Inverness

Retrospective entry:

Scotland - Inverness  (July 2012, Summer)

Having rested for a few days after our trip to London, my mum and I were off traveling again. This time, it's the highlands. First stop, Inverness.

The weather in Inverness was gloomy and drizzling when we arrived at the airport. Not the best start one might think. That said there's something about the Scottish accent that always cheers me up and the local people were just so friendly!

We took the bus as advised by our B&B owner and it didn't take long for us to find our B&B. It was that evening when we had the best meal throughout our journey in Scotland, in an Irish pub. I am aware of the inappropriateness of dining in an Irish pub while in Scotland but I guess the food speaks louder than anything and even after trying a few other restaurants we ended up going back to the same pub on the last day.

                                                        Roast Pork Loin

  Mussels in white wine sauce (without a single dead mussel and fishy odour!)

Raspberry crème brûlée on a bed of crushed Scottish shortbread - Very impressive twist to the usual brûlée!

                                                 Traditional Fish and Chips

In an attempt to be different from the rest of the tourist crowd, my mum and I decided to cycle to Loch Ness and also to go via the off-beaten track recommended by the bike owner. We opted for the electric bikes since we've never been on one before and also because we were, well, lazy. The bikes were powered by a battery and requires only minimal paddling to get it going. The maximum speed was 17mph and we've really enjoyed the breeze on the country road.

                                                    View of the Loch Ness

Tranquility by the lake. No monster in sight. There was a dog swimming by the shore which from afar could have been mistaken as the Loch Ness monster. If I'm not mistaken there is indeed a hypothesis saying that it was a swimming dog that was mistaken as the monster. Oh well who knows. Wish I had taken a picture of the dog though to show you what I saw.

                                                    Greenery. Lots of them.

I must say my mum and I have enjoyed our short transit in Inverness a lot more than expected as our main destination was the Isle of Skye.

Finally, did I mention that my mum was so much better than me at riding a bike? Apparently she used to cycle to school every single day when she was little. There I was worrying about whether she could handle the bike at the beginning only to end up needing her to help me get on mine later on in the journey. Hmm..

Adel