Haven't written in a bit because we have been adventuring as usual! we took the 4 hour ferry from Isle of Islay to Oban, on the mainland of Scotland. It was a beautiful ride, super windy and felt like classic Scotland. Everyone has been telling us the nice weather we have had is rather unusual so it was nice to feel the "real" weather a little bit. We stopped in at Oban Distillery, of course, and then headed up the coast to Skye. We got in late-ish to our B&B and Peter greeted us saying "I thought I was expecting French people!" Because of our last name. :)
We are in the cutest little B&B on the harbor at Portree. Excellent full Scottish breakfasts every morning. Our hosts have been super helpful in suggestions for our day trips.
Yesterday we made it to Talisker Distillery, #10! We took in the gorgeous scenery, got a little lost in the hills, literally, and enjoyed walking through the town. We also did a short hike to the Fairy Pools (aka waterfalls) which were beautiful. The clearest water I have ever seen, in a series of waterfalls through a small valley, with sheep grazing at the foot of the mountain. :)
Today we went and hiked up to the Old Man of Storr, among the sheep! Some of those sheep were braver than me with how high they were climbing. Gorgeous hike, cant wait to share pictures! Got lost again trying to find another hike, found Kilt Rock, another waterfall this time shooting over a cliff into the sea. Had a picnic by another harbor town, found a brewery (more on their lackluster beer later) and then came back early to pack :(
Was up to the guys to figure out how to get all their Scotch in our bags for the trip home...
Tomorrow we drive to the Inverness airport, fly to London, then to Iceland for 17 hrs. Then from Iceland home. Probably wont have WiFi in between, but who knows. We get home Sunday eve!
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Friday, October 18, 2013
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Bunnahabhain is a fun name, but Bruichladdich is better.
What a day! We enjoyed a lovely breakfast here at the B&B, full Scottish country breakfast with eggs, potato cake, beans, bacon and sausage, coffee, tea, OJ and toast. Kept us fueled for our morning of exploration.
We drive to the wildlife sanctuary and saw the thousands of Barnacle Geese who have come down from Iceland. Never have seen that many birds at once. Was quite the experience to hear them and see them take off when startled...there is a Golden Eagle that likes to dive into them and Jeff and James saw him startle he geese a few times but I didn't catch it. We walked out to a hide closer to the Loch they were all on, and the hide overlooked a cow pasture and the cows came straight up to the windows of the hide. It was super fun and relaxing. Beautiful skies and weather again! Drove through the countryside, seeing the other side of the Island, toward the Atlantic. Gorgeous blue ocean, ended up near a sandy beach! Grabbed some lunch from a distillery's cafe and picnicked beside the water. Gorgeous. Then I got a chance to drive so the guys could enjoy their Scotch freely. Easier on the small one lane roads, eased into it before we made into some bigger towns, but it is really quite easy on this island. Never-ending stunning views ... Learning a lot about the scotch whiskies, finding several new favorites. At Bruichladdich Distillery, Jeff decided on a type of Scotch to get, and he got to fill his own bottle straight from the cask! So exciting. Then we stopped by the Islay Woolen Mill, the smallest textile mill in all of Britain. We met the owner, and he showed us around, from his old spinning machines, to the weavers. He makes all the wool tartans for the distilleries on the island (they each have their own) and has made wool items for 17 movies, including Braveheart. I found my wool blanket! He grabbed it from upstairs and stuck a label on just for us. Now enjoying our last evening on Islay, before our 4 hour ferry journey to Oban and drive up to Isle of Skye tomorrow. I left out details of some of the other distilleries we have gone to, because we officially hit all 8 on the island in these 2 days! Big check off Jeff's bucket list.
We drive to the wildlife sanctuary and saw the thousands of Barnacle Geese who have come down from Iceland. Never have seen that many birds at once. Was quite the experience to hear them and see them take off when startled...there is a Golden Eagle that likes to dive into them and Jeff and James saw him startle he geese a few times but I didn't catch it. We walked out to a hide closer to the Loch they were all on, and the hide overlooked a cow pasture and the cows came straight up to the windows of the hide. It was super fun and relaxing. Beautiful skies and weather again! Drove through the countryside, seeing the other side of the Island, toward the Atlantic. Gorgeous blue ocean, ended up near a sandy beach! Grabbed some lunch from a distillery's cafe and picnicked beside the water. Gorgeous. Then I got a chance to drive so the guys could enjoy their Scotch freely. Easier on the small one lane roads, eased into it before we made into some bigger towns, but it is really quite easy on this island. Never-ending stunning views ... Learning a lot about the scotch whiskies, finding several new favorites. At Bruichladdich Distillery, Jeff decided on a type of Scotch to get, and he got to fill his own bottle straight from the cask! So exciting. Then we stopped by the Islay Woolen Mill, the smallest textile mill in all of Britain. We met the owner, and he showed us around, from his old spinning machines, to the weavers. He makes all the wool tartans for the distilleries on the island (they each have their own) and has made wool items for 17 movies, including Braveheart. I found my wool blanket! He grabbed it from upstairs and stuck a label on just for us. Now enjoying our last evening on Islay, before our 4 hour ferry journey to Oban and drive up to Isle of Skye tomorrow. I left out details of some of the other distilleries we have gone to, because we officially hit all 8 on the island in these 2 days! Big check off Jeff's bucket list.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Bruises, castles and Lochs
I have 9 bruises on my legs and counting. Each one larger than a quarter. And one larger than ... A piece of toast? I fell up the stairs in Bordeaux. I'm only sharing this because all of the bruises are showing up now and hurting! HA! Too much bumping around on trains and planes and with luggage.
We had an absolutely gorgeous drive through the Scottish countryside today. Mountains, rolling hills, fields, sheep, fuzzy cows, clouds, blue sky, lochs shimmering in the sun... Lovely. Jeff is getting the hang of driving over here so todays drive was even a little relaxing! Made it to the castle, Stonefield Castle, just in time to hike around their small island before sundown. Saw jellyfish, tons of shells and beautiful sunset on the water as we hiked. Had an incredible meal in the restaurant. We splurged on a fancy meal here, and so worth it! Tried some new scotch of course in the "lounge" before dinner. Up early tomorrow to catch the ferry to the Isle of Islay (pronounced Isla) and excited to stay in one place for a couple days. :)
We had an absolutely gorgeous drive through the Scottish countryside today. Mountains, rolling hills, fields, sheep, fuzzy cows, clouds, blue sky, lochs shimmering in the sun... Lovely. Jeff is getting the hang of driving over here so todays drive was even a little relaxing! Made it to the castle, Stonefield Castle, just in time to hike around their small island before sundown. Saw jellyfish, tons of shells and beautiful sunset on the water as we hiked. Had an incredible meal in the restaurant. We splurged on a fancy meal here, and so worth it! Tried some new scotch of course in the "lounge" before dinner. Up early tomorrow to catch the ferry to the Isle of Islay (pronounced Isla) and excited to stay in one place for a couple days. :)
Monday, July 29, 2013
We have places to sleep!
We have officially booked each night of our trip! Or, in one case, decided not to book something. Yes, we plan to stay up all night, and/or sleep in the airport during our final layover in Reykjavik, Iceland. Wow. This is happening!
Jeff and I have started a list of things we want to do in each city/area ... any suggestions?
We'll be in:
Berlin, Munich, Fussen, Germany
Lauterbrunnen & Gimmewald, Murren, Switzerland
Bordeaux region, Paris, France
Edinburgh, Western Coast, Isle of Islay and Isle of Skye, Scotland
Now, on to the packing... since we're traveling budget airlines, we have to pack lightly!
Jeff and I have started a list of things we want to do in each city/area ... any suggestions?
We'll be in:
Berlin, Munich, Fussen, Germany
Lauterbrunnen & Gimmewald, Murren, Switzerland
Bordeaux region, Paris, France
Edinburgh, Western Coast, Isle of Islay and Isle of Skye, Scotland
Now, on to the packing... since we're traveling budget airlines, we have to pack lightly!
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Sneak Peek
Here's a quick peek at our itinerary...
Flying from Seattle to Reykjavik, Iceland - from Reykjavik to Frankfurt, Germany. From Frankfurt, we take a train to Berlin, Germany.
From Berlin, train to Munich - OKTOBERFEST!
From Munich, we split up - J&A will head to family in SW France, and we will head to Switzerland.
We will meet up in Bordeaux, France - then head up to Paris and the Normandy Coast.
Then we fly from Paris to Edinburgh, travel to the west coast of Scotland, and spend time on the islands.
Fly out of Inverness to London, then London to Reykjavik again - this time, with a layover, and then we'll be headed home.
Whew. I'm tired already! 3 weeks will go by fast!
Flying from Seattle to Reykjavik, Iceland - from Reykjavik to Frankfurt, Germany. From Frankfurt, we take a train to Berlin, Germany.
From Berlin, train to Munich - OKTOBERFEST!
From Munich, we split up - J&A will head to family in SW France, and we will head to Switzerland.
We will meet up in Bordeaux, France - then head up to Paris and the Normandy Coast.
Then we fly from Paris to Edinburgh, travel to the west coast of Scotland, and spend time on the islands.
Fly out of Inverness to London, then London to Reykjavik again - this time, with a layover, and then we'll be headed home.
Whew. I'm tired already! 3 weeks will go by fast!
12 weeks away!
We are finalizing all of our lodging for our whirlwind trip to Europe... and as we nail down multiple details, we figured a central place to jot down the memories and things we do on this trip would be fun to share with you all.
We leave September 28th - that is less than 12 weeks away. Just 3 "month" clicks ahead on the calendar! It's been a long time coming, but now it seems there is so much to do before we leave.
We are traveling with our best buddies James & Amy, and look forward to this crazy adventure!
We will be starting our trip in Germany, heading into Switzerland, then to France, Scotland, and ending in Iceland. We'll literally be traveling by trains, planes and automobiles, staying in hostels, hotels, B&B's, a castle, and a night train!
Stay tuned as we figure out exactly where we'll be, what we're bringing, how we're packing, and how we're not-so-patiently waiting to board the plane!
We leave September 28th - that is less than 12 weeks away. Just 3 "month" clicks ahead on the calendar! It's been a long time coming, but now it seems there is so much to do before we leave.
We are traveling with our best buddies James & Amy, and look forward to this crazy adventure!
We will be starting our trip in Germany, heading into Switzerland, then to France, Scotland, and ending in Iceland. We'll literally be traveling by trains, planes and automobiles, staying in hostels, hotels, B&B's, a castle, and a night train!
Stay tuned as we figure out exactly where we'll be, what we're bringing, how we're packing, and how we're not-so-patiently waiting to board the plane!
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