Click on this link to view our mini video project we worked on while we were away :)
Today was our last full day of our trip. We took a morning tour of Edinburgh, including a visit to Edinburgh Castle. 
The views from the top of the castle were amazing. You could see the whole city!
We spent the rest of the afternoon in the city center. We shopped along Princes Street. 
And of course had to have a coffee break :) 
Then it was back to the hotel for a farewell group dinner. Soup, Moussaka and Chocolate Mousse. (I ate the chocolate mousse before I could get a picture of it.. Sorry)
The back to the room to pack for home.
Today was a tour of Blair Castle. 
Then it was off to St. Andrews where we saw the famous golf course. 
And also the beach in St. Andrews. 
After leaving St. Andrews we headed to Edinburgh to spend our last two nights. 
We saw a Scottish show complete with bagpipes, drums, accordion and Scottish dancers,
And tried Haggis for the first time. 
Today we left the Isle of Skye after breakfast. (A croissant with peanut butter, a banana, bacon and maple syrup?) We kind of slept in a skipped our hotel breakfast. We had a later departure today.
Again the scenery was beautiful. We even stopped to see a castle. It was Urquahart Castle. We took soooo many pictures here. 
Oh yeah, and Sarah found another bagpipe friend. 
We also went to Loch Ness. I found the Loch Ness Monster! ha ha. 
We didn’t quite touch the water but we got really close. 
We travelled through Inverness, saw the battlefield of Culloden (don’t remember much about this just that it involved Prince Charlie), and came to our hotel in Aviemore. (nope that’s not our hotel, just a cool building here) 
Yesterday we did a boat tour of Loch Lomand. It was beautiful. The weather was perfect. A little cloudy with a cool breeze. 
Then we made our way toward the Isle of Skye and briefly stopped in Ben Nevis for lunch. The scenery was spectacular and the pictures just don’t do it justice. 
Oh and Sarah found a bagpipe friend. lol. 
Today was a full day in Glasgow. We had a brief tour of the city in the morning, then went to Mungo’s Cathedral for a brief tour. Later in the morning we visited the Burrell Collection (Museum). 
We made some new friends too :) 
We opted to be dropped of in George’s Square. 
We spent the afternoon shopping, drinking coffee, eating, and shopping some more. 
Today after leaving Londonderry we took a city tour of Belfast. We received a history lesson of all the “troubles” that have gone on there and how for the most part it remains relatively calm these days except for an occasional uprising caused by protests. We toured both sides of the city. The Irish/English split is pretty obvious. There is a gate in the middle of the city that is closed when the uprisings occur. 
Then we drove on to the ferry to head over to Scotland. It was about a two hour ride. It was cloudy and rainy most of the time. :) Did I mention I’m loving this weather?! 
Then we arrived in Scotland. First city on the agenda is Glasgow. We spend two nights here. :) 
Today we made the long awaited journey to the Giant’s Causeway. This site was amazing. We took so many pictures. We hiked down to the bottom, took a picture with the Giant’s Boot, :) and then took a bus ride back up. 
Then we returned back to Londonderry and took a brief stroll through along the river. 
This is a picture of the castle ruins on the way to the Giant’s Causeway. 
Then dinner at the hotel. :)
Today we headed into Northern Ireland. Our currency changed over to the pound. It was very interesting to learn that there are Irish Pounds, Scottish Pounds and English Pounds. And not all accept places accept the other versions. Very confusing. The scenery on the way was beautiful. 
We made a stop at the Ulster-American Folk Park. It focused on the lifestyle of immigrants who sailed from Ulster to America in the 18th and 19th centuries. 
We then arrived in Londonderry or Derry depending on what region you live in this part of Ireland. This was where some of the Catholic and Protestant fighting took place. Very interesting history in this city. 
