Farewell to Scotland, for now

I write with a heavy heart today, as I take my leave and fly to London, then in a few days home. Thrilled of course to be moving towards home and hearth - friends and family... and kitties. But unwilling to let go of Scotland and its people..... fantastic.... friendly.... funny....... hardworking...... wise...... warm........ so many words but just not descriptive enough for the place and her people. The love affair I have been carrying on with Scotland for as long as I can remember will continue of course, stronger and more assured now that I have been here, felt the wind and the sea spray on my face, gazed in awe at heather covered hills, and travelled its windy roads - coming upon beautiful scene after beautiful scene at every turn. And the people, weel - they have marked my heart indelibly, and I really canna wait to return. :)

Planes, trains, and automobiles

Well, ok, just trains really today - - - depart for the westcoast of Scotland today around 1 by rain to see my relatives, Maureen and Reid Ross. Very excited to meet them, and have heard a rumour that we could be going to the pub quiz night tonight.... so hopefully won't be a daft article when there!! Looking forward to seeing the countryside go by on the train - the trains here very smooth and sweet - cheap too! Plan is to stay a couple nights and then find my way back to Edinburgh and then for the last 3 nights in London. I promise to flesh out the blog more while in London, computer access a little sketchy here at times, and have really been too busy living the adventure to actually write about the adventure, hahahahaha. This morning I am off to the port of Eyemouth or St. Abbs to see the ocean in its storm majesty - big gale blowing last night and today. Impressive, proper Scottish weather !!!

Am hoping to take some good photos of the wild water, but we will see!! Don't worry... I will hold on tight to the pier........

Off to Edinburgh!

An early start this morning for Edinburgh. Going to see the sights, especially excited to see Edinburgh Castle! Wahoo!! Fill you in when I get back!

Immersed in the Beauty

Hi all - well this is post #100 - hard to believe I have had that much to say, even harder still to believe that anyone but me would want to read it hahahahahaha!

Did not take the laptop along on the trip from the Borders into the Highlands...... really wanted just to be living it, and no so much recording it..... did take some pics and have posted a few - they do not do the scenery justice at all. Every turn in the road, and every hilltop brough new vistas of such magnificence, it really would be impossible for me to describe them with mere words. The rich, full scent of the mountainsides of pine, bracken, and heather....... cold, clear pristine rivers and streams, majestic mountains, and stunning valleys (known here as glens).

Enjoyed going alongside of the famous lochs here, Loch Lomond, Loch Tay, and Loch Earn - beautiful little towns along the way. Had tea in the oldest Inn in Scotland (Kenmore), and completely enjoyed the windy roads everywhere we went. Enjoyed drinks in The Craw last night, lots of talking and laughing, truly fantastic!

Sometimes when on a trip, my head is just so full of what I have seen, and done, that it takes a wee whylie to let it develop and come to the surface. Such is how I feel today....promise to write more when I am able to articulate it...............!!

Away to Stirling and Crieff....

Nice weather this morning, wee bit windy. Making the journey to Strling today, and perhaps to Crieff. Hoping some of the busy-ness from around the visit of the pope will die down.

A beautiful day in the making!

Bright, bright, sunshiny day!

Good morning from Scotland,
Lovely day yesterday, watched the cattle being brought in and penned for the winter,quite a production, and youcan really start to see that the beasts have such different personalities! Been to St. Abbs Head, an absolutey stunning natural area, steep, STEEP cliffs down intothe beautiful blue sea. Quite windy that day, and stayed well away from the edge! Watched a fishing boat making way inthe whitecaps, would have been a very rocky ride!!

Went along to the pub last night, The Craw, just the neatest place, warm people, great company and the gin and tonic good too!!

Country road meandering yesterday and later this morning. Helped pick some plums off the tree for freezing... they are delicious!!

Off to Eyemouth today, coastal fishing village, and perhaps a fish dinner tonight. This is such a beautiful country and the people absolutely the best, warm, friendly, funny... really all that I had ever imagined it would be.

Note of interest- the Pope will be in Glasgow and Edonburgh today, so lots of hoopla and road closures, so will stay well clear of that!!!

Enjoying the pastoral beauty,
Michelle, the mellow traveller

PS will try to post some pics tonight!!

Scotland the BEAUTIFUL!!

Greetings all from Scotland!
Arrived into Edinburgh last night around 7 pm in a really brisk rain and wind storm. Good Scottish weather I am told, LOL. Met up woth some really friendly folk also bound for Edinburgh at London Heathrow Aiport yesterday, sooo friendly, and helped me find my way through the labarinththat is LHR. Such an amazing variety of people at the airport, being the hub of truly international travel. Not hard to imagine you could hear at least 100 different languages at any given time. Some of the best people watching anywhere!! I am such a looky-loo!!

Staying at a beautiful farm in the Scottish Borders and today is sunny and beautiful. Feel jet lagged so not much on for today. Watched the offloading of the seed grain for winter barley, and just walked around a little to see the animals, and have made good friends with the cat! Will start to post pics just as soon as I start taking some, ha ha ha

So, now have my feet firmly on Scottish soil, and can not believe I have waited so long to be here!

mwah to all!!

YVR!

Greetings from Canada's best big city - Vancouver!
(never mind that their hockey team is CRAP...!)

So have been lounging in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge - enjoyed a lovely dinner of oriental beef with rice, had a muffin, and a drink.... ok, that's not totally true - several drinks (ok I am really on dark rum and coke #3.....)

Feeling much more relaxed about flying - just decided that I am being ridiculous, and really, took a firm hand with myself there. OR, if truth be told, the rum has helped maybe a teensy tinesy bit...... hahahahahaha.

55 minutes until I board the aircraft bound for London Heathrow (hey, time enough for one more rum - wahoo!). Hoping, as always for a quiet flight (NO patients), and a good movie to watch on the way. Maybe this one will work out well and my body really will believe it should be asleep...... and them with any luck I WILL be asleep....

Gotta love the International wing of the airport (hehehe no pun intended), so many different people - interesting cultures and many different languages. Cool to see tourists going back home loaded up with bags of maple syrup (seriously though, does anyone LIKE that stuff??), stuffed teddy bears with Olympics hats on, and the inevitable t-shirts and all. Hopefully someone at the Edinburgh airport will think I am as adorable - armed with a bagful of teddy bears shaped like haggis, adorned with a Scotch bonnet, and a bagful of Scotch.........

Well I see time is indeed passing and I have to reasemble the carry on bag - stow the laptop, figure out how to turn my blackberry to no data roaming, and find my shoes which have migrated under the chair.... somewhere....... what the heck?!? I am sure all the high class folk who frequent this lounge rue the day that commoners such as myself could just BUY a pass and come into the inner sanctum.... hehehehe power to the people I say!!!

I can't quite do the math (that's the rum I think....) but I leave here in 50 minutes..... get into LHR at... sometime tomorrow, hop the flight to Edinburgh, if I can make the terminal change and organize a boarding pass in time... and finally will set my feet upon Scottish soil at around 1810 tomorrow, British Summer Time. Remember that's 8 hours ahead of us in time. I suppose really it will be the Scottish lino first in the airport, then the concrete of the road... but soon after I will find some actual Scottish soil, or maybe even grass, and put both my feet and my hands upon it. Can't wait really.

So, dear readers, I will update as soon as I can, remember I am electronically challenged and have a hard time sussing out networks...... but update I will!!

So... I will speak with you next in Scotland.... or London, if I can't make the connection hahahahahaha.

Travel Day - September 12, 2010

So the day has finally come to start my journey to Scotland! Proud, as always to be travelling as a Canadian (Strong and Free, Denise!!) especially when it seems tensions in the world are on the rise again, with intolerance sparking even more intolerance. The 9th anniversary of the 9/11 catastrophe being fresh in everyones minds, and the provocative buring of Korans in the US set the stage for tension today.

My own tension - recall I do not care much for flying, LOL. Not enough to keep me from doing it.... but......!

So the bags are all packed, and it wasn't as bad as it has been before. I take along with me some really great swag from "Strong and Free" - check out Denise's site at www.StrongandFreeEmblem.com, a beautiful emblem which for me really captures what I feel it is to be Canadian.

Thank you to all who helped me prepare for the trip! Will do my best to take you along on the blog, all the way from the south in The Borders of Scotland to Lands End in the North at John O'Groats (for those who follow the Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman trip - the Long Way Down - this was their starting place on a ride to Cape Town South Africa). Then all over to see the sights, and to the Western side to meet up with my relatives Maureen and Reid Ross. A quiz night in Darvel, and family!

The back to London, for three nights just sightseeing, riding the tube, etc in one of the very greatest cities in the entire world!!

As always, I feel totally blessed to be able to go, and thank my kids for allowing their mama to go off and have these experiences.

On my way at 4:30 pm, PST ----- touchdown in Edinburgh at 1810 BST 13 Sept (1010 am PST 13 Sept)

Will close with a quote from one of my favourite Scots (Ewan McGregor) - -


"I feel that this is where I belong, to be seeing what I am seeing, and meeting people I am meeting. I feel I absolutely belong in this moment, it's where I should be - and luckily it's where I find myself!"
Ewan MacGregor - The Long Way Round