Away We Go: Scotland

And, we're off.

While journeys across islands would sound warm & exotic,
our journey brings us to shrinking temperatures
& windy hills sat in the grey backdrop of Northern Scotland

First stop, a night in Edinburgh.

Where we will stay at The Fraser Suites
right off the Royal Mile,
and relax in the festive city before our real journey begins.

When we are in Edinburgh, I like to...

Have coffee & dessert at The Elephant House- where JK Rowling penned Harry Potter on napkins.

Dream of staying at the Hotel Missoni. The doorman even has a Missoni striped kilt. It's amazing.

Grab soup on a cold day at Chocolate Soup. The hot drinks & desserts are fantastic.

Maybe visit the Edinburgh Castle (at the top of the Royal Mile)
or stop by the Queen's Scottish home, Holyrood House (at the bottom of the Royal Mile).

Shop along George Street in New Town. Can't wait to visit the new Anthropologie.

I couldn't get this close to St. Andrews and not stop by...

We have a day there feeling chilly along the sea.

We probably will warm up at Greyfriar's Pub...

Shop the endless rows of charity shops...

Grab a cone of sticky toffee pudding from B. Jannetta's famous ice cream shop...

Take pictures at the seaside cathedral ruins...

Watch golfers finish up at the famous 18th hole on the Old Course...

and go on a tour of Will & Kate's meeting place,
The University of St. Andrews.

From there, we head to Inverness for the night.

After a couple hours on a train,
we will arrive in Inverness...
way towards the top of Scotland.

When we arrive-
the biggest challenge awaits us:
a rental car.

We've never driven in the UK...
but we will tomorrow!

Off to the country to stay in a country manor, Coul House.

We will spend the evening siting by the fire, eating Scottish winter fare,
and cozying up like our Anglo-Saxon ancestors before us would have.

The next morning,
we continue up to the Isle of Skye.

A gorgeous place that seems like Tolkien's setting for a certain trilogy.

It's a quiet world of waterfalls, craggy cliffs & roaming sheep...
and while it's (obviously) difficult to get to-
it's one of the most amazing places I've ever seen.

{I posted some pictures here from this summer. Amazing!}

We will be staying at the Bosville Hotel 
in the quaint seaside port town of Portree...
wearing chunky sweaters & boots,
eating bowlfuls of Cullen Skink till we can't fit any more in our bellies.

After a night there and a following day roaming the island
(this is all to tour potential hotels for summer programs)...
it's back to Inverness for a BA flight home to London.

And if I'm not a little bit cooler after a trip like this,
there's no hope for me.

I'll do my best to keep you a part of our journey
and blog & tweet along the way...
when wi-fi & 3G allows.

images via my pinterest board.