A. L. Kaplan

Tag: Sir Walter Scott

  • My Trip to Scotland: Part 10—Edinburgh

    My Trip to Scotland: Part 10—Edinburgh

    We ended our trip back in Edinburgh. (My Trip to Scotland: Part 1)

    Dinner in Edinburgh Castle.

    Then the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It was a spectacular show.

    The Nelson Monument, on the left below, is a commemorative tower in honor of Vice admiral Horatio Nelson who died in the Napoleonic wars in 1805. The Scott Monument, in the center below, is for Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. This Victorian Gothic creation is the second-largest monument to a writer in the world. On the right below is another view of the castle. If you look closely, you can see the stadium they erected for the Tattoo.

    On our last day, we went to the Edinburgh Art Museum. I majored in art and have enough credits for an art history minor, yet as I walked around the galleries, I didn’t recognize any of the Scottish artists.

    I think I need to have a “chat” with my undergrad and graduate schools.

    Dinner that night was delicious.

    It was a fantastic trip. I hope you enjoyed my posts.

  • My Trip to Scotland: Part 2

    My Trip to Scotland: Part 2

    August 2nd began our five-day tour through the Highlands and up to Orkney Island. If you’ve ever tried to drive on a narrow winding one lane road over hills in a foreign country, you know why we chose to do a tour instead of renting a car. It was well worth it!

    Along the way we learned a lot about Scottish history and saw some beautiful sights.

    The drive took us through Glencoe in the Highlands, site of the Glencoe massacre. In 1692, men, women, and children of the MacDonald Clan were murdered in their sleep by troops of the Clan Campbell. It was ordered by the government but violated clan hospitality that Clan Campbell had requested because of a winter storm.

    We drove past Ben Nevis Mountain, the highest point in Scotland.

    And through Loch Lomond National Park.

    Of course we stopped at Loch Ness. Nessie didn’t make an appearance, but we did see some brave swimmers in the icy water.

    Inverness is on Scotland’s northeast coast, where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth. It’s the largest city and the cultural capital of the Scottish Highlands.

    We got to spend the evening there.

    I even found some wolves on a church along with some other critters.

    Dinner was a MacGregor’s Bar which had this lovely quote from Sir Walter Scott.