Scotland Honeymoon: May 9, 2011

After a long day on Sunday, we slept for 12 hours! I typically get five or six hours of sleep a night and that keeps me running. Twelve hours is a bit much for this body to take. I woke at 4:30 but didn't want to wake Hubband so I played on the iPad a bit but was restless again by 4:45 or so. At 5:45 Hubband woke up and we decided to start our day since we were both done with sleeping and a bit sore from being in bed for so long.

By 6:15 am we were touring the area around the B&B looking for coffee. As it turns out, Glaswegians don't start their work days until 9 am (must be nice) and as a result, most coffee shops don't open until 8am. We did manage to find an Italian cafe (Coia's) that opened at 7am but "opened" is a loose term. They sat as at 7:05 (we must've looked caffeine-deprived enough) and tossed menu's at us by 7:15. They finally took our order by 7:20 and within just a few minutes we had our coffees. I ordered a "white coffee" which appears to be a standard coffee with whipped milk added so it's much lighter in color than a black coffee. It. Was. Delicious! You want good coffee? Come to Scotland!

We downed our coffees fairly quickly as we had to be back at the Manor at 8 am for breakfast. Maybe you can answer this question for me as I've never stayed in B&B's before: is it customary for them to serve
hot breakfasts to order at specific times? At each place we're staying there appears to be a window of time where they will serve breakfast each morning and it's included in the cost to rent the room. They appear to be between the hours of 7am and 8:30 am though it does differ by about half an hour at each place.

The Scottish breakfasts seem to include to same items at each B&B: eggs (poached, scrambled or fried), sausage, bacon, potato scones, bakes beans and more toast that you know what to do with. Not a lick of fruit or veggies to be seen. So if I'm a couple of sizes larger than the last time you saw me when we meet again, blame it on the Scots!

At 9am Andy Cameron, our tour guide, arrived to pick us up for our day at Loch Fyne to learn about my family clan: the McLachlans! Our first stop outside Glasgow was half way up Loch Lommond, just north of the border of the Highlands. There isn't really a line drawn anywhere but it appears to be at about the halfway point (north to south) of Loch Lommond. It was a brief stop as this Loch didn't hold much interest for me. It is, however, Clan McFarlane territory and a colleague of mine, Rev. Tuttle, is of the McFarlane clan. He asked us to stop to skip stones at Loch Lommond or Loch Long so we indulged his request. We don't really know the significance of skipping the stones but it was fun anyway!

Hubband skipping stones - he was far more successful than me!

Our next stop was on the way to Inveraray at the Argyll Forest Park also known as "Rest and be Thankful". Its the first real stopping point after coming down through the Highlands according to Andy. It was a beautiful valley but so very windy! I think Scotland suits us...

Our next stop, and the main reason for hiring Andy, was to visit Loch Fyne and Old Castle Lachlan of the MacLachlan clan. I knew it was in disrepair so I didn't expect to get to see it but boy, did we see it! I stood where our ancestors stood! It was so cool. When we first arrived we could see the new Castle Lachlan and the ruins appeared to be across a bog which, as it turns out, is actually underwater when the tide comes in. Did you know that Loch Fyne is one of the largest, if not THE largest sea water fed Lochs? Me neither, but now I do!

In any case, when we got over to the old castle ruins which you can see WAAAAAY in the distance in the above picture... covered in vines... we climbed our way up into one lower room of the castle. We could see other rooms but there didn't appear to be any way to get to them internally. It turns out, if you're clever, a little brave, and have a wonderful tour guide, you can get up and down in the castle from three of the four sides. We stood in the great hall, and in the courtyard where visitors would have been announced. We stood on the kitchen and various battle rooms. I could go on and on. It was just amazing.

This would've been the Great Hall for hearing the public and feasts!

This would've been the front entrance. Do you see the white stone just this side of the door? It's a huge piece of white quartz. We don't know the significance of it but think there ought to be one. I rubbed it for luck.... Just in case!

And as a gift to us for our honeymoon, Andy brought us a bottle of whisky and we toasted to our good health (Slange Var in Gaelic) on the bench at the foot of Old Lachlan Castle.

And THIS was the view...

Our fourth stop was the town of Inveraray. We had lunch at The George Hotel which (and I'm still a bit confused about this) was established in 1720 and built in 1778. Maybe you understand the distinction? I had smoked salmon with chive cream cheese and baguettes and a salad while Alan had haggis, tatties and neeps (mashed potatoes and mashed turnips). I have to say, haggis is actually pretty good.

After lunch we stopped at the Sweeties shop (Andy calls it this, you and I would call it a candy store) and the the Loch Fyne Whiskies shop. At the Sweeties shop Hubband bought fudge (as he always does) and I got sour apple balls (I think I destroyed my sour sensors on my tongue with just one...) and horehound candies. I didn't know what horehound candies were but traditionally in Europe they were used to treat upset stomachs or sore throats. They seem to be a combination of anise seed, sarsaparilla and black licorice.

At the Whisky shop we bought two bottles that we're having shipped to us next week. The first, more for me than Hubband as he's not as big a fan as I am, is a single malt, straight out of the barrel, 25 year old Speyside whisky. On top of that, it's one of only 556 bottles to be made from that stock. Its not available in the US at all. Pretty special! The second is Islay whisky (pronounced eye-la) which is known for it's smokiness because the water is heated over peat fires.

Stop five on our tour of the Clan MacLachlan lands was a brief tour of the clan graveyard. According to Andy, as a descendant of a MacLachlan, I have the right to be buried there. I can only imagine the stories that would develop seeing a "Schmaltz" buried in a Scottish graveyard.

Our sixth and final stop was Inveraray Castle which is still an active castle. The 13th Duke of Inveraray lives there. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside but you can learn more about it at http://www.inveraray-castle.com/. It's a Campbell clan castle and they were enemies of the MacLachlan clan at Culloden. Despite it being "enemy territory" it's so perfect - it looks like a castle straight out of a Walt Disney film.

After a long day of searching and discovery we headed back to the Manor. We were in our room by 6:30 and asleep by 6:45. We snoozed until 8:30 or so at which point we decided to go find dinner. Much like the coffee shops not opening early, many pubs don't stay open late. We ended up finding a deli that was still open so we took an order of fish and chips with us back to the Manor.

We stayed up until midnight or so uploading pictures and blogging the first leg of the trip, which by now you've probably seen. However, we did it with a dram in hand...

Scotland Honeymoon: May 8, 2011

It's about time I get to day two of this honeymoon blogging since it's also acting as our journal for the trip. I'm sitting here in a cushy white chair in Fort William at the Treetops B&B overlooking Ben Nevis. It's hard being me today!

So, back to Sunday. If it wasn't quite explained in the previous post, our take off from San Diego was on a Saturday, but we landed in Glasgow on a Sunday. Bright and early, Sunday morning mind you. Though not quite as early as we'd planned. While sitting sipping our complimentary mimosa's in first class in real glassware on the tarmac at the Philadelphia airport we were told that a piece of equipment used in bad weather was on the fritz and we were waiting to have it repaired. As luck would have it, the weather throughout the flight was good since the crew and maintenance gang were unable to repair it. What did I care? I was drinking mimosa's with traces of Dramamine in my system. So rather than landing at 7am Glaswegian time (that'd be 11pm San Diego time) we landed at 8am. No big deal.

Oh good, I've just been handed a glass of whisky. I can now continue the story in complete comfort! Hee hee...

By 8:30 we were through security, bags in hand and all, and were let loose on the world. We weren't going to be able to check in or drop our bags off at the first B&B until 10am (and my bag was HEAVY!) so we decided to head upstairs, still at the airport, for a cup of coffee and to determine our plan of attack. The coffee was delightful if not more reminiscent of a cappuccino than the average American coffee. It was thick and so dark, even with a heavy dose of cream (or milk, being as it wasn't labelled). But we sat up in this little deli area for an hour or so and checked email, our maps, and then eventually called Craigpark Manor to confirm we could still arrive at 10am.

I don't know why but this wall cracks me up!

Aww... Isn't Hubband adorable?

After we checked in at Craigpark Manor (that little orange blob is me) we walked the mile or so it is into downtown. We walked down Duke Street which runs straight into the downtown core of Glasgow. Once nearer to downtown it becomes George Street and leads straight into George's Square which is pretty much the hub for all activity in Glasgow. Its huge! Our pictures won't do it justice. You definitely need to look this up to see it.

We found an information stop and were able to get directions to some shops where I might find a raincoat as I don't own one in San Diego. We ended up finding one for £30 at a store called TK Maxx. It's identical to TJ Maxx. Alan asked whether TJ Maxx came first because J comes before K in the alphabet. Aww Hubband... so quick with wit!

While at TK Maxx it started to pour despite our drive from the airport to the Manor and the walk into town thus far having been dry. It was quite lucky I found a coat at that point or I'd have been soaked. We found ourselves a bit unsteady on our feet which we attributed to a shortness of sleep so we stopped at Prince's Square, which is a little collection of shops and bistro's reminiscent of New York. Alan had another very rich coffee and I did the "proper" thing and had tea. It was heaven given how damp and tired we were. we also ordered some soup: I had Cock-a-leekie soup and Hubband had Cullen Skink. He's a brave soul! As a side note, there were no prunes in my Cock-a-leekie soup... I wasn't even offered them - something I'm given to believe my mother had in her Cock-a-leekie soup as a child though I cant say I'm disappointed. I'd likely have skipped the prunes anyway. I tried the Cullen Skink and it was quite good despite the description that is found online. It reminded me very much of a clam chowder in both taste and appearance. We did know it was a haddock dish (a fish neither of us are familiar with) and I can tell you with confidence that the menu made no mention of skin or hough.

By the time we finished lunch it was only just 1pm. We decided to take a city bus tour since we have set aside the least amount of time in Glasgow while here. On the way, though, we saw this advertisement. It cracked Hubband up so we had to take a picture. Then we found the public toilets and they cracked ME up so i felt obliged to share that with you too!

Alright, enough potty humor... Onwards and upwards!

The tour bus tour made twenty four "stops" which pretty much meant they drove PAST twenty four points of interest, rather than actually stopping. We were able to take a few pictures as we flew by all these monuments but many of the pictures won't do justice to what we saw. We did, however, make a special side trip on our way back to the Manor at the Glasgow Cathedral which is a Protestant church which survived mostly in tact from the early 1500's and before. It was gorgeous! I'm not sure if you'll be able to find it on a map but if I recall correctly if you find the intersection of John Knox Street and Duke/George Street and go west you should find it. It's immediately adjacent to the St. Mungo museum.

This is where St. Mungo is buried...

These images aren't even close to representing the beauty of the space but I find myself somewhat hampered by the app I'm using to upload the images to the blog. I've got plenty to share on Facebook when I land back in San Diego.

By the time we got back to the Manor I believe it was around 4pm local time but it may have been a bit earlier. We each took a much-needed shower and hopped into bed for some shut-eye. We slept until 4:30 the next morning at which point our adventures began anew...

Scotland Honeymoon: May 7, 2011

So it's actually 10:43pm local time (that'd be Glaswegian time) on Monday, May 9th, and I'm finally uploading the 176 images taken over the past three days. Yes, 176. For a photographer that's nothing but for a gal who really doesn't take many photos on any given day that's a lot of pictures.

However, I'm going to start at the beginning of the trip which was Saturday, May 7th: the shortest day of my life. It was only 16 hours.

At 3:30am the alarm went off. I didn't hear it though because I was already in the shower. I guess I was excited. We'd gone to bed at about 9pm the night before but likely didn't actually get to sleep until 10pm for all of our nervous energy. I expected to be far more tired than I was when I woke but apparently I was running on adrenaline. I showered, packed the rest of my personal items and was pacing by the froth door by 4:15am.

Our car showed up at 4:20am (10 minutes early, as expected) and we blasted off to the airport in style with Pops of Elite Image Limousines. He let us share all of our excitement with him on the drive over. He was a gem.

We were through security in about 5 minutes and sitting in the waiting area an hour before we were scheduled to take off to Philadelphia, our first and only stop before Glasgow. I had, fortunately or unfortunately, I can't decide, taken two Dramamine to settle my uneasy stomach before leaving the house. As it turns out, "marked drowsiness" doesn't adequately describe a side effect of Dramamine. "Just try to keep your ass awake" is a better way to market it, in my opinion. Usually one to be nervous and edgy before and during flights (which my husband loves... not...) I not only fell asleep waiting to board the plane but barely got through take off before I was asleep again. I. Love. Dramamine.

The flight to Philadelphia was relatively uneventful and the only thing to note is that, as warned by Sean, I'm spoiled for coach flights. Flying first class is awesome. They provide their guests with drinks before the plane even takes off (read: as the coach guests are walking past you to their cramped seats) and the drinks are served in glassware. Not plastic. Glass. It's awesome! Ok... I'm kind of gloating but it's my first time...

Likewise, the layover in Philadelphia was fairly non-noteworthy. As first class flyers we were able to sit in the US Airways Envoy lounge at the airport which afforded us plush leather seats, assorted free food and drinks (alcoholic and non-) and a front row seat to the runway. I was antsy after about 45 minutes so we headed down to our gate and read for a couple of hours.

Now! First class on an international flight is something to write home about! The seats recline to an almost-horizontal position, mimosa's and champagne are served (again in real glassware) as soon as you're in your seat and you're given a menu. A menu!!! We were served warm nuts and a cocktail just after take off followed by a delightful little appetizer salad/chicken dish, then our entree (I had mahi mahi and Hubband had steak) and then, if you please, dessert and another cocktail. Un-freakin' believable! And did I mention the legroom? I know at 5' 3" I'm not so tall as many people but I had another 6" or 8" past the end of my toes before I'd even touch the back of the seat in front of me!

By this time it was about 1am Scotland time so I decided to have a dram of Glenlivet and get some shuteye before we landed. So I laid the seat back, put on the provided eye mask and snoozed for four hours...

Alrighty, time to get some shut eye before tomorrow's adventures start. I'll likely blog a few days tomorrow with way more pictures! It's now 11:30pm local time (3:30 San Diego time). G'night!