Day 38!

And there goes the last day of my trip! Today was nice and relaxing for the most part. I started by going downstairs and getting my usual cup of instant coffee while checking the Dodger results - another win yesterday! It was raining when I woke up, so I decided to wait a bit before I went up to Edinburgh Castle, so I went and saw Harry Potter instead. It was pretty good, but I think it could have been better (I really don't like Michael Gambon as Dumbledore - at all). So after seeing the movie I headed up to McDonald's for some lunch, and from there I continued on up to Edinburgh Castle. I spent a good bit of time in the castle seeing as much as I could. From great views over to city, to the Honours of Scotland I saw pretty much everything. I even went down into the dungeons and saw where they kept their prisoners. It is a huge castle so it took me quite a while to see everything, but it was worth it. I also learned a lot about the history of the castle and the city as well. After leaving the castle I did some quick souvenir shopping on the Royal Mile, and then made my way back to my hostel. Once I got there I took a nice nap, and then finished watching The Da Vinci Code movie which I started yesterday. After the movie I took a quick shower, cooked up some pot noodles for dinner, and then made my way down to my wifi spot where I am currently typing up my blog, and following the Dodger game. And that is it pretty much. There's not much left to go as far as my trip is concerned. My flight leaves Edinburgh airport at 10:55am tomorrow morning, and then I have a 2 hour layover at JKF Airport in New York before finally making it back to LA sometime around 7:30pm (3:30am Scotland time). Then I can finally sleep in my own bed without having to worry about any Snorway's or loud people coming in late at night. I think I am going to type up another quick blog once I get back home tomorrow night to cap it all off. See Ya!


The view of the city from Edinburgh Castle



Me and Edinburgh from the Castle



The Royal Palace (where the Honours of Scotland are - aka The Crown Jewels)



The upper castle yard



The Entrance to Edinburgh Castle

Day 37

Here we go! Today was the last day of my 5 day Skye and Highlands tour. The day began like many others. I woke up and went downstairs, got my instant coffee, and checked the internet to see the Dodgers finally won, the Lakers got Odom back, and basically the entire 2003 Red Sox team was on steroids. So we got on the bus at 9 again and left Oban behind. Our first stop of the day was in southwest Scotland at...another castle! This one was called Carnasserie. It was pretty well preserved and we got to climb up the towers for some really nice views over the area. Our next stop was in the small town of Kilmartin where we saw its really old graveyard and Cathedral before moving on. Continuing south, we stopped again at Dunadd Fort. which was build around the 8th century I believe. There wasn't much of it left, but our guide told us some interesting stories about it and how the Scot's (before they were called Scot's or Scotland was called Scotland) used it to keep the Romans from invading. Alright, so now it was lunch time, and we began heading east back towards Edinburgh, and we stopped in the small town of Inveraray for lunch. We got some lunch then walked around the town a bit. From there we continued east and stopped at Loch Lomond at the village of Luss (where I have already been, but this time it was pouring rain, so I was glad I had already been there). Next up was the William Wallace Monument in Stirling. Our guide told us all the history about William Wallace (at least as much as they know) and he told us the many differences between the movie Braveheart and the real William Wallace. Once we got there we climbed up a good sized hill to get to the monument which overlooked the whole city with Stirling Castle in the distance. From there we made a short drive back into Edinburgh where our tour ended and we got dropped off. It was a really good tour overall, and I was very glad I went on it. Once I checked back into St. Christopher's Hostel on Market St. I took a quick shower, and made my way to my favorite wifi spot on the bottom floor. The plan for tonight is to meet up with my tour group at 8:30pm to get some food, and hang out for the last time. I have ONE DAY left before I am heading home. Crazy. See Ya!


Carnasserie Castle



Me at the top of Carnasserie Castle



View from the top of Dunadd Fort



Our bus



Inveraray



A man and his bagpipes in Inveraray



Me and the Wallace Monument

Day 36

Ok, so I woke up around 8:00am, and then got some coffee and walked down to Saucy Mary's Cafe to steal some wifi. Then around 9 our guide picked us up and we left the Isle of Skye and Kyleakin behind. We made another quick photo stop at the Eilean Donan Castle because it just looked too good to pass up when we were driving by. After another quick photo stop we did some more driving and stopped again at a small town that is famous for its well. I guess many hundreds of years ago there was a group of people who were beheaded and their bodies were thrown into the well, and ever since the well has become a very popular tourist spot. Our next stop was at Ben Nevis - the highest mountain in Great Britain. There were a few clouds so we couldn't actually see the top, but nevertheless it was still nice. From there we made the most exciting stop of the day at the Glen Finnan Viaduct (aka The Harry Potter Bridge). It also overlooked a really nice lake, so we had some really nice views. So now it was lunch time (actually past lunch time so I was impatiently hungry). I got some pasta and chicken nuggets for lunch in Ft. William, and walked around the town for a bit. After Ft. William we moved on and stopped in Glen Coe where there were some nice mountains and walking paths - except it started pouring rain so we didn't get much walking in, but we did manage to get a nice group photo. Since no day in Scotland is complete without a castle we had to make one last stop on our way to Oban at Dunstaffnage Castle. So we walked around the castle for a bit, climbed on the walls, and took some pictures before heading back to the bus. From here it was only 5 miles down the road to Oban. Once we got in I took a shower, and then we all went out for some really good fish and chips at the harbor. After dinner we all met up at a Scottish dancing place where live bands play. This was kinda crazy. I did manage to do some dancing, and it was pretty fun. Once I got back to the hostel afterward I was so tired that I could only post my pictures before falling asleep. Another really fun day in Scotland! See Ya!


Me & Eilean Donan Castle



Random photo stop in the Highlands



Me and Ben Nevis (the tallest mountain in the UK)



Me and the Glen Finnan Viaduct (aka The Harry Potter Bridge)



Me and Glen Finnan



Fort William



Loch Linney near Fort William



Glen Coe



Dunstaffnage Castle



Oban



Oban again

Day 35!

Day 35! Man I only have 4 days left – only 3 of actual sightseeing. So today was a full day tour of…..The Isle of Skye! This might have been one of my favorite days in Scotland so far. As we left around 9:00am the weather seemed pretty intimidating – so not the best start. We made our first stop after about 20 minutes at a river (one of two magical locations that we stopped at today). Supposedly if you placed your face in this river for 7 seconds, then you would become blessed with good looks for the rest of your life. I knew right away that Granddad had never visited this river on his visit to Skye, and as for me, I decided not to subject myself to 7 seconds of freezing cold water on my face since there isn’t much to be improved upon anyways. Okay, so we continued along the coast of the island and made our next stop in the town of Portree – the islands capital. Once I got off the bus I walked around the town for a bit and took some pictures before getting a sandwich and some pasta for lunch. Onward, our next two stops were both sightseeing spots. The first was a nice ridge overlooking the ocean, but once we had walked a good ways from the bus it began pouring rain, so we all ran back to the bus, but ended up soaking wet. About 5 minutes later we made the second sightseeing stop (and the skies were clear now) at some really nice cliffs on the coast with a waterfall. It was really nice and I got some good pictures. The next stop we made was probably the highlight of the day. It was a location called The Quiraing which is basically a huge plateau with cliffs and slopes that overlook the Trotternish Peninsula. It was quite a hike to get to the top, but once we made it up there it was amazing, and the views were great. It took about an hour before we got back on the bus. The next place we stopped at was the ruins of Duntulm Castle which is right on the tip of the peninsula. The weather was perfect by now, although a bit windy, but we walked all around, chased some sheep, and had some seal sightings. Afterwards we made our way to our second magical location. Faerie Glen, which, I guess, is how they spell fairy in Gaelic. The place had a very strange feeling, so I can understand how it developed its reputation as a magical location. There was a hill, and on top of it there were some castle ruins, and supposedly you are supposed to think of all the bad things happening in your life as you walk up the hill, and then on your way down you have to think of good things, and then all your problems will go away. Nevertheless, I walked up the hill and back down, but instead of thinking of good and bad things, I just took a bunch of pictures, so I don’t know if that will give me any luck, but we shall see. After that we began making our way back to Kyleakin for the night, but we made some photo stops along the way. At this point I was getting very close to finishing The Da Vinci Code so I was locked in reading that on the bus ride back. Once we got back I took a shower and cooked up some food, and that has been my day up to this point. C Ya!


The mysterious magical river of good looks



The harbor in the town of Portree



Hmmmm...so close



Me and some cliffs on the Isle of Skye



Me at the tip of the Isle of Skye



Cliff at the top of The Quiraing



Me and a cliff at the top of the The Quiraing



Me at the tip of the Trotternish Peninsula with some sheep



The Duntulm Castle on the Trotternish Peninsula



The tip of the Trotternish Peninsula & the Atlantic Ocean



Faerie Glen



Faerie Glen again



Ruined castle at Faerie Glen

Day 34

Alright! Day 34! I woke up around 7:30am at our hostel in Inverness, and then went downstairs and got some instant coffee, and saw that the dodgers lost. Bad start to the day. From there, we got on the bus around 9:00am and headed north across the Moray Firth. Our first stop was at a very mysterious Clootie Well. I don’t expect anyone to know what that is because I had no idea…and I know a lot of stuff. Basically, a Clootie Well is a small well filled with water in the middle of a forest that has magical properties. Supposedly, if you take an article of clothing or even a piece of cloth and dip it in the well and then tie it on a nearby tree or bush, then any misfortune you have encountered will slowly fade or rot away just as your piece of clothing will rot in the forest. So we saw that, and the nearby trees and bushes were just covered in clothing and cloths ranging from a soccer jersey to even a Macbackpacker’s T-shirt (they are the company I am on tour with). We made it back to the bus eventually and continued on to our next stop which was in the Rogie forest where we went on a walk through the forest and up to a waterfall, and a pretty scary swaying bridge. From there we made our way further north (and west) to the town of Ullapool on the west coast where we stopped for lunch. When we got off the bus it was pouring rain, so I went into the grocery store to get some food for dinner later tonight, and when I came out the skies were clear. Strange. I got some chicken nuggets and sausage for lunch, and then walked around the town for a bit before making my way back to the bus. Once we left Ullapool our first stop was at the Corrieshalloch Gorge. We went on another short walk to another swaying bridge except this time it overlooked a 200 foot drop straight down into the gorge where there was a river and a waterfall. It was really nice and even a bit freaky because the bridge really did move quite a bit, and it was windy. So, after we got back on the bus we continued driving south through some really nice highland scenery where we made a few picture stops before arriving at the Eilean Donan Castle. I had been really looking forward to this because I had seen pictures that looked amazing. When we got there it looked just as amazing, and we got to go on a tour inside the castle which was really cool. I think I took about 100 pictures at the castle. Once we left we had a very quick drive over the Skye Bridge and onto the ISLE OF SKYE!!! where we are staying the night. I can’t even tell you how excited I was to get to the Isle of Skye because I’ve only heard wonderful things about it (from Granddad of course). Right after crossing the bridge we arrived at our hostel in the small town of Kyleakin. Once I got checked in I took a quick shower and headed down to the kitchen to cook up some dinner. Sadly, the wifi was down so I am typing this on Microsoft Word which I hope to post asap. We are probably going to go out into town in a bit and see if there is anything to do, and then come back and go to sleep. See Ya!


Me behind the Clootie Well



Rogie Forest



Swaying bridge in the Rogie Forest



Random Highland photo stop



Ullapool



Me @ our lunch stop in Ullapool



Me and Corrieshalloch Gorge



Another random stop in the Highlands



Me and Eilean Donan Castle



Eilean Donan Castle



Scottish Flag at the Eilean Donan Castle



The town of Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye



The Skye Bridge



The Maol Castle near Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye