Visit Scotland!

From our first day eating Haggis and touring Edinburgh Castle, to the last day fishing along the Loch Ness, Scotland has proven its worth and showed us how much culture and heritage lies within its lochs, countrysides, and cities. We learned a lot on this trip, all four of us. We learned about the generations past that fought in the Wars of Scottish Independence. We learned about and ate haggis, the meal made by and for Scotland. We learned about the extensive art collection they have that includes the Vulcan, and we also learned about the heritage behind the Highland Games. When visiting the museums and castles, our group learned of the many wars and battles that had taken place throughout the country. However, we also learned about the inspirational places like the Elephant House coffee shop, and the unconfirmed yet possible sightings of Nessie. Good or bad history alike, Scotland is the perfect place to not only learn about the history and culture but to also view the simplistic but stunning scenery and countryside as well. If you’re looking for a vacation place to spend time getting closer to your family, Scotland will provide for you.

Home Sweet Home!

day 14 blog

Today was the last day of our trip, and it was a long and rainy one. Around 6am we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel, because we were too tired to try to find any other place to eat at that hour. Not too long after that, we checked out of our hotel to drive back to the Edinburgh International Airport, where we arrived around 6:50. Our flight wasn’t until 9:15, but we had to return the car, go through security, drop off luggage, go through international customs, etc. Security was extra rough this time around, with our various collections of souvenirs. Oh, the joys of travelling! We bought a few extra snacks for the flight and made our way onto the plane at about 8:30, thank gosh it wasn't delayed. The flight was about 8 hours long, and landed in New York around noon EST. Because of the time difference, however, it felt like 5. There was a three hour layover, so we grabbed  our dinner/lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. There was a mutual agreement that a proper american meal was the best thing to have after coming back into our home country. We just had one more flight to get through before we were done with our trip. It took off around three, and landed at RDU just before 5. It had been a very long and exhausting day, and even though it was still light outside, it felt like it was supposed to be pitch black. We all just wanted to get our bags and go home. This trip was the most fun any of us had ever had, but we were so exhausted nothing else mattered except to get home and sleep in our beautiful, welcoming, and comfortably normal own beds.

The Calm Before the Storm

Day 13

We started the day by heading to the boat rental after breakfast. The weather was nice and we spent the whole morning on the loch. At one point we could swear that we had seen either nessie or a duck. We also tried fishing again, but caught nothing. Even if we didn't see nessie or catch anything that day it was great day to be out on the loch enjoying the weather before the long ride back to Edinburgh, where we would catch our flight back to the United States. After we returned the rented boat, we drove for 3 hours in the seemingly cramped car back to Edinburgh where we checked back into Novotel. We ate at a simple dinner then crashed back at Novotel to just hang and prepare for the rush of the flight tomorrow.

Our view on the way back to Edinburough 

Impromptu Fishing Competition!

day 12

sport-fishing

Starting yet another early day, we woke up around 7 to a light drizzle outside and had breakfast at the Bunillidh Mhor. It was the first hint of rain we saw on our entire trip, but we were all fine with the light rain. We then picked up our boat, a very spacious and cozy Kintail Class, and headed out onto the lake. There was a local sport fishing competition that we decided to join in on after the drizzle had died down. Because we were just visiting the town, we had no idea where the best fishing spots would be and only caught one fish, but it was a 6 pound salmon. This was considered wimpy to our competitors who caught salmon up to 35 pounds, but we were satisfied. At 11 rewards were held, we came in 31st out of 35 competitors, only beating the people who had no luck at all. On our fishing adventure, however we had been given pointers by a group of regular fishermen who had retired to just fishing for sport. They then invited us back to the boathouse for lunch, where they cooked and shared the wonderful variety of fish they had caught. After our delicious meal, we went back out to the lake to just have fun. We started off with just speeding around, having fun, because its not every day you get to go on a luxurious boat ride in Scotland. We took a break and went down to the shore and just hung out, watched the waves, and looked at the shells. There was a bed that was built into our boat, and i definitely didn't want to put that to waste, so while the boys went back out for some fishing for fun, Hallie and I took a nap on the water. Before dinner at the Boathouse Lochside Restaurant, we got washed up in the boat’s bathroom and shower. The options for dinner included variety of local classics and Mediterranean specialties. We ate outside, and we were able to watch the sunset over the loch. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful day. 

Nessie!

day 11
We got up this morning and prepared for the two hour drive to loch ness. After the long wait that was the car ride we checked into Bunillidh Mhor B&B, where we would be staying for the night. From there we went over to The Boathouse in fort Augustus where we had fish and chips on the loch side. On the menu there was the option for eating haggis but none of us chose the dish. After lunch we explored the local shops and visited the Caledonian Canal. We also visited the award winning Loch Ness Monster exhibition by the Drumnadrochit hotel, where they showcased all the most significant photographs and told us the most famous stories surrounding the mythical creature. The exhibit showcased a lot of new technology used to look for Nessie and many first-hand accounts of sightings. It was really fun to look at all the pictures and evidence of the Loch Ness Monster even if most of them were hoaxes. \ After this we headed back to the hotel to get some rest in preparation for the long day tomorrow.

caledonian canal

Stirling and Hollyrood

Day 10

Today we woke up at a nice, early eight am. We went right over to the Darnley Coffee House for an absolutely wonderful meal of assorted soups, from potato to some we had never heard of. This restaurant was ranked #10 of 164 restaurants in Stirling and had 4.5 stars, and it was obvious why! The range of soups, sandwiches, and baked potatoes were delicious, all freshly made, piping hot and well presented. The service was warm and friendly and the staff made us feels very welcome. We then walked the short distance to Stirling Castle. The castle was the center for Scottish art and culture in the 16th century and most of that art has remained at the castle till today. We all agreed that the tapestries even with some 600 years old to be amazing. We also all agreed that the The Stirling Heads Gallery was impressive, but that its name was really creepy. After that we headed to Hermann's Restaurant for dinner. There we were welcomed with a great view overlooking the Church of the Holyrood and the river that runs beside it. Once we had finished, we explored the old town of Airth. Although it is small, Airth was once a thriving port on the river forth and a symbol of Scottish pride. Finally we returned to Airth Castle, that overlooks the town, to settle down for the night.

stirling heads

Hollyrood palace

The Highland Games (at last)!

July 9 
festival-highland games

For our 9th day in Scotland, we viewed one of the most emblematic cultures of Scotland, the Highland Games. We started our day at eight, had breakfast, drove to Airth, and arrived around nine. We spent the day watching the highland games. Before lunch, we watched the pipe band contest, the solo piping contest, the highlands dance competition, and the caber toss. For lunch, we all shared some Highland Pasties,(Haggis, potatoes, and turnips in a pastry), and some Fish and Chips. After that, we watched the hammer throw, track and field, cycling, and the smiddy stane carrying contest. We then went back to the food area (our favorite place at the games) and had some some amazing Shepherd's Pie. After dinner we finished up with watching the cycling and the tug-o-war contests. It was a really long day and after we drove back to the hotel, we fell asleep the second we laid down.

Our Palace!

July 8 

culture-peoples palace

Today starts our second week of our trip. We had a basic breakfast at our hotel, then made our way over to the People’s Palace & Winter Garden, which was a pleasant walk, just a little less than an hour. Arriving around noon, we had a light meal at the Cafe, then went out to explore the Museum. There many unique exhibits there, different than some of the other museums we've gone to. There were reconstructions of things like the typical single-roomed house that a 1930s working class family would’ve lived in, as well as a Public Bath and Wash House that was around the city in the early 20th century. Once we were done at the People’s Palace, we had a half hour car ride to Airth, had a easy dinner at a roadside restaurant. Finishing our day, we explored Airth, as we await tomorrow’s big day at the Scottish Highland Games.

The SSE Hydro, 6th day!

July 7

We started off our day having breakfast at the Black Sheep Bistro, a family owned restaurant. It was a wonderful meal, and it was really nice to have a home cooked meal after all of our recent meals. When that was done we walked around Glasgow for about two hours, just doing some window shopping and getting souvenirs like the typical tourists. We then had lunch and made our way over to the SSE Hydro, a huge arena in Glasgow, which is the site of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. We spent the whole day there, walking around enjoying views as well as food from the variety of restaurants they have there. At eight, we saw Neil Diamond, who ironically is also from America, and he was absolutely fantastic. We ended our day with one more meal at the SSE Hydro, and then went back to the Mnet hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Our view for the concert

More Museums

July 6
science-dinosurs

This was another somewhat relaxed day,but this time it was raining. Hank was ecstatic at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, as they house an old WWII RAF SPITFIRE, his favorite as well as one of the most famous WWII planes on earth. There were other great things too, like some skeletons of dinosaurs, as well as art stuff. The dinosaurs,as well as other prehistoric animals were really interesting to us, beacause none of us had seen a skeleton of one before.There was also an art gallery that was on exhibition was called Alasdair Gray. Alasdair Gray was born in December 1934 and this would have been his 80th birthday, which is pretty cool. To us the paintings seemed like a bunch of grumpy old men. but the other visitors seemed to enjoy and appreciate them more than we did. After our long adventure in Glasgow we were very hungry so we ventured from the Galloway to Glasgow. There we ate at KoolBa, one of Glasgow's Premier Indian Restaurants This gave us a break from Scottish food but not from their culture as there is often live music and shows in Glasgow. We enjoyed the band for at least an hour before returning to the hotel and going bed after a long day.

horses and hiking

july 5
nature-walks and horse rides

Our night at the Brookford B&B was pretty great. It was a cosy little place with an amazing view of the scottish countryside. With yesterday being a very relaxed, laid back day, we had lots of energy to go to the Galloway Forest Park, the largest forest park in Britain.  There were so many things we could do there, including hiking, biking, horse riding, and just taking in the wonderful scenery. One of the cool things we did was go to the Red Deer Range. It made it possible for us as well as other people to see the around 60 red deer that live in the wild. After lunch at a cafe, went for a walk in the forest, the views were absolutely spectacular. The trail we went on was  the Kirroughtree trail. It was as generally walk, nothing too adventurous, although there were some pretty serious hiking trails that were available. We ended our trip to the park with horse riding, which is always a fun thing to do. your view of everything is so much better when you can see it atop a horse.

Books & B&B

July 4th Our third day in Scotland! We woke up at 8 today, we've pretty much adjusted to the time zone here. After we ate breakfast at the Novotel hotel, we went to the National Library of Scotland. Usually we’re not one for books, but just being in the National Library, the world’s leading center in study of Scots, we spent hours in there. After learning about Scotland history and reading regular old fashioned fantasy books, we returned to the hotel to eat lunch and we checked out at about 1 P.M. We arrived at Brookford B&B at about 3:30pm and after we checked in we just relaxed at the inn. At about 5 we left to go eat at the Clachan Inn, and although it is an inn it had an amazing restaurant with delicious food.Brookford B&B

Third [day's] a charm!

3 July 2015

Today was the second day of Edinburgh, Scotland, the third day of the trip. We have sort of adjusted to the jet lag and we left the hotel early this morning, We then headed out to the Edinburgh Zoo which was only about 2 miles away from the hotel. The zoo had a lot of cute animals like koalas and pandas and they even had penguins! This Zoo is the only one that had koalas and panda bears in the entire UK. There were also a lot of colorful fish and they even had the smallest of animals, leafcutter ants. After eating lunch in the zoo, we explored the city some more before we returned to the hotel.

Scotland take 2- Castles and Haggis!

2 July 2015
traditional meal-Haggis
history-stone of destiny

Ah, our first day in Scotland. At 7:15am, we were finally able to stretch our legs once we got off the plane. Once we got our rental car around 8, we had a quick drive over to the Novotel Edinburgh Park hotel and checked in, and we had breakfast at a cute cafe in Edinburgh. We then drove to the Edinburgh Castle to take the morning tour. We learned about over 400 years of scottish war history, and we also saw the Stone of Destiny. The name makes it sound like a big beautiful gem or something fancy like that, but it's really just a red sandstone block. The cool part is is that it was used in the coronation of the Monarchs of Scotland for centuries. Edinburgh castle is also is the military headquarters of the UK army in Scotland.  After our tour, we had lunch in Redcoat Cafe, which is in the castle. All of the meals and goodies smelled oh-so-good! at exactly 1 o clock, we watched and heard the one o'clock gun, which fired just outside the cafe. it was originally used to tell ships the time out at seaAround one we left the castle and went to to explore Edinburgh city. We visited the National Museum of Scotland and saw many cool things. My personal favorite was the t-rex skeleton in the animal hall. For dinner we went and tried one of scotland's special dishes, Haggis. Basically, for this meal, the chef shoves onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, stock, sheep innards, and a few other things into the lining of an animals stomach and boils it for a  few hours. If you didn't know what it was made of, you would probably think it wasn't that bad. Some people say it tasted like spicy oatmeal to them, and it went great with the neeps and tatties, (Scots for turnip and potato). After that, we went back to our rooms in the Novotel Edinburgh Park hotel and we all had an amazing night's sleep.  Our first day of Scotland was definitely as amazing as we all thought it would be, and we can’t wait for the rest of our trip.

This is a picture of our meal of haggis, we loved how professional it looked when plated!

Day 1- Off to Scotland!.

1 July 2015

Today, Hallie, Chris, Hank and I (Caitlin) left for our trip to Scotland! Just about our whole first day was plane travel. We did however have a very long layover time, almost twelve hours, in New York City . Since we all had to get up super early to catch our 6am flight, we spent the first few hours sleeping in the airport. (Not the best place to sleep, but we needed it!) After that, we went out and had an amazing breakfast at The Good Fork, a highly rated restaurant. We then explored Times Square as well as other parts of the city, and had a typical NYC lunch from a hotdog stand.  After lunch we split up, girls and guys, to do our own things. We met back up a few hours before our continuing flight took off and went back through airport security. Once all that madness was over, we had a semi-nutritious, not-so-delicious meal from a airport food stand. On our second flight, which was about seven hours, we had the occasional snack break of cookies, peanuts, or pretzels, catching up on sleep in between, because when we landed, it was time to start day two, our first day in Scotland!! (itinerary, hotels, and miscellaneous are included below)

Itinerary, Hotels, and Expenses