SCOTLAND Day 7-20 July 2019

I woke up a bit early. I'm just so exhausted here. I had the full breakfast but they didn't have any scones which was sad. I had chocolate rice krispies and apple juice and then took a banana and nutella sandwich for the road. Then I headed off to the town center for my Loch Ness tour!

I got the bus at the bus station but I was only one of 5 on my tour! It was me and 5 Finnish adults and then the rest of the bus was a different tour with the same company. So he dropped them all off at the boat and then drove us to a Cairn! I didn't even know that was on the tour lol. I honestly forgotten what I'd booked. The Cairn was a bit past the loch and it was cool but super small. It had a small circle of short standing stones and then had a rock pile thingy in the middle which was sorta neat causes I crawled into it and hung out in the center for a bit.

Then the bus driver brought us to the visitor center which we had an hour at. Theme of the day was having too much time at each place which I guess is better cause its more leisurely. The bus driver gave us some facts and stuff but he was discouraged since I was clearly the only one understanding what he said. He told me that the Inverness Highland Games are today which is why everything's a bit busy today. (it's today only and I'm a little bummed cause that would've been cool to do if I knew.

The visitor center was weird. It had about 6 rooms with little videos set up in sets sorta like Disney but not as well done obviously. The videos were sorta weird too. They were talking about the history of why people think theres a monster but how its been disproved multiple times. It was basically anti monster but then at the end was like what do you think it is. I remember from a previous movie thing that the main reason there can't be is because there's no sustainable food source in the lake for a large being and that's also what they said in this. It's possible because it was the center of pangea essentially and then it froze over and they've found some microbiology in the lake from dinosaur age but have never found the monster. There are salmon and trout that live in the lake but thats mostly it. It's possible the monster is a large surgeon or related to the surgeon and swam up. The other ideas is that its a dinosaur like the plesiosuar (long neck water dino which is essentially nessie) or that it is like a long snake cause of the humps. Or some people think its like a whale. There continue to be multiple sightings. I think it's a big monster that eats veg and that's why its not eating fish.

After the exhibit I ate my banana and then we took the bus to the castle Urquhart (erkert). We had a longgg time there so i just sorta wandered. First I went through all the spots in the castle. Theres a dock area which is cute and I took photos and then I went up into the tower which is the newest edition and then looked through the other parts which included a kitchen and great hall (which wasn't that big) and then the hill which has an !owlery! and then another part on the hill and then theres the guard house. I thought it would be lame since its essentially just ruins but it's really large and apparently very original which is rare.

I did the tour which was just standing on the highest part and the guy told us about the castle in general. I'm still not really sure where the bedrooms were and I forgot to ask but he explained all about the layout. It's shaped like a figure 8 and everything about it was designed for protection not show so its all done purposely. The first part was the top part on the hill which was a couple of rooms and where we stood for the tour but I don't really know what each room was. Apparently the moat around the castle was a dry moat and never held water which is interesting since it's literally on the edge of the Loch. Then they built the curtain wall which went around that whole building but then over the rest of this little edge of land on the Loch in a figure 8 shape. This is also when they built the other buildings. Right next to the building is the guard house and then further down is the tower and then wrapping around is the great hall which was two levels and then theres a large kitchen then the stables and then wrapping around right across from the main building was the gate to the water and then another tower. In the middle of the bottom half of the 8 was the owlery which was a tower where they kept livestock and food items and ?pigeons?. Then the top half of the 8 had a tiny chapel which is on a hill in the middle. The whole thing is very hilly overall. In the middle part of the 8 is the guard house across from the stables and they built a wall connecting those at one point when the main building was falling to disrepair and they just abandoned it. From that point on they built the newer tower building and all the servants and staff would've functioned in the disrepair half including making ale.

Interesting things about the Guard House. He was essentially like a head butler and took care of everything and was head of house when the main guy was gone. He lived right above the gate and had a little room that was quite comfy. The bed interestingly was built into the wall so I almost thought it was a fireplace. But apparently that would've been super warm since it was in the wall next to the fireplace so the fireplace would've heated the whole wall. His bed would also be sorta like a cabinet which would also keep the heat in. He also later on added to the guard house and made a grain thing which was right below his room and would've had a fire going all day to grind the grain which also would've heated his floor which is prettyyy niceee. He also had a toilet shoot which was more advanced than people living elsewhere at the time who mostly used chamber pots. He also told us that the main door to the castle was built at a slight angle so that it could not be battered down since the angle would not allow people trying to ram it down to get enough speed. so clever

He also pointed out how the "new" tower has a spiral staircase going the wrong way in it which might show that the owner was left handed but that highlanders were often ambidextrous since they were taught to fight with both hands as opposed to the English being forced to use their right hands.

Then I watched the "reenactment demonstration" which was a guy vaguely dressed up telling us all about Jacobite things. It was super interesting and he was very entertaining. he was dressed as a second in command for a Jacobite army which was a white shirt, a tartan waistcoat, and black pants and a hat. He showed how all the Jacobites wore little light blue hats that looked like berets and they had little white ribbons that looked like roses on them which represents the Jacobite rebellion.

He showed how originally highlanders would've carried a big big sword called a claymore which they'd strap to their backs. He explained how what Mel Gibson did in Braveheart was impossible unless you had a 4 foot long arm and that they'd strap the swords to their back then take it full off then unscabbard it for use. The sword would also be sharp at the end but not the main part of it so they could hold it and use it to block an attack that way since they couldn't hold a shield. The big sword was not heavy but very long and needed to be wielded with two hands so it was quickly replaced with a claidheamh beag (claybag), a basket hilted sword. They'd hold it in their right hand and it was useful since they could use the basket to trap and disarm the opponents sword or punch people in the nose with the basket and the basket also guarded their hands. In their left hand they'd have a targe (small circular studded shield) and then a dirk (dagger). With the targe they'd knock off and attack and swipe the attackers throat in the same motion and then stab with their basket sword which is how they would efficiently get through a British regiment. They did also often carried a gun on their belt but it was too much of a hassle to load and shoot so they often would just use it to hit people sometimes.

He wrapped up a girl in a great kilt which was super cool. Its apparently just a large piece of cloth and a belt and theres no stitches and it has multiple purposes. I want one. But I have no place to wear this. To wear it you lay it on the ground on top of a belt and then a foot in at the bottom you pleat it by hand for a bit. Then you lay down on it and wrap it around you and tie the belt and then stand up and its on. This leaves a large drape of it in the back though. This can then be pulled up over your head as a hood or sleeping bag. Or you could tuck it up a bit into your belt to keep it out of the way a bit. Or it can be tied over your left shoulder (one part pulled around the front and one part pulled from the back and pinned to stay out of the way or for fancy occasions. Or it can just be pinned to your left shoulder as a bit of a cape.

After that I went and got a pot of tea and sat and overlooked the loch and castle.

Then I continued my tour on the boat! The next part of the tour package was an hour long boat tour from one end of the loch to the other. It left from the side of Urquhart castle and ended down in the Ness River right in front of the locks. It was cool and very windy and I stood and sat in the very front. It was lovely. Lu would've loved the wind in her hair.

Then there was a tourist bus that took us back to Inverness. I took it to an earlier stop and got off and walked all the way to Craig Dunain. It took foreverrrrr and I went through a lot of residential areas. I finally got to the nature center and then couldn't find the path my website was talking about which was annoying but I eventually found a GPS long and lat and was able to find it that way. I made it. It was a beautiful very quick hike. The rocks themselves were eh. This is apparently the closest thing to Craig Na Dun in Outlander though. It's just up the hill from Inverness and the name is super similar and it has a pretty tall standing stone and it's on top of a hill. Theres also the Clava Cairn which is over near Culloden which is also right near Inverness and it has a clefted stone in it so Diana Gabaldon has taken a photo there but that's not on a hill and the stones aren't tall so I don't think its that. I'll go there next Scotland trip though. The stones I went to are apparently super old and a different kind which is rare. They were a weird kind of rock that to me looked like mixed red concrete with pebbles in it. There was one tall one and the others were lower and they weren't really in a circle. This was also recently discovered. There was also a weird house structure down the way from it. It was a pretty hike and I took the actual path on the way back and then caught the bus back to Inverness.

While I was wandering around the neighborhood up there looking for the path a bunch of adults and police were driving around looking for a girl which is sorta scary. I hope they found her. While I was waiting for the bus to go there was three little girls playing in a front yard nearby and the one girls name was Amelia and the other littler girls kept yelling it which was strange to be there for.

When I got back I went to dinner at the corner tavern again but sat outside this time. I got mussel and they were soooo good but I wish there was more cause I was starving. I still haven't figured out tipping here and I wish it was explained better. I think it's not included here. In London it was always included in the price. I think from now on world wide tipping should be included in the price of the meal so you don't even realize your paying it but it's always paid.

Then I went to the hostel and took another horrid shower because I was absolutely gross from the hike. This shower wasn't as bad I guess cause I was expecting it. Mom thinks I wont be able to do this for the whole summer next year but she is wrong. I would sleep and shower anywhere if it means I can travel Europe.

Then I sat on the couch and blogged and watched Outlander again. It's interesting reading and watching it simultaneously. I'm essentially reading the chapter during the day and then watching it later that night. I didn't realize how a lot of the dialogue is from the books which is cool. They included a lot of details from the books too which is why it's such a good adaptation. They didn't really change anything just condensed it so timeline wise 3 things happen at once instead of it taking months. I also realized that Sam's acting is eh this first season and I don't like how Cait portrays Claire in this first season. I feel like the books make it much less awkward and more flirtatious but the show is a bit rushed and strange.

The french class is still here and spread out across all three common rooms being loud still. They've making dinner again and it smells funk. I worked on my blog and watched outlander more and a kid came over and sat next to me for a bit and looked over my shoulder for a bit which was weird but I think he's on the spectrum cause I've seen him do a couple socially awkward things so far.

Then after awhile I noticed a group of people sit at the table and start playing cards and it looked like Kings so I asked if I could play. Kings is a drinking game where you flip a card and each card means an action. They said yea and made me a cocktail of smirnoff and seltzer! Super nice of them. They all thought I was one of the French kids originally but then I told them I was 21 and showed them my driver's license and they believed me but they thought I looked very different from my photo.

There was one guy from Malloraca a super small island off of southeast Spain and then a guy named Louise from Barcelona (who was hot) and then a girl named Alasne from Spain right below France. The two guys spoke Catellan together. Then there was a girl named ?Clara? from Hanover, Germany (who was actually in the same room as me). Then later an older guy (late 30s) joined and his name was Laurantho and he is from Switzerland so he speaks english, French, and German and also knew Spanish cause he lived in South America fro 2 years. It was super fun. They were all older (27, 28, 30, 31) except for Louise who was 20. Originally we played with the Malloraca guy's made up rules which included rules like: girls, guys, everyone, person on the right, person on the left, capital cities game, math equation game, last person to touch the person to their right and never have I ever, and hot seat. Then I told them about the Official American Rules to Kings and they wanted to do that instead so we did. There was also a New Zealand guy but he was working so he only popped over every once and awhile. They all work-lived there (part time worked so they could stay there) and the Germany girl was complaining about how she was being kicked out since they didn't have any extra space tomorrow and didn't need her anymore. It was soooo much fun especially with all the different cultures and views. Some of the King rules they did was tiny man, hitting your head every time you drink, and making an animal noise every time you drink which was really funny. The funniest part was when we did categories one time and it was colors and the one guy said Mandarin. I cried laughing. After we finished the first drink they left to go out to the bars but I went to bed. It was a lot of fun and I'm sad I didn't trade info with them.