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Dunrobin Castle, Don’s Owl, Million Dollar view of Scotland
Today we arrived in Invergorden to fairly nice weather. Seven of us - Bob, Betty, Frank, Barb, Judi, me and Micki, who set up the tour, met our guide and his 7 passenger VW van. It worked out well as we all rotated seats so no one person was stuck in the middle and everyone got to set in the front seat.
We traveled first to the pink castle of Al Fayyad (sp), who owns Harrods and was going to be Princess Diana’s father in law. The guide who is from the area said that the talk around this small community was that Diana was pregnant, shopping for baby clothes and was getting married shortly. Conspiracy runs wild in small communities, but that is what the local believe. From there we continued into the country side and again saw lots of sheep and cows. The countryside in Scotland is just beautiful. Lots of green grass, heather, and granite rocks and boulders with nice farms and homes make up the view.
We were headed for Dunrobin Castle and what a great view when we arrived. The castle is located near the ocean and has beautiful gardens to walk through. They had a plant there that looked like large elephant ears, but was actually called a giant rhubarb plant. We arrived at a time that would allow us to see the Falconry display and show. The Falconer was very good. People around us who had seen other shows said that he was the best that they had seen. The time and patience that he used to train the birds was something to behold. He involved visitors in his show. Some volunteered and other like myself were caught by surprise. It is a shock to find that an owl has landed on our head. Thank goodness I had a hat on.
Leaving the castle we drove to the Falls of Shin where we had lunch. I had Sheppard’s Pie and Judi had carrot and coconut soup. Sounds funny, but she said it was very good. The Scottish and Irish puree their vegetables when making a soup, which makes for a thicker soup than we find in the US. After lunch we went down to the Falls, not very tall, but we watched Salmon trying to climb the falls to lay their eggs.
After leaving the Falls of Shin we again toured the country side with the beautiful views. We were headed for the Dalmore Distillery for a wee dram of whiskey. It was good, and I found that I was not drinking Scotch the correct way. No ice and just about 1/3 water to 2/3 Scotch makes it very smooth.
We then returned to the ship and stopped in Inverness, which is the town located at Invergordon. This was an important naval base during the First and Second World Wars. The HMS Hood was here for repairs to its anchor when the Nazi Battleship the Bismarck broke out into the Atlantic. The Hood was the pride of the British Navy and the Bismarck sank her in the Sea of Norway between Ireland and Iceland. The Anchor that was replaced is on display in the town.
Back on ship it was time to get ready for dinner. Chateau Briand was served tonight. After dinner we went to the theater for a “Motown” production. The show left a little bit to be desired. Then it was back to the cabin for a good nights rest.
Today we arrived in Invergorden to fairly nice weather. Seven of us - Bob, Betty, Frank, Barb, Judi, me and Micki, who set up the tour, met our guide and his 7 passenger VW van. It worked out well as we all rotated seats so no one person was stuck in the middle and everyone got to set in the front seat.
We traveled first to the pink castle of Al Fayyad (sp), who owns Harrods and was going to be Princess Diana’s father in law. The guide who is from the area said that the talk around this small community was that Diana was pregnant, shopping for baby clothes and was getting married shortly. Conspiracy runs wild in small communities, but that is what the local believe. From there we continued into the country side and again saw lots of sheep and cows. The countryside in Scotland is just beautiful. Lots of green grass, heather, and granite rocks and boulders with nice farms and homes make up the view.
We were headed for Dunrobin Castle and what a great view when we arrived. The castle is located near the ocean and has beautiful gardens to walk through. They had a plant there that looked like large elephant ears, but was actually called a giant rhubarb plant. We arrived at a time that would allow us to see the Falconry display and show. The Falconer was very good. People around us who had seen other shows said that he was the best that they had seen. The time and patience that he used to train the birds was something to behold. He involved visitors in his show. Some volunteered and other like myself were caught by surprise. It is a shock to find that an owl has landed on our head. Thank goodness I had a hat on.
Leaving the castle we drove to the Falls of Shin where we had lunch. I had Sheppard’s Pie and Judi had carrot and coconut soup. Sounds funny, but she said it was very good. The Scottish and Irish puree their vegetables when making a soup, which makes for a thicker soup than we find in the US. After lunch we went down to the Falls, not very tall, but we watched Salmon trying to climb the falls to lay their eggs.
After leaving the Falls of Shin we again toured the country side with the beautiful views. We were headed for the Dalmore Distillery for a wee dram of whiskey. It was good, and I found that I was not drinking Scotch the correct way. No ice and just about 1/3 water to 2/3 Scotch makes it very smooth.
We then returned to the ship and stopped in Inverness, which is the town located at Invergordon. This was an important naval base during the First and Second World Wars. The HMS Hood was here for repairs to its anchor when the Nazi Battleship the Bismarck broke out into the Atlantic. The Hood was the pride of the British Navy and the Bismarck sank her in the Sea of Norway between Ireland and Iceland. The Anchor that was replaced is on display in the town.
Back on ship it was time to get ready for dinner. Chateau Briand was served tonight. After dinner we went to the theater for a “Motown” production. The show left a little bit to be desired. Then it was back to the cabin for a good nights rest.
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