Scotland
My mom, sister and I recently returned from an amazing trip to Scotland. We went to the traditional spots - Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as some places off the beaten path. Warning, this is a long post that details each of our 8 days in Scotland.
Day 1 - Travel/Edinburgh
We arrived around 10 am at Edinburgh airport. It was charming and easy to manage, however walking to the car rental pick up area was a bit of a hike. But, once we were at the Enterprise it was pretty much smooth sailing, except being nervous about driving on the left-hand side of the road.
We started our journey in the car. My sister was the navigator, I was the driver. It was a test of our sisterhood at times, but we made it without any major damages. We drove through the city of Edinburgh on the way to our hotel and were already falling in love. We saw many of the places we had read about on travel blogs and Harry Potter fanatics forums.
Our hotel was situated on an idyllic street just off the Royal Mile. Fraser Suites is located on St. Giles Street just a stone's throw from St. Giles Cathedral. It is perfectly walkable to all the major tourist spots in the city. We dropped our bags (and our mom) off at the hotel to go find the parking lot for our car.
Finding the lot was quite an adventure. We were given a paper map, and as children of technology, naturally struggled. We took wrong turns and at one point I was in the wrong lane on the other side with locals honking at me (dumb Americans). We wound our way around the city and actually had fun giving ourselves a self-guided tour.
Eventually, we found the parking lot that was located right near the end of the Royal Mile close to Holyrood Palace. My sister and I struck out on foot to get back to the hotel to meet up with my mom. We passed a bunch of cute shops and closes (the Scottish term for alleyways) that looked like they held centuries of mysteries.
We found my mom at Stocks, the restaurant adjacent to the hotel. She had already helped herself to a Bloody Mary. Mary-Austin and I sat down to rest and get ourselves a drink too. We decided on a whiskey-based cocktail (when in Scotland…) called the Peach Tea Thunderbolt. It was divine and hit the spot. We also ordered steak frites which hit the spot after taking the red-eye.
After that, we were ready to hit the town. (We never rest when we take the red-eye, we like to power through.) We wandered out to walk down the Royal Mile. Every other shop sells cashmere and I don’t hate it. We purchased a few items but mostly wanted to get ourselves acclimated with the city. We found the little area of Grassmarket that I fell in love with immediately. Grassmarket is home to Victoria Street, which is said to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. We found a delightful bookstore, John Kay’s, where we purchased a couple of UK based books and I found a Tennyson poem book from 1973. It all felt very romantic.
We continued through Grassmarket and wound our way back to the Royal Mile. Edinburgh is wonderfully walkable and tiny. We decided we needed to chill and get a drink. We found a cute French bistro called, well, Le Bistrot. We ordered wine and took some time to look through our new books and just take a breath in this new city.
Once we were finished at the bistro, we went to check in to our hotel. Fraser Suites is just the cutest little boutique hotel and we lucked out with an end unit with great views! We unpacked, rested a bit and got ready to go out for dinner.
We ventured out to dinner which we had booked at Vittoria on the Bridge. It was within walking distance to our hotel on the George IV bridge. We got there and the vibe was incredible. The food was Italian inspired and did not disappoint. We had heard the food in Scotland may be questionable, but those people who say that are wrong. We enjoyed an appetizer of olives and garlic cheese bread. The cheese bread was gone in an instant. We all ordered different meals and were so excited about them. My mom got a great carbonara. My sister got a delicious dish of a variety of ravioli. I got a fantastic seafood pasta. We all basically licked our plates clean.
After a few glasses of wine and a slice of tiramisu, we decided it was time to venture on. Our venture was simple across George IV to The Villager, a cute little pub. I went to order us drinks and realized I had no idea how the Scottish do drinks. I wanted a gin drink because the gin fizz at the previous restaurant had been great, but didn’t know if I would be frowned upon for a gin and tonic (my go-to bar drink). Turns out the bartender was fantastic and recommended something I can't remember now but wish I could. We enjoyed a few drinks then called it a night to get ready for a full day ahead.
Day 2 - Edinburgh
We woke up decently early - it was castle day. I had done some research on Edinburgh Castle that said arrive no later than 9:15 am. We arrived as planned and there was a bit of a queue (line in the UK) but nothing too big. After a few minutes, we entered the castle. (We purchased tickets ahead of time with the Historic Scotland Explorer Pass.) It’s easy to get distracted by the amazing views, but we had read to go straight for the crown jewels, so we did. We caught a few glimpses of the city below as we forged toward the jewels. The jewels were beautiful, but not plentiful. They were only in one room (to be honest, I was expecting more). They were gorgeous though. We wandered about a few more areas of the castle, including the chapel which honors all military.
The chapel was pretty neat because you could actually open the books with the names from the different regiments. We also went to the great hall, which was interesting with all the weapons. We found the cafe for a quick coffee and then went to absorb the incredible views of the city. It was amazing to see the city from this vantage point. Edinburgh sits at the head of Old Town at the top of the street fittingly nicknamed The Royal Mile. From the walls of the castle, you can see just about all of Edinburgh, old and new.
After the castle, we walked down “the mound” toward Princes Street Gardens. We headed to the Scottish National Galleries. While I didn’t come to Edinburgh to see art (because I didn’t think they were known for great art) I was pleasantly surprised by their collection. The museum was a small, manageable size and included names of artists I actually recognized, including those from my favorite impressionist period - Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne.
For lunch, we went to The Scottish Cafe and Restaurant. This was a recently renovated cafe that connects to the galleries and overlooks the gardens and up to both Old Town and New Town. The views were worth going alone. But the food was fantastic as well.
Mary-Austin and I decided to split a couple of things. We got a wonderful ham sandwich that had a homemade apricot jam and Gouda called the Ramsey. Yum. We also got a dish we were a little unsure of, the heritage tomato and crowdie. We were unsure because we had no clue what the heck crowdie was. Turns out it’s a soft cheese, so all was well and we actually enjoyed this so much. It included a unique Bloody Mary sauce that was an excellent addition.
Post lunch, we needed a walk, so we ventured into New Town. In case you are unfamiliar with the city layout, Edinburgh is split in two by the Princes Street Gardens and on either side is Old Town and New Town. As you can imagine, Old Town is where much of the history is (castles, graveyards, etc.). New Town tends to be the hipper area of town with a little bit more shopping and going out vibe.
We walked along the top of the gardens past Scott Monument. It was fun to see everyone out and about on this side of the gardens. Their annual Fringe Festival was wrapping up so there were still a few pop-up spots overlooking the gardens that were still set up for this. We walked by the legendary Balmoral Hotel (J.K. Rowling stayed here to hide out her Harry Potter fame). After that, we wandered up to Multrees Walk to see their “luxury” shopping area. It was pretty tiny in comparison to the shopping we did in Paris last year. I don’t think the Scots are known for being super fashion-forward.
After New Town, we walked back to Old Town via the North Bridge toward the Royal Mile. We made our way up the street and enjoyed the fast-paced vibe and occasional street performances that seem to pop up every now and then. From there we grabbed our car so we could ride over to Dean Village.
We were able to find a parking spot pretty easily in this cute little area on the outskirts of Edinburgh. We did not make it down to the Water of Leith but instead ended up walking through a few neighborhoods then getting in the car to explore and observe on wheels. I had made a reservation in Stockbridge, which is right next to Dean Village, but we had some time to kill. We went to a random “outlet” mall and ended up purchasing alcohol (go figure).
Dinner was at The Scran and Scallie. This was an adorable Gastropub decorated with a modern hunting lodge vibe. I was very excited about this. The menu looked incredible! We started with drinks and a goat cheese tart. The tart was out of this world. It was topped with caramelized onions and just perfection. For my main dish, I got the fish special. It was a white fish with mussels, clams, and shrimp. It was delicious! My mom got an amazing steak pie and MA got a great burger. We caved and got dessert as well, cheesecake with a crepe brûlée topping! OMG, the topping was a surprise and we were so delighted.
Following dinner, we drove back to Old Town. Mom headed in for the night, but MA and I wanted to go out. We went to The Bow Bar, which used to be a traditional men’s club. It was exactly as you would imagine a whiskey bar in Scotland to be like. We grabbed a table in the back with a view of the whole bar. (Not hard to see the whole thing, as it was one room about 8 feet wide.) We wanted to get whiskey (it’s actually whisky - no e - in Scotland) because after all, we were at a whiskey bar. I was handed basically a book of whiskey and probably looked like a deer in headlights. We saw two names we recognized so we decided on those since it was like reading a different language. When I went to order those the bartender asked me why I picked them. I decided to be honest and say because I recognized the names and the price was right. He asked if it would be okay if he picked some equivalents from the menu for me. I happily agreed! He was actually not judgey at all and I appreciated that. We ended up with two delicious whiskeys. After the whiskeys though, we switched to beers. It was too stressful trying to pick another. MA went with a cider, I wanted to try a local IPA. I was offered 3 choices - 2 were uncarbonated (I was quite confused until I tasted them, and indeed, no carbonation). I went with the carbonated option.
As we were sitting at our table taking in our surroundings, we were approached by one of the patrons. We chatted for a bit then some of his friends joined in. Turns out they were on holiday from Germany. We also met one of the random people they were with, who ended up being from the Netherlands. We wanted to head to a different bar and the Netherlands man tagged along (I’m pretty sure he was here alone and needed friends). We went to Maggie Dickson's in the Grassmarket area. This whole area is filled with bars, so we picked one that didn’t have a line and had some music. We found another table in the back and ordered drinks. We ended up next to three brothers from Norway. Apparently we were going to meet all nationalities while in Scotland!
Day 3 - Edinburgh/St. Andrew's
Saturday in Scotland! We woke up to head to the Saturday market in Grassmarket. This looked like a fun, local farmer’s market. We got there about 9 am and the market was still getting set up, so we decided to pop in somewhere to get coffee. But, first, we were distracted by an artist’s stall. He had some very cool prints that we were drawn to and the three of us ended up with a couple. We walk into Cold Town House because it was pretty from the outside. It was an old church converted to a brewery and restaurant with a rooftop view of Edinburgh Castle. Since it was so early (and a brewery), we were the only ones there. We looked at the menu and decided to get a sit-down breakfast because it looked so amazing. We got coffees, mimosas, and delicious food. MA and I split the avocado toast that was topped with two beautiful poached eggs.
After our fun breakfast, we headed back out to the market, which was now in full swing. We wandered through the stalls, which included food, clothes and other trinkets. I found a bookseller and he had some precious children’s books that I grabbed for a friend’s new baby. He also had a UK version of Harry Potter that my sister and I both grabbed for (luckily he had two). We also found a few more fun items!
We were headed for St. Andrew’s. We left at about 11 am for the hour and a half journey. My sister decided she wanted to drive and I didn’t argue (I was still unsure of the left hand of the road driving). The drive was beautiful. About 10 miles outside of Edinburgh it immediately becomes beautiful countryside. To get to St. Andrew’s you have to take some very tiny back roads. There were times I wasn’t sure the car was going to fit down the road. We ended up in St. Andrew’s at about 1:30, just in time for a late lunch. We went to the golf course to eat, so we could experience this historic golf course without having to actually play golf (the restaurant inside is called The Links Clubhouse). The scene was picturesque. The course is situated below the town, so you look up and see all the gorgeous architecture (including St. Andrew’s school). On the other side is the North Sea. This must be one of the reasons why this course is so famous (that and the fact that’s in the oldest in the world). The lunch was delicious. I went local and decided on the fish and chips. The fish was cooked perfectly and not breaded too heavily. My sister and I split (of course) the lobster macaroni as well, she says it’s the best we’ve ever had! I got another local beer, this time from St. Andrew’s Brewery.
Following lunch, we went to explore the castle and cathedral ruins. At the castle, there were secret mines and the front desk person said it was a must-do, so down into a mine Mary-Austin and I went. It was cramped and pretty tight, my claustrophobia was kicking in hard, but we forged on. You can’t stand up at all and the surface is very uneven, there were no stairs, railings, barely any lights and it was very damp and slippery. We were both wearing 3-inch heeled booties. Excellent choice of footwear for crawling through mines. I wanted to turn back at least three times, but we got to the end finally. Once there, we turned back and headed out. Amazing how getting out was way faster than climbing deeper and deeper into an unknown mine.
After the ruins, we decided to wander through the picturesque town. Everywhere you looked there was something adorable. We found a local ice cream shop (Luvian's) and a great little boutique next door. We bought some jackets (fake furs for my sister and me, and a Barbour jacket for my mom). After a few hours, we decided to head back to Edinburgh. The drive back was just as idyllic. Rolling hills, sheep (cute) and a crazy bridge.
We hadn’t made reservations for dinner since we were unsure of our timeline in St. Andrew’s but I had wanted to go to The Outsider, so we took a chance (on a Saturday no less). We got very lucky and they had the “waiting” table available at the front of the restaurant. We jumped to take it. We started with the cheeseboard. It included blue cheese and two kinds of English cheese. One was similar to Brie, the other was a hard cheese sort of like a Parmesan. All three were excellent. For the main, I got a steak. Turns out it was the best steak I have ever had. It was a perfectly seared and rare ribeye. It came with fresh-cut potato fries and some lovely veggies. My mom got mussels that were incredible and my sister got a delicious trout that was sitting on a beautiful risotto. We were very pleased with this meal. We finished up with a chocolate and espresso cake with a scoop of molasses ice cream. Oh my was this good. And so well executed. There were chocolate shavings and ginger crystals that paired perfectly with the flavors.
Directly across the street was George IV Bar. We decided to pop in for a drink. They had a traditional Scottish band. I was so excited! We got drinks and settled in. The band was exactly what you would imagine. Fun, entertaining, and a little rude. Many drinking songs were sang and the crowd often joined in. It was actually pretty easy to pick up the words, so we were able to join in as well. We met some Scottish men who were out for a birthday celebration. They ended up joining our table and it was fun to chat with them and learn a few things from locals.
Day 4 - Edinburgh
Mary-Austin and I were going to hike Arthur’s Seat but stayed out too late. So, we decided to go to the Elephant House Cafe instead. This was where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books. The cafe was pretty cute, but nothing extraordinary (which totally makes sense). We ordered lattes and breakfast. MA and I split a ham and cheese croissant which was surprisingly great.
Next up was The Palace of Holyroodhouse. This is the residence of the British Royal Family when they visit Edinburgh. And each July, the location of the most enviable garden party. We toured the gorgeous castle. It was neat, because, since it is a working castle it still felt lived in. The interior was beautiful and well decorated. We were surprised that part of the tour included Megan Markle’s wedding dress. We got to see her and Harry’s wedding attire up close in person. The veil was incredible!
We were also able to wander through the gardens, which were so lovely with Arthur’s Seat towering above them. Following the tour, we grabbed some lunch in the cafe. After lunch, we headed to our next tour - The Real Mary King’s Close.
Closes are alleys in Edinburgh. At some point in history (I never remember dates) some of these closes were built on top of to make room for new buildings. Mary King’s Close was one of these. The tour included old homes that people used to live in (these homes were tiny and usually one room). We learned a little bit more about Edinburgh’s history on this tour as well, including how they dealt with the plague.
Following this tour, my mom went to rest before dinner and my sister and I ventured out. We went back to the Cold House Town Beer place because we heard they had a rooftop bar and it was sort of sunny (unusual for Edinburgh). The rooftop was awesome! The castle towered over it and the drinks were great. They even had a sunscreen dispenser. It, of course, started raining so we took refuge inside where there was a jazz band playing. We could have stayed for hours, but we had to go get ready for our evening.
I had been looking forward to the Scotch Whisky Experience the most. This was a full “tour” through Scottish whiskeys. We arrived and got into little barrels that took us on a “ride” that explained how whiskey was made. It was a little hokey, but a good starting point for those of us who knew nothing about whiskey. After the barrel ride, we headed to learn about Scotland specifically. Scotland is split into 5 regions - the Highlands, the Lowlands, Campbeltown, Speyside, and Islay. Each region has its own distinctive flavors that we got to experience through a scratch and sniff card. There was also a beautiful 180 IMAX-like video to accompany our tour guide's voice over of how these regions differed. I thought the cinematography was so beautiful I nearly forgot we were on a whiskey tour. After the video, we went into the tasting room. We had two whiskeys to taste. Here we learned a few techniques for how to taste and savor your whiskey. I loved our tour guide. She insisted that any way you wanted to enjoy your whiskey was up to you. Also, there is no reason a blend can’t be as good, or better than, a single malt. It all depends on your palate and you should drink what makes you happy.
After the tasting room, we went into the world’s single largest collection of whiskey. It was honestly the most beautiful, impressive room I have ever seen. Each whiskey was arranged in alphabetical order and just glowed with pride. We tasted a few more whiskeys in this room too. Our tour included “a taste of Scotland” dinner. I was nervous about this for my mom. The menu did not look like anything she would like. (I was excited because I love trying everything). The food turned out to be wonderful (mom found chicken she could eat). We tried many Scottish dishes, including haggis. It was so fun for me. The best part was that I learned how to read a whiskey menu and left with the confidence to do so in a bar. (I could go back to the Bow Bar now.)
Day 5 - Edinburgh/Loch Lomond/Stirling
We did it. We got up and out the door at 5 am to make Arthur’s Seat hike. This small hill leads 25 meters up to the top which is called Arthur’s Seat. Going up I basically complained the whole time. It was harder than I imagined (I’m getting old and I’m not athletic). But once we made it, it was worth it! We were the first people to arrive at the seat and settled in to watch the sunrise. The views were breathtaking. You could see the whole city. We watched as the sun rose over the sea and it was simply majestic. We were lucky to be alone for a few minutes, but a few other hikers joined us after a while. The way down was much easier, we jogged down at it only took us 20 minutes. (I am no jogger, but downhill was easy.)
Since we were already up, we decided to wake up our mom and get our day going. We were headed to Loch Lomond and Stirling for a day trip. First, we fueled up with a yummy eggs benedict for breakfast.
It was my turn to drive. I hate driving in regular conditions, let alone on the opposite side of the road in the rain. But I went for it. Our first destination was Loch Lomond. We figured we had to go see a Loch while in Scotland. (Lochs are just huge lakes.) The ride there wasn’t too bad. I got used to driving and only nearly hit the curb a handful of times. We went to the Lodge on Loch Lomond to start out. It had a nice view of the Loch, but it was a super foggy day so hard to see super far out. There were some boats out on the water. We each got a drink and enjoyed the hunting lodge-like vibes. We decided we should drive around to explore the little fishing villages and see other views of the Loch. This may have been a mistake. When we started off, the roads weren’t bad, 20 mph and easy enough to drive on. We saw some Highland cattle up close which was pretty cool. We had to turn down one street and were enjoying the views when suddenly the mph went up to 60 and the road narrowed a lot. My sister was pretty scared. (She was on the left side closest to the wall I could easily hit.) After a harrowing 30 minutes, we found a road to take us to Stirling.
Stirling is known for Stirling Castle (duh). It was about an hour from Loch Lomond. The town was so charming. As we drove toward the castle we enjoyed seeing the little town with its shops and cafes. The castle was up a hill and we could park right there. Bonus for sure after our journey. We grabbed a quick bite in their cafe (we are world-renowned tourist cafe critics). We also grabbed wine, because we needed to cool our nerves a bit.
The castle was gorgeous. It was built with a French flair by one of the King Jameses. We walked through the Great Hall and the living quarters (called apartments). They also had a little section to explain the various statues that were built into the castle. There were 250 total and built to showcase James’ power as king. The sweeping views the castle offered were what sold me. That and the picturesque Queen Anne’s garden. (I’m a sucker for a view and a garden.)
After Stirling, we headed back to Edinburgh. MA and I left my mom to go do some cheesy Harry Potter stuff. We headed to the graveyard that is said to have inspired Rowling. It was truly the most beautiful graveyard I have ever seen. We were too late to get the map, so couldn’t find all the graves we wanted to. Instead, we decided we’d do the classic Greyfriars Bobby’s bar. I got a whiskey (expertly now) and my sis got a vodka soda. The bar was great. It was calmer than I expected for such a tourist spot. They also allow dogs inside (pretty common in Edinburgh) so we got to pet some sweetie pups. Then we walked up to the Royal Mile so we would be closer to our mom for dinner. We went to Deacon Brodie’s Tavern. It was a happening little spot. We were able to snag a table and I got us some drinks. We chatted with the people next to us and took some pics with the local bagpipers.
For dinner, we headed down Victoria Street to the Mussel & Steak restaurant. We got seated upstairs and had a wonderful waitress. The food was good and mediocre. MA and I split surf and turf. The surf was excellent. It was prawns and mussels. The turf was a very bland ribeye. We also got the oysters for a starter. These were good but pretty different from the oysters I am used to from Virginia. Not our favorite food in Edinburgh, but we did love the waitress. She had a couple of recommendations for us too.
Day 6 - Last Day in Edinburgh
I let my mom and sister sleep in. I grabbed some coffee at Stocks again (the restaurant connected to our hotel that does the hotel breakfast) and caught up on reading and writing.
They finally woke up for breakfast. We decided that since it was our last day in Edinburgh that we would have a long brunch. We had passed the famous Scotsman Hotel a few days earlier and decided that it looked good. We ventured there at about 11:30 am. We arrived at the Grand Cafe and we were impressed. This hotel was converted from an old newspaper company. The venue was gorgeous and we went for a few drinks. We ordered Bloody Mary’s and mimosas. We also got some brunch food. My mom ordered the eggs benedict, which looked wonderful, I ordered the salmon and scrambled egg toast which turned out to be fantastic.
After the Scotsman, we headed to finish up our tourist shopping. We still wanted to get a few random items so popped in and out of stores on the Royal Mile. The big thing was the Scotch Whisky Experience. We purchased a lot of whiskeys to take back.
We dropped off the whiskey and then headed to high tea at the Tigerlily in New Town. Our waitress Aimee from the Mussels and Steak bar had recommended this. We were excited because she had told us great things about it. We were blown away when we walked in. It was pink and fun and floral and feminine. Everything about our vibes. We got the last table for tea at 3 pm and were seated in the cutest little booth. We were served pastries and tea and my sister and I ordered the Champagne upgrade.
We ended up staying there for a bit just drinking and enjoying the slow moments. After we finished up at the Tigerlily we ventured to George Street, which we had heard was cute. It delivered and we wandered into a few cute stores, but it was raining and the day was running short. We veered to Rose Street on a recommendation and it was a lovely pedestrian area. There were many cute bars and restaurants.
We spotted Badger and Co, which had been recommended by someone, so we walked in. We were blown away. It was a quintessential adorable place. If you’ve read the Wind in the Willows, it was inspired by this book. It only got better and better. One of our drinks came fired up. Another smokey. We were sad to leave but we had reservations.
We walked back to Old Town to get ready for dinner. My mom wasn’t feeling well, so she sent us on without her. We were headed to The Witchery, which was just up the street near the castle. Once we arrived we were enchanted. It was old and dark and eerie. We loved it. Total Great Hall vibes from Harry Potter. This was our “fancy” dinner and my sister and I surely lived it up. We ordered a lobster and crab appetizer, followed by steak and scallops for our mains. We didn’t skimp on wine or dessert either. We chatted with the couples on either side of us and thoroughly enjoyed our time.
We were feeling pretty good walking out of there so we decided to go out for our last night in Edinburgh. We headed back to the Grassmarket and ended up back at Maggie Dickson’s. There was live music and a group of local gals hanging out there that adopted us for the night. Around midnight we decided to call it a night but first wanted to walk through the graveyard. We were chickens and got in there and then immediately wanted to leave.
Day 7 - Glasgow
It was time to leave this amazing city. We packed up (in a bit of panic from all the additional items we purchased) and headed out to Glasgow. It was a short trip, just down the highway for about an hour. We didn’t really have plans so just drove to a landmark and started looking for places to eat. We popped into a few places but they weren’t serving lunch. We ended up at Lebowski’s (yep, it’s just like you thought, The Dude himself). Probably not our most authentic experience (or maybe our most, I couldn’t tell). The food ended up being really good and I got to try another local beer, which I loved.
After lunch, we decided to hit the shopping, which was the main reason we decided to visit Glasgow in the first place. We had heard the shopping was some of the best in the UK. However, whenever we mentioned Glasgow to people in Edinburgh they told us not to waste our time. I’m glad we didn’t listen. The shopping was phenomenal! We went to their mall, which was called the Buchanan Galleries and went to their main department store - John Lewis. This wasn’t your average department store. It carried beautiful items, including our new favorite brand - Hobbs of London. I found some great deals too.
Once we finished at John Lewis, we wanted to continue shopping but figured we should ditch our car at our hotel. Easier said than done. We were staying at the Jurys Inn near the river. It was actually a wonderful location, but the parking lot wasn’t super close (it’s a theme). Once we got settled in, my sister and I ventured to Buchanan Street, which was a pedestrian street known for high-end shopping. We LOVED it. First, we walked into the House of Fraser and were in designer heaven. We decided to come back though since they were open longer than other smaller boutiques. We found Hobbs again and a great perfumery. Penhaligon’s was so inviting we had to go in. I was enchanted by their beautiful bottles and ended up with a new scent.
After we shopped a bit, we headed to dinner at Topolabamba on a recommendation from the saleswoman at Penhaligon’s. It was great. We ordered margaritas and several tapas. Glasgow was a bit more lively than Edinburgh in that New York City sort of way.
To cap off the night, my sister and I enjoyed a glass of wine in the hotel bar. We had to be up to finish shopping and then head to our next destination.
Day 8 - Auchterarder
As promised, we took our mom to the hot spots. We hit Hobbs again because we are truly obsessed. Then we went to House of Fraser. We found some great stuff (a Barbour for $90). And had a fun morning in Glasgow. At around 11 am, it was time to check out and venture up North a bit.
To Auchterarder, we were headed (I still don’t know how to pronounce that). It’s a town best known for the Gleneagles resort and golf course. We were staying about a mile away at Cairn Lodge. When we arrived at Cairn we thought we had died and gone to heaven. Not only did it look like a miniature castle, but it was so calm and the concierge gave us a personal tour of the 14 room lodge. We were pretty much awestruck. We settled into the bar (come on, of course, we did). We each ordered fancy drinks. I got a wonderful old fashioned, MA got a rose in the nicest flute I’ve ever seen, and Betty-Anne got a vodka blueberry drink. We were loving it. Then we wandered into the dining room for lunch, where we were treated like royalty. Lunch was exquisite. It was a two-course meal. I started with a poached egg and bacon salad and followed that with the fish pie. Goodness, I was happy.
After our long leisurely lunch, we got dressed to head to Gleneagles. As we pulled up we were again awestruck. This little town had these two treasures tucked along a narrow road a mile away from each other. We went to order drinks at the impressive bar and settled in. We were in no rush. This part of the trip was meant to be more relaxing. After a drink, my sister and I wanted to explore the resort, which was encouraged with a drink in hand. Each hallway led to something better and better. Best of all were the dogs at the hotel! We wandered down one stretch of hallway that had cute little shops. We ended up purchasing a few things to take back with us. (We had to go get our mom first because we knew she would be jealous.)
Following the stop at the shops, we headed back to our hotel for dinner. Knowing how good our lunch was, we were pretty excited. It certainly did not disappoint. We started with a souffle that was divine. I got the duck with au gratin potatoes and was beyond pleased. We ordered a bottle of wine and the waitress noted that there was only more left and would we like to reserve it. We said yes and just knew we were in a place that truly understood us.
We had a long dinner and then retired to the bar. We didn’t stay up too late, because we had to head out in the morning to journey back to the states. I think we all agreed that we would have loved to stay here longer.
It was a remarkable trip and I loved bringing back my new whiskey knowledge to the USA.
