Our Favorite Hotel Ever - We Love You Citizen M

I think I might have promised to do a blog post about the hotel we stayed at in Glasgow - Citizen M. That hotel was so fun, and such a perfect hotel, I would a visit a city *solely* to stay at the Citizen M. I think right now they only have hotels in Glasgow, Amsterdam and London, but they're supposed to open some up in New York and Paris. Frankly they ought to look into L.A., Los Angeles could really use a Citizen M.

So you saw earlier how the bed takes up THE ENTIRE END of the room, right?

 That bed is huge, trust me. Item two, the remote controlled venetian blinds sandwiched between two layers of glass = genius. And a blackout screen that drops down over the whole thing - perfect for those Scottish summers when it gets light at 4:00 am. Speaking of the remote control - It controls the blinds. It controls the TV. And it controls all of the lighting in the room. It has a color wheel that allows you to make infinite adjustments - you can make the light blue, or fuchsia, or a slightly pinker fuchsia, or just a hair less pink fuchsia. It's SOOOOO MUCH FUN. You can also set the TV to one of 4 "automatic" settings, which automatically changes the lighting, plays graphics on the television, and plays appropriate music. We figured out the "business" one -

bright, un-changing light, boring music, pictures of people at desks on the screen. We figured out the "getting down to business" one - bowchicka bow wow music, pink lighting, and animated hearts on the screen -- then there was "dance party," with constantly changing disco lighting, dance music on the TV, and what looked like Keith Haring animation. I think the last one was "island relax" mode, it had soothing music and animated palm trees, and turned all the lighting yellow. I mean, come on, worth the price of admission right there. Here you can see blue lighting.

And here's the fuchsia. The rooms are small, and there's no tub, but the giant showerheads are more than sufficient. They also had a cantina that was open 24/7 that had sushi, croissants, coffee, beer, etc. and you could eat there or grab and go back to your room. They have various little lounge areas, and a bank of computers for your convenience, and the wireless always worked perfectly in our room.  It was just such a beautifully designed hotel. We splurged a bit on a "slinky, voluptuous boutique hotel" our last night in Scotland after Islay, and it was a disappointment after Citizen M, not to mention twice the price.

We got in after midnight from our train ride and got croissants that had just finished baking and a beer. 7 hours later the same lady that had told us about the fresh croissants fixed us lattes to go and  called us a cab for the airport for our flight to Islay.

The Highlands Returns!

There is a little more to post about the Highlands - Jan and Graham dropped us off at the train station at Spean Bridge, and we had a 4 hour train ride back to Glasgow through even MORE amazing scenery. There was a window in this kind of between space between two cars that was open and I just stood there and took pictures. I even shot a little video that includes the sound of the train.

While we were waiting for the train there was a bumblebee that got into the shelter by the tracks. It was just like a bus shelter type structure, with a lot of clear plexiglass. That poor bumblebee flew in and just could not get out - he (she?) kept banging up against the plastic - bzzzz bzzzz bzzzzzz THUNK bzzzzz bzzzz bzzzzzzzzz THUNK bzzzz bzz thunkity-thunk-thunk-thunk bzzzz . . . . . it's amazing how much tension can be created by a station shelter and a bumblebee. I felt really sorry for it, but it was also worrying me a little, because if I were that bee I would be getting really pissed off. And what if it just went beserk and decided to start stinging things in a buzzing rage? It finally got so exhausted that it was reduced to just crawling along the ledge and making occasional assays against the plastic. So John laid down a trail of whisky on the ledge (which the bumblebee followed and apparently drank) and got him to the edge of the shelter. Unfortunately he seems to have drunk enough that he then fell off the ledge - but outside the shelter. I assume he sobered up after the Ledaig wore off and was fine.

Bumblebee, sleeping it off

The Last Highlands - Day 4

Our last day! For me, it was kind of bittersweet. On the one hand, I had gotten through 3 days of riding without falling off, falling over, or serious discomfort. I was happy to be almost finished and have that sense of accomplishment, not to mention moving on to Islay. On the other hand, it was so amazing to be out in those landscapes every day, and on horseback no less. We really didn't know what to expect - would we be on ponies? horses? (Well, John knew he'd be a on a horse) Would we be able to walk after the first day? Would I fall off at the first canter? I'm actually really glad they put me on a pony. To me it's kind of like driving a compact versus a minivan. Ponies are just easier for me to manage - they are more my size, and it's just not as far to the ground.

I think the saddles they use also make a big difference. They are specifically for endurance, and they have a very deep seat. The stirrups also have a very wide bar and they're made of hard plastic instead of metal, so they actually have a little give to them. I really did fine every day up until about the last hour, when my legs just wanted to stretch out, preferably on a ottoman with a scotch within easy reach.

I'm pretty sure John, on the other hand, could have gone 3 weeks without a day of rest, even with the cold he had the whole time.

This is where we stopped for lunch on the last day.

 John called these the pink and green woods.

And here are our last photos of Ginny and Fern.

 Goodbye Highlands

The Highlands Day 3

On our third day we had the option of a short day or a long day - John was pulling hard for the long day and so that's what we did.

It's not very far from Fort Augustus to Invergarry, so we took some detours for a bit more riding. I'm guessing this is Loch Oich, although I couldn't swear to it.

The Invergarry Hotel was right by a small river. I took the picture below out the window of our room.

Later we went for a walk along the river - that lighted window to the left was our room.

There were all these little swallows or swifts diving around, skimming up all the bugs that had come out at dusk. I tried to take pictures of them but they were too fast and too small.

It was another night of delicious highland food and heated towel racks. Speaking of the heated towel racks, I definitely came to appreciate how very handy they are when you might want to wash something without sending it out for "overnight" service and worrying if you'll get it back in time before you've finished tacking up and swung back out on the road in the morning. Jeans are the hardest things to dry, so if it worked with them I'm sure it would work with anything.

And speaking of delicious highland food, how did I forget to mention the Chicken Balmoral at the Royal Highlands Hotel in Inverness? That was our first night in the Highlands, before we had done any riding, so we were not just full of fresh of air and starving. Chicken Balmoral is apparently chicken breast stuffed with haggis in a whisky cream onion sauce. Listen to me: if you ever get the chance to eat something in the Scottish Highlands in a whisky cream onion sauce DO NOT LET THE CHANCE PASS YOU BY. SEIZE THE WHISKY CREAM ONION SAUCE. Good god. I couldn't finish the chicken (it was delicious, but, priorities) but I was stealing John's fries and dipping them in that sauce.

The Best Highlands Day

John and I both agreed that if we had to pick a day, the second day of our Highlands ride was our favorite. I think it was just a combo of amazing scenery and having already gotten through the first day and getting settled into everything.

I love this one of John and Jan, our fearless leader.

I think this was the wildest part we rode through.

I think this my favorite picture of the whole trip:

Before we got to the hotel, there was a beautiful patch of wild garlic in a wood. That's what all those white flowers are, garlic. It almost looks like snow, doesn't it?

We couldn't *quite* see the horses from our hotel room this time, but we could see them from the entrance.

That's Fern in the red blanket, with Graham just out of sight. Graham is Jan's husband/partner, and provided backup/support on the ride, trailering all our luggage and meeting us each night with feed and blankets for the horses. And a bit of craft beer for John.

Our part of the Inn was literally called "the Barn." I think it was the best bit.

 This was the place where we sat out on the porch, me reading Raymond Chandler, John reading Burroughs, drinking scotch at 9 pm in the clouded sun. I washed my jeans in the sink and put them on the clothesline to let them drip, then hung them over the heated towel rack after dinner. Which was a delicious rabbit pie. Graham came and chatted with a us a bit and told us about Black Bottle, an excellent blended whisky made from Islay malts. Another dead to the world sleep, undisturbed by the resident turkey (yes, there was a resident turkey).

Highlands!

So I forgot to mention that I saw a fox on the train out of Glasgow on the way to Edinburgh. I mean, I was on the train and the fox was running alongside the track. I was literally just thinking that it would be so cool to see a fox, and wondering if there were any around, and BAM, there was a fox outside the window.

We also saw a pheasant fly alongside our taxi briefly on the way to the meet up point for the ride - in Dores. We met up with our horses, learned to put easy boots on, and started off.

 This is John's horse, Ginny. She's a sweet paint, very level-headed. Below is me standing with Fern, a Highland pony. I knew they would put me on a pony! I don't think I minded though, she was certainly fast enough and there's something to be said for being matched with something your size . . . although I'm not sure whether we were evenly matched in stubbornness or not.  

The water in the photos above is all Loch Ness, and all taken within a few hours - note the varying sun and clouds! I have to say, the weather was perfect. You don't want it sunny all the time, too hot, but it's nice to have just a bit now and then to warm you up after going through a shaded forest.

I like this one of John:

Maclaine, this one is for you, the only time I took my helmet off!

We went by a lot of farms -- I should have realized it wouldn't be the wildest part of the highlands, as we were following the line of the lakes, which of course would have the most cultivated land.

Here's where we spent the first night, the Whitebridge Hotel. The pasture you see below it was where we put the horses - we could see them from the window in our room.

I believe this was the establishment that had the ridiculous curry, and by ridiculous I mean one of the best things I have ever tasted, anywhere. They had about 6 curries to choose from as well a respectable menu of Scottish fare, and I went with the venison passanda. Let me tell you, if I ever see venison passanda on a menu again, I will order it, but it can't possibly be as good as what they gave me here. Those people are WIZARDS.

Needless to say, we slept extremely well, secure in the knowledge of adequate towel-warming appliances.

Second Day in Edinburgh

John came down with a cold, but our second day in Edinburgh he rallied and we went to Edinburgh Castle.

Of course the most fascinating part to me was the painting of "Grey Lady," a charger from the calvary regiment the Royal Scots Greys.

John enjoyed the prisons.

We walked by the Scottish National Gallery on the way to Marks and Spencer to pick up food for the train, so I dragged John in and we took a quick look around at the RSA Annual Exhibition. The theme this year was "Between the late and the Early" and was supposed to be related to different realities, shamanism, dreams, etc. It was really interesting, it's too bad we didn't have more time, but some of what we saw was amazing. Photography in the exhibit itself is prohibited, but we did get this snap in the entryway:

There was one of those on each side of you as you approached the entrance. Sparkly AND spooky. Then we kind of accidentally went through an underground passage and came up in a completely different building, where the permanent collections are for the Scottish National Gallery. Somehow I saw the painting below in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London a few years ago, I wonder if there is another copy? Or maybe it was loaned out for a special exhibit. The woman on the right always reminds me of my mother.

Honestly the resemblance is striking.

Then we got some sandwiches and crisps and rode the train for 3 and half hours to Inverness. Our hotel in Inverness was a bit of a trip. It was called the Royal Highlander, was carpeted all in tartan, but had modern art (for sale, too!) on the walls:

Also, this was when I first began to notice that in the Highlands, if you don't have a heated towel rack you might as well be peeing into a hole in the ground. EVERYPLACE has heated towel racks. No matter how humble the B&B or Inn, if you have a toilet in your room, you have a heated towel rack. You may not even have a sink in the bathroom, but by god you will have a heated towel rack. I should have taken pictures of them all, but just take my word for it. Actually, I defy someone to find a me a hotel in the Highlands without a heated towel rack. I bet it can't be done. Kind of comforting, really.