Ok, I know this is way late, considering that we were in Scotland over the summer, but every time I use the bathrooms at the university here, I think with longing and affection of the public toilets in Scotland. You see, they had hot water. Every public toilet I was in. Hot water. In August. The level of cleanliness was generally good, if not equal in every place, but the availability of hot water for scouring my hands was like manna from heaven.
If only German public toilets were so accommodating. Here, there is only a cold tap, hence, no chance in hell of hot water. It makes me weep, this lack.
22 November 2007
14 October 2007
Day 9: Scotland vacation 2007
Between John harassing me to finish blogging our vacation, the rising pressure of classes starting back tomorrow, and two more trips waiting in the queue, it is time for me to finish up the Scotland trip. I’m also going back and adding a few overlooked details to days 1-8, so feel free to flip back through for some new stuff.
The ferry off of Skye only goes every 2 hours, and we didn’t want to spend half of our last day in Scotland stuck on Skye, so John reserved a spot for 8:20 AM, and we had to be there a half-hour early. Since we were sleeping on the other end of the island, we were aiming to leave by 6:30 at the latest. Driving across the island was slow-going, even though the traffic was light that time of morning. First there was the haar on the north end of the island, then the single-track roads and sheep on the road.
Our hostess at the B&B was kind enough to get up with us and make coffee and toast to go with our fast cold cereal. We didn’t make Hannah eat, trying to avoid another car-sick incident. Anyhoo, you would think after Edinburgh, we would have learned our lesson, but staying out late and getting up early seem to be the main ingredients in a Hannah barf-fest. She was hungry by the time we reached the ferry about 1 minute before loading, but she didn’t want any of the snacks we had, and the ferry only had chocolate muffins and cookies, which she would have gladly eaten, queasy or no. So she was angry and hungry for the whole ferry ride.
Once back on the mainland of Scotland, we headed east, well, after getting turned in the port where we got off the ferry. First stop, scenic barf clean-up on the side of the A830.
Second stop, Glenfinnan, site of the Glenfinnan Viaduct that was featured in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when Harry and Ron drove their flying car over the Hogwarts Express. Unfortunately, we were on a tight schedule, so we couldn’t walk closer for a better view.
John really, really wanted to drive down to the tiny island of Iona, but we kept driving and driving and not getting any closer, and Hannah was sick again. We finally ended up skipping Iona and taking another ferry across Loch Linnhe.
We took a little driving break at Loch Leven and enjoyed the sunny day and the scenery.
The Scots really seem to know what a treasure their scenery is. They’ve made lots and lots of parking areas along the roads, particularly where the scenery is especially impressive.
Then we headed for Glen Coe, but of course we got lost and ended up making a biggish detour to Kinlochleven, where we had a nice lunch and wandered around near the river. John and Hannah amused themselves stacking the smooth river rocks, and I stole a couple of smaller ones as souvenirs.
We finally made it to Glen Coe, a beautiful valley that was the site of a massacre in 1692.
By the time we got to Bridge of Orchy, it was time again to stretch our legs. For Hannah and John, of course, that meant wading in the nearest body of water, the River Orchy.
We had to stop to check out Loch Lomand and use the bathroom (desperately!). (While waiting for me, John helpfully picked up a brochure, only it was in Italian. *g*) John found a sign that indicated the direction and distance of several points of interest, and he insisted that we try to find Rob Roy’s cave. We followed what we thought was a path, but it was a dead end. We realized that the sign wasn’t saying how to get to the points of interest, just in what direction they were. On second thought, we would have had to have crossed the loch to find the cave. Oops!
On our way into Glasgow, we stopped at Dunbarton to see the castle, but we got there about 5 minutes before closing, so we didn’t get to go in.
It was just as well that we didn’t go in, because we were already starting to cut it a little close. We were supposed to turn the rental car in around 6, but our flight didn’t leave until 9 pm. We figured the rental car people wouldn’t mind if we were a bit late, but the airline wouldn’t let us check in if we were there later than 45 minutes early.
When we left Dunbarton, it was after 5, and we still had to get all the way across Glasgow to Prestwick, whose slogan “Pure dead brilliant” set John’s teeth on edge for some reason. Driving in Glasgow was a nightmare. We got stuck in traffic, we got lost trying to find the freeway, we had to find our way through a hellish detour that resembled nothing more than a rat maze, and we almost ran out of gas. Since we had the car 5 days, we had to pay in advance for the rental agency to refill it and could turn it in empty.
I talked John into checking in right away, even though there was a longish line and we hadn’t eaten yet, which turned out to be good, because the line got twice as long by the time we got through, and then we could go eat before going through security. I wanted to buy some more souvenirs, but we ran out of time. One thing I found unusual about Prestwick was the availability of an outdoor smoking area inside the security zone. It was completely enclosed in chain-link fencing, so there was no possibility of sneaking in or out without bolt-cutters, which probably would have been noticed in the x-ray machine.
The flight home was uneventful, as far as I remember, and the drive home was loooooong. It was after 2 am before we got there, so our last day of vacation lasted a good 20 hours.
The ferry off of Skye only goes every 2 hours, and we didn’t want to spend half of our last day in Scotland stuck on Skye, so John reserved a spot for 8:20 AM, and we had to be there a half-hour early. Since we were sleeping on the other end of the island, we were aiming to leave by 6:30 at the latest. Driving across the island was slow-going, even though the traffic was light that time of morning. First there was the haar on the north end of the island, then the single-track roads and sheep on the road.
Our hostess at the B&B was kind enough to get up with us and make coffee and toast to go with our fast cold cereal. We didn’t make Hannah eat, trying to avoid another car-sick incident. Anyhoo, you would think after Edinburgh, we would have learned our lesson, but staying out late and getting up early seem to be the main ingredients in a Hannah barf-fest. She was hungry by the time we reached the ferry about 1 minute before loading, but she didn’t want any of the snacks we had, and the ferry only had chocolate muffins and cookies, which she would have gladly eaten, queasy or no. So she was angry and hungry for the whole ferry ride.
Once back on the mainland of Scotland, we headed east, well, after getting turned in the port where we got off the ferry. First stop, scenic barf clean-up on the side of the A830.
Second stop, Glenfinnan, site of the Glenfinnan Viaduct that was featured in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when Harry and Ron drove their flying car over the Hogwarts Express. Unfortunately, we were on a tight schedule, so we couldn’t walk closer for a better view.
John really, really wanted to drive down to the tiny island of Iona, but we kept driving and driving and not getting any closer, and Hannah was sick again. We finally ended up skipping Iona and taking another ferry across Loch Linnhe.
We took a little driving break at Loch Leven and enjoyed the sunny day and the scenery.
The Scots really seem to know what a treasure their scenery is. They’ve made lots and lots of parking areas along the roads, particularly where the scenery is especially impressive.
Then we headed for Glen Coe, but of course we got lost and ended up making a biggish detour to Kinlochleven, where we had a nice lunch and wandered around near the river. John and Hannah amused themselves stacking the smooth river rocks, and I stole a couple of smaller ones as souvenirs.
We finally made it to Glen Coe, a beautiful valley that was the site of a massacre in 1692.
By the time we got to Bridge of Orchy, it was time again to stretch our legs. For Hannah and John, of course, that meant wading in the nearest body of water, the River Orchy.
We had to stop to check out Loch Lomand and use the bathroom (desperately!). (While waiting for me, John helpfully picked up a brochure, only it was in Italian. *g*) John found a sign that indicated the direction and distance of several points of interest, and he insisted that we try to find Rob Roy’s cave. We followed what we thought was a path, but it was a dead end. We realized that the sign wasn’t saying how to get to the points of interest, just in what direction they were. On second thought, we would have had to have crossed the loch to find the cave. Oops!
On our way into Glasgow, we stopped at Dunbarton to see the castle, but we got there about 5 minutes before closing, so we didn’t get to go in.
It was just as well that we didn’t go in, because we were already starting to cut it a little close. We were supposed to turn the rental car in around 6, but our flight didn’t leave until 9 pm. We figured the rental car people wouldn’t mind if we were a bit late, but the airline wouldn’t let us check in if we were there later than 45 minutes early.
When we left Dunbarton, it was after 5, and we still had to get all the way across Glasgow to Prestwick, whose slogan “Pure dead brilliant” set John’s teeth on edge for some reason. Driving in Glasgow was a nightmare. We got stuck in traffic, we got lost trying to find the freeway, we had to find our way through a hellish detour that resembled nothing more than a rat maze, and we almost ran out of gas. Since we had the car 5 days, we had to pay in advance for the rental agency to refill it and could turn it in empty.
I talked John into checking in right away, even though there was a longish line and we hadn’t eaten yet, which turned out to be good, because the line got twice as long by the time we got through, and then we could go eat before going through security. I wanted to buy some more souvenirs, but we ran out of time. One thing I found unusual about Prestwick was the availability of an outdoor smoking area inside the security zone. It was completely enclosed in chain-link fencing, so there was no possibility of sneaking in or out without bolt-cutters, which probably would have been noticed in the x-ray machine.
The flight home was uneventful, as far as I remember, and the drive home was loooooong. It was after 2 am before we got there, so our last day of vacation lasted a good 20 hours.
03 October 2007
Day 8: Scotland vacation 2007
We started pretty early so we could cover as much of the Isle of Skye as possible that day, but the north end, where we were staying, was almost completely obscured by thick fog, or haar, as the locals call it. We went to the Museum of Island Life first, and John got to try out his Gaelic on the man at the desk. While John and I wandered around the cottages, looking at the displays and reading signs, Hannah befriended a stray cat and drank some cocoa.
The thatched cottages were very interesting, but it was easy to see that the farmers and fishermen didn’t have an easy life. Just the wind and cold would have sent me packing after one day, but I’m a wuss that way.
The Museum was within walking (and viewing) distance of the graveyard where Flora MacDonald, the young lady who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape after the disaster at Culloden, is buried, but we didn’t go that far. We were ready to get back in the car. Then we drove around the north end of the island and up over the Quiraing. John wanted to get out and explore, and he kept extorting Hannah and I “just a little farther”. We ended up wading across a soggy expanse of sheep-poop covered marsh, thanks to John’s supernatural ability to take us into inhospitable environments.
See that big rocky thing on the right in the photo below? That’s where we had just been swimming in sheep excrement.
From there we traveled back down the east coast to Lealt Falls (still too foggy to see) and on to Portree for a quick and delicious Chinese take-away lunch.
Then we hopped back in the car to cross to the west side of the island to tour the Talisker Distillery. Despite the tour being held in English, we weren’t able to learn much thanks to the deafeningly loud machines we were inspecting. John enjoyed his complementary drink, though. He also picked up a tip in the shop that it would be cheaper to buy a bottle of Talisker in Germany than there, thanks to the difference in local taxes.
Skye is really not that big of an island, but it has lots of mountainous regions, so there are only so many places they could put roads in. Also, there are many places where the roads are what they call “single-track”, which means what it says: one lane. But there are lots of little passing places on the single-track roads, so if you meet another car, one of you should pull in and let the other one by. Most people we encountered were pretty courteous drivers, so it wasn’t a big deal, except you don’t make such good time as you might have imagined, given the size of the island.
Here is where we edged the Cuillins going back to the east side of the island and the main road heading south. Magnificent!
The main reason we headed south on this day was so John could visit the Gaelic College there and maybe get some more books and materials for his self-study of Gaelic. We turned in at the new campus, which is right on the shore, and let Hannah poke around near the water.
It turns out that the bookstore was at the old campus, though, so John ran over there while we hung out at the beach, and later in the parking lot (John had the keys, so we couldn’t wait in the car). From there we headed back north, stopping at the Old Bridge at Sligachan.
John let Hannah play down near the water while he took some photos, which I thought was a bad idea, but I was overruled. And just as I foresaw, sploosh!
Fortunately, I had taken to packing extra clothes for Hannah after the initial barf-fest in Edinburgh, but she had to change out in the open next to the car. We made it back to Portree in plenty of time to eat a hot dinner before going to a ceilidh. According to the guide we bought at the Museum of Island Life, “the word ceilidh in Gaelic means a small homely [sic] gathering of friends. In the days before the arrival of radio and television, it was customary for neighbours to meet together in the long winter evenings and to make their own entertainment.” John and I enjoyed the performances, although we agreed with Hannah that maybe the venue was a little small for the bagpipes. Imagine putting your head inside a steel barrel and allowing someone to beat on it; that’s how loud it was. But the singer, the fiddlers, the accordionist, and especially the clarsach (harp) player were just wonderful. Unfortunately, we were dumb and neglected to put an extra pair of batteries in our camera bag, so we ran out of juice after about 2 minutes. D’oh! John ran out to the car during the intermission, so we managed to get a few photos (still dim, darn it!) and a couple of video clips after the break.
This lady was amazing.
As evidenced here. (I loved how the accordionist looked completely bored while she was playing. Oh, the ennui of playing a complicated song on a complicated instrument. *sigh!*)
There was even a dancer (plus brain-damagingly loud bagpipes). The fiddler was the emcee, and she kept teasing the bagpiper about his dreadlocks. How cool is that--a bagpiper wearing traditional kilt and dreadlocks!
We were scheduled to catch an early ferry off the island the next morning, and to get to the ferry we’d have to drive alllll the way back down to the southern tip, so we left before the end in order to get a little sleep before our very long last day in Scotland. The haar had rolled in again, and it took us about an hour to get back to the B&B, which was actually run out of someone’s home, but she assured us that they never locked the door. So of course it was locked when we got there, late, and we had to tap on a window to get in. Such is the life of the world traveler.
The thatched cottages were very interesting, but it was easy to see that the farmers and fishermen didn’t have an easy life. Just the wind and cold would have sent me packing after one day, but I’m a wuss that way.
The Museum was within walking (and viewing) distance of the graveyard where Flora MacDonald, the young lady who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape after the disaster at Culloden, is buried, but we didn’t go that far. We were ready to get back in the car. Then we drove around the north end of the island and up over the Quiraing. John wanted to get out and explore, and he kept extorting Hannah and I “just a little farther”. We ended up wading across a soggy expanse of sheep-poop covered marsh, thanks to John’s supernatural ability to take us into inhospitable environments.
See that big rocky thing on the right in the photo below? That’s where we had just been swimming in sheep excrement.
From there we traveled back down the east coast to Lealt Falls (still too foggy to see) and on to Portree for a quick and delicious Chinese take-away lunch.
Then we hopped back in the car to cross to the west side of the island to tour the Talisker Distillery. Despite the tour being held in English, we weren’t able to learn much thanks to the deafeningly loud machines we were inspecting. John enjoyed his complementary drink, though. He also picked up a tip in the shop that it would be cheaper to buy a bottle of Talisker in Germany than there, thanks to the difference in local taxes.
Skye is really not that big of an island, but it has lots of mountainous regions, so there are only so many places they could put roads in. Also, there are many places where the roads are what they call “single-track”, which means what it says: one lane. But there are lots of little passing places on the single-track roads, so if you meet another car, one of you should pull in and let the other one by. Most people we encountered were pretty courteous drivers, so it wasn’t a big deal, except you don’t make such good time as you might have imagined, given the size of the island.
Here is where we edged the Cuillins going back to the east side of the island and the main road heading south. Magnificent!
The main reason we headed south on this day was so John could visit the Gaelic College there and maybe get some more books and materials for his self-study of Gaelic. We turned in at the new campus, which is right on the shore, and let Hannah poke around near the water.
It turns out that the bookstore was at the old campus, though, so John ran over there while we hung out at the beach, and later in the parking lot (John had the keys, so we couldn’t wait in the car). From there we headed back north, stopping at the Old Bridge at Sligachan.
John let Hannah play down near the water while he took some photos, which I thought was a bad idea, but I was overruled. And just as I foresaw, sploosh!
Fortunately, I had taken to packing extra clothes for Hannah after the initial barf-fest in Edinburgh, but she had to change out in the open next to the car. We made it back to Portree in plenty of time to eat a hot dinner before going to a ceilidh. According to the guide we bought at the Museum of Island Life, “the word ceilidh in Gaelic means a small homely [sic] gathering of friends. In the days before the arrival of radio and television, it was customary for neighbours to meet together in the long winter evenings and to make their own entertainment.” John and I enjoyed the performances, although we agreed with Hannah that maybe the venue was a little small for the bagpipes. Imagine putting your head inside a steel barrel and allowing someone to beat on it; that’s how loud it was. But the singer, the fiddlers, the accordionist, and especially the clarsach (harp) player were just wonderful. Unfortunately, we were dumb and neglected to put an extra pair of batteries in our camera bag, so we ran out of juice after about 2 minutes. D’oh! John ran out to the car during the intermission, so we managed to get a few photos (still dim, darn it!) and a couple of video clips after the break.
This lady was amazing.
As evidenced here. (I loved how the accordionist looked completely bored while she was playing. Oh, the ennui of playing a complicated song on a complicated instrument. *sigh!*)
There was even a dancer (plus brain-damagingly loud bagpipes). The fiddler was the emcee, and she kept teasing the bagpiper about his dreadlocks. How cool is that--a bagpiper wearing traditional kilt and dreadlocks!
We were scheduled to catch an early ferry off the island the next morning, and to get to the ferry we’d have to drive alllll the way back down to the southern tip, so we left before the end in order to get a little sleep before our very long last day in Scotland. The haar had rolled in again, and it took us about an hour to get back to the B&B, which was actually run out of someone’s home, but she assured us that they never locked the door. So of course it was locked when we got there, late, and we had to tap on a window to get in. Such is the life of the world traveler.
02 October 2007
Day 7: Scotland vacation 2007
While John finished his last enormous Scottish breakfast at the Torguish house, Hannah and I roamed around the grounds a bit. We admired their peacock:
And goose:
And the rest of the front garden:
My photos of the other side of the house didn’t turn out so well, but Hannah found a swing to amuse herself on, then one of the proprietors of the B&B (it was run by a small family consisting of a son, his girlfriend, and his parents) showed me and Hannah their hens, complete with chicks. They serve their own free-range eggs as part of the &B.
Then we were back in the rental car and heading across the Highlands towards the Isle of Skye.
We followed Loch Ness from Inverness west. We joked about looking for Nessie, the monster, but the only incarnations we saw were the various signs and statues along the Loch as we traveled. I wasn’t really sure what to expect of the Loch itself, but it turned out to be a long, narrow lake, basically.
We visited the ruins of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. This castle managed to stay standing and in use from the 13th century until the end of the 17th century, when the Grant Highlanders blew part of it up so it couldn’t be used by their enemies. Bummer.
Then we looped back around to find the national park at Glen Affric, “the most beautiful glen in Scotland”. Maybe we are not used to mentally calculating miles instead of kilometers, but we ended up driving probably 7/8 of the way there before deciding we must have passed it and turning around. Then we drove most of the way back to the turn-off at Drumnadrochit before realizing we hadn’t gone far enough. As I said many times on this trip, it’s not a family vacation if we’re not lost.
Part of the problem is that John refused to by a real road map before we left or once we arrived, so we were relying on a map of the entire UK from the rental agency and the maps in some tour guides from the library. Even after the first few times we were lost, it seemed silly (to John) to buy a map we'd only need for a few more days. I say it would have been money well spent, but I don't think I'll leave it in John's hands when the next vacation rolls around.
Once we got there, we tried following the signs to Pony (I think) Falls, but of course we ended up driving in a big circle and coming out on the other side of the forest, 5 miles from where we started. By this time, we were damned sure going to find a place to park our car, eat our lunch, and then find something interesting to see *in the forest*.
We finally did manage to hike a couple of miles (thrilling John) over to Dog Falls, which was more impressive than this photo lets on.
Unfortunately, it was also overrun with midges, so we turned around and hiked back to the car. Hannah got down in the water and played —we were smart enough to pack galoshes.
She managed to find a friend in that pool (she put it back after its photo-op).
What with all the driving back and forth, we needed gas. Imagine our surprise when we opened the outer tank cover to find NO CAP. Yes, we were rented a car with no cap for keeping the gas inside the car. I don’t imagine any sloshed out, but it might have evaporated. It did seem that even with the extra faffing about, we went through that first tank kind of fast. Fortunately, the gas station—a very small, old-fashioned kind of service station—had a plastic cap we could buy for about 5 bucks.
From there we drove along Glen Shiel to Eilean Donan Castle, alleged to be the most-photographed castle in Scotland.
As you can see, Hannah loves to be photographed. We managed to get there early enough to go through the castle. You can take a virtual tour here. (Click on the picture right away, or you’ll be woozy in 5 seconds.) The kitchen was really cool. There were wax (or maybe plaster) dummies set up to look like the kitchen staff, and lots of fake food and stuff. Hannah went around putting her fingers in noses and pretending to pet plastic cats and stuff. She didn’t care for the fake animals (rabbits and chickens) hanging in the pantry, waiting to be plucked and cooked. There were also lots of neat signs to read explaining how things were done back when that kitchen was still in use in 1932.
That was the last bit of mainland Scotland we visited that day. We drove over the bridge from Kyle to Kyleakin, and then we had to drive 2/3 of the length of Skye to get to our B&B in Staffin. We turned onto a dirt lane that we thought led to the B&B (see propensity to get lost, above), but alas, all we found was a couple of kids who informed us we weren’t allowed to turn around in one of the driveways. We would have if they weren’t standing there watching us, but we ended up backing the whole length of the lane, which passed through window-high weeds.
We finally found the B&B, about a block further down, and got our stuff stowed, then we jaunted off for a quick dinner in a teeny cafe. Hannah wanted to check out the “beach” we had seen a sign for, so we turned off the road. Holy mackerel! It was freezing by the water! I didn’t even make it all the way to the shore, just turned around and went to the car. Crazy John and Hannah stayed down for a good 15 or 20 minutes, collecting shells and taking photos. At least John got some good pictures out of it.
And goose:
And the rest of the front garden:
My photos of the other side of the house didn’t turn out so well, but Hannah found a swing to amuse herself on, then one of the proprietors of the B&B (it was run by a small family consisting of a son, his girlfriend, and his parents) showed me and Hannah their hens, complete with chicks. They serve their own free-range eggs as part of the &B.
Then we were back in the rental car and heading across the Highlands towards the Isle of Skye.
We followed Loch Ness from Inverness west. We joked about looking for Nessie, the monster, but the only incarnations we saw were the various signs and statues along the Loch as we traveled. I wasn’t really sure what to expect of the Loch itself, but it turned out to be a long, narrow lake, basically.
We visited the ruins of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. This castle managed to stay standing and in use from the 13th century until the end of the 17th century, when the Grant Highlanders blew part of it up so it couldn’t be used by their enemies. Bummer.
Then we looped back around to find the national park at Glen Affric, “the most beautiful glen in Scotland”. Maybe we are not used to mentally calculating miles instead of kilometers, but we ended up driving probably 7/8 of the way there before deciding we must have passed it and turning around. Then we drove most of the way back to the turn-off at Drumnadrochit before realizing we hadn’t gone far enough. As I said many times on this trip, it’s not a family vacation if we’re not lost.
Part of the problem is that John refused to by a real road map before we left or once we arrived, so we were relying on a map of the entire UK from the rental agency and the maps in some tour guides from the library. Even after the first few times we were lost, it seemed silly (to John) to buy a map we'd only need for a few more days. I say it would have been money well spent, but I don't think I'll leave it in John's hands when the next vacation rolls around.
Once we got there, we tried following the signs to Pony (I think) Falls, but of course we ended up driving in a big circle and coming out on the other side of the forest, 5 miles from where we started. By this time, we were damned sure going to find a place to park our car, eat our lunch, and then find something interesting to see *in the forest*.
We finally did manage to hike a couple of miles (thrilling John) over to Dog Falls, which was more impressive than this photo lets on.
Unfortunately, it was also overrun with midges, so we turned around and hiked back to the car. Hannah got down in the water and played —we were smart enough to pack galoshes.
She managed to find a friend in that pool (she put it back after its photo-op).
What with all the driving back and forth, we needed gas. Imagine our surprise when we opened the outer tank cover to find NO CAP. Yes, we were rented a car with no cap for keeping the gas inside the car. I don’t imagine any sloshed out, but it might have evaporated. It did seem that even with the extra faffing about, we went through that first tank kind of fast. Fortunately, the gas station—a very small, old-fashioned kind of service station—had a plastic cap we could buy for about 5 bucks.
From there we drove along Glen Shiel to Eilean Donan Castle, alleged to be the most-photographed castle in Scotland.
As you can see, Hannah loves to be photographed. We managed to get there early enough to go through the castle. You can take a virtual tour here. (Click on the picture right away, or you’ll be woozy in 5 seconds.) The kitchen was really cool. There were wax (or maybe plaster) dummies set up to look like the kitchen staff, and lots of fake food and stuff. Hannah went around putting her fingers in noses and pretending to pet plastic cats and stuff. She didn’t care for the fake animals (rabbits and chickens) hanging in the pantry, waiting to be plucked and cooked. There were also lots of neat signs to read explaining how things were done back when that kitchen was still in use in 1932.
That was the last bit of mainland Scotland we visited that day. We drove over the bridge from Kyle to Kyleakin, and then we had to drive 2/3 of the length of Skye to get to our B&B in Staffin. We turned onto a dirt lane that we thought led to the B&B (see propensity to get lost, above), but alas, all we found was a couple of kids who informed us we weren’t allowed to turn around in one of the driveways. We would have if they weren’t standing there watching us, but we ended up backing the whole length of the lane, which passed through window-high weeds.
We finally found the B&B, about a block further down, and got our stuff stowed, then we jaunted off for a quick dinner in a teeny cafe. Hannah wanted to check out the “beach” we had seen a sign for, so we turned off the road. Holy mackerel! It was freezing by the water! I didn’t even make it all the way to the shore, just turned around and went to the car. Crazy John and Hannah stayed down for a good 15 or 20 minutes, collecting shells and taking photos. At least John got some good pictures out of it.
15 September 2007
Day 6: Scotland vacation 2007
We got up and were able to have a proper look at the B & B.
It was formerly the home of Alastair MacLean, who wrote the novel The Guns of Navarone, which was also made into a movie with Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn.
In addition to renting out rooms, they raise poultry. They even have a goose, of the non-edible variety (ie, a pet).
After we downed another giant, hot breakfast, we hopped in the rental car and headed out into the Highlands. First stop: Culloden Battlefield. This is the location of the last major battle on British soil. Ever heard of Bonnie Prince Charlie? He and a few supporters thought he should be the kind of Scotland and England, but the English and quite a few other Scots thought otherwise (he was Catholic), and this is where they fought it out. It was actually over in about 45 minutes, with most of Charlie’s forces slaughtered and Charlie himself on the run.
Here Hannah reenacts the command to charge.
At the next stop, we were dumb and left our camera in the car, which in turn means that I am dumb and forgot to mention in the earlier draft of this post our visit to Cawdor Castle, which was totally wonderful. We couldn't have taken photos inside anyway, but the grounds were beautiful, and I am glad I picked up the full guide with photos since I wasn't able to take any of my own. The house itself is the actual home of the Earl of Cawdor during the off-season; it felt weird walking through rooms that real people live in. Of course, I wouldn't mind being one of those people--the rooms looked comfortable and interesting, not just opulent like some of the places we've visited. The signs for the rooms were often hilarious, and I found out in the gift shop that they were actually written by the 6th Earl of Cawdor himself. An excerpt from "The Modern Kitchen": "This was once a dark and dreary place known as the School Room and may have been responsible for turning some of the Campbell ladies into confirmed spinsters and professional invalids." *hee!*
While planning the trip, John promised to find something that Hannah would find fun. So after the battlefield (what kid doesn’t like a battlefield?), we headed to Carrbridge and the Landmark Forest Theme Park. (I don’t know the purpose of all the extra dots on the letters on their written materials, but it is very annoying.) We had a nice time, but Hannah was in a bit of a snit because it turned out that the two things she wanted to do—the Ropeworx and the Skydive—required you to be 1.5 meters tall to do them. I don’t really blame her, since she had been looking forward to them. But we rode the water slide with her, all three slides.
And then she was made queen of the forest (at least in her mind).
The park is set in a forest, and John spent his time grazing the blueberries and cowberries there. It didn’t seem to worry him that people brought their dogs there, and that dogs occasionally need to pee, and that they seem to prefer bushes... It was kind of a game, harassing him about it.
Hannah didn’t want to try sawing wood, and she was too unhappy about not being able to climb on the rope things, so we spent a lot of time on the Tree Top Trail, a wooden, elevated trail through one corner of the woods. We only saw one squirrel up there, but then when we got to the feeding area, we saw several. Look at the red eye—evil, I tell you!
On the way out of town, John stopped to take some photos of the Old Bridge of Carr (hence the town’s name, Carrbridge).
To round out the day, we drove into Inverness. John was the trip researcher, and he hadn’t found out anything that made him want to invest a lot of our time in Inverness, so we bought a few groceries and ate a quick picnic dinner next to the River Ness. Hannah entertained herself flinging crumbs to some enormous seagulls until we were ready to take a stroll along the River.
John thinks that a day of vacation in which we aren't on the move from 8 am to 10 pm is a day wasted. Hannah and I are firm believers in relaxation being a part, however small, of the vacation experience, so when it gets dark, we retire to the safety and comfort of our hotel room. On this evening, John decided to find the River Nairn. In the dark. Alone. When he got back about an hour later, we found 2 ticks on him. Hannah named them Andy and Susan. We didn't have any alcohol or tweezers, so John pulled them out as best he could, then we daubed some of Hannah's purple nail polish on the spots. It works for chiggers... As far as I have been able to find out, Scottish ticks don't seem to carry any really nasty diseases, but that doesn't mean I wasn't a tad pissed at him for wading through shoulder-high weeds in the dark in a strange place near a river. grrr...
It was formerly the home of Alastair MacLean, who wrote the novel The Guns of Navarone, which was also made into a movie with Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn.
In addition to renting out rooms, they raise poultry. They even have a goose, of the non-edible variety (ie, a pet).
After we downed another giant, hot breakfast, we hopped in the rental car and headed out into the Highlands. First stop: Culloden Battlefield. This is the location of the last major battle on British soil. Ever heard of Bonnie Prince Charlie? He and a few supporters thought he should be the kind of Scotland and England, but the English and quite a few other Scots thought otherwise (he was Catholic), and this is where they fought it out. It was actually over in about 45 minutes, with most of Charlie’s forces slaughtered and Charlie himself on the run.
Here Hannah reenacts the command to charge.
At the next stop, we were dumb and left our camera in the car, which in turn means that I am dumb and forgot to mention in the earlier draft of this post our visit to Cawdor Castle, which was totally wonderful. We couldn't have taken photos inside anyway, but the grounds were beautiful, and I am glad I picked up the full guide with photos since I wasn't able to take any of my own. The house itself is the actual home of the Earl of Cawdor during the off-season; it felt weird walking through rooms that real people live in. Of course, I wouldn't mind being one of those people--the rooms looked comfortable and interesting, not just opulent like some of the places we've visited. The signs for the rooms were often hilarious, and I found out in the gift shop that they were actually written by the 6th Earl of Cawdor himself. An excerpt from "The Modern Kitchen": "This was once a dark and dreary place known as the School Room and may have been responsible for turning some of the Campbell ladies into confirmed spinsters and professional invalids." *hee!*
While planning the trip, John promised to find something that Hannah would find fun. So after the battlefield (what kid doesn’t like a battlefield?), we headed to Carrbridge and the Landmark Forest Theme Park. (I don’t know the purpose of all the extra dots on the letters on their written materials, but it is very annoying.) We had a nice time, but Hannah was in a bit of a snit because it turned out that the two things she wanted to do—the Ropeworx and the Skydive—required you to be 1.5 meters tall to do them. I don’t really blame her, since she had been looking forward to them. But we rode the water slide with her, all three slides.
And then she was made queen of the forest (at least in her mind).
The park is set in a forest, and John spent his time grazing the blueberries and cowberries there. It didn’t seem to worry him that people brought their dogs there, and that dogs occasionally need to pee, and that they seem to prefer bushes... It was kind of a game, harassing him about it.
Hannah didn’t want to try sawing wood, and she was too unhappy about not being able to climb on the rope things, so we spent a lot of time on the Tree Top Trail, a wooden, elevated trail through one corner of the woods. We only saw one squirrel up there, but then when we got to the feeding area, we saw several. Look at the red eye—evil, I tell you!
On the way out of town, John stopped to take some photos of the Old Bridge of Carr (hence the town’s name, Carrbridge).
To round out the day, we drove into Inverness. John was the trip researcher, and he hadn’t found out anything that made him want to invest a lot of our time in Inverness, so we bought a few groceries and ate a quick picnic dinner next to the River Ness. Hannah entertained herself flinging crumbs to some enormous seagulls until we were ready to take a stroll along the River.
John thinks that a day of vacation in which we aren't on the move from 8 am to 10 pm is a day wasted. Hannah and I are firm believers in relaxation being a part, however small, of the vacation experience, so when it gets dark, we retire to the safety and comfort of our hotel room. On this evening, John decided to find the River Nairn. In the dark. Alone. When he got back about an hour later, we found 2 ticks on him. Hannah named them Andy and Susan. We didn't have any alcohol or tweezers, so John pulled them out as best he could, then we daubed some of Hannah's purple nail polish on the spots. It works for chiggers... As far as I have been able to find out, Scottish ticks don't seem to carry any really nasty diseases, but that doesn't mean I wasn't a tad pissed at him for wading through shoulder-high weeds in the dark in a strange place near a river. grrr...
07 September 2007
Day 5: Scotland vacation 2007
John had reserved a rental car and wanted to pick it up as early as possible, so we hustled Hannah out of bed early early and down to breakfast. John got the hot breakfast every morning we were in Edinburgh (actually, every morning but the last one of our vacation), but I often couldn’t stomach so much food first thing in the morning, so I would have cold cereal. Now, I know that in the UK, they have a slightly different way of putting things, but I was totally cracked up by the packaging for Crunchy Nut cereal: “...it’s ludicrously tasty!”
We finished breakfast, drug our stuff downstairs, checked out, and hopped on the bus. There we sat in the back row amid a big pile of suitcases and wet umbrellas (it was raining), and Hannah started to look decidedly green around the gills. I was just able to grab a plastic bag out of a side pocket on my suitcase when she started blowing chunks. Fortunately, it all went in the bag and on her hand, but I also had water and tissues, so we got her calmed down and cleaned up before we ever hit Edinburgh proper.
We hadn’t been on the bus we needed to take to the rental agency before, so we weren’t sure how far to go, but super-Mom to the rescue again—I saw the name of the street we needed and we were able to hop off and backtrack a little. We found the rental agency, and it was full of unhappy campers. One guy was supposed to get a van delivered to him the night before, to use while his work van was in the shop, and he was fairly pissed to have to put all his tools back in the malfunctioning van and drive down to their office that morning. But I think part of the office’s problem was that not everyone had a reservation like us (we went through the paperwork pretty quickly), and in addition, some of them didn’t speak English well enough to handle such a transaction.
Anyhoo, badmouthing of the agency aside, John learned to drive from the right side of the car on the left side of the road via the sink or swim method, and he did great! The car was the English version of our very own Roswitha (an Opel Astra), so the controls were familiar, but the windshield wipers went backwards (right to left instead of left to right), which made sense, because the driver is on the right. Other small things freaked me out at first, like the No U-Turn sign that was “backwards”:
John wanted to name our temporary wheels "Senior Car", but Hannah wanted "Jerry", so they compromised with "Senior Jerry." He was a good little car.
John had insisted that there was a weird dog-food smell in Edinburgh, and he especially noticed it in the car while we were still in Edinburgh. Just the other day, after feeding the cats, he commented, "Smells like Edinburgh." So if you ever find yourself thinking of Edinburgh and cat food in the same breath, know you are not alone.
It continued to rain as we headed north into the Highlands, so it was hard to see the scenery that a guy waiting for a van at the rental agency had promised was beautiful. When we got to Perth, we turned off to visit Scone Palace, where Scottish kings were once crowned.
John had a (wet) seat on the Stone of Destiny, but he says he didn’t feel any different afterward (except wetter).
We ate inside the Palace itself, in a cozy little bistro that made a mean tomato soup, and then we let Hannah play on the Adventure Playground to work off some excess energy.
But we wouldn’t let her chase the peacock.
Nor the white one in the parking lot that she called "Turkey!".
We didn’t go into the Palace itself, but we went all through the lovely grounds. We even tried out the hedge maze.
After that we headed to our B & B outside of Inverness, the Torguish House. I think we were in the Graham Room. They had it decorated in “Farm Chic”, but their web site doesn’t show the last little detail, the “farm” toilet seat.
We finished breakfast, drug our stuff downstairs, checked out, and hopped on the bus. There we sat in the back row amid a big pile of suitcases and wet umbrellas (it was raining), and Hannah started to look decidedly green around the gills. I was just able to grab a plastic bag out of a side pocket on my suitcase when she started blowing chunks. Fortunately, it all went in the bag and on her hand, but I also had water and tissues, so we got her calmed down and cleaned up before we ever hit Edinburgh proper.
We hadn’t been on the bus we needed to take to the rental agency before, so we weren’t sure how far to go, but super-Mom to the rescue again—I saw the name of the street we needed and we were able to hop off and backtrack a little. We found the rental agency, and it was full of unhappy campers. One guy was supposed to get a van delivered to him the night before, to use while his work van was in the shop, and he was fairly pissed to have to put all his tools back in the malfunctioning van and drive down to their office that morning. But I think part of the office’s problem was that not everyone had a reservation like us (we went through the paperwork pretty quickly), and in addition, some of them didn’t speak English well enough to handle such a transaction.
Anyhoo, badmouthing of the agency aside, John learned to drive from the right side of the car on the left side of the road via the sink or swim method, and he did great! The car was the English version of our very own Roswitha (an Opel Astra), so the controls were familiar, but the windshield wipers went backwards (right to left instead of left to right), which made sense, because the driver is on the right. Other small things freaked me out at first, like the No U-Turn sign that was “backwards”:
John wanted to name our temporary wheels "Senior Car", but Hannah wanted "Jerry", so they compromised with "Senior Jerry." He was a good little car.
John had insisted that there was a weird dog-food smell in Edinburgh, and he especially noticed it in the car while we were still in Edinburgh. Just the other day, after feeding the cats, he commented, "Smells like Edinburgh." So if you ever find yourself thinking of Edinburgh and cat food in the same breath, know you are not alone.
It continued to rain as we headed north into the Highlands, so it was hard to see the scenery that a guy waiting for a van at the rental agency had promised was beautiful. When we got to Perth, we turned off to visit Scone Palace, where Scottish kings were once crowned.
John had a (wet) seat on the Stone of Destiny, but he says he didn’t feel any different afterward (except wetter).
We ate inside the Palace itself, in a cozy little bistro that made a mean tomato soup, and then we let Hannah play on the Adventure Playground to work off some excess energy.
But we wouldn’t let her chase the peacock.
Nor the white one in the parking lot that she called "Turkey!".
We didn’t go into the Palace itself, but we went all through the lovely grounds. We even tried out the hedge maze.
After that we headed to our B & B outside of Inverness, the Torguish House. I think we were in the Graham Room. They had it decorated in “Farm Chic”, but their web site doesn’t show the last little detail, the “farm” toilet seat.
01 September 2007
Day 4: Scotland vacation 2007
We started the day on the east end of the Royal Mile at Holyrood Palace, the Queen’s official residence in Scotland. We didn’t actually go into the palace, because it was muy expensive and we were saving up our castle viewing for that day for the Edinburgh Castle.
Holyrood is right across the road from the Scottish Parliament, and that is one weird-looking government building. This side is funky enough, but the other side is covered in bamboo (from the cover of which a pigeon crapped on John, poor baby).
Our main reason for being down that way, though, was to go to the Our Dynamic Earth museum, which we didn’t get photos of because it was raining when we got there. It was really cool, and I would highly recommend it to anyone with kids or without. The beginning was a little cheesy, with a trip through time to show how the earth was formed and different geological processes, like volcanic eruptions and glaciation, but the exhibits you go through at your own pace were very interesting. There were lots of hands-on exhibits and video clips, so Hannah wasn’t overly bored. My favorite was a clip that showed how mammals differentiated into different species (albeit in a very, VERY simplified way). A group of rat-like mammals split up into smaller groups. One group climbed a tree and tried, one at a time, to reach some fruit at the end of a branch; the first two fell to a gruesome, splatty death, but the third sprouted wings and became a bat. The second group tried to catch some fish, but the first rat drowned (glug!), the second developed into something a little bigger and seal-like, but drowned anyway, and the third developed into a dolphin and happily snagged the fish. The third group went to some grasslands. The first rat ate some grass, barfed, and croaked; the second developed into a bigger animal, ate some grass, barfed, and croaked; the third developed into a horse and munched away at the grass. I found it highly entertaining, but then again, rats that go splat!, gurgle!, and barf! are funny, right?
If you go across a road on the east side of Holyrood and Our Dynamic Earth, you are at the Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat. This is how it looks as you drive into Edinburgh from the south:
The Crags are on the left, and Arthur’s Seat on the right. From Holyrood, you see the top of Arthur’s Seat over the Crags, so we didn’t realize at first that it wasn’t one formation. We headed up the west side of the Crags, along with quite a few other visitors. Hannah wanted to climb right over the top, and even John, the intrepid explorer, was starting to get nervous on that account. Here she is taking a break about 10 feet above the path we were on:
Here she’s planning to have a picnic lunch:
Before we made it around to the south side of the Crags, we got a glimpse of the Firth of Forth (the mouth of the river Forth) in the distance:
When we got to the east side of the Crags, we were still a grueling climb away from the top of Arthur’s Seat, a climb we decided to pass on.
After that we headed back up the Royal Mile, with a quick stop in the tiny Museum of Edinburgh.
I believe a large part of the center of Edinburgh is Georgian. Here’s a pretty example from the corner of Cockburn and the Royal Mile (whatever it is called at that point):
The Royal Mile stretches between Holyrood on the east end and the Castle on the west end, so we managed to walk the entire stretch of it on day 4. We spent about an hour-and-a-half looking around the castle; we saw the Scottish crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, and some other interesting exhibits about Scotland’s royal history. I really have to recommend the audio tour if you have a kid with you; it kept Hannah from getting too bored while I read the same info at each display.
I really liked this plaque; those golden unicorns seem to be thinking, “Hey! What you lookin’ at?!”
Afterwards we went a ways back down the Royal Mile looking for entertainment and food.
After chowing down some Indian food (John thought it would be our last chance before we got to the Highlands, but every other restaurant in Inverness was a curry take-away *g*), we wandered among the Fringe Festival street shows. We saw one act of a couple in chicken suits, and another contortionist, this one better than the last: he stuffed himself through a squash racket, a tennis racket, and a toilet seat, all at the same time. Here he’s getting ready to juggle some knives while balancing on a pole.
At some point we went into St. Gile’s, but maybe it was on day 3. It’s a gorgeous church, and I kind of wish we had had more time to look around there.
As we walked around Edinburgh (and my pedometer said we had walked 6.85 miles in two days), I noticed that there weren’t really any pigeons, but seagulls everywhere. You could see them swooping overhead and hear them calling. Edinburgh is right on the east coast, so that shouldn’t be surprising, but it made Edinburgh stand out for me.
Also, if you are planning on going there, take a warm jacket. I had my winter coat with the lining zipped out of it, and I wished on a couple of occasions that I had brought the lining, too. “August” does not necessarily equal “warm” in Northern Europe, although we tend to forget that.
And now on to the highlight of the day, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo on the grounds of the castle. Several different military bands performed. We heard lots of bagpipes and drums from the Scottish regiments, but there were performers from all over the place:
The Taipei First Girls’ Senior High School Honour Guard and Drum Corps was an all-girl marching band, with flags and rifles.
Middlesex County Volunteer Fifes and Drums was an American group from Massachusetts who wore uniforms like from the American Revolution, complete with tri-cornered hat and powdered wigs.
The band of the Moscow Military Conservatoire had the crowd eating out of their hands. Scots are known for their humor, and that was true of everyone we met, but these Russians took the cake.
The Mounted Band of the Blues and Royals played from horseback. I don’t think I could manage to play clarinet and steer a horse; marching and playing was hard enough!
There was a big group of Highland dancers from Scotland, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia, and a team of mini-BMX stunt riders from about 10-16 years old.
My favorite was the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra, a military steel drum band. I know that military bands play at special occasions, but I thought that certain instruments (like bagpipes and trumpets and drums) were formerly used in battle for announcing charges and such. It’s hard to imagine attacking the enemy to the sound of steel drums. I guess you could lull them into limbo-ing and then give them the chop when they least expect it...
Our photos all came out blurry, but here is the finale, only semi-blurry:
Holyrood is right across the road from the Scottish Parliament, and that is one weird-looking government building. This side is funky enough, but the other side is covered in bamboo (from the cover of which a pigeon crapped on John, poor baby).
Our main reason for being down that way, though, was to go to the Our Dynamic Earth museum, which we didn’t get photos of because it was raining when we got there. It was really cool, and I would highly recommend it to anyone with kids or without. The beginning was a little cheesy, with a trip through time to show how the earth was formed and different geological processes, like volcanic eruptions and glaciation, but the exhibits you go through at your own pace were very interesting. There were lots of hands-on exhibits and video clips, so Hannah wasn’t overly bored. My favorite was a clip that showed how mammals differentiated into different species (albeit in a very, VERY simplified way). A group of rat-like mammals split up into smaller groups. One group climbed a tree and tried, one at a time, to reach some fruit at the end of a branch; the first two fell to a gruesome, splatty death, but the third sprouted wings and became a bat. The second group tried to catch some fish, but the first rat drowned (glug!), the second developed into something a little bigger and seal-like, but drowned anyway, and the third developed into a dolphin and happily snagged the fish. The third group went to some grasslands. The first rat ate some grass, barfed, and croaked; the second developed into a bigger animal, ate some grass, barfed, and croaked; the third developed into a horse and munched away at the grass. I found it highly entertaining, but then again, rats that go splat!, gurgle!, and barf! are funny, right?
If you go across a road on the east side of Holyrood and Our Dynamic Earth, you are at the Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat. This is how it looks as you drive into Edinburgh from the south:
The Crags are on the left, and Arthur’s Seat on the right. From Holyrood, you see the top of Arthur’s Seat over the Crags, so we didn’t realize at first that it wasn’t one formation. We headed up the west side of the Crags, along with quite a few other visitors. Hannah wanted to climb right over the top, and even John, the intrepid explorer, was starting to get nervous on that account. Here she is taking a break about 10 feet above the path we were on:
Here she’s planning to have a picnic lunch:
Before we made it around to the south side of the Crags, we got a glimpse of the Firth of Forth (the mouth of the river Forth) in the distance:
When we got to the east side of the Crags, we were still a grueling climb away from the top of Arthur’s Seat, a climb we decided to pass on.
After that we headed back up the Royal Mile, with a quick stop in the tiny Museum of Edinburgh.
I believe a large part of the center of Edinburgh is Georgian. Here’s a pretty example from the corner of Cockburn and the Royal Mile (whatever it is called at that point):
The Royal Mile stretches between Holyrood on the east end and the Castle on the west end, so we managed to walk the entire stretch of it on day 4. We spent about an hour-and-a-half looking around the castle; we saw the Scottish crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, and some other interesting exhibits about Scotland’s royal history. I really have to recommend the audio tour if you have a kid with you; it kept Hannah from getting too bored while I read the same info at each display.
I really liked this plaque; those golden unicorns seem to be thinking, “Hey! What you lookin’ at?!”
Afterwards we went a ways back down the Royal Mile looking for entertainment and food.
After chowing down some Indian food (John thought it would be our last chance before we got to the Highlands, but every other restaurant in Inverness was a curry take-away *g*), we wandered among the Fringe Festival street shows. We saw one act of a couple in chicken suits, and another contortionist, this one better than the last: he stuffed himself through a squash racket, a tennis racket, and a toilet seat, all at the same time. Here he’s getting ready to juggle some knives while balancing on a pole.
At some point we went into St. Gile’s, but maybe it was on day 3. It’s a gorgeous church, and I kind of wish we had had more time to look around there.
As we walked around Edinburgh (and my pedometer said we had walked 6.85 miles in two days), I noticed that there weren’t really any pigeons, but seagulls everywhere. You could see them swooping overhead and hear them calling. Edinburgh is right on the east coast, so that shouldn’t be surprising, but it made Edinburgh stand out for me.
Also, if you are planning on going there, take a warm jacket. I had my winter coat with the lining zipped out of it, and I wished on a couple of occasions that I had brought the lining, too. “August” does not necessarily equal “warm” in Northern Europe, although we tend to forget that.
And now on to the highlight of the day, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo on the grounds of the castle. Several different military bands performed. We heard lots of bagpipes and drums from the Scottish regiments, but there were performers from all over the place:
The Taipei First Girls’ Senior High School Honour Guard and Drum Corps was an all-girl marching band, with flags and rifles.
Middlesex County Volunteer Fifes and Drums was an American group from Massachusetts who wore uniforms like from the American Revolution, complete with tri-cornered hat and powdered wigs.
The band of the Moscow Military Conservatoire had the crowd eating out of their hands. Scots are known for their humor, and that was true of everyone we met, but these Russians took the cake.
The Mounted Band of the Blues and Royals played from horseback. I don’t think I could manage to play clarinet and steer a horse; marching and playing was hard enough!
There was a big group of Highland dancers from Scotland, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia, and a team of mini-BMX stunt riders from about 10-16 years old.
My favorite was the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra, a military steel drum band. I know that military bands play at special occasions, but I thought that certain instruments (like bagpipes and trumpets and drums) were formerly used in battle for announcing charges and such. It’s hard to imagine attacking the enemy to the sound of steel drums. I guess you could lull them into limbo-ing and then give them the chop when they least expect it...
Our photos all came out blurry, but here is the finale, only semi-blurry:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)