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Wednesday
- April 21, 2004
As planned, we were up at the crack of dawn this morning to
catch the European Highlander in a Northern Seaport of Ireland near
Belfast and sail to Troon in Scotland. As NOT planned, our ferry
wasn't sailing to Troon due to inclement weather. (If you're
traveling to Europe - ALWAYS count on an alternative plan - you'll use
it more often than not!) We sailed on the Highlander nontheless
into Cairnryan in Scotland which is about 1 hour by car south of
Troon. The voyage over was about 1-1/2 in very luxurious
conditions, so the trip was very pleasant.
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Wednesday
- April 21, 2004
These are the hallways in the ship. The ship had several full
service restaurants, bars (of course) video arcades, gift shops, and I
spotted a whale as we made the crossing.
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Wednesday
- April 21, 2004
This is the ship's galley area on the Highlander. We've
traveled by Ferry before in this part of Europe - but this was
spectacular. We'd had an interesting morning already - I had been
sound asleep in the hotel we had stayed in and woke to a TREMENDOUS
crash in the bathroom. I BOLTED out of bed - knowing John had had
a heart attack and fallen through the shower doors. I was already
wondering what in the HELL I was going to do with him in Northern
Ireland as I raced to the bathroom. Apparently the toilet seat
had gone flying off the toilet when he went to ummmmm sit on it - and
that was the crash I had heard. It scared the willies out of
me.
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Wednesday
- April 21, 2004
Just a picture of the video Lounge on the ferry. There was also a
place they called the "Quiet Lounge" on board - a sleeping room that
John and I took advantage of the last 1/2 hour or so on the
crossing. No phones are allowed - no computers - but very nice,
comfortable sleeping accomodations as we made our crossing over the
Irish Sea.
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Wednesday
- April 21, 2004
After we docked and retrieved our car, we drove into Stranraer,
as we began making our way up into the Scottish Highlands.
WELL! Look what I found! They must have known I was coming
- they built a store just for me!
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Wednesday
- April 21, 2004
The Highlands of Scotland are truly very different from the Lowlands -
in language, dress and customs. A little of the story of the
Gaelic people can be rea in the landscape, where the poignant remnants
of long-abandoned settlements, in lovely glens, speak of emigration and
clearance. This, and the next picture, are taken in the Argyle
Mountain Range. This country is MUCH different than Ireland -
although I've heard it said they are quite similar. I find them
to be DISTINCTLY different.
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Wednesday - April 21, 2004
Scotland has an intensely rugged
coastline hiding tiny white-sand beaches, the Isle of Skye with the
dramatic snow capped mountains, Glen Affrie, the very backbone of
Scotland with mountain and glen on a grand scale, the Highlands are an
epitome of wild land.
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Wednesday - April 21, 2004
There is much contrast in the
Highlands. Waterfalls, such as this beautiful creature,
abound. They start at the very top of most mountains you pass and
tumble into an ending such as this before they rush out eventually to
sea. One similarity to Ireland is the annual rainfall. It's
immense. However, if it continues to produce landscaping such as
this - let it rain! After battling our way through Glascow today,
the retreat of the Northern Highlands was quite welcome. DON'T go
to Glascow! OH MY GOD. I think about 30 million people live
there - MUST be - it was like driving in rush hour in D.C. on the wrong
side of the road!
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Wednesday - April 21, 2004
We've settled into the Myrtle
Bank Guest House in Fort William - quite far up North in the Highlands.
This is a small picture of the bedroom area of our room. We'll
stay here a few days and rest. We both need it. LOL
The house is on the Myrtle Bank of the Irish Sea and is quite
lovely. Also expensive up here! We thought we got a bad
deal when we bought Euro - WOAH - nothing compared to buying
Sterling! God Save the Queen!
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Wednesday - April 21, 2004
Out the back window of our
bed and breakfast is a lovely garden with sitting areas. This is
a large place with two full service kitchens in two different
buildings. Today we will go by train up to Mallaig, which is on
the Northwest Coast of the Highlands - at the very tip. We were
told the scenery is breattaking and it will give John a much deserved
day away from driving.
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Wednesday
- April 21, 2004
Out the front window of our Bed and Breakfast is a view of the
ocean and more beautiful gardens. Tomorrow we will travel inland
into the Highlands to visit Loch Ness! We surely can't come to
Scotland and not go see the Loch Ness Monster! I hope he's
in! We have a nice Cyber Cafe here in town - so we will have this
group of pictures today and another yet tomorrow. I'm off to the
woolen mills today now before the train leaves - Scotland is FAMOUS for
Cashmere - and I plan to make sure they're missing some when I
leave! God Bless! And as they say in THIS part of the world
- TAH TAH!
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Thursday - April 22, 2004
Ft. William - the town square and Central Cathedral - that
would be me standing by the front gate. Fort William (named after
King William) is often referred to as the Gateway to the Highlands, for
just outside the town lies Ben Neis, at 4,406 feet, Britain's highest
mountain. Although this is not essentially a tourist resort, it
does have a wealth of services and shops for books, tartans, tweeds and
outdoor wear. I also saw TWO men walking the streets today in
kilts! We spent a quiet day today shopping and shipping items
home. The train we were going to take into Mallaig had broken
down yesterday - so we traded our tickets for a trip to Mallaig
tomorrow. As I have said over and over again - if you're going to
travel in Europe- count on NOTHING! LOL Always be prepared
to have an alternate plan. Our alternate plan was to drive into
Oban (about 45 minutes away) and locate internet services since none of
them in Fort William work properly and see some sights - have
lunch and shop. And that's what we did!
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Thursday - April 22, 2004
Yes, this is a traffic light. I try to bring you ALL
the points of interest on our trips. LOL These are slap in
the middle of highways at various places and you sit in que until it
changes. That could be an undetermined amount of time.
Maybe 5 minutes - maybe 30 - one just never knows! They are all
over Ireland and so far, all over Scotland too!
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Thursday - April 22, 2004
Castle Stalker on the road to Oban - what a site this
is! In Gaelic, Castle "Stalcaire" means hunter or
falconer. The castle was originally built around 1320. This
was a very famous site for Kings to visit for the purposes of hunting
and hawking. The castle has changed hands many times since 1320,
with the most recent owner being Lt. Col. D.R. Stewart Allward who
negotiated terms for the purchase of the castle in 1965 and spent the
next ten years rebuilding it with the help of family and friends.
He died suddenly while out walking in 1991 and is survived by his wife
and children. They say the castle is inhabitable today. Oh
John???? Think we can build a kitty-condo onto this thing?????
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Thursday - April 22, 2004
I think we are probably the only people in the history of Scotland to
enter the Tourist Information Center in Oban to find out where we can
locate a herd of Highland Cattle. BUT LOOK AT THIS GUY!!!
Worth the effort, yes??? Although usually yellowish in color,
Highland cattle are sometimes red or black. Trust me to locate
the redhead! Who couldn't love the face on this cow? Aren't
you glad I went out of my way to get this picture for you??? God
love John - he got directions and actually FOUND me a cow! Yes,
"A" cow - the herd had deserted our one beautiful red headed specimen.
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Thursday - April 22, 2004
Also on the way to Oban is the Scottish Sea Life
Sanctuary. Their primary objective is to race to the rescue of
seal pups in trouble anywhere around the coast. Although the
admission to this place was ridiculously high, I don't mind our
donation to this cause. The rescued pups receive expert
veterinarian care and are gradually weaned from a liquid diet to whole
fish in their hospital there. Then they are acclimated to the
indoor pools to gain weight and gain strength and stamina until they
are ready to resume life in the wild. These were two of the grown
seals they had in the pool today
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Thursday - April 22, 2004
The Sanctuary is now home to a pioneering Scottish
Seahorse Breeding and Conservation Center for both native and tropical
seahorses - one of the marine world's most endangered species.
North American River Otters Fingal and Sula have the freedom of one of
the biggest and best outdoor enclosures ever built.
Unfortunately, they were in for their dinner and we were not able to
observe them.
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Thursday - April 22, 2004
This was pretty fascinating. They had a large shark
tank at the Sanctuary and a tank in which hung what you see in this
picture - they are called Shark Paper Sacks. The little tiny gold
fish you see INSIDE the sack is alive and was moving all around - it
will eventually eat its way out of the sack and into the world. It is a
shark embryo. I'd never seen anything like that - anywhere - any
time. It was really fascinating.
Tomorrow we will have alot more pictures as we will be sightseeing
again and not shopping. =) Then we will leave Ft. William
and continue our journey through Scotland (probably another two days) -
then through a very small portion of England and on into Whales for a
week before we fly to Germany. Stay in touch! We'll have
more soon! God Speed!
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Friday - April 23, 2004
We have had a VERY long day but it has been one of the most pleasant
spent in Scotland. It began by our train trip to Mallaig never
happening. We had a printed time schedule but when we arrived to
take the 10:30 train - they said: Oh, we don't go by that
schedule! LOL So, we dashed our train trip and took off
toward Inverness - and as I've always said - these things happen for a
reason. This is the first castle we came upon today - they are
currently in the process of restoring it to its original beauty.
This is Castle Inverlochy - or what remains of some of the exterior
walls. It was gloomy and overcast this time of the morning - so
forgive the pictures being a tad dark.
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Friday - April 23, 2004
This is the inside of the castle walls. This was a circular
castle and the interior reminds me much of a large stadium. There
were workmen here today working on the restoration - all stone work -
all by hand - this could take awhile!
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Friday - April 23, 2004
We just happened to run into another small herd of Highland Cows!
I was thrilled to death! LOOK AT THIS FACE! LOL WOAH
- look at those horns! We're told that Highland Cow can be eaten
- but they are primarily kept around these parts for the tourists
LOL - they are WONDERFUL! They do have the ordinary cow around
these parts also. These are just absolutely massive however!
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Friday - April 23, 2004
I swore to John that sooner or later I would catch one of
these men in their kilts and by God I did! RIGHT in a whiskey
shop! =) He delightfully agreed to have his picture taken
with me. He also told me to understand that men in kilts run VERY
fast and I was lucky to catch him!
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Friday - April 23, 2004
Our primary goal today is to take in Loch Ness. Home of the
famous and legendary Loch Ness Monster. On the way however, we
have found there is a viewing for waterfalls in Foyers - called (of
course) Falls of Foyers. This beautiful picture was taken
on Suidhe Viewpoint on the way up to the falls. We are at 1311
feet at this point. I cannot even begin to describe to you the
beauty of this country. If you have visited Scotland before and
not been to the Highlands - you missed an enormous amount.
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Friday - April 23, 2004
Please meet the Falls of Foyers. They are much fuller in the
wintertime with the runoff from the snow on the mountains - and the
hike DOWN to them was amazing and straight down (Hmmmmmmm this means we
ALSO have to hike straight back UP!) - but it was worth the time and
effort. Foyers (the town) is also the cradle of the Aluminium
Industry in the United Kingdom. If you ever came here and didn't
care to see the falls - you would NOT want to miss the 10 mile drive up
here. I'll tell you what - God didn't do any shabby work!
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Friday - April 23, 2004
Me, of course, down by the Falls. John cannot resist
having me in most of his pictures. LOL - poor ol' thing - he's
smitten I think!
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Friday - April 23, 2004
This was just a small portion of the upper stairs that we had to go
down - and of course, back up! John, as usual - taking my picture
at the top as I await his return.
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Friday - April 23, 2004
John-John in back of the sign for the falls. We'll
now cross the street and have a warm lunch in the little cafe. I
must tell you it was incredible. You get nothing but home cooked
meals in this part of the world - it's almost like sitting down in your
own kitchen to a great meal - and although we haven't found the
Scottish to be as friendly as the Irish - many of them are delightful
and anxious to speak with Americans when they pop into their
establishments.
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Friday - April 23, 2004
This is the village that surrounds Loch Ness. The body of water
you see in front of the village IS Loch Ness. A Loch in Scotland
is a body of water - this one being named Ness. Loch Ness is 23
miles long, 1 mile wide, has an average depth of 600 feet and maximum
depth of 800 feet. It is 10,000 years old. It was formed by
glaciation in the Ice Age. The elusive Nessie (Loch Ness Monster)
aside, there is much to enjoy in this area. The first documented
sighting of a creature in Loch Ness was by St. Columba in the 6th
Century AD. Only in recent times has the phenomenon of "Nessie"
become internationally known. There are signs throughout the
surrounding villages that say: I BELIEVE (In Nessie)
Well WE believe in Nessie too! (Of course I ALSO believe in the
Easter Bunny!) Nessie or no Nessie - it's wonderful to be here
and be a part of the mystery, intrique and myth of this area.
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Friday - April 23, 2004
This is Castle Urquhart, at Loch Ness, sight of a fort since the Bronze
Age, set on a high promontory overlooking the water. Absolutely
gorgeous.
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Friday - April 23, 2004
Apparently this was one of the buildings used in the filming of
Braveheart - we all know Braveheart was filmed in Scotland. This
happens to also be located in Loch Ness.
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Friday - April 23, 2004
We've had a very long and wonderful day - including an internet moment
in Inverness where I was actually able to GET a few pieces of my
e-mail! I was VERY happy to hear from Wolfie and Sue and Caj and
my sis, Dev. I haven't been able to get through all of it yet -
the e-mail is causing us problems here - but I did zip out a note to
Dev. From Inverness we drove to Kingussie and found this
absolutely fabulous B & B. What makes it so very special is
not just the wonderfully appointed room - but there is a BATHTUB!
I'll be jumping in that immediately! (You don't get those
here) Also the lady that owns the house is an artist in
watercolor, acrylics and chalk. Now you KNOW I'm happy!
We went into town tonight to grab a bite of Pub Grub and John and I
decided we owed it to Scotland to eat something "native". There
were two native dishes on the menu - Scotch Pie and Haggis with neeps
and tatties. Yes, I said neeps and tatties. That would be
turnips and potatoes. We decided the Scotch Pie we could at least
PRONOUNCE so I asked the elderly barkeeper about it. What's IN
it, I asked? He said: Dear, it is Mutton. I
said: Ok - explain Mutton to me. He said: Lamb.
I said: That's not civilized - forget it! (John ate it
anyway - lol - he said HE didn't kill the lamb!) I stuck with the
soup- it was safe. BUT - before they left, a Scottish couple
mentioned to us that we MUST try Haggis with neeps and tatties.
We'd be at a complete loss if we didn't embibe. We said we would
be sure to do that. When they left we hailed the barkeeper and
said: Ok what IS it - the Haggis with neeps and tatties? I
wish I had NEVER ASKED! It's chopped meats, along with all the
eatable internal organs of a sheep, all chopped up and stuffed into the
stomach of a sheep. Picture a sausage if you will - all blown up
like a balloon - and you have Haggis. Quite expensive - quite a
delicacy - THOROUGLY disgusting! We'll take a picture of one
tomorrow - we saw them at the butcher's shop. We DID however,
sample the Sticky Toffy Pudding with cream. If I could eat myself
to death with that - I'd do it. Served steaming hot with whipped
cream - it is positively to DIE for.
Tomorrow we will eventually drive out of Scotland and into
England. Scotland has been an amazing experience - a
breathtakingly beautiful country - with interesting food!
=) We'll be in touch! God Bless you all!
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Saturday - April 24, 2004
Saturday - the most positive thing I can say about Saturday is it's
almost OVER! However, in these pictures, we are still in Scotland
- quite unaware of what England would bring. As promised, a
picture of the ever disgusting Haggis. I went to the butcher shop
early this morning (I DO wish we still had independent butcher shops in
the USA) - the proprietor was George Gow. I went in armed with my
camera and warned him I had a stupid question. I wanted to
photograph his Haggis. He looked at me as though I had gone
mental, grinned and agreed to let me photograph the nasty things.
He then explained to me what was in them which is exactly what I
described to you the night before. Oh, by the way, he had lovely
Ox Tongue - as you an also see in the picture - equally as
disgusting. BUT - you have a picture of Haggis.
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Saturday - April 24, 2004
We continued on our journey South through the lovely town of Perth -
and this is the cathedral center. Very pretty small town.
Our goal is to make it into England tonight - find lodging and drive on
to Wales tomorrow. Remember we won't be touring England - it is
simply a means to an end - the end being Wales. Travel in Great
Britain (which includes Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales)
is tremendously expensive for the American traveler. Every time
we fill up the car it's 60.00 American dollars (Approximately 30
Pounds) Our money here is worthless for all practical
purposes. Gasoline is about 80 Pence per liter - there are about
3 liters per gallon - it winds up being about $5.00 a gallon.
Stop complaining about your gas prices! Our hotel/B&B
accomodations are, on the average, 25 Pounds per person per night - or
50 Pounds for the room - including breakfast. That's about $95.00
American. If you're traveling on a shoestring - don't come to
Great Britain.
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Saturday - April 24, 2004
These are the outrageously gorgeous wild thorny
yellow flowers that grow all over the United Kingdom, Scotland and
Ireland. I am bringing seeds home and hope by the time I return to
Ireland I will have at least grown them all the way up to Washington
D.C. I may live to regret this.
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Saturday - April 24, 2004
This is the Forth Road Bridge into Edinburgh area of Scotland. We
circumvented Edinburgh as it is an extremely large city and it was at
the end of a very very long day for us. We have found since
we left Ireland that the smartest thing for us to do is to avoid very
large cities. (Like Glasgow) They have what they call
round-a-bouts all over all the countries we're traveling in - and the
LARGE cities have double and triple round-a-bouts - OH MY GOD ABOUTS I
call them. It is SCARY AS ALL HELL. You're unsure of
direction - you're on the wrong side of the freakin' road - everyone
ELSE knows where they're going! So we have a rule - AVOID LARGE
CITIES.
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Saturday - April 24, 2004
This was a lovely photo stop and our very last picture, sadly, in
Scotland. We chose to tour the Highlands in Scotland for the time
that we had there and we're very greatful that we did. We think
it was, by FAR, the most beautiful section of Scotland. If you
need to trace your Scottish roots - by all means come to Scotland - the
people are amenable - but they lack the genuine warmth and openess of
the Irish. Scotland is magestic and has scenery that can make
tears come to your eyes - and it's a place I have enjoyed visiting -
ONCE. I'll have many fond memories of this beautiful country and
it's glens and lochs and strange food - but my heart will forever
remain in Ireland.
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