Sept 21/11

---

Had our complimentary breakfast in the Kildrummy Castle Hotel. This place is the utmost in opulence. We were served tea and coffee in polished silver pots, and their silverware was actually silver. It is a great place if you have lots of money and like to be pampered. Our trip south towards Dundee was spectacular as expected; peering up from the valley we drove through at hills covered with a patchwork quilt made up of trees, heather, short grass or shrubs occasionally spotted with white dots that were sheep. At about the halfway point we stopped for a geocache and found we were near the entrance to Balmoral Castle. We drove down the road towards the gate and found it closed and manned by a security guard. Signs show that it’s only open at certain times of year, I’m assuming at times when the royal family doesn’t visit. Farther on we encountered a couple of bridges with such a hump at the top that a transport would not have been able to go over it. As we neared Dundee, the traffic and roads started to get crazier and we were glad to get into the parking lot of the Landmark Hotel and set the parking brake. We wanted to visit Dundee to do a little shopping but I was a little worried of driving in a busy city so we took a cab downtown. We were very glad we did as the cab encountered a couple of crazy intersections that I wouldn’t have known what to do at. Dundee is not as touristy and so has regular shops that people would normally go in. We picked up a couple of things and headed back to the hotel by cab, looking forward the simple fare shown on the menu we encountered in the bar. When we entered the dining area for dinner, though, we were surprised to see how extravagant it was. Once we get the menu we realized we should have stayed in the bar/lounge to have our cheap meal. We’d already ordered our wine so we stayed and had our last fancy meal of the trip.

---