Castle Day

 "In the morning we backtracked 20 minutes south to Dunnottar Castle. As they say, real estate is about location, location, location, and whoever picked this place did well. The castle is perched atop a peninsula that is nearly an island unto itself overlooking the sea. The castle inspired the castle in Disney’s Brave (which we happen to be watching a few weeks later as I type this)."

You had to do a bit of walking down to the castle but the view was incredible.  

This made most of the kids top 3 stops of the whole trip - this place was incredible, interesting, varied, gorgeous, not hot, not too cold, and due to Greg's planning, relatively empty because we were the first visitors of the day - a huge W.

Dunnottar Castle was built in 1392 and in use till 1718.

These amazing stairs were over 600 years old and still intact.

There was so much to explore and read about what it would have been like living here.

"Emily and Andrew may have been more interested in looking for dolphins and seals, but the castle ruins were fascinating too. The Earl’s bedroom jutted out at the very point and offered commanding views of the ocean for more than 180 degrees. We walked the beach to gain a different perspective and then went to the viewpoint on the opposite bluff.  From there Andrew spotted a lone gray seal so all was good."

This room had be restored to what it would have looked like in 

The 16th century Palase was such a cool part of the castle with the Earl's bedroom Greg talked about and a few rooms restored to their original state.

We explored the shore for a while and stacked shells on this rock.

The grumpy old trolls from Dora were waiting under this bridge to scare me.

We walked around the other side of the castle because it was so beautiful and such a lovely day.  Mack, still not feeling well, went to the van and Kate and Lily weren't far behind him.  The rest of us trudged on for more spectacular views and maybe some encounters with stinging nettle.

We stopped at CoOp for lunch to cheers of excitement.  Everyone found something they were excited to eat and Greg let Andrew buy two flavors of much anticipated Squashie candies.  They were very unique, sort of marshmallowie but not quite.  Overall they were a hit.

"I had planned a scenic drive through the highlands and some hiking for the remainder of our day that would end where the trip began in Inverness, but Apple maps had other ideas. I didn’t get on the route I had intended to and as I tried to adjust I ran into a road closure and other obstacles and I just couldn’t get back where I wanted to be.  At last we found a road to connect to the road I hoped to be on. Along the way we stopped at three castles I had never heard of in various states of ruin or preservation. The first, Kildrummy was “closed” but nothing prevented us from walking through it so we did."

Greg may have been frustrated to be on a different path than intended but this was one of my favorite days of the trip - the 4 youngest kids loved it too!  Mack wasn't feeling great and spent most of his time in the van but the rest of us took advantage of what seemed to be "free" castle day😉.

Kildrummy was almost entirely ruins but the kids got silly and made it a memorable sight.

Andrew declared himself King Andramanus the Greatest Him.  He held court on how good Squashies are and which flavor was better.  He ended up with a blood filled court when his subjects didn't agree with his assessment.  

At some point he had to put Princess Lilith the Great, IE Princess Liliana the 2nd, in prison. 

The others were appropriately named: Duchess Kate the Great, Duchess Emily McPoopeth IE Queen Emith the 7th, Gregorovish Grey Beard, Madre the peasant or Queen Lisa Latrine.  

There was a latrine identifiable in the ruins and we sort of wanted to use it.  We really needed to go but the facilities were closed.  We may have taken turns tricky peeing in the woods.

"The second, Corgarff was “closed” but we were able to walk around and enjoy the outside. "

The road to the White Castle was full of little bunnies - so many bunnies. "The third was “closed” under construction so we stayed out. As Andrew would say, in Scotland, “It’s too easy” to find castles."

We happened to be following the "Highland Tourist Route" signs and decided that the tourist route was a W.  We had such a great day.

We found a ski resort,

and a rare red squirrel, and this random castle right on the road!  Castle Grant was literally right on the road and so cool - not open to visitors but worth a picture stop.

We worked on Spanish in the van with Andrew and started quizzing him on Spanish animal names.  I taught him my "Cinco Patitos" song from high school Spanish class.  Then after seeing 6 geese swimming we changed the song to "Seis Gansanitos", then the kids were making it about cats sleeping and all sorts of strange things.  I think everyone was happy to finally get to the city.

We finally made it to Inverness and had the usual drama choosing a place to eat - I think we were all ready to eat at home for a while.

In the end everyone found something they liked, I got vegetables and gave Mack my chicken, and Lily's meal included gelato - a good end to a good day and an epic trip.

"We walked across the foot bridge spanning the Ness River as the sun was setting. We stayed again at the Courtyard next to the airport so I retuned the van that night—I’ve never been so happy to return a car and be done driving in Europe. No more trying to get in on the wrong side of the car or wondering which side of the road to drive on. We had news that Papa Randy was not doing well so we Facetimed him from our hotel room. He was in good spirits and able share a few laughs with the kids."

It was fun to hear the kids telling Papa and Nani all about our amazing trip.  It was incredible but I think all of us were ready to go home!

Edinburgh

After the girls fell asleep Sunday night I climbed in the tub and enjoyed a LONG over due soak.  I washed my hair, read my book, and just had some alone time waiting for Greg and the boys to get home.  Well this picture reveals why I don't usually go to bed with wet hair- thank goodness for braids!

"After our first Ryan Air experience we decided to give ourselves a bit more cushion the next morning. Everything seemed to go smoothly as we checked in and made it through security with ample time to spare. Things turned south when it was time to board. Your bags are too big. Yeah right. No seriously. No seriously. All of the bags are too big. You’ll have to pay to check them. Admittedly I should have reread the details on my ticket, but you’d think maybe the ticket agent could have mentioned when we checked in with 8 people and we each had large bags and our tickets included checked bags that we should check our bags. Duh! We had only had to pay for Lisa’s suitcase, not the backpacks when we gate checked it in Manchester as we had been able to take all the backpacks on the plane. But not this time. There goes another $300 and my temperature rises a few more degrees. We were of course the last ones on the plane. The people of Gibraltar wouldn’t take my wallet sitting abandoned on a bus, but Alamo and Ryan Air won’t hesitate to gouge me at every chance—they cost me more than what I had in my wallet! I’m convinced the agents get a commission on baggage fees. On the plane an attendant asked if I spoke Spanish—just a bit. When I found out what he wanted I volunteered Natali to translate for the people sitting in front of us in the exit row. I took a picture of her translating and posted about how Ryan Air didn’t have bi-lingual attendants in Spain and didn’t offer to pay Natali for her help but gladly charged me fees. Ryan Air gets a big L but Edinburgh earned a big W."

"The Europcar agent at the car rental was so nice he talked me into a large van rather than two small cars. I’m pretty sure it cost more than he told me it would but Lisa was pleased not to drive again and at this point in the trip I had given up on my budget." 

"We headed straight to the Castle and parked below it. The walk up gave us a glimpse of what was to come. I grabbed a couple of sandwiches to share while we waited in line and then ... we meandered through the castle grounds. The highlight was probably Honors of Scotland—a crown and sword worn by Mary Queen of Scots and the Scottish royalty for 500+ years."

Emmy wowed us with all of her memorized facts about Mary Queen of Scots and Natali pulled out some random pieces of info from her trip here 6 years before.

The castle was interesting and worth a stop but it was crowded, cold, and windy-the kids were ready when we decided to be done.

Kate did lots of research to help us find the best Harry Potter spots in the city - who's hands are closest to the same size as JK Rowling?

She definitely wrote here - but it caught fire a few years ago and is closed now.

Lily had to get a suii boost to touch the Greyfriars Bobby's nose.

While the rest of us searched for Tom Riddle and McGonagall headstones at the Greyfriars Kirk Cemetery Mack and Natali enjoyed a chance to rest their feet and chat.

We had to take a quick walk up Victoria Street to see the colorful houses that may have inspired Diagon Alley.

Kate found this Harry Potter store and had to check it out.  They had some pretty cool stuff inside.

"We decided to share one last family dinner. A table for 8 wasn’t going to happen so we split into two groups—Natali and Andrew joined us since they would be bidding farewell for almost 26 months. Hearing Mack laugh with the littles at their table as they passed an imaginary ball was one of the best memories of the trip."

This table enjoyed a meal of several appetizers and everyone was happy.  They were a bit loud but they were cracking me up with their games and just having fun together.

Kate needed a pic with her highland cow!

"Fittingly we said goodbye at a parking garage. Lisa cried in the van as Natali and Andrew shared a final embrace. We took her to the train station to send her off to London."

Gonna be a while before all 8 of us are together again 😢 but I'm glad we ended with a bang.  We drove a few hours to Aberdeen (Andrew may have pulled off a road side pee break) and enjoyed 3 hotel rooms and some much needed space and rest!