SCOTLAND

 We have all been looking forward to this Scotland trip for a long time. We booked the tickets back in October so it was a long-awaited trip. We went with Gavin's family Loana, Bob, and Gus. Gus was extra excited to go on an international trip with his brother and family! 

Waiting for our flight at the Denver airport! 

While in the air we saw the Northern Lights from the airplane! 

We made it! Gavin was assigned the designated driver because he is a professional at driving stick. If we were to get a car with an automatic transmission it was going to cost another 500$! Good thing Gavin learned to drive a stick shift on his mission. We did a pretty good job at navigating the roads in Scotland. It gets a bit confusing driving on the wrong side of the road. At one point we came to an intersection and we could not tell which road we were supposed to drive on once we went through the light. The lanes aren't exactly straight so we took a guess and ended up driving in the TAXI AND BUS lane only. As we were on that road we saw signs that said tickets enforced. There was one kind man who rolled down his window on the other side of the road and yelled "You'll get a ticket if you drive there" Thank you sir... 

We got a really yummy breakfast in the city center! One of my favorite parts of traveling is the food. Gavin and I always find ourselves eating. This breakfast did not disappoint! 

Our first night in Glasgow was recovering from the long flight. We didn't have a list of anything we wanted to see because we originally planned to see Celine Dion. Unfortunately, she got very sick and had to cancel her tour. We spent the day running around Scotland trying to find a converter for Bob's vacuum. We went to so many stores and every single Scottish person we met was so nice. They were helpful, kind, and honestly did so much for us. I think out of all the countries I have been to Scotland takes the cake for the kindest people. The night ended well because we got what we needed for Bob. #miracles 

Day 2: Edinburgh 

We drove out of Glasgow to Edinburgh the neighboring city to Glasgow. Edinburgh is known for its literary heritage, historic cobblestone streets, and striking architecture. Edinburgh was everything I imagined it would be! We passed by so many cute churches, old castles, and farmlands. 

On our way to Edinburgh, we stopped at a castle called Tantallon. This castle is located right on the coast and overlooks Bass Rock. We enjoyed walking the grounds and watching the Seagulls. Gus was given a quiz to help him learn about the castle. I think we all learned a lot. 

One of our next stops was Godricks Hallow. The cemetery's real name is Greyfriars Kirkyard. This is the cemetery where Harry visits his parent's graves. Not only that but JK Rowling came to Kirkyard while writing the Harry Potter books. This is where she gained inspiration for many of the book's and  characters' names. You can find Potter, Cruikshanks, Scrymgeour, Mrs. Moodie, Black, Thomas Riddell, McGonagall, and Sirius Black. We walked around and found all of the headstones with these names from the map we found online! While we were walking around we saw several Harry Potter walking tours going around with many people holding wands and wearing cloaks. It was very magical. There were some serious fans here. I guess one of the stones actually said Sirius Black and someone stole it one night... there are some die heart fans out there. 

That night we enjoyed the rest of the evening walking around Victoria Street, admiring Edinburgh Castle, shops, and cobblestone streets!  

Gavin and Gus got matching kilts!

That night we went back to our hotel and Gavin and I were craving some sugar. We found a dessert place just a few blocks away from our hotel called Heavenly Desserts. We walked there from our hotel with Loana and Gus and this place did not disappoint. When we walked in the ceiling was covered in pink and white roses. The tables had these cute pink benches. It smelled of chocolate and warm pastries My mouth was watering pretty quickly. They had everything on the menu you could imagine. It was a 17-page menu of desserts. They had hot chocolate, milkshakes, waffles, crepes, cookie dough, brownies, macarons, baklava, scones, donuts, hard-served, fresh fruit, etc. I could go on and on. We decided to get five things and share. We got a raspberry tart, smores, baklava, brownie, cream puffs, and a cookie ice-ice-cream cup. Let me just say we left very happy :)

Day 3

We woke up and ate the most delicious breakfast at our hotel. We had basically a Scottish traditional breakfast. We had haggis, scones, eggs, muffins, cereal black sausage etc. I was impressed that Haggis was so good. Loana and I were talking about how we wanted to find more of it while we were on our trip. We weren't even sure what it was but when we googled it we saw that is the inside of an animal's stomach mixed with seasoning and boiled inside a bag... Wow! We were sure glad we didn't research that before eating it. 

Before leaving the city we toured Edinburgh Castle on the hill. One of our favorite parts of the castle was learning about Mons Meg. This is a cannon that sits at the top of the castle and the stones they would launch out of it would weigh 330 lbs and could be fired up to 2 miles. We couldn't believe that. Since we went first thing in the morning we didn't have to wait in line to see the crowned jewels. Bob said usually the line is hours long. We got in about 5 minutes! Luck was on our side. 

After we started driving up to the highlands. We drove through one of the national parks! On our way up we stopped to admire some lakes, skip rocks, and enjoy the outdoors. Gavin probably had the biggest rock skip of his life. I think we counted up to 20.. 

We ended the night in a cute little Airbnb in Fortwilliam. It took us about an hour to find the apartment. We were searching all the buildings looking for a certain door number. Some of the buildings reeked like weed and smoke. I was thinking oh dear what did we get ourselves into. I think our building by far smelled the best. We enjoyed our evening and watched the sunset from our window over the cute little town. 

Day 4 

Today was probably one of the days I was most excited about. I absolutely loved being in the city but I definitely think I am more of a country girl. We grabbed breakfast that morning at Aldi the grocery store. We each got a smoothie for 1$, and we also grabbed some muffins, chips, and fruit to snack on. 

We drove a few miles to the Fort William visitors center so we could watch the Harry Potter train cross Glenfinnan Viaduct. We made sure to get there early because we heard parking could be a mess. We walked around to the lock across the street where parts of the Harry Potter movies are filmed. This is the loch that Hogwarts sits on. 

The train comes across the bridge at 10:45am. So around 10:00, we started our hike up the mountain with about 300 other people. I could not believe how many cars kept pulling in. We found ourselves a great spot on the hill in front of the crowds. We all waited for the 10:45am mark to hit so that we could see the train pass. There were people dressed in robes, and others singing Hedwig's theme as we sat. It was quite a magical experience.

The first thing we could see from around the corner was the smoke from the train. As it slowly made its way across the bridge the whistle went off and the steam engine blew its smoke. It was so beautiful. everyone started cheering and all the guests on the train had their noses pushed up against the glass to wave to us on the hill. Honestly, it was a thrilling experience. I loved being around so many Harry Potter fans. The train was beautiful. I don't think I have ever seen a train blow smoke like this.  I think the fog added to the magic. The wind was definitely a bit chilly I didn't ever complain about it because really it was just fact. 

After we drove up the road a little bit more to stop at Dumbledore's grave. It was so fun seeing so many movie site scenes. 

We slowly made our way higher up into the highlands and stopped at Castle Eilean Donan. We made it just in time to tour the castle and the grounds before closing. In this castle, I think I saw the biggest bow and arrow ever! They had so many cool parts of history to read and see about in the castle. The grounds were also surrounded by a loch and mountain. 

We ended the night at Isle of Sky our home for the next 2 nights. We stayed at Old Captain Guest House in the cutest little neighborhood. The man who runs the place has made his house into a bunch of private rooms with a bathroom. We had full access to the kitchen and living room as well. We loved our little place. We had a hard time finding food in this town though. Everything closes early. Luckily we were able to get some pizza to go! This town in Isle of Sky is the cutest town ever though! The buildings are all brightly colored and the streets are cobble stone. We enjoyed walking around as we looked for a place to eat. 

Day 5 

We woke up nice and early so that we could start crossing off our list of must-see places. 

We started off by hiking up to Old Man of Storr. This hike absolutely blew me away. We were some of the first people there because we had no problem trying to find a place to park. The trail just takes you up the hill and around to get a good view of the old man. Gus counted every step he walked on I think I heard him count all the way to 1227 steps! The views just got better and better the higher we got. We kept stopping for pictures because we were mind blown. But once we got to the top we realized that that was the best spot for a picture. I mean look at these views? 

Since we started right before the crowd we pretty much had the top to ourselves. We didn't stay long up there because the wind was freezing. In fact bone-chilling. I think I took my hand out of my pocket for 2 minutes and it took the whole hike down to warm back up. Boy was it freezing but totally worth it!

 

After we stopped at Kilt Rock and melt falls. You can see the rock behind the falls has the texture of a kilt. The parking lot was closed so we just parked on the side and ran over the fence for a picture. Once we parked there a ton of people followed and soon the whole street was lined with cars... opps. 

Then we drove up the Glencoe. We weren't really sure what this place was but decided that we wanted to check it out. Turns out it's a huge park full of hiking trails. It was freezing up there. It looked beautiful to hike but the shortest hike was about 6 miles and we didn't want to bare the wind for that long. So we snapped a few pictures from a little bit down the path and called it a success! 

The road to get up there though had some really narrow parts. If you didn't time it just right you would end up backing up or down for about a mile or so to let someone pass. We also didn't realize that when we booked this trip that it was going to be Easter Weekend. So I guess the whole country was on Holiday that week so that's why that weekend everything was packed. 

We ended our morning with some burgers before leaving for Castle Dunvegan and Gardens. This castle also blew us away. It was HUGE. This one had the coolest artifacts to look at. I think I saw some old hair, guns, jewelry, a kitchen with sound effects and fake food, a jail cell, and the coolest paintings! 

We could have spent all day here easily so maybe it was a good thing we only had 2 hours. That 2 hours flew by. We didn't even make it around a quarter of the grounds though. 

After we road-tripped it a little bit further to see Neist Point and the lighthouse. The road getting up to this place could not have been more horrible. We were stuck behind some huge camper vans as we wound our way up the mountain to find no parking. The place was packed. Turns out you can hike all around Niest Point as well. I was glad we were short on time just because it was FREEZING up there. The wind from the ocean was bone-chilling. I don't think the hike would have been super enjoyable. I also think you get the best view of the lighthouse from the hill a few hundred yards from the parking lot. We could not stop admiring the beauty of the place. Scotland literally has blown us away with its beauty. Bob was way too cold to get out of the car so he kept it warm for us while we ran and took pictures. This place is probably one of my favorite views of all time. 

On the way down we stopped to watch the sunset over Donvegan castle and Gavin flew his drone around it. We also stopped to get some traditional Scottish food that was divine. We had beef cheek with glazed root vegetables, creamy mashed potatoes, and parsnip puree with a sky beer glaze. We also had Langoustines grilled in garlic butter and served with aioli roast baby potatoes glazed and cucumbers. We seriously had the best day and food. 

 

Day 6

We woke up wanting to go to one of the tasty bakeries we saw the day before in town. But when we got down there we saw they were closed because of Easter Sunday. So sad! I think Gus was the saddest.. We stopped at a near by grocery store to some packaged goodies instead. 

We had to drive out of town so that we could find some food. I guess in Scotland everything is closed on Easter weekend. 

On our way back to Glasgow we stopped at Lockness. This is the lake where the Loch Ness monster lives. I think Gus said he might have seen something jump out of the lake. We had some yummy fish and chips while enjoying the loch. Our ride back to town was beautiful we had several stops along the way to stretch out feet. We stopped to see some adorable highland cows. 

We had some yummy fish and chips while enjoying the loch. We ride back to town was beautiful we had several stops along the way to stretch our feet. We stopped to see some adorable highland cows and cute buildings. 

We made it to Stirling just in time to see the Wallace monument before it closed. Gavin and I watched Braveheart right before we came to Scotland so I quite enjoyed seeing his sward and learning more about him. This was a big highlight for Gavin and I was so glad we made it. To get up to the top of the monument you walk up this spiral staircase that is very narrow and the steps are very short. I think it was best that went at the end because everyone goes up and down the same way. I can imagine on a busy day how crowded the stairs get. 

That night after we checked into our hotel Loana said she saw Heavenly Desserts in the city. We knew this needed to be our last stop. We enjoyed again a plethora of desserts. I am not even sure if we had dinner that night. I think we just ate a bunch of desserts. Huurah Hurrah for Scotland!