May 7, 2022 - Day 38 - Scotland!

 We ate breakfast, packed a bag lunch, finished the last of the packing (one suitcase, one backpack) and headed off for Belfast and the Stena ferry to Cairnryan, Scotland. It was very foggy and misty as we left Rostrevor:

Since I didn't want to miss the ferry and the email said to check in at least one hour before sailing, and that they stop loading 45 minutes before sailing, I of course insisted that we give ourselves pleny of time to get there, and that's how we ended up being the second car in line at the ferry dock, and we hung out in the terminal for at least an hour before having to get back in the car and drive onto the ship. I do this all of the time, get us to the airport hours before we need to be there, and get us to a train, bus, ferry, etc. too early. However, it's better than missing any any of those, and better on my nerves. I hate being rushed.

It's about a 2 1/2 hour ferry ride so we ate our bag lunch in one of the lounges and played cards. There is a small arcade for the teens, a play area for younger kids, a bar, seats and tables everywhere, a small cafe where you can buy packaged sandwiches, soft drinks, and coffee, there is a casino, and a gift shop. There is the Stena Plus lounge if you want to waste your money to go to a private bar/cafe that is only for the stooges who payed extra just to be away from all the common folks. I think there are also private cabins.

This photo cracks me up. Don was trying to get a selfie of the two of us and he tells me to stop squinting and I'm telling him that I'm looking into the sun so I can't.

There was construction on a major part of the road we needed to take to our next stop, the Loch Leven hotel in the highlands, so we drove on a pretty, but narrow road for quite a bit as a detour. BTW, in the UK it's called a "diversion".

Almost all of the above pictures were taken by Don from a moving car. The road is very twisty and and goes up hill and down dale, I had to shift gears quite a bit.

And now the Scottish highlands! There is even a sign that says "Welcome to the Highlands" just so you're sure, in case the steeply climbing road and all the mountain peaks aren't enough of a clue.

We would have stopped for more pictures but the day was getting on and we needed to check into our hotel and find some dinner.

Our lovely little hotel sitting just up a bank of the loch.

The wardrobe in our room.

The view from the window.

Exploring the hotel:

And outside:

Dinner at the hotel:

Shared starter of chicken liver pate with prosciutto, salad, and oat cakes.

Don't know what the little red things were but they were delicious.

Don's main course of spinach and wild mushroom stuffed pasta with shaved parmesan. Super good.

I had duck with a red wine au jus, potatoes, pickled cabbage, and brocollini.

We also had a dessert of a dense spice cake that came with a pastry shell filled with a small scoop of ice cream. There was supposed to be a "tablet" with the meal and when we asked the waiter where it was he pointed to the pastry shell. This couldn't have been right since the hotel receptionist/server/bartender (she did A LOT at that hotel) had explained that a tablet is basically butter and cream and sugar that is cooked and stirred for a very long time until it starts to solidify. After we had finished 99% of the dessert the waiter brought a little cup with the tablet in it, explaining that the chef had forgot to include it. It was very rich and sweet and would have went well with the not very sweet spice cake. We left most of it.

After dinner we moved to the small hotel bar and started sampling whiskeys (me) and gins (Don). We had a great time talking with a young Scottish couple from Glasgow. I only remembered to take a drink of one whiskey.

I think I liked it, I don't remember now.