"Oh, I'll take the high road..."

"...and you take the low road, and I'll be in Scotland before ye." -So go the lyrics to the classic Scottish tune. In fact, if the high road is an airplane, then it would most definitely be faster than what Mary and I took. If you're here for the photos, click!

It took a loooooong time to get here...

I don't want to bore our readers, but hear-out our travel itinerary: from Le Castel (near Montpinchon, France), John dropped us off at the Coutances train station; there we boarded a bus to Lison; at Lison, we transferred to a train to Paris, then to London via an overnight bus utilising the Eurotunnel (which I'll come back to); from London we took a break to visit with our English workaway friends (circa Saint Michel) in Royal Leamington Spa via train; we had to take a bus on the way back to London, which connected to a train in Bicester; then we had another overnight bus to Glasgow; soon thereafter it was only a short bus journey to Fort William; and finally by the time this is posted we will be approaching our final destination in Scotland, Inverinate. Wowee! Now I'll flesh out our journey with what I believe are the best highlights!

Paris was our first major stop, where we were able to spend the day before our night bus. We were hurrying through the city when I ran into this Sphinx who simply couldn't hold it down any longer. The bus ride ended up being painfully long. Mary does not share my inability to sleep while sitting, and left me all alone for the duration of the voyage. By about 3:30 AM, we had arrived at the English Channel, and I wasn't sure how we were going to get to the other side on a bus. What happened next was like something out of science fiction, or motivated by my delusions of insomnia. The bus drove inside another transport vehicle, eerily illuminated with fluorescent lighting. There was rumbling and confusion for some time until, sure enough, we arrived in Britain.

Can we assume that Hogwarts is located somewhere in Scotland? If so, we literally boarded the Hogwarts Express after a brief to detour to...

 ...Royal Leamington Spa!!! Here we met up with four of our old workaway friends we had met while in Southern France. They attend Warwick University, but live in nearby Leamington. I found a quintessentially British old man in the park, and Josh found the restorative Leamington Spa water to be...less than savory. After saying our goodbyes, Mary and I returned to London to catch our bus (again overnight) to Glasgow.

After then catching another bus to Fort William, we were able to rest our weary souls in a B&B and crammed as much tourism as possible into the following day. The first destination of awe and wonder was the wonderful ruin of Castle Urquhart. It was rainy when we arrived, but the rain gave way to the brightest rainbow I have ever witnessed.

 Scotland is the most beautiful place I've ever been to in my all my years. At any given point in the highlands, you will see a view similar in splendor to the one above- in every direction. We do not possess a wide enough lens to capture the scenery, though we did try. Photos.

Mary and I happened upon this castle off a small road and enjoyed having it all to ourselves!

My humble opinion is to avoid being lured to the tourist trap stone circles ("Cairne"), as you'll find no more than you were searching for...

Scotland is full of warm, cuddly sheep, as well. Shamelessly, photos.

G'night, Ladies & Gents

-Jake