Scotland Tours

It was a rough night and today we had planned on going on the tour to Loch Loman and Stirling Castle. Since the tours don’t go everyday now that tourist season is over, we decided we had better make it. We had to walk to the tour office which is about twenty-minutes away. Yesterday, when we had put in our reservation, there were only ten people signed up, but it was guaranteed to be a go. The bus was full with thirty-two people; a little squished but all right. We stopped at a couple of scenic view stops along the way for picture taking, before getting to Loch Loman. Loch, which means lake in Scottish, is the largest fresh body of water in Great Britain, being twenty-seven square miles. We took the hour long boat ride up and down the lake and were able to see some private islands and beautiful greenery on both sides of the shore. The leaves have not yet turned, so that was a bit disappointing. We were hoping to see a rainbow of colors dropping from the trees.

Our guide explained the meaning of the song, Bonnie, Bonnie Banks of Loch Loman. It was written by a highlander who was arrested for treason along with a friend of his. He was declared guilty and was to be hanged. His friend was found innocent. He wrote the song for his girlfriend that he had left behind. This tragic song with the words “You take the high road and I will take the low road” is based on the Highlanders belief that when they died, their soul traveled a mythic low road back to their place of birth. So he knew that as soon as he was executed, his soul traveling the low road would reach Loch Loman before his friend could arrive back home to deliver the news. Also, we learned that there are no National Parks in Scotland, but a law is being passed now to create them so Loch Loman to be the first.

Our lunch stop was at the Scottish Wool Center. This was a tiny quaint little town that had its own history and was a major stop for those that wanted to purchase Scottish wool products. There was a very elderly lady that provides spinning exhibitions and then a loom is set up for those that want to know how their tartan came about. Of course, now it is all done on industrial looms. The lunch we chose was a dull lentil soup that had the correct coloring and consistently, but the flavor took a vacation.

Of course, haggis was available as it is everywhere here. For the uninitiated, there are numerous recipes of haggis, but the traditional recipe calls for the heart, lung, kidneys of a lamb mixed with two cups of oatmeal, and spices then stuffed into and cooked in the lambs stomach bag. That whole thing is then deep-fried. One of the things we heard from two guides is that the Scots are notorious for deep-frying everything. One guide told us that they batter and deep fry Mars bars, the chocolate bar. We thought it was a joke until we started seeing signs in candy shops for it. Both guides explained that the Scots use lard, not vegetable oil for their frying and have one of the highest heart attack rates in the world.

Another tidbit of information was that the Highlanders who drove their sheep for miles did not want to take the time for cooking meals along the way. They would take handfuls of oatmeal and let spring waters run over their hands to moisten the oatmeal and then eat the mush that was created. Since they could not open their hands much, less the oatmeal escape, the Scots earned the reputation as being ‘tight fisted’.

Stirling castle surroundings was a lovely site and was where Mary Queen of Scots was crowned at nine months of age, but Ron and I had decided not to visit the interior. Most of the interiors are depleted of furnishings, so you are only seeing rooms, not what it was like then. Instead we took the time allotted and walked through the cemetery on the outside of the castle walls. There were some interesting headstones and it was amazing at how many names would be listed on one stone. Sometimes the names were not of other relations, but of friends or someone who could not afford a headstone of their own.

As we drove back to Edinburgh, we came across a Highland cow and bull in the field. The driver stopped for us to take pictures. Highland cows are rusty brown in color, but what makes them unique is their coat. Their fur is long and shaggy and they have long bangs over their eyes. They are quite charming with their long horns and the cow was especially interested in attention. The bull was resting farther in the meadow with his back to us and never budged.

Later in the drive, we saw a field of sheep, which is not that unusual in Scotland. Wool is one of their main products. This group of sheep was a special breed with coats of white and black wool stripes growing down their backs. Some had white faces, while others had black. Their legs looked shorter than the other sheep we had seen. All at once, the sheep started to run like a wolf was chasing them. Their short legs did their best to provide a gallop through the grassy hill. We could not understand what had caused this sudden burst of energy until the next sight was a six-point buck running toward them. The buck was running like a prince of the herd with his head raised high and his rack pointing toward the sky. Why he was running chasing the sheep or just scaring the cud out of them was never resolved as the bus turned the corner and they went out of view.

We learned that sheep only have a life span of about 12 years only because that is the time it takes for them to wear out their teeth from grazing all of the time. After that time they are slaughter so they do not starve to death. The quality of their wool never changes, so Ron is advocating sheep dentures to keep them grazing longer in the greener pastures. We did see some of the sheep with the double horns. One set is sheep horn and one is a goat like horn.

When we returned to Edinburgh, we decided that the trip was worth it for the spotting of the deer with the sheep and the Highlander cows alone. The rest of the day was extra little bonuses. Across from the castle in Edinburgh is a Starbucks that is upstairs. We were told that it had one of the best views of the castle at night from their windows. Sacrificing having to visit yet another Starbucks, we ventured up. It does have a stunning view of the castle. They light up the castle beautifully at night and it is magical to sit and sip coffee and just stare at it. Well, I did not just stare at the castle, I read the paper also. There was this interest puzzle in the paper and we are offering a souvenir (from where we happen to be at the time) to be mailed to the first person that figures this out. There are two parts to the puzzle. Part one: What are the missing numbers in the series below? Part two: What does the series of numbers represent?

17 23 5 18 20 ? 21 9 15 16 Row One

1 ? 4 6 7 8 10 11 12 Row Two

? 24 3 22 2 14 13 Row Three

Winners need not be present to win, but you do need to answer both parts correctly and

there is only one correct answer to either part. Just having a little fun with all of you.

Our last stop for the evening was the Hard Rock Café. This place was jumping. We had to wait for a table. It is the same size as the one in London, but really rocking. Our treat was dinner there and of course our pins. That warranted a walk home if for nothing else than to work off dinner. I am happy to report that the toilet and the sink are now fully functional on the second floor. Another day should be the deadline for completing the shower and this B & B will get an A+ in my book.

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London, Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

London, Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Mr. Happy’s partner was at breakfast this morning. He grunted a greeting after I said “Good morning!”, then got up and left the room. John played out his robotic coffee or tea skit. Nothing was said about our checking out that morning or anything else that might be misconstrued as friendly, warm or that would invite us to return. We had slept a little later then usual and finished breakfast at 10:00 am and went back to the room to finish packing what was going with us.

At exactly 11:00 am, the checkout time, I went to the breakfast counter and set our keys on the counter. Without looking up, John said “That will be six pounds eleven for phone calls.” I paid him with a ten pound note and he handed me the change without any more words being spoken. He never once said thanks for staying here, come again, go to hell, nothing, nothing, nothing. We grabbed our bags and left.

I of course had to go to the Internet café one more time to see if all of the accommodations were completed without an issue, while Ron verified our train arrangements. When I returned, we were ready to take the last tube for this time around to the rail station to get our outgoing train. We had thought of leaving our bags at the B & B and check out more of London for one last time, but when John was so blank, we decided to leave on an earlier train.

As we leave London, allow me to make some final observations. It was difficult getting used to the driving on the opposite side of the road and the steering wheel where our passenger side is. Fortunately, all crosswalks are marked with ‘Look right’ or ‘Look left’ depending on which side of the street you are on. If you jaywalk, you definitely do so at your own risk. It was quite unnerving the first few times we saw children sitting in our traditional drivers side. What was more so, was seeing dogs hanging their heads out the windows. Lasting impressions!!

From some of the jokes we heard, we did not think the British trains would be that efficient. A few people, Brits, commented that they have the worst on time service in Europe, but I think the Italians hold the record. In the train station, we had to get out BritRail passes validated before boarding the train. We had people everywhere offering to assist us and when we were called to the counter, it was only a matter of minutes for the validations. We took off to the train and found a car we could board. With the BritRail, we had a choice of 1^st Class or Standard and we had chosen the Standard to fit with our new lifestyle of living cheaply. The Europass only comes in 1^st class, so we will move up when we leave Great Britain.

The seats were very comfortable and Ron was able to snatch a foursome with a table. I was tempted to whip out the laptop, but this was a chance to read instead. I have found this pleasant author that writes mystery stories, nothing heavy, just fun. The author is Nancy Atherton and the books are the Aunt Dimity series. The first one, I read on our trip to Egypt and it was fun, so I bought more for this trip. On our flight from Denver to New Jersey, I had read Aunt Dimity’s Death, which sets the scene for the rest of the books. On the train, I was reading Aunt Dimity Digs In. They take place in the English countryside, the Cotswold area, so it makes it more fun. Our friend Daphnee had given me the book Seven Up by Janet Evanovitch. This too was a mystery and it took place in New Jersey. She is an incredible writer too and I am looking forward to reading more of her works. In between, I had read The Girl With the Pearl Earring. The name of the author escapes me, but it was a great book about the Dutch artist Vermeer. It will be a greater pleasure to see his work now that I have read that book. If anyone needs a relaxation book, all of the above are recommended highly. I call them mind candy.

Well, I would love to tell you how wonderful the scenery was as we whisked by on the train, how the villages were idyllic, but it was not like that at all. Most of the scenery was either another train flashing past us in the opposite direction or industrial areas at the side of the tracks. There were no cute little houses with cute little yards and cute little dogs that were making cute little yapping noises as the train went by. The scenery was not worth staying awake for, but I did get a lot of reading done. After five relaxing hours on the train, it was time to get off at our new home for the next week. Running out of time, so I will let you know where we are headed next in the next chapter.

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New City, New Country

New City, New Country

We arrived at Waverley Station, Edinburgh, Scotland, by 6:00 pm. At the advise of the guesthouse owner here, we were going to take a taxi for what would have been a 20 minute walk to the guesthouse. We think we may have thought we had more luggage than we did. We stopped at a bank machine to get cash. After I took out 200 pounds, the machine rudely stated that my banking institution denied a request for further funds. That put me into a panic. Why would that happen? Holy cow, we will have to live on credit for the rest of the year. Something happened to our funds. My mind went into a tailspin. Ron was nonchalant. Then I realized that our bank had a $300 maximum withdrawal per day. With the exchange rate, the 200 pounds had put us close to the $300 limit. That did not stop my mind from doing somersaults that would continue to future tales of doom. There is nothing I could do about it tonight. Stay in the moment. Stay in the moment.

To our surprise, the owner of this B & B was pleasant and cheerful. He brought us into the kitchen and said that the kitchen was always open and we were to help ourselves to whatever was there. Merlin, the manager would be available in the morning and have breakfast spread out. Breakfast was served from 9:00 am to noon. If we wanted something earlier or later, we were welcome to help ourselves. He explained that there was always cakes and wrapped cookies on the counter for the guests and we should make ourselves at comfortable. He then showed us to our room with the shared bath and apologized that the bath on our floor had a plumbing problem and we would need to use the bath on the first floor for a few days. The room is a comfortable size, but that bathroom is certainly going to be missed doing the night. There is a fireplace that is blocked off and decorated with dried flowers, a double bed, two small dressers and polished wood floors. There is no phone and the television only gets four channels. However, we are paying 39 pounds a night versus 79 pounds in London. To add more value, since we paid cash for five nights, we are getting two nights free. That is quite a difference and we can live without a private shower or phone. Martin, the owner, had no problems with me plugging my laptop in and working on the kitchen table. He then gave us a map to the area, suggested some bars and restaurants and left us to our own devises.

The bank notes here are from the Bank of Scotland. Martin told us that the Bank of Scotland received permission to print its own money in 1793 and have done so since. English pounds are also viable forms of cash and the coins are the same throughout Great Britain. The exchange rate is the same, not great.

We decided to explore Edinburgh, at least the neighborhood that we would call home for the next seven days. We went to a pub called Planet Out for a beer. The people were friendly and welcoming. Martin did not know about Internet cafes, so I grilled the bartender, who seemed young enough to care to know. He had his own and did not invite me to use it, so I was stuck continuing my search. We then wandered around until it was time to eat dinner or go back and call it a night. I could have done either, but Ron wanted food. We settled on an Italian restaurant for a quick pasta meal, then walked the short distance to our new adopted home for what I had hoped would be a wonderful nights sleep. Don’t think about the money machine. Ron is out like a light without a second thought. For me, the mantra swimming in my mind is “Don’t worry about the money machine. Just don’t worry about it.”

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