Final Thoughts on Scotland

To see all of the photos from our trip, please view my Flickr album https://www.flickr.com/gp/126220784@N06/jQAy1Z

Now that we are back in the good ole U.S. I feel like I should take some time to reflect on our trip. It was amazing, beautiful, breathtaking, fun, delicious, and relaxing (not a sit-in-a-beach-chair-all-day kind of relaxing, but more like escape-from-children-and-drink-when-you-want-to relaxing). The landscapes are unbelievable and it's impossible to accurately capture it in photographs. The cities are historic, quaint, and interesting. It makes you remember how 'new' everything is in America (also how much we tend to build with crappy materials that don't last very long).  There are things that were awesome about the country and things that were annoying - like the sinks with separate hot and cold faucets. 

The country is so clean - we didn't see litter anywhere. They are so smart with their roads - I just can't say enough good things about roundabouts. I wish we utilized them more in the US. Even driving on the 'wrong' side of the road was tolerable with roundabouts. They were the friendliest people - possibly because they drink whisky all day - but we didn't encounter a single rude or unlikable person. Speaking of drinks, we thoroughly enjoyed sampling all of the local whiskies, beers, and wines. The food was delicious and we ate far too much of it. It will take a few weeks before my pants fit again.

The single track roads were a little nerve-wracking at times - driving over a hill and not knowing if another car is heading straight for you on the other side. The 'passing places' are tiny and sometimes not in the place where you need them. But since we spent most of our time on local roads, we could pull over and stop the car every time we saw a nice view (or a cow). Our travels took much longer than planned because we kept stopping to enjoy the views - and it didn't matter if we were late arriving anywhere because it didn't get dark until after midnight!  Thank goodness for the heavy dark curtains to block out the sunlight at 3:30am. 

All of the places we stayed were amazing. If you ever decide on a trip to Scotland, you should definitely try these - many of them have Michelin-rated restaurants!

Edinburgh - The Balmoral Hotel 
* Try their "Number One" restaurant, which was rated #1 on Trip Advisor


Pitlochry (Perthshire) - Knockendarroch House
* Dinner was amazing!

Nairn (outside Inverness) - Boath House
* Featured as one of Scotland's best gardens! Dinner was also amazing.

Isle of Skye - The Flodigarry Hotel
* Great restaurant and bar and amazing water views.

Kilchrenan on Loch Awe (kinda near Glen Coe or Loch Lomond - it's in the middle of nowhere) - Ardanaiseig Hotel
* Beautiful old manor home - delicious food and gardens. They provide Wellies for all the guests!

Stirling - Hotel Colessio
* Very close to Stirling Castle and shops. 

Edinburgh (near the airport)-  Norton House Hotel & Spa
* Also has a very nice spa but we didn't have time to use it. A good place to stay upon arrival or before leaving since it is so close to the airport, but is too far outside of town if you are wanting to sight see. 

I would highly recommend this as a trip for anyone, whether you want to do half the country like we did, or just a few stops (I could do a week just on Skye alone!)  If you are interested I'm happy to pass along more info on what we did, as well as our books that I used when planning.  


Sláinte!

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