Castles and what the hell is my GPS thinking?

Well Today we left Aberdeen bright and early to see some castles and taste some Whisky. Our agenda had 3 Castles and any distillery I could find.  First up was Dunnottar Castle http://www.dunnottarcastle.co.uk/.

We arrived at the castle at just after 10 am and there was literally no other living soul around. Our car was the only one in the lot and was we see a sign that tickets were available inside the castle. So off we go fat, dumb, and happy. We are off to see the castle, we hear it’s a pretty good ruins, we think this is going to be great. And then after a minute of walking we are greeted with the above scene. What the hell?! No one said it was going to require us to climb down to the beach and then back up the other side!! We instantly turn into fat, dumb, and really unhappy but we decide we are going to go for it. After what seems like an eternity, we finally make it up to the castle and it turns out to be the most amazing thing. We had a fantastic time.

We spent hours exploring the place. This last photo brings back painful memories, though. It was in the guard tower at the gate and I went in to take a few pictures.  First time down I took some using the flash, then I went up to show Helen and then had a bright idea to try and take some without flask. So I rushed down the steps, failed to duck, and tried to have my head and the block entry way share a space. I failed miserably but fortunately I didn’t hit anything I really needed, so I survived with just a bump.

So after failing to knock myself unconscious and completing the Scottish Cardiac Stress Test we made it back to our car, where we promptly collapsed and planned our next stop. So since one ruined castle was fantastic, 2 ruined castles should be super duper, so we set our sites on Kildrummy Castle http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/strathdon/kildrummycastle/index.html.

We should have known what to expect when my GPS couldn’t find a listing for it. So we instead set it for the city of Kildrummy and took off. After we managed to track the castle down, we paid our entrance fee and went off to see the castle. Good news no stairs! Bad news nothing much of interest.

This castle would have been more enjoyable if it had come first. So after a short half hour, we headed back to the car and decided on our next stop. After a little discussion we decided to head to Fyvie Castle  http://fyviecastle.com/,  So here is where the GPS begins to turn on us.

After plugging in our destination we set off. At first everything seems normal, but then all of the sudden the GPS is sending us down roads that fit two cars just barely. Now lets not forget, A) I am driving on the wrong side of the street and B) I am sitting on the wrong side of the car. This is not a good combination when going down narrow roads. So between Helen’s  screaming “look out” and me trying to get as close to the side as possible, we are both turning into nervous wrecks and we still have no idea what the GPS is doing.

On top of this I still want to visit a distillery and promise to stop only if we pass one on our way. With the route we are taking the only thing we are passing is sheep. Since it’s birthing season, there are lots of little sheep and Helen wants to take one home, it’s all she will talk about between the LOOK OUTs. I am beginning to worry that I am going to have to check her luggage before we leave for the airport, just to be sure she is only bringing her clothes.

Anyways we finally get to the castle and it’s pink. And you have to go around to the back, which they tell me is really the front, to get in. It seems that the nice part of the castles that everyone likes to take pictures of is really the back. So we get to take a guided tour of the castle which is really more like a giant estate house, the tour guide was funny and informative, but in the end it was just a big house.

So now it is time to head back to Aberdeen and our Hotel. Our plan is to find a place to eat on the way so we don’t have to go walking when we get to the hotel. Well here goes the GPS again. Except this time it finds roads that are even narrower. So besides scaring the crap out of each other, we aren’t passing any restaurants either. So we get to the hotel, completely exhausted and irritated that we are going to have to walk downtown to eat.

So between Yelp and Urbanspoon I find us an Italian place that is the closest place to our hotel to eat and it has great ratings.  We are positive that we can get something there because every place we have been in Scotland has been able to accommodate us. So we walk into Mi Amore. The manager meets at the door and is ready to show us to a table when Helen asks if they have any gluten free pasta, he says no but they can fix us a chicken dish. I say wait “you have Risotto at least right? ” I mean heck any Italian restaurant has that at least.

He says “no we don’t have Risotto.”

By this time we are too tired to walk anywhere else so we resign ourselves to some chicken dish. Then our waitress walks up and says “Were you asking if we had Risotto? Because if you were we actually have two kinds.”

Just then I open the menu and they have  3 kinds of Risotto listed in the menu. So if you are looking for a place in Aberdeen where no one is sure what is on the menu, good news we found it. Now in their defense, I will admit when the food came out it was incredible and worth the hassle. So we finish our meal, head to the hotel just so we can pack up and head off to the Isle of Skye the next morning.  So now all we have to worry about is where the GPS will send us….

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