Travel to Harris - September 27

Today we made the almost 8-hour journey from Glasgow to the very upper northwest of Scotland on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides.  It was fairly uneventful for the most part . . . once one got use to the lanes that are narrower than oncoming trucks (lorries), the lack of any advance notice of roadway construction (thank god for good brakes), and the occasional squeal coming from his companion riding shotgun and gripping the seat whenever she thought he was in danger of going off the roadway edge and blowing a tire as was done during the previous Scotland trips (see 2012 blog for play-by-play on that event).

We made it to Uig, Isle of Sky for the ferry to take us over to Tarbert, Isle of Harris when we learned that the electricity was out for most of Skye and the Outer Hebrides, including the Isle of Harris.  Betcha it is the queen getting back at all those separatists in the highlands who voted for Independence.

Coming into Tarbert, Harris - A little stormy

Ferry arrived late so we didn't get to Tarbert, on the eastern side of Harris, until after dark and we still had a 20-minute drive ahead of us to get to the Borve Lodge on the west side of the island.  It got a bit dicey when we began to experience rain and gale force winds.  It definitely got dicey when the road narrowed to one-lane with turnouts and we started playing chicken with oncoming traffic.  When we started having to dodge sheep lying in the middle of the road we realized we hit a whole new dimension of absurd.

As we approached the lodge we began to look for a sign.  Ha!  That would have been too easy, nothing doing.  We finally, by the graces of the gods, saw a sign next to a house saying Borve Lodge Estate.  We screeched to a halt, parked, and trotted up to the house at around 9:00 pm and knocked on the door just as, who we thought were the proprietors, were turning out the lights.  Darling Heather and Tony, an elderly couple, answered the door and informed us that while they were once the caretakers, they were no long and that they'd phone Steve and Karen to come fetch us as we were clearly lost.  Just then, in the midst of sideways rain, up drives a pick-up and out jumps Steve and his lovely young daughter (about 6-yrs old), Lucy, both resplendent in Harris tweed vests, caps, and jodphurs.  They graciously escorted us to our "Broch" after bidding farewell to Heather and Tony.

Living Room in the Broch

Steve, explained that he was watching the ferry traffic go by (as there wasn't much else to do on Harris at 8:30 pm) and saw a car pull into Heather and Tony's and figured it was us.  Steve and darling Lucy showed us around our three-story broch (the complete antithesis of the micro-room of the Citizen M Hotel) and Rick and I quickly settled in and had a dinner of meats, cheese, fruit and wine.  More pictures to come in the next post.  Needless to say, it is magnificent.  Can't wait to see it in the daylight.

Isle of Arran - Scotland in Miniature - September 26

Wiped from jetlag and lack of sleep, actually slept until 8:00 this morning, which was unfortunate given that we needed to be on the road by 8:15 to make the ferry to the Isle of Arran.   

Isle of Arran

We scrambled and got out on the road (drive on the left, drive on the left, drive on the left) by 8:20.  Prepaid check-in time was 9:15 (ferry was to leave at 9:45)and the Scots are serious about arriving ON TIME.  We got there at 9:25 and, despite having booked and paid in advance we were directed to the non-pre-paid line, which ran us the risk of not getting on the ferry.  Lesson learned.  Fortunately there was adequate space and we got on with a "wee " bit o' room to spare . . . but just a wee bit.

Colorful Coast of Arran

An hour ride, ending with a delicate rainbow over the island portending good things to come, and we arrived to the Isle of Arran, know as "Scotland in miniature" because it has all the topographical features of Scotland (mountains, coast, glens (valleys), agricultural land) rolled into one neat package of a little island  We thought this would be a perfect way to reintorduce us to the beauty of Scotland and help us find our photogpraher's eye, though admittedly, Rick spent more time focusing on the narrow road than the surveying the surrounding landscape.

Happy Sheep - Kintyre Isle in the Back

Arran (pronounced more like "Ireland" without the "L" and "D") did not disappoint.  The initial part of the drive took us along the colorful coast past sheep contentedly grazing on green pastures next to the see.  We were fortunate enough to see some seals basking on the rocks in the sun.  Yes there is sun here.  Learned that in the past five weeks there has been only one day of rain; the rest have been sunny. 

 

And the Angels Rejoiced

Billy Making the Mash

We weren't driving just for landscapes.  We had a goal in mind, the Arran distillery, the most recent distillery to open in Scotland (in 1995) and the only one on the island though historically there were up to 30 distilleries.  Arran hasn't had its own distillery since 1836.  The distillery touts the purity of Arran water as contributing to such fine whiskey.  They also are very proud of the fact that during the construction they had to close down for a few weeks until some young golden eagles, nesting in the cliffs above the distillery, had fledged.  One of the eagles actually graced us with a view during our tour.  Billy our tour guide complete with kilt and rich Scottish brogue, gave us a great tour including historical tidbits including techniques the islanders used to prevent the gougers (taxman) from coming over from the mainland and confiscating the whiskey.

For being so young, they have many different whiskies, some cask strength (oi - pretty strong) and others finished in amarone, sauternes, and port barrels.  Rick and I found that we liked the quarter cask (where the whiskey is matured in smaller barrels so that it has more contact with wood) and purchased a bottle.

 

Afterwards we had a little time before we needed to catch the ferry back to the mainland so we headed inland to the mountains for some good views of the island.  Got to the top of pass and yes, oh yes, here is the Scotland that I was looking forward to seeing again.  Heather, huge land forms, and beautiful streams (called burns).  Wished we could have stayed longer but we'll just add it to the list of things to do next time.

Remainder of the day was uneventful  . . . except for us attempting to enter a round-about the wrong way on a busy street.  Yikes!  Drive on the left, drive on the left, drive on the left.  We had an unremarkable dinner (need to just stick to fish-n-chips and whiskey in Glasgow) and the returned to the pub we visited the previous night "Pot and Still" for a bit of people watching , some good whiskey, and being called "luv" by the bartenders.

Pot and Still - Where no one knows your name.  They just call you "Luv".  Photo by R. Dunn

Glasgow's Citizen M Hotel

This hotel deserves a post all of its own.  When you walk in it is like walking into an Apple store.  To check in you march up to a computer screen and answer coy questions like "Are you sure you don't want to be added to our mailing list?  Think twice about this"  Yes dammit, yes.  I've been travelling for 20 hours and I just want a shower and a nap.  Young staff, like apple geniuses, flit about trying to help those of us not so adept with computers (or if we don't have the "chip" in our credit card - and they are flabbergasted by this).

The next sign that this is a unique hotel is, as you walk down the hallway, you notice how close together the doorways are.  Are these rooms very long and narrow?  Uh, no.  They are narrow and short a total of 120 square feet, maximum.  The king bed (hey at least there's a king bed) takes up 2/5 of the room . . . and we have to arrange our linens.  There is one chair and a stool.  If you should desire the sense of richness associated with multiple rooms, there is a curtain hung midway in the room which you can pull across and "voila"  you have two rooms.
The sink is in the "living" area and reminds me of a public drinking water fountain only not that big.  The bathroom, oh the bathroom, is encased entirely within frosted glass on one side of the room; the toilet being on one side and the shower on the other.  The door doesn't quite seal so Rick and I are getting to know each other in ways that we never actually ever desired. 

Also, everything, I mean everything, is controlled by an ipad like computer.  The temperature, the fan, the TV, the lights.  Rick is still trying to figure out which means I'll never figure it out. 

However I must note that, the lack of space is more than adequately compensated for by choice of shampoos/shower gels (AM vs PM) and the ability to change the lighting in the bathroom.  Not feeling in a fuchsia mood?  Presto!  You have aqua.  Rick had great fun playing with the color controls the entire time I took a shower.

Not sure this is an experience that I'll repeat, but it certainly is an experience, I'll remember.

Travel, Travel, Travel - September 25

Almost a 10 hour flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt.  Landed at midnight Pacific time.  Despite the comforts of first class (thanks, again to Rick's frequent flyer miles) didn't sleep a wink.  Watched the "Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (Iceland is next on the bucket list) and then the "Fault in Our Stars" which, in my sleep deprived state, had me weeping so uncontrollably that the flight attendant came by to check on me (Rick was, of course, asleep).  Currently waiting for our flight to Edinburgh.  From there we drive to Glasgow as there was no hotel to be had in Edinburgh because of the Ryder Cup.  Freakin' golf.  Who invented that sport anyway?  Oh, that's right, the Scots . . . Looking forward to a yummy Indian dinner and then crashing into bed.

On Our Way - September 24

After a delayed start to San Francisco, an hour sit on the runway (due to weather in San Fran) and an hour holding pattern in the air (due to weather in San Fran) we landed 2 and 1/2 hours late in San Francisco at around 10:30 in the evening.  Glad we weren't flying to Frankfurt, and then Edinburgh, until the following afternoon.  Our taxi driver who took us to the hotel is from Japan, the bellboy at the hotel is Malaysian, the two bartenders at Amelie, the wine bar we visited, are from Turkey and the Canary Islands, and our cab driver taking us back to the airport this morning is from Algiers.  Love the cosmopolitan nature of the city though the weather can be a sure pain in the butt for travel and at $1200/sq foot, the real estate is WAY out of reach.

Stayed in Hotel Scarlet on Nob Hill where everyone was almost alarmingly energetic and cheerful at 11:00 pm.  Art Decco decor; Alison, you would have loved it.  Despite being tired we walked a few blocks to Amelie, the wine bar (NOT named for one of my favorite movies, "Amelie", but for the proprietor's daughter) and we each had a glass of white and red and nibbled on some yummy cheese and honey, and pear and apricot marmalades and a bottomless burlap sack (can't call it anything else) of bread.  Amelie is clearly a local hangout with its multicultural regulars.  Just about everyone was greeted with hugs and kisses upon entering the bar.  Love the warm and friendly feeling.  Bartenders took good care of us giving us generous tastes and even more generous pours.  Found a new yummy meritage, referred to in shorthand as GSM for grenache/syrah/mouvedre made mostly in California.  Delicious!  A great way to start the trip.

How Much Does a Bottle of Whiskey Weigh?

Thanks to Rick's frequent flyer perks, we each can check up to 75 pounds of luggage with no charge.  My bag weighs 35 pounds, Rick's weighs 45.  That leaves us 70 free pounds for whiskey . . . and other trinkets, of course.  A bottle of whiskey weighs around 3 pounds (yes I weighed a bottle) so that means we could, theoretically, bring home 23 bottles of whiskey, in our luggage, at no additional charge.  I doubt that they'd all (or our clothes) survive the trip but it's good to know we have the space.  Getting ready to go . . .

Ready or not . . .

I'm ready and not ready.  Ready because it has been about a year since Rick and I spent more than one week together.  I'm ready to do something that I love with my partner and wonderful travel buddy.  I'm ready to experience, again, the wilds of the Scottish highlands and the Hebrides Islands, to feel my breath catch in my throat and feel inconsequential and yet comforted by those massive, dramatic landscapes.  I'm ready to be jolted out of my everyday routine and to live "deliberately" again.

I am not ready because both Rick and I have family experiencing challenging health and life-change issues.  Stay or go; no matter what choice is made, there is doubt as to whether you have chosen correctly.   It is comforting to know that our assistance is not essential in ensuring our family's well-being, though it can make things easier.  Suffice it to say, we are grateful for the assistance provided by family and friends for continuing to provide support while we are away.

And so Scotland here we come, again, ready to be wowed, humbled, restored, and rejuvenated.  Can't wait to see what wonders you have in store for us the second time around.