Scotland Adventure: Edinburgh Castle

Our adventure concluded back in Edinburgh where we spent the day at the Edinburgh castle - a must see! The day was extremely windy (for the golfers out there, this was the day they postponed the golf in St. Andrews due to the wind!) but a nice tour of the castle nonetheless. Our guide called the weather brisk and refreshing.

Another bright sunny day. A great time in Scotland - we absolutely loved the trip. A little too cold and rainy for our tastes to live there, but wonderful to visit!

Scotland Adventure: Waterfall serenade with bagpipes

On our way back to Edinburgh, we stopped at a large waterfall (sorry, can't remember the name - must have been the whisky!). It was a large tourist stop with room for tour buses, etc. It was a Saturday so the place was pretty busy. The falls were beautiful and were made even more so by a pair of entrepreneurial teenagers playing bagpipe for tips. It was just the cheesy addition needed for the occasion.

So the kids on the bagpipes with their kilts and aviator sun glasses were funny enough, but even better is that they apparently took requests. As were were over at the railing watching the water, we suddenly heard the familiar chords of "Amazing Grace" . . . and then a whole group of Asian tourists started to sing along!! Look, bagpipes are hard enough on the ears, especially when screeching out Amazing Grace, but then to have a pack of out of tune tourists singing along . . . I was laughing so hard I was crying.

And of course we gave them some money - ya gotta reward that kind of initiative!

Scotland Adventure: Getting tipsy at the distilleries

No trip to Scotland is complete without a wee dram of whisky and a tour of a distillery. We visited 3 and toured 2 and drank at all 3 and bought 1 (not too bad math, I think). :)

Our first distillery was Ben Nevis and I must have had more than I remember because I could swear I took a photo of the outside, but can't find any now. In any case, it was a bit touristy and they were in quiet season so nothing was up and running - we did get a tour though and a taste and ended up buying a bottle of 12 year old.

The next was Talisker, which is on the Isle of Skye. Unfortunately, we arrived too late in the day to take a tour, but they did still give us a taste. Talisker is a strong, peaty whisky - good for a taste and to warm you up, but too strong for us. Beautiful setting for this one.

Our final distillery visit and our favorite was Dalwhinnie. We had a great tour here and were told this is the coldest place in Scotland. It was July and we were freezing! No wonder they drink all that whisky.

So I wouldn't say we're converted whisky drinkers, but we do have a better appreciation and are enjoying a sip from time to time from our bottle of Ben Nevis. Next we'll have to plan a trip to Ireland so we can compare! :)

Scotland Adventure: Portree

At the end of day two we reached our destination, Portree, on the Isle of Skye. Portree is a gorgeous little seaside town with a bustling fishing harbor and some of the most delicious, freshest seafood we have ever had. It was busy and a little crowded since the weather is only kind to tourists for about a month every year, but we enjoyed our time here immensely.

Just a little something they had fresh off the boat that day.

Even overcast the harbor was beautiful.

Next to the pink building is where we had the seafood feast in the first photo!

Gorgeous first evening in Portree. This is from the Cuillin hotel where we had dinner.

Now that's a table view!

We were actually told there was no table for almost 2 hours so we decided to wait in the bar anyway as we'd already been to 3 other restaurants with no luck. We figured we could enjoy the view and the wifi and a drink or two. The manager then came over about 10 minutes later and said he could squeeze us in after all . . . at one of the nicest tables in the restaurant!! We were thrilled (and he got a big tip.)

Scotland Adventure: Bonny countryside

Throughout our road trip we were continuously awed by the green, green countryside. Tons of sheep, mountains, lakes, castles and green, green, green. We were in heaven.