Scottish Highlands: Inverness, Part II

When we last left off, Clarissa and I had been thwarted in our plans to wander the ruins of Urquhart Castle. However, we remained upbeat and blew bubbles and went back into town. A yummy dinner at the Hootenanny followed, and then our lovely bed at our lovely hostel.

The next morning we packed up (this would be a recurring theme) and hopped the bus back to the Castle on our way out of town.

Upon reaching the Castle, we were ushered in for a little 15-minute video (not half-bad, actually) detailing the history of the castle, from the selection of the location through the blowing up. As we sat down, I noticed that behind the giant black curtain that backed the screen, there was obviously a window. 

"What do you bet that there is a dramatic reveal of the castle when the movie is over?" I joked to Clarissa.

Observe:

Called it!

Much gleeful running about and photo-taking ensued for the next hour until our next bus. 

All of Scotland was this ridiculously green

The day got a liiiittle windy

Trebuchet 

Loch Ness stretching out in one direction...

...and the other

The cool wheels on the trebuchet

The bus transfer got a little interesting, but we found a hotel restaurant to camp out in, and a book of puzzles! So all was well. 

Bubbles and the Bridge over the River Gary (I actually don't remember if this is how it was spelled- likely not)

Onward to the little town of Portree on the Island of Skye!

Scottish Highlands: Inverness, Part I

Inverness is the fastest-growing city/town/etc. in Scotland, a few hours north of Edinburgh by bus. It's the major city attached to Loch Ness. Clarissa and I both fell hard and fast. It is adorable!

We arrived in the early afternoon of Friday, and checked into The World's Cutest Hostel- the Bazpackers Hostel, for anyone interested in doing Inverness/Loch Ness on a budget. We wandered around the town for a little bit, discovering this oddity:

Like a TJMaxx, but with a pound-sign attached to the same price numbers instead of a dollar sign, thus making it actually much less of a bargain

...then continuing on to the river that runs through town. Sadly, this was before we commenced the Grand Bubble Tour, so I just have some normal pictures for you:

There is a castle on Loch Ness, Urquhart (Urk-heart) Castle. Our bus passes got us to the Castle without having to pay a special fare, which would turn out to be exceptionally handy...

We arrived at the Castle at about 4:30pm. It turns out that the Castle is only open until 5, and the last entry is 45 minutes prior to closing. Whoops.

This was at first quite distressing- we were planning on leaving relatively early the next morning to allow for the maximum amount of time at our next destination, Skye, on Saturday (when the buses would still run around the island). And the Castle didn't even open until 9 the next morning! But we hopped around and took what pictures we could. And it ended up being an excellent turn of events, because it led to the advent of the Grand Bubble Tour!

We could only get pictures from behind a series of prickly bushes, but we did what we could.

The Scottish flag

An example of the prickly bushes lining the fence that kept you from gaining unpaid access to the castle

Castle! The last inhabitants blew it up rather than see it overtaken, thus it's state of... well, blown-up-ness

The Very First Bubble Shot

Do you see Loch Ness in the background??

A wedding appeared to be taking place

We started out at the castle feeling very unhappy, but by the time we left, we were So Happy. Bubbles just make the world a happier place! 

We went back the next morning before Skye, but this is already a super long post, so I'll make that a separate post. Entirely likely I will get it up in just a few hours, but if I don't, it will be about a day, because we are heading to Glasgow tomorrow for the day. 

Scottish Highlands: Teaser

To kick off Spring Break, Clarissa and I journeyed around the Scottish Highlands for 5 days.

It was FABULOUS.


And it turns out I took over 1000 pictures (not exaggerating), so it's going to take a while to pare down for my blog posts! I'm thinking a separate post for each stop along our journey.

In the meantime, here are a few quick teaser shots of what I think I'm going to call our Grand Bubble Tour of the Scottish Highlands (you'll see why soon):

Sunshine Exploits

Getting out and seeing the sights has a snowball-like effect, it would seem. The more you do it... the more you do it. It doesn't hurt that it has been absolutely gorgeous out for the past two weeks.

On Saturday, I went out with a few Central Folk to the Bois de Boulogne, which is essentially a gigantic park (complete with camping ground) on the westernmost edge of Paris. It was gorgeous. We picnicked and met up with some French friends of one of the Central ladies.

We also learned French dodgeball, which really threw us for a loop because it only uses one ball. It made sense eventually, and actually involves a lot more strategy, but still. It's not dodgeball. 

Sunday, I decided to take my writing out into the sunshine (or rather, the shade). Yes, in retrospect, expecting to immediately find a seat in the shade in the Tuileries on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon during Spring Break season was perhaps a little silly on my part. Be kind, I'm still learning. 

Still, I ended up first on a bench, then in a personal chair, and finally, with a fabulous spot overlooking the flowers. All in the shade. Made some excellent progress on my writing, as well!

My view from my first spot

It's finally Springtime in Paris!

The Tuileries as viewed from above

AKA my view from my third spot

A quick wander along the Seine to reach my bus, and I retreated to the land of air conditioning and water.

Notre Dame to the left, and I still haven't figured out that building to the right. Must get on that.

Sadly, no jaunting about yesterday, as I had a full day of classes, but at the very least there will be some very good jaunting this weekend- in Scotland!