Scotland

 

The British Isles tour began with Scotland. One of the fun things about travel is trying new foods. Our tour had a good balance of planned group meals and ‘scatter lunches’ (everyone on their own), and dinners of our choice. 

Our first dinner was an introduction to Scottish foods at the Amber Whisky Bar. Whisky is the national drink of Scotland and was featured in most of the dishes. We were also given instructions on how to properly taste whisky and a tasting of different types of whisky. The food was good, but the tasting did not improve my opinion of whisky. (Interesting fact: Whisky distilled in Scotland is spelled without the ‘e’, Whiskey distilled in the U.S. or Ireland has the ‘e’.)

This was a 'Trios' dinner. Three tastes of starters, three of main, and a dessert. 

 

The Starters were Pressed ham hock with homemade piccalilli, Whisky cured smoked salmon with caviar, and vegetarian haggis bon bon with whisky ketchup. A haggis is a crumbly sausage wit a coarse oats texture and warring peppery flavor.

The Trio of Mains were Chicken Balmoral with a whisky sauce, beef shin Wellington with spring greens and dauphinoise potato, and Pan roasted Steelhead trout with pea puree and shrimp butter. 

Dessert - Sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream paired with Edradour 10 year old.

The Scotch Whisky Bar

 

Edinburgh was our first stop in Scotland, it is a walled city. The castle of Edinburgh was built 3000 years ago on the highest rock, one of 7 old volcanos in the city. The castle is home to the Scottish Crown Jewels, claimed to be older (1540) and better than those in England.  

This shows the rocky hills and ancient volcanic ruins as well as the modern city. 

                                                                     We could see the castle from our hotel.

My touring partner was Betty, a friend from Denver. We enjoyed the good times and fun together.

The rooms inside the castle were impressive. 

The Royal Mile is a shopping area of cobbled streets and colorful shops, pubs, and eateries. I was impressed with the beautiful wool tailored coats, jackets, skirts and pants in the shops. 

 

One evening’s event, Spirit of Scotland Cultural show, was a highlight as we were entertained with Scottish food, music, and dance. 

 

As we drove through the country side in our tour’s coach, there were many rural and farming areas. One of the most colorful crops was rape seed, a yellow plant used to make oil similar to canola oil. There was still peat farming although the use of peat for heat is being phased out and only used in very rural areas.

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After 3 days in Scotland, we drove south into England.