“I'm not dead yet.”
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Christmas in Scotland
Oh look a wee bit o' commentary...
Christmas in Scotland is the best ever. There was snow everywhere, really just perfect. The trip I took was with a company called Haggis Adventures. If you know what Haggis is you will understand my amusement at the fitting title. They offer a wide range of trips but the Christmas one was the one I took. Five days in the Scottish Highlands. I honestly can even give detail every where we went there was so much, that, and I can't remember all the Gaelic names.
We went to Loch Ness at Inverness, stayed in a castle two nights, saw scenery like no other. Went to the Isle of Skye and saw Kilt Rock, stayed at Morags Lodge, listened to plenty of traditional music. Danced a Ceilidh, saw some kilts, met Davy Holt, saw three waterfalls, and truly winter wonderlands. Ate Scottish snow, saw the battlegrounds of Culloden, learned about the vast inaccuracies of Braveheart—which I have never seen. Met a real Highland coo named, had real Scottish whiskey, ate real Scottish Haggis. That Haggis was amazing! Saw a castle used many times in James Bond, passed Ian Flemming house, passed Hugh Hefners Scottish house, passed Loch Clooney named after George Clooney. Met some Kiwis, some Aussies, some Alaskians, and plenty of Joe.
We had a tour guide named Kyle and our grumpy 60 year ol' bus driver was Joe. Both were absolutely fabulous, and really funny. Technically Joe was not supposed to talk, just drive, but I am so glad he did...the stuff that he would say. I sat right behind him and when ever someone would try and pass us—not fast enough to Joe's liking—he would curse up a storm. And sometimes he would tell Kyle some random facts and then segway into some random rambling... Kyle and I would just look at each other and bust a kidney from laughing. Sometimes from the fact we had no idea what he said, but most of the time it was from what he said. Joe is from the Island of Barra so he was raised on Gaelic.
Here is a joke for you, from Joe...one of the clean ones mind you. What is the difference between Irish and Scottish languages... Scots speak Gaa-lic, but the Irish are Gay-lic.
I swear though the two of them had some great jokes...
But not this one... We stopped through a town called Calender. And Joe said that's where you take all the girls for a date. After a few moments of silence on the bus he, of course calling the entire bus some fanciful words, explained the joke.
Calender is also where some of Monty Pythons The Life of Brian was filmed. There were two Monty Python references on this trip. That one and another when we were at a place which I don't know the name. But while there Kyle and another guide, Fergus, told us a story about the faeries that live under the bridge and a viking princess. Well as Fergus is telling the story the princess, Kyle, comes galloping down to the stream. Yes, yes they were a pair of cocoanuts.
But wait there's more... As Fergus is telling the story about how the princess was injured and her beauty destroyed the faerie of the stream comes out and tells her he has a cure to restore her beauty. Now you might be asking where is Joe? Well as Fergus tells of the cure to beauty Joe saunters down by the steam. In the story the Faerie tells the princess to hold her head under the water for 10 seconds and her beauty will be restored and last forever. There we see Joe, with his head fully submerged in this frozen stream...ice cold water. Of course then they tell us we have to do it too...it wasn't that bad actually. Joe is a beast though...a beast.
One more silly story. While at Morags Lodge Kyle and Fergus were in the same room. Well Kyle woke up the last morning to a very cold room and strange cooing noised. He rolls over and sees Fergus talking to a squirrel. A red squirrel at that, who was sitting on the ledge of the window.
"Fergus, what are ye doing?"
"He is so cute and cute..."
As he is talking and petting this squirrel he KISSES its ear! Kyle said he was saying sweet nothings to it as well. If that wasn't enough after while talking his shower Kyle said he was signing "I kissed a squirrel and I like'ded it."
I nearly thought I would die from laughing so hard. The whole bus was in tears. Of course once we calmed down Joe adds his own loving comment about Fergus. *read sarcasm* this of course sets us all into giggle fits again.
Then there was Hammish. Oh sexy Hammish. You will ner meet such a fine beast as this. Hammish is a highland coo (cow) and he is a sexy sexy beast. He can eat a whole apple at once, really just a great creature. Very gentle too as he has been raised by humans after he was abandoned.
All in all a great Christmas trip, really just the best. If your wondering I will be leaving early on the 6th of January. Should prove fun. I am starting to slowly pack up. But tonight there are fireworks!
Chema
p.s. the Deep Scottish Love comes from the trip...but basically its when you just can't contain your love for the Highlands...haha.
Photo Uploads
Church - 36 new
Newcastle - 51 new
Edinburgh
York
Hadrian’s Wall
Christmas in Scotland
Oh look a wee bit o' commentary...
Christmas in Scotland is the best ever. There was snow everywhere, really just perfect. The trip I took was with a company called Haggis Adventures. If you know what Haggis is you will understand my amusement at the fitting title. They offer a wide range of trips but the Christmas one was the one I took. Five days in the Scottish Highlands. I honestly can even give detail every where we went there was so much, that, and I can't remember all the Gaelic names.
We went to Loch Ness at Inverness, stayed in a castle two nights, saw scenery like no other. Went to the Isle of Skye and saw Kilt Rock, stayed at Morags Lodge, listened to plenty of traditional music. Danced a Ceilidh, saw some kilts, met Davy Holt, saw three waterfalls, and truly winter wonderlands. Ate Scottish snow, saw the battlegrounds of Culloden, learned about the vast inaccuracies of Braveheart—which I have never seen. Met a real Highland coo named, had real Scottish whiskey, ate real Scottish Haggis. That Haggis was amazing! Saw a castle used many times in James Bond, passed Ian Flemming house, passed Hugh Hefners Scottish house, passed Loch Clooney named after George Clooney. Met some Kiwis, some Aussies, some Alaskians, and plenty of Joe.
We had a tour guide named Kyle and our grumpy 60 year ol' bus driver was Joe. Both were absolutely fabulous, and really funny. Technically Joe was not supposed to talk, just drive, but I am so glad he did...the stuff that he would say. I sat right behind him and when ever someone would try and pass us—not fast enough to Joe's liking—he would curse up a storm. And sometimes he would tell Kyle some random facts and then segway into some random rambling... Kyle and I would just look at each other and bust a kidney from laughing. Sometimes from the fact we had no idea what he said, but most of the time it was from what he said. Joe is from the Island of Barra so he was raised on Gaelic.
Here is a joke for you, from Joe...one of the clean ones mind you. What is the difference between Irish and Scottish languages... Scots speak Gaa-lic, but the Irish are Gay-lic.
I swear though the two of them had some great jokes...
But not this one... We stopped through a town called Calender. And Joe said that's where you take all the girls for a date. After a few moments of silence on the bus he, of course calling the entire bus some fanciful words, explained the joke.
Calender is also where some of Monty Pythons The Life of Brian was filmed. There were two Monty Python references on this trip. That one and another when we were at a place which I don't know the name. But while there Kyle and another guide, Fergus, told us a story about the faeries that live under the bridge and a viking princess. Well as Fergus is telling the story the princess, Kyle, comes galloping down to the stream. Yes, yes they were a pair of cocoanuts.
But wait there's more... As Fergus is telling the story about how the princess was injured and her beauty destroyed the faerie of the stream comes out and tells her he has a cure to restore her beauty. Now you might be asking where is Joe? Well as Fergus tells of the cure to beauty Joe saunters down by the steam. In the story the Faerie tells the princess to hold her head under the water for 10 seconds and her beauty will be restored and last forever. There we see Joe, with his head fully submerged in this frozen stream...ice cold water. Of course then they tell us we have to do it too...it wasn't that bad actually. Joe is a beast though...a beast.
One more silly story. While at Morags Lodge Kyle and Fergus were in the same room. Well Kyle woke up the last morning to a very cold room and strange cooing noised. He rolls over and sees Fergus talking to a squirrel. A red squirrel at that, who was sitting on the ledge of the window.
"Fergus, what are ye doing?"
"He is so cute and cute..."
As he is talking and petting this squirrel he KISSES its ear! Kyle said he was saying sweet nothings to it as well. If that wasn't enough after while talking his shower Kyle said he was signing "I kissed a squirrel and I like'ded it."
I nearly thought I would die from laughing so hard. The whole bus was in tears. Of course once we calmed down Joe adds his own loving comment about Fergus. *read sarcasm* this of course sets us all into giggle fits again.
Then there was Hammish. Oh sexy Hammish. You will ner meet such a fine beast as this. Hammish is a highland coo (cow) and he is a sexy sexy beast. He can eat a whole apple at once, really just a great creature. Very gentle too as he has been raised by humans after he was abandoned.
All in all a great Christmas trip, really just the best. If your wondering I will be leaving early on the 6th of January. Should prove fun. I am starting to slowly pack up. But tonight there are fireworks!
Chema
p.s. the Deep Scottish Love comes from the trip...but basically its when you just can't contain your love for the Highlands...haha.