Day 4 - St. Andrews & Edinburgh
I am totally lucking out with the weather during my stay. Other than a few short-lived sprinkles, it has been clear and lovely in Scotland. I enjoyed a DELICIOUS breakfast at the hotel in St. Andrews before taking a final walk around town to pick up a few treasures.
I headed back to Edinburgh with just enough time to unpack in my apartment before heading out for a walking tour of the city. My friend, Jilly, connected me with Bryan, who took me on out to explore some parts of the city I had not visited yet but were on my list. It included Dean Village which included a stroll along the Water of Leith. The area reminded me a bit of Rhode Island with its former mills that are now homes and art galleries. It was a stunning walk in late October and suspect it is breathtaking in the summer months with blooming flowers.
Bryan is an excellent guide, so if you are ever here, let either me or Jilly know and one of us will connect you with him. I learned so much on the walk....things like why there is often black stains on the buildings. That was from back in the days when everyone used coal to burn for heat, etc. There used to be a window tax - the more windows you had implied you were wealthy, so many residents would fill in windows and have 'fake ones' painted over top of them to minimize their tax burden. We even rode one of those double decker buses! We popped into an ancient cemetery and the botanical gardens. Our day's adventures wrapped up with a delicious meal at a place called
Nobles and a final whisky at one of Bryan's local favorites,
The Shore.
I had to take public transportation (!) back to my apartment all by myself (eek!) because it was just too far of a walk for that time of night. I have a bit of a phobia when it comes to buses (LOL) but I managed to get home without issue. I am feeling dang proud of myself, thank you very much.
Day 5 - The Highlands & Loch Ness
When I travel, I rarely sign up for tours but many folks urged me to go see The Highlands. Well, I certainly was NOT going to rent a car and drive myself up yonder and risk harming someone in the process, so I signed up for a small group tour courtesy of
Rabbie's Tours. Jim was our guide and he was fantastic - I highly recommend him and the service. I don't know how he pulled it off, but at each stop, the rain ceased so we could get out and take glorious photos. I also felt very grateful for another woman traveling solo (but not part of our group) who offered to share her table with me so I could eat my steak pie I was so looking forward to enjoying. I also discovered that there were a few New Englanders in the group as well, including a family visiting from Massachusetts.
It was a long but marvelous day of exploring and I am so happy that I went forward with booking the tour. Learning about this country has been like drinking from a fire hose - so much history, so many stories!
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