"And yet the place (Edinburgh) establishes an interest in people's hearts;
go where they will, they find no city of the same distinction."
Robert Louis Stevenson
In rainy weather this is a city where it is easy to spot the many (and I can't stress the word "many" enough) new travellers to Scotland who have also come to explore this city. You will find them (us) everywhere carrying umbrella's. Not just any umbrella though. Like us, they carry the umbrella of the unprepared tourist. That is the umbrella that is purchased, after the fact, to keep the rain off. The rain that we heard about, but really didn't expect to encounter. The umbrellas are found in every store and are most reasonable in price. Only 8 pounds. The only problem is these umbrellas are not built to withstand the rain and wind encountered here. They fold and break like pretzels and you can see the tourists walking in the rain trying to repair their purchases - usually unsuccessfully. Lesson #1 - Come to Scotland prepared for wind and rain.
What I truly love about travelling I found here in this city. A comradery with other travellers is always found under trying travelling circumstances. We joined a day trip on Saturday which fit in perfectly for us as well as the other 14 travellers who were equally happy to find themselves on a bus - dry and comfortable and still able to explore a little of this beautiful country despite the rain that tried to deter us!! Team Canada (being Terry and I) was joined by teams USA, Brazil, Israel, India (Delhi A & Delhi B), Spain and Japan. We all set out to explore and learn a little of Scotlands history. We travelled to Sterling Castle where we learned about Willliam Wallace and Robert the Bruce. Turns out William Wallace looks nothing like little Mel Gibson! We also heard about Rob Roy McGregor (aka Rob Roy Campbell) and heard tales about his brutality in the Trossachs of Scotland. And it also turns out that Rob Roy looks nothing like Liam Neeson. I am no longer in love!!
We also travelled to Loch Lohman and in addition to some photo ops of this beautiful Loch we got to try out some of the local dishes. The haggis with turnup and the CullinSkink soup were recommended from the menu and turned out to be quite good. We wrapped up the long day with a trip to Glengoyne Whiskey Distillery where we got to sample some single malt whiskey and see how it's made. The whiskey was a welcome addition to this overcast and rainy day and it made the trip back to Edinburgh a most enjoyable one!
All in all this tour was a great way to spend a day. Our tour bus driver Rob is crazy in love with his country (as are most of the other Scots we had the pleasure of speaking with) and he was a wealth of information. He spoke almost constantly during the 10 hour tour which says a lot about his knowledge of Scotland I think!!
We never got to see enough while in Edinburgh during our time in Scotland - Holyroodhouse Palace and the Abbey (which were great!) and some interesting sights along the Royal Mile. Quite simply there was far too much rain and wind to be out touring around - but that just means another opportunity to come back again. And return we will.
 |
| Palace of Holyroodhousen in Edinburgh |
 |
| Sterling Castle (inside) |
 |
| More Sterling Castle |
 |
| Sterling Castle...again!! |
 |
| At our Glengoyne Whiskey Distillery tour |
 |
| Hamish the Highland Cow - this is one good looking cow - don't you agree. Hamish is on Facebook so check him out and give him a big "Like"!! And check him out on youtube as well!! |
 |
| Ever wonder where the word "crapper" came from? While Thomas Crapper did not invent the toilet, Crapper still has a close connection to the first patent for the toilet. Read on... |
 |
| The beautiful Loch Lohman. |
 |
| Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey behind Palace of Holyroodhouse. The abbey was founded in 1128 by King David of Scotland. |
No comments:
Post a Comment
A comment has been submitted to your blog page.