Today was a travel day. We left Barcelona via RyanAir airlines and 2-1/2 hours later the plane dropped us off in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was sunny and in the mid 60's when we left Barcelona. It was somewhere in the upper 30's with sleet when we got off the plane in Edinburgh.
We took a taxi to the Old Waverly Hotel where we will be staying for 3 nights. The Hotel has a history dating back to 1848. It is situated on Edinburgh's famous Princes Street in the heart of the city center. It is near the Edinburgh Castle and the Scott Monument
The Old Waverly Hotel
You can see the Edinburgh Castle up on the hill from our hotel window.
The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is the second largest monument to a writer in the world. The construction was started in 1840 and it was completed in 1844.
A short walk around our hotel revealed lots of historic buildings, the Waverly Train Station, lots of shops, many restaurants, and beautiful gardens of trees and flowers.
Well, we rented a car today and drove 90 miles from Glasgow to Oban. Oban is northwest of Glasgow and basically sits next to water from the North Atlantic Ocean. It was a very scenic drive as we drove next to Loch Lomond and through the Trossach National Park. RoxAnne volunteered to drive the car, which was quite a challenge. The driver sits on the right hand side of the car, they shift with their left arm (all cars have manual clutches), and they drive in the left lane of the road. Roundabouts are everywhere and you drive clockwise thru them, instead of counterclockwise as we do in the USA. We are staying at the Oyster Inn which is located right next to Loch Linnhe. We saw seals swimming in the water. The internet is not very good here at the inn, so not many pictures today.
We visited the countryside today and ended up in Glen Coe. It is located in the Highlands of Scotland. It was formed from volcanos, then shaped by glaciers during the ice age. Glen Coe is regarded as the home of Scottish mountaineering and is popular with hikers and mountain climbers. We learned that in 1692, in the aftermath of the Jacobite uprising of 1689, an incident known as the Massacre of Glencoe took place in the glen. Thirty-eight men, women and children from Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were slaughtered by government forces on the grounds that they had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to the King William. After visiting Glen Coe, we decided to track down some castles. Castle Dunstaffnage Monty Python and the Holy Grail was shot at this castle (Castle Stalker) and made an appearance as Castle of Aaaaarrrrrggghhh! Castle Barcaldine The roads can be quite narrow when looking for castles. This guy was nice enough to back up till he found a pull off.
We are currently in Glasgow. It is the most populous city in Scotland with an estimated population of 635,640. It is located on the banks of the River Clyde, in West Central Scotland. Another important river is the Kelvin, a tributary of the River Clyde, and was named after Baron Kelvin, the renowned physicist for whom the SI unit of temperature, Kelvin, is named. One of the most significant differences between Edinburgh and Glasgow is that Edinburgh is beautiful to walk around and soak in the beauty of the ancient, big city. Glasgow is more about culture and the vibe. There are so many bars, clubs and gig venues with daily shows. Glasgow is full of art – conventional and unconventional. Most of the museums and galleries are free. Glasgow is full of street art and murals can be found all across the city. It was raining this morning, but a local told us that "Today's rain makes tomorrow's whiskey". We rode a hop-on/hop-off bus around the city and visite...
That hotel is gorgeous!!!😍
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