May 21

I hope you all can read this as since I signed on and the blogspot headings are in German! Anyway, we are back in Edinburgh after a long day from Oban. We awoke early to a lovely Scottish breakfast served by William, the host at Dunheanish House. We the set out by foot to see the fishing village of Oban by daylight! Lovely! Lots of sailboats and fishing boats as well as timely ferries going to and from the islands there. We did some shopping and yes, Elissa, I did finally find a Scottish cupcake! Vanilla with blueberries on top, good but not quite like the one you bought in Toronto and of course nothing surpasses Sprinkles Cupcakes at home!

Rick at breakfast at Dunheanish House, Oban

Anyway after a little visit to the Oban Whisky Distillery, we jumped back in our car headed back up the coast and eastward toward Edinburgh. It was different scenery all over again.... From waterfront villages to Loch Awe and those forested areas and past the second largest hydroelectric plant in the world at Ben Cruachan. The scenic trail through The Trossachs fabled for its idyllic landscapes as well as having been called the commonwealth of "elfs, fawns and fairies" back in 1691. I payed close attention to the forest rails beside us, but no fairies or elfs were to be seen today! We continued on toward Stirling, knowing Rick did not want to see another castle (but Stirling Castle is quite amazing, seen from the highway atop a huge mountain - it dominates the area.

Bluebells on the path to Wallace Monument

I did persuade him however, to stop and look to see the Wallace Monument just south of Stirling where some very important battles were fought at the Stirling Bridge that had been close by. It was too late to get a ticket for the tour inside the monument, but we did hike the 250 feet to view it and get some fa ulous views and pictures of the area. Much to our surprise, we found a knigh in armor up outside the monument, portraying William Wallace for a German tv station, so of course I had my picture taken:)

View from the monument

The impressive Wallace Monument, Bannockburn, Scotland

Liz and "William"

We walked down in time for closing and headed for Edinburgh and the Balmoral Castle. Oh my word, is this place glamorous and thanks to our friends at Travel and Transport, we were upgraded to an incredible suite - words cannot describe it and I don't think my pictures do it justice, but let's just say, I feel like a queen for the night. We had a lovely dinner and now need to repackage for our trip home, plus my one hour of free Internet is almost up:) I hate for this holiday to be over, but what wonderful memories I am taking home with me and some new and very dear friends, thank you, Neil for bringing us together and thank you Wendy, Chris, Cheryl, Cathie, Keir and Ewan for making the effort to meet up with us - happy to call you all our Scotland Family! Goodnight all, and I'll be seeing you soon! Liz

Our "Tay" Suite at the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh, Scotland

The room was ready for us!