The Bonnie land of Scotland

Happy Birthday Me! 22 and waking up way way to early to catch a bus to Scotland! Emma, Sara, and I set out on the long weekend adventure first thing. 

At the bus station

 

Making a stop in Moffat Scotland for lunch and a shop around we had a good little lunch in a very traditional pub/hotel.  The people in Scotland are all very sweet and nice, however poor Emma and Sara had a much harder time understanding so this weekend I took the roll of translator.

We finally got to the Hotel Claymore our final stop right on the banks of get this Loch Long, yes it was like it was just meant to be. Miss Rebecca Long was staying on her birthday with the views of Loch Long right out the window.  

Loch Long

 Though the demographic of the tour was a bit older... (We were once again the youngest people by at least 10 years) they were all sweet and fun to be with. That night Emma and Sara surprised me with a small gift and singing happy birthday to me in not just in English but also in Swedish and let me tell you I loved it! They are so sweet; I am lucky to have such great travel companions.

Emma and Sara

Saturday we headed to Callander and to spend some time at some beautiful Lochs, making a stop to see the famous Hamish. He was so big and huge and I feel as though he needed a bang trim but the little calf was very cute.   

Hamish

Driving into Callander area we learned that this area was the old stomping ground of the real Robin Hood (Rob…?) and this was the area that he would hunt to feed his clan.  It was very interesting especially for a lover of the old story.  Callander was like most towns in the Highlands very small only about one main street of shops and pubs and such and it didn’t take us long to walk through the town a few times. 

Callander

When we got back to the hotel that afternoon the sun had come out and the Loch was just calling my name so I answered it by taking a wonderfully long walk along the side of the Loch.  The area around the Loch reminded me of Utah, the beauty of the Mountains, and the quietness of the distance away from the cities. 

From my walk I found a spot to sit

That night the entertainment was a singer and Highland Dancers (which was the highlight).  Now for the credit of everyone enjoying the music they are not from America (me being the only one) and so they didn’t mind that in Scotland they were hearing old American songs but me the lil’ American in the room was a bit let down that we didn’t have proper Scottish music.  But all disappointment went out the window when the Highland Dancers showed up.  The small team was very impressive and the little one was just so cute you couldn’t help but love them!

The next day was much like the day before but the sun way out all day and we enjoyed every second of it! Spending time in Invarary walking the shops, eating (lets just skip talking about the food) and than driving past the Castle that is there.  The Castel is more like a toy with the way it was built very ideal looking just like it was out of a storybook.   

Getting back to the hotel I laid out on the grass taking in the sun listening to podcasts while the girls walked around the lake, all I can say was this was a very relaxing weekend! After a day of travel home we are back to school and the less relaxing life of the student.