From our 2017 trip …
Marie, you were so right (of course you were!) about the weather in Scotland. We continue to have mostly sunny days with blue skies but today while in Inverness and at Culloden Battlefield we experienced sun, rain, sun, snow, sun, hail, sleet and then more sun – crazy!
Scotland is a gloriously beautiful country and the Highlands are magnificent. They remind us of the Twelve Bens and Maumturk Mountains in Connemara, Ireland. They share a raw and wild beauty.
Calling all you Outlander fans (thanks, Barbara!), this country is even more beautiful than shown on the TV series Outlander. Yesterday we visited Culloden Battlefield and it was the day before the 271st anniversary of the Battle of Culloden which was the final confrontation of the Jacobite Rebellion. It was also the last full-scale hand to hand battle fought in Britain.
We were honored to be present and participate in the Memorial Procession. It was moving to see the members of various clans dressed in their tartans and carrying their clan flags as they walked to lay wreaths at the Cairn. It was a stirring sight.
Now for one of our language issues … while in Edinburgh we dined at The Old Bell Inn and ordered sparkling water (wild ones that we are!) with our meal. The young man taking our order must have thought we were either hard of hearing or just plain stupid when he had to ask us several times if we wanted “hace.” We thought perhaps it was an unfamiliar dish or a brand of sparkling water but no, (Steve, Hayley and Marie have already figured this out) it was ICE!
Edinburgh was lovely and we enjoyed walking the Royal Mile, especially the walking down part vs. the walking up part.
Sipping a Scotch while reading a good book always seemed like a good idea to me except that I never liked the taste of Scotch. Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop is the oldest independent whisky bottler in Scotland so I stopped in to check it out and ended up buying a wee bit of Scotch.
Well, I liked it so much that I was back at Cadenhead’s at 10:30 the next morning to buy another wee bottle. John asked if I was developing a problem. Well, I went from not being a Scotch drinker to buying a bottle (a wee one, really) at 10:30 in the morning, you be the judge! Harry and Micky – I get it now.
Rosslyn Chapel just south of Edinburgh was so very interesting and intricate in its design, symbolism and carvings. Yes, Dan Brown and DaVinci Code fans, it is a real chapel, still in use for religious purposes.
Readers, John and I had planned to travel to Ireland next week. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we, like millions of others, won’t be doing any travel for a while. So instead of writing about what we’re doing in Ireland I’ll be writing about what we would have been doing in Ireland so please stay tuned for our virtual tour around the Emerald Isle.
Once again, beautiful photographs & very interesting narrative.
Carol – Thank you so very much for your lovely comment on my “Hopping Over to Scotland for a Bit” blog post. Your kind words are always appreciated! May you & yours be well & remain so. Teresa