the heritage tour: scotland

My Dad, Mom and brother Paul came back over to visit near the end of our time in England and we went on what my Dad cleverly called "The Heritage Tour." It was thusly named as we explored Scotland, the land of (some of) our ancestors and afterwards visited the English manor where my Mom studied in College.

Our Scotland trip (a long summary):

FORDYCE
As most of you know my maiden name is FORDICE. For a long time we've known of the existence of a little town in Scotland by that name, but with the other (older?) spelling "Fordyce." A couple years ago we also discovered (ahhh the internet) that the FORDYCE Castle was for sale! We were very tempted to buy it and tried to get all our family members to pitch in and raise the £2 million (that's pounds mind you) we needed, but we didn't quite make it. As added motivation the castle came with the "Right of Barony" which would make the owner BARON OF FORDYCE! How awesome is that? We just visited...as in looked at it from the outside.





Visiting Fordyce was one of our first priorities, and we are so glad we did! It has to be the cutest, neatest, TIDIEST town I've ever seen, and had some of the best gardens. Fordyce has only one business, a restaurant/gift shop in an old house. We went and ate and talked to town's people, who told us they hadn't met many Fordyces in their time. How odd. I guess we were some of the only recent Fordice pilgrims. We did find some distant relatives in the Fordyce Church cemetery.









We also met this man who spoke in the local dialect and then translated it for us:



And here is his translation:



EDINBURGH
Spent a few days exploring Edinburgh. It's a beautiful city with a completely unique look, feel and architectural style. We visited the Edinburgh Castle, saw the tomb of Robert Burns, and did lots of eating and shopping.







We took pictures, and more pictures.

We are very serious about getting a GOOD photo, and do what it takes. :)

TRAINS
We took the train from London to Edinburgh and then rented a car. Taking the train has been a highlight of living in Europe. It's oh so quick, simple and easy with lovely views you can sit there and soak up. We took the East Coast train so we could see the sea.






THE AUTOMOBILE
As we all know when renting a car you never get the one you reserve, an its nothing different in Scotland. We had five people and LOTS of luggage so we needed something big (big cars don't really exist in the UK). Dad reserved a station wagon or something, but when we got there they told us they didn't have one, then took us to the lot. As we waited Dad saw a nice Mercedes which was very wide and low, as he admired it they handed him the keys, it was OUR car! A wide car feels wider on a tiny road and when you're on the left.


The car. Some jerk stole the symbol off the front.


The joy on Dad's face when he saw the car!


THE ROADS
Dad and Brandon both took turns braving the roads and our back-seat driving.  Paul and I tried our hands at driving on the left as well! It wasn't weird after being over there so long. The strangest part was steering from the other side of the car. The Mercedes was fast and low and wide. That car was FUN for Dad to drive but no fun for Mom to ride in on the SKINNY windy hilly curvy blinding roads of Scotland.


Mom telling dad where to go on the GPS.


Brandon getting ready for his driving debut!


He doesn't look scared here does he? :)


ME driving on the left!


Cheering mom up on one our long road-trips!










It rained A LOT while we were driving, but would stop amazingly as soon as we wanted to do anything. We only got rained out of one beach visit, the whole trip.

LOCH NESS
After Edinburgh we drove up through the highlands and stopped to see Loch Ness. WE SAW THE LOCH NESS MONSTER but unfortunately she is made of some sort of metal, and that was a pretty big bummer, but we did get pictures with her! We watched the water for some time but Nessie, or "Bessie" as Paul called her :), never did show up.










THE SCOTCH
We went to the Northish Eastiest part of Scotland called Speyside, and that happens to be the small area where over half the whiskey distilleries in Scotland are located. After researching dozens Brandon somehow decided on visiting ABERLOUR Distillery. We had a tour and then a tasting. While on the tour we got to try the "mash" which is an early stage in the Scotch-making process. Our tour guide (great grandson of one of the founders) lowered a bottle into the vat and let us drink some. It was like a warm light beer mmmmm. Throughout our tour he kept emphasizing the importance of the clear fresh spring water from the stream (burn) running by the distillery. He also showed us the various stages the whiskey goes through before its final distillation. At one stage it is clear and over 70% alcohol. When we got down to the tasting area he explained that the first glass was filled with water from the burn so we could taste how wonderful it was. We all lifted our glasses to try it at once and Brandon and Paul shot it back, only to realize (with a shock) that it was actually the clear 70%+ whiskey NOT water. Our guide was playing a trick on us! I had inhaled before drinking and the smell alone slapped me in the face, so I didn't fall for it. :)









Sniffing





THE KILT!
Paul has been wanting a kilt for I-don't-know-how-long and during our heritage tour in Scotland was the perfect time to buy one. He asked around and shopped around and finally found a little shop in an alley and spent hours picking one out. His kilt is in the traditional tartan of Forbes our family clan, and he got it military pleated. It takes months to be handmade so he hasn't received it yet, but he is going to rock that thing, and we're afraid of how seriously he's going to take the dress code that goes along with it (if you know what I mean).








THE SEA

Mom heard that you could see Norway on a good day from the shore. We WERE SURE we had seen it until the very end of our trip when we found out it was actually 200ish miles away. Yeah, it was probably some clouds not Norway. Darn.








Our hotel on the sea in Cullen. There were large dolphins in the water below, and they gave us shows while we ate breakfast.





THE VILLAGES








*by paul fordice



THE LANDSCAPE
The landscape in Scotland was beautiful. It was very other-worldly, especially the highlands. Here are some photos.


A highland or "emo" cow.






Scotland's national flower/plant/icon thinger - the thistle.








THE FAMILY!














ST. ANDREWS
We stopped at St. Andrews on our way home from Scotland. It was right after "THE OPEN" and the place was a bit of a mess because of it. We ate at the golf course club house which we learned had been the players lounge during the tournament, and explored the town.









THE LIGHT
The light was amazing in Scotland. It was different, and rich and soft and bright and dark at the same time. It is probably because there is always a sort of haze hovering in the air making everything look moody, magical and enchanted. All that wetness also makes everything green green green and LUSH. I LOVED it.










*by paul fordice