A Scottish Icon.
It was the first morning in Glen Coe, and we woke up to the sight of grey skies, a calm lake, and the peaks of the mountains in the distance. There was the promise of rain in the air, and the little sail boat bobbing in the water just outside our room sat perfectly within the frame of our window, like a picture ready to be painted.
We got dressed for the day, I wore a thick sweater, running tights, and my hiking boots in anticipation of the day's activities, and Andrew wore his blue jeans and sneakers. After getting ready, we headed to the inn's dining room which overlooked the surrounding lake and mountains--the smells of cooking food meeting us on the balcony as we headed down the stairs. The waiter (who was french)seated us at a table in the sun room, so we could eat our eggs and bacon while looking out at the mountains, and watching the birds fly over-head. I ordered a pot of coffee and Andrew asked for a cup of juice.
Our Scottish breakfast was served buffet style, and it was delicious. The Isle of Glen Coe served the best of breakfasts during our trip, everything tasted so fresh and with the view of Loch Leven, it couldn't be beat. I had poached eggs, bacon, bangers (sausage links) and beans while Andrew had sliced fruit, and his eggs, bacon, and beans. As I'm writing this now, if I could point out one of the things I miss the most about Scotland, I would say it is their breakfast food. In fact, I missed it so much upon our return to the states that I researched recipes for the authentic Scottish breakfast and made Andrew and I the meal shortly after our return home.
We didn't spend too long looking out the window at the magnificent views. We wanted to get out and be a part of the landscape, and with all the plans we had for the day, we knew that breakfast had to be quick. So after my last gulp of coffee, we left the hotel to begin our day trip to Isle of Skye.
Our first stop was Eilean Donan Castle, which was about 2 hours into our road trip for the day. The morning was a bit rainy and windy, but when we arrived to the castle, we were ready to get out and explore.
We were planning on just snapping a couple of pictures and heading on our merry way when we decided that purchasing the tickets to actually go inside the castle was worth the money and time. Eilean Donan is one of those places that make Scotland, Scotland. It's an icon and one of the top visited sites in the country. It's on post cards and travel sites all over the internet, so Andrew and I wanted to make sure we did more than just snap photos and leave the place. We wanted to learn the history behind it.
Like Edinburgh Castle, audio guides were offered for an additional fee, but we decided to tour the castle without them due to our tight schedule. As it turned out, we didn't feel lacking without them. Visual guides were everywhere, giving detailed descriptions of the colorful history of the site. Origins of the castle are unknown, yet after the discovery of fragments of vitrified stone, it is believed the site was once that of an Iron Age or medieval fortification. From there, the site was battled over between various clans until it's destruction in 1719. Using hundreds of barrels of gunpowder, the castle stood no chance against the British, and for hundreds of years it lay desolate and ruined.
That was until a wealthy man named Lt. Col. John MacRae-Gilstrap came along and decided to return the ruined castle to it's former glory. Restoration began in 1919 and completed in 1932. Opened to the public in 1955, Eilean Donan Castle is now a one of the most recognzable castles of Scotland, and we were smart to spend a good portion of the day learning about it's history and touring it. Pictures inside the castle were not allowed, but one of my favorite parts of the tour was seeing the diorama of the 1930s kitchen and how meals were prepared for the tenants of Eilean Donan when the Gilstrap family stayed at the castle, or had dinner parties for guests. The kitchen hadn't been used in decades, but the display made it easy to imagine the hours of tireless work the cooks and kitchen maids worked to create the lavish meals listed on the pages of the menu on display. They cooked everything over a fire, from pies to roasted pheasants, I could only imagine how delicious the fruits of their labor tasted.
After touring the castle, we got back in our orange volvo and headed further along Route A87 towards the Isle of Skye, one of the most anticipated parts of our trip.
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