Perhaps as close to the dream destination as I've been for some time. Relaxing, laid back, historical, entertaining. The center of the city is, of course, the Edinburgh Castle, prominent on the hill, visible from nearly all parts of the city. Scottish bagpipers (of all different ranges in talent), shops and markets. It didn't hurt to have some of the best days of weather of the year. Cool (even a bit cold) in the mornings, warm sunshine in the daytime.
The highlands - well, simply awesome. The first snow had come to the peaks, the highest in the British Isles. The geology: Northern Scotland is a part of the North American tectonic plate, separated from the European plate by the string of Lochs (lakes) running southwest to northeast across the center of Scotland. The lake to the northeast is the famous Loch Ness, of monster fame, which empties into the north sea. The other lakes enter the Atlantic ocean on the west. One bridge crossing during our journey took us ACROSS the Atlantic Ocean - proclaimed, rightly so, as the shortest Atlantic crossing on earth.
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Highlands
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| The Village at Loch Ness |
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| Loch Ness |
