It’s a funny thing, you know, how people can say one thing, but in actuality, mean something else entirely. Like when Javier Alvarez tells me, “I’m not really that comfortable driving a stick-shift. I learned in Peru, but haven’t driven one since then. I’d be more comfortable in an automatic” Jackie hears, “I used to know how to drive a stick-shift, but am a little out of practice, so I’d prefer an automatic.” After a bit of research, I found that the cost difference between an automatic transmission and a manual is double, so we decided to just get the stick. We’ll save some money, plus, it will be fun! All we both need is a little refresher, right? Wrong…

I want to drive!.. and at the same time… live.

We picked up the car in the morning, and the plan was that once we were out of the city, Javier would practice and… ta-daa! We’d both be ready to drive the highlands. We found ourselves a little strapped for time seeing as we had a scheduled tour at the Macallan Distillery at 3pm. So, it was just easier for me to drive, and Javier would practice a little later. The drive to Macallan was extremely tricky. At many points,

Our pick.

the two-lane road turned into one lane, with hills so that you couldn’t see if anyone was coming or not. At moments, I felt like the Peruvian bus drivers who honk their horns when going around blind corners and hills. I should also mention that our car was teeny tiny…like the size of a fiat, and that the roads were about as wide as said car. It was nail biting to say the least. Poor Javier did his best to not freak out, but at many points, had to just close his eyes. Alas, we arrive at Macallan for our tour. Having already been through Jameson, it wasn’t much different, but included a lovely tasting at the end, which we both enjoyed…although, I should mention that Javier may have enjoyed it a little more as he was able to finish the tastings that I couldn’t stomach 🙂 I would like to mention a little tidbit that we learned. We always thought that the number on the bottle was the number of years the whiskey sat in the oak. So, if I was drinking an 15 year, that would mean it came from an 15 year cask. Not necessarily… for a 15 year bottle, the number means that the youngest cask used is 15. So, in a 15 year, there will never be a 10 year cask used, but they will definitely use (15, 18, 23, 25, 30, maybe even 64!) Basically, every “year” has a certain color and taste, and it’s up to the “smellers and tasters” to find the right combination so that every bottle tastes the same. Seems like common sense when you think about it, but we sure didn’t know! Also, they use Sherry and Bourbon cask from Spain and Kentucky, but are constantly experimenting like with their current red wine casks. Very interesting!

That night, we stayed at the lovely home of Jennie. Jennie lived just up the hill from Loch Ness. Her home was completely surrounded by trees and other greenery, which made it feel like we were in the middle of nowhere. We were upstairs, and had windows on both sides of the room, and when we looked out, all we could see was trees. It felt like we were sleeping in a tree house. We absolutely loved it! Javier and I were a little antisocial that night. We snuggled up on the sofa and watched a movie. It was very necessary at that point. 🙂 In the morning, we apologized for being antisocial, and had breakfast with Jennie and the other guests. We had great conversation and a great breakfast. Jennie was very gracious, and even allowed us to check out late since we had gabbed all morning instead of getting ready! Thank you Jennie! She gave us some ideas of what to do in the area before we headed out to our next stop.

The Haggis was delicious.

We drove around Loch Ness and stopped, at her recommendation, at a place called Dores Inn for lunch. Everything we ate was absolutely delicious even…the haggis! Yes, we ate, and enjoyed haggis. After that we walked along Loch Ness, took pictures, tried to skip rocks, and even put our feet in the freezing cold water! I am sad to report there were no signs of Nessie 🙁

Did Jackie spot Nessie?…

… Yes!! .. or it’s a Nessie wannabe! 🙂

At some point, on the drive to our next destination, Javier practiced a bit. It was not ideal circumstances. It was basically a turnout/parking lane, but we really didn’t have other options. He did really great, but still wasn’t comfortable so we switched back. On our way to Invernite, we passed by a couple hitch hiking. Now, we had talked about hitch hiking before. We were told that it was safe in Ireland/Scotland, and had thought about doing it ourselves. Don’t worry, mom, we didn’t do it. BUT! we sure picked up some hitch hikers! Our passengers were Petr and Lenka… from Prague. We had about an hour drive, and we chatted the entire way. We dropped them at the bridge to Isle of Skye, exchanged contact info, and wished them well. So, who knows, we may catch up with them in Prague! Now wouldn’t that be fun!

There’s not much to mention about our next night, except that in the morning, we went to eat breakfast and there was another couple there. We started chatting, and the girl was from…Peru! Oh, wasn’t Javier excited! 🙂 Her boyfriend was Spanish, and the three of them chatted all through breakfast…and I just tried to keep up 🙂

Elien Donan Castle

Self-Care Methods Depending on the severity of your erection cute-n-tiny.com cialis cheap generic problems and find out what you need to be able to recognize the symptoms. Prior naturopathy has been extensively practiced around china being a type of answer to managing different conditions. viagra 100 mg As the blood enters these chambers, it helps you prices generic cialis Continue get erection. In order to help males like you, medical science has introduced a tone of erectile dysfunction cost viagra drugs. We visited the Eilean Donan Castle, in which we were both a little disappointed, and made our way to the Isle of Skye. We ate lunch from street vendors in the town square of Portree and attempted to see the Dunvegan Castle, but in the end, didn’t really feel like it. Finally, Javier had his moment of glory. We pulled over and he drove!!!…for 5 miles. I almost had a heart attack, I was so scared. He did a great job,

A ray of sun light. #nophotoshop

but hugged the left shoulder a little more than I was comfortable with. After 5 miles, he suggested we switch back. He said he was satisfied that he drove a stick shift, on the opposite side of the road, in the Scottish highlands, and that he didn’t feel a need to put both our lives in further jeopardy. HAHAHA! No problem…

Careful with the Scottish Sheep.

That night we stayed with a lovely family. Joanna and her children Ollie and Sophia were great hosts. We chatted, watched Rio 2 together and played with their fun dogs Gertie and Brodie 🙂 On the way there, we took a wrong turn and ended up in a really beautiful area by the water where Javier dared to get pretty close to some sheep to take pictures. Finally, one became a little irritated and stomped the ground while looking at him, and we took that as our cue to move on.

Waiting for the Harry Potter train.

From Joanna’s house, we drove to Fort Williams for lunch, of course stopping on the way to see and take pictures of the Glenfinnan Viaduct, or as it is more commonly known, as the train track from the Harry Potter movies!!! Yay! It was a short hike, but fun to see! We didn’t feel like waiting 2 hours for the steam train, but saw the commuter rail, which was enough for us!

The William Wallace Monument.

After lunch, we continued on to Sterling, where we glimpsed the castle, as well as saw the William Wallace Monument- or as it became known in our car as, the only thing Javier wanted to see! A little backstory…on our journey to get to the viaduct, we had to run in order to see the train. As Javier was running, he had this spiritual moment where he somehow connected to William Wallace, and therefore had this compulsion to visit his statue. I don’t get it…but we saw it, and it was cool.

We finally made it back to Edinburgh, slept that night, returned the car in the morning, took the bus into the city center to experience the Fringe Festival. Pause… the Fringe Festival happens every year in Edinburgh and is, so I’ve read, the world’s largest arts festival. It’s where people and groups from all over the world come and perform their plays, comedic acts, music and dance. We learned that “The Fringe” began as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival. The Edinburgh International Festival was by invitation only, and these groups would perform on the “fringes” of society, and thus received their name. The bigger shows require tickets, but many are free. We did a little research and caught a comedy act at one of the dive bars. It was fun and free! Afterward, we headed back to the Royal Mile to check out the scene. All along the street, there were performers promoting their acts. We were bombarded with flyers, ambushed by performers, and serenaded with songs from various scenes by multiple choirs. At times, it looked like a freak show, but all in all, it was a really cool experience. Finally, it was time to go, we went back to collect our luggage in the early evening, cabbed it to the airport with time to spare for our flight to Norway. Whew!

The Fringe Festival. Edinburgh

…MORE PICTURES click HERE… Check the highlands on our video page. Click HERE.

Thanks for reading.