Boy, we have only been here a few days and I already LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Scotland! It may be that we have been having the most rare (for Scotland), but gorgeous weather = complete sunshine and hot! But this place is so beautiful!
We hired a driver/tour guide, Bill - who is awesome with his long hippie hair - to drive us from Huddersfield, England to Inverness, Scotland on Tuesday. We were in a mini van and he had set up a big speaker in between the 2 middle bucket seats so he could talk to us through his headset microphone during the drive. :) Along the way he played us sweet Scottish music. Some of it was traditional Scottish music (which I LOVE!), some was more modernized bagpipe and fiddle music (which I also LOVE!), and some was new music that we actually knew but didn't know they were Scottish artists - such as Snow Patrol, etc. He would also tell us stories about the history of Scotland - including the Jacobite rebellion and famous battles - legends, and perhaps some stuff he might have made up. :)
This is our first night out exploring Inverness....what a beautiful city!
We stayed at a lovely little Bed & Breakfast in Inverness. Our hostess was the sweetest lady! She got me ice every night for my achilles tendon (or for you anatomy lovers = calcaneal tendon) that I hurt in England. For breakfast we had a choice between a full Scottish breakfast and a continental breakfast. Being the culture-curious people that we are, we opted for the full Scottish breakfast the first day... only to switch to the continental for the next two days. :) It wasn't horribly bad, but man, look at that black pudding (otherwise known as blood sausage). I don't know if I could look at that on my plate every morning. ;)
Our first full day in Inverness was spent touring the main hospital (Raigmore) and a mental health hospital - both quite interesting. That evening, the really nice couple that set up our tours (with their super cute 9 y.o. son, Luke) picked us up in their two cars and drove us down to see Loch Ness, and Urquhart Castle on its shores. We watched and watched for Nessie, but she just didn't want to be seen. :( I was really hoping I might catch a glimpse of the real monster that inspired the name of our showerhead when I was growing up (it was red with eyes and the water came out the mouth) - we called it Nessie :)
Skipping rocks on the shores of Loch Ness while searching for Nessie
The Urquhart Castle has quite a fascinating history... it got blown up several times throughout the Jacobite rebellion, so it was mostly in ruins, but super cool!
I bet you know how sad this made me...
A trebuchet (catapult) at Urquhart Castle, which as our "tourguide Luke" told us, its only the medium size!
this must be quite the popular place for women and children to visit since they have parking spots just for them! ;)
The next day we got to go out with district nurses (like home health nurses). While Heidi went to a town called Muir of Ord, and Christina went to Drumnadrochit, Candice, Michelle, and I went to the health centre in Dingwall. How would you like to say you're from Dingwall, Scotland?! :D We met up with our nurses there and left to do our visits. This is Candice and I really excited for the day!
I went with my nurse to an even smaller town called Strathpeffer...yeah, say that 10 times fast! ;) She told me it was a real touristy place, but I don't know what she was talking about...it was a town of hardly any people!
I really enjoyed visiting these people in their homes and seeing the elderly Scottish population who live out in the ruralist of rural towns. What fun!
Our nurses were so sweet! We all met up for lunch at a market where farmers come to auction off their beef and lamb; we ate a yummy "Tattie soup," which they paid for!!! Here are our lovely nurses (mine is standing just to right of me).
We got off a little early, walked through the main street of Dingwall, then caught a bus back to Inverness. We went to the Inverness Castle for a bit, then out to dinner at an Italian restaurant.
We sure loved Inverness, but the best is yet to come!
This is our first night out exploring Inverness....what a beautiful city!We stayed at a lovely little Bed & Breakfast in Inverness. Our hostess was the sweetest lady! She got me ice every night for my achilles tendon (or for you anatomy lovers = calcaneal tendon) that I hurt in England. For breakfast we had a choice between a full Scottish breakfast and a continental breakfast. Being the culture-curious people that we are, we opted for the full Scottish breakfast the first day... only to switch to the continental for the next two days. :) It wasn't horribly bad, but man, look at that black pudding (otherwise known as blood sausage). I don't know if I could look at that on my plate every morning. ;)
Our first full day in Inverness was spent touring the main hospital (Raigmore) and a mental health hospital - both quite interesting. That evening, the really nice couple that set up our tours (with their super cute 9 y.o. son, Luke) picked us up in their two cars and drove us down to see Loch Ness, and Urquhart Castle on its shores. We watched and watched for Nessie, but she just didn't want to be seen. :( I was really hoping I might catch a glimpse of the real monster that inspired the name of our showerhead when I was growing up (it was red with eyes and the water came out the mouth) - we called it Nessie :)Skipping rocks on the shores of Loch Ness while searching for Nessie
The Urquhart Castle has quite a fascinating history... it got blown up several times throughout the Jacobite rebellion, so it was mostly in ruins, but super cool!
I bet you know how sad this made me...
A trebuchet (catapult) at Urquhart Castle, which as our "tourguide Luke" told us, its only the medium size!
this must be quite the popular place for women and children to visit since they have parking spots just for them! ;)The next day we got to go out with district nurses (like home health nurses). While Heidi went to a town called Muir of Ord, and Christina went to Drumnadrochit, Candice, Michelle, and I went to the health centre in Dingwall. How would you like to say you're from Dingwall, Scotland?! :D We met up with our nurses there and left to do our visits. This is Candice and I really excited for the day!
I went with my nurse to an even smaller town called Strathpeffer...yeah, say that 10 times fast! ;) She told me it was a real touristy place, but I don't know what she was talking about...it was a town of hardly any people!I really enjoyed visiting these people in their homes and seeing the elderly Scottish population who live out in the ruralist of rural towns. What fun!
Our nurses were so sweet! We all met up for lunch at a market where farmers come to auction off their beef and lamb; we ate a yummy "Tattie soup," which they paid for!!! Here are our lovely nurses (mine is standing just to right of me).
We got off a little early, walked through the main street of Dingwall, then caught a bus back to Inverness. We went to the Inverness Castle for a bit, then out to dinner at an Italian restaurant.We sure loved Inverness, but the best is yet to come!
Gott love the breakfasts! You make a great child! I wish they had those parking spots here! SOrry we have been away so long. We had fun at the beach, wish you had been with us!
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