"It's a bit bracing!"

Monday June 1st
Edinburgh, Argyll, and Cairnryan, Scotland

Dia dhuit!
(That’s hello in Irish…)
Crazy, crazy day. But what else is new?
It was a BEAUTIFUL morning!!! The sun was up before 5 and the sky was so blue! People live here all the time?  We had a bit of a slow morning, got to sleep in until 7 and hit snooze twice. Thanks to a bit of Benadryl and natural exhaustion, I slept much better. Then the rounds of showering started, Steph and I turned on music and had a dance party to Sugar by Maroon 5 in our beds and then out of our beds and Marilyn thinks we're nuts, but it just felt good to move and dance, and we were so happy, and it's a beautiful day!

This was my "first thing in the morning" shot out of the window. Not fair.

Let’s discuss something before I go further in the details of today. We stayed at the Corstorphine Lodge Hotel just outside of Edinburgh. And before I tell you a good story, let’s discuss showers over here. The Ashling Hotel in Dublin's shower had no curtain, just half wall of plastic or plexiglass, and a massive drop to the ground. I almost died every shower. Then the Premier Inn in Manchester had tiny box shower in a literal water closet of a bathroom where you could sit on the toilet and shave your legs in the shower at the same time. THEN Corstorphine for two nights...where you only had the handicap shower head that wouldn't stay up at first and the pressure is like washing under a drain pipe or in the rain outside, and you turn it on with a button that says "start/stop”. It was ridiculous. Steph’s dad got it to stay eventually, but it was still like showering from a garden hose.
Breakfast was the same as yesterday, just some cereal and toast and yogurt. Pretty basic, nothing to write home about...not sure why I'm even telling you, then, but whatever.
ANYWAY. Then we got our things to start the day. We upgraded our car at the airport in Dublin before we left, thinking we would need the trunk space, and we were right. Now the trunk is having problems fitting everything but it always works.
Our first stop was just 20 minutes outside of Edinburgh, Rosslyn Chapel. It was beautiful. It’s used in The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown and showcased a bit at the end of the movie. We walked around with guides telling us about all of the carvings and important things. The crypts were so cool, they had the pictures used in the movie. The building is so old and has gone through a really neat conservation and restoration process.

COOLEST church!

It was awesome just to walk around it!

After that, we loaded up and spent time driving through Glasgow on the M8. They were very safety conscious there. There were light up signs that said "Use safety belts." "Drive efficiently." "Caution high winds." "Don't drive tired." "Check tire pressure." "Please drive safely.” From the car, it looked to be an industrial town but bigger than Edinburgh. It looked pretty cool, I wished we could stay. And they had excellent roadways. Probably the easiest time we've had driving through a big city.

I love Glasgow. Love.

I mean, look at this place! I am so spending lots of time there next time.

I bet they do, random building! Can't wait to find out myself!

After hitting Glasgow, we drove through Loch Lomond National Park and stopped for pictures. That was some truly gorgeous countryside. Lots of trees and wild flowers and there was snow on the very tips of the mountains.

Such a pretty drive!

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes...

Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond...

We drove some more, but pulled off in the highlands at Argyll Forest Park because we had to take pictures. So windy, so gorgeous. Another middle of the street selfie, and probably the scariest one yet! But so worth it.

What are men compared to rocks and mountains?

Is there any felicity in the world superior to this?

I adore this place. Obviously.

Argyll Forest Park, everyone. Go there.

Then we FINALLY went to Inveraray Castle and the house was amazing! It was used in Downton Abbey as a house they visited with Rose’s family, and it was spectacular. They are very proud that of being the head of clan Campbell so there were a ton of Campbell clan stuff. There was also a touching tribute to the highlanders that fought in WWI. 

I mean, really??? People live here?

And they see THIS every day?

And walk around in this???

Inverarary might be the most perfect castle on the planet.

We had a lunch of a toastie sandwich of cheese, tomato, and onion, and a homemade scone with jam and cream. AMAZING. I love the food here.
After lunch, we walked the gardens...in the rain, which felt very Scottish! So gorgeous. But SO COLD. We were freezing and wet so we didn't stay as long as we normally would have. We were very grateful our rental car has seat warmers!

It's a fair prospect...

A quiet little field of bluebells.

And the most adorable little bridge in the distance!

It was a rainy drive back towards Glasgow until we split off for Cairnryan. Way too many lorries [aka semi trucks] on the road!

Hi, Scotland. Nice to meet your usual temper. Still love you.

Something interesting about our fancy Audi car is that we get traffic updates through the navigation system when nearing major cities, cutting off whatever music is playing. And it is always very thorough on the radio stations, no matter what city. So cool and very helpful!
The M8 was taking care of us again. "Caution surface water." "Congestion after J27." Flashing indicators of reduced speed. "Queue on M8 (E) after J22." 
There was LOTS of Glasgow traffic, thanks to weather and rush hour. Not as bad as our traffic, though, for some reason. We discovered that Glasgow has an IKEA. I've decided that Glasgow is my favorite city that I've never stopped in. And we saw the stadium for the Rangers FC there. Maybe I’ve found a soccer team to support, finally.

Sniff. GLASGOW!!!

After turning off of the M8, there were only small towns and very sporadically. The little town of Maybole had signs that said "Haste ye back." And then the rest of the small towns did too. So cute.

Such cute countryside. And random ruins. Wait, what?

Awww, I love you too, little Scottish town. I WILL haste me back!

Oddly enough, one time we saw a sign alerting us to otters. So far we have seen signs for sheep, deer, badgers, squirrels, otters, children, elderly people, disabled people, and a man on a horse.
Driving along the western coastline was incredibly beautiful. And then the sun came out. It was amazing. How can a small country have so much beauty??? We decided Scotland is middle earth. There is even a town named Lothian that sounds like elves live there.
After what seemed like forever, we stopped at the most awesome quaint little bed and breakfast ever. The Rhins of Galloway bed and breakfast. Cairnryan is a teeny tiny and adorable town. This county is just perfection! We went shopping about 5 minutes away in the comparative metropolis of Stranraer at a Tesco and got some light stuff of wraps and fruit for dinner. And chocolate.

The shore and the sky... UGH.

And then the sun came out! Breathless...

Cairnryan is adorable. The end.

The Rhins of Galloway B&B. So cute!

The view from my window. WHAAAAAT?

We just got back from a walk along the shore, which was very rocky, but so stunning! The sun was setting and two large ferries were pulling into port nearby, and we were in the middle of nowhere… Windy as all get out and really cold, lots of waves, but that didn’t stop me from putting my bare feet in! We’re on the shore of Loch Ryan here, which feeds right into the Irish Sea. So cool!

This is just stunning. UGH.

So cool, so creepy, so awesome!

I could get used to this.

Tomorrow we get up SUPER early to catch our ferry to Belfast, but we have a private cabin, so it should be fun. Stay tuned for how showering goes here at the bed and breakfast. I’ve checked it out a little, and it looks promising.
All in all, a very windy, cold, and Scottish day. And I loved every minute!