Taste of Scotland with CIE Tours - Day 4, 5, & 6

April 24, 25, & 26, 2012 - Edinburgh

     I have to say Edinburgh was my favorite part of Scotland! It is such a beautiful city - full of character and history. We spent the first day touring the city. We did a driving tour to get our bearings and we stopped at the Palace of Holyrood House where Queen Elizabeth stays when she is in Edinburgh. It was a beautiful stately palace and they offer tours and a museum for visitors. We didn't have time to take a tour but I highly recommend doing a tour if you are there!

 

     We visited Edinburgh Castle - the fortress on the hill overlooking the historic city.Edinburgh Castle is home to the infamous Military Tattoo every August. The Tattoo is a celebration concert of bagpipes and military bands. The event lasts for 2 weeks in the middle of August and every night 3,000-4,000 people gather in front of the castle to listen to the music. My favorite part of the castle was the view of the city of Edinburgh. The castle sits so high above the city that it seems like you can see all the way to the Highlands! We were treated to tea at the castle provided by the Historic Scotland Foundation. Tea time was in a private room above the gates to the castle, but the best part was the breathtaking view from the balcony. We could see the side of the castle and the Royal Mile and the homes below the castle.

 

     After tea, we had the afternoon free to explore Edinburgh. We walked the historic Royal Mile and shopped the cashmere boutiques. We crossed the bridge to New Town Edinburgh and had lunch at the authentic Scottish  Hard Rock Cafe...it was time for some American food! I loved our free time because we finally had time to explore at our leisure and wander where we wanted to wander. Just so you know, I am a true wanderer! My roommate, Teresa, said next time she traveled with me, she was going to get a leash for me because I always ended up behind the group or way ahead of everyone! We visited a local whisky shop in search of an old whisky distillery brand that one of the girl's great-grandfather worked at. I have never seen such a collection of whisky! Even after all of our tasting and lessons on how to properly drink whisky, I still don't like it! The only whisky I enjoyed was a cocktail of whisky and cranberry juice; sounds weird but it wasn't bad at all!

 

     After dark, we hit the town to explore the Edinburgh night life! We were told that the Grassmarket was the place to be for local pubs and music so when we finally found our way there, we went to the Black Bull. It was a great little pub with local music - just like we were told it would be! Surprise, the music was all American! We were shocked to know all of the songs! They even played "Brown Eyed Girl"! Beach music in Scotland! I was so excited!

 

     Day 5 in Scotland was spent at the VisitScotland Tourism Expo. A requirement for attending this tour with CIE was to complete the ScotsAgent training for the Scotland tourism department. Yes, I am a certified ScotsAgent! The expo hosted tourism vendors from across Scotland; hotels, ghost tours, golf companies, castles, etc. We talked to a lot of different people and even saw some of the hotel representatives we had already met on our journey! The expo was a little overwhelming with hundreds of people in attendance but a lot of fun!
     Our last night in Scotland was spent trying to soak up the last bit of the Scottish culture. We had a group dinner at a local pub on the Royal Mile and then we did a Dark Side of Edinburgh walking tour. Our guided showed us the alleyways which are called a "close" and she told us about the dark history of the Royal Mile. We ended our tour in the Grassmarket again so the babies of the group - us girls in our 20s - hit the town again! We went to Biddy Mulligans and the Last Drop, local pubs in the Grassmarket with real Scottish music.
     Day 6 brought our tour of Scotland to an end as we flew back the States from Edinburgh. Another surprise, Edinburgh airport is tiny! Security was a breeze and there was a small mall in the airport! We had so much fun - well as much fun as you can have at 6am - shopping in the airport. Scotland was a beautiful welcoming country and I can't wait to return and explore more!

Taste of Scotland with CIE Tours - Day 3

April 23, 2012 - Culloden Battlefield, Pitlochry, Edinburgh

         We said goodbye to the Newton Hotel in Nairn and hit the Highlands road again. Our first stop wasn't too far away, Culloden Battlefield. This battlefield is where the infamous Battle at Colloden took place between the Jacobites and the Red Coats. The National Trust Foundation of Scotland built a beautiful museum and visitor's center to commemorate this 50 minute battle. The museum hosted replica weapons, interviews, and videos. We toured the museum at our own pace and our CIE guide, Rosie, made sure we didn't miss the Immersion Room.

         The Immersion Room had video screens on each wall which showed a reenactment of the battle as if you were standing in the middle of the opposing sides. I think I would have been ok missing this room...it was a bit gruesome! It was a really cool experience until the cannons were fired and one of the Jacobites were hit in the face with a cannonball. When I saw an eye pop out on the screen, I headed for the exit! Culloden Battlefield used a GPS system to provide guests a self guided tour experience around the actual battlefield. I opted to take a panoramic view the battlefield from the rooftop of the museum.

         We departed Culloden Battlefield and drove south toward the town of Pitlochry. I bet you have never heard of Pitlochry, have you? Me neither. We learned on our coach ride to the town that Pitlochry is famous for Heathergems. The plant, Heather, grows rampant in Scotland and since the people of Scotland have resolved not to waste anything - and I mean anything! - they decided to compress the plant, add some dye, and create beautiful jewelry! The Heathergems factory and outlet are still located in Pitlochry. We toured the factory and did our part in boosting the Scottish economy. Our main goal in Pitlochry was to find Fish & Chips for lunch! After hiking up and down the main street, we finally found our lunch spot, The Auld Smiddy Inn. I ordered a traditional plate of fish and chips and a half pint of Tennents, a local Scottish beer. It was all delicious! The chips were a little different from what I expected...they were very thick square french fries. Different but yummy!
                                                
        What, may you ask, is the most popular drink in Scotland? Why whisky, of course! Finally, we headed to a distillery! Blair Athol distillery gave us a wonderful walking tour of their working distillery. The smells were so strong that I was a little anxious to actually consume the whisky. As would any good tour, we finished with a tasting of the Blair Athol single malt whisky. Our tour guide taught us how to appropriately drink the whisky. We had to smell it, then swirl the whisky in the glass to release the flavors, then take a small sip and swish the whisky in our mouth. I'll admit the first sip made my mouth burn! The guide instructed us to try again and we would taste different flavors and, surprisingly, she was right! The whisky had a completely different taste the second sip!

         All that whisky drinking and I still don't like it! We finally headed toward Edinburgh! I knew that this was going to be my favorite city! Our hotel, the Marriott Dalmahoy, was located just outside the city center. The Marriott Dalmahoy was a castle! We finally stayed in a real castle! Every girl dreams of staying in a castle! Of course, the Marriott Dalmahoy was renovated on the inside and the country club was added on later. It was still beautiful!

 

More about the Marriott Dalmahoy and Edinburgh to come in Day 4! Stay tuned!