Tag Archives: Scotland

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Two nights in Edinburgh… living life on the Fringe.

As I mentioned in the previous post, we arrived in Edinburgh just in time for the city’s annual Fringe Festival. When I booked our room at the Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel back in early April, I had no idea this huge festival was going to be happening. If I had to do it over again, I think I would have avoided Edinburgh during the Fringe Festival, not because it isn’t a fantastic festival, but because I don’t enjoy crowds. Edinburgh was bursting at the seams during our two nights there.

Our flight to Edinburgh from Frankfurt occurred on August 2nd. I booked us in business class, not just because I like luxury, but also because we were bringing a lot of bags. During our last visit to Scotland in 2017, Bill had a kilt custom made expressly for gala nights on Hebridean Princess. He doesn’t own a tuxedo and doesn’t particularly want to purchase one. I kept bugging him to get a kilt, even though he’s more Irish than Scottish.

On prior cruises, Bill wore his Army dress blues, but he’s now five years retired and it’s not so easy to fit into the old uniform anymore. Moreover, technically he’s not supposed to wear the uniform at non-military sponsored events, since he’s no longer on active duty. Now, that doesn’t mean he’d get “busted” on Hebridean Princess. In fact, when he’s worn the uniform, he’s mostly been well-received by the other passengers. Most of them have been from Britain and on every cruise we’ve done so far, Bill has met at least a couple of people who have served in Britain’s armed forces. Fellow Americans tend to be scarce on Hebridean cruises. The ones we have met had nothing to do with the military. Still, it was time for a change in wardrobe. The uniform serves as a great conversation piece, but it’s cumbersome and requires crash dieting.

We had to transport the kilt and all that comes with it, as well as a few nice dresses for yours truly. In business class on most airlines, passengers get a generous luggage allowance. On Lufthansa, we each got two free bags. We only checked three bags, which was way more than enough! I really need to learn to pack less!

Our flight to Edinburgh was to commence at 4:15pm. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, although we couldn’t find any luggage carts near where Bill parked. The one machine we found was broken, so we ended up hauling the bags well into the airport before we finally found someone’s mercifully abandoned cart. My mood was rapidly turning to irritation as we searched for a place to check our bags. Although we had just flown out of Frankfurt in late June when we went to Sweden, the check in desk we’d used was moved.

Complicating matters was the fact that the check in desks were on a lower floor and there was no elevator nearby. Somehow, we managed to wrangle the bags onto the escalator without major injury. Then, instead of searching for a proper full service check in, we headed for the self-service luggage drop. That was a bad idea, and didn’t turn out to be self-service, since we ended up requiring assistance. I don’t know what we were thinking. I don’t even like using the self-service checkout at the grocery store. As we were trying to figure out how to get the luggage tags, I remarked to Bill that since we paid for business class, we should have enjoyed all of its perks… like someone who knows what they’re doing and can efficiently get our luggage sorted. Hindsight is 20/20.

Fortunately, there were a couple of Lufthansa staffers on hand to help us get our bags checked. Then, after a somewhat painless trip through security, we headed to passport control, which is always an interesting experience when you’re on “SOFA” status. For those who don’t know, SOFA stands for Status of Forces Agreement. It’s what allows Bill and me to live in Germany and not be legal residents or pay German taxes. We’ve found that the passport officials don’t always know about SOFA, particularly in countries where U.S. forces aren’t typically based.

Even in Germany, which has a long history of hosting U.S. military folks, the passport officials sometimes have to be reminded to check for the blue card. We usually only deal with passport control when we’re headed out of the Schengen zone, like when we go to Britain or the United States. Bill, of course, has dealt with them more than I have on his trips to Africa.

We cleared passport control, then headed to Lufthansa’s business class lounge. Access to the lounge is another reason I usually book business class within Europe. I don’t like crowds and, although the lounge can get crowded, it’s never as crowded as the general areas are in most airports. Lufthansa’s lounges are nice, since they offer relatively quiet places to plug in electronics, comfortable seating, clean toilets, food, and beverages. The ones at Frankfurt Airport also have showers available, which I’m sure are great for people who are on long haul flights.

At about 3:30pm, we headed for our gate, where many people were already congregated. Boarding time was 3:45pm, but it came and went. Our flight was delayed due to weather problems and a computer glitch. I was pretty impatient to get out of Germany. I do love living here, but I also love getting away for a few days. I longed to get to Scotland, where I knew I’d see and hear inappropriate things that would make me laugh. For instance, in Germany, it’s technically against the law to flip someone off, particularly in traffic. I’ve never actually done that myself, but I’ve read that people who get caught doing it can be levied heavy fines. Scotland has no such oppressive laws, as we found out soon after landing in Edinburgh.

Lufthansa’s cuisine in business class. It wasn’t bad. Bill actually liked the green sauce, which is a Frankfurt specialty.

Our flight was okay, except there was a child sitting behind me who kept kicking my seat. Her brother sat in the aisle seat and kept whining for his mom, who was sitting nearby and looked really tired. I couldn’t blame her. Her kids were at a very energetic age, which they were sharing with everyone. The drama escalated when “mama”, apparently from Italy, took her son’s tablet away, causing him to protest rather loudly. I’m glad there was wine.

Somewhere over Scotland!

Edinburgh’s airport is pretty decent, especially compared to Glasgow’s, which we experienced yesterday. When we landed, we had a super quick, painless entrance. It was fully automated and took seconds. I put my passport on a scanner, was deemed “okay”, waited to have my picture taken, then scooted straight through to baggage claim. We had no trouble finding a luggage cart, and after a brief walk to the taxi stand, were soon experiencing our first taste of Scottish hospitality. The hilarious cab driver loaded our bags in the back of his van. As he was packing us up, the cab driver behind him honked. Our cabbie straightened up, smiled pretty, and shot the bird at the guy behind him! I howled with laughter! It felt like I’d come home!

Part 3

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Cruising Scotland for the fifth time! Hebridean Island Cruises does it again!

We’ve got spirit! Yes, we do!

It’s hard to believe that less than 24 hours ago, I was still aboard Hebridean Princess enjoying the last precious moments of coddling that keeps Bill and me coming back to Scotland again and again. We just spent eight glorious nights aboard the tiny luxury ship. The cruise, which originated in Invergordon and ended in Oban, was fully booked. That means there were 47 other passengers sharing this experience with Bill and me. I like to think of the Princess as the anti-mega ship. I’ve got no use for huge floating cities so popular these days. Give me a little vessel with lots of good food, flowing champagne, superb service, beautiful scenery, and like-minded guests.

Bill and I decided to book our cruise in April of this year. Because Hebridean Princess is an all inclusive luxury experience with matching luxury prices, we usually plan much further in advance. Because we booked just four months out, I got us a “cheap” room on the Hebridean deck, in the “bowels” of the ship. Each stateroom on Hebridean Princess is named after a special place in Scotland. I knew what to expect, since we always book the “cheap” rooms. To date, we’ve stayed in all three of the double sized “cheap” rooms: Loch Torridon (three cruises), Loch Crinan (one cruise), and Loch Harport (one cruise). I’m hoping to upgrade us to a higher deck the next time we cruise, although there is absolutely nothing wrong with the “cheap” rooms. They are very comfortable, even though they lack windows or portholes and require a steep climb up and down stairs. At age 47, I was still among the youngest of the passengers and, at least for now, my knees can take the abuse.

We began our trip on the second of August, flying from Frankfurt to Edinburgh. This was the first time I’ve ever managed to score direct flights to and from Scotland. Although Frankfurt is an incredibly obnoxious airport, living close to it does have its advantages. We could have flown to Inverness, but that would have required a layover. I had never been to Inverness before this trip, but I’d heard it wasn’t all that exciting. I also wanted a “do-over” of Edinburgh, which we last visited in 2012 after our first Hebridean experience– two back to back five night cruises in November, during which we celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary.

We loved Edinburgh when we visited for four nights in 2012, but our time there was shrouded in sadness. On our last night of the second cruise, we learned that our sweet dog, MacGregor, had collapsed at the dog hotel. Unbeknownst to us, he had a highly aggressive malignant tumor invading his spinal column. Before we left for Scotland, we had been led to believe that he’d had a much less serious condition. We’d had him on prednisone and he was being weaned off, when the tumor suddenly got worse.

The hotel staff took MacGregor to see his vet, who suspected he had a malignant tumor and had recommended euthanasia. We were thousands of miles away and there was nothing we could do but worry. However, the situation was not so dire that we needed to rush back to North Carolina, where we lived at the time. The vet loaded MacGregor up with painkillers and the dog hotel staff took excellent care of him. We finished our vacation, came home, and took MacGregor to North Carolina State University, where he eventually had a MRI that confirmed the vet’s diagnosis. We said goodbye to him on December 18, 2012.

Anyway, because our first visit to Edinburgh was marred by personal tragedy, we decided to go back this year. I’ll go more into detail in the next post, but let me just comment that next time, I’m going to check the calendar more closely before I decide on pre-cruise cities. Edinburgh was teeming with people who had come to to the annual Fringe Festival. It started on the day of our arrival and made the city even crazier than usual! I’m surprised we managed to get a hotel room! I’m glad we were able to experience the festival, but I think I prefer Edinburgh in November, when the city is not so crowded.

We took ScotRail to Inverness on August 4th and spent one night at the lovely Rocpool Reserve Hotel. In retrospect, I wish we’d come directly to Inverness. It’s a very charming city and I would have liked to have spent more time there. If we ever do another cruise out of Invergordon, we’ll suffer the layover required to get to Inverness. It deserves to be explored.

Our cruise began on August fifth and ended yesterday morning. As I finish this post, I realize that it’s still been less than 24 hours! How am I going to get used to life without my daily dose of champagne? Writing helps me prolong the joy. I hope you’ll join me as I digest our latest spectacular trip to Scotland!

Part two

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Yet another Scottish whisky cruise…

Well, we finally did it.  We booked another proper vacation, the first one we’ve had since September 2017, when we visited Scotland the last time and cruised to Northern Ireland.  A lot has happened since that cruise occurred, although there have been a few things that are still the same.  For instance, we now live in Wiesbaden instead of Unterjettingen… but lingering issues that actually occurred right around the last time we were on the Hebridean Princess conspire to keep us connected to our old stomping grounds near Stuttgart.  That, and we kept our dentist down there.

Anyway, lately I’ve been feeling a bit crabby about life in general.  I will be the first to admit that everything that troubles me is, for the most part, a first world problem.  I still need a break sometimes.  So does Bill.  So in the past few days, we decided to book our vacation for 2019.  We gave some thought to going on a French barge cruise, which I’ve been wanting to do for ages.  But when we called about the specific one we were considering, we were told it was fully booked for when Bill had time off work.

I also want to go to Armenia… but Armenia in August is not the best idea, even though it looks like they are now embracing air conditioning.  It’s really hot there in the summer.  I’d rather go in late September or October.

So that led us to Hebridean Island Cruises again.  Although I’ve had a mishap every time we’ve been on that ship, it still remains my favorite of the ships I’ve tried so far.  It costs a mint to get onboard, but once you’ve paid, you’ve paid.  On four previous cruises, we’ve never had a bill at the end of the voyage.  And the voyage we booked is one that will take us to parts of Scotland we haven’t yet seen.  It will start in Inverness, when the coach picks us up and takes us to Invergordon.  Then, we’ll sail to Wick, through the Orkney Islands, and over the top of Scotland back to Oban eight nights later.

The cruise departs on August 5, 2019, so we had to pay for the whole thing yesterday.  It was a bit of an oucher… but they gave us a good discount.  We’ll be visiting eight distilleries.  Hopefully, this time, I won’t get norovirus like I did at the end of our first Scottish whisky cruise in 2016 (which, by the way, I think I picked up at a tasting off the ship).

This may be our last Scottish cruise for awhile, because I am really wanting to see some other parts of Europe.  We’ve been here for several years now, but the first time we lived in Germany, we made an effort to see more of the continent.  This time, we’ve stayed pretty close to Germany, with trips to Italy, France, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Belgium, Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands.  I’d like to visit Spain, Scandinavia, and more parts of eastern Europe.  I’ve been trying to do a real trip to Croatia for years.

Here’s a video about this awesome ship that started out as a car ferry in 1964, and for the past 30 years, has been the ultimate luxury experience.  Queen Elizabeth II and her family have sailed twice!

Prayers that this time, nothing bad will happen… I will come home healthy.  Bill will be healthy.  The dogs will be healthy.  And we won’t be too broke or inconvenienced!

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Every girl’s crazy ’bout a kilted man…

Three months ago, Bill and I were in Glasgow, Scotland, about to embark on our fourth cruise on Hebridean Princess.  While we were in Glasgow, we stopped into a kiltmaker’s shop and got Bill fitted for a kilt of his very own.  We decided to do it because we both love visiting Scotland, especially on Hebridean Princess.  Kilts are very welcome on that ship.  On all of our previous cruises on Hebridean Princess, Bill wore his dress blues on the formal nights.  The uniform, like kilts and tuxedos, has always been well-received on the ship.

Bill retired from the Army in 2014 and there comes a point at which it gets harder to do justice to the Army dress uniform.  I also learned that it might not even be appropriate for a retiree to wear the uniform on a cruise, though I doubt anyone would “bust” Bill on such a British cruise.  On each of our voyages, we have been among a very small number of Americans, none of whom have been affiliated with the military.  In fact, we have found that the Army uniform is quite a conversation starter, especially among the Brits who have also served in the military.  However, I was dying to see Bill in a kilt and kept pestering him to get one.  He finally gave in and indulged me.

While we were in Berlin, the finished kilt arrived.  Our very kind neighbor accepted our box for us while we were out of town.  Bill got the whole package, which included everything except a shirt and a belt and buckle.  Last night, he tried on his new Scottish duds.

Bill decided not to put on the Ghillie brogues (shoes), although they were included.  Below is a video I made of the kiltmaker showing us how the shoes should be tied.  He also didn’t put on the kilt pin, which was included.

 

The tartan used is County Donegal, since our last name is Irish.  Bill’s surname originated in Donegal.  The jackets are made in Donegal.

 

It took just under three months for the kilt to be made.  I think it’s because the tartan we used had to be ordered.  Otherwise, we probably would have had the kilt in late October or early November.  The kiltmaker made the kilt by hand and the quality is excellent.  It set Bill back about 900 GBP (approximately $1300).  But again, everything except the shirt was included in that price, even socks.   And Scots are not supposed to wear underwear under the kilt.  On the other hand, Bill is Irish.  😉

Anyway, for those who are wondering who made this marvelous outfit, here’s the link to the man responsible.  We are very pleased with the finished product, even though we probably could have had it made faster and cheaper at one of the other, larger kiltmakers.  I would highly recommend James Robertson Kiltmaker if you’re ever in Glasgow and looking to be kilted.

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Whisky distilleries I have known…

Although Bill and I usually make a point of going places on the weekends, he had to leave for Africa this morning.  Fortunately, I happened to be inspired to write today’s post thanks to a thread in one of the local Facebook groups.  A woman wrote that her husband loves scotch whisky and was interested in visiting some in Scotland while they are living in Germany.

Bill and I have so far been to eight whisky distilleries, entirely thanks to our sailings on Hebridean Island Cruises‘ Hebridean Princess.  Since Hebridean Princess mostly sails around Scotland and only occasionally ventures to other lands, there is a heavy emphasis on Scotland’s national drink on that ship.  Each of our four voyages on Hebridean Princess has included at least one stop at a whisky distillery.  We have even been to two of them twice.

Last year, Bill and I signed up for “The Spirit of Scotland” trip Hebridean was doing.  It was a whisky themed cruise, which meant we would be visiting different distilleries every day.  Last month, we cruised to Northern Ireland and Ireland and that trip also included a stop at a distillery in Scotland.  Although I don’t expect my readers to visit whisky distilleries via cruise ship, I thought today’s post could be a “one stop shop” for a look at the ones Bill and I have seen.

One thing you will learn if you come to Scotland intent on tasting whisky, is that there are several different styles of scotch whisky: Highland, Lowland, Speyside, Campbeltown, and Islay.  Bill and I visited Edinburgh at the end of our first Scotland trip in November 2012.  Although we had already been to a couple of distilleries, it was at the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh that we got a really good introduction to the different styles of scotches out there, as well as the many different whiskeys made around the world.  If your trip involves a stop in Edinburgh, I would highly recommend going there first and visiting the Scotch Whisky Experience for a primer on the different types of Scottish spirits you will encounter.  You’ll also get to see a very impressive collection of scotches and even try a few.

 

Just some of the huge collection at the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh.

 

The world’s largest bottle of Single Malt Scotch Whisky is at the Scotch Whisky Experience.

 
 

Here goes…

1.  Isle of Arran Distillery

The Isle of Arran Distillery is, naturally, located on the Isle of Arran in Lochranza, at the northern end of the island.  The area around the distillery is absolutely beautiful and remote.  Arran is the first whisky distillery Bill and I ever visited and we have since been there twice.  Founded in 1995, the Isle of Arran Distillery has a very nice visitor’s center with a gift shop and a cafe.  Although you can drop in and take a tour, it is recommended that you book in advance, particularly during the summer.  Arran whiskies are excellent, but I am especially fond of Arran Gold, which is kind of like Bailey’s Irish Cream.  Tours are conducted all day and cost 8 GBP each.

 
 

The first casks of whisky made at Isle of Arran Distillery.  It was in 1998 when the first casks were opened, since it takes three years to make whisky.

 
 

Sorry my finger got caught by the camera.  This is the facade of the distillery.  We have toured it twice; both times, our guides were kilted gentlemen with delightful Scottish brogues who introduced us to their product.  When we visited last, in March 2016, the flags were at half mast because the founder, Harold Currie, had just died.  Harold Currie was the former director of Chivas.  

2.  Springbank Distillery

Springbank Distillery makes some of my favorite whiskies.  It’s also the other distillery Bill and I have visited twice.  I always enjoy visiting Springbank, because it’s one of just a few distilleries left in Campbeltown, Scotland.  There was a time when Campbeltown was home to many distilleries, but many of them closed at the start of the 20th century.  Today, Campbeltown is host to Springbank, Glen Scotia, and Glengyle.

Springbank is a very old style distillery and uses a lot of old fashioned equipment to create its spirits.  It’s also the only distillery in Scotland that performs every step of the whisky making process, from malting the barley to bottling the spirit.  For that reason alone, I think it’s worth a stop.  An added benefit is that there’s a great whisky shop just steps away from the distillery.  Tours are offered several times a day Monday through Friday and twice daily on Saturdays.  They have several different levels of tours available, too– everything from a basic trip through to distillery (7 GBP) to one that includes a personal tour with whisky legend Frank McHardy and lunch (100 GBP).

 
 
 

A fewshots of the Springbank Distillery.  The picture of the barrels was from our 2012 visit.  Last year, they did not show us the warehouse.

 

3. Glengoyne Distillery

We got a pretty special deal when we visited the Glengoyne Distillery in Dumgoyne, just north of Glasgow.  The ship had arranged for us to be able to blend our own whisky.  A simple tour is 9.50 GBP, but apparently we were all booked on the Malt Master Tour (65 GBP).  We all sat around a table and took whiskys from five different cask to make our own individual blends.  Bill and I still have our own blends.  We did taste them a couple of months ago, but haven’t had the heart to finish them yet.  Glengoyne is also notable because the distillery is located just north of the line that distinguishes Highland and Lowland whiskys.  Glengoyne’s stills are located in the Highland region; while just across the street, the maturing casks rest in the Lowlands.  This is another place well worth a visit if you’re into scotch.

 

I was standing in the Lowlands taking a picture of fellow passengers in the Highlands.

 

A shot of our “malt master” class.  It was pretty cool!

 
 
 

Different types of oaks used for the barrels.

 

And the resulting whisky…  Notice the bottles on the bottom have less in them.  This is known as the “angel’s share”, and it’s part of the process of evaporation that occurs when whisky is made.

 

4.  Laphroaig Distillery

Laphroaig Distillery is located on the Isle of Islay, an island every scotch drinker must visit.  Islay is home to a whole bunch of whisky distilleries.   It’s also a very beautiful place.  The Laphroaig Distillery and brand is currently owned by Beam Suntory, which is a subsidiary of the Japan’s Suntory.  Of all of the distilleries I’ve visited so far, I think Laphroaig’s visitor center is among the most impressive.  They have a really interesting exhibit you can look at while you wait for your tour to start.  They allow visitors to try the wort, too, which I recommend doing just once.  Just make sure they offer it to you in a disposable cup.  Trust me on this.  You should get a cup of your own at this distillery.

At the end of our tour, I distinctly remember they gifted us with souvenir whisky glasses.  A basic tour costs 10 GBP, though they have more detailed tours available at correspondingly higher prices.  You can even try your hand at cutting peat if you want to.

 
 
 

Barley being malted.  You will also see this at Springbank and Kilchoman Distilleries.

 

The Laphroaig Distillery also offers a great view of Port Ellen.

 

5.  Kilchoman Distillery

Kilchoman is one of the newest distilleries.  It opened in 2005 and is situated on a beautiful farm in a rural part of Islay.  It has the distinction of being the first distillery to be built on Islay in 124 years and, until recently, it was the westernmost distillery in Scotland.  That honor is now claimed by Abhainn Dearg Distillery on the Isle of Lewis.  Kilchoman also does its own malting and is one of only six distilleries in Scotland doing traditional floor maltings.  I really enjoyed touring Kilchoman, which also offers a liqueur as well as several different whiskys.  A basic tour at Kilchoman costs 7 GBP, while a premium tour runs 30 GBP and includes a tutored tasting.

One thing I do want to mention about this tour is that we were offered a taste of the wort there.  They passed around a communal container and, I’m pretty sure, that is where I picked up norovirus.  I got very sick with diarrhea and vomiting.  Fortunately, it happened in the wee hours of our very last night on the ship, so it didn’t devastate our cruise.  Still, it was a really stupid mistake on my part and one I hope to spare others from making.  It’s especially important to be mindful of hygiene when you’re on a cruise.

Floor malting.

 

Our guide pours drams for us to try.  I remember enjoying a very fresh scone on the way back to the ship.  The distillery has a nice cafe where one can have lunch.

 

6. Jura Distillery

Jura Distillery is located on the Isle of Jura, a tiny community that has only one road, one pub, and one distillery.  Only 200 people live on the Isle of Jura, which makes it a very interesting place to visit.  I remember our guide explaining to us that at Jura, it’s especially possible to see the effects whisky distilleries have on trees.  All of the trees near Jura Distillery were black.  Apparently, in the United Kingdom, the authorities can tell how much whisky is being distilled simply by looking at the trees.  Although I was getting a little fatigued of distilleries when we visited, I do remember thinking Jura’s history was especially interesting.  Tours cost 6 GBP.  Afterwards, you can visit the one pub on the island.

 
 

Jura’s Distillery.  I’m not sure they have a grocery store on Jura, but they sure do have whisky.

7. Oban Distillery

 

Oban Distillery was the last one we visited on our “scotch whisky” tour.  It’s a very compact place because it was built next to a cliff.  Originally established in 1794, Oban Distillery is actually older than the town of Oban itself.  I distinctly remember our guide telling us about Oban Distillery’s 14 year old malt, which is very well-regarded.  Three years ago, they also started selling a non age statement whisky called Little Bay.  Oban is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland, mainly because when they were excavating the cliff behind the distillery, they found human remains.  Also, people started building on top of the cliff, which made expansion in its current location very difficult.

 
 
 

Oban Distillery also has a very informative exhibit available to peruse while you wait for your tour.

8. Bruichladdich

Finally, we have Bruichladdich, another Islay distillery located in Port Charlotte on the Isle of Islay.  Bill and I visited Bruichladdich last month while we were on our Northern Ireland cruise.  We were originally supposed to visit Bowmore, but that got cancelled.  Then we were going to visit Lagavulin, but then our itinerary got switched around.  So that’s how we ended up at Bruichladdich, which also makes The Botanist gins.  This distillery is another one I think is well worth seeing if only because of the very cool old equipment they still use.  One of the mashtuns is from the Victorian era and is one of only a few still in existence and the only one on the island.  They also use a still from 1881, which was when the distillery was founded.  And they have a still called Ugly Betty that is used for making gin.  This distillery also has a very colorful and interesting history best told by someone who sounds like a Scot.

We found the distillery to be very liberal about allowing tastings.  Our guide told us that if there was anything under 200 GBP we wanted to try, just let her know.  They have a really nice shop, too.  I brought home a beautiful wool blanket from there.

 
 
 

Very old equipment… this is from the Victorian era.

 

The two pictures above show the different ages of the washbacks.

 

Ugly Betty

 

1881!

 

If this post inspires you to visit any distilleries, I encourage you to bring a designated driver or hire a cab.  You don’t want to be driving drunk, especially in a place like Islay, which has a lot of narrow roads with tons of potholes.  Also, presuming that most of my readers are not used to driving on the left, it would be especially risky to drive after tasting whisky at the distilleries.

I think the way Bill and I visited these distilleries was pretty much ideal.  We had a coach that took us to them, so we were free to enjoy as much as we wanted.  On our whisky tour, we enjoyed the services of John Harbour, a professional tour guide.   Mr. Harbour was engaged by Hebridean Island Cruises for us and was with us the whole week, but you can also book him privately.  I would highly recommend him because he’s very knowledgable and will handle the driving.  Here’s a link to his Facebook page.

Although I’m not sure if Hebridean Island Cruises is going to be offering the Scotch Whisky tour again, I would recommend looking to them if your budget allows.  It’s a marvelous way to see Scotland, albeit not kid friendly and very expensive.  We did have a blast, though, and I don’t think I will ever forget how scotch whisky is made after seeing all of those distilleries!

 

Click here for a sequel to this post— eight more whisky distilleries I have known.

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Ten things I learned on our trip to Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland…

From Mount Stewart House’s beautiful gardens…

It’s that time again.  When Bill and I take trips, I like to sum them up with a “ten things I learned” post.  Although we’ve been to Scotland three times and we visited Ireland last fall, this cruise on Hebridean Princess took us to Northern Ireland for the very first time.  You wouldn’t think there would be that much of a difference between Ireland and Northern Ireland… and, I guess, there isn’t that much in terms of how it looks and how warm the people are.  But we learned that there’s still some tension over the fact that Ireland and Northern Ireland are divided.  I will get more into that with this list.  For now, here’s the countdown in no particular order.

10.  There are a whole lot of Presbyterians in Northern Ireland!

I was born and raised Presbyterian, although I am not really a churchgoer these days.  To be honest, when I did used to go to church, I didn’t know that much about it.  I simply went because my parents made me.  It wasn’t until I was in college and worked as the cook at a Presbyterian church camp that I learned about what I was supposed to believe and realized that it’s a very Scottish religion.  Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised to see so many Presbyterian churches in Northern Ireland, but when we visited Derry, our tour guide told us the story of Presbyterians in that large city.  We visited the First Derry Presbyterian Church and The Blue Coat School Visitor Centre and I came to realize just how prevalent the faith is there.

9.  There’s still a lot of tension between British people and Irish people over Northern Ireland’s inclusion in the United Kingdom.

I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised that many Irish people would like to see their island nation reunited the way Germany has reclaimed its east.  As we listened to our Irish tour guide in Carlingford talk about growing up in Northern Ireland and visiting the Republic, I got a firsthand account of a man’s experience having to pass through checkpoints during a very volatile period in Irish history.  I had sympathy for our Irish guide’s viewpoints, although I admittedly don’t know as much about the subject as I should.

8.  Bill knows a lot about Irish folklore.

My husband seemed to impress a number of other passengers about how much he knows about Irish folklore.  It’s a special interest of his, since he has a lot of Irish ancestry.  He took a course at American University when he was a college student and learned a lot of the old stories.  It came in handy during our tour of Carlingford.

7.  The city of Derry has a connection to Harvey’s Bristol Cream, a favorite sherry of ours.

Although I’d be hard pressed to accurately retell the story as our tour guide told it, I was very surprised to find out how Bishop Harvey in Derry had a connection to Harvey’s Bristol Cream.

6.  If you visit an Irish restaurant in the Republic, you’re liable to hear old fashioned country music.  

Yes, I know country music comes from Scotland, Ireland, and the other isles up there, but I sure wasn’t expecting to hear “The Ballad of Jed Clampitt” in an Irish restaurant as we were discussing Irish folklore.  The music moved on nicely to “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” by Tammy Wynette and a number of other feel good classics from when I was a wee lass in the 70s.

5.  I learned more about the plight of Catholics in Northern Ireland.

Although I had heard a little about Catholic oppression by the British when we were in Ireland last November, I learned a bit more about religious persecution on this trip.  For example, when we visited Derry, our guide explained that the Catholics were mostly very poor and were forced to settle in a marshy area of the city.  Because they were so poor and many people often lived in one home, they were underrepresented in elections.  For years, only one person in a Catholic household was allowed to vote and they really suffered because of that rule, which only changed in the late 1960s.

4.  Every year in Carlingford, people are allowed to hunt Leprechauns for one day.

Our tour guide in Carlingford, a man named Dermott, explained that the town of Carlingford has a fund raiser that allows people to go up in the hills and “hunt” for Leprechauns.  It is technically illegal to hunt for them on any other day of the year.

3.  Crossing the border into Ireland from Northern Ireland is a non-event… for now.

Dermott, our guide in Carlingford, told us that as a young man, he had to submit to extreme vehicle searches whenever he wanted to visit Ireland.  Although he was born and raised in Northern Ireland, Dermott considers himself Irish and wants to see the island united as one country unto itself.  He told us of having the wheels and seats taken out of his car when he was a young man as border patrols looked for bombs or other weapons.  Today, one can cross into Ireland and not even notice.  But if Brexit comes to pass, that may change.

2.  Mount Stewart is a beautiful place!

Bill and I had the pleasure of visiting Scotland’s amazing Mount Stuart House in Bute, Scotland, on our first Hebridean cruise.  As the crow flies, Northern Ireland’s Mount Stewart isn’t that far away.  It’s also a very impressive place.  I really enjoyed the gardens at Mount Stewart, although I think I like Mount Stuart’s house a little more.

1.  The Titanic Experience in Belfast is amazing… and amazingly crowded!

I really didn’t know much about the Titanic, the ill fated cruise ship, before we visited Belfast last week.  I still don’t know that much about it because the Titanic Experience, while very comprehensive and impressive, is positively loaded with people.  I overheard some passengers on our cruise saying that France’s exhibit in Cherbourg is better.  Perhaps we will visit there and see for ourselves.

We really enjoyed ourselves in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland.  I hope someday we will get to return.  At the very least, I need to sit down and watch the movie, Titanic.  I can’t believe I still haven’t seen it in the 20 years it’s been out.  Maybe this weekend…

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part fourteen…

Monday morning, I awoke with a full-fledged cold.  I was coughing, hacking, and had woken up several times during the night to blow my nose and drink some water.  I was legitimately sick (and still am, though I’m getting better).  We had plans to visit a distillery on the beautiful island of Islay.  Bill and I visited Islay on our last Hebridean cruise and had the chance to visit a couple of whisky distilleries, Laphroaig and Kilchoman.  This time, we were supposed to visit Bowmore, but that was cancelled before we boarded the ship.  Then it got switched to Lagavulin, but since we didn’t do our itinerary as planned, that tour, too, was cancelled.

Islay happens to be rich with whisky distilleries, so the folks at Hebridean fixed us up with a tour at Bruichladdich, an old distillery that makes both whisky and gin.  Before we got on Islay’s schoolbus for a trip out to Port Charlotte, we had time to walk around.  Bill and I went to a tiny grocery store and bought some cough medicine and candy for me.  I’ve been sipping Covonia Chesty Cold formula ever since Monday.  I don’t know if it works like NyQuil, but it’s got booze in it and tastes like Jaegermeister.

With that taken care of, we were ready for our trip to the distillery.  Thanks to our whisky tour last year, Bill and I are very well versed as to how scotch is made.  I was pretty happy our guide did not take us through the process, but rather told us the distillery’s history and showed us the equipment.  The tour was short, sweet, and ended with some rather generous whisky tastings.  Bill and I left with a bottle of scotch, a bottle of gin, a wool throw for me, a music CD by Islay native Angela Paterson, who performed on our last cruise, and some soap.

We got back on the ship in the early afternoon, just in time for lunch, a ham buffet.  The captain would be taking us closer to Oban during the day.

A beautiful morning in Port Ellen.

I got a kick out of the sign… it’s perfect if you like your whisky.

A shot of Hebridean Princess in port.

Distillery time!

And the distillery shop, where I parted with some cash.

We were invited to try the barley.  I did, knowing that it wouldn’t make me sick like the wort did last time we did a distillery tour.

Mash!

Those vats were full of some very alcoholic brew…

The gin still, which the distillery picked up when another distillery was closing.

The spirit safe.

We visited the warehouse.  Lots of scotches in different barrels, everything from bourbon to sherry casks.

Bill enjoys a taste.  They were quite willing to let people try different whiskys.  We were told if there was one we wanted to try under 200 GBP, they would oblige.  I think the distillery was rewarded, because I witnessed one passenger spending over 500 GBP on whisky.

 

Down the hatch!

Moody skies for the drive back to Port Ellen.

The beautiful ham.

Lots of salads and pasta.

And more seafood… including oysters, shrimp, smoked salmon and trout, and the like…

I had a crab salad as a starter.

Bill had a sundae for dessert.

I had warm rice pudding with raspberry jam.  It was very satisfying… took me back to my childhood days in England.

After lunch, I was feeling a little under the weather, so I went back to our stateroom, packed my bags, and took a nap.  Two hours later, Bill woke me up to tell me to get ready for dinner.  I was tempted to go back to sleep.  Then he showed me a picture of dolphins he managed to get.  It’s not the best picture, but it’s still cool.

Too bad I was sleeping when this happened.

Monday night was the evening of our second gala.  I broke out my blue sequined gown, which rained shiny sparkles all over the place.  In retrospect, it was a little fancier than I usually go for.  The one thing the dress had going for it was that it was floor length, so I didn’t have to wear control top panty hose.  I wore knee highs instead, and pinned the top of the slit so my cheating wouldn’t show.  I felt a little silly at first in my sparkly gown, but eventually relaxed.  It’s not like I haven’t seen worse at any Army ball (sorry, it’s the truth).  And besides, Bill was there in his blues.

David Indge mingles with guests at the Captain’s Farewell Gala.

I was absolutely enchanted by the sunset in Castle Bay, so I had to go take pictures while Bill explained to another passenger that the Pentagon really was hit by a jet airliner on September 11, 2001.  I always defer to Bill when it comes to 9/11 because he was actually in the Pentagon that day.

David addresses everyone and introduces our captain, Trevor Bailey.

More gorgeous sunset pics.  I could look at these all day.

Bill is smiling because he doesn’t have to wear that jacket anymore!

Prepped for haggis.  They bring out the whisky beforehand.
 

Haggis!  This ceremony is a treat!  I got a good view this time, but my camera died and I had to switch to an iPhone.

I happened to be sitting under this bell, so I got to ring it a couple of times.  I think I almost went deaf the second time.

Haggis!  I couldn’t really taste it due to my sickness.  I have had it enough times to know it wasn’t a bad thing not to taste it, although haggis is not as horrible as it sounds.

Because I didn’t like the liver starter, our kind waiter, Mariusz, brought me smoked salmon.

Bill bravely tried the liver.  I don’t think it was a hit; we had some in Germany that actually tasted like chocolate of all things.

A nice palate cleansing sorbet.

I had turbot filet, which is a favorite.  

Bill had venison, which he loves…

Then we had creme brulee and a biscotti for dessert.

Our one selfie together.  Maybe I should have gotten someone to take our picture, but I don’t photograph very well, especially when I’m sick.

One more shot of my dashing Bill in his blues…

And Toby was kind enough to make me a Brandy Alexander.  It was fabulous.

Goodbye, folks…

 

The castle in Castle Bay.

A few more spectacular pictures!

 

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part six…

The big clock, where everybody meets up in Glasgow…

 

And another British nanny sign!

 

In March 2016, when we took our Hebridean Scotch Whisky tour, The Spirit of Scotland, the train station had a couple of bars that were about to close.  They were open for our visit, but they had little stock.  We sat up in that bar for a couple of hours and drank beer until it was time to meet the ship.  Although the train station still has a place for beer drinking, we wisely opted to go to a restaurant outside of the station.  I think maybe next time, instead of meeting the coach, maybe it might be better to simply go to where the boat is.  A three hour ride on a coach isn’t all that much fun, even when it’s Hebridean Island Cruises offering it.

I think we were the first ones from our cruise to get to the train station.  Our guide, Bryan Hogg, was next.  He was easy to spot because he was wearing a kilt and had the telltale Hebridean luggage tags on his bags.  Hebridean Island Cruises employs qualified guides for each of its cruises.  Bryan lives in Edinburgh and is a freelance guide (and a marvelous one at that).  He guided our cruise and is also guiding this week’s cruise.  Here’s a link to his blog, which is probably more interesting than mine is.  It looks like his isn’t as updated as often, though.  He’s also on Facebook, though I don’t see a link to a business page.  We really enjoyed having Bryan as our guide this week.  He’s very friendly, funny, and relaxed… and he also knows a lot about Scotland and Ireland.

Just so you know, it’s not free to pee in the train station.  It costs 40p to pee…  

 

The view from our seat on the coach.

Bill is excited because the Brits have lap and shoulder belts on their buses.  You’re supposed to wear them because the Brits are pretty strict about safety.  However, I will go on record as being naughty all week because the damned things were too uncomfortable.  Bill was a good boy, though.  I’ll be sure to give him a cookie later.

After all of the folks who had arranged to be met at the train station were accounted for, we collected our lanyards, which basically served as our identification all week.  Wearing them around the neck identified us as members of the Hebridean Princess cruise, which allowed us admission to activities and coffee and tea breaks pre-arranged by the ship.  Yes, that’s right, the ship pays for your coffee breaks when you’re aboard Hebridean Princess.  You don’t pay admission fees to the activities arranged by the cruise line, either.  In fact, you don’t have to pay for anything once you get aboard, unless you want something from the tiny gift shop.  It’s probably the only cruise ship on the planet that does not require passengers to hand over a credit card immediately upon boarding.

We stopped at the airport to pick up a few other people, including a couple of perfumed ladies who acted as if they were long lost sisters.  They sat in front of us and immediately started chattering quite loudly, which quickly became annoying because I was also trying to listen to Bryan talk about points of interest on the way north.  I’ll also admit that Auntie Flow was putting me in a foul mood.

I noticed a spunky looking lady sitting across from us who had a can of gin and tonic.  I immediately thought she was cool as she sipped it.  I wish I had had the same foresight.  I ended up moving to another seat just before the rest stop and the lady with the gin and tonic congratulated me!  Below are a few pictures I got of our rest stop…

Looks like a nice town to stop in for a visit.  Maybe another time.  One of the passengers, a guy who is still aboard this week, purchased an ice cream cone during our stop.  He made everyone laugh when someone asked him if the ice cream was good and he said it was “Dee—light–ful!” in a very comical British accent.  All week, he was cracking us up because he was very comfortable in his own skin and not afraid to use a bib (a man after my own heart, for sure!).

The two pictures above are of Inveraray Castle, as we passed it on the way to Oban.  I wish I had gotten a shot of it on the way back to Glasgow, since the weather was a lot nicer that day.  Unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of the bus! 

 

We arrived in Oban at around 6:00pm or so.  It was raining and rather grim outside, but there was still a piper out there waiting to welcome us properly.  It was at this point that I learned our purser was to be the legendary David Indge, who was our purser on our second Hebridean cruise in 2012.  He truly is fabulous!  Queen Elizabeth II has been on Hebridean Princess twice and she liked Dave so much that she reportedly specifically requested his services during her cruises.  I can see why she liked him so much!

Here’s a brief clip of the piper.  He piped each party aboard, though some had already arrived at the ship before the coach got there.  Bear in mind that the Hebridean Princess carries, at most, 49 passengers at a time.  I think there were 45 on our cruise.

Here’s a shot of Oban that I took as we waited for the obligatory muster drill…

And here is an obligatory shot of Bill in his life jacket.  I do this every time we cruise.  I think this may be one of the better shots of him in his life jacket.

 

Most nights on Hebridean Princess, passengers dress up a bit for dinner.  On the first night, it’s permissible to dress casually.  That’s because there’s a lot to do once you get on the ship.  Before the muster drill, you have to unpack your stuff and leave your bags to be stowed during the cruise.  Depending on how light you travel, unpacking may or may not be a chore.  It usually is for me, because I am incapable of traveling light under any circumstances.

Another thing to know about Hebridean Princess is, again, almost everything is included, including booze.  That means you can drink all you want and no one will be making you sign any chits and you can try all sorts of stuff.

After the muster drill, it was time for dinner.  You can see below that we tried both the red and white wines with dinner… and had a little bubbly, too.

I had duck, which was lovely with potatoes and green beans…

Bill had salmon on top of potatoes and garnished with broccolini.

 

There was more to this meal, but it was one of the rare ones that I didn’t photograph completely.  I guess I was just overwhelmed by the abundance of excellence.  Our waiter last week was a friendly young Polish lad named Mariusz.  He took very good care of us… almost as good care as the bar staff!

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part five…

We walked around a bit to burn off lunch, then headed to the drug store to pick up some necessary items for yours truly.  I never got around to visiting the store before we left Germany, so we needed to go to Boots, which is the well known drug store in the United Kingdom.  I bought razors, toothbrushes (complete with vibrating brushes), toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, and mouthwash.  I really needed to go shopping, right?  One thing I did bring, thank God, was feminine hygiene supplies.  Sorry for those who think this is TMI.  I know it is.  It’s also a big part of the story, though, so bear with me or just skip the next paragraph or two.  I will add a red asterisk to signal when it’s safe to read again for those who are squeamish.

Another one of Britain’s polite nanny signs.  I notice the Brits use more words on their signs than Americans do.  They also seem to use please and thank you more.  

Still with me?  Okay…  On the last night of our back to back Hebridean cruise in 2012, I unexpectedly started my period.  Since we had just bought new luggage, I had also somehow forgotten to stock it with the usual sanitary supplies.  We also got devastating news about our dog, MacGregor, who had, unbeknownst to us, been suffering from cancer.  The people at the kennel where he was staying had taken him to our vet, who had recommended euthanasia.  They had communicated that advice to us while we were on the ship.  Naturally, I was very upset about the dog, only to have Aunt Flow show up, too.

Fortunately, the fantastic assistant purser, Valeria (who was also on this last cruise with us), very kindly collected a few supplies for me from some of the staff members, since most of the people who sail on Hebridean Princess are well beyond the age of menstruation.  Anyway, it’s been my luck that I typically have my period when I travel.  Somehow, that’s just how it works out.  I swear I only have it for a week a month, and yet I seem to always get it at the worst times.  To date, I have not yet been on Hebridean Princess and not been menstruating part of the time.  It was the case last year, too, when I got really sick with norovirus (which was totally my fault and not due to poor hygiene on the ship).  But hopefully, God willing, Mother Nature will take pity on me soon.

* Gross part is done now.

So, I was fully stocked for our cruise and feeling pretty safe about things.  We stopped by the hotel, where I unloaded my supplies.  We were both still pretty full from lunch at dinnertime, so we decided to go looking for a bar.  On the way out of the hotel, we ran into another American couple.  They had just finished a trip around Scotland by car and stopped to chat with us as we were waiting for the elevator.  They were super nice to talk to, although I couldn’t help noticing the guy’s fly was down.  I hate it when stuff like that happens, because you almost want to say something, but people tend to shoot the messenger when you speak up in such circumstances.  So I kept my mouth shut and we walked around looking for a spot for a couple of drinks.

We finally settled on the Shilling Brewing Company, a pizza joint in a former bank that makes its own brews.  Sadly, they had none of their brews available on the night of our visit, but they did have some interesting local beers and good music playing.  We were on our second round when the American couple we met at the hotel came in.  They noticed us immediately, waved “hi”, and sat at the bar.  I noticed that the bar was full of young folks, which made me feel ancient.  The other couple was older than we were and I noticed they didn’t hang around for long.

At our table at Shilling Brewing Company.

This was dinner on Monday, September 11th… a special anniversary for us, since Bill was in the Pentagon on the day it was hit by a jetliner.  

Outside of the brewing company.  

 

The next morning, we had our last breakfast at Carlton George Hotel.  Bill went with an omelet, which was very large…

This was to be a theme for the week!

I had the much more manageable French Toast.

We had some time to kill until we were to meet the ship.  On our other Hebridean cruises, we’ve had to meet the ship’s representatives at Glasgow’s Central Train Station at about 4:00pm or so.  That’s because the ship was docked at Greenock, which is pretty close to Glasgow.  This time, we would be meeting the ship in Oban, which is about three hours north.  Consequently, we were to meet our guide and the bus to the ship at 2:15pm.  Checkout at the hotel was 11:00am.  We usually carry our bags from the hotel to the station, since it’s only a few blocks away.  This time, I demanded that we get a cab, since we had four bags that were pretty heavy.  Bill was reluctant, but eventually conceded.

This guy took us to the station…  I think it cost about 6 GBP, but it was worth every pence.

The Carlton George does not have a large left luggage room, so we decided to use the one at the train station.  It cost 6 GBP per bag, each of which were scanned by an x-ray machine like the ones you might find at the airport.  Given that there was a bomb left at a tube station in London last week, I can see why they’re careful.  The left luggage office serves as a lost and found and they’ll also wrap your luggage for you for a fee.  Our bags successfully ditched, we went searching for a place to spend our last hours in Glasgow.

Religious ad in the station.

I see another American export is turned into a joke.

 

We walked around Buchanan Street and I found the shop of my dreams, Hotel Chocolat.  We stopped in and I loaded up for some treats to soothe my “least favorite auntie”.  Hotel Chocolat is a chain, so if you happen to be in another UK city, you’re liable to find it.  And if you love chocolate, I highly recommend stopping in.

We left with a small bag of goodies.

Afterwards, we spent some time wandering around the city, working off breakfast.  I’m afraid it would have taken longer than we had.

But at least I got a few nice photos of Glasgow, which seems somehow more authentic to me than Edinburgh does… although I love both cities.

Finally, it was lunchtime, so we stopped at one of Glasgow’s many burger restaurants.  This one was called Handmade Burger Co. and it’s located near at least two other burger places, including Five Guys.  This is another UK chain and it does offer some interesting interpretations of burgers.  They have the usual beef burgers as well as veggie and chicken burgers.

Bill studies the menu.

I wasn’t too impressed with their beer selection.  Everything was in a bottle and there weren’t a lot of choices.  But we did manage to find a couple we hadn’t tried.

This is a normal sized burger– the HBC Cheese and Bacon, which I had without any fries.  I wasn’t all that wild about the beef on this, which was very seasoned and reminded me a little of sausage.  They also used a “relish” that was kind of sweet.  

Bill had a “small” burger, a Junior beef classic.

The outside of the restaurant.

 

Just before 1:00pm, we stopped by the Drum & Monkey, a pub we visited during our first visit to Glasgow in 2012.  To be honest, we probably should have had lunch there, too.  The atmosphere was a bit more to our liking.

The Drum & Monkey.

Bill was being responsible and watched me suck down a porter.

The Blackout Porter listed on the sign below.

The inside of this pub is very grand, with lots of dark wood and plenty of cask ales and whiskies.  The menu is traditional and it seems to be a popular place for businesspeople.  

I could have spent a couple of hours at the Drum & Monkey, but we didn’t have time.  The witching hour was getting close.  We made our way to the train station, picked up our bags, and waited by the big clock for the rest of our cruise mates to arrive.

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Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part three…

We checked into the Carlton George Hotel in the early evening.  I booked three nights, even though we’ve been to Glasgow several times thanks to Hebridean Princess.  Although Glasgow is probably not as popular or tourist friendly as Edinburgh is, it remains a very nice place to visit with plenty of things to do and places to eat.  We made good use of our time there this visit.  The first order of business was to enjoy a cheeseburger, but not before we listened to an impressive array of hits played by a bagpiper who stationed himself near our hotel room.

This video admittedly sucks, but you get the idea…  Glad he wasn’t around all night.

I made a video of Bill’s reaction when he heard him play the Army song… you know, “The Army Goes Rolling Along”.  The guy knew all of the U.S. military “hits” and proceeded to play them all, everything from “Anchors Aweigh” to the “Marine’s Hymn”.  After that, he played a few Scottish hits and delved into pieces like the “Star Wars” theme.  He really had an impressive repertoire, although we’ve heard better bagpipers.  Fortunately, he didn’t stick around too long.  We passed him on our way to Five Guys and he was gone by the time we came back to the hotel.

Speaking of Five Guys… yes, it was the very same burger restaurant that has exploded in the United States.  Thanks to my status as a Virginia native and Bill’s time in the Army, which pretty much guarantees a stint living in northern Virginia, we have been familiar with Five Guys for years… even before they started franchising and went national.  I always shake my head when I see Five Guys outside of northern Virginia, since the family that founded it swore they would never expand into franchising.  And yet, there are plans to open Five Guys locations in Germany!  I hate to say it, but Germany could use a Five Guys.  It’s not easy finding really good American style burgers here, although we have found some places that offer somewhat decent facsimiles.

Anyway, Glasgow has a couple of Five Guys locations, as well as several other burger restaurants.  We decided to go to Five Guys for dinner on our first night, since we wanted something quick and painless.  The experience was very much like it is in the United States, as was the taste of the burger.  My only complaint was that when I got my cheeseburger, the cheese was not melted.  I am pretty grossed out by cold cheese, especially when it’s American cheese.  They put a ton of it on there, too.  I would say that if you are coming to Glasgow from the United States, you could probably skip the Five Guys experience and not miss it.  However, since we haven’t been to the States since 2014, we were glad to stop there.  Actually, since we ate nothing but fancy food on the ship, it was kind of nice to have a cheeseburger.

Very good… except for the excessive and unmelted cheese!!!

One goal met!  

This was the view from our table at breakfast in the hotel’s rooftop restaurant.

I had some rather extreme Eggs Benedict that I couldn’t finish.  The hotel offers a pretty nice breakfast which includes dishes made to order.  It does cost extra to get breakfast included, though.  I think we paid 75 GBP for three mornings of breakfasts for two.  We probably got ripped off, but it was sure convenient.

The next day was Sunday.  I had decided ahead of time that I wanted to visit the city of Stirling, which is a charming town about halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh.  I was aware of the castle there, but also learned of a whisky distillery and a couple of other attractions.  It was raining on the day of our visit, which dampened things a little bit, but our hotel was located right next to the Queen Street train station, which made it easy to get to Stirling by rail.  It took about forty-five minutes.  Naturally, we were seated near fellow Americans.  Glasgow was positively rife with them.  😉

 

I get a kick out of British nannyism signs.  I have an album full of them on Facebook, which I will add to after I’ve written up this trip.

A memorial in Glasgow’s busy’s Central Railway Station.

A Glasgow pic.

To get to Stirling, we had to use the Queen Street Station, which was right next to our hotel.

Bill is excited.

This is a Baptist church in Stirling, which was one of the first things we saw there.  We don’t see too many Baptist churches like this one in the United States.

A couple of other shots as we made our way up a hill toward Stirling Castle.  Before we got there, we ran into the Stirling Old Town Jail…

 

We didn’t know it, but we happened to be in Stirling on the last day of the season for the Old Town Jail.  I love visiting jails because I’m kinky that way, so Bill and I bought tickets and took the tour.  We were there with three other visitors, led by an actor who repeatedly changed costumes as he told us about the jail’s history in character.  He treated us like new inmates at one point, which was more annoying than scary.  Kids probably appreciate it, though.

Prior to the jail’s opening in 1847, people who crossed the law in Stirling were thrown into the Tolbooth Gaol, which was a horrible place to be punished.  Compared to the Tolbooth, Stirling’s old jail was visionary.  Prisoners were fed, kept in cells by themselves, and paid to work, although they were all addressed by number rather than name.

The attraction itself is interesting, if not kind of corny in the way it’s presented.  I would say it’s probably a fun place for older kids to see.  An added bonus is that you get to climb the tower and see lovely views of Stirling, although it was pretty cloudy and rainy when we visited.

One of a few cells we visited.

This sign has a typo.  I couldn’t help but notice.

This was one shot I got.  We were told prisoners were not allowed to take in this view when they were in the tiny courtyard for exercise.

This was an interesting form of punishment.  Basically, prisoners worked hard all day at nothing.

For once, I didn’t make Bill pose for a shot.

 

A couple more foggy shots.

Bill poses by the tower before we finished the tour of the jail.

Mind the steps.

These four shots are of spots around Stirling, taken before and after we visited the castle.

A gate to the cemetery, I think.  I thought it looked artsy.

The entrance to Stirling Castle.

 

To be honest, I don’t have a whole lot of patience for visiting houses and castles.  For some reason, I tend to get bored quickly in them.  I also don’t like crowds, and Stirling Castle was pretty crowded, even on a rainy Sunday.  Nevertheless, we did stay awhile I got some photos.  I think my enthusiasm was dampened by the misty weather.  It made me want to find a nice pub and drink.  I did enjoy the Queen Anne Garden pictured below, despite the rain.  The flowers smelled so good!

As a musical person, this exhibit was interesting to me…  

The Great Hall, I believe…

I don’t know how, but it took this visit to find out how significant unicorns are to Scots…  They were all over Stirling Castle and elsewhere in Scotland.  I am a horse lover, yet somehow never noticed all the fantastic unicorns in the land of much of my ancestry.  The above photos were taken in the King’s and Queen’s bedrooms.  Unicorns are Scotland’s national animal.

Once we’d had enough of the crowds, we headed back down the hill and visited a pub we’d passed on the way in.  It happened to be packed with people, though we did manage to score the last table.  The guy over my shoulder felt a little like the Grim Reaper.  He was standing right behind me for most of our stay.  It kind of gave me the willies.

I am sporting the drowned rat look, thanks to the wet weather.

Scottish style macaroni and cheese.  It was good, but the cheese was fairly strong.  Bill probably would have liked it better than I did.

I liked his spicy pasta dish.  We probably should have traded!

After lunch, we headed back to the train station.  We were a little too late for the 2:45pm train back to Glasgow, so we stopped in the Coffee House pictured below.

I didn’t take note of the opening hours when we walked in…

Bill got a cup of coffee and I had a mocha.  We had been sitting there for about ten minutes when the barista abruptly kicked everyone out.  We hadn’t realized that she was closing at 3:00.  There was another American couple there and the male half made me laugh when he mimicked the barista with a flat, “Get out!”  We saw a few other hapless folks unaware of the hours walking in and getting kicked out promptly and very bluntly.  Having worked in the service industry, I completely understand the sentiment, although it was a little off putting.  Oh well.  At least I got my mocha.

On the way back to Glasgow, the train was pretty packed.  Some very kind gentleman offered me his seat until the conductor found two for Bill and me to sit together.  I was heartened by how genuinely kind the guy was to me.  In America or even in Germany, I would have expected total indifference.

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