Follow Me: Scotland - Balloch (1)

11 April 2018, 16h58 (UK time)

My post today is early, since the WiFi connection seemed to be constrained to certain websites, like Facebook. I am writing this in the hope that I will be able to post, otherwise our last three days will have to wait until we get home, or until we get back to Heathrow airport. I will however, try from the pub connected to this Inn. Maybe the connection there will be more forgiving.
We are in Loch Lomond - if you look at a map, Balloch is right at the southern tip of the famous Scottish lake.
After a few more pictures in Ballachulish, we made our way here past some incredible (although freezing) sceneries. At one point we shared the lookout point with three bikers and a couple (and their dog) traveling with a motorhome. The bikers were trying to make a selfie that included their bikes, so they put one phone a distance away, and activated the timer on the camera. Unfortunately, the phone kept being pushed over by the cold wind. It was quite funny. In the end the man (and his dog) popped over to take their picture for them. So they got their picture and we all shared a laugh, despite the nasty weather.
After a stop for coffee, and some shopping, we decided to skip booking-in and shot straight through to Glasgow. It wasn't a willy nilly visit, since I had a destination in mind: the Hard Rock cafe. The usual t-shirts and teddybear acquired, we stopped for a few pictures (and selfies) at this very atmospheric place. The rock music that characterises this establishment playing over the speakers, made us both smile and tap along for a moment or two. Something we didn't experience in Edinburgh. Francois was the first to mention this, and I had to agree with him that the Glasgow Hard Rock was more of what we expected at a Hard Rock.
Glasgow itself reminded us of Johannesburg - it has an industrial feel to it, although there are some really beautiful buildings. Of course, we saw but a small part of this big city, so please forgive us if we got it wrong.

We will be spending tomorrow doing things in Balloch and surrounds, so there is more to come then.

Find the two of us @ Instagram

💜 Linzé 

Follow Me: Scotland - Ballachulish

10 April 2018 @ 21h11 (UK time)

A quiet day since we spent most of it traveling back to the mainland. Since we wanted to avoid using a ferry across the sea, we retraced our steps via the town of Kyle of Lochash.
We went back to Eilean Donan castle too (it was on our way) to see if we could get a few more shots with better light this morning. But good light or not, good shots were not on, thanks to a guy named Jack. We don't know who Jack is, but one of his vans was parked right next to the castle, ruining any photographs from almost any angle. Thanks for nothing, Jack!
We did have a very nice lunch at an honest to goodness tearoom in Onich, just a mile or so away from the hotel Ballachulish, our home tonight. Our dinner at the bistro in the hotel was very good too. I had a Scottish pheasant with the nicest dessert ever. The lemon meringue was presented in a glass (like fancy chefs like to do these days) but it was the blackberry sorbet that made me want to lick the plate afterwards. Yum! Times 2!
I mentioned that I took over a 1000 photographs so far. I asked Francois and he had clocked over 2000 already. Of course, his photograph count excludes the odd selfie he does of me. Okay, technically not a selfie, but you get the idea.

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Tomorrow we will make our way to Balloch.

Find the two of us @ Instagram

Always 💜 Linzé 

Follow Me: Scotland - Portree (2)

Portree - Day 2 (21h30 local time)

Monday. As far as Mondays go, it was probably not a bad way to spend it. After a breakfast of salmon with scrambled eggs and blueberries (we thought it odd too, although the blueberries were a nice 'dessert') we set off north on the east coast of Skye. At a lookout point we had incredible views of the Sound (sea) of Raasay. We spent a long time taking photographs and just gaping at the beauty of nature. Of course, the grazing sheep thought we were nuts, but at least we didn't eat their food!
Our next stop north was the Kilt Rock where the rock formations look like the folds of a kilt (duh!). But the views were just as beautiful. We again spent some time there, doing the picture taking thing like idiots (okay, that would just be me).
After a quick visit back to the guesthouse, we went the castle of Dunvegan, the longest inhabited castle in the British Isles. It has been inhabited by the McLeod family for more than 800 years. Make that 30 generations. No, I didn't count, they have the family tree of the direct descendants in one of the public rooms of the castle. It is still their home, so all tourists were watched with eagle eyes so we didn't take off with one of those life sized paintings.
It is truly an impressive home, I have to say, but grateful that it isn't my responsibility to look after.
We also spent a lot of time in the gardens of the castle, and they alone are worth the money and effort. Although structured and walled, and planted within an inch of every foot, there are wild areas too. Everywhere something to appreciate and photograph, of course.
I spent the afternoon sorting all the info I collected for my travel journal. Cutting up pamphlets and brochures, discarding what I don't want, and sorting everything in the timeline of our visit. It is already becoming a bit of a blur, and I had to use the pictures on my phone to keep everything straight in my mind. Note to self: once back home, get the journal sorted as a first priority (after the laundry) before the memories fade.
Tonight we went to the same place for dinner, that we did last night- The Lower Deck. We gorged ourselves on simple, but excellent seafood, and struggled the uphill back to the guesthouse. Uphill walking after a good dinner doesn't seem like such a good idea, even the second time around.

Tomorrow we will make our way to Ballachulish.

Find the two of us and lot of the beautiful views @ Instagram

As always 💜 Linzé 
PS: Remember to subscribe, the competition is coming closer!