Rebecca's Visit Day Four: Hey There Highlands!

Loch Ness

On Tuesday, we woke up super early. I woke up at 6:22 to get picked up from Rebecca's hotel (which was a two minute walk from my dorm). We sat on a bus for hours! I had my camera in my hand the entire time because I did not want to miss a thing (except for those five minute naps I took periodically because my eyes refused to stay open). We made a pit stop in the town of Callander where I met Hamish, the Highland cow! He was adorable. I was also obsessed with taking photos of lambs, but alas did not get a good one.

Hey there Hamish!

LAMB!

We drove through the Highlands. It was absolutely stunning. The plains, lochs, mountains looked all so peaceful and were breath-taking. We stopped by the three sisters of Glen Coe (where the 1682 massacre of the MacDonald clan happened), drove by the Doune castle (where the Monty Python's Holy Grail was filmed), the Ballachulish (the most deserted area in all of Europe), as well as Ben Nevis (the tallest mountain in Scotland!) Everything was just nature at its best. I can't really describe the beauty, so i'll let the pictures do most of the work.

Railway

Stunning
=)
The Ballachulish
Rebecca & I at the three sisters of Glen Coe
BEN NEVIS!

We had driven nearly six hours or more by the time we reached Loch Ness. We stopped at Fort Augustus to take a Loch Ness cruise. We ate at a genuine chippy. The woman behind the counter was this elderly little old lady who was very generous with her salt and vinegar squeezing. I saw a Chinese man wearing a kilt. I was surprised to say the least, but it was AWESOME.

KILT!

On the cruise it was windy but provided wonderful views of the loch. Unfortunately there were no Nessie sightings, shucks. There were a billion Chinese student tourists that were incredibly loud and inconsiderate. They were blocking the stairs and being uproariously loud. It was crazy that I understood about 60% of everything they were saying, oh dramas. The cruise took you twenty minutes or so down the loch and you swung around. It was extremely peaceful (despite the loud Chinese) to be surrounded by mountains, trees and Nessie's spirit!

Loch Ness Tour!
Where's Nessie?There's Nessie!

We were very lucky. The weather cooperated with us. We got nothing but sunny skies and blue fluffy clouds! We went further North, made a pit stop at Urquhart Castle and drove through Inverness (the capital of the Highlands). Our final stop was at Pitlochary, which was completely deserted by the time we got there. Everything was closed. On the drive back I saw five pheasants as well as three bunnies. Oh nature! We drove and saw the Forth Rail bridge on our way back to Edinburgh.

Urquhart Castle
Pretty weather!
Forth Rail Bridge

It was a epic day. My camera was attached to my hand, always ready for photo opportunities. But there were times where I was not quick enough. Oh well!!