Week 2
We loved going to Scotland. Went to Edinburgh and saw the castle on the rock -- pictures will never capture how magnificent it is. We all tried Haggis -- even the kids. It wasn't terrible -- kind of like a liver sausage with grain. Couldn't go to Scotland without trying Haggis.
Then on to Inverness -- that is why I wanted to go! We had the greatest day with a personal tour guide -- a 6ft. 4 in Scotsman in a kilt!! He took us to Clava Cairns ( a Scottish version of Stonehenge -- just smaller.) It was built around 4000 years ago. (older than the pyramids in Egypt).

We also went to Culloden battle field -- the site of the 1746 Scottish highlander slaughter by the British. The mass graves are still evident. Really nice museum and gift shop too. (Readers of Diana Gabaldon books will understand how important the sites were for me to visit.) Jacob seemed to appreciate it to and both kids were called up to act out soldier roles in a demonstation. Erica even wore a long dress.
We had lunch at a storehouse/trade house dating back to the 1740s owned by the Munros of Scotland. We saw a common seal on a nearby rock in a bay of the North Sea. We then toured a whiskey distillery owned by the Mackenize family for hundreds of years. Had a taste of Scottish whiskey -- that was actually better than I imagined. We then went to Fraser lands and had high tea at a house that could have been Lallybroch -- built in the late 1600s. It was called Ord House and is a hotel now. Original stone floors are still visible in the hall. Erica just loved the black lab mom and pup and chased some chickens. We held a sword from the 1700s and had a lesson on Scottish sword fighting.

We finished the day with a drive over to Loch Ness -- the water was cold and blackish and the wind strong that day. We did not see Nessie, but did grab a few of the pinkish rocks from the edge of the water. We have become better at managing the train system -- we were on and off at several stations.

Now back to reality and a bunch of student assignments to grade.

This is our beautiful ornate classroom that we meet in and video conference with our fellow classmates at UE.

Manor house- Harlaxton