I Hope I Don't Jinx Myself

Lola has heard such horror stories of the Scottish weather, that she has, until now, avoided mentioning it, for fear that it will permanently drive the sun away. She had been told that it was cold, dreary and rainy, but the scenery is nice. So far, the weather has been quite lucky and Lola thanks the meteorological gods for this blessing. For the most part, it has only rained at night, or in the morning when we are on the bus. There has been quite a bit of sun, and Lola even visited the pool! Granted, it's indoors, but that is completely beside the point.
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Glenfiddich

We awoke at the arse-crack of dawn to begin our journey to the next hotel, which had 3 important stops along the way: Speyside Cooperage, Dean's Shortbread, and (drumroll please) Glenfiddich Distillery (by far, my favorite part of the day). The cooperage was very interesting. They mostly refurbish old bourbon casks from the US, and most of the work is done by hand. Then, the distillery. FAH-bulous. A nice tour that told the history of the company, and then a walking tour of the grounds. I had only the vaguest notion of how whiskey is made, so I found this riveting. We ended the tour with a tasting of the 12, 15 and 18 year old scotches. We ended the day at Dean's, which had a lackluster tour, but a good lunch and nice history about this shortbread company.
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A Bit of History

After the lighthearted dogs, we went to Culloden to see the museum at the battlefield. Here's your history lesson for the day: in 1745 there was a Jacobite Rising; those who wished James VII of Scotland (III of England) returned to the throne, along with catholocism. Led by Bonnie Prince Charles, the Jacobite troops were undefeated until their last battle. Due to several issues, they were slaughtered at Culloden. The museum is just beside the actual battlefield, which has remained relatively unchanged since the battle. The field had the battle lines shown for each side, and the dead are actually buried there. There is a stone for each clan that lost members. That was the last battle fought on British soil. It was awe inspiring.
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Sheep Dogs

This morning we went to a sheep farm to see a border collie demonstration. It was absolutely fascinating! There are 2,500 sheep and 35 dogs. Each dog has its own set of whistle commands, and the dogs are friggin brilliant. After the cornering of the sheep, Neil (the shepherd) showed how the sheep are sheared, and let people try. Those that did got to keep a piece of fleece. Now THERE'S a souvenir... Sheep bits. Anyhow, the dogs then corralled some wayward ducks, and I got to feed a lamb from a milk bottle. Lots of fun, and very interesting :)
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Here Nessie, Nessie

Last night we had driving tour of Glasgow. Much of the architecture is reddish, or mottled in color due to the sandstone in the area. Today marked the first REAL day of sightseeing, and we did quite a bit. We took a boat cruise on Loch Lomond, the 3rd largest lake in Scotland. 500 ft at its deepest! Then we continued through the countryside, through Glencoe where we learned about the massacre of the MacDonalds by the Campbells in 1692. We continued through Great Glen, and the Caledonia canal, which connects 4 lochs, the last of which is Loch Ness, the 2nd largest lake at 26 miles long and 900 ft! Try tho I might, I did not see Nessie. The countryside is indescribably beautiful; the mountains are extremely steep, and lakes so deep because they were cut from glacial ice. I've already taken more photos than I know what to do with!
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Haggis for Breakfast

The breakfast at the hotel this morning was buffet-style, with all sorts of different foods: fruit, eggs, yogurt, croissants, and haggis. Now, I'm not sure what my expectations were, but I was certainly NOT under the assumption that haggis was a breakfast food. At any rate, it was sort of like hash, without the carrots and more pepper. Wasn't too bad, actually!
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Yes, 1 Kilo DOES Matter

After returning to Mauze, we had dinner at a friend's house, and - spent the following day repacking the bags to have ewverything perfectly balanced fdor the Flybe flight (cheap airline with a 20 kg checked bag limit, and 10 kg carry-on). Finally, with both carry-ons virtually bursting, and the wine safely packed, the checked bags were 21 kg each. I just hoped that would be close enough. Apparently not. While they didn't charge me, I was sternly spoken to about packing too much weight. Grrrr. Anyway, we got on our flight, and safely made it to Glasgow. Slept poorly, as I am fighting some sort of annoying sore throat, but the tour starts this afternoon, and I am quite excited!
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Arcachon-Day 2

When we left that morning on the boat tour, it was cloudy and cold. And, of course, I forgot a sweatshirt, so I was a bit chilly on the boat. When we arrived in Cap Ferret, we walked along a touristy street to the Lighthouse. On the little path to the lighthouse there was a display dedicated to light. It talked about white light being comprised of other colors, and there was a station for each color, detailing the regional things you can find in those colors (houses, food, flowers, etc). We then walked to the beach, on the Atlantic side of the peninsula, and just watched the waves. By that point the sun was reappearing. We had dinner at a lovely restaurant recommended by Annie, where we had oysters on the half-shell, and fabulous wine, right on the ocean. This morning, we went to the beach for a bit before packing our stuff to go back to Mauze. We will stay there this evening, then take a plane to Glasgow on Saturday to begin the Scottish (and final) leg of our journey.

Arcachon- Day 1

We arrived in Arcachon about 2:30 and went to our hotel, Le Dauphin (the dolphin). That afternoon, we walked to Ville d'Hiver, the older part of the city. Still not sure if we made it entirely to the correct area, but the places we did walk were very nice. We visited the Notre Dame basilica, with gothic vaulted ceilings that are painted crimson, and a steeple that can be seen from quite a distance out to sea. The second day we took a boat tour of the basin, and later got off at Cap Ferret, a peninsula across the way.

Fine Food, Good Company

After our canoe trip, we continued on a windy path in the general direction of Bordeaux. Our hotel that evening was very nice, and we had dinner at the highly acclaimed restaurant there. It was a five course meal, and I was truly convinced they would have to roll me back to my room. Sadly, the next morning we had to take Helene and Maxim to the airport so they could return to England :( Dad and I then took a train from Bordeaux to the city of Arcachon, located on a tidal basin on the Atlantic.