Очистить поиск
Haggis Country
Сначала новые
  • Начало поездки
    28 сентября 2025 г.
    Eileen MitchellHaggis CountryEileen Mitchell

    Walking Scotland

    28 сентября, Шотландия ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    Cynthia and I have embarked on yet another adventure, albeit one a bit less strenuous than our last two, with not a lot of altitude and …best of all….NO CAMPING.
    We both got into Edinburgh yesterday and checked into the Barony House- a home turned B and B ish type place run by a couple from Australia and their 3 children. We checked ourselves in to our- er- homey accommodations and self toured the place, went to a pub for sn earlyish dinner (waited on by an Australian), did a shortish walk and went back and hit the hay as we were meeting our tour guide and fellow travelers at 9 the following morning.
    Not much else to report. Only took 2 pics, both of which are posted here.
    Much more tomorrow!    Читать далее

    Посмотреть перевод
  • Eileen MitchellHaggis CountryEileen Mitchell

    Clans, Castles, and Whiskey oh my!

    29–30 сент., Шотландия ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    It’s been a minute since I last wrote. Scotland is …well, just what you think of when you think of Scotland; wet and cloudy! And a little spooky!
    Monday morning we went to breakfast and met our B and B host, Paul. Boy oh boy- once you meet Paul you will not forget him. Gregarious does not begin to describe this guy. I was not quite prepared for his energy so soon after waking! He gave us the whole story- how he, his wife and 2 kids came for a 5 month home exchange. While here, his son was “diagnosed” with being gifted. Apparently Scotland considers being gifted as special needs so he gets a lot of extras paid for by the government. This led to a shopping around of “the asset” (his term, not mine), to private schools, one of the more hoity toity of which provided him a full ride scholarship. So here they stayed, bought the B snd B, and had another kid to cement the deal.
    Caught a cab to the train station- what we thought was a straightforward transaction until the cab driver insisted we had the “wrong train station” and we had to show him the email from the tour company to convince him. This all led to our late arrival.
    We met our guide, Ray, and our trip mates. One couple, Serena and Roger from Manhattan and the other, Penny and Michael, from Sydney Australia. All very nice. As I asked all the usual “get to know you” questions, it became clear that I was the only non lawyer in the group. I’m not likely to win any arguments with this crowd!
    We loaded into the van for an hour drive to Stirling Castle. After recently returning from a “Castles on the Rhine” trip with my granddaughter, I’m sort of castled out, but it was fine. Most interesting factoid was that Mary Queen of Scots was a substantial woman. 5 ft 11. Her mother had been 6 ft 2. Didn’t know they grew them that big back then. All the other history stuff- clans and kings and Jacobites etc, went in one ear and out the other, so if you want to know about the history, ask Cynthia, who true to form, was an overachiever and pre studied up on all of it. And retains everything! Had lunch at the castle and drove down the road a bit for a short but pretty hike.
    Lunch followed at a pub called The Glue Pot where I adventurously ordered the Cullen Skink. It’s really like a clam chowder but with a different type of fish and it was delicious!
    I now feel the need to talk about…wait for it- HAGGIS! I had read about haggis but was under the impression that it was a dish eaten by ancient Scottish clansmen. I couldn’t believe that modern man would eat such a thing. Here’s the recipe should you want to make it at home.
    Haggis is a savory Scottish dish, considered a national symbol, made from sheep's offal (heart, liver, lungs) minced with oatmeal, onions, suet, and spices, then traditionally cooked inside the sheep's own stomach.

    Since being here I’ve seen it in some form or other on just about every menu. Needless to say…hard pass.
    After lunch we headed to our hotel Monachyme Mohr. I’m pretty sure it was haunted. I’m generally not a fan of “character” in a hotel but this one grew on me. Dinner that night was, as Cynthia put it. “A three hour hundred course affair”. It was delicious but half of us were falling asleep at the table. Finally it (thankfully) ended-(although a couple of people that didn’t beat it out of there as quickly as we said we missed the Coffee and Petit Fours course. I do love me some petit fours but I was practically comatose and sleep mattered more.    Читать далее

    Посмотреть перевод
  • Eileen MitchellHaggis CountryEileen Mitchell

    Isle of Skye

    2–5 окт., Шотландия ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

    Well, well, well. I had intended to write daily or at least every other day but as they say “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. And I don’t even have a good excuse!
    At any rate, this is our third night on the Isle of Skye and it appears to be a beautiful place with beautiful scenery. However…
    We left the Isle of Eriska on Thursday after hiking around the island on Tuesday and exploring the Glencoe area on Wednesday. Glencoe is an area rich in history- again I really couldn’t be more specific (but you can ask Cynthia) other than to say that there was a very bloody massacre there. (Seems these Scottish clans are very bloodthirsty. Think Braveheart, although I’ve been told it is a very fictionalized account of William Wallace.)
    It was Wednesday night when we were told that Scotland was gonna be hit by a hurricane on the weekend. Wha????? Who even knew Scotland HAD hurricanes? We were scheduled to be on a boat the next day and were assured that the weather would still be ok for that.
    On Thursday we met our Scottish boat captain, Cameron, an engaging lad- (and very easy on the eyes!) who took us over to the Isle of Mull to tour the Tobermory Whiskry distillery and browse the little town- very cute, although it was pouring cats and dogs. While in town I mentioned to one of the shopkeepers that we were headed to Skye that afternoon. She looked me in the eye and said “Yer not goin’ ta Skye today. The fearies are all cancelled.” Huh.
    As it turned out, that was incorrect so we boarded our little boat with Cap’n Cameron and went back to the mainland where we were met by Ray in the van who drove us about an hour to the ferry terminal to go over to Skye.
    Although we had been getting pre hurricane rain…(at this point I need to clarify. It wasn’t a hurricane exactly. It was a weather bomb with torrential rain and hurricane force winds.), the actual high winds were due in at 3;00 Friday afternoon. We had time to get in a hike before the fun started. We hiked the Quiraing Trail, which was a little over 4 miles and absolutely gorgeous and challenging enough. The rain was increasing steadily as we climbed and by the time we got near the summit the winds had picked up and it became a little…scary? For me anyway. Felt like I might get blown off the mountain. Once we turned around I was like a horse heading back to the barn. Do not pass Go do not collect $200. After a little drive about we went back to the hotel to watch for the coming storm.
    And yeah- it was pretty crazy, but like most of these things it was a little overblown, (get it??). But strong enough to take out power through a large portion of Scotland. Needless to say, the planned boat trip for today was not running so Ray needed to pivot and we went to Dunegin Castle instead. Then we had him drop us off in town to do a little shopping. We were on our own for dinner so Cynthia and I ate in town and walked back to the hotel. We did a lovely but muddy trail right from the hotel. Then had a drink (Cynthia) and dessert, (me) before heading back to our room. Cynthia and I have an arrangement . She eschews “processed” sugar but loves her wine, so she drinks her sugar and I eat mine and she gives me all her desserts. It works out well!!
    So the winds are still blowing hard and a lot of power is out in the country so tomorrow we have already had to change some plans. One thing that hasn’t changed? We are headed to Inverness which is on the shores of Loch Ness. I may not give a rat’s behind about warring clans, but dang if I’m not gonna score a picture with Nessie!    Читать далее

    Посмотреть перевод
  • Eileen MitchellHaggis CountryEileen Mitchell
    Ancient cairn- from WAY back BCE. I can't remember exactly how old but REALLY old
    Room of death at the Fife ArmsQueen Victoria. This little gem was just down from our room. Scared me every time I walked past!

    Skye to Inverness to Braemer

    5–12 окт., Шотландия ⋅ 🌬 50 °F

    I’m beginning to doubt the existence of Nessie.
    After leaving Skye we headed back to the mainland. Stopped at Eilean Donnan Castle- (another castle-yawn!). Our other activity was cancelled due to storm damage and power being out so we did a short hike among some ruins (Brochs) and bushwhacked through a soggy farm field to see some displaced standing stone. Old rocks. Ray was really grasping at straws to keep us entertained in the face of all the storm closures and damage.
    Speaking of which- there had been some grumbling amongst our little group about the quality of the trip in general and Ray’s lack of familiarity with the program. I hate to even write about this cuz it’s such a first world problem, but you know how I love a little drama! The trip had been billed as “deluxe” and “luxury”. But one of the couples had been on tours with those same designations and this one did not stack up. Although all of the hotels had been upgrades, the meals were less impressive. So no drinks were included with any of the meals- alcoholic or otherwise. If I wanted a Diet Coke with dinner, I had to make a point of stopping at the desk to pay for it on the way out. At this time 4 of the lunches had been brown bag affairs sitting in a soggy van. Stuff like that. Plus- while Ray is a super nice guy and very knowledgeable, getting information out of him was a bit like pulling teeth. And he was not much of an advocate for this one couple whose suitcase full of clothes had inadvertently been place beneath a leak in the roof. So, the New York Lawyer took it upon herself to email the main office and advise them of our complaints. Since then the brown bag lunches have ended and drinks are on the company. But I’m really feeling badly for Ray- who is truly a good soul and was not trained properly for a less challenging more posh trip such as this one. We will try to make it up in tip.
    Anyhow- on with the trip.
    It was a long day of driving but finally we were parallel to the bonnie shores of Loch Ness. I had told Ray that I wanted a picture with Nessie and he gave me a look that communicated quite clearly that he thought I was nuts. Now, understand. This is a guy that has been spinning stories about fairies and brownies and trolls and giants non stop since we started as if these are true origin stories. I mention I want a picture with a sea monster and I’M the one who’s crazy???? Anyhoo, Ray talked a bit about the history of Nessie and how the guy who took the original picture confessed on his death bed that it was a fake. However tons of boats equipped with sonar have discerned large amorphous shapes near the bottom of this very deep loch but have been unable to identify what they are. One theory is that they are eels. I’m hangin on by a thread to the Nessie explanation. But no photo op.
    We stopped in Inverness at a very nice place next to the river. The next day quite a lot of driving. We toured the Cullodon Battlefield, site of the last battle of the Jacoby uprisings and then went to Cairngorms National Park- again, a bunch of old rocks. But somewhat interesting plus the weather had cleared and we even saw some sun so it was very pleasant.
    Driving further south we came to Braemar and our hotel for the next two nights. The Fifearms. It is quite a place- owned by Swiss art dealers and full of art and interesting sculptures and murals wherever you look. There are even 2 original Picassos here! And a life size Queen Victoria just down from our room. You have to see it to get it.
    Tomorrow is a palace I’m interested in. Balmoral. I’m very excited!    Читать далее

    Посмотреть перевод
  • Eileen MitchellHaggis CountryEileen Mitchell
    First view of Balmoral Castle from our hike

    Balmoral

    7–21 окт., Шотландия ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    We started the day with a really nice hike on the Balmoral estate. The property is absolutely gorgeous with fall colors dotting the rolling landscape. Our hike took us to a couple of notable cairns- the one built by Queen Victoria - (well not HER of course- but a very professional mason I’m sure) to honor her deceased husband Albert. Then another to honor her youngest son Leopold, (I think that was his name anyway) who had been born a hemophiliac and died at age 30 of complications. And a third- not quite so grand, to her (rumored) consort (“more than a loyal servant”) John Brown. Her dedication to Albert talked about her broken heartedness- very emotional for a British royal!
    After the hike we headed up to the castle for lunch in the visitors’ center.
    Now, I had really hoped that King Charles and his hussy wife Camilla would have been in residence as I had some “feedback” for them about the shameful way they behaved when he was married to Diana. There are some grudges I will just never let go of! But it was not to be. And had they been there, visitors are not allowed on the grounds. So my grudge will just need to fester a tad longer.
    After lunch we strolled through the amazing gardens. Very very beautiful. They use shorn wool for mulch on many of the beds.
    We returned to the Fife Arms. Most of us were joining an art tour of the hotel. Cynthia had signed up for a wine tasting, but wires got crossed and that tour had been cancelled. She was disappointed, but I assured her she could buy a good many glasses of wine for the hundred pounds they were gonna charge her for the wine tasting.
    Dinner that night was at the fancy restaurant at the hotel. Now, throughout the trip I had been really struggling with my hearing issues. Loud restaurants and larger groups of people are a problem. (One of the other women, Penny, was also deaf in one ear. She had what is called a BAHA system, a bone anchored hearing aid, but that seemed to be of minimal help. Additionally, one of Cynthia’s ears had become completely clogged the day before leaving for the trip, so there were 3 out of 6 of us jockeying for position to allow us to hear. That night I chose completely wrong and really was not able to hear anything. Add to that all the discussion among the group about what wine they were gonna choose which went on ad nauseum plus the fact that I wasn’t even hungry and was pretty much sick of the fancy multi course meals. I was just tired of it. Like an exhausted two year old, I sulked throughout dinner. That was the last big noisy meal of the trip. I probably could have been a mite more gracious.    Читать далее

    Посмотреть перевод
  • Eileen MitchellHaggis CountryEileen Mitchell
    Last group picture
    Cynthia and friend at Fife ArmsView over Glasgow from the Necropolis- cemetery holding over 50,000 bodiesDowntown GlasgowScottish for "Go for it"Homeless Jesus GlasgowCynthia playing a dead body during a grave robbing demo on Ghost tour in GlasgowHaggis!!!Edinburgh CastleThe BrittaniaQueens bedroom on BrittaniaDining room on Brittania

    The rest of the trip

    8–12 окт., Шотландия ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    Well, I’m flying home tomorrow and I’m way behind on these updates so I’m just gonna jam in the last few days here. Condensed version:
    Scone Palace, (but a bait and switch- no scones there), afternoon hike, drive back to Edinburgh, take a train to Glasgow for two nights-(as soon as we checked into our B and B we hightailed it to the Ear Wax Clinic to get Cynthia’s ear cleaned out. I got to watch and saw this huge chunk of wax fall into the little cup. I so love that stuff! And voila! She could hear again. Must be a big problem for there to be a whole clinic dedicated to ear wax removal! I myself have been told that my ears are exceptionally clean so I wouldn’t know much about it!)
    Next day walked to meet our guide for a bike ride and toured Glasgow that way. Did a little shopping and then did a ghost tour that night. Walked over 13 miles and rode 10.. next day train to Edinburgh.
    I almost forgot! Remember Paul- our talkative host at our first B and B? Well we stayed at the same place upon our return. When we sat down to breakfast on the first morning, Paul announced that we were in for a treat. The asset was going to perform for us as he was on fall break. Oh joy! Gotta love THIS first thing in the morning. I think Paul and the wifey were holding our preordered breakfasts hostage until after his act. “Oh well”,I was thinking, “maybe we’ll hear a nice Beethoven violin sonata, given that the asset had been “diagnosed” gifted”. Out walks this very good looking tween boy with a Rubik’s cube. And he proceeded to “solve” the cube, explaining in detail how he was doing it every step of the way. My grandson does cube competitions and could have done this in one tenth the time!I later asked Paul about his younger two daughters. He said they had a “good work ethic”. Hmmmm.
    Walked a couple miles to a lesser known castle in the area, that night did a food tour in an incredibly noisy restaurant. And ….drumroll please….we tried haggis!! And it wasn’t too bad! Not that I’d ever actually order it if I were paying but surprisingly tasty!Next day walking tour of Edinburgh including the castle. (Fantastic and entertaining guide! Would that we would have had him the whole atrip! I may have been more interested in history!) Then I went over to see the Queen’s ship the Britannia. That was super cool. The Queen and Prince Philip slept in tiny twin beds in adjoining rooms. Seems like a Queen should have at least a Queen size! (Insert rim shot here). Walked all the way back and met Cynthia for dinner and now in bed about to go to sleep and flying out tomorrow.
    It’s been an overall good trip despite some less than ideal weather. But it’s Scotland! What did I expect?
    The trip itself was less hiking and more history than I would prefer, but it was fine. It’s a beautiful country. If I ever come back it will be to visit some of the lesser known islands.

    It has been great to get out of the US for a spell. It’s gotten absolutely exhausting to live there. Although our Scottish guides and Uber drivers, etc have no skin in the game, almost every single one said they hadn’t met a single American that supported what is going on in our country. They puzzled over how a certain president had even been elected based on the people they talked to. Our guide yesterday said that he had faith that we would find our way out of it. He said “You Americans are weird”. I asked him whether he had been listening to himself talk about Scotland and Scotlanders!
    I leave Scotland with a new penchant for using the word “wee” and a couple of other terms that I can’t remember right now. I downloaded movies about Mary Queen of Scots and Robert the Bruce to watch on the way home. I can tell you vaguely what the Jacobite rebellions were about (so maybe all the history wasn’t a complete waste!)
    Earlier in the trip I decided I was gonna get a set of bagpipes and take bagpipe lessons, but after hearing them almost daily for the past two weeks I have found that a little bagpipe music goes a long way. Also they are one of the most difficult instruments to learn. So plan B. I’m thinking harp instead.
    I totally failed on the souvenir shopping. Sorry family! I just didn’t wanna lug a bunch of stuff with me all over the country. Especially since I can probs get most of it on Amazon.
    Til next time! (New Zealand in Feb.). Be well!    Читать далее

    Посмотреть перевод
    Окончание поездки
    12 октября 2025 г.