Alpha Romeo Here We Go, Our Ireland and Scotland Journey, Part 9

Day 10

We're leaving Edinburgh for the highlands.  Before leaving Edinburgh, both figuratively and physically, let me say that Kim and I both loved Edinburgh and we don't say that lightly.  In general we don't like big cities.  The architecture was stunning.  The people were friendly.  It was very compact and easy to navigate.  Really nice.

Today I got around a little early and hiked up to my favorite spot, Calton Hill, for some early morning photography.  Nothing special really.  I kept waiting for the light to do what I wanted but clouds and time limitations stymied me again.  Still, I'm fairly happy with some of the shots.  We'll see when I go through my photos from the Canon.

Ok, back to the hotel.

National Monument of Scotland

Off to the Highlands we go, or so we thought.  We packed up all of our things as compactly as we could and headed out of the hotel into the busy streets of Edinburgh with 3 suitcases, 3 backpacks and 2 very touristy looking Americans.  Randy quickly arranged an Uber ride for us, so we waited for the arrival.  And we waited.  Taxis apparently can't pick up on Princes street and he was waiting on a corner around the block.  We didn't get there fast enough for him and he left us.  Not to be deterred or phased by a little setback, Randy booked another one at the location the previous driver had chosen for pickup.  Foiled AGAIN!  This time the driver picked up another passenger and marked it as RANDY.  We were charged for the ride and dumbfounded as our taxi took off with another rider.  Third time has to be the charm, so, here we go for round three.  Finally, yes indeed, a taxi arrived for us.  It was even a van so there was plenty of room for us and our luggage.  On to Enterprise to pick up the rental car.

The drive across the city was uneventful and the driver was kind.  Oh, and Randy emailed Uber and they made it right so we didn't have to pay for the cab-jumpers ride after all.  The chaps at Enterprise were jolly and delighted to get us in a car and on the road as soon as possible.  Everything was going smoothly, they brought out a fresh, clean car,  and started going over procedures and asked Randy to sign and confirm the car was free of damage and we were on our way.  Nope, nada...no way.  Randy found a dent in the left front bumper.  We were not in any way bothered by a small dent, but the chaps at Enterprise would have nothing of that.  So, we waited for several minutes, about 15 total and they brought out another car.  Randy was pretty excited at the car they rolled out for him to drive.  He would have to make due this time with an Alfa Romeo.  A luxury sports car for our jaunt to the Scottish High Country, it would do in a pinch.  Yes indeed, good things come to those who wait!  


First stop was Dunfermline Abbey, only about 30 minutes away without traffic or about 50 with mid-morning traffic.  Some of Scotland's greatest medieval kings were buried here, including King Robert the Bruce whose tomb is actually directly below the pulpit.  Am I the only one who thinks that is a little odd?

Robert the Bruce

Anyway, not many photos here due to rain outside.  The surrounding area was

Dunfermline Abbey

quite complex, with both the current church an an older church behind it.  There were also ruins from the various abbey buildings and a former palace from around the 12th century.  We also ran across the birthplace of Andrew Carnegie.  Yep, he's from Dunfermline, Scotland.

Blair Castle

From here we traveled north and a bit west to Blair Castle about an hour and a half away in Blair Atholl.  We had a choice of seeing Scone (pronounced scoon) Palace or Blair Castle and we were glad that we chose Blair.

First, it's the only white castle we've seen.  Certainly unique in that respect.  The grounds around the castle are maintained as a garden and are really spectacular.  The highlight, however, was the inside of the castle.  Nearly the entire castle is part of the self-guided tour.  Tons of

rooms.  From the excellent condition of the rooms to the contents one could take hours looking and reading about everything.  And there were employees of the castle that wandered through answering questions and being extremely helpful.  I can't say enough good things about this castle.  Right up there with Bunratty as my favorite castle.  It also has a rich history.  Really nothing negative I can say about it.

After finishing up at Blair Castle the weather had cleared some, or at least was

Inside Blair Castle

not horrible, so we decided to drive to the Queen's View just a few miles away.

Queen's View is a viewpoint over Loch Tummel that is thought to have been named for Queen Victoria, but more likely for Queen Isabella, Robert the Bruce's wife.  It was a nice drive and a great viewpoint but the weather closed in on us which limited the view.

Queen's View

From there we drove to Glengarry Castle Hotel in Invergarry, our home for the evening.  For those who want to know, "inver" means mouth of a river.  And sure enough, Invergarry is located on the Garry River.  

Lots of rain and curvy roads for almost 2 hours.  The landscape was stunning even in the rain.  I am struck mostly by the various textures and color palettes, from various shades of brown and yellow to all kinds of greens, they were all captured on the hills and valleys.  I'm really hoping to capture just a small glimpse of this beauty in the next few days.  

We arrived a little after 6 pm with a reservation for dinner at 7 pm.  Dinner was

Glengarry Castle Hotel

included with our reservation and it was really lovely, a three course meal by a French chef.  Although I had been told prior to the trip that special dress attire was not required, I still felt under dressed as most men either wore a jacket and/or a tie.  It was some elegant dining for sure.

So full bellies and another blessed day.  This day is done.

Randy