On our way from Glasgow to Orkney. Forty-three (or was it forty-four? Can we include the driver?) on our tour bus. Thirty bottles of booze--primarily whiskey. A long and winding road.
Standing stones - Orkney. The sea breeze, the cries of birds, the hum of bees. A very ancient place.
Details of the Italian Chapel on Orkney.
Inverness bike tour. Okay, not really. Bike shop and coffee house next to an abandoned mansion/school that would be perfect for a ghost story. ;-)
Inverness garden.
Philosophical observation...
And a final view of Urquhart Castle with a glimpse of Loch Ness.
You picked the perfect week weather wise. I'm so glad you had a good break, you deserve it :-) I hope it was inspirational and restorative.
ReplyDeleteIt was gorgeous. Even the rain at Stirling Castle was gorgeous. :-) Exactly what the doctor ordered.
DeleteThose are beautiful. The colors are so brilliant, the grass so green, the sky so blue. I'm so glad you guys had a good time. 44 people, 30 bottles = drunk tourists. :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL Well, if you have to spend that much time on a bus, you might as well be drunk. :-D
DeleteHowever, I do think the amount of whiskey consumed may account for a startling number of blurry photos!
DeleteJosh, it all looks so and must have been glorious! That final photo is shocking in it's clarity. Everything is so rich and vibrant, not the misty view I think of when I often see pictures of Scotland. Just beautiful. Thank you for sharing with us. Your memories will be with you forever. :)
ReplyDeleteIt was unbelievably beautiful. Even the cities are a mix of modern and beautiful old statues and buildings. And outside of the cities...oh. Green and gold and blue...tiny villages and ruined castles....water. Rivers, streams, lochs, and the ocean.
DeleteAbsolutely beautiful. I think Scotland is added to the list for me.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good addition. :-) A highly recommended addition.
DeleteI have to say my frequent trips to Scotland (Orkneys and Shetlands this year too) resets my soul. My husband is "mainly" Scots and I am from the border region. We both love the wildness of it and it's peacefulness (and it's Whisky).
ReplyDeleteYes! There is a reset quality to it. Maybe because there is something centering in being so surrounded by history. It puts everything into perspective.
DeleteSo lovely. Two thousand photos would seem about right. Best of all, you have the memories and feelings that go along with them. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm still dreaming of Scotland, which is so nice. :-)
DeleteI am so happy, that you had a wonderful journey. The photos are very beautiful, the No Parking Sign photo is very funny and perhaps a little bit desperate. :-) There are so many places, I hope I can visit sometime, Scotland is one of them. In the meantime, please tell us more, you can describe it so very well! (Naturally)
ReplyDeleteThat bike shop/cafe was the cutest thing ever. Let's go back. <3
ReplyDeleteSo very lovely! The Italian chapel is so beautiful! the Inverness garden too! and the tiny biking people :-) (p.s. pretty please ghost story!)
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you had a wonderful time :-)
I have fond memories of Dad pulling out the projector to show the slide show to unsuspecting visitors....Uh I mean, eager audience.
ReplyDeleteThese are lovely pictures from a lovely trip. I would gladly let you post as many pictures as you like. In fact, that is what you can use your blog for til the end of the year. Or at least til December when you will diver to us more codas....about Scotland.
Welcome home.
Looks like it was a lot of fun and beauty. Hope you'll be telling us about it in some future book. (funny how those details seep into other stories, isn't it?)
ReplyDeleteMy pictures of Urquhart Castle and Inverness look so different than yours, since it was a very overcast and gloomy day. You almost expected Nessie's head to stick up out of the water.
ReplyDeleteSadly my pictures are so old (1984) that they are on actual slides. I need to get them scanned so I can put them in with my other travel photos.
Lovely. Thank you for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteYou have the eye for image selection. What a lovely editing job, beautiful, quirky, poignant. We can expect no less, since you use this same skill/gift in your writing — what to include, what to leave out, what to imply.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it was a great trip! A number of years ago, my Mom and Dad toured Scotland. Dad made it his mission to sample the single malt whiskey from each place they visited. Seems you may have conducted similar research. Any favorites? Looking forward to the abandoned Scottish mansion ghost story.
ReplyDeleteWelcome home!! Looking forward to a mystery set in Scotland now. You've set the mood perfectly :-D
ReplyDeleteWow Beautiful. Im going to add Scotland to my bucket list. Did you have any Haggis? LOl i have heard numerous time sits really good, just cant get past the sheeps stomache to think it might be. Aishen for sharing
ReplyDeleteAwesome pictures! Thank you for sharing them :) Since I read "The Blackhouse" I've been wanting to visit Scotland and your pictures make me want it even more. I'm glad you have fun!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures. Glad you have fun. I went to Edinburgh 34 years ago. ...May be too young to enjoy... surely in my bucket list to go back someday.
ReplyDeleteLovely moments! Thank you for sharing these with us, Josh.
ReplyDelete[Are you a screaming Outlander Fan?] Feel free to post more pics! Don't think I'll ever make it to any part of the world that isn't … um…. Oregon! Glad you had a great time! Next story will include Scotland, haggis, whiskey (whisky?), ghosts, heather, plaid, and thick, thick, … Accents! Glad your back!
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