Edinburgh to Inverness.

I learned quite a bit on this trip, including: 1) Scotland has some pretty fantastic landscapes and 2) after a day of driving/hiking/walking/etc. it is pretty hard to find time to update a blog.  With regard to number one, I tried to take pictures of these landscapes to share.  And for number two, I opted to just wait until we got back to the States.

As shown in the pictures in the last post, we had a great time in Edinburgh.  Since we were only there for a day and a half, there was much left unexplored.  Still, I felt like we got to know the city pretty well just by walking through the town and visiting those key spots that all tourists hit their first time to Edinburgh: Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, the National Museum.  We took a stroll through Greyfriar's Kirkyard, and through the Meadows.  Ate good food and spent some time working on our Scottish accents.

We also got to try the "national"soda of Scotland: Irn Bru.  We were left a can to sample by the gracious host of the apartment we rented in Edinburgh and Jamie was the first guinea pig...despite the questionable warnings on the label.

Despite it's bright orange color, it tasted exactly like Inca Kola.  Apparently, "national" sodas need to taste like bubble gum.

We said goodbye to Edinburgh on Tuesday morning and started on our journey north.  We piled into our rented Vauxhall and Jamie's expert driving (on the right-side of the car, on the left-side of the road) took us to our first stop in Auchtermuchty.

While it was definitely off the beaten track, it was a must for us because it gave a chance to learn more about Jamie's roots.  We stopped at the burgh's cemetery and found a few of his ancestors and visited the town square.  It was lovely.

We also learned a little bit about the how scheduling a medical procedure works in a town of 1500 people (or so).  Not sure if they use the word "surgery" the same way we do, but for the purpose of this picture, I'd like to think so...

Continuing our drive up towards Inverness, we stopped at the Highland Folk Museum which is highly recommended.  It's free, educational, and on a beautiful day it's hard to top.

Our next stop was Urquhart Castle, which I totally loved.  I was literally running around, snapping photos of the ruins and of Loch Ness, and chattering about how much I loved it to anyone who would listen.  You should read about its history -- it's fascinating!

We ended our drive in Inverness, got some good food, and walked along the River Ness.  All in all, a busy, but pretty much perfect day.