Scotland

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We had an AMAZING time in Scotland. Our tour guide was this fantastic young Scottish guy named Tony (go figure) who made the trip better than I ever expected. He told us we would end up in DSL (deep Scottish love) by the end of the trip and he was absolutely right. He affectionately refers to Scotland as "sexy Scotland." He even had specific music on his ipod for the different scenery we were looking at. One time we were driving near Glencoe and all of a sudden he's blasting the Jurassic Park soundtrack. Another time we drove by a hairy coo (Scottish cow) with big horns and he started playing the old school song "ooh me so horny." We laughed the whole way through the country. (-:

I wasn't aware of how often Scottish people say the word "wee" when describing things. Tony would say, "we'll just pull over here guys and go for a wee walk and a wee picture" (of course you have to say this with a Scottish accent). He also did a really fantastic prissy British accent when telling stories about the English...the Scots love the English....

I'll just give a brief rundown of the places we visited.
Day 1: Edinburgh, Firth of Forth Rail Bridge, William Wallace monument, Callendar, Loch Lubnaig, Tyndrum (saw a hairy coo named Hamish), Glen Orchy and the Bridge of Orchy, Loch Tuller (we got really close to deer on the side of the road for pictures), Rannoch Moor, another moor I can't spell because it's in Gaelic, Glen of the weeping (where the Campbell clan butchered the MacDonald clan, supposedly haunted but extremely beautiful), 3 sister mountains, up the west coast to Fort Augustus on Loch Ness where our hostel was, a wee boat cruise to look for Nessie followed by a lovely evening of local folk musician Davy Holt and a few pints....and maybe a whiskey...it's cultural. (-;

Day 2:
Isle of Skye, 5 sisters (really great folk story about the mountains), Sligchen (a stream we dunked our heads in for a "wee people" or "faerie" blessing, Portree, Quiraing (beautiful cliffs with a view of the Hebridean islands where we had a wee picnic), Eilean Donan castle, back to Fort Augustus for a Highland clansmen show and a pint with some locals including a piper!

Day 3:
Bridges near the streams that feed the Loch, Loch Ness, Urquhart castle, Culloden Moor (last battle of the Highlanders), Inverness, Clava Cairn (ancient settlement with stone pagan temples and ringing rocks), impromptu stop to watch some locals shear sheep, Kingussie, Dunkeld, and back to Edinburgh to catch the train.

I would go back in a heart beat. We were actually kind of disappointed to leave the fresh air to come back to the city. It was just so nice to go to a place that was mostly unspoiled by humans. There were hiking trails and walking trails everywhere we went. It was like being in the land that time forgot. This is honestly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Some of the scenery was so spectacular it gave me chills. The people are kind and hospitable, and the folklore is fascinating. And now that I'm sounding really cheesy I'm going to end this wee blog. I hope I used the word wee enough.

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