Traveling with Laura

I’ll start right off with the best part of the day: Mangersta, on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. Probably the best experience I’ve had in Scotland yet. I drove up through the rain and clouds and stopped first at the Callanish Standing Stones, thought to be about 4,000 years old. There are actually 3 sets of stones, with one set being the most popular. Since it is Sunday, the visitor center was closed, but you can just walk right up to the stones. Neat to see in a “been there, done that” kind of way.

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Three words that perfectly summarize today: rain, clouds, and fog. The day wasn’t a complete washout though, as I was able to see a remote beach and drive up the “Golden Road” on the east coast of Harris. I’ll stick with the “highlights” format again, though these are pretty much the only things I did today anyway. (Plus a reverse repeat of the drive along Harris’s west coast – not nearly as nice in the rain – and another treacle scone at the Temple Cafe.)

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Wind. That is the thing I will remember most about today. Not just a gentle breeze, but a blow-you-over wind. The other thing I will remember is that I didn’t fall in love with the Uists like I did with Skye. Not that they aren’t pretty islands. They are. Just not AS breathtakingly beautiful as Skye. Perhaps if the weather had been better the last couple of days I would feel differently. At least it didn’t rain ALL day today.

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Off to the Outer Hebrides (in the rain)! The morning started out bright and sunny and I was up with the birds. (Fact: no matter how late I stay up at night, my body is programmed to wake up between 5:30 and 6:00 AM…) I decided to get ready and take a walk around Portree before breakfast. I stuck with the cold breakfast buffet because none of the hot options appealed to me. Haddock, salmon, kipper, haggis (Google it!)… not very appealing for breakfast!

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I think I could spend the rest of the summer here and not get bored, tired, or homesick! I slept a full night last night, so I was up and ready to go early this morning. While I waited for breakfast to start at 7:30, I wandered around the terrace overlooking Portree Harbour. There is a family of rabbits who call the terrace home and kept hopping back and forth. And while I was eating breakfast, a rainbow appeared over the harbour… a good sign for the day!

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I finally made it to Scotland! My first impression is that I’m going to fall in love with Scotland as easily as I fell in love with Ireland. It’s that spectacular. But let’s rewind to last night. I went to bed at 7 (early even for me) and woke up wide awake at 11. After an hour of tossing and turning and watching some British television (which has a surprisingly large number of American shows; I watched Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives), I finally fell back to sleep until 6AM when my cell phone alarm went off. I never wake up to an alarm, but I’m thankful I set it last night!

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