In Scotland

"Excuse me, can you tell us how to get to room 109?" "One ooo naine? Yeh. Ya goo oop one flooor, then keep gooin down the cahridooor oontil ya get to the soofa. When ya see the soowfa, tern right, then git on the left, and tek the left oop to the therd flooor, to rooom one ooo naine."

And thus began our Scutland advinture. It was a great time. The biggest surprise was the wonderful weather. We left a grey, cool London Wednesday morning, and got off the train in a mostly sunny Glasgow. We were bussed to our hotel, the Cameron House, which was spectacular. Just walking into the lobby was everything I expected: dark paneling, hunting trophies on the walls, and a roaring fire. Chris and I had a chance to take a nice walk around the property, which sits right on Loch Lomond, Wednesday afternoon before a really nice dinner at the hotel.

Thursday, while Chris & colleagues went to work, the spouses were treated to a cruise on the Loch. Ironically, this was the period of the stay which had the worst weather (cold, cloudy, and then rain) but still the views were breathtaking. And we were offered blankets and champagne, so really, how could one complain? Thursday evening our entire group was bussed to the Glengoyne Distillery in Dumgoyne for a tour and dinner. They've been making whisky there for 175 years so I think they've got it right. We had the opportunity to taste 10, 14 (cask strength), 17, and 21-year old bottles; it's not really my drink, but Chris hit the shop before we left and bought a 17-year old bottle as a souvenir. The drive to the distillery alone was beautiful. On the way back, it was nearly 11 pm and you could still see light on the horizon - one of the benefits of being at such a high latitude at this time of year.

(Side note: This dinner provided me my first experience to try haggis, the Scottish "delicacy" [heh heh]. It's sheep organs mixed with oatmeal, spices and other stuff and it's traditionally simmered in the sheep's stomach lining as its preparation. You don't actually eat the stomach, but I really don't know what difference that makes since you're eating all the other parts, plus things you probably would rather not know about. Our version was sort of the "gourmet" version and wasn't bad, but I don't think I'll be ordering it off of the local pub menu anytime soon. Chris liked it.)

Friday, the spouses again had all the fun and were lucky enough to go to Inveraray Castle on Loch Fyne, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Argyll, currently inhabited by the 13th Duke of Argyll, Torquhil Campbell and his family. Many of these ancestral homes have had to be opened to the public over the years to help cover the enormous cost of taxes & upkeep, and Inveraray has had a portion opened for tours since the 1950's. Recently, they've decided to open up parts of the private side of the home for "special" tour groups (yes - things must be getting somewhat desperate) of which we were the very first one. As a very special perk, we were greeted at the house by the Duke himself, who was most friendly and gracious and shook all our hands! It was pretty neat. And the house of course was spectacular, with gifts from Queen Victoria and photos of Princess Diana scattered around. Really something.

Friday evening, our farewell dinner was a "barbeque" at the Boathouse, complete with hamburgers, bbq'd chicken, and corn on the cob. The hotel did a pretty good job on these American faves, and we felt right at home. Unfortunately, tho' the weather stayed clear and it was a lovely evening, the cold wind drove us inside to eat. Still lots of fun.

The company was wonderful, Chris's presentation to the Board went well, and it was an all around great trip. We had just the opposite weather experience on our return: we left Glasgow in the sunshine and returned to a cool rainy London. Go figure. Even the views from the train were postcard-worthy. We are really lucky to be here.

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