Scotland Day 2

Day 2

We booked the Glenfinnan, Mallaig and Jacobite Steam train tour via Discover Tours. I was so excited because I never realized that there were a few Harry Potter locations filmed in Scotland. To be honest I was horrible in Geography and didn't realize Scotland was so close to England. I know ...horrible! We started off in George Square in Glasgow. That's where a lot of the tours pick you up at. Very convenient once we got the hang of it. It wasn't too far from our hotel either. We drove north passing Loch Lomond with a short stop in Tyndrum. Then up to Glencoe which was used in Skyfall and Harry Potter. Going to film locations for me is just as awesome as going to movie or tv show sets. I absolutely love it! It's like those stories really come to life for me.

But we also didn't realize that Glenfinnan was where the Jacobite Rising started in 1745 with Bonnie Prince Charlie. Which I would've never known if we hadn't been huge fans of Outlander. 

The monument there is to remember the historic event. 

Next we went to the Mallaig train station where we were to ride the Jacobite steam train back. The famous tracks are used in Harry Potter as well for the Hogwarts express. I was totally geeking out hardcore. I love riding trains! Usually at night because they rock me to sleep like a baby. We made some friends on this tour so it was fun to talk about Harry Potter and Outlander on the ride.

We ended the tour at the Drovers Inn which is said to be haunted. So, I am glad we were only staying for a little bit. But apparently a little girl died there and people say they see her ghost. It was really old and dark but still awesome to see such an old place still in working condition. It was like traveling back in time. I was busy taking artsy pictures around the property and realized I was missing my husband. Eventually I found him in the restaurant already sipping away at his guinness beer alone at a booth. Typical.

 Our last stop was a potty/picture taking break. Somewhere by Loch Lommond. Of course I didn't think to take down the name of this awesome looking castle. It could be a hotel or estate. I'm not really sure. My husband insisted on taking his shoes off to put his feet in the water. It's like his weird little tradition to put his feet in the ocean, lake,... puddle any body of water in different states or countries that we go to. He even got our new buddy David to do it with him. Fun little memories. He makes me laugh. If you know what the name of this place is please let me know. I can't stand when a mystery goes unsolved.

Scotland Day 1

Flight:

We got our tickets out of atlanta so we decided to use the park and ride to make it an easier process. We parked and took the shuttle and of course we were there way too early. We ate airport food and watched funny instagram videos til our connecting flight.

After a little delay in New York we made it to Glasgow. 

We already had a car waiting for us. Our flight was late so I didn't get the whole seeing our name on a card experience but I still felt fancy just the same. We got to our hotel room. We stayed at the Glasgow City Hotel. It was so big! I was expecting it to be like European size. Especially since it was in the city. We got a nap in and then headed off for our hop on hop off tour. We had to figure out the bus stops but eventually found it. Those are seriously the best thing ever. I love that we can use it as our transportation all day long to all the different sites and pay a flat rate. We stopped at the Glasgow Cathedral first. I love old cathedrals! I love the intricate architecture. I didn't realize it before but we were later told that the hospital scenes in season two of Outlander were filmed here. 

 Next we went to the Riverside museum. That place was awesome! If you love anything transportation related you would love this place. Even if not there were other exhibits to see as well. They had old trains, buses, subway trains, and cars. Real size not a miniature size. They had a little city set up with shops to go in. My favorite was the photography studio. Outside they had this giant size couch made out of grass. Sounds strange but it was funny so we took our picture on it.

Since it was the end of the tour we decided to just get some food. We stopped at the Giraffe Restaurant and I got this amazing bread. I was so worried I wasn't going to like any of the food there. I'm kind of picky. But it was fabulous! Then we just walked back to our hotel room. It was a stress free first day.

Be on the lookout for the next part of our trip!

*Trip planned by Barbara Oliver of All Together Now Travel

*All photos taken on iphone for Day 1