Scottish Highlands

Where do I start? We took over 500 pictures during our trip to Scotland and Ireland, most of them in the Highlands. This could be a really long post but I'll try to pare it down. After a day of travel, made longer by a glitch in the Lufthansa check-in system, we made it to Perth, Scotland. Since we arrived much later than planned, we ditched our plans to see Stirling Castle and drove up to Urquhart Castle (above) instead the next day. 

I'm so happy things worked out as they did! Urquhart Castle was incredible.  The castle, mostly in ruins now, lies on the banks of Loch Ness and overlooks the mountains beyond.  There's something about the castle's history, coupled with the intrique of Loch Ness, that made the experience exceptional in my mind. 

We were so lucky to have dodged the rain that day.  It rained on the way to Urquhart Castle, then it stopped while we were there.  As we left the castle it started to rain again.  We were headed to Loch Morlich (above) in the Cairngorms National Park.  I really really wanted to hike around the lake but it was pouring down rain.  We pulled into the parking area near the lake and just before we were about to give up on the hike, the rain stopped and it stayed sunny for the rest of the afternooon. 

This is why I wanted to do the this hike!  The views were stunning and it was so peaceful and quiet there.  It's not often during our trips that we take hikes like this, usually because we stay in large cities and / or don't have the time.  After some pre-trip planning, we knew we wanted to see the Highlands and the scenery it had to offer by car or by foot. 

Another good reason to visit the Highlands; the Speyside distilleries!  There is a large concentration of Scotch distilleries along the Spey River.  We started out by taking a tour of The Glenlivet distillery.  We then drove over to see the Aberlour distillery after having just sampled some of it the night before.  We didn't have time for their 2 hour tour and 6 tastings but I think it would have been neat to do if we had more time. 

We'd bought 2 Scotch glasses at The Glenlivet and 2 at Aberlour and thought that 2 more would complete the set so we made our way over to the nearby Glenfiddich distillery.  As we drove, we passed by this massive copperage!  These barrels are empty but it just goes to show how many are needed to keep this area in supply.  (We learned at The Glenlivet that their barrels come from United States, after they have been used to age bourbon and / or sherry.) 

Its remarkable that for as popular as some of these Scotches are (Glenfiddich is the number one selling Scotch in the world, The Glenlivet it number two) to see that these distillieries are located in the middle of nowhere.  


That afternoon, we headed down to Balmoral Castle.  The landscape was still gorgeous.   This stone, inscribed with the phrase "take a moment to behold as still skies or storms unfold" says it all.


 The road, however, became a little crazy.  The lanes narrowed until a two way road became just wide enough for one car.  There were alcoves on the side of the road about every 150 yards designed to let a car pull over to make way for on coming traffic.  There were hills, curves, and turns, and if that wasn't bad enough, at one point the farmers stopped fencing in their livestock.  We had to watch out for sheep in the road, which fortunately we only encountered once.

We were happy to arrive at Balmoral Castle. The castle has been a home to the Royal Family since 1848. It is only open from for 4 months a year since it is still used as a Royal residence. The Queen actually went there after the wedding of William and Kate. What a place to get away from everything! It it located on 150 acres of Highlands with 2000 deer roaming the property. 

We ended our trip in the Highlands in the town of Pitlochry at a great bed and breakfast, complete with it's own bar!  We enjoyed all 3 of the bed and breakfasts we had stayed out, especially the breakfast part!  We had the full Scottish breakfast each morning, which included eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, pudding, beans, even waffles and pancakes.  From now on, we'd be on our own for breakfast.  ::Sigh::  Goodbye Higlands, we'll miss you!  On to Ireland now...

Glendalough & Dublin, Ireland

After spending the night outside Dublin, we rented a car and drove down to Glendalough, about an hour south of Dublin in the Wicklow Mountains. Glendalough, which means "between two lakes", is home to a monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century.

Glendalough became a place of pilgrimage. The pope said that seven trips to Glendalough would be equal to one trip to the Vatican. Here is St. Kevin's church against the valley's beautiful scenery. 

This is the Upper Lake in the Glendalough valley, about a mile from the main monastic site. The whole area very pretty if not a little eerie.

The next day we went to Trinity College in Dublin to see the Book of Kells. The book is made of 4 lavishly decorated copies of the Gospel. It was probably made by monks in the 9th century in Iona, on the west coast of Scotland.

After the visiting the Book of Kells we headed over to the Guinness Storehouse. We went through a self guided tour explaining the production and history of the beer, eventually working our way up to the top floor for a pint and a panoramic view of the city.

 I can't say that Dublin is the prettiest city I'd ever been to. Ireland has a tough and seemingly violent history (as evident in the human remains on display at the National Museum of History and Archeology). Yikes. The people seem proud of their culture; especially their music which I would say is the best part of Ireland.

Edinburgh, Scotland

After Dublin, we flew back to Edinburgh and stayed in the city this time. The first place we went to see here was the Edinburgh Castle, which looms over the city atop a perch of volcanic rock. Once we climbed up to the castle and passed through the gate, we took a guided tour which introduced us to the castle’s main buildings. From there we were free to explore the rest of the castle on our own.

This is St. Margaret's Chapel in the Edinburgh Castle. It is the oldest building in Edinburgh, built in 1130. The chapel is still used for weddings and our guide said it can hold 25 guests but after venturing inside the tiny building, I would say that number seems a bit high! We also saw Scotland's crown jewels, some military museums, the National War Memorial and a prisoner of war exhibition before we left the castle.

The Royal Mile (actually a little longer than a mile) is a succession of streets through the Old Town of Edinburgh, stretching down from Edinburgh Castle to the royal residence at Holyrood Palace. It has lots of shops, tourists and a guy that looks like he just stepped off the set of Braveheart.

After a morning spent touring the Edinburgh Castle, we went in search for some food. We had lunch at the Piemaker, off the Royal Mile. It was awesome and cheap too! I made my best attempt to eat two of these. Whoever said food in the UK was subpar?! I enjoyed our meals all throughout our visit.

We walked through St. Giles Cathedral, considered to be Scotland’s most important church. John Knox, founder of Scottish Presbyterianism, preached here in 1559 and was also buried here, well, just outside the church, under a parking lot. Rude.

Here is Holyrood Palace, at the end of the Royal Mile. The Queen spends a week here each summer. A week isn't enough time! Granted we didn't have a week, but we made the most of our time. This city is easily one of my favorites. Paired with our trip into the Highlands, Scotland is on the list for one of my favorite trips yet. 

Florence, Italy

With less than 2 weeks notice, Max and I planned a rather impromptu trip to Florence! With this being our last year in France, we've been keeping a closer eye on airline deals to places we still want to visit. When the chance to go to Florence came up, we jumped on it. Here is the city as seen from Piazzale Michelangelo.

On the way up to Piazzale Michelangelo, we crossed over Ponte Vecchio (above) which spans the Arno River. Ponte Vecchio is Florence's most famous bridge and the only bridge in the city that wasn't destroyed by the Germans in WWII. It's now lined with gold and silver shops and lots of tourists.

From the Piazzale Michelangelo, we walked over to the San Miniato Church. Legend has it that the martyred St. Minias walked up to this spot AFTER being decapitated on the banks of the Arno River. I don't know, I had a hard enough time waking up the hill, being out of shape, but with my head attached....

We were fortunate enough to have found a bed and breakfast only a half a block away from the Duomo and Campanile (above). It's not like us to stay in the middle of things but we made an exception for Florence. There is no better way to get around this town then on foot.

This is the front of the Duomo. Its facade is covered in white, green, and pink Tuscan marble. The outside is far more impressive than the inside.

The cathedral was actually built with a hole in the roof where the doom would someday be built. The architect Brunelleschi actually cut into the dome of the Pantheon in Rome to see how it was constructed and from there he constructed the dome of the Duomo.

After visiting the Uffizi Gallery, we walked by the Palazzo Vecchio (above). This used to be the city's Town Hall, and residence of the Medici family. Michelangelo's David stood outside the entrance for about 300 years before being moved to the Accademia. A copy now stands in its place. We later visited the Accademia to see the original David statue. It was amazing.

Food is one of the other reasons we wanted to go back to Italy! We had such amazing meals in Italy and we knew the cuisine in Florence would not disappoint. We ate as much gelato as we could too. We really liked this gelateria called Grom and went there twice in one day and were served by the same guy both times. That's not embarrassing is it? I say no. I think if given the chance, we'd make one more trip back to Italy.

Annivarsaire de Mariage

We celebrated our 4th anniversary on March 10! We wanted to do something special since it might be the last anniversary we celebrate while living in France. There is this amazing restaurant here in Chambery called La Maniguette.

It's a small restaurant with a small menu (3-4 choices for appetizers, entrées and desserts), a huge wine list and delicious food. We've been fortunate enough to have eaten there a couple of times before with people from Max's work, (thank you if you’re reading this!) so there was no doubt that this is where we wanted to go to celebrate our day. The food was unforgettable and our dessert plates were even decorated for the occasion. What a nice surprise! We just might have to find another reason to go back…like Cinco de Mayo, or Administrative Professional's Day. Just saying.

Chateau Chillon

It is starting to look like spring outside, even though it's the end of February. It's still a little cold to start doing a lot of traveling, but we were really ready to get out for a little day trip. We headed over to Chateau Chillon, located on a small rocky island near the far end of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

Here I am at the postern gate at the castle's base level. This gate had access to the lake and allowed for delivery of goods by boat or for the escape of castle occupants when the need called. The little pamphlet guide says that this probably became an execution room in the 16th century. Eww.

This talk of execution brings me to the poem written by Lord Bryon, called The Prisoner of Chillon, which tells the tale of one man's captivity in the dungeon of Chateau Chillon. The castle has inspired other writers and artists from Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Victor Hugo and Delacroix to Courbet.

In all, we spent about 3 hours wandering the rooms of the chateau, ending at the top of the keep. The keep, on the center of the island rock, is thought to date back to the 11th century, with the rest of the chateau having evolved around it. It was a neat to place to visit, even in February, with more to offer than I first thought.

Babies!

Before we moved to France, Max and I took a cross cultural training class. The instructor said that as our worlds and our selves were changing in France, we should remember that things would be changing "back home" too. I really began to realize this during our last trip back to the US.

Case in point, baby Colton, my cousin's adorable little boy. I got to meet him for the first time during our visit to Indiana. He's looking like his papa.

Then, during our trip back to Columbus, we stopped by to visit our friends who just had beautiful twin girls!

It took me a minute to really conceptualize that there were indeed two of them; seeing them side by side helped. Amazing.

And then there is this precious baby girl belonging to our friends in Cleveland. So many little ones, in just one year! Things certainly have changed while we've been away. We could not be happier for our friends and family with their new additions and we look forward to seeing more of them soon! (Please don't read anything more into this post than that people).

Christmas, Three Times Over

So, I flew back to Michigan to celebrate Christmas with my family (barely making it through Amsterdam) and Max flew to China for an unavoidable business trip for two and a half weeks. It really was a different kind of Christmas, but a good one none the less. Due to the timing of Max's trip, I was able to spend extra time in the US which actually worked out well, making the trip a lot less stressful than last year's home leave.

I felt lucky to have had the opportunity to spend some quality time with familly and friends over the holidays. Anna and Matt flew in from Maryland and my family and I were able to see them for a little while on Christmas day. (Matt didn't get the memo that he was supposed to wear red that day...keep up buddy).

After Christmas, my family and I took a trip down to Indiana to see my grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I hadn't seen them since before we had moved to France two years ago. It was really great to see everyone and the trip provided a much needed distraction from missing Max.

Then, NOT before I knew it, Max's business trip ended and he flew from China to Michigan after the New Year. We then got to celebrate Christmas a second and third time with him. He slowly adjusted to the 13 hour time change and we were able to spend the rest of our time in the US together visiting with friends and family.

Lots of Snow in Chambery

There has been an unbelievable amount of snow falling in Chambery over the last several days. Some people are saying they've never seen this much snow here in the valley. Usually Chambery only gets a few inches on the ground each winter.

Needless to say, it's made driving difficult. (I already dinged our car during the last snow shower.) I was glad to have been able to drop my sister off at the airport the morning before all this happened, especially since the Lyon and Geneva airports were both closed the day after she left. Whew.

There was enough snow on our back balcony to build a little snow man! I feel very fortunate that I don't have to be anywhere soon and that I can enjoy the weather in such a nice, warm apartment. It is officially winter in my book. Stay safe my fellow Chamberians and all those traveling nearby.

Thanksgiving with Colleen

Voila, my little sister! She flew over for a visit during the Thanksgiving holiday. We had enough time during her stay to take a whirlwind trip to Paris. We took the early train in and headed straight to the Louvre to absorb some culture.

By the time we left the Louvre and did some shopping, the skies began to darken for the evening. We viewed the Eiffel Tower against a backdrop of blue, pink, then purple lighting. "So intense!"

Our last point of interest for the day was Notre Dame cathedral. It was nice and warm inside, a welcome change from the dropping temperatures. We headed back to the train station after that and caught our ride (barely) back to Chambery. I did say it was a whirlwind trip...

The next day, Thanksgiving day, we went up to Lac du Bourget, the largest and deepest lake in France. Yes, the water and the wind were pretty cold so we didn't stay too long. Besides, we had a whole chicken to go cook for dinner! (They don't really have whole turkeys here).

After an afternoon of cooking and baking, dinner was served. It didn't take nearly as long to eat as it did to make but isn't that the way it always goes? It was a different Thanksgiving for us as are most holidays living as an ex-pat, but having Colleen here made it feel very special. Cheers!