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Scotland 2024
  • Nadine T

Scotland 2024

A 13-day adventure by Nadine Read more
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  • Trip start
    October 2, 2024
    Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Off to see the ponies

    October 2, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    My image of Scotland is Shetland ponies running around the higlands. This is why we booked the trip. AND WJ flies direct AND I have never been. Join me as I discover a love of scotch (maybe), buy a pony (I wish) and find a third that convinces us to live with him or her in their castle (I will do anything to live in a castle).Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Jet lagged in Edinburgh

    October 3, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    After a medical emergency in Calgary our plane arrived 1 hour late in Edinburgh. By the time we made it through customs, found the hotel and freshened up it was early afternoon. The plan was to stay up till 8pm so our first stop was for coffee, then it was off to bookshops and wool shops. I purposely did not bring a book so I could buy a good Scottish murder mystery. After watching all the Shetlands I know that Scotland is basically the murder capital of the world and there would be lots of books about murder. This was a bit more challenging as guess what they don’t just talk about murders here.

    Speaking of Shetland none of the shops have anything with Shetland ponies on them, it is all this hairy ass cow! Not impressed.

    Anyways this adventure took us through Old Town Edinburgh which is something out of a movie…a movie called Harry Potter. We also made it to the castle but it was closed for tours so we just went into the wee gift shop. Everything is wee here. We also found a wee pub and sat down for some wee pints. It was weerific! We also had Scottish chowder or Cullen Skink as they call it, difference is that it is made with haddock and scallions, but just as tasty.    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler
    Cullen skunk
    Haggis

    Whisky Sauce on Everything!

    October 4, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    With limited time in Edinburgh we thought a food tour would be the best way to taste local food (bring on the Haggis) and learn some history.

    We started the day at the King George the 4th bar with Cullen skink and haggis. WTF is Cullen Skink, it is basically chowder with smoked fish and scallions. It originated in Cullen in a time when their industry was cows and not fish. They would take the skink (what they call a shin of beef) and made it into a beef stew. Then their industry moved to fish and they smoked fish make it last longer and then made it into a “stew”. #themoreyouknow

    Haggis…ummm….Haggis sounds mother fucking disgusting. But it is basically sausage that has no casing (because you don’t eat the stomach). It was served with tatties (buttered mashed potatoes) and nips (mashed up parsnip and/or turnip with butter) and a whisky sauce. Oh my it was delightful. To me it was like Shepard’s pie in whisky, so good. Now if I saw this meat come out of the stomach casing that would have been a different story.

    For dessert we went to this ice shop where we had raspberry and vanilla ice cream drizzled with a whisky sauce. They seem to put that shit on everything.

    Then we went had a wee whisky tasting followed up by tea and scones with clotted cream and fresh raspberry jam. This was free from whisky (which was kinda sad).

    Oh and at some point we stopped for a wee bit of fudge. It was a jam packed tour.    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Wee Bobby

    October 4, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    The best piece of history I have learned on this trip is about Wee Bobby (as he is known to the locals) or Greyfriars Bobby. Wee Bobby used to patrol a graveyard with his owner who was a night watchman. When his owner past Wee Bobby guarded his owners grave.Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler
    Holyrood
    Edinburgh CastleEdinburgh Castle

    Castles

    October 4, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    The Royal family has a castle in Edinburgh, Palace of Holyrood. Since we were cheap we just walked the perimeter of the castle trying to get good pictures. Similar to the other castle here. Though now that we are leaving Edinburgh I am regretting not going to see the old castle as I have become obsessed with talking pictures of it. I am now thinking I am in the market for a castle.Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler
    Scott MonumentOur coffee spot for the last 3 days

    Markets and History

    October 5, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    I was happy to learn that there was a Saturday Farmer’s Market a short walk from our hotel. My plan was to stock up on snacks for the afternoon train journey. The market did not disappoint, my only regret was not having a wee cooler so I could get cheese. The market did not disappoint, I stocked up on venison protein and berries.

    With a few hours to kill we wandered Princes Street Gardens which was filled with a grave yard and lots of statues. We finally made it to the Scott Monument which I thought was monument to the Scottish people. Nope. It is to Walter Scott, some dead dude who wrote some books many moons ago.    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Tales from the first class train car

    October 5, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    The first class train tickets to Inverness were not much more than regular ones so I booked us on that. I mean bigger seats and free cookies just take my money. What I learned while boarding was that first class people don’t care how big their luggage is and how many pieces they have. I have been stressing about how I am going to lift my big suitcase onto the train and where it will go. What I learned from the people in front of us with 3 massive Tumi luggage trunks and 1 Louis Vuttion, you just get in line first, take all the luggage space and give zero fucks. Turns out everyone was like that the rule of “if I fit I sits” applies to all the massive suit cases here. Even with my large for me suitcase I am still travelling lighter than most of these people.

    Oh and these people are also savages for the free shortbread cookies. I was hoping to take a few more of the vanilla walnut ones for future trips. Nope. Apparently even people who look first class are cheap and or horders just like me.    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    No ponies but we found murduh!

    October 5, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Still no ponies. On the train to Inverness I saw lots of cows, sheep, a few regular horses but no Shetland ponies. This is really sad. Where are the ponies?

    Book update, I did find a book about Scottish crimes. Diving in to see if they talk about murduh (watch Broadchurch and you will understand this). The intro to the book mentions Tartan Noir, which is a term for Scottish crime writing. How have I never heard this term before? AND see I knew Scotland was rampant with murders.Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler
    Not paying attention and doing selfies in the reflection of the equipmentThis guy used to hate selfies...now he is taking them on his own

    Whisky tour fail

    October 5, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Ty does not like whisky, he forced some down on the food but he was not having fun. When I found out that there was a distillery and brewery in Inverness I knew it was meant to be. We got off the train at 5pm tour checked into the hotel, scarfed down fries and cheese and made it for the 7pm tour. This wee brewery and distillery is doing something not common in Scotland, microbrewing! And they are doing beer and whisky. They opened their doors in 2022 but did not start brewing and distilling early 2023. Due to supply and demand they were supposed to have 5 beers but only have 1 larger. And whisky takes 3 years and 1 day to age SO the whisky they had was a blended whisky the whisky master created with others whiskey so we had that. Then there is is grain white liquor that comes at the start of the process. It is 63% and nasty.

    So it was an interesting tour and I hope this wee business well as they have cool art and are trying to create an image around Scotlands mythical creatures (as they are right on the River Ness (Nessie’s home…have not seen her yet, hopefully on our next adventure). I will have to come back in a few years to actually try the whisky.    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler
    1

    Inverness

    October 6, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We made a wee overnight stop in Inverness before heading into the highlands. Unfortunately it was Saturday night so most things were closed on Sunday when we had time to explore. Fortunately the town is very pretty and has a lovely walking path so we just got our steps before the drive. The tourist shops were also open so we were able to peruse more wool and tweed items. We also spent more time than I would like to admit finding the perfect Nessie at the right price for the travel section of my bookshelf.Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Urquhart Castle

    October 6, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    On our way to our accommodations in the highlands we stopped at Urquhart Castle for a little bit of history and great shots of Loch Ness. We decided not to stop at the Loch Ness information center as it seemed to touristy and it is in town and not on the water.

    The present ruins from the castle date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, so she is OLD! And she has lots of history so Google it as this is not a history blog. I just went for the Instagram shots! But it was very cool.    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    The Lizzie Life

    October 6, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    When I found out there was a castle hoteI in the Highlands that was only 90 minutes from Inverness I knew it was met to be, well once I figured out how we were going to get out there. Being obsessed with Queen Elizabeth II, I needed to go see what the hype was all about. Balmoral this is not but it is a pretty darn cool place on Loch Oich.

    Glengarry Castle Hotel is a new build having been built in 1869 so I do not have to worry about any child ghost, or adult ghosts for that matter. For being a new castle I would say it has all the features of an old castle there is a dining room, a library (complete is all the reader digests!), a lounge and many wooden stairs that make you wonder why you packed so much.

    Breakfast, lunch and high tea are included with the stay. Supper is extra and choices are limited but everything on our first night was fantastic. I had the lamb which I am pretty sure is raised on the property. After dinner you retire to the library or the lounge for your last tea of the day.

    The room is actually pretty massive. Unfortunately we did not spring for the fancy room and we do not have a canopy bed. We do have a massive tub though and bubble bath, so for someone who hates baths I was enticed to take one as when is the next time I will be able to take a bubble bath in a castle?    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Day of rest

    October 7, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Castle life is pretty slow when one is not the help. After breakfast (which was amazing, the amount of smoked salmon they served was shocking…oh and the homemade scones…so good) I dragged Tyler out to checkout the property while there was still mist in the sky. Mist is needed for the proper Scotland picture.

    The property was one home to Invergarry Castle which was a castle build in 1600. Unlike Urquhart Castle which is a historic site this one has not been maintained. It is still pretty darn cool. We then took the path into the village of Invergarry, which is basically a hotel.

    The early afternoon was spent by Tyler reading inside while I choice to read outside (as the sun had come out) and did some more exploring. The 2:30pm afternoon tea and scones with homemade raspberry jam and clotted cream…sooo good. I might start this tradition in the office. And yes I am eating my weight in scones here.    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    The swans are trying to kill me

    October 7, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    While I was reading by the water I noticed 2 large objects swimming around a wee yacht/boat that was in the loch. My first thought was whoa rich people travel with their own swans. When they were leaving the dock, to continue oh their journey, the swans stayed back (okay so they don’t have their own swans. I feel some do) I decided to see if I could get a picture. I noticed a wee clearing to the water and went down. Then I could not get the right angle so I moved closer. The rocks were slippery and I was holding a book and had my coffee thermos in my jacket pocket. Graceful I was not. I then noticed them swimming towards me and thought I could get back to the path on my left, which was away from them. Nope, I had to go past them and they were now on shore. They were not hissing like geese but I started wondering how much a swan could hurt you. Then I was like I am one of those mother ducking stupid tourists.

    Surprisingly they just hung out, did some swan stretches and posed for more pictures. Yes instead of getting the hell out of dodge I was like ooohhh my picture. Which was obviously safe as the swans just want to be instagram stars.    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    A few of my favourite things

    October 7, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    The castle hotel had posted sample menus in line. One of them had venison as an option. I was a little disappointed on the first night when they did not have it as an option, though the lamb was a pretty damn good other option. Well on our second and final dinner venison was served (it was amazing) and for starters there was Shetland scallops and for dessert it was sticky toffee pudding. If I had to choose a final meal this would be eat. For a restaurant in the middle no where the food was fantastic.Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Bus Life

    October 8, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    The castle on the loch is really in the middle of no where and without a car commuting is a bit difficult. From Inverness we hired a car to bring us, while it was fantastic it was not really a cost effective option or an option really to go to Glasgow. The only option we had was the bus. Which we were to catch at 9:48am on the side of the road in the wee village of Invergarry.

    The journey was 4.5 hours and it was cramped. Old age has brought me motion sickness reading was out for me…thank god for podcasts. However, seeing the changing scenery of the highlands was worth it. It was incredible. Next time I am back in Scotland I am just hanging out I the highlands. We even had an 30 minute stop over in the town that Ben Nevis is in. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Scotland. Which is really a wee mountain. And sadly it was foggy so we could not see it.    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Glasgow

    October 8, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We made it to Glasgow by mid-afternoon and after freshening up we decided to see what the city was all about. There is a strong mural culture here (if that is a thing)…they have a lot of murals like Calgary does but also have graffiti type ones down by the river. The city is a mix between old timey buildings, buildings for the 60 and new. While Edinburgh felt like we went back in time, Glasgow feels like a regular city…with a few cool things like an old church that is now a cool ass pub.Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Busin’ Around Glasgow

    October 9, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    When we have limited time in a city and don’t really know what to see and do we always get on the big red hop on hop off bus tours. Nothing screams TOURIST more than taking one of these but they are a good cheap way to learn about a place and then see areas you want to go back and check out. What we found on the trip is that Glasgow has always been known for being blue collar and working class however the arts scene has start flourishing here. They were named the cultural centre of the UK a few years back.

    Lunch was at Clydeside Distillery that offered flights (without having to do a tour) and a hearty charcuterie board. I felt that I had learned enough on the other tour and got no whisky so I just went straight for the whisky this time. Their Napier single malt was super good and will be looking up a way to get it backing Calgary. I made the decision not to pack around a bottle of whisky with me for the next 5 days.

    We found a few wee cute streets to walk around and found the coffee place that our Vet recommended. For dinner we went to Ubiquitous Chip for a fantastic meal of venison haggis and steak. Oh and a salad, cabbage and broccoli as my body is craving all the greens.    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Hogwarts

    October 9, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    It is said that Hogwarts was based on the University of Glasgow. From what I saw, yeah I can see that. The main building is just a work of art and so beautiful. The grounds itself are the nicest university campus I ever have seen. It is just magical here.Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    On the move…again

    October 10, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    The problem with wanting to see everything is that you are moving every 1-2 days. We debated going to London on the trip and then thought why not? SO on Thursday morning we packed our bags yet again and made the 4.5 hour trek to London. Luckily it is by train so it is more comfortable than the bus. AND I get to see a lot of country side I have never seen before. And I get to eat Mark and Spencer snacks…and that store is really is the best for snacks.Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    London

    October 10, 2024 in England ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    We finally made it into London and after the hotel we did the pilgrimage to Fortnum and Mason. This place is the best damn tea store (in my humble opinion). It is just floor after floor of tea, food and more. We then walked around and found something for dinner and headed back to the hotel. Our hotel is 2 blocks away from Tower Bridge (which everyone in the Americas call London Bridge). I have never seen it at night so it was a pleasant surprise to see.Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Relaxing in London

    October 11, 2024 in England ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    I am extremely fortunate that this is not my first time in London and have seen all the touristy things (that I would want to see) so I can check out other fun things.

    We spent the morning at the Aire spa and lucked out as they got us in early and then forgot to kick us out after 90 minutes. The Aire spa is a chain of Roman type bath houses mixed with the Nordic spa hot and cold plunges. You go into a house in a nice neighbourhood and walk down to the basement where it is only candle lit. Oh yes it sounds like the making of a murdah! It was rather delightful and much needed after days and days of walking.

    Then we went to Brityard which is a place I found on Instagram. It had a make you own charcutiere box, coffee and cookies. All the things Ty and I love so we got a wee box and had a mini inner city picnic.

    We then stumbled upon a James Bond 007 bar at one if the Arcades in Piccadilly which was all for the 60th Anniversary for Gold Finger. Since Ty is a Bond fan we had a cocktail there.

    We wandered some shops and made our way to Covent Garden where we decided to stop in at the oldest restaurant in London, Rules and have a wee snack.

    The evening was capped off at the theatre watching Fawlty Towers.    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Southwark

    October 12, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    I woke up Saturday with a lovely cold and really felt like doing nothing. But I was in London so that was really not an option. Ty went out and bought me cold meds and then we were off to Borough Market. This market is filled with amazing food vendors, produce and more. From our hotel it was lovely 20 minute walk.

    We had tickets to the Shakespeare Globe theatre at 2pm so we decided to stay in the Southwark area. We walked the Millenium bridge to St.Pauls cathedral and wandering that area for a while before finding a quaint coffee shop before the show.

    The Globe theatre has cheaper standing tickets that were not covered but Ty had said I would want a seat that was covered in case it rained. I was not happy to pay the seated price until the sky opened up at 2:10pm and rained for a good hour. The Globe theatre is a replica of the original which means the seats are wood and very uncomfortable even with the extra padding seats. BUT the play was delightful and really good so you forgot the numbing in your ass.

    That evening we went to a lovely restaurant over looking Tower Bridge.    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Back to Scotland

    October 13, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    I am not too sure why I did not look into flying into Edinburgh and flying out of London…maybe it was too expensive? Wish I could go chat with past Nadine as she booked round trip from Edinburgh, which meant we had to train back to Scotland on Sunday qfor the Monday flight.

    The train was not till 12:30 so it gave us a few hours in the morning to have coffee by Tower Bridge. We did get to see the bridge go up and down as a boat was going through which was pretty darn cool.

    We got to the train station a bit early as I wanted to hit up the Harry Potter platform and store. Well so did about 100 other people. But it was good that we got there early as we discovered once we were there our train was cancelled. I mean I would love to be stranded in London but I am sick and I miss my puppies.

    There was little information on what to do so we stood in a que to talk to an agent. She was like oh don’t worry just take the train to Peterborough. Okay cool…or so we thought but then looking at the board we were like what do we do in Peterborough? What train do we take? Back into the que. The new guy we got was intense as something looked confusing and he was on the call. In my head I am full on panicking. He gets off the phone and writes on a piece of paper 13:21, the train that leaves at that time is the train we need to be on.

    I had so many questions like how do we know what train. And we get in at 13:17 so that does not leave enough room for error. It was also stressful as they were like it is not assigned seats to Peterborough sit anywhere. I was like mother of god this is chaotic. Thank god for Tyler. Most of our train car was in the same situation and it was good to hear others freaking out and confused. When we got into the station they showed us what train we had to get on which was across the way. So it was pretty easy but maybe a few more details would have been nice.

    The journey was more of the English country side and this time we got to see the ocean. I think I can say that I have seen all of the landscapes of the United Kingdom.    Read more

  • Nadine TScotland 2024Traveler

    Edinburgh

    October 13, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Our last night in the UK fell on a Sunday night and I am a fan of the Sunday roast the pubs and restaurants serve religiously. Problem is they are first come, first served and places start at 12pm so the chances of me getting one after 6pm were going to be slim. Luckily the place I booked at said that they would reserve for me. The restaurant was called Badger and Co and it is the former house of the Wind and the Willows author. They incorporated the book into the decor and it was just wonderful.

    We stayed in a different location from when we first started our journey. The Glasshouse is a hotel that was an old church that they expanded. We lucked out as they gave us a room with a view so we got to look at more of the old timey building of Edinburgh. We also stumbled upon Rose Street which had restaurants and shops and was so cute. I am sad we did not see it before our last night.    Read more

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