Carrie has loved waking up to a traditional Scottish breakfast each morning. The B&B kicked it up another notch (once she figured out the espresso/coffee machine!).
My plate looked similar, but I passed on the beans and egg. My digestive system makes enough gas without adding fuel for the fire. I left off the mushrooms and tomatoes and made up for it with toast and jam.
When we left for the day, there wasn't any real plan. I wanted to walk around downtown, see some sights, and find some food. Carrie has gotten to be an expert at traffic circles.
The biggest problem with going downtown is parking. We found a parking garage (pronounced gair-rawge) and backed in. We were thankful we'd switched cars. The V60's nose poked out a wee bit. The V90's would have been floating out another foot!
The garage was neat in that each level was split into two. They had effectively put two levels into 1.5 stories. The elevator went to odd number floors and then there was a ramp that went up or down half a flight.
Yes, I sometimes find the most mundane details interesting.
I didn't get to see a library in Edinburgh, but there was one right outside the parking garage!
It doesn't look much like our library on the outside, but the inside was familiar.
It was a small library and I didn't see public bathrooms. If you don't want to spend pence to piss it helps to keep an eye out for such things.
I could have stayed a while to poke around, but Carrie wanted to find a bathroom. There wasn't a bathroom in the sports store, but we stopped anyway. Carrie found a good deal on some sturdier sandals she could hike in without complaint.
We stopped at the Filling Station for draining and re-filling. "You'd better not be taking another picture of me on my phone," Carrie said.
"Just getting the cards!" I replied and readjusted my camera. She'd caught me and I tried not to smile.
We hadn't planned on shopping, but Eastgate Shopping Centre was across from us to wander into it. I nixed a good deal on luggage.
Carrie spotted a cute shirt for Shane.
I'll leave what happened next to your imagination.
Carrie's reactions are very expressive!
We went through multiple stores including one of my favorites: A book store. There were fewer Games Workshop books in the Sci-Fi section and a larger true crime section than I'd expected.
There were a few board games out, as well.
It's interesting how wide American culture tends to spread whether it's media or commercial.
The castle wasn't a far walk, so our next stop was a no-brainer (Even as we passed a MacDonald's and I offered multiple times to treat Carrie to a burger).
Everyone seems to have a castle in Europe. We weren't able to go inside this one, because it's still in use!
Carrie's pictures usually look better than mine, but you can play "Where's Carrie?" in mine.
She's like Waldo only a lot prettier.
Here are some of the shots she took. Her camera is set for a higher quality picture (larger file size) and is more willing to play with settings to get a pretty shot. I prefer to keep mine quick and easy for uploading and catching quick moments.
Carrie particularly enjoyed the river.
It was very shallow and I could see the rocks at the bottom when we crossed over it on the footbridge.
Perhaps there's a way to raft or canoe along it, but I don't see any large boats coming through.
We poked our head through several shops and an indoor market as we made our way back across town. We stumbled into one store that Carrie was worried she'd get a contact high from (There was a haze in the basement...). I found the thrift store more interesting.
If your castle gets cold at night, a crochet cozy can keep it warm.
Our next stop was a castle alongside Loch Ness.
As we pulled up, there was a large sign saying the parking lot was full, good luck! Observe the size of the road.
There was no shoulder and no place to turn around. There were a few driveways carved into the occasional hillside, but the road was 60 mph with coaches and trucks zipping by (and the occasional crazy person on a bicycle or on foot!).
Several miles down the road we pulled into a shoulder area for pictures and attempted to make a U-turn. The V60 was too big and as Carrie shifted to make a K-turn she spotted a large, 60 person tour bus rounding the corner!
We made it without issue, but her adrenaline levels spiked and tires squealed!
We spotted a park and walk a 1.4 miles downhill from the castle and said, "That was a scenic drive! Let's keep going!"
And that's exactly what we did. We drove back to Inverness and went to an Aldi to grab snacks and a cheap lunch.
Scottish cashiers are provided with chairs.
For under £7 we grabbed milk, snacks, junk food, desserts, and beer.
Like I request game stores, Carrie likes to visit horse stores. She had wanted to go riding near Urquhart Castle, but the stable said I lacked English riding training (I learned Western as a kid). She really wanted to ride while we were in Scotland, but (despite my urging) she refused to ride unless I could ride with her.
I found myself standing outside with Carrie's purchase while she looked around "just a little longer."
Don't worry about me, though. The weather was nice and the hotspot was in the car, so I was able to learn against it and play on my phone. We had to leave the parking lot not too long after after Carrie came outside. The employees wanted to lock the gates and be gone by 5 PM (They were locking the gates around 4:52ish. Don't expect to find a store open in Scotland if you're cutting it close!).
Our hosts, Kath and John, had a surprise for us when we returned for the night. Before we went out, Carrie mentioned she really wanted to find a good Scotch egg. We knew we could get them in grocery stores for cheap, but she wanted something fresh. You could see the gears start turning in our hosts' minds. They mentioned Scotch egg experiences from their childhoods, but couldn't recall seeing any of them lately.
John pulled out their iPad and started to call restaurants. We were ready to move on from the conversation, but they were just getting started! They called a few more restaurants and brainstormed before we moved on.
I thought it was done with, but Kath had a Scotch egg waiting for Carrie when we got back!
We had Scotch eggs and junk food for dinner!
The rest of the night was a quiet one. We played some WoW, streamed some shows, and did a little packing to prepare for our departure in the morning.
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