12:28 pm

I just passed (on the way to Oban) the castle used in the ‘cow-throwing’ scene in ‘Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail’!

12:49

I saw my third stop sign in more than three weeks!

My fourth in Oban!

My fifth in Edinburgh!

7:31 pm

I’m in Edinburgh. Where else but at Yvonne’s would I be greeted with a cup of hot tea and shortbread cookies?! I’m sorry I was unable to stay in Oban; it sure was bonnie! The Scots sure know how to reuse, reduce, and recycle! I had a veggie burger and chips for lunch. Reuse: the newspaper the food was wrapped in. Recycle: the outside paper, which wasn’t greasy. Reduce: the amount of time it takes to eat; you get to read the comics at the same time! Later, Yvonne’s offered me some supper!

8:01 pm

That had to be the best meal I’ve had since getting to Scotland! Lots of veggies and pasta, yum!

Today I’ve only spent £11.85 on meals and board. Try to get that anywhere else!

I went to the tourist info centre to get, what else, info on buses to Stirling and other places that interest me. It looks like getting to Stirling might be long, but not too complicated. I’ll check out other companies, but I get a 30% rebate with Citylink… (It’s too bad I hadn’t yet discovered that trains are quicker and cost almost the same as buses!)

Right by Oban, directly under the bridge, there’s an honest to goodness whirlpool! Supposedly, it’s caused by two opposing tides and it’s treacherous. Oban, unlike Kyleakin, actually has a (albeit minor) smell of the sea. What I wanted to do in Oban was catch a ferry tour to the islands, Mull, Iona, etc., but I discovered that the ferry broke down today and many people were stranded for several days—without their packs!!!

Glencoe, I’m told, isn’t nearly as bonnie as it’s made out to be. I saw Inveraray Castle, albeit out of the corner of my eye!

In a way, I’m sorry to be done with Haggis since they brought such security and less hassle to my travels. I was disappointed with today’s driver, William, who didn’t yak it up much. I think that John was my favourite, although Claire’s accent made her jokes and stories all the better! Craig never shut up, but he said tons of cool stuff. As for Malcolm, I think he was a happy medium between all… 4, was it? Haggis was great in that instead of just taking us from place to place, they told us about the stuff in between. I never once had to ask: ‘What’s with that castle/ruin/tower/cairn/plaque, etc.’. And the stories were always told in the liveliest of fashion.

So, now I’m in Edinburgh, sitting at Yvonne’s kitchen table while her daughter (Mhari, pronounced Ma-ri, like the French but with a Scots accent) is drawing me a picture. Now that’s a souvenir I won’t mind ‘dragging’ home with me (I still have as of posting in 2016!). That’s enough for tonight, tomorrow!

11:30 pm

I’ve come so far in these past two weeks!!! I went into a pub all by my lonesome, ordered a beer, sipped it, and stayed long enough to see Yugoslavia (how the world has changed…) score a goal against the U.S.A. I’m now in a room with three African girls who are great. It’s very late, so good-night. Oh, and I had fun getting thoroughly misplaced in Edinburgh at 10:00pm !