Another Castle and Nessy

Yesterday evening we drove to Inveraray and saw a beautiful castle from the road – dad was sure it's exactly how Cair Paravel would look if it were real. This morning we went back during opening hours to go for a tour. The Duke and Duchess still live in the home (while she was waiting in line for our tickets, mom saw the Duchess walk past – closest we'll probably come to seeing royalty during this trip). The rooms looked lived-in and homey instead of the museum-like setting you often find in castles and stately homes. The furniture and tapestries were still ridiculously old, but somehow it felt like you could live there. One of our favourite features was in the corner of the large living room where a doorway led to a circular turret room with walls lined with cabinets. The glass panels in the cabinets were curved to match the curves in the walls. When the doors to the turret were closed, they formed a corner in the living room and the tapestry panels were cut to create a practically invisible doorway.

Inveraray Castle or Cair Paravel... your choice!

Our driving today included plenty of beautiful scenery - we don't have very many sites to stop at in Scotland, it's mostly just a chance to see the countryside. This also happens to work well for dad, who still isn't feeling well.

We spotted this rope bridge over a small river in the middle of nowhere so we pulled into the car park to take a short walk. This rope bridge was even better than Carrick-a-Rede because we could bounce and sway to scare mom.

Our day continued with plenty of driving through beautiful highlands and a brief stop on the shores of Loch Ness, just so we can say we've been there.

We spotted the Loch Ness Monster!

Or did we...?

Loch Ness.

Tonight we're staying on the Isle of Skye, just across the Skye Bridge, just so we can say we stayed on the Isle of Skye. The B&B I booked smelled like cigarette smoke even though smoking isn't allowed in indoor public places in the UK so we told the owner we wouldn't be able to stay (she looked terribly embarrassed as she apologized). I had seen two B&Bs side-by-side around the corner so we stopped by and they had space for us for a lower price than the smoky B&B and they were right on the water facing Skye Bridge! (The owners of the two B&Bs were actually sisters!) My dad's favourite feature was that the owners reminded him of Mrs. Doubtfire with their grandmotherly behaviour and Scottish accents. The owner at my parents' B&B was named Mrs. MacLennan and mine was Mrs. MacRae. Could it get more Scottish than that?

Skye Bridge as viewed from the front yard of our B&Bs.

The view from the front doors of our B&Bs.