Scottish Highlands

     Guess what? More about my trip to Scotland! As noted, I am back in Galway, but since I'm spending most of my days studying or working on papers (and getting distracted quite a bit by facebook and other media), I figured I should tell you more about my break. It's much more interesting, after all.
     Our second day in Scotland, we went on a tour of the West Highlands and my sister took so many pictures, it took me a solid 5 minutes of scrolling through them all to find the pictures I wanted:

Monty Python Castle

     Its not really Monty Python's castle. Obviously. It belonged to some duke or lord whose name I don't remember, and that you (my devoted followers) probably don't care about. BECAUSE, this was the castle where scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail were filmed. We spent the entire time there running around speculating which rooms and which angles were used in the movie and for what purpose. You'll see in the picture above a well and two stair cases. We think (though we do not have a lot of proof) that this is the court yard that was used for Lancelot's rescue mission during the wedding. We can't be sure though: clearly, we need to watch the movie again . . .
     In retrospect, had we gone with a group of our friends from NUIG, we may have acted out a scene from the film, and I may have attempted to post a video here, instead . . . oh well. More reason for a return visit, right?

Hamish, Hamish Dubh, Honey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Three of the simultaneously cutest and ugliest cows ever. Hamish, Hamish Dubh (Black Hamish) and Honey are highland cows, with shaggy long-haired hides, horns, and sweet dispositions. Hamish is the oldest, then Honey, then Hamish Dubh, as you can probably see from the size of the horns, which both male and female highland cows have. From a distance they're really cute, shaggy (like I said), and kind of funny looking. The only reason I call them ugly is because they're cows, so don't get groomed the way a cat, dog, or horse would. Meaning: they have dirt and grass clumps in their hair, and they drool like no one's business. Still, It was exciting to see them. Kind of like seeing a buffalo up close for the first time!

Duke of Argyll's Castle

 

     One of the Castles in Scotland that is A.) not a ruin and B.) inhabited. I always remember watching Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightley and thinking it was SO strange that they would tour Mr. Darcy's house while they were in the area. I mean, who does that? The whole concept of going into a personal living space and touring their house like a museum is beyond strange to me. And awkward. Because the Duke of Argyll and his family actually live there for part of the year. I gave my sister some grief because I didn't want to go in at first. Still think its strange, but we went inside and did the touristy looking-at-art-in-someone's-castle thing like it was no big deal. I guess it wasn't too bad: only a percentage of the rooms were open, and it seemed more like a museum than an actual home with all the displays.
     I take pride in my home, even in my little apartment in Galway, but I think there's a point when you have to separate "home" and "tourist attraction," which is still a bit tricky for me. Beautiful castle. I know my sister was smug in our timing because they don't open it to the public until after Easter, so we were there literally the first day after its re-opening. My favorite room would either be the one that was decorated entirely with weaponry - floor to ceiling, it was everywhere - or the portrait room, which has some oil paintings that were easily 10 feet tall. Definitely something I've never  experienced in the states - at least not to that scale.

Scenic Lookout

     We had a number of other opportunities to stop and get out of the bus, mostly to take pictures of the highlands and stretch our legs. Our driver always had a story to go with the places we stopped, but the scenery in itself was beautiful (as seen above). After this picture was taken, we stopped at a small town for a coffee break, then returned to Edinburgh.
     By the end of the day, we were starving, so went to a little pizzeria. It was fantastic. Our waitress was really nice. She had a thicker Scottish accent than I was used to listening to, and was understanding when I looked confused a time or two, so repeated herself again slowly. The way you talk to a small child . . . or an exhausted college student . . .
     In all, another great day. Had some new experiences I couldn't have anticipated, and saw more of a beautiful country I would love to visit again.

♥C