8-13-15

Fishing in the Loch!

Bobby had ordered a new fly rod and I had brought it with me. He got his first chance to try it out in Loch Fyne with Shep right at his heals. I was impressed with Bobby's willingness to satisfy his son's curiosity and desire to try out the rod. (especially since the fly rod was brand-new and definitely not a child's toy)

The view was breathtaking (typical of the view we were blessed to see in Scotland). And even though no fish were caught, no one goes away from a fishing experience empty handed when the view is so spectacular!

The Bramble and it's delights!

 Because we reserved a room, we could enjoy a free breakfast. And this my friends was no continental breakfast like you might be accustomed to in the States. Instead it was a full breakfast variety.  I ate from the set out choices and it's pictured here. This was only a small selection of what was available. Rich and delicious would be a good way to describe it. I drank cream in my hot tea and grew to prefer it! Oh, and by the way, when you order hot tea in Scotland don't bother specifying hot or cold. They only recognize hot tea. So tea is always hot. I never did try and order iced tea. I suppose I could have, but it was on the cool side there, and when it's cool (or cold) my drink of choice is always hot (be it coffee or tea)!

Bobby, on the other hand, ordered a full 

Scottish breakfast (prominent on any breakfast menu wherever we went)which included:                                                                                                                      

-half of a fresh tomatoe
-thinly sliced ham
-potatoe scone
-link sausage
-baked beans
-one egg
-black pudding (which is made of pig's blood, fat, oats, barley, and spices, all stuffed in a length of intestine)




(Note in the picture to the right that I, yes that's my hand, held a bite of black pudding. I could not return home without at least being able to say that I had tasted black pudding. And you know, it didn't taste bad, not at all. But I just couldn't get past the fact that it was made of blood!) 

Inveraray, the village

8/12/15

Overlooking the still waters of Loch Fyne, Inveraray is a tradition county town of Argyll. Founded in 1745 by the 3rd Duke of Argyll, head of the powerful Clan Campbell, the town is a classic example of an 18th century planned town...

 Photo of the street we first pulled into.

I'm sure this vessel is the subject of many a tourist's photos. It just quietly sits there on Loch Lyne begging for someone to take its picture. You know, I think we heard that it was for sale! Now wouldn't that be a buy!

Notice the sign in the upper right of this picture, The George. This is where we all had dinner. Having developed a taste for lamb, I happily consumed a plate of roast lamb, mashed potatoes, green peas there. Yum, yum! 

The Brambles was a bistro and bakery that accompanied several guest rooms in the back of it. This is where we spent the night (but longed to stay more) before touring the castle the next day.

Next time I'll show you some pictures of Bobby & Shep fly fishing in the loch!

Tea Room and Gift Shop of Inveraray Castle

8-12-15

Downton Abbey cast
displayed on the walls
of the tea room

We drove to the castle before going to our room. Of course they have a gift shop that contains everything you could imagine for a tourist to buy. I had decided before I came to Scotland that shortbread would be the perfect souvenir. There before my eyes were a variety of shortbreads in a variety of packaging. It was quite satisfying to take care of most of my souvenir shopping in one place. The gift shop and the tea room were all located in the basement. So after stocking up on souvenirs (mine were mostly shortbread) we visited the tea room. Why is it tea and scones taste better in Scotland and in a castle? These scones were soft (some are hard) and with clotted cream, and raspberry spread over them–well, let's just say I felt very Scottish as I munched.

                                                                                           

You have to walk down the steps
to get to the basement. You see it
under the walkway to the first floor.

 

A book signed by the current Duke of Argyll which is sold in the gift shop. I knew I  couldn't remember all the things I saw and heard about in the tour we were going to take the next day, so buying this book seemed the right thing to do. 

                                                      

                                                         

                                                                                     

Duneagle Castle? Not exactly!

8/12/15

I was browsing through my Scotland videos and came upon one that I took when we were approaching our surprise destination. It should have been in the last video so I'll put it here to introduce our surprise! If this video clip opens for you, you will hear me make a remark about Quito, Tennessee. Please keep in mind my preference for clear running mountain streams and perhaps you won't hold it against me!

A postcard of the village where we stayed and the castle where we toured!

Here's an image of Lady Rose with her father welcoming the Granthams on the steps of  Duneagle Castle, well not really of course!

   We arrived in late afternoon, and had just enough time to drive up to the castle.  Bobby & Maridith told us they wanted to do something special for Bob's retirement and for the help I had been in the planning of this trip. Since we have enjoyed, along with thousands of others, Downton Abbey, AND since we were conveniently in Scotland, they took us to Inveraray Castle.

   That's when we took the following pictures. Which, I might add, were taken on my phone. No internet pictures here!

Our first photo of Duneagle, or
Inveraray Castle.

    

Our very own selfie with the famous castle !

Glad we documented this with this photo. Otherwise it would
 have been too much to believe!

My beautiful daughter in law!

The Highlands

8/12/2015

As we traveled northwest through the country side, passing Glasgow, the hills became mountains but  unlike the mountainous regions back home. Here our mountains are abundant in tree cover, pines and broadleaf. But in Scotland this is not the case. 

For it is reported that the forest of Scotland around 5,000 years ago covered about 1.5 million hectares (that's a bit over 3.5 million acres). However, just 1% of the forest which consisted of birch, hazel, aspen, and pine remains today.

http://ecosalon.com/a-walk-in-a-scottish-forest/ 

The highlands from our car window!

The ancient Caledonia Forest once covered the Scottish Highlands. Home to bears, beavers, and wolves, its destruction began before the Bronze Age. The forest began to fall to the scythe of climate change and the activities of primitive tribes from pre-Roman times.Subsequent terror campaigns launched by marauding Vikings burned down large areas of forest.Later, farmers and fuel gatherers cleared away mostof what remained. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/02/0207_030207_scotforest.html

My research discovered that the 2,500 foot mountains in this area are mostly covered in heather and troussacks pictured below. (The heather (with me in the midst of them) is on the left and the troussacks are on the right.)

The temperature ranged in the high 60's to low 70's. Up until my arrival here I had been wearing a jacket but for the first time on this trip I haven't needed it. I find this weather comfortably pleasant. Maridith and I (all of us actually) concur that we prefer the pleasant summers of Scotland to the intense heat and humidity of S.Sudan and Tennessee summers.

                                  

These are the scenes that greeted us as we drove up to our surprise destination–Inveraray.

Taking the high road!

8/12/15

   Our agenda this Wednesday morning was to finish packing our bags, pack the food we still had in the kitchen and bought at the grocery store the night before which was to supply our on the road picnic & snacks. Back home we called our road snacks goody bags, but here we would have to call them goody boxes. It took 2 good sized boxes, which was soon to prove a questionable addition to our personal baggage!

   Transporting 6 pieces of luggage, plus a stroller, a travel bed bag, 2 boxes of food, and backpacks, down 3 flights of stairs was for the most part assumed by our son, and placed on the sidewalk as we awaited our taxi. We were a bit concerned that we would be able to cram 4 adults, 2 children, 6 large suitcases, plus a stroller, a travel bed bag, and two good sized boxes into the taxi when it arrived. But to our grateful surprise, when we closed the taxi doors nothing was left sitting or standing on the sidewalk. 

   Next stop: Enterprise car rental

   The taxi proved to be more accommodating to carrying all of our luggage etc., than the van we had rented. When we had exhausted all of our ideas about how to fit everything in, we came to the conclusion that it just wasn't going to happen. Fortunately, the kind people at Enterprise (yep, just like the US) allowed us to store one of our big pieces of luggage in their office until we returned. We were relieved and surprised. 

SOME OF THE SCENERY ALONG THE WAY

 Hollyhocks apparently grow wild here, for it seemed that everywhere we went these lovely flowers decorated the landscape. 

Now, these hay bails lying patiently in the fields, made me feel right at home. Living in the back corner of hayfields as we do, we witness this kind of scenery often.

The view of the Firth of Forth bridge from the highway as we left Edinburgh.

IMAGES OF OUR TRAVEL

   We were packed pretty tightly on the first part of our journey. Not a lot of leg room as those two boxes I wrote of earlier had to be held in our laps–Bob held one and I held the other! This was only temporary, however, for eventually we pulled over to the side of the road and hauled out our picnic lunch. We ate as much as we could with the intention of eliminating the boxes and stuffing the remainder under seats, etc.

Shep, enjoying a snack, in the midst of tightly and creatively packed luggage!

Keeping this little guy fed and dry was about all that was required to keep him contented. Shep and Roscoe have grown accustomed to traveling and they do it well!

Note the side of the van that Bobby is on! I never did get use to this!

It was rather unsettling to see cars traveling down the wrong side of the road! And even more so that we were traveling down the wrong side as well!

Next stop? The surprise destination is to be revealed!

Farewell Edinburgh! 8/11/15

We left the museum and strolled through Edinburgh as we made our way to the Meadows, the park where we had taken Shep most often to play.

On the way, we passed the statue of Greyfriar's Bobby. Check out an earlier post 

http://boundforscotland.blogspot.com/2015_04_01_archive.html   for the history of this endearing monument.  I just had to document with this photo that I was there, live and in person!

Here we are on a section of the campus of the University
of Edinburgh. The campus of the UE does not resemble
university layout here in the U.S. Instead, its campus
is scattered throughout the city. So if you want to
visit the campus of the UE, be prepared to do some
traveling.

Bob & I tagged along and got
in some vigorous walking.

I took this picture to give you
and idea of the types of
buildings characteristic of
Edinburgh. Some of these
buildings have been here for
centuries! 

  After a brisk and interesting walk from the museum through Edinburgh we arrived at the Meadows, where we were to meet Maridith. She was to have stopped on her way back from the computer store to buy some eats and then meet us at the park. We were to connect via their cell phones. This was one time when the cell phones would have come in really handy, but alas Bobby's battery was low and he couldn't connect with Maridith.  The park was quite crowded so locating her was a bit complicated.

   Therefore, I set out to find her and by the grace of God I did. Fortunately, she had only been waiting about 10 minutes when Shep and I located her. I deposited Shep and walked back to the snack center where the guys were to direct them to Maridith. 

   The sweet and sour chicken and a noodle dish she had brought was delicious and took the edge off our hunger. This was only suppose to be a snack, so the guys set out to go and rustle us up some supper. But wouldn't you know it, it started sprinkling (common Scottish happening). We decided since the snacks held us over, we would go on back to the apartment. 

   We found this quaint little bookstore near where we were to hail the cab and rummaged around in it for awhile. Finally, we got serious about getting a cab and returned to the apartment. We made our plans for the next day's travel, and the guys went to the grocery store for the food we would need for traveling. Supper consisted of eating whatever was left in the cabinets and refrigerator. 

   The next day held great promise. Maridith and Bobby's plans were to surprise us by taking us to a place that Bob & I knew not of but would exceed our expectations! AND, they were right on!

LAST DAY IN EDINBURGH!

August 11, 2015

Today you will see a bunch of photos with captions to describe our final adventure of the historic and vibrant city of Edinburgh!

Here are only a couple of pictures of the National Museum of Scotland, since they didn't particularly like for people to take photos.

Lifesize and overwhelming. Since
we were this close to this elephant
I was relieved he wasn't alive

Again, glad this tiger isn't alive! Shep
was fascinated!

                                        

                                                              If you can enlarge this, you will ableto see how the view is laid out!

                                                             

Castle Rock–It was a cold and cloudy day
so my iPhone struggled a bit
to capture its grandeur.

An online photo of Castle Rock! Much better

We took the elevator to the top of the museum. Edinburgh was laid out before us in full view. 

I could hear bagpipes coming
from somewhere down in there.

Burr! We had to don jackets when we
stepped off the elevator that carried
us to the top.

W

  

 Shep steals the attention
       from Castle Rock.

A funny thing happened on the way to the museum!

August 11, 2015

   The plan today was to visit the National Museum of Scotland. Maridith, however, would travel to a computer store to drop off her laptop. (While at home, she had spilled water on it, and since there was no place around there to get it repaired they had brought it with them.) Afterwards, she would join us at the museum for a snack then return to the computer store. This gal amazes me! I might have attempted independent travel through this unfamiliar city but only with great fear and in-trepidation. Not so Maridith!
   After a thorough examination of the map by Bob of the route we would be taking, we walked to the appropriate bus stop. Upon close examination, we realized we were at the wrong stop. Adjusting our plan, we walked a little bit further to the next stop.

Don't worry about figuring this out, we didn't do much better!

   As we were standing in line at the bus stop, we were discussing our route and the time the bus would arrive that we needed to get on. We figured we had a little extra time, so I walked down to the coffee shop nearby while Bobby checked out a nearby shop. As I pondered over what type of coffee I would order, Bobby hurried in and pulled me out of line, for the bus was arriving sooner than expected. Good thing I hadn't placed my order!

   Apparently, an older local couple who had overheard us discussing bus arrival times, had alerted the guys (after I had left) to the fact that we were mistaken about the time. So Bobby rounded me up and just in time too, thanks to kindness of that couple. 

   Now here's the funny part!

   As we were preparing to get off the bus a little ole Scottish lady overheard Bob & Bobby discussing, with little regard for how easily they could be overheard, where we should be getting off the bus. Out of her kindness and familiarity of the area, she suggested the spot we should disembark. However, Bob wasn't accepting her advice, for he had the map that he had earlier studied in his hands. Bob, in a polite way sort of disagreed with her, to the point that she became rather insistent.  Bobby wound up being the go between in the course of this polite argument.

   Well, we got off where she instructed due to Bobby's insistence. As he was trying to manipulate the stroller, rather awkwardly, towards the door, I asked if he was sure the break was released. To which the little ole Scottish lady, who was obviously disgruntled with Bob for arguing with her about the correct stop replied (only in my hearing) "Probably not!"And I wouldn't be surprised if she added, "Arrogant Americans" when we were out of earshot!

   

Eating delicious scones at the museum's cafe!

   Upon arriving at the museum, we made our way to the cafe where we were to meet Maridith. This is when cell phones come in real handy. As soon as Maridith was seated with us, I filled her in on the bus incident! She laughingly asked me, "They were arguing with a local about where to go?" When one is so confident in what they think they know, it can happen!

Anniversary & Homemade fun!

August 10, 2015

This is a momentous occasion! Our first time to babysit with Shep & Roscoe!

Getting out the ole iPad.

Right handy when you're babysitting!

But good ole home made books from cousins back home are the best!

More good home made stuff!

Celebrating their anniversary in Edinburgh, Scotland! Wow!

This is a charming little pub where Bobby got a reservation for he and Maridith.
I believe the name of the place was The Canny Man's.

Originally, these flowers were in the same vase. Anniversary flowers to Maridith from Bobby.

Shep loved the books his cousins made for him.

He told me all the colors and shapes and numbers on this one.

He is really happy, I assure you!