Perth to Aberdeen

I'd remember a lot more of this trip if I looked at the map. Fortunately, this is one of the days that I took 70 pictures instead of the obligatory 150, so picking pictures was a touch easier. In fact, I feel guilty about the general lack of difficulty -- almost sufficient to convince me to try two posts today.

Ahahaha.

Actually, there were a surprising number of photos that I liked from this section. The road we took -- one of the tourist ones, I believe -- was a very pretty one.

That is a river. This is a hill.

Allow me here to say that I adore Scotland to no end. In the Lowlands/Borders, it was like driving through B.C.'s greenery. As we neared the Highlands, we started getting into the heather-hills and bleaker landscapes that somehow manage to be unspeakably attractive.

Allow me also to say that the Rockies pwn their mountains to bits. Except for possibly two.

And one was on Skye.
This, also, portrays a hill. And, conveniently, a river as well.

Allow me here to say more about the Lowlands, which I failed to do in the Selkirk region posts.

For that matter, about the Highlands.

It concerns sheep.

There are a lot of them.

That is all.

This, for a nice change of pace, is a castle. I hope you didn't need me to tell you that. This is Braemar Castle, actually; not entirely unique in its star-shaped wall, but the only one of its kind that we visited. Also unique was the fact that it was guided tour only, and thus the only guided tour we went on. This one was occupied in the... fifties, I believe? The current clan chief, who had lived here for the duration of his first marriage, is now seventy-nine, if I recall correctly. And said first marriage was to an American woman who, the guide was fond of telling us, was rather larger-than-life: a very bold and flamboyant individual. This was evinced by the fact that she'd painted several rooms, in this lovely old castle, a very striking, bold, flamboyant, and utterly tasteless pink.

To be fair, I did lie a little. It wasn't a very striking, bold, flamboyant, utterly tasteless pink. It was several shades of it.

The bathroom. I'm not talking about the bathroom.

But the tour was fun. We got a lot more detailed history than we otherwise would have received. Very interesting.

No, I don't intend to share. Mostly because I've forgotten, or else absorbed the information in that osmosis-like process which, defying memory, nonetheless produces relevant information at the most unlikely times, accompanied by a general reaction of "Where on Earth did I learn that?"

We ended up at Aberdeen, which was our first night in a youth hostel. I did have my moment of inevitable panic, yes, but it didn't last awfully long. At any rate, we survived.

I'm going to join the New Scottish Choir. Prestigious, no? Actually, it's just a choir my landlord is helping to manage for a big event in about a month. Stuart Townend will be there.

More updates when I have time, which may not be for a while.

Tuesday. Eep.