Scotland: Loving Edinburgh . . .

I’m back! I’m so sorry that I have not been posting the past several days. Thank you so much everyone for all of your comments! I really appreciate all the kind comments.

I have been really enjoying my time here in Edinburgh a lot and unlike the Highlands, there is so much to do here at night and since my apartment is in such a great area it has been hard for me to resist not venturing out. The only down side is that it has been freezing here. I have at one point put on three layers of clothing.

Today is Monday and I have already done everything on my must see list. There’s a few more things that I’ve since learned about while here that I’m interested in seeing and so we’ll see if I can accomplish those before Thursday. My flight on Friday leaves at some ridiculous time (6:20 am) so I have to leave by 3:30 or so to get to the Edinburgh Airport. So for all intense purposes Thursday is my last day here.

I will probably post one last entry on Thursday before I leave to wrap things up and then I will sadly have to say Farewell to Scotland! I’m never good at saying good-bye!

Instead of doing one really loooooong, here are my individual journal entries . . . .

Scotland: The Castle and St. Margaret's Chapel . .

Today I took the City Sightseeing Tour Bus and visited the Holyroodhouse and Edinburgh Castle (which was free due to St. Andrews Day Homecoming Celebration). Yay!

The Holyroodhouse sits at the end of the Royal Mile and is the official residence in Scotland of the British Royal family. There is an impressive collection of furnishings, plasterwork ceilings and tapestries in the State Apartments. The remains of Holyrood Abbey, located within the grounds, date back to the 12th and 13th centuries. The entrance fee is 10 pounds and it includes an audio guide. I thought it was very interesting to visit and learn about so much history, especially the brutal killing of Queen Mary’s confidante, David Riccio, by her second husband. There was some real drama back then.

I didn’t intend to visit the Edinburgh Castle until Monday, however, learning that it is still free to enter today and with fewer crowds from the day before because of the freezing cold weather, I hopped off the bus to visit the castle. The Castle is perched high on an extinct volcano. With its position, it would’ve been difficult for enemies to attack it successfully. There are several items and displays of interest, Mons Meg, a six ton canon gun, the Scottish National War Memorial (which was built to honour the 500,000 Scotsmen killed in the Great War), the 1 O’clock Gun that is fired everyday, the Crown Jewels, the Scottish National War Memorial, etc. I even got to see a cool performance by a bag pipe band as I exited the Castle. They were performing for some dignitary visiting the castle. Lucky me! But the most interesting thing that fascinated me the most on the entire grounds is the smallest and oldest building, St. Margaret’s Chapel.

St. Margaret’s Chapel is a very small chapel but it is a very special place. You can literally feel its special meaning when entering. I have read of Macbeth, King of Socts. Well, Macbeth was succeeded by King Malcoml III, who married Princess Margaret after she found refuge in Scotland when her family was excluded from the English throne by William the Conqueror. Queen Margaret was one of the most lovely Queens there has ever been and she was loved because she herself loved so much and did all she could for her subjects. Above all she loved God; and, loving her people, she wanted them to love God, too. This little chapel, built on the rock of Edinburgh Castle, is called by her name; and to this day, St. Margaret’s Chapel seems still to weave the spell of her love and prayers.

The chapel stands on the very spot were it has always stood, a place set apart. In days of siege and war, as well in days of plenty and of peace, people have come here to give God their workship. Those who were great in power, Kings and Queens, lords and ladies, knights and lairds, soldiers of the sword and of the cross, those who were great in humility, or everyday people like me have come to this chapel. I have read that she had a tremendous heart. It is said that during lent she “went into the hall of the palace, she found it full of poor people, she washed their feet and served them herself.” Margaret was greater than her greatest work. Her achievements were great, but the selfless spirit in which she achieved them was greater still. As Cassian said, the height of perfection and blessedness lies in the purity of Love. For all things shall pass away and be destroyed but Love is to abide for ever.

So although St. Margaret’s Chapel is the smallest and oldest in the Castle Grounds I find it to be my favorite!

At the end of the tour, I arrived in St. Andrews Square just in time for the Nativity Scene Blessings and Choir Performance. People in the audience were all singing along and well so did I! It was fun!

Some of the Day's images . .

The Abbey at Holyroodhouse . . .



The Castle from within the grounds . . .

St. Margaret's Chapel . . .


Bagpipes performance . . .


Nativity Choir Performance . . .

Scotland: Arthur's Seat . . .

Today I woke up to another beautiful sunny morning. With no set itinerary I set out on my day with the idea of finding the Royal Mile but as I saw how beautiful it was I decided this was the day to climb Arthur’s Seat near Holyrood Park. I think one of the unique things about Edinburgh is the fact that it has this beautiful mountain in it’s midst, which is an extinct volcano which they say is shaped like a sleeping lion. The summit is 823 ft. high.


Arthur’s seat emerged during a violent volcanic eruption deep in the earth’s crust and I read that climbing to the summit would give me the best view of the city below. And it does.

I went up one side ( a steep but straight uphill climb) then went back down the other side (I think it’s called St. Margaret’s path) which is a longer route but more gradual.


Some sections were a little tricky…especially when you follow the wrong person! Little did I know that just to the left of the rocky path I took, there is an easier route! I took it on the way down!


The spot that marks the Summit or Highest point on Arthur’s Seat. I climbed up and stood on it but it was so windy I held on with both hands and didn’t pull out my camera to take a photof from it, so instead I took a photo of it once I climbed back down.



Great views around the city!


In the Highlands most of the time I was by myself so it was nice to have company here …met a couple of nice people climbing up and down Arthur’s seat.


Some people ran up and down it , which was pretty amazing to see.

The view from down below. While walking down I bumped into a couple and the girl asked me if it was worth it? And I said yes it totally was! I was happy that I was on my way down though and could totally relate to her question.


As it turned out, the following day was not quite as clear and beautiful as it was this day so I was happy that I visted Arthur’s Seat today! Sometimes you have to follow your instincts.

Scotland: The Royal Mile and a Cool Parade . . .

On Saturday, I decided to explore around the Royal Mile (Castlehill, Lawnmarket, Canongate and Abbey Strand) and visit some of the sights there. This famoust stretch referred to the Royal Mile is on (High Street) and starts at the foot of the Endinburgh castle and extends for not quite a mile down to the Royal Abbey and palace. First I visit this cool Kilt Weaving Museum where you can see how the wool kilts are made. It was pretty cool. I crashed into William Wallace (a street performer who has done this for 15 years raising money for children with Leukemia). He was very funny! Along the Royal Mile, there are these narrow and small alleys (For some reason Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde stories came to mind) that lead to interesting courtyards like the Lady Stairs Close where there is also a Writer’s Museum. There’s a tour of these City Streets built below Edinburgh that sounded really interesting but it included all these ghost stories which always gives me nightmares so I passed on the tour.

I visited a magnificent church, St. Giles Cathedral, with beautiful stained glass windows. Right by St. Giles Cathedral in Parliament Square the cars for the Art Car Parade were being set up so I stuck around to view some of the cars and enjoy the festivities. The architecture is really interesting along the Royal Mile. It was great fun to just take my time and browse around with no set schedule.





I then walked down back to Princess street where I just grabbed a sandwhich to take back to the apartment. The art car parade will make its way down to St. Andrew’s Square and is literally one block (short 2 minute) walk away from my apartment. Yay! They have a stage set up for entertainment and all these interesting informational booths about Scotland, which I browsed around. It’s all part of the Homecomming celebration.

At about 5:00 I head out to snag a good place for the parade. The street soon became crowded with people lined up to see the parade. They had these cool big puppets and little robot things to come out and entertain the crowds along the parade route. They gave our Scottish Flags to everyone along the route too. Then the cars came and it was a blast. It was very cool to see them and to cheer them on as they drove by. Very fun!

And for AnnieNC, here are some photos I took of the Art Car Parade…. (It was so fun)!









And here are images of the entertainment that performed after the car parade . .

Scotland: Portee to Edinburgh thru Fort William and the Most Photographed Castle . . .

The drive from Portee to Fort William went well, although it down poured the whole way. I returned to Fort William a different way by crossing the Skye Bridge to get back to the mainland. It was 100 times better than taking the Ferry! No motion sickness.

The drive took about 3 ½ hours and I made one stop along the way to see the famous Eilean Donan Castle, which was used in the movie the “Highlander”. There was a very brief dry spell just as I got there and so I took several photos. It was closed but they allow you to cross the bridge and walk around the grounds of the castle. I can see why it is considered the “most” photographed castle in Europe. It’s not a very big castle but the setting is just gorgeous!

Next day after spending the night in Fort William I returned my car and caught an early train to Edinburgh, which would take almost 4 hours, with one stop (train change) in Glasgow. It was nice not to have to drive in the rain for a change and for the chance to be able to take in the scenery. Unfortunately, I immediately dosed off when the train started rolling, waking up now and then to look at the view. With only five minutes to catch my connecting train, I dashed out the door as soon as the train stopped. Luckily my next train was just one track away. Now I might have judged the Train systems here in the UK to hastily in an earlier post. I have since changed my mind. The trains here are pretty efficient as well. I like how they have a screen at the front of the car to tell you what the next stop is and they constantly keep you updated by announcing all the stops. They even have a refreshments cart for service throughout the journey. So Kudos to the UK trains system.

In less than an hour we are pulling into Waverly station and I immediately see the castle and the big Christmas Ferris Wheel near Princess Street. There are no escalators coming out of the Waverly Station (so be aware) and I’m standing at the bottom with my luggage staring at four flights up! Yikes! Just then this really nice guy offers to carry my luggage and all I had to do was hold his cup of coffee for him. Usually I get pretty embarrassed to accept the favor, but the thought of lifting my luggage four flights of stairs made me immediately say “yes, thank you so much”! The guy was really nice! What a great Samaritan!

So here I am in Edinburgh! Whoo hoo! My immediate thought was wow, this is really gorgeous. And my second thought was wow there’s a lot of people. A complete opposite of my experience in the Highlands! The pace of life here is “fast”. I had to pick up my walking pace.

I call Vincent my apartment rental contact person and he said the he will meet me at the apartment in 10 minutes, that’s how close I am from the station. I catch a Taxi and Vincent is already there. The apartment is just huge and gorgeous. He told me that this apartment is very popular and I got it for a really good price. He said even some celebrities have stayed here because of its location. It is such a short walk to St. Andrews Square, the Theatres, the shopping center, Princess Street and the Royal Mile. It’s a fabulous apartment and a great location. I think I’m going to really like it here. There are two bedrooms, so I used the small one for my luggage. There is also a tub and a shower! The décor is well done too, Very modern and tasteful.

So now, I’m off to go check things out. And by the way did I mention that it is sunny and beautiful. Surprisingly it is much colder here than in the highlands (without the wind factor). So much so that I finally pulled out my scarf and gloves and wore two layers of clothing and I still felt cold.

I walked along George Street, stopping to see St. Mary’s Church, then over to the Tourist Information Center on Princess street to pick up a map, then browsed around the Christmas Markets and Carnival they have set up for the Holidays. I see the famous Scott Monument which was a memorial to Writer Sir Walter Scott. Unfortunately with this street construction in front of it I couldn’t get a good photo of it, but I did what I could (They have since cleared the way so I will try to re-take my photo of the monument).

I ate some Crepes, then visited the National Gallery of Scotland (it was free). They have Raphael’s “The Virgin and Child”, Botticelli’s “The Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child” There were also some wonderful works by Titian, Poussin, Rembrandt and Cezanne and Velasquez.

Then I browsed around again at the Christmas venues, eating more from the vendors.  They even had an outdoor ice skating rink set up which was pretty cool. They also had this Hot Wine drink (which I got to warm me up—mainly ) …. As soon as I got back home (to my apartment), I took a hot shower and crashed! I think I’m going to really enjoy it here!

Scotland: Beautiful, Peaceful, Soft, Harsh, Dramatic, Predictable, Unpredictable, Extreme . . .

Thank you so much to everyone for all of your kind comments and taking the time to read my blog. I'm so glad that you have found it interesting, humorous and inspiring that you may one day want to visit Scotland and the Highlands. Today was my 4th Day here and although I have one more full day left I can already begin to feel that sad emotion of having to say farewell until next time (which I hope there will be). The title of my blog pretty much sums up how I would describe the Isle of Skye and the west Highlands. It is a very beautiful and unspoilt land that I think everyone should have to experience at least once in their life time. If I am lucky maybe it will be twice in my lifetime.

I have heard the term "God's Country" when describing Scotland and the Highlands and I think I can understand why! When I'm sitting at the breakfast room in my hotel and looking out onto Portee Bay and the Cullins I am hypnotized by the simplicity and beauty. When driving even in a downpour I can't help but still be in awe with the rolling hills of grass and white spots of sheep that I have become really fond of seeing while driving. They are busy chewing their grass, some of them cross the roads with no sense of you waiting for them to cross. And I just love them.

The Highlands is known for it's high winds! I remember reading an entry by Deborah about it and now I can relate. There were two times when I felt the strongest of the winds, on the Quiraing peak and near the Cullin Hills yesterday. The wind was unbelievable. The power harnessed could light up Manhattan New York for a year! Let's just say I didn't bother brushing each time I stepped out of the car. There was really no point. :)

Yesterday, I traveled south from Portee on the A863 to visit the Cullin Hills. There are two Cuillin ranges; the Black Cuillins, formed of jagged dark igneous rock, and the softer, rounder peaks of the Red Cuillins, formed of red granite. I had read that one of the best places to view the Cullin Hills is from a very tiny town called Sligachan.


Then I visited the second largest town, Bradford (taking the A863) . . .



From Bradford, I took a small single track road to Egol . . .


I also traveled on the A850 to visit the famous Fairy tale Dunvegan Castle which is located on the western side of the Isle. Unfortunately, it was closed! eek! Not very good planning on my part. Luckily I found a side gate opened and went in to at least take a photo....


Today, I traveled south again on the A87 and I took the Talisker Distillery Tour which is located near the town of Carbost. It was only 5lbs and it was for about 40 minutes. At the beginning of the tour they give you a free sample of their single malt. They give you a bottle of Water too which I understood why as soon as I sipped my Scotch Whisky. I'll borrow Girasoli's saying! Whoa! Strong is putting it mildly. There is a smokey taste to it just like how Sandra and Marta described. Very good though. It's funny that the lady told me that there is no shame is adding water. :)

It was an interesting tour and the process is so specific and they don't sway from it because that is what their flavors are known for. I didn't know that their whisky is used in other liquer like Rum, Baileys, etc. But they are well known for their single malts too. And they are the most expensive. After all the fermenting with Peat, the mashing and washing (using Copper machinery), the final products goes into these oak barrels where they will have to mature for at least 3 years before they are considered Whiskey (before then it is referred to as spirits). Did you know that there is an acutal Scottish law that says that you can't call it whisky until then! While it lays there maturing the liquids will evaporate from the barrels (just the natural process) at least by 2 percent. And there is an old Scots saying that says that this 2 percent is for the "Angels". I thought that was a cute saying.

After the tour we are led to their shop. I just had to buy a little bottle for a souvenir. Thank goodness I brought a wine skin (which I learned about from Cindy Ruth aka Baked Alaska, thanks Cindy)with me to pack it when I go home. Thanks again Sandra for the tour idea. That was really fun. The second photo is of their storage room and the barrels there are from 1979! And did you know that the alcohol is actually clear and that the coloring actually comes from the natural color of the barrells. Interesting!



I ended the day with a nice walk on this path called the Scorrybreac Cercuit which is actually located right by my hotel. The path is well paved which made it nice and it was a great way to end my 4th full day here.





I have one more full day here on the Isle before I head back to Fort William. I will travel going over the Kyle Bridge, stopping to see the Eilean Castle. Then after one night in Fort William (maybe I'll be lucky with clear weather so I can actually see Ben Nevis) I will return my car and take the train to Edinburgh where I will stay for 8 days in an apartment. Can't wait to see all the cool Holiday events and Finale week festivities for St. Andrews Day Homecoming week.

I totally loved my adventures here in the Highlands from the wonderful Road to the Isles, Arisaig and the Silver Sands of Morar and the wonders and intrigue of the Isle of Skye with it's dramatic scenery and equally dramatic weather, it's very cool sheep and Highland Cows, and the fierce winds of the Quiraing and the beauty of the Cullins! Tomorrow is my last full day here and if the weather holds up, I may drive up and give the Quiraing another go.

I know for sure that my apartment in Edinburgh does not have wi-fi, so I will try to find an internet cafe the first chance that I get. And if I don't get a chance to blog before the holidays (hopefully I will), I want to wish all of my blogging friends and their families a very Safe and Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you so much for reading my entries.

Meanwhile, more visuals...First, the small town of Portee is so quaint and charming. I think it has been the ideal location to base myself here on Skye while I explore the different peninsulas. BTW, I brought my garmin but the roads have been so easy to follow and to be honest I never used it once...


Second, my meals in the Highlands have been wonderful. They serve a lot of seafood and being so close to the waters they have been fresh and very yummy! Thanks so much to Marta for sharing her magazine with me in preparation for my trip. It has been so helpful. This dish was a fresh Salmon, with steamed veggies and potatoes with this sauce that was made with mayo. It was delicious.


Third, while driving back I saw the most perfect Rainbow and it reminded me of Anne's blog entries with her beautiful rainbows. I hit the breaks and took several photos of it...


And last but not least. This is not quite a sunset, but it is the closest that I've come to it. I took this from the window of my hotel room. This has been my view everynight! So priceless.



More to come I promise...

Scotland: The Sights and Sounds of the Trotternish Peninsula . . .

Today, I explored the Trotternish Peninsula. It rained all day yesterday but today it was a lot better. Clear but cold and very windy. And Yay, no rain.

I took the road traveling north towards the town of Staffin. The Trotternish ridge is made of volcanic rock and one of its most famous rock formation is the Old Man of Storr. From Loch Fada I managed to get a good look at this amazing formation. I then traveled on to Kilt Rock which is a 200 ft high sea cliff with a beautiful waterfall nearby. The massive columns of dolerite resembles the pleats on a Kilt, hence the name. It looked exactly like the photos of saw of it during trip planning. It was totally cool to see it in person.

Next, I ventured on a small single track Road that climbed up on switchback roads through the Quiraing. The views during this part of the drive was so amazing. There is a car park and a path that leads you up a short hill for a better view. It was so cold and windy. And I mean very windy. I went as far as I was willing to go. I could have gone higher but with the wind and unsure footing because of the rain from the night before I stopped, took photos and then headed back down the rocky pathy. In better conditions I might have gone all the way up, but I decided that I would rather stop and live to tell about it then to go any further. :)

On the way down I approach a small sea port village called Uigg where I heard about a Pier Restaraunt as a nice place to have lunch. And it was. I had some prawns and chips with a salad. It was very delicious and had a beautiful view of the bay.

From here it was a quick drive (15 miles) back to Portee and just in the nick of time because it started to down pour. Whew! I got most of my must see's in.

I have some photos, but I thought this time I would share the Sights and Sounds of my day's adventure! :)

Scotland: The Silver Sands of Morar and More . . .

Today, I woke up and was surprised with the clear weather. I took advantage by deciding to do a quick walk in one of the beaches located between Arisaig and Morar. First, I come across a sandy beach with rocky islets, across from the Traigh Golve Course which is just off the Old Coastal Road heading south to Mallaig. From here you have spectacular views to the islands of Eigg and Rhum and to the Cullins of Skye. And since the weather was really nice today I could actually see them. Very cool!


I decided to do a quick walk along the beach and through the dunes . . . after walking this one stretch I looked back and saw my shoe prints in the sand and double back to take a photos. . . I guess it reminded me of the quote "Footprints in the Sand."


My walk took me along the sandy beach around these large rocks jetting out (on this trip my tripod doubled as a poking stick to make sure the ground was not too soft to walk in. In some spots it looked hard but was in fact soft so when in doubt, I poked!). . .


. . . I made my way over several large blankets of seaweed left by the tides . . .


. . . across the sand floors during low tide


. . . then up . . .


. . . and through high grassed sand dunes.


. . . and then I get to do it all over again! :)


Yesterday, I also walked along the very beautiful "Silver Sands of Morar". The sand was so soft and whiter than the other beach I walked on so I can see how it got it's name. And once again this is another location that was used in the movie "Local Hero".

Also from yesterday, the beautiful Silver Sands of Morar . . .



Due to the weather in the three days in Arisaig I was not able to capture a beautiful sunset, which is one of the things I wanted to see here and which Arisaig is very popular for. But I still had the most wonderful time. I love the hotel that I chose and from all the little towns that I could've selected this was the perfect place to base for the three days I had to explore this area. It is a village that has one main road going through it, a small post office and a small grocery store. I would totally stay here again if I were to ever return to the Highlands!

And I just had to post this photo! I finally got to see one of those famous long horned caramel, long bangs Highland Cows! Did you know that they rarely move. Today was rainey and I had to literally stand in the rain and wait for him to turn my way. I spoke to him, I whistled, I jumped ....and when I started to head back to my car because I was getting really cold . . . he turned! In fact, he almost looks like he's sticking his tongue out at me. :)



Today I visited Loch Morar but with it having rained all day I didn't get to really explore it like I had hoped, but I shall post some photos soon. Didn't get to see a Morag sighting though which is probably a good thing for me. Tommorrow morning I catch the Ferry to the Isle of Skye . . . .