I am super, incredibly, behind in my blogging because what you're about to see happened back in October. Wow. So, my main squeeze was deployed and Kase-face had been wanting to go to Scotland! So, we headed over to the land of the Scots during the first weekend of October. I figured it was a safe destination since everyone spoke English!
The first day we were there we took a tour up into the Highlands and to the Loch Ness. It was so beautiful in the Highlands (that's anything north of Edinburgh) and it was right around Fall time so there were so beautiful colors. We only stopped a few times before we got up to the lakes. But each stop was picture worthy.
Our tour guide's name was Shelbie and she was hilarious. Apparently Scots are not ashamed about how much alcohol they drink, as it is a common topic of humor for them. I also learned about haggis and black pudding (both of which are super unappetizing to me) - the only food I fell in love with over there was their shortbread and a fudge-like dessert called tablets (melts-in-your-mouth yummy!). Lastly, I fell in love with Highland Cows. I didn't see any up close and personal, only in passing (while stuck on a bus) so, I didn't get any pictures. But, I want a Highland Cow. They're adorable.
Alright, the Highlands … shall we?
Here we are - all ready to go touring!!
Our first stop was in a little town (that I don't remember the name of) and we had a few minutes to stretch and wander. We came across these old men fishing. Apparently, the fishing in Scotland is amazing and people will pay thousands of British Pounds to fish in the streams. Crazy!
Then we found an old cemetery. What is it about cemeteries that are so intriguing? This one was so fun. Some of the headstones had dates back to the 1800s!
Back on the bus, we headed up the windy roads to the Highlands.
I loved that bridge!!! It was part of a walking trail that people could walk for miles and miles and miles!
Scotland is a very cloudy, drizzly place. The Scots think its beautiful weather apparently! But one of the times we were out of the bus, just enough sun shined through the clouds to give us a rainbow! It was perfect.
And this!? Picture perfect. The bridge? And the cute little house? With the waterfall on the mountain!? *sigh* Scotland, you're killing me.
(Harry Potter sidebar: the hills just opposite of this picture were where the scenes for Hagrid's Hut were all filmed. As we drove past you could see the circle of trees that surrounded his hut. So fun!)
(Harry Potter sidebar: the hills just opposite of this picture were where the scenes for Hagrid's Hut were all filmed. As we drove past you could see the circle of trees that surrounded his hut. So fun!)
The next stop was one of the highest mountains in Scotland. On a clear day, you can see for miles and miles if you hiked to the top. Obviously, it was not a clear day when we were there and about 75% of the mountain is covered in fog in this picture.
Then … finally! We made it to Loch Ness. Before we went to Scotland, I was not a believer in the Loch Ness monster but, boy are those Scots convincing!! I am about 95% sure there is something living in that lake! We took a boat cruise around the lake and one of the workers told us he has seen things on the radar at least 7 times. We asked the driver if he has ever seen anything and he said when he started working there 6 years ago, he saw something poke it's head out of the water. There are plenty of sightings of Miss Nessie that have me convinced! The Loch is also incredibly deep (lots of room to hide!) … you could fit 3 airplanes, wing to wing, and they wouldn't come out of the water! And Big Ben could be covered completely by the water. Crazy deep. A scary. Eeks!
(Please note the Asian, behind us, throwing the peace sign up…ha!)
Standing in the Loch Ness!!
I figured a boat cruise would be the best way to have a Nessie sighting … so off we went!
Look! The Loch Ness Monster!!!!!
(they had cute little stickers on the windows that made it look like Nessie was swimming next to the boat. So clever.)
Sadly, we didn't have any REAL monster sighting while we were there. Kason was kinda bummed. But, it was still a beautiful lake and area. The town it's in was adorable, I was wishing we had more time to wander around.
After Loch Ness we headed back down the mountains! We stopped at this memorial for WWII Soldiers.
And this … is my last picture of the actual Highlands :(
We sat in the parking lot by the bus eating our food and hanging out … Kason was such a fun traveling partner during this trip!! We had a blast together.
And just for good measure -- here's Kason as a ginger! HA! This picture makes me laugh every single time.
Um WOW your pictures are amazingly beautiful! Adding Scotland to my places to go ;)
ReplyDeleteWow Scotland is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI'm obsessed with cemeteries...I could walk around looking at headstones all day! Especially ones out in the middle of the woods. My fav. As kids we would play hide and seek in them :)