Tasteful Voyages™: April 2016

We had pre-booked a day trip from Edinburgh to visit Loch Ness and the Highlands. My husband did NOT want to visit Scotland without looking for Nessie :- D I recommend pre-booking day trips when you KNOW you will be in a destination for a few days, rather than risking trips being sold out.

We met our group at a tour office very close to the Edinburgh Train Station at 7:30 on Monday morning. The tours were VERY well organized - we were greeted and told our driver's name, and then walked to our 16-seat vans. Our driver was Sandy - I told him that I would remember his name, because it's my daughter's name too - and he responded "Sandy is a Lad's name." We set off thru Edinburgh before getting into the countryside.

I must say I truly admired our driver / guide, Sandy. He drove us for 12 hours, while narrating the scenery and associated history. It was fascinating and very impressive. By the way, he works for Rabbies which is a major Scottish tour company, and based on our experience I highly recommend this company

Breathtaking! Loch Lubnaig at about 8:15 AM. Our guide, Sandy, said he hoped we would get there while the mist was about

The one-man show at the coffee shop at Loch Lubnaig. I discovered Oat Cakes -delicious!

Rich and me on the bank of Loch Lubnaig

Sonar on Loch Ness - looking for Nessie

What I learned - When in Scotland, it's not Scotch. It's just whiskey. And when you order you are asked "Smooth, sweet or Smoky?"

This was a photo stop on the drive to Loch Ness. Love that home at the base of the hill.

Loch Ness in the background; before we boarded our boat, the bride went up!

Had to; in Galesburg, Illinois, the Rib Shack is a great Rib Restaurant

Elyse always has great spirit!

Boat full of Serious Nessie hunters

We stopped at this very moving monument on the way to Loch Ness

The Commando Monument honors Commandos from WWII to the present day wars

All in all it was a wonderful day trip out of Edinburgh to see a bit of the Highlands and learn a bit of Scottish history

We got back to our hotel fairly late, around 9 PM. We had promised room service to the girls, but decided on a date night for ourselves. We first went to the Footlights Pub across from the hotel, which had a promising menu...The barkeep was clearly overwhelmed, and said he would give us menus but we had to order from and pay at the bar. no problem...but when I went to order he said I'm terribly sorry but our chef went off duty 15 minutes ago. So we went to the other bar associated with our hotel (by now it was 9:45) and they said they could squeeze us in...unenthusiastically. So we went to a third restaurant, a steakhouse just down the street from our hotel (we had the great Italian restaurant as a backup - prior post!) When I asked the waiter in the steakhouse if their kitchen was open, he looked confused, then said "we have a one'o'clock license." He then asked if we would like to sit under the painting:

Anyway, the food was GREAT! Thoughtfully prepared and reasonably priced. A very nice capper to our whirlwind visit to Edinburgh - I would love to return!

We landed in Edinburgh on Saturday morning after layovers in Detroit and Amsterdam (the joys of flying out of a regional airport!)

Very Early Morning View of SchuypolAirport Inernational Termian

We were booked into the Doubletree Edinburgh hotel. As is typical after an overnight flight "across the pond," our rooms were not yet ready. No Worries! We checked our bags at the hotel and headed out for a hop on/ hop off bus tour of the city. I used to scoff at these tourist bus tours, and in fact have NEVER taken one in my natal city of Chicago - but after a great steer from our cardiologist who pointed out that you get a 24-hour ticket and can use these tour buses for transport, we have started out many visits to international cities getting our bearings via these bus tours. We took a two hour loop around the city and after disembarking, had a great lunch at one of my UK favorites, Wagamama.

Joan's Entree - Panko Breaded Eggplant with curry gravy and rice

Isabella's entree - chicken ramen

Who knew Elyse likes Duck?

We got back to the hotel and glory be, our rooms were ready. We really enjoyed the warm chocolate chip cookies - a signature of Doubletree properties, no different here in Scotland. The girls were tired, so Rich and I let them rest while we ventured out just across the street to a Scottish Pub, The Blue Blazer.

The Signpost for the Blue Blazer Pub - our Doubletree Hotel property is visible in the background.

The interior of the Blue Blazer - a rhapsody of red!

Mosaic on the floor at the entrance of the Blue Blazer

We had an unremarkable dinner at the hotel dining room, and agreed to get up early and head up the hill in the morning to check out Edinburgh Castle.

Since it WAS Easter, we brought some Easter Candy for the girls at breakfast. The breakfast service in the hotel had a nice buffet, with a few items available to order to supplement the buffet. The mushrooms were actually Portobello Mushroom caps. We had a nice meal before setting out for the castle. The weather seemed to be fair, until we made it the short way up to the top of the hill, where we were met by freezing drizzle and whipping winds. I did appreciate the ticket sellers at the castle asking every single person where they were visiting from, and engaging in a nice discussion about the hometown of the visitor. (Our observation was that the majority of visitors during our time in Scotland were from Spain.)

This kilt-clad lad actually studied at University of Alabama, and said he HATED the weather in Alabama. He said he was warm! I think you can guess he was the only one!

Rich and our Castle Host

Elyse, Rich and Isabella with the castle in the background - apologies for camera malfunctin

midway up the hill - there is a little cafe in these old castle homes

of the Ill-Fated (or devious - perspective is everything!) Mary Queen of Scots

A bust of a horse outside of the War Memorial on the grounds of Edinburgh Castle

One of the many suits of armor in the Armory

Elyse posing in a guard station

Isabella wasn't sure if she was allowed

the very photogenic Elyse in front of part of the War Memorial

From the castle, we headed outside of Edinburgh to Rosslyn Chapel, on the recommendation of my good friend Mary. Sadly we are not permitted to photograph inside, but the property is a stunning example of stonemason's artistry.

After our return to the hotel from Rosslyn Chapel, we walked a block and a half to a great Italian restaurant, Bar Italia. I had gone for a walk the evening before and walked past this place, noting that there were Italians out on the street waiting for tables. Even though there was an item on the menu called "Haggis Ravioli," we thought it was worth a try.

Before ordering, the server brought this tray around to show the fresh pastas of the day. Thumbs up!

So this was a daily special. I misunderstood the server; I thought she said this had smoked bacon, so I was exapecting a saffron accented carbonara style dish. It was actually smoked salmon...I am NOT a salmon fan, but honestly the fish was SO fresh and mild that it made for a delicious flavor profile.

After dinner everyone was pretty tuckered out, but I decided to go for a walk around town. I headed over the Grassmarket, up the Candlemaker's Crescent, and onto the Royal Mile. It was a gorgeous night and there were loads of people around, with plenty of good people watching.