Scotland - July 17-24 2011

Now back in London and staying with Bonnie Thomson, I’m desperately trying to rid myself of this cold that I’ve had since arriving in Edinburgh last week. So, while Bon is off at work, I’m sitting in bed updating photos and my blog.

On the first day, we loaded up into our bright yellow “Wild & Sexy” bus ready for our 5 Day “Highland Fling” tour, all a little wary of what we’d signed up for. Before we were even out of Edinburgh, our guide warned us that by the time we finish the tour, we will all be suffering from DSL... Deep Scottish Love!

The first stop was Stirling (Battle of the Stirling Bridge Sept 11 1297 & Battle of Bannockburn June 24 1314, Both Battles of Independence) and the William Wallace monument. Until this tour, I had no idea how terribly wrong Mel Gibson had portrayed the story of Braveheart... why let the truth get in the way of a Hollywood Blockbuster?! Mel is not a popular man in Scotland (or anywhere for that matter), but tourism to the Highlands has increased significantly due to the movie. This also shows my very poor knowledge of Scottish history.

The majority of the places we stopped at had a horrific history behind it. Our guide was rather graphic in his story telling; explaining the blood lost, limbs and heads severed the glory of defeating the enemy and what they did with body parts... yikes! He even described a blow by blow description of how William Wallace (the nations hero) was tortured by the English and the after 20+ hours, they castrated him and stuffed his parts in his mouth, removed and burnt his intestines etc while he was still alive before finally decapitating him.. Looking around the bus after a morning of stories, I noticed many faces looking a little unwell... phew, I wasn’t the only one. Thankfully though, the gory elements of the Scottish history was toned down after this particular story as the driver noticed almost each person was looking a little green.

Other stops on Day 1:
Doune Castle (Monty Python, the Holy Grail)
Callander - Hamish the highland cow who is apparently VERY famous in Scotland, why – we are not sure.
Louchearnhead – The area that Rob Roy lived
Glencoe – The Massacre of Glencoe 13 February 1692. This area was breathtaking and eerie. The Campbell’s slaughtered the MacDonald’s after staying with them for 2 weeks. Campbell’s seem to be the most hated clan of Scotland, even now!
Rannoch Moor – Popular hiking trails but also where they train soldiers in survival as it’s really remote... A hiker almost peed on a soldier lying in the shrubs – apparently!
Ballachulish Bridge & Corran Ferry - the five-minute ferry crossing from Corran to the pretty village of Ardgour
Castle Stalker – the other Monte Python castle

As soon as we arrived at the hostel in Oban, I hightailed it to the pharmacy to dose up on cold & flu meds, stock up on tissues and I went straight to bed. Such a shame to miss out on the Scottish dancing at a nearby pub... a bagpiper even walked the group from the hostel to the pub.

Day 2
We were all quite excited to see the Glenfinnan Viaduct (the bridge where the Hogwarts train travels over in Harry Potter). We hiked up the hill to the view point and we just missed it pass over the bridge, but we still saw it! The bridge is magnificent.

We traipsed up a narrow and windy road (all feeling a little sick with the speed that the driver was going) to Glen Nevis Riverside Park to have a picnic lunch. Next stop was the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge near Fort William, then Inverlochy Castle a ruined Castle of the 13th-century castle near Fort William. Then, onto a resorted castle called the Eileen Donan Castle.

First inhabited around the 6th century, the first fortified castle was built in the mid 13th century and stood guard over the lands of Kintail. Since then, at least four different versions of the castle have been built and re-built as the feudal history of Scotland unfolded through the centuries. Partially destroyed in a Jacobite uprising in 1719, Eilean Donan lay in ruins for the best part of 200 years until Lieutenant Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911 and proceeded to restore the castle to its former glory. After 20 years of toil and labour the castle was re-opened in 1932

At the end of the day, over to the Isle of Skye to stay in Kyleakin at Saucy Marys Hostel. Before dinner, a quick walk with a couple of ladies to Castle Moil. Legend states that it was originally built in the 14th century for a Norwegian princess known as 'Saucy Mary' who would charge a toll to any boat using the narrow channel by hanging a chain from the castle to the mainland to prevent unpaid crossings. Once paid, as a gesture of thanks, she would flash her breasts.

Still not feeling very well, another early night – at least this time it was a little later at 8.30.

Day 3 – A day of Myths & Legends
First thing on the bus and we’re being told of the Fairies. Not the type with wings flying around like tinkerbell, but rather fairy’s similar to the Irish Leprechaun. Elfin the King made the river to have magical powers and every person that put their face in the water for 8 seconds, would have eternal beauty. So each of us, had to put our face in the river of eternal beauty (River Sligachan).. A cold 4degrees so the only thing it did was wake us up!

Another myth of the Man & Wife who would walk up the mountain and share stories to one another.. When the old lady was getting too frail to walk such a distance, Elfin put a spell on them to turn them into stone so they could remain on the mountain for eternity and continue telling the stories that Elfin and his people enjoyed so much. The Old Man of Storr near Porttree – this is where we hiked to and enjoyed another picnic lunch.

We continue further around the Isle of Skye to Lealt Gorge (Falls). Lucky for the sheep and mountain goat trails otherwise, we would have little hope to make it down to the beach  and falls. Just up from the beach is an old Dynamite factory.

A little further brings us to Kilt Rock. This is where the Giants would lay their kilts to dry. Standing on the edge, the whistling is not the wind.. Its pipes being played by the Fairies.

A magnificent drive over the Quiraing. This is the mountain range where highlander the movie (and others) was filmed. Absolutely breathtaking! There was a little food stand at the top serving an interesting array of burgers; Zebra, Ostrich. Very Odd!

One final myth involved a story of two Irish boys and the 7 daughters. Basically, the two Irish boys lied to the father in order to marry his two youngest daughters. Angered by their deception, he went to a witch to force them to come back and deliver their promise of suitable husbands for his remaining 5 daughters. The witch cast a spell to make the 5 girls so that they would remain beautiful until the Irish boys returned.. The witch turn them into mountains named “5 Sister of Kintail”

We stayed overnight Morags Hostel in Fort Augustus. We all opted for the dinner provided by the hostel which included Haggis (Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach).. The flavour was pretty good but the thought of it is more than a little off putting.

Day 4
Haggis Adventures (company running the tour) participates in planting trees for the Charity “Trees for Life”. For each group that visits the estate and plants a tree, they donate money. A good cause as they are aiming to replant native trees to the area so that one day, they can reintroduce species that were wiped out as a result of the forests being cleared. I was a little surprised that we only planted two trees.

A quick stop at Urquhart Castle so we could peer over the fence.. A little pricy to gain access.. The magnificently situated Urquhart Castle, on the banks of Loch Ness, remains an impressive stronghold despite its ruinous state. Urquhart witnessed considerable conflict throughout its 500 years as a medieval fortress and its history from the 13th to 17th centuries was particularly bloody. Following Edward I’s invasion, it fell into English hands and was then reclaimed and lost again. In the 14th century, it figured prominently in the Scots’ struggle for independence and came under the control of Robert the Bruce after he became King of Scots.

The next stop was what our guide described as the tackiest tourist shop in Scotland. We made our way down to the banks of Loch Ness and participated in a very entertaining NZ Haka calling Nessy out of the deep.. “Nessy Nessy Where are you, Nessy Big Beasty, Nessy Nessy come to me”.. The actions were hilarious! The onlookers were very amused.

Then we went in and got a couple of souvenirs – I’m collecting fridge magnets of places I’ve visited (but not every town), my collection would not be the same without a ‘Nessy’ magnet.  

We then went to the site of Culloden – the final battle of the Jacobite rising on April 16th 1746.  Meeting on Culloden Moor, the battle was both quick and bloody, taking place within an hour. Following an unsuccessful Highland charge against the government lines, the Jacobites were routed and driven from the field. Between 1,500 and 2,000 Jacobites were killed or wounded in the brief battle, while government losses were lighter with 50 dead and 259 wounded. The English refused any person to help the injured or remove the fallen so families could have a proper burial for their loved ones, so all that died lay in mass graves at the site. I can’t describe the feeling out there, but it was shared by most. I don’t think a single word was spoken by anyone until we got back on the bus.

Next stop, Inverness to get some lunch then off to Clava Cairn – The site of an exceptionally well preserved group of prehistoric burial cairns that were built about 4,000 years ago. Again, another odd feeling swept over the group and usually quite a rowdy bunch, were swept into silence.

A quick stop at Nairn Beach – one of very few white sandy beaches before we headed back to Fort Augustus for the Clansman Show with Sexy Ken. Set in a recreated home from the 1700’s, it was very enlightening.

After a quick bite to eat, we boarded the boat for the Loch Ness Cruise with Ricky, a marine biologist on Loch Ness for the last 35 years. At the start of the tour, each of us didn’t believe for a second that there such thing as the Loch Ness Monster.

After his talk, explanation of the sonar machines, viewing photographs of Loch Ness creatures, deep water creatures from around the world, and asking endless questions, we all left the boat thinking that something is definitely down there.. Maybe not the purple worm like creature in photos, but something large and undocumented.

A couple of quick facts... The Loch Ness holds more fresh water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined, at the very bottom of the loch (900ft down) the water is black and you wouldn’t be able to see your hand in front of your face. The black waters of Scotland are due to the high peat content in the surrounding soil. Whether Nessy exists or not.. You be the judge!

We return to stay a second night at Morags Hostel

Day 5 – Last day
First stop was Museum of Highland Life. Best way of describing it is to draw comparison to Sovereign Hill. It has recreated villages from varying times of Scottish history. 1 hour wasn’t enough time to visit all villages, but we got a good feel for what it may’ve been like. We stopped for lunch at Pitlochry, another quaint little town followed by a tour at the nearby Blair Atholl Distillery (Whiskey). A quick stop to walk through the Hermitage Forest to the tallest tree in the UK which was a bit of a joke but Linn Falls was very pretty.

The last stop of the tour was at Dunkeld, most famously know for who lays within the Cathedral: The Wolf of Badenoch - The illegitimate son of King Robert II, was one of the most blackest, most evil character in Scotland's history - Alexander Stewart known as Big Alexander, or the Wolf of Badenoch. He raped hundreds of women and is believed to have fathered over 300 children. He was so evil that no church was willing to take the remains of him, only Dunkeld Cathedral for a large sum.

When back in Edinburgh, I stayed in a nice little guest house just a 10 minute walk from the Royal Mile. Edinburgh is such a beautiful city. I visited the Edinburgh Castle (how can you not when you're there) and also did the Mary Kings Close tour of the buildings that part of the Royal Mile was built on top of - amazing. Of course, many hours of wandering around the city looking at as much as I could.

Scotland is a magical place and I had an AMAZING time. Photos relating to this and my previous blog entry.. Click here >> Photos  <<

Leaving for Paris on Wednesday, yay!... xox

Goodbye Canada.. Hello Europe – June 20-July 16 2011

Firstly, let me apologise for the tardy manner in which I have updated the blog... Now that the Europe adventure has begun, I will ensure I update more regularly.

A quick overview of the last 3.5 weeks...

My last week in Canada was one with mixed emotions... the excitement of my Europe adventure of which I’ve been looking forward to for years and the sadness to leave my Whistler friends of which have made the past 2 years amazing!!

June 28^th, I set off on the bus to Vancouver airport so to fly to New York to visit Kath & Nick (cousin and her partner). This trip was quite different from the one 2 years ago as I’d done most of the touristy things, but there was still a few ‘firsts’...  Picnic in Central Park, Coney Island (interesting in not a very good way), Book club gathering (that didn’t involve much discussion of a book.. merely an excuse to drink far too much wine), Highline park (raised train line converted to gardens.. highly recommend it), Waterside drinks and a midnight walk over the Brooklyn Bridge (magnificent), Independence Day BBQ. It was a wonderful week. Kath & Nicko are fabulous hosts. I’m sure they were glad to have their studio apartment to themselves after a week. J

July 5^th, leaving the Upper East Side of NYC at the best of times is hard, but at the crack of dawn – very hard! Did you know that in NYC you can’t book a taxi?? Hmm, so for an extra $5 on Kaths recommendation, I hired a town car to take me to LaGuardia where I flew to Detroit to visit an old school friend who lives in a small city 1 hour from Detroit called Ann Arbor. I’m quickly realizing that I will never complain about being delayed in an Australian Airport as US airport standards vary GREATLY!!

Upon arrival in Ann Arbor, having been greeted by Kate, we went to her place and walked to a downtown café for a late lunch. I was surprised with how gorgeous the city/town is! It’s a town that seems to have been built around the University of Michigan with the states largest and most renowned hospital. ‘Beatty’ or ‘Beats’ as we all used to call her in the boarding house as she was one of the three Kates in our year, and her husband Chad were beautiful hosts. It’s amazing... although many years have past since we last saw each other; the bond we share through our time at boarding school is as strong now as it was the day we finished. Christopher (15 months) provided hours of entertainment... the classic was when we were sitting outside a restaurant and a car pulled up at the nearby traffic lights with its windows down playing heavy rap music... Christopher put both hands on the back of his head and started flapping his elbows what I can only describe as a double ‘sprinkler’ move. Priceless!

Although I would’ve loved to stay more than 4 nights, I needed to head to Toronto where I was to fly out to London. I thought it best to catch the most cost efficient method of transportation available... the Greyhound Bus. I had a chuckle at Chad when he expressed his concerns about me having a layover in Detroit for two hours. I’ve heard that it can be rough, but seriously….. How bad can it really be? I’m sure there was a few men in the terminal that were pack’n (carrying a firearm) but not having the courage to look at them for more than a second or two.. I couldn’t be 100% sure. I didn’t feel threatened in any way, but I did stick out like a sore thumb as I was the only Caucasian person in the entire terminal for the best part of 2 hours.

Having already been to Toronto, I thought it a perfect opportunity to catch up on my trip planning. I have one regret from my stay in Toronto, and that’s not taking the time to find a nicer hostel. On the second morning, I woke to bites all over my face, feet and arms. Damn bed bugs!!!!! Luckily before I left to catch my flight, I met the pest control guy that came to inspect – he looked over my bags and advised that I shouldn’t have any troubles with bugs/eggs through my luggage.. but as I was due to be staying at a friend in London, I wanted to still know how to get rid of the wretched things!

The flights to London overnight on the 12th was relatively uneventful but with very little sleep unfortunately. When I landed, and navigated my way through Gatwick airport and to Zannahs work to collect keys then off to her place, I felt oddly at home.

I’ve had a wonderful time in London so far. A lovely first night in London on a pub on the Thames was such a perfect welcome by Zan and the Surbi girls! Day 2 was riveting... NOT! The morning was spent looking after the contents of my luggage of which I quarantined in a sealed bag until I could cook anything left of the bed bugs, then on a mission in Kingston to find a universal adapter that takes Aussie & USA 3 pin – not as simple as I would’ve thought. I had one massive day of sightseeing followed by a big (for me) night out with Joshi & Bonnie Thomson, Harry Potter today (we cancelled our sightseeing plans as it was pouring rain) and we had a fun evening at the pub at the end of the street! I will return to London twice more, so many more things to do.

Tomorrow (17^th), I’m catching the train to Edinburgh. I’ll be in Scotland for 1 week…

I will update again (and load photos) next week.

xoxo