So that I can have more time to do course work this evening, I’ve decided to start typing up today’s activities. We’re still on the coach returning from Skye, but now we’re closer to the resort than before.

This morning I decided to have porridge for breakfast. I added cream & honey to it and it was delightful. I supplemented it with bacon, fruit, tea, and toast with marmalade.

We left at 8am as usual, though it was lovely not needing our bags out for once. The theme for today was scenery (whereas yesterday was probably history). We stopped for pictures along the way, but our priority was the Isle of Skye.

One stop was at Loch Ness. I bought a gift and a mini Nessie thing while mom got me a hot chocolate & coffees for her & Amy. We took photos and were back on the coach in time.

We took the bridge across to the Isle of Skye and continued on to the Clan Donald center for more scenery and lunch. The lunch line was big at the start so we took a walk in the gardens. For all three of us, this was the highlight of the day. Beautiful, peaceful, moss, birdsong, wild onion scent – bliss. Our only regret is not having more time to enjoy it. When we returned for lunch, I ordered a mature cheddar toasty which I had with crisps, elderflower soda, and a brownie. Yummy!

Our group stayed 10 minutes more than the other two tour groups there (whom we’d been racing since the Nessie stop) and still got to the ferry on time. Well played, James! Well played.

Since then we’ve been on the road with a quick stop to view the Bonnie Prince Charlie memorial and the viaduct from the Harry Potter movies. Amy and I took the path up to the viewing area for photos.

The nicest thing about today is that the rain only really happens when we’re in the coach. Amy tempted fate today at breakfast by mentioning our great weather for this trip, but figured we were more than half way through, so it didn’t matter if the weather changes for the worst.

Tonight we’re having supper at the resort again. I’ve ordered the goat cheese starter, the chicken entrée, and the mango mousse for dessert. Should be tasty!

[Time passes and I’m now in bed for the night.] Once we got to the hotel, mom and I did another Tescos run. She needed a shower poof (hers went asplody the other morning) and I wanted more sugar. So I bought 2 packages of jelly babies, another box of Tunnick’s tea cakes, and a package of dark chocolate digestive biscuits. I will likely go into sugar overload if customs lets me take this all out! 🙂

As I suspected, dinner was great. Before we went into the dining area, mom bought us drinks with money that dad had given her. I once again had a gin & tonic. The meal was superb, as usual. And the conversation was fun – we’ve managed to eat with different people each day which makes for interesting conversations. After dinner, we reitred to our room whereupon we packed for the next day and Amy posted more Facebook pictures. And now I’m going to try and get a lesson done before I sleep.

Last night I wasn’t able to write up an entry for our day. I am currently typing this while our bus is retuning from the Isle of Skye. I’m doing this with the virtual keyboard since my Bluetooth keyboard is in my luggage.

So, yesterday we left Glasgow to head north to the highlands. Poor Glasgow didn’t leave as favorable an impression upon us as Liverpool or Cardiff. Perhaps it was the restaurant messing up supper. Perhaps it was the hotel spa closing as we arrived. Perhaps we just aren’t Glasgow gals. Regardless, we were ready to meet the Highlands.

Our first stop in the Highlands was Loch Lomond. Though we skipped Windemere’s boat ride, we opted for this one. It was a hazy, chilly, drizzly day, which just seemed perfect for a loch ride. When we were departing the boat, one of the crew admitted that this was the coldest start to summer that she could recall. She felt sorry for the kids starting their holidays this weekend.

For lunch, James took us off the beaten path to the Drover’s Inn. He said the place reminded him of the Addams Family. Inside, even more so. Lunch was Scotch broth and assorted sandwiches – very tasty. Not even sure what all the sandwiches were other than having butter & mayonnaise. (One was egg, that I’m sure of.)

We then spent the early afternoon driving thru the valley of Glencoe. Despite the historical drama, the valley was peaceful and beautiful. Indeed, the trip was almost scenery overload.

When we arrived at our resort, those of us doing the optional excursion had 20 minutes to get ready. And then it was time to see the puppies!

When we were planning out extra excursions, Amy and I weren’t sold on the sheepdog one. But it’s James’s favorite and he kept selling it. And we finally relented. I’m glad we did. It was fun watching the shepherd herd the sheep with his dogs using only voice commands and unique whistles. And afterwards we got to hold puppies. 🙂

James wanted to apologize for rushing us out of supper the previous night and so bought us drinks before dinner. I had a gin & tonic with Bombay Sapphire. Supper was at the resort and I had leek & potato soup (needed salt), pork belly/back/rump/something & mash & veggies, and chocolate delice (aka chocolate mousse cake).

Mom, Amy and I took a walk around Aviemore and wound up buying junk food at Tescos. I hadn’t brought money with me. But I had enough change in my pocket to get 2 packages of Penguins and a box of tea cakes. We eventually got ourselves situated for bed. I had intended to complete another lesson for my course but it wasn’t to be. (Too busy posting photos of pupies on Facebook, I think). Maybe tonight?