The Beginning to the End of our Trip---Finally... June 23-July 4

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We are starting our blog over….We are sorry for the big build up and then with lousy WiFi or none at all, we had to let you down. So here we go….. This will take a long time, but we think you will enjoy it... Don't fall asleep!!! Yawn Yawn Yawn....We had a wonderful time and Can't wait for the next trip.

Thanks for being patient....

We were met @ the airport in Edinburgh, after being three-four hours late, by our adorable guide, Craig! He looked quite different from his pix on the web. He has lost a wee bit of weight since he last updated his pix. AND NO KILT! Explained that they aren’t very comfortable, so we forgave him!! We got in our wee bus without our bags and traveled on toward Oban. We stopped in Glasgow (the largest city in Scotland) for a wee bit and toured the beautiful Glasgow Cathedral. The windows were gorgeous. See the pix of blue stain glass and also of the hospital—very historical. The light posts were very unique as you can see from the photo. Then on to Port Glasgow where we toured Newark Castle on the Firth (river) of Clyde. For being built in 1478, it is well preserved. At one time, one of the ancient owners had exotic animals caged there—tigers, bears, etc. see pix of all of us…
We arrived in Gourock, a seaside port on the Firth of Clyde, which is known for being one of the two locations of an outdoor swimming pool! It is a saltwater swimming pool! We stayed our first night at the Spinnaker B&B. Great fun little place. We ate at a neighboring restaurant and sat outside to enjoy the sea. See pix of radio that was on when we came down for breakfast. Kate, will not be eating any more haggis. One tiny taste was all she could manage ☹ It was fried like a round patty of sausage. It was ok, but later in Edinburgh, we found it to be wonderful! Yes, sheep intestines….(“ Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock” Google definition). We left, but not before Craig, our guide gave us a tour of the neighboring city of Greenock. (sugar refining began early in its history!) He showed us where he lives with his wife and two wee children!
We toured a tiny adorable village called Luss on Loch Lomond. No, the Loch Ness Monster is not there! Loch Lomond is the largest land locked loch!!!! The Luss Parish Church. (1500 years of worship) As most Scottish and Irish churchyards there is a cemetery. Very old gravestones-even Vikings were buried there- interesting to read. There were Viking graves identified by the long carved stones called hogbacks. The walls of this church are adored with carved skulls & cross bones and little cherubs. See the pix. The skull and crossbones represent man’s mortality and the cherubs symbolize immortality. The scenery is just gorgeous and the people are so friendly.

At one point we stopped and drank from a natural ancient spring called Moses Well--springing out of a rock. (just like in Deuteronomy 8). Does it have MYSTIC POWERS? No, we prayed for loss of at least ten pounds, but it hasn’t happened yet. On our way out of the Park we went to “Hell and Back! (Hell’s Glen)

We stopped in Inveraray and had lunch at a WEE pub (George’s Tavern) on the main street and did some shopping. The village of Inveraray was built by the Duke of Argyll to house his workers. Inveraray Castle is the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll, Chief of the Clan Campbell since the 1400’s on Loch Fyne. We certainly enjoyed Inveraray Castle. It is completely furnished and still occupied by the 13th Duke of Argyll who is married to the heir of Cadbury!! So much history!! We stopped for lunch and bought a few treasures.

The boys toured the Kilchurn Castle. It is a ruin from the 15th century, but very majestic overlooking the loch. We girls just watched and gazed at the beautiful scenery. (See pix with sand castles, too) Then we stopped at a hidden treasure: St. Conan’s Chapel. See pix. It was the most interesting conglomeration of architectural styles built by the Argyll’s. It is a great example of too much money. It houses two Duke of Argyll and Robert the Bruce’s finger-(a relic). The downspouts are of scary rabbits and boars.

We got to Oban to find that our luggage had arrived. Oban is noted for the busiest ferry port in Scotland and the gateway to the Isles. Our B&B, the Corriemar House, overlooked the bay. It was filled with all sorts of trinkets…stuffed animals, lacey things, and the owner couldn’t wait to leave while we were checking in. Our rooms were nice and the breakfast was good. The WiFi was not in-service.
We had dinner at a seafood café—monk fish. It was great. We walked back to our B&B around 11:00pm. It was just getting dark! In the morning we leave for the Isle of Mull.

Scottish joke of the day: What did the shepherd say to the sheep? Let’s get the flock out of here!! More tomorrow!

We hopped a ferry to the Isle of Mull, where we will be staying in Tobermory. (see the pix of colorful store fronts.)
The B & B was wonderful. Kate and I had a huge bathroom and we were on the first floor. Finally, no stairs to drag our bags up! The food was delicious and well worth the money we forked out. Lamb, beef, and duck! Wonderful…. We enjoyed two night here.

The ferry to Iona was a fun and inspiring trip. Iona is a tiny island—only 3 miles long & 1 mile wide. The Iona Abbey is located there. It is a restored Benedictine Abbey from the 12th century. St. Columba was said to have come there to convert the PICTS (Scots and Welch) to Christianity. (He fled from Ireland) What an awesome peaceful area. The abbey has been restored, but the ruins of the nunnery still stand. See pix

We grabbed a bite of food and boarded a boat to Staffa-a national nature reserve of marine life, birds, puffins. We all climbed up the scary stairs to the top. Kate and I went up the stairs first and the others took the awesome trip to the Fingal’s cave. My dream of seeing and photographing the puffins came to an end when I couldn’t make it down the muddy incline. I was a failure!! BUT the view was awesome. We did get to see the pix of the puffins of those who were much younger and had more energy to succeed!!
John, Marty, Linda and Debbie took the “walking tour” around the island to the Fingal’s Cave. When we were all in Ireland, we toured the “Giant’s Causeway!” Here in Scotland is the other side of that causeway. (look up the legend of Fingal, the Gaelic giant and the Ulster giant). This island of Staffa and the cave is known for Felix Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave). He was inspired by the roar of the waves in the cave and wrote this piece.
Kate and I met up with the others and they encouraged us to take the “trip” to the cave. We did and it was worth every cautious step we took! Along the way, we passed an elderly couple. See pix. The man had two hip replacements. So Kate and I decided we could do it!!

By the way, do you know what the Scottish called bird watchers? “Twitchers!”
Here is another word—which we were always “peckish!” hungry

When we got back to Tobermory, we went to the Mishnish Hotel for dinner. Great meal. Then off to bed for a much needed rest from our wonderful experience.
We left Tobermory and we were on our way to the Isle of Skye—one more ferry. We stopped a wee bit to have a drink of Scotch! (not my favorite, but Debbie has decided she is now a Scotch drinker!) I am thinking the others drank it right up also!! Ha ha. The bar and distillery, Sligachan Hotel, is where we stopped. It is located in the Cuillin Mountains. (see pix) We are the “wee” people on the bridge.

We will be staying at the Flodigarry Country House. Kate and I will be in the cottage where Flora MacDonald and her husband lived. She was said to have helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape the island after the Jacobite Uprising. Linda & Marty & Debbie and John in the main hotel, their view is unbelievable. The whole area is gorgeous. The food was delicious in the bar. Marty and John had the largest fish and chips imaginable. The next morning, our breakfast consisted of just about everything. We had real buttery cream for our porridge. Watch out arteries!

As usual, I am mixed-up. Can’t remember if we stopped at the Eilean Donan Castle on the way to Skye or afterwards. So I am inserting it here. What a great Scottish castle. Old castle where three sea lochs meet, I think. At least, this is what I wrote down. The scenery is amazing. See pix It was somewhat destroyed in the Jacobite uprising, but someone bought the island and began to restore it. Kate, John, and Deb had their pix taken with the bagpiper. See pix.

On our way down the mountain we stopped for a look at Portree. (the fictional place where Quidditch was played in Harry Potter!)We drove through the town noting the colorful storefronts) We continued down the area and stopped at a beautiful outlook. See pix. We are in amazement about the topographical layout of Scotland. It is green hills, mountainous, black mountains, red mountains, flat, rugged, grassy, watery…….. Kilt Rock! See pix don’t forget to see our “Sound of Music” pix

We are now on our way to Inverness. We stopped to see if we could view “Nessie,” but she just was cooperative. Loch Ness is a huge fresh water loch. We also viewed the Urquhart Castle, but didn’t tour it.
Inverness, the sister city of Inverness, Florida—where my big brother David lives, is lovely. We all loved it. Our hotel, Strathness House, overlooked the River Ness. We, again didn’t have WiFi, but found it at a Laundromat!—yes, we walked right by a Starbucks, and of course, didn’t have any luck getting the boys on the St. Andrews’ Old Course Lottery. They got up early in the AM and called. They also made a reservation to play the Jubilee Course. The hotel was lovely. The owners were great and so apologetic about the computer thing. NO big deal. It is a very busy city, but a fun place. We walked to a great restaurant and then toured the area. The boys walked on to the little islands and we headed off “The Hottananny’s” to hear the local music. We barely got in and through to the, of course, upstairs bathroom. There were no seats so we decided to walk on. John and Marty told us that they got it and had a table for six. We are not sure if that was a wee bit of an exaggeration or not!! The next day, Marty, Katie and I toured the Inverness Cathedral, which was across from our hotel. It is a gorgeous Scottish Episcopal Church. After almost getting hit by a car, Kate and I joined the others for a walk to the little islands, which was amazing. See pix of all the little bridges and the pedestrian suspension bridge—waving and swaying. We walked through the “park” and by the river. We watched a couple of men in waders fishing for salmon. We stopped along the way at the Culloden Battlefield and Visitor Centre. The battlefield monument (see pix) is very unusual, but austere or somber. It represents the fighting troops and how many Jacobites and government troops were killed. Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite army were finally crushed on April 16, 1746. See pix of the modern wall.

On our way to St. Andrew’s, Debbie got a the thrill of her life—touring the gardens of Drummond Castle. (Deborah Drummond Eplee—get it??) We drove down Beech Avenue, planted in the late 18th century. It was amazing…..see all the pix.. the gardens were created in the 1620s by John Drummond, 2nd Earl of Perth. It was then redesigned in the 1820s. Replanted in the 1950s. Queen Victoria planted two copper beech trees in 1842. The design is of the Saint Andrew’s Cross of Scotland. The “colours’ are of the Coats of Arms of the three Families, one of which is DRUMMOND! On the grounds, is the oldest free public lending library in Scotland. “It ceased lending in 1968, but continues to be a very unique reference collection-copied from The Library of Innerpeffray pamphlet) We walked through the gorgeous grounds, even spotting a lazy peacock, and got to our bus to travel on to St. Andrews.

St. Andrews, where Kate met Will or Will met Kate. What a quaint historic tiny medieval city! It is also known as the Ecclesiastical capital of Scotland. Even John Knox preached here—more about him later.
The guys found out that they didn’t win the lottery to play on the old course in the morning, but the Jubilee was on their menu! Craig took us right across the fairway. Yes, you can drive (on a road) right across the 18th fairway of the Old Course. Watching for golfers, we got across and saw a beautiful view of the beach of the North Sea. Craig dropped us off at our adorable, Droune House, and we unpacked and took a walk. We ended up at the Seafood Restaurant. Great Fish and Chips. We walked around afterwards and enjoyed the atmosphere. We ended up on the 18th hole of the old course. It was Big Jack’s dream to play this hole. I scattered his ashes from the Swilcan Bridge to the green. (His dream come true.) Thanks to Marty, he gave me the push to do so. It is such a magnificent site from this hole. (I felt I was littering for a moment) We all got our pix taken on the famous bridge. You can tell how beautiful this area is. With the sun setting, the view was breathtaking.
In the morning, the “innkeep” fixed a quick breakfast for the guys and they ate on the run to the Jubilee. We, the girls, got up and packed. We ate a wonderful breakfast, while enjoying the stories of the owners. We found out that their son, is the golf pro on the Duke’s course of St. Andrews. He just got back from Australia and wants to go back. Hey! Elizabeth, he is single and ADORABLE! Your mom tried a little match-making!! Craig packed our bus and we all walked around the town shopping and looking. Craig even carried our packages back to the bus. We walked on to the “Northpoint” Café where Kate and Will met. Then on to St. Andrews University. The grounds are very lovely. They had just completed graduation a few days before we arrived. Now to the ruins of St. Andrews Castle. This is where all the bishops lived before the Reformation. It is built on the sea and was a fortress and even a prison at one time. We did not tour the inside. Onward to the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral—one cannot imagine the immense size of this place until you are standing at one end and looking at the other! It was the most important cathedral in all of Scotland. Robert the Bruce attended the consecration of this massive church. Of course, the Reformation did a number on this area and many stones and precious icons were destroyed. Buried in the cemetery, is Tommy Morris and his family. They are famous golfers in Scottish history and very connected to St. Andrews Golf course. As I was walking away from his monument—guess what I found? A Drummond headstone!! See Deb’s pix!.
Craig picked us up and we were on our way to the clubhouse for lunch with the guys. They had an awesome time playing and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. The guys took each other’s pix around the course. They were in 7th heaven. What an experience! Onward toward Edinburgh, we saw raspberry and strawberry fields. See pix.
We stopped at a distillery called Blair Athol. This is where “John Met Peat!” see pix
The scenery to Edinburgh was amazing. We arrived in the Edinburgh, the capital and the second largest city in Scotland,
Craig dropped us off at the Southside B&B-a lovely home owned by an Italian family. Franco (of course, that would be his name) was adorable and so accommodating. He made our stay wonderful. We all had great rooms and great showers. We freshened up and walked to an Italian restaurant, Il Positano. It was busy and the waiters were snappy and true Italians, but the food was great. The wine was wonderful-Chianti Classico. Hope we can find it here in the states. We walked around a bit and then met in Linda and Marty’s room for a wee bit of scotch. In the a.m., we went down to breakfast before our eagerly awaited trip to the Borders. Oh, my! Breakfast was yummy. Salmon, porridge, poached eggs, cheese, toast, soda bread, and the most delicious French toast imaginable!!!
Off to the Borders and what a treat! We came upon a wee village and a parade! Marching pipers and drummers and many men, women and children on horseback. (Such a sight and so fun—see pix)
We first stopped at Abbotsford, on the Tweed River, the home of Sir Walter Scott. What a part of Scottish history he played and what a collector of books, artifacts, and stuff! (They let us take pix inside without flash, so we thought our phones wouldn’t flash---oooops!) Scott was not only an author, but was an advocate in Parliament also. Long story short, he wrote novels, spent money, became a lawyer, spent money on Abbotsford, wrote, went into debt, and finally decided “My own right hand shall pay the debt” (from the book on Abbotsford) and he wrote more and finally got out of debt! Abbotsford became a Trust and he was living there rent-free! His dear wife died in 1826, which was also the year his debt became noted. His health was not good, but he continued his writing until death in 1832.
Some of his collections include, the keys of Lochleven Castle which were thrown into the loch after Mary Queen of Scots escaped, a portrait of her head after her execution by Queen Elizabeth, our favorite was the Cruxifix that Mary carried with her to her beheading! Rob Roy’s gun, and a model of the skull of Robert the Bruce! And of course, bookcases full of beautiful leather bound books. Our favorite was the Crucifix that Mary carried with her to her beheading! Much to the delight of the Eplee’s—Sir Walter was a Scottish Presbyterian.
We had lunch in the tearoom and we were on our way to a real gem—Rosslyn Chapel—yes—The DaVinci Code!!. See the pix of the poppy field in the town of Rosslin. We listened to a guide about the Chapel. So much history and mystery! The Masonic connection, etc.. There was so much to see in the architecture and carvings. The ceiling in the chapel was unbelievable—carved stone divided into 5 sections of stars and different kinds of flowers. Carved pillars, floors, windows--all with different decorations, and meanings--No wonder, Dan Brown chose this Chapel for his thriller.
The next stop and our last in the Borders is Melrose Abbey. This Gothic-style abbey was founded in 1136 in Melrose. The Borders, Scotland by King David. Marty and John decided to take the hike to the top most part. See pix. The Abbey, of course, took a beating during the Reformation. That rascal, Henry VIII, had it torched From the pictures of the front, one can tell that it was built over changing the pillars and the arches. Robert the Bruce’s heart is buried there as well as Scottish kings and nobles. It was massive, but we thought St. Andrews Cathedral was larger. A few statues remain untouched which is amazing. One of which is of the Virgin Mary and a bagpipe-playing hog!

Then it was back to Edinburgh to say good-bye to our sweet non-wearing kilt guide, Craig. We hugged, thanked Craig with teary eyes. What a great experience we had with him. It was amazing- the history, the fun, and all with friends.
We hopped a double-decker touring bus to see an overview of Edinburgh. Wow—what a city of history. A huge monument dedicated to Sir Walter Scott, the Edinburgh Castle, the home of Robert Louis Stevenson, St. Giles Cathedral (John Knox), the Palace of Holyroodhouse, built next to the Holyrood Abbey ruin. (Of course, we couldn’t tour it because THE QUEEN was entertaining there for the weekend!!), the Royal Mile, Real Mary King’s Close, and more. John was fascinated with all the scaffolding all over Scotland….. hummmm????? We ate along the Grassmarket (cobblestone walkway). Yes, today was the day that Linda and I ate the best haggis ever! It was delicious. Haggis, tatties, & nips—sheep intestines, potatoes, & turnips! Yummy. We made Kate and the others taste it. Kate—not so much, the others liked it. Now where can we find sheep intestines??
We walked back to the Southside and went to bed. Or did we go to the pub for music. The next day, Sunday, was another delicious breakfast, a beautiful church service at St. Giles, a tour of Real Mary King’s Close, a tour of Edinburgh Castle, and a walk in front of Holyrood Palace. We all enjoyed the service at the church and looking at the beautiful stain glass windows. How did they ever make it through the Reformation? It is the Mother Church of Presbyterianism. It is called a high kirk!
Then we were off to Mary King’s Close. This tour was under the city. Very interesting. There is a website for it and if you are interested, visit it!.

The Edinburg Castle was another great attraction. Castle rock was all from volcanic eruptions. King David built a castle and a chapel (in honor of St. Margaret, his mother—this is very quaint and the stain glass is lovely—see pix) Edward I of England capture it, but “our hero.” Robert the Bruce took it back! It went back and forth from Scot to English. All the wars, from 1130 -1650, including that horrible man, Oliver Cromwell, it still stands today.
We all conclude that the special tour of the “Honours of Scotland (crown jewels--that were taken and buried for years (to get them away from Cromwell), was a highlight! Guess who found the “Honours?” Of course, Sir Walter Scott!! Another interesting fact is, that the jewels were hidden right before WWII, just in case German would invade.

I think this pretty much sums up (are tired of reading it?) our trip. We are already talking about the next one!!

Sorry for the delay and we hope you got all they way through it!!

Linda, Marty, Deborah, John, Kate, and windy Courtney!!

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