Edinburg is so full of history and conditions long ago sure weren't pleasant. We toured the castle and the city. We were both fascinated with the architecture. There are such beautiful old, ornate structures and we can't imagine how it was built so long ago without technology.
The archway into the Edinburgh Castle had statues of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace on each side of the entrance.
There were lots of people stories, ghost stories and even a sweet dog story. It was a great time. When our guide, Andrea, finished, we were on our own for the afternoon to explore. I love that freedom. We walked and walked.
We called our daughter-in-law, Kathy, who had just gotten to school (she is a teacher), so she could hear the bagpiper. She is of Scottish ancestry and has traveled to Scotland.
Robert Louis Stevenson's House.
We stopped in a tea room for a delicious lunch of smoked salmon, cheese and relish sandwich, and carrot cake. There are just unbelievable choices. We visited the Giles Cathedral and climbed a hill to an interesting very old cemetery. There were street performers and we listened to another bagpiper before we headed back to meet the bus.
We freshened up back at the hotel and jumped back on the bus to go to the Haggis Ceremony. What a riot. We had a great dinner with unending bottles of wine. People got pretty silly. I laughed till I cried and now we're all best friends.
Then the show started with singers, dancers, a bagpiper, and a young lady that could really play the fiddle. The lights came on and the ceremony started with the story of Haggis, a spicy sausage of sheep's brain, heart, liver, kidney and lung stuffed in a sheep's stomach and boiled. Yuck! But Bob tried it. It was an experience and worth it all for the wonderful music and hearty laughter.
Thursday we headed north out of Edinburgh which took well over an hour. It is a big, sprawling city, while still so quaint and so many lovely gardens. As we drove, Henry, our guide went on with the very interesting, often violent history of Scotland. I took notes just to try to absorb it all. We drove through an area called the Kingdom of Fife which is thought of as the bread basket of Scotland as the soil is so fertile. It was beautiful. There were bright green hills and valleys with some fields plowed and freshly planted. Again, I am in awe of the trees. They are huge, running three times as big as those we think are big at home.
Our first stop was St. Andrews where we could see the famous golf course and walk around the quaint seaport town. It was sunny, but cold and blustery. We thought of you, Chad. It was impressive.
Our tour guide called the strong wind a Scandinavian Breeze as it came across the North Sea from Norway. The countryside reminded me of rolling fields in Pennsylvania, western Wisconsin and northern Michigan.
As we drove, the hills got bigger turning into mountains with pines and ferns. The scenery was amazing. We began to see rocky snow covered peaks and more rushing rivers and little water falls. It is Salmon fishing country, but you have to have an expensive permit. We did find out there are trout in some of the lakes and you can fish from the shore for free.
We stopped in Pitlochery, a sweet little Victorian town for lunch.
We went to a tea room with our friends who let me borrow their camera, John and Mary. It was delightful with homemade soup and scones.
The weather kicked in and we drove through mixed rain and sleet up winding climbing country roads. It was beautiful. Then the sun would come out and take our breath even more.
Besides the large numbers of sheep we saw, they have long haired cattle bred for the harsh weather of Scotland called Hairy Coos. They are cute.
We stopped at the very moving battlefield of Culloden Moor with a beautiful visitor center. We were able to hike around the battlefield which inspired a very somber mood and whispered thoughts.
Meanwhile, back on our bus, I want to mention how fortunate we are to have so many talented people onboard with several singers and some great comedians. As we drove past the Heather covered fields, our friend John softly sang The Heather on the Hill from the movie Brigadoon. It was perfect and sounded just like Gene Kelly. Then towards evening when a flute version of Amazing Grace came on our sound system, our friend, Judie sang with a beautiful voice and had us all in tears. How cool is that!
We got to our hotel which was old and full of character. It reminded me of Mackinaw Island. Our room had a great view of a snow covered mountain
. After dinner in the lovely dining room, Bob and I hiked up the steep streets to a golf course at the top with a gorgeous view. By then, it was growing dark, with a brisk breeze and the faint smell of wood smoke. I was in Heaven.
We seem to pass through mystical, spiritual places both in buildings and nature that have us speaking in whispered voices with an overwhelming, moving, Holy feeling. Then, the next moment we're in foot stomping, hand clapping, sing along, laughing places. It's magical and we're overcome with gratitude for the blessing of this whole experience.
