Madainn mhath!
That would be "Good Morning!" in Gaelic. Hope you all had a restful weekend of honoring our service men and women. My weekend was a big jet-laggy since on Sunday I flew in from glorious Scotland (hence the Gaelic) after spending 9 days in the Motherland.
Myself and 2 other teachers from our school took 14 of our seniors--who graduate in just a few more days (sniff!)--over to the Highlands on a service trip. We painted a community center, gave an assembly at a primary school, mulched (barked, as the Scots call it) a community park, painted several playgrounds, led worship in a local church, sorted donations at a local charity center. So much work to be done, but managed to leave time to visit Urquhart Castle, Inverness, Ross County football stadium (football = soccer), Fyrish monument, Celtic Park football stadium, a bagpipe performance, the town heritage center, and--of course--consume as much of the local delicacies as humanly possible.
One such delicacy: haggis.
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| The Wee Haggis |
The kids were a bit unsure of this odd-looking dish, but by the end of the meal--what the locals call a Burns Supper (which normally occurs January 25 rather than in May)--there was nary a scrap of haggis left. A massive hit!
So I wanted to share just a few pictures of our whirlwind journey.
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This is my favorite view en-route to my sweet mum-in-law's house.
You round the bend and there before you spreads the Cromarty Firth.
And it's gorgeous and it sings "Almost Home!" |
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| Invergordon |
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| Teatime! |
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| Me with Reay: best mum-in-law EVER. |
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| Pipe Band in Invergordon |
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Heilan' Coo
(pronounced hee'-lan coo, aka Highland Cow).
These guys make me laugh every time I see them. |
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| Favorite City: Inverness |
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A cobbled street of shops in Inverness.
(This pic was taken by one of my brilliant students.) |
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| Celtic Park Stadium |
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| Preparing for another delectable meal |
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| Misty Loch Ness |
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| A perfect Highland sky |
Have a beautiful Wednesday, all!
Anna
Sigh, it all looks so lovely, and seems like a beautiful and delightful haggis-filled time all around! I'm officially envious. P.S. DId you know there is a miniature breed of the highland cow (sorry, heilan coo!) (Gina has been dreaming of the day our backyard becomes a mini "heilan" where our mini coos would roam. . . )
ReplyDeleteWell, we may have to do a little writer's retreat in the Highlands for ENG792, yes? And I had no idea there was a miniature breed of heilan coo - if the large one's make me laugh, I'm sure the wee ones would bring on a full-fledged guffaw. These cows look like they're grumpy and laughing all at the same time. Love it. And I'm sure they'd be more than willing to share their hairy-ness with Gina if they knew that she was going to make a DNA sweatervest out of it. Thanks, Liza - can't wait for PRAGUE! xo
DeleteIt looks like an amazing place! And going home is always nice.
ReplyDeleteDebbi
-YankeeBurrow
Indeed, there's no place like home :) Thanks, Debbi!
DeleteGorgeous! This makes me stir-crazy. I need to go!!!
ReplyDeleteYou do need to go, Lauren! Get a lung-ful of that Highland air. Always works to quell my stir-craziness. Thanks, Lauren!
DeleteLove, love the pictures, Anna. So beautiful. And damp looking. I would SO have loved to see the pipe band and sat down to tea! And the Highland coos--I've always thought the breed looked grumpy, too, but they're probably quite nice. ;) Thank you for sharing your trip.
ReplyDeleteYes, you would love the coos and the tea and the pipes - and the rain :) I'll email my mum in law and ask her to send some of their rain over-abundance your way. Thanks, Danni!
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