We drove to Ft. Augustus and took a cruise on Loch Ness. I took this photo of Nessie ... NO Photoshop!
Loch Ness cruise. The guide asked if Nessie existed ... he answered his own question:
"I hope she does, because I like my job" Click on any photo to see a larger image.
In Ft. Augustus they had a Greek restaurant for lunch! Click on any photo to see a larger image.
But we started our Scottish trip in beautiful Edinburgh. Here we are on our way to the National Gallery of Scotland.
Cheers ... Slainte Mhath!
Bag-pipe music all over Edinburgh streets
Sir Walter Scott's monument in the center of Edinburgh. Tour guides claim that it is the world's tallest monument to a writer. Actually, it is the second tallest after Jose Marti's in Havana.
I used to go to Edinburgh often on work when I lived in London many years ago, but always to the "New Town", some 200 years old, where all the banks, brokers and investment funds are. I did visit the National Gallery, but never got up to the "Old Town", hundreds of years older, up on the hill, where we went several times.
Victoria Street in the Old Town, colourful, full of shops and restaurants on two levels, also an "official" Harry Potter souvenir store. Click on any photo to see a larger image.
Princess Street, the main shopping street divides the Old Town to the north and the New Town to the south.
The Scott monument behind us.
We walked several miles from our apartment in the New Town down to Leith, the old port that has been reconstructed with apartments, shops and the Royal Yacht Brittania, which was moored here in 1997 after more than 40 years service for Queen Elizabeth, travelling more than a million miles all around the world. It is now a tourist attraction.
Lorraine in the dining room of the Royal Yacht Brittania, where Queen Elizabeth entertained presidents, kings and prime ministers all over the world.
Also in Leith an old lighthouse tower has been converted into an excellent seafood restaurant, Fishers' Bistro.
On the way from Edinburg to the Scottish Highlands we first stopped at the Falkirk wheel, with a boat tour. The wheel is about 24 meters (80 ft.) tall and replaces previous 11 locks connecting two late 18th century canals. It lifts one boat full of people 80 feet and lowers another at the same time!
We drove a long way into the Highlands and had a nice apartment looking over one of the Lochs, Loch Linnhe, in Ft. Williams. From there we made several day-trips, the first one Castle Eliean Donan, close to the west coast.
Castle Eileen Donan does not have much history, was blown up by the Spanish and was a ruin for couple of hundred years until rebuilt in the 1920's. Now it is featured on covers of most guides to Scotland.
The next trip was to Ft. Augustus and Loch Ness (photos at the top of this page). After that was an all-day vintage Jacobean steam train to a small harbour of Mallaig where we had several hours lunch
A vintage steam engine on our train. On the way, we crossed the 21 arch Glenfinnan Viaduct built betwen 1897-1901. Quite spectacular for its day. There were hundreds of people in the hillsides waiting for our train to cross it and take photos and videos. We shared our cabin on the train with two young computer programmers from India and they took a video that you can see here ... about 1 minute.
A vintage steam train day-trip. In Ft. William they had Scottish food in pubs, but also an excellent Tandoori restaurant, highly recommended.
A long drive over the Scottish highlands, partly on extremely narrow roads over high country, with "passing places" every so often, to reach Aberfeldy in time for our tour of the Dewar's whiskey distillery. Mr. Dewar developed the "blended" whisky that was so popular until in the past 20 years the "single malts" staged a recovery, and succeeded in selling it in the U.S. and around world. J.K. Rawlings (of Harry Potter fame), they told us, has a house next door. Lorraine in her Scottish sweatshirt.
Dundee: our next home for several days. A modern hotel in an old harbour that no longer functions and is being redeveloped. Here with the V&A Dundee, the only branch of London's Victoria and Albert Museum outside of London. A modern exhibition of old tartans and a good restaurant overlooking the River Tay.
The V&A Dundee modern museum with Captain Scott's "Discovery" in front, built especially for a voyage to Antarctica. There was a race at the beginning of the 20th century to reach the South Pole. On this trip, Scott made many scientific observations and came back to Dundee. Unfortunately, on his next trip in 1911, he was beaten to the South Pole by Norwegian Roald Amundsen by a month and neither he nor his land crew made it back home. An interesting exhibition of the exploration of Antarctica from then to now.
From Dundee, we made more trips, one to nearby St. Andrews, my first repeat visit there in 50 years. A university town full of students, but primarily known for the first ever golf course: "The Old Course", still rated No.1 in golf course in the world.
Aberdeen: Our last day-trip. Here in the center of the old town with Marischal College, now a municipal office. From my many visits to Scotland on business 50 years ago, the food here has improved a lot: in Aberdeen, we had a good Turkish dinner, in Dundee a good Indian restaurant across from the hotel, a very good Thai restaurant 3 block away and dinner at Tony Macaroni, a local branch of a Scottish chain of Italian restaurants. We will be back!
