Day 16 - FR

This trip was a world of new experiences, one being Ryanair. I had only ever flown to and from major airports to date and after we woke and jumped in the car, we discovered that Glasgow-Preswick was 60km away. Fortunately Jared had anticipated this the night before so we made it there in time.

Naturally, this was the same at the other end (Paris-Beauvais) but instead of a 45min car ride, it was a 90 minute bus ride. We arrived in Paris and then had the challenge of finding our hostel. Turned out that Parisians aren't as bad as we had heard and the few we spoke to, helped us out.

We made it to the hostel so checked in, dumped our stuff and Fiona arrived. Bumped into an Aussie there from Sydney and couldn't believe how 'typical' his accent was. Not sure if it was because we hadn't been around Aussies for a while or if he was putting it on!

I call this 'Bogan à Paris'

Anyway, we headed out and saw Notre Dame de Paris, Musée du Louvre and other bits and pieces. For dinner we propped ourselves up at a typical French café where I had a nice but small panini, some port for an apéritif and a crepé. Sarah had a €7 Pepsi! One of the cool things about travel is experiencing the different cultures. In this instance, it was that outdoor seeting at café's have the seats facing the street so you can people watch! Took this as an opportunity to have a giggle at the number of scooters that stopped at the lights.

The girls resting at Musée du Louvre

We did some more walking and looking then headed home for a shower and a rest.

The Arc de Triomphe from Jardin des Tuileries looking up Avenue des Champs-Élysées with Place de la Concorde in the foreground

Day 15 - SCO

We headed for Glasgow today where we were to stay with Meg and Jared who Mim knew... I think... she has a list of contacts longer than a roll of toilet paper but fortunately, most are willing to help out travellers.

I found British drivers to be great however
these sheep were as annoying as Australian drivers

On the way we saw Glen Nevis and Loch Lamand and I grabbed a panorama around Glen Coe which I think could be a personal favourite. I would love to capture this three more times representing the other four seasons. Oh well, I can dream.

Glen Coe in all its glory

After arriving in Glasgow and finding where we were staying, we met Meg and Jared and headed out for dinner.

Day 14 - SCO

After leaving the hostel, seeing as though we were to drive around the Isle of Skye, we picked up a girl who was heading to Portree. When we arriced we had breakfast and finally tried some black pudding. Sarah wasn't a fan as it seems that she didn't find it very appealing as it is something that is essentially congealed blood. Whilst I wouldn't want to have it as part of my regular diet, I didn't mind it.

Around the northern tip of the isle we found a mock village of what it might be like to have lived there many centuries ago. It was a cold, wet and windy region, fires provided light and warmth, simple food and no wireless internet!

This is another part of Scotland with stunning
views filled with rich green grass

We also headed on another Mim detour in search of some ruins at the southern end of the isle. No surprises that we had no such luck however we still had a bit of a look around.

Even on the Isle of Skye there's a vandalism problem with the sheep

As we left, we visited Eilean Donan Castle and it was alright. Another castle in good condition.

Eilean Donan Castle

Sarah all excited when she thought
we were playing hide and seek

Our destination was Fort William where after a few stops to discover the hotels were full, we found a good B&B. For dinner we snuck back into Fort William and had some take away dinner. Gwennie also let us know that she won't be meeting us in Glasgow tomorrow.

Day 13 - SCO

Back on the road today. The Isle of Skye was the target and we had a few castles on the way we wanted to check out.

First up was Stirling Castle. It's another impressive castle that's in great condition. We made our way around it and even sampled some locally distilled whiskey inside. After we left, we grabbed some food from a Griegs (a popular bakery found across Great Britain) and it was yummy.

Mim and Sarah on their way to assault the castle

Inside the great hall

The view from Stirling Castle towards the William Wallace monument

We made our way through Inverness and stopped at Loch Ness to see if we could spot the monster. The ruins of Urquardt Castle was next and we spent about an hour there. There was another castle we tried to look at but it was closed.

Mim looking for 'Nessy' and
Sarah looking silly...

Inside the ruins of Urqhardt Castle

Just before the Isle of Skye sits Eilean Donan Castle however we decided to have a look at it tomorrow on the way out. We found the hostel and Gwennie let us know that she might be joining us in Glasgow before we leave for Paris.

Day 12 - SCO

When Todd first arrived in Edinburgh, he did a guided walking tour so he thought he'd try his hand at doing the same for us. We went to Queens Palace, New Town, Old Town and had lunch at a pub where we sampled some haggis. For something that's basically offal, it wasn't aweful (excuse the pun). In fact, it was pretty good.

Walking up the Royal Mile

Sarah was loving the haggis

After lunch we headed back to Todd's and grabbed the car and headed up Arthurs Seat. It has a pretty good view up there but it was pretty windy. When we arrived at the top, we found some dude who was playing the bagpipes. Turned out it was a family tradition of theirs. Only in Scotland...

The last known photo of Mim before she was blown away by the wind

Fortunately the notes were also carried away with the wind

Kristen met up with us when we arrived back at the unit and we headed out for a curry for dinner at a nearby pub. Later on Sarah stayed in while Mim and I saw Pride and Predujice at the movies.

Todd was horrified when he found out I was going
to see Pride and Predujice at the movies

Day 11 - SCO

Mim had a few things to do this morning so so Sarah and I made our way to chech out Edinburgh Castle. It's another impressive structure with a world of history.

Edinburgh from Edinburgh Castle

He doesn't really look like Mel Gibson

After hearing the One O'Clock Gun fire, we met up with Mim and had some lunch followed by taking Todd and Kristen to a wedding at and impressive castle / home.

Busking is a little different over here

We made our way to Rosslyn Chapel and had a look around. Part of it was off limits due to restoration and it was to be used for filming for 'The Da Vinci Code'.

Rosslyn Chapel is quite ornate

For dinner I volunteered to cook but produced some tasteless pasta. It usually tastes really yummy! We finished the night with walking around getting some random photos of the city.

Day 10 - SCO

We did some serious driving today. After leaving Banbury we basically headed for Edinburgh. On the way we had two detours. Mim had been talking about some 'Angle of the North' that we have to see and Sarah had another aunt to see.

First up was Mim's detour. Let me give you some advice. If Mim says she has a small detour to make, be very careful about what you agree to. I had visions of some nice statue in a setting that was worth checking out. Instead we were greeted with an ugly steel structure that apart from being impressively big, sat out in the middle of the boondocks near Newcastle!

You have been warned.

It was impressive but not quite what we expected

The second stop was Aunt Angela who lives in Rothbury. We arrived and were treated to some afternoon tea and some RAF Tornado's on manouvers. Time was moving on so we had to do the same. There was quite a bit of nice scenery on the way north too.

    
Sarah and Mim taking in the scenery

Sarah with a foot in both camps

Next stop, Edinburgh. We had some fun doing so but we finally found Todd's place. Dinner was in order so headed out for a steak.