Thursday, 19 July 2007

Blogging to you today from an internet cafe in the middle of Edinburgh's "New Town" area. As much as I'd love to jump right in and tell you all about this fantastic city, I'll maintain some continuity and start from where I left off.

While at dinner with my family in Inverness, our tour director, Doug, came over to my table and inquired about the status on my lost luggage. I gave him the slip I was given at the airport along with a computer printout from that day stating that the bag had been received at the airport. There was now at least a 4-hour window minimum for the bag to make it from Glasgow to Inverness (go Google Map these two cities and you'll see what I mean). Doug took all of my info and went off to see if he could speed up the process a bit. Right around dessert, he comes back to the table looking a bit sad and says, "Well...your bag...is actually at the reception desk." A somewhat awkward moment of my mother and I hugging Doug promptly followed (those of you who know my mother--picture her hugging a late-40's balding British guy). So, I'm very happy to report that my suitcase is back at my side (or, in most cases, under the tour bus or exploded in my hotel room).

An early departure from Inverness the next morning took us through a much more desolate region of the Highlands than the loch area that we'd passed through prior. However, props to the tour company for starting off our morning with a 10 AM tour of the Glenlivet distillery. The actual distillery itself is surprisingly small and in a rather remote farmland area. The tour was great as we got to learn all about the distilling process (a repeat performance for me having toured the Bushmills distillery in Northern Ireland) and sample some "wee drams" at the end of the tour. We were given the option of trying three different labels--12-year, 15-year French Oak, and 18-year--with or without a bit of water. Being a Jack Daniels drinker, I was willing to at least sample them all. Verdict: While I appreciate them all, I enjoy not having my throat catch fire every time I drink and will stick to my wussy American bourbon. Once my sisters and I pulled my drunken father out of the duck pond outside (just kidding), I presented him with a small bottle of the French Oak and a Glenlivet hat as a belated birthday present. My mother asked if she could put some in her coffee instead and was promptly (but politely) turned down.

Speaking of whiskey, I should probably tell you one of the small highlights of this trip: our bus driver Tony. Tony comes from County Cork in Ireland. I've made it a point to listen to anything Tony has to say because he's usually "taking the piss" (i.e., making fun of people) and is almost always hilarious. Case in point: One of the other tour members asked if Tony had seen her lipstick that she'd left on the bus. He responded, "Sorry, it wasn't my shade!" My sisters and I have often caught him talking to himself, but it makes sense in my mind: If I had to drive around American tourists all day in the country of my enemies (Britain), I'd probably keep to myself as well.

Our next stop was Balmoral, the summer residence for the Queen. It was nice, but in all honesty, it was more of a nice lunch stop than anything spectacular. The only room open to the public is the ballroom, and the weather was too wet and rainy for any sort of garden tours. If any of you have seen The Queen, you're already pretty familiar with the location.

From Balmoral, we then headed out of the Highlands back into the Lowlands to Edinburgh. The drive through the Highlands was again lovely with sweeping mountain vistas and neat little river valleys. I didn't catch all of it as I (like most of the people on the bus) fell asleep, but I did manage to see a Scottish ski area. As in snow skiing. I never put those two together, either.

When we arrived in Edinburgh, I was already thoroughly impressed. The buildings are just spectacular. Our hotel is right in the thick of things in the New Town, an area of Georgian architecture that includes the birthplaces and/or residences of people such as Joseph Lister and Robert Louis Stevenson. Old Town includes places such as Holyrood Castle (the home of the Queen of Scotland) and Edinburgh Castle. We toured the castle today, and I feel confident in saying Braveheart will make a lot more sense having now learned all about Robert the Bruce.
Edinburgh itself was built in a volcanic area, and the castle itself looms over the city on a rocky volcanic plug. We got some great photos of it at night.

Crap. Time's about to run out and I haven't even gotten to the haggis! Best save that for another time. We leave Scotland tomorrow for northern England, so I'll touch base again soon. By the way, I left beautiful summer Seattle weather for Seattle winter weather: it's cloudy, wet, and 65 degrees. Glad I'm used to this. :)

As Always,
Riley