We began day 10 by driving up the road from our hotel in Pitlochry to the smallest whisky distillery in Scotland, the Edradour distillery. There we had a few wee drams and took a guided tour of the grounds and distillation process. Our favorite rooms were the whisky storehouse which is filled with the smells of the "angel's share", the fragment of whisky that evaporates from barrels as the whisky ages, and the room where the malt is mashed, brewed and distilled, which is filled with the warm, rich smell of brewing beer and malted barley. It was nice to start the day with a little whisky in the belly. After we bought a bottle to take home, we continued our journey towards Perth passing lush, green fields and dancing sheep.
Our next stop was the small town of Dunkeld. Originally, Dunkeld was just a spot on the map that looked as if we may find a bathroom and store to purchase picnic goods as it was lunch time. To our surprise, Dunkeld was a gem! This quaint, medieval town had cobblestone streets, tons of yummy bakeries and cafe's, cute shops to poke around in and a gorgeous ruined cathedral dating back to 1260 situation on the bank of the River Tay. We grabbed a few cheeses, wine and other treats and found a perfect spot by the river to picnic. The sun came out as we sat by the water and we reflected on our love for Scotland, each other and our honeymoon! Next, we walked over to the cathedral situated dramatically near the River Tay and poked around the grounds, gardens and church. The sun shone on the cathedral and the monuments and gravestones surrounding it. After a little shopping and a few tchotchkes richer, we somewhat sadly drove out of the town to continue our journey to St. Andrews and then Edinburgh. However, we took a piece of Dunkeld with us in our hearts.
As we drove away from Dunkeld, we also left behind us the Perth Shire, a lovey country region considered to be the gateway to the highlands. We headed on, passing through many intense roundabouts in the town of Dundee, then crossed over the much enlarged River Tay As on our way to St. Andrews. As we neared the town of St. Andrews, we passed the golf courses where the sport was born then stopped to view the ruined cathedral of St. Andrews which sits atop the city overlooking the North Sea near prestigious St. Andrews University. The gates to the cathedral had just been locked 5 minutes prior to our arrival, so we could not tour the grounds, but we did enter the massive graveyard at the back of the property. The graveyard had very large and impressive plots and monuments. It is situated close to the ocean and from where we stood you could hear the waves lapping upon the shore and see a few brave surfers catch waves in the cold and chaotic swells. We started to get a bit chilled from the cold wind blowing all around us and moved on to quickly tour the St. Andrews University campus. It's a lovely campus full of well-to-do kids, with some of the best views to the sea and historic buildings you can image a college boasting.
We continued on to Edinburgh (!), which is about an hours drive away. It was dark outside as we entered the city. Since we had no city map or use of GPS services, we had to pull over and ask a few street workers the way to the street where our hotel was located. Luckily, we weren't too far away. With in 10 minutes we were parking our car, thankful for not getting terribly lost.
Our first night in Edinburgh was a cataclysmic introduction to drinking with the locals. American binges have nothing on these guys. Really. We walked into a bar for a drink after dinner and were taken in as family by a group of 10 or so locals who had just got back from Octoberfest and were properly "pissed" (their words). Everyone we met was a distinct character. When we walked in one of the girls stood up on her bar stool and demanded our names and where we came from. A man in a suit immediately came over to us an apologized and welcomed us the to the group. The girl apologized and sweetly introduced herself. Stewart, a music aficionado, introduced himself. We met Archie, a man in his 50's and a steward of an island on the west coast of Scotland and had great conversation about the local history and ecology of the highlands. We met many others and were bought more drinks then we knew what to do with. The night was long, full of laughs, singing, and bonding. We were told by someone that occasionally, when properly pissed, various or all patrons of the bar may get naked, and sure enough one of the guys, a merchant mariner, fully stripped while having drinks at the bar. The group hardly batted an eye and the party continued till the bar closed, then the bartender joined us all for a stumble over to a second bar.... twas a late night and a great introduction to Edinburgh.
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