August 2010 - Scotland, new job for James

Things finally slowed down in August, thankfully. The month started out as best as it could – on holiday with James! We decided to go to Scotland for a week and started things out in Edinburgh. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and spent the rest of the day hiking to the top of a large hill where we took in the gorgeous views over the city and the near-by ocean inlet (sea loch, as they call them in Scotland). The next day was a touristy day – we visited Edinburgh castle to see the Scottish crown jewels and a surprisingly interesting Scottish military museum (my favourite were all the old school army recruitment posters), as well as more commanding views of the city. We then made our way down the Royal Mile – a stretch of road that spans between the castle and Holyrood Palace (where the queen stays when visiting Edinburgh). There was St. Mary's cathedral where John Knox, the calvinist reformer, preached back in the day (and who has a very cool last name), and we also stopped in the National Museum of Scotland. We were surprised by how well done the museum was and ran out of time to see everything that we wanted before closing time – how often does that happen in a history museum? :)

On Tuesday we started off on a guided tour of the highlands. We felt a little out of place on our mini bus full of tourists who were either over 60 years old or Asian and barely able to communicate in English. But we had decided on the tour b/c I didn't want to drive on the left side of the road, James hadn't driven a car in 4+ years, and the trains were a headache to navigate. It was pretty cheesy at times – our guide wore a kilt, spoke a bit of the native Gaelic to us, and played “traditional” Scottish songs almost non-stop for the entire three days, but he was very knowledgeable and I imagine we learned heaps more than if we had done a self-guided tour.

The first day we made our way from east to west across Scotland, up the coast of Loch Lomond and all the way to the Isle of Skye off the west coast. Just before we reached the Isle we stopped at a castle on the coast called Eilean Donan – it's the one that's in all the photographs and movies about Scotland - breathtaking. We ended up missing the opening time by about five minutes so couldn't go inside, but we did have a good wander around the outside, and learned that it is the clan castle of the McRaes, and one of James's grandmothers is a McRae!

Just before crossing the bridge to the Isle we passed through a town where we were stopped by a herd of highland cattle in the road - these are those beautiful cattle with the long shaggy hair and long horns – so cool! One of them had a calf that was absolutely adorable. The Asian tourists kept trying to stand next to the cows to get a picture, and I'm still surprised that one of them wasn't gored. Our guide kept shouting at them to keep clear, but obviously they couldn't understand or just chose to ignore him. On the Isle we stayed in one of the worst hotels I've ever stayed in, although it did have comparatively nice food. The tour company had booked the hotels for us, and it wasn't a place they normally use. Hopefully after the feedback that our group gave they won't be using it again. That evening on the Isle James and I took a short hike across the beach and up to the ruins of a medieval castle. The sun set just as we made our way to the castle, and we got some gorgeous views of the ocean and the small town in the sunset. Making our way back in the dark was a little tricky though!

The next day we spent the majority of the day touring round the Isle, where we stopped at the old family home of the MacDonalds, the clan who is traditionally from the Isle of Skye. The house was charming but fairly run down, and the gardens were fantastic – a wonderland of plants and streams and waterfalls. We crossed back to the mainland from the Isle on a ferry and made our way to Fort William, a small town near the coast to stay for the night. On the way we passed by the rail bridge that was used in the Harry Potter films for the Hogwarts Express! I was such a kid about it - taking photos and hoping a train would cross - but James of course was completely uninterested (he shockingly has never read any of the books). The B&B the second night was thankfully miles better than the first hotel - charming with high ceilings and a newly remodeled bathroom - such a relief after that terrible place the night before.

The next morning commenced the last day of our tour and we began with an early morning hike (they call it a “walk” in Britain b/c – surprise – it really is just walking) up the side of one of the nearby mountains. We didn't go to the summit so it was only about 15 minutes each way, but absolutely gorgeous every second. It culminated in a mountain valley with a waterfall at the other end. Pretty amazing with the morning sun behind it. The only downside to the hike was that I got overly ambitious while crossly a small stream, slipped on a wet rock, and really bruised my bum! It was so painful to complete the rest of the hike, and then sit on the bus for another few hours. Honestly I could still feel it for about two weeks – couldn't do yoga properly and stuff. How embarrassing.

That afternoon we made our way up the coast of Loch Ness (didn't see the monster, although we all secretly had our eyes pealed), and around through the highlands back to Edinburgh. A recurring theme throughout our tour was the Jacobites (a group of rebels who were loyal to a different royal line than is still on the throne today) and their last leader, Bonnie Prince Charlie, so it was interesting to return to the National Museum of Scotland the next day and learn so much more about these people we had been hearing about non-stop for three days. We spent a large part of that last day in the museum, then went to a few comedy shows. There is a famous festival in Edinburgh that goes for the entire month of August, and part of it is a massive comedy festival. So James and I bought tickets to a couple of shows (make that three after I accidentally purchased the wrong evening's tickets for one of them – what an idiot), and had a night o' comedy for our last night in Scotland. We saw a really young kid who was funny but seemed to think that the more he swore the funnier he'd be, and another chap who we had seen in London and quite enjoyed.

Our B&B those last two nights in Edinburgh was amazing. It was five star, our room was brand new with a four poster bed, and we got a massive menu for breakfast, including eggs benedict! I would highly recommend it to anyone going to Edinburgh as it's not overly expensive for what you get – it's called Amar Agua guest house.

The last day in Edinburgh was a bit of a write off as we had the train to catch around one, so we just hung out in a tiny pub by the station for a few hours (and then got kicked out for staying too long – so much for Scottish hospitality!). Scotland was really fantastic though, I'd recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind the cold – even in August it was cold and rainy! Other than that Edinburgh's a terribly charming city and the highlands have such gorgeous scenery, I was blown away by the beauty. I really thought it was going to be pretty barren with a few rolling hills, but there are proper mountains up there!

The week we returned to London James started his new job – he's at a sports betting company where he'll be doing group financial reporting. It's sad not to have him around GT anymore, but I know he's much happier at the new place. Jeez I just made it sound like he died or something, talking about him in a better place! As I write it's been about six weeks since he started and he says he loves it, so I'm very happy for him.

That weekend we soaked up the fleeting British summer sunshine at a friend's BBQ in Balham, and the weekend after that I had a posh afternoon tea for a friend's baby shower (Caroline, one of James's old flatmates who coincidently married one of his old work mates) at a lovely hotel near Green Park. The hotel had one of those living walls outside – so cool!

Well that's all of the stories for August, but I have some more word translations! These are mostly in the spirit of The Great British Pastime: gardening. English people are especially obsessed with their gardens, it's quite cute.

Aubergine = eggplant
Courgette = zucchini
Marrow = butternut/acorn/summer/yellow squash
Diversion = detour (ok that's not a gardening word but hey)

Love to all,
Heather xoxo

PS don't forget there are photos of our adventures on facebook if you'd like to see them.