dispersed, but there were still massive crowds everywhere we went. I was just glad we didn’t need to take any public transportation at this point.

    Dinner was at one of the best Indian restaurants in London called Colonial Saab. We were delighted to see there were many dishes on the menu that we don’t usually see in other Indian restaurants. The food was delicious! There was an extra layer of complexity in the flavor that made it stand above the other Indian dishes we had before, including the food we had when we were in India a few years ago.

    By the time we got back to our hotel, we were tired but content. Early bed time for us today!    Leggi altro

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  • Juliet Sinclair's Trips2024 London/ScotlandViaggiatore

    Day 2: London

    19 maggio 2024, Inghilterra ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Churchill has always been a leader that’s admired by both Steve and I, so we were very excited to be able to visit his war room.

    Walking into the underground bunker was a surreal moment, knowing how much this place had made a difference in defeating the Nazi in WW2. With his ruthlessness in leading the army, his charm leading the people, Churchill was exactly what Britain needed to win the war. We’ve learned so much about the man during this tour.

    When I visited the British Museum many years ago, I remember being angry seeing the artifacts that I could only see as photographs in our text books, but could see in person here. Now, I was back here this afternoon, and my feelings were mixed. As our excellent guide had pointed out to me, how many of these artifacts would’ve been destroyed during Cultural Revolution if they were still in China? Yeah, I was not mad about the museum as before. Seeing all these magnificent artifacts from different cultures and different times in history all in one place, it’s kind of nice actually. Not to excuse all the evil the imperial had done to the world, but the result may not be all bad.

    After an excellent dinner at The Ivy Restaurant, we went to see a play called What Play that goes wrong. Seen some episodes on tv before and loved them, seeing it in person was way better!! The talented cast did a fantastic job to bring so much laughters and excitement to the whole theater! Most importantly, kept me awake from falling asleep from jet lag. Highly recommended!    Leggi altro

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  • Juliet Sinclair's Trips2024 London/ScotlandViaggiatore

    Day 3: London

    20 maggio 2024, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We had another full day of activities today again! First in the morning, Westminster Abby! When I went inside of the Abby many years ago, I was stunned by its beauty, today, my draw dropped once again. We have been to many magnificent religious places in the world: St Paul’s Cathedral in Vatican, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, and my personal favorite, Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Westminster Abbey is in my top three list. It’s the perfect blend of elegance and grandeur, the sunlight shining through the mosaic windows certainly added even more beauty to the space.

    Finding out that Stephen Hawking is buried right next to Newton warmed my heart.

    Due to the approaching of King Charles birthday celebration in June, the regiment of guards were having rehearsals. Our guide told us that it’s rare to see so many guards together like this, along with the full march band. We saw them rehearsing their formations at the horse guards field, and later marching on the Royal Mile towards the palace. So very cool!

    We then took the River Cruise on Thames River, sailed to Tower of London, which is one of my favorite historical sites. There are so much mysteries and so many deaths happened in this amazing fortress, not to mention the 35 Beefeaters walking around the compound, linking the history with the present. Also, the biggest diamond in the world, the crowns wore by all the Kings and Queens (happened as recently as just few months ago), and the royal armors/swords… so many cool objects at one place to showcase the wealth of a empire. It really does get any better than this!

    I was delighted to see a beautiful little girl in her fancy dress, running and dancing on the lawn in front of the King’s house (once held the notorious Guy Fawkes), and then hear booming voice from a Beefeater, telling her to get out the grass. Hilarious!

    Dinner was at a tiny little Italian restaurant where they made refresh pasta in front of your eyes. The food here was delicious!!    Leggi altro

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  • Juliet Sinclair's Trips2024 London/ScotlandViaggiatore

    Day 4: London

    21 maggio 2024, Inghilterra ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    When Rome conquered London 2,000 years ago, they built some grand buildings and a wall around the old city of London. After they left London, so did many educated and Latin speaking Londoners, therefore there is little historical documentation on what or where those buildings were. As the high rises started to be built in London, they dug deeper and deeper, and uncovered some amazing archaeological sites from the Rome period.

    Which is why, having a private tour with an archaeologist in London is a cool thing for us to do. Our guide is actually one of the archaeologists who are currently processing a newly discovered site in London, and was very excited to tell us all about the history of London and the architecture aspect of the buildings from different time periods. We walked a large section of the London that the tourists may not set their foot into.

    We learned so much from him! I have to say, standing on the top of Tower Hill, the site where many famous people were beheaded, was a surreal moment of our trip.

    The National Gallery is celebrating 200th year of its history, so they have free admission this whole year. The luck we had for the past 4 days of sunshine has finally run out. With the constant drizzle outside, walking the grand halls of National Gallery seems to be the perfect thing to do as we spent the last full day in London.

    Dinner was at one of the best restaurants in London called St John Restaurant. The bone marrow salad was delicious!

    Heading to Edinburgh tomorrow!    Leggi altro

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  • Juliet Sinclair's Trips2024 London/ScotlandViaggiatore

    Day 5: Edinburgh

    22 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    The train to Edinburgh was delayed due to a pedestrian’s collision with a train in the morning, the train supposed to depart before us was cancelled. In a remarkable British fashion, there was no dispute among the passengers regarding who should get the seats despite the fact two trainload of passengers squeezed into one. Can’t say the same would happen if it occurred in America, can definitely say there would be many arguments if it occurred in China!

    The rain has haunted us from London to Edinburgh, and it will remain throughout our stay here. Sadly.

    We have decided to give Evan a proper hand made Scottish Kilt as his birthday present (possibly his Wedding attire in the future!). As we walking into this Traditional kilt maker shop, we knew we had come to the right place. There were old ladies making kilt right there on the second floor of the shop!

    Evan picked a very nice Sinclair tartan with red hue, it’s called Sinclair Modern pattern. I can picture a very handsome Evan wearing it on his wedding day in the near future. A mother can dream!

    I have to give a shoutout to a fantastic restaurant here called Baba, it’s a midwestern restaurant with some amazing food! Seriously, besides the lamb shoulders and pork neck dishes that melt in your mouth, I really don’t know how anyone can make a simple cabbage dish so tasty! The best food we had so far on the trip!

    There is also a hot chocolate shop here. Can you imagine the entire menu of hot chocolates? Every item listed where is sourced and % of coco within it. What’s even more unbelievable was the fact adding Sichuan pepper powder (they grind it right in front of you) can elevate the taste of hot chocolate to another level! The best and most unique hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted!

    Looking forward to a full day of activity tomorrow!    Leggi altro

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  • Juliet Sinclair's Trips2024 London/ScotlandViaggiatore

    Day 6: Edinburgh

    23 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    The rain was relentless today and certainly dampen the mood a bit. When I came here many years ago, a beautiful blue sky was the backdrop of this charming city, which helped making it my top 3 most beautiful cities in the world. Today, the visibility was so low that you can hardly see anything even looking out from the top of the castle. However, rain is very much part of Edinburgh’s character. As a lady tour guide told us later in the day:”If you come to Edinburgh, don’t complain about the rain. Because you came willingly despite of it.”

    Our first business of the day was actually laundry. We carried our big bag of laundry and walked all the way to the University of Edinburgh area. What should be the most mundane part of the day turned very interesting, because of the owner of this laundromat.

    As soon as you see him, you knew he was trouble. This overweight older gentleman with a red face is clearly fond of the bottom of the bottles. As soon as he opened his mouth, you can tell how much he likes to offend people.

    A university student from Edinburgh university came in and gave him an interview, asked him some local issues. He is anti-immigration, anti-establishment, almost anti everything!! We sat there listened and rolled our eyes. He later tried to talk to us, I didn’t take an easy on him with my mocking tune. He became exasperated and said they call a woman like me “Stalin’s grandma”! 🙄Since he seems to a know-it-all type of the guy, Evan asked him:”is there anything you are not expert of?” He said:”Stay married.” I said:”Why am I not surprised?!” 😂 Although he does very three very cute dogs in the shop.

    After a quick lunch at a restaurant specializing Baked Potatoes, we had a nice tour of Edinburgh Castle, and was lucky enough to see the change of the guards here as well.

    Unfortunately our dinner at a French restaurant right by our hotel was mediocre, but the best thing of the day had yet to come.

    The Edinburgh Ghost Tour was excellent! There were so many interesting and sometimes grisly stories in this ancient city. Our tour guy was a lady who was very passionate about her job and was great at telling stories. After walking through the streets and alleyways of the cities, listening to the stories of hanging and tortures, we arrived at the underground cellars of the Edinburgh. It was very interesting to wander through the underbelly of a city with a rich history, getting to know about the operations of some more questionable methods.

    Just to make the day even more interesting, we saw a fire truck parked right in front of our hotel, and we were ushered into a nearby building by the security since our hotel was being evacuated. Fortunately, they determined it was false alarm shortly after.

    We will say goodbye to this city and head to Glasgow tomorrow.    Leggi altro

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    John Knox' Memorial in GlasgowJohn Knox' Burial site under a parking spot in Edinburgh

    Day 7: Glasgow

    24 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    The rain has lessened a bit in our last morning in Edinburgh. We managed to get a couple good photos of the castle as the background.

    The train ride from Edinburgh to Glasgow provided some nice scenery of Scotland countryside: green meadows and rolling hills, dotted by black cows and white sheep. All seemed very pleasant and peaceful.

    We had heard that Glasgow was not a pleasant city, a trashy city with drunk people, but when we arrived here, we were happily surprised. The city is clean and grand, rows of Victorian buildings with wide streets in the middle. A major throughput is a pedestrian street which made the city very walkable. A large square right in front of the city chamber is dedicated to unknown soldiers memorial, and statues of writers and scientists, which is a nice diversion from all the statues of politicians we’ve seen.

    Best of all, we finally saw some patches of blue sky!

    Glasgow Necropolis is a very large cemetery about a mile away from the city centre. John Knox, the person led the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, has his memorial at the highest center ground here. However, his body is actually buried in Edinburgh, currently under a parking spot in front of a church. I will post both photos with this post.

    Dinner tonight was at a very fancy restaurant near our hotel. Evan and I had been wanting to have a Beef Wellington dish since we arrived in UK, and we were very pleased that this restaurant did an excellent job with it.

    Although I did something quite embarrassing. I couldn’t find the ladies bathroom (it’s on a different floor than Men’s which is in the basement), so I went into the bathroom for disabled people. To flash toilet in UK, sometimes you need to pull a string. I mistakenly pulled the distress string for the disabled person instead of flush string. I frantically tried to find a way to stop the alarm but couldn’t. I had to walk all the way upstairs to tell the manager of the restaurant. He just laughed and told me this happened all the time. He was able to shut it off thankfully.

    We will be renting a car tomorrow and head west. Steve is rightfully nervous about driving on the “wrong” side of the street for the next two weeks!    Leggi altro

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    Day 8: Balloch/Loch Lomond

    25 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Happy to report that Steve did a fine job driving on UK road! He got us out of Glasgow and drove us to a small town by Loch Lomond safely.

    Loch Lomond is the largest freshwater lake in UK. Balloch is a charming little town next to it with a busy dock. Our hotel is right across street from the dock. A busy restaurant is on the bottom floor of the building, they were getting ready for a large crowd due to the championship game of Scotland Football League when we arrived.

    We took a relaxing lake cruise, learned some interesting things about the area. The line dividing Lowland and Highland of Scotland is right in the middle of this lake. Mary Queen of Scot spent her last days as free person in a castle on an island of this lake.

    However, we didn’t truly appreciate the beauty of the lake until we climbed a little hill that locals fondly called “the dumping”.

    We were the only people climbing the hill, stopping once a while to enjoy some very classic Scottish scenery as we walked. Once we reached the top, the entire lake expended in front of our eyes. Stunning, simply stunning views of the sparkling water, the dotted islands, the blue sky and white/grey clouds, and the mountains peaks on the horizon. WOW!! What an amazing view!

    Since we were the only people on the hill, we lingered for a while and patted ourselves on the back for coming here.

    Next, we headed to Finnich Glen, a hidden glen near here that appeared in the show “Outlander”.
    There were very few parking spaces here and we were lucky to find one. Walking on the muddy path right by the cliff of the glen was a bit nerve wracking, and the stairs going down to the water was steep and broken. We decided not to risk our lives for photos, instead walked to the end of the trail and headed to the water in a much safer way. It’s interesting to see how red the water was…iron in the clay perhaps?

    The boys insisted having proper Scottish Fish and Chips for dinner. So we went to a take out place that seemed attracted many locals. The fish were fired golden brown and crispy! Although we had to take them back to our hotel room and sat on the floor to eat them. Very different than our posh dinner in Glasgow last night 😂    Leggi altro

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    Day 9: Balloch/Loch Lomond

    26 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    OK, I was a bit tired to full Scottish breakfast plate, and really missed having some healthy options for breakfast, but my search for a simple fruit cup came back with nothing. So our breakfast this morning was a trip to the grocery store.

    I got a nice healthy smoothie and packaged boxes of cut fruit, the boys got their various pastries. Cheaper than any restaurants, and everyone was happy. While in the store, a nice Scottish old lady who was a bit short, tried to get an attention from a tall guy about something. I saw him walking away unaware, and she looked disappointed. So I walked over to see what she needed. Turned out she just needed something from a top shelf and she couldn’t reach it. Evan got them down for her without an issue. “It’s kind of like helping Granny!” (She looked and sounded a lot like Evan’s granny Helen).

    There was no plans for today, we were just driving around and see what we liked to do. The first stop was at Bird of Prey sanctuary. Even though it was nice to see the birds up close, and they were all rescued birds from the area, it was still a bit sad to see them in cages and chains.

    After a bit of driving, we somehow ended up on a narrow road that’s supposed to be two way street. Fortunately we were way off the beaten path, there was hardly any car around, so we were able to enjoy the quintessential Scotland Highland countryside with only sheep, lots of sheep, as company.

    We took many stops, quiet and beautiful beaches, cloud shrouded peaks, twisty streams that cut through valleys, basically anything interesting was admired and photographed. It was nice to be the only people on the road!

    We rejoined the civilization in a town called Luss. Steve found an empty spot and parked there. We went into a store and bought some items. When we came out, we saw a cop chatting with some tourists. Steve went up to him and asked if he could park where we left the car, the cop exclaimed:”I was just about to put a parking ticket on that car! Is it yours?! No, you can’t park there!” LOL! We were seconds away getting a ticket. So glad Steve asked.

    The weather cooperated. We didn’t feel a drop of rain until dinner time. The restaurant, a nice Spanish Tapa place, was located in Helensburgh, a coastal town at the mouth of the Gareloch, not far from the Sinclair street. 😉    Leggi altro

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    Day 10: Fort William

    27 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    The Hill House was one of the few buildings that designed by the renowned architect/artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh, located in Helensburgh, Scotland. Since Evan’s great grandmother was a Mackintosh, and we all really like the artistic style, we thought it’s worth a visit.

    Charles and his wife truly poured their heart and soul into house, every corner of the house was meticulously decorated with their unique style. We simply loved every minute spent in this house!

    Our drive to Fort William was nerve wracking due to the narrow lanes and the speed we had to keep. The car in front of us was clearly driven by an American as well, unfortunately they got a flat tire just few miles out of town, cut by the potholes on the road. We got even more nervous after witness that! Fortunately we made to our destination without an issue.

    Our Bed and Breakfast is a lovely house by the sea. An amazing ocean view is right outside of our window. We will definitely enjoy our time here for the next two days.

    After several days without seeing the sunshine, we were blessed by the blue sky after a really nice dinner at a local restaurant. Without hesitation, we drove to the most spectacular place in Scotland called Glencoe, and snapped some beautiful photos. Who knows how much rain we will see tomorrow? We need to treasure any sunshine we can while in Scotland!    Leggi altro

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    Day 11: Fort William

    28 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    I am so happy that we got out last night when the sun came out (it gets dark around 10 PM here), because we didn’t see any sunshine today at all.

    There was no rain in the morning, we set out and hiked one of the hardest trails in the Glencoe Mountains areas: the trail to the Lost Valley. This 4 mile long trail has over 1,000 feet elevation, and many places have steep slopes without steps, so we really had to trust the traction of our hiking boots. I had to use my hands to assist the climb sometimes, and the most difficult part involved a large boulder with a bit groves to step on. I did like to step on the rocks to cross a wide stream on the trail though.

    At the end of the trail, we were rewarded a large valley that’s surrounded by tall slopes, like a giant bowl hiding deep in the mountains. This was the hidden valley that some refugees from a clan escaped to during a war with another clan.

    Just as we finished having some snacks sitting on a flat boulder, the rain started.

    The return trip was mostly downhill. It would’ve been a lot easier if wasn’t for the fact the rain made the rocks on the trail slippery. At the end of our hike, we were all soaked from rain and sweat!

    The Glencoe mountain resort was a short drive away. Some hot chocolate/coffee and a bowl of tomato soup were exactly what we needed at that moment!

    The rain was less intense by the time we sat on our chairlift, intended to take an easy way to go up to the summit. But the cold wind made the rain difficult to tolerate. The section of the chairlift that actually goes up to the summit was closed. So we didn’t leave our chairs, just let it took us back down the mountain. The view would’ve been spectacular if we had more visibility. Oh well, Scottish weather, can’t complain too much.    Leggi altro

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    Day 12: Fort William

    29 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in UK, was our destination today. We had been preparing for this hike since the trip planning started months ago. Hiking boots, raincoat windbreakers, sturdy umbrellas, bug spray, etc. all bought for this hike. We are grateful for all these preparations throughout the trip since all had been very helpful, but today is the big day!

    We had planned to hike to the summit, which would’ve taken 8 to 10 hours, but since we had dinner reservation and an evening cruise planned, we simply didn’t have the time to do so. Furthermore, the peak was shrouded in thick layers of clouds, we didn’t think we could see much from it. So we revisited our plan to 4 to 5 hours of hiking.

    Compared with our hike yesterday, this one was actually easier, because there is a clear path to the top, most of it are steps. There are spots that are very rough and harder to pass especially with two way traffic, but honestly not too bad. Easier path doesn’t mean the hike is not hard though. After climbing thousands of steps, legs do get tired and knees start to ache. However, I am proud to say that my fitness has passed the test. After about three hours of climbing, I could continue without an issue. However, we had to turn back due to time constraints. So after a lovely picnic by a waterfall, we turned back. As always, the return trip is faster. But due to the wet conditions of the path, I fell down twice!! Fortunately I landed on my bottom, and didn’t hurt my tailbone, or scrape my hands too bad. A nice British guy who saw my fall offered me chocolate to make me feel better. I thanked him but declined.

    The views along the hike were breathtaking.

    After a nice dinner at a local restaurant, we boarded our evening cruise, and had a lovely time on the water.

    We are heading to Isle of Skye tomorrow!    Leggi altro

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    Day 13: Isle of Skye

    30 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    The drive from Fort William to Isle of Skye is one of the most beautiful journeys in the world!!

    The cascading mountains are stretching to the horizon, the peaceful lakes are surrounded by lush green, the beautiful purple rhododendrons are lining along the highway, and covering entire hills, and of course, there is a picturesque castle by the water suddenly appearing by the road. There are very few places in the world can compete with the beauty of Scottish Highlands. We basically wowed the entire way!

    When I was planning this vacation, Steve was very much against coming to Isle of Skye, due to the overcrowding of the tourists. I made a compromise by booking us at a nearby island called Raasay, with a popular of 190 people.

    After an 20 minute ferry ride, we arrived at Raasay House, the only hotel on the island, which used to be the clan house. We immediately fell in love with the charm building and our spacious rooms.

    There is a hill right behind the hotel, which has a really nice view of the isle of Skye. A little black bird hopped in front of us almost the whole way, guiding us towards the top of the hill. A hike to the little village granted our first sight of a Highland Cow, something we had wanted to see since we arrived at the highlands.

    After a very nice dinner at the hotel restaurant, Steve and Evan huddled together and planned our itinerary for tomorrow. We will see how well they did to see the best sights of Isle of Skye.    Leggi altro

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    Day 14: Isle of Skye

    31 maggio 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    After a nice breakfast in Portree, the major town in the Skye, we headed out to our first destination.

    In Braveheart movie, William Wallace was asking his girlfriend to go out, she complained about the rain. He said:”This is not rain, it’s not even horizontal!” Steve always joked it’s normal to have horizontal rain in Scotland… and I finally experienced it this morning.

    We were high enough to be in the clouds, the wind was cold and intense, and the rain was literally hitting us from sideways! Despite the unique scenery, we had to leave since we could hardly open our eyes!

    Fortunately, as the day went on, the weather got better. By the time we reached Old Man of Storr, we even got some sunshine! Isle of Skye is indeed very beautiful!

    However, for anyone coming here, I highly recommend staying on Raasay island like we did. Because the best part of our entire vacation so far was a bike ride in the sunset on Raasay. Since the sunset very late in summer here, we were able to ride our bike after dinner in plenty of sunshine.

    It’s difficult to describe just how beautiful the island is. The glistening ocean, the blue sky, the peaceful atmosphere of Scottish countryside, the purple rhododendrons lining up both side of the road, I seriously thought I was riding in the paradise! Since the last ferry has left the island, there were just the residents and few tourists on the island, there was no one on the road. We rode our bikes freely, the only sounds we heard were buzzing bees, the whispering leaves, and the gentle waves.

    We will miss this charming little island once we leave tomorrow.    Leggi altro

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    Day 15: Inverness

    1 giugno 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    The drive from Isle of Skye to Inverness was as lovely as ever. As Uncle Myles said to us at the dinner:”You go through all four seasons in one day in Scotland.” Well, it’s true. I left the Skye wearing 2 jackets, ended up wearing a dress in Inverness.

    The last time we saw Steve’s aunt Susan and Uncle Myles was at wedding more than 20 years ago. It was so nice to see them again today! Myles is just as funny as I remembered, and Susan looks remarkably similar to Steve’s mom.

    We had a very nice dinner together with them by River Ness.    Leggi altro

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    Day 16: Inverness

    2 giugno 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Met with Susan and Myles at a pub for lunch today and really enjoyed the delicious Scottish food and some great conversation!

    We then walked to a nearby cemetery where Steve’s great great great uncle is buried. It’s very interesting to hear the stories of family history.

    For any Outlander TV show fans, our next destination is very interesting: Clava Cairn. The prehistoric standing stones are the time travel stones in the show. Unfortunately it didn’t buzz when I touched it. Stuck in the current time, for now.

    I learned Battle of Culloden from the Outlander show. Now I am standing on the actual battlefield made me feel surreal. The entire history of this rebellion is being presented in the museum expertly. The stories of opposing forces are displayed on the opposite of the walls, so you can learn what had happened from both perspectives. A reenactment of the battle is shown with 4 scenes that surround the audience, allowing us to get a feel of what’s like to be there during the battle. A table screen shows the entire battle formation and progression. On top of that, a guided tour by a staff walked us into the field, and truly made us understand the emotional history very important battle in Scotland history.

    It was wonderful to spend a lovely day with Steve’s aunt and uncle today!    Leggi altro

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    Day 17: Caringorms National Park

    3 giugno 2024, Scozia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    We are back to nature again after a very nice visit to Inverness. Cairngorms National Park is the largest park in UK, even from the highways, we can see the beautiful mountains in the horizon.

    Rothiemurchus, located at the heart of the park, is an absolutely stunning place to visit. There is a hiking trail loop around the beautiful Loch an Eilein (loch of the island) that’s only about 3 miles, perfect for an easy day of hiking. A castle ruins sits on a small island in the loch, creating a perfect backdrop for a very Scottish scenery. The castle played a role in 1600’s historical events, but due to the rising water of the loch after the construction of a dam, it’s now in the middle of water and no longer accessible by foot.

    The best place to see is actually located near a trail that branches off the main one, stretching into another smaller loch. What we found here certainly belongs to postcards.

    After we checked into our hotel, we visited Ruthven Barracks ruins, one of the four barracks that the English military built during the Jacobite rebellion. It’s also a place the retreating Jacobite soldiers gathered after the Culloden defeat.

    The weather is absolutely perfect today, hopefully we will have it again tomorrow!    Leggi altro

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  • Juliet Sinclair's Trips2024 London/ScotlandViaggiatore

    Day 18: Cairngorms National Park

    4 giugno 2024, Scozia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    Two weather systems were clashing overhead today. When the sun was out, it’s hot with blue sky; the rain arrived, it’s cold and windy. We decided not to climb the mountains today. Instead, today is all about culture and history!

    Blair Castle and garden had 750 years of history. The 12 dukes that governed the estate had long and complicated relationships with the English government. The history of this castle tightly intertwined with the history of British for centuries. It’s certainly the perfect place to visit today!

    We certainly enjoyed the bagpipes performed as we walked in. The quality of the audio tour was excellent! I especially liked the grand drawing room and the ballroom. It’s nice to see how well everything is persevered in the castle.

    A beautiful grove next to the castle has some massive sequoia trees. A stream flows through it with wildflowers on the banks. A picnic area on the front lawn offered us the perfect spot for lunch, with bagpipes music in the background. Although we did have to guard our food containers against the gusty winds.

    The garden is very interesting, not what I had expected at all. A large lily pond with a Chinese bridge in the middle transported me back to China a bit. A mix of carefully cultivated flowers with wild native plants makes this garden very unique.

    Continuing our culture and history tour, we visited Highland Folk Museum. A group of well restored buildings walked us through the history, all the way back to 15th century. Well worth the visit!

    We are heading to Aberdeen area tomorrow.    Leggi altro

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  • Juliet Sinclair's Trips2024 London/ScotlandViaggiatore
    The AirBnB we are staying at: a Castle!
    With Aunt Georgia and the lovely Ukrainian familyThe restaurant we had lunch at was opened by Queen CamillaWe are sleeping in this medieval bedroom tonightSteve and Evan having their frozen pizza

    Day 19: Lickleyhead Castle

    5 giugno 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Guess what?! We will be staying in a castle for the next few days!! I don’t have a bucket list, but if I do, I wouldn’t have listed “sleeping in a castle” on it since I would never imagine I would have the chance. But here we are, staying in a legit Castle AirBnB as our final accommodation for this amazing trip.

    The trip to Aberdeen was just as amazing as all our drives. Scotland is honestly the most beautiful country in the world. Every place we’ve been, there are so many beautiful sceneries of mountains, waterfalls, streams. I actually saw a sheep herding dog at work in a field!

    We passed by Balmoral Palace, the Royal Palace in Scotland, but didn’t have the time to go inside.

    When Uncle Myles found out we are staying in Lickleyhead castle, he googled it and told us:”this is a true Scottish castle. The architecture design and the materials used to build it are truly Scottish!” This statement got us even more excited about seeing it in person.

    As we entered the gate of the castle, there is a treelined street leading up to the building just like other touristy castle we’ve been visiting. The caretaker of the castle came out to meet us, and walked us through the building. He told us this is the childhood home of Rose Leslie (Ygritt of Game of Thrones), wife of Kit Harington (Jon Snow). Her family sold this castle just 4 years ago. Cool!

    We will be occupying the entire East Wing of the castle.

    The reason we can’t stay at Aunt Georgia’s house when visiting, is because she is hosting an Ukrainian Refugee family. She has been doing this since the war started. This family of grandmother, parents and twin babies have been staying with her for the past 6 months. We had a great time getting to know this lovely family. I am very happy that they like the gifts I brought to them: two soft baby blankets in the American Flag patterns.

    Aunt Georgia provided us a lovely afternoon tea with the finest China she inherited from her mother, and many tasty treats. She then took out several folders of old photos and newspapers clippings, told us many stories of her parents. We learned that her mother (Steve’s grandmother) was in British Air Force during WW2 and was deployed to Egypt for a couple years; her father was a renowned capercaillie bird breeder that was invited to meet the Queen at Balmoral Palace in 1970. Sadly he passed away just few weeks before the meeting. I am so happy that both Steve and Evan have this chance to learn about their amazing history.

    Aunt Georgia’s dog Rosa (named after Rosa Park) is the best behaved dog I’ve ever met! I am usually scared of dogs due to a childhood trauma, but Rosa is so well behaved and sweet that I was afraid of her at all! We had a lovely walk with Georgia and Rosa in the woods after the tea time. Steve and Evan had a lot of fun playing throw and fetch with Rosa.

    Upon returning to the castle, Steve and Evan had their froze pizza in the grand dinning room. 😂    Leggi altro

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  • Juliet Sinclair's Trips2024 London/ScotlandViaggiatore

    Day 20: Lickleyhead Castle

    6 giugno 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    The castle was originally built in 1530’s by the Leslie clan. Throughout its 500 years of history, it has many owners. Although the Leslie clan stayed here most. In fact, Rose Leslie (Ygritt of Game of Thrones), wife of Kit Harington (Jon Snow) grew up in this castle.

    When we walked through many castles during our trip, I always wondered what’s like to live here. Well, now I know a bit about it: it’s really cold at night. Well, it’s only about 40 degrees outside, without proper modern heating system, it’s cold in here. People used to light fire in the fireplace during night, we could only use the small heater, which did a superb job keeping us warm last night. Also, there are very few electric outlets; none in the bathroom. So be warned before you stay in a castle.

    Besides the small drawbacks, it has been an absolutely amazing experience!

    We have the entire East Wing of the castle (built in Victorian period). Two floors with a kitchen, two bathrooms, two themed bedrooms, a grand dining room, and lovely drawing room and a small nook for reading undisturbed. Considering our last accommodation was a tiny room in a three star hotel, and the fact we are the only guests here, it’s a bit overwhelming the amount of space we have here.

    Steve and Evan promptly disgraced the meticulously decorated dining room by eating their frozen pizza in it last night. 😂🙄

    This morning, we were able to explore the rest of the castle a bit. The West wing has 4 floors with 6 bedroom suites. There castle grounds also include a rose garden, a tree house, a fire pit and a nice large outdoor chess board. Steve and Evan had a great chess match this afternoon. Apparently it was a fierce battle that Evan won due to a mistake Steve made at the end.

    We are celebrating Evan’s 19th birthday today! He had a baked potato for breakfast (again, just like his birthday celebration in Hawaii two years ago). Our fancy dinner at Aberdeen was excellent!    Leggi altro

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  • Juliet Sinclair's Trips2024 London/ScotlandViaggiatore

    Day 21: Lickleyhead Castle

    7 giugno 2024, Scozia ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    We spent a lovely day with aunt Georgia today! A very interesting tour of a local whisky distillery, a somber stop at the cemetery where her son, husband and parents are buried, and a really tasty family feast with the Ukrainian family.

    Most importantly, we visited the childhood home of her and her brother (Steve’s father). While there, the old neighbor happened to be outside, and came over to say hi. We had a very nice chat with this nice old man.

    After dinner, she showed more photos of her mother and shared many wonderful stories about her. We loved every minute of it!

    Sadly we have to say goodbye to her and Scotland now.

    It has been an absolute amazing trip to the most beautiful place on earth!! Hopefully we will be back soon.    Leggi altro

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    Fine del viaggio
    8 giugno 2024