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Inverness, UK: August 11-12, 2015
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Day 3: And we’re off to explore Scotland! But first, we had to pick up our rental car. As we waited for our car, we were both sooo nervous. Neither of us, of course, had ever drive on the other side of the car on the other side of the road, let alone in a foreign country. We decided that Alyssa was the one to drive us around. Thank goodness our car was equipped with a navigation system and USB charging cords! After a misdirection of the navigation system (finally used our phone maps), a mild panic attack, and one hour of getting lost in Edinburgh and trying to get out of the city…we finally made it on the long highway. We put on some good music and (semi) relaxed on our way to our first stop: the Highland Folk museum. One item of note: unlike the US, there are no gas stations visible from the highway so plan your fluids wisely! 
Once we arrived at the open air museum, we wandered around the massive land and experienced what life was like in Scotland in the 18th century and had our first chance to look at the beautiful surroundings. It was gorgeous!
After the museum, it was onward to our hotel in Invenerness, the Culloden House. Words cannot express my first reaction upon rounding the corner and seeing this house. 
It looked like something from a movie! After we checked in, we were informed that if we were to have dinner in the hotel, we weren’t allowed to wear jeans. Yikes! So instead of dining at the hotel, we took a cab ride to the main part of Inverness. We walked around a bit and finally settled on some Italian food and a bottle of rose. Once dinner was completed, it was back to the hotel to decompress from the events of the day. 
Day 4: The next morning, we slept in until almost mid-day, oops! We started our exploration of the Highlands with a visit to the Culloden Battlefield. This spot is where the battle of Culloden took place, where the Jacobites had their last attempt at overthrowing Britain. Unfortunately, they were defeated, and this site was a sad reminder of all of the many lives that were lost on that day. 
Because I am huge fan of the book and TV series Outlander, we of course had to stop by a place called Clava Cairns, which were standing stones similar to the ones in the novel. It was quite a trek getting there; lots of one way roads with no way to see if a car was coming around a corner. By the time we reached the stones, which were tucked away in a remote area, I have to admit I was kind of let down by how much effort it took to find it and not very much to see. Oh well! 
Our next stop was Fort George, which was built by the British to pacify the Jacobites. Unfortunately, we arrived with only one hour until closing, so the most we got to see was the top of the fort….which was beautiful! The views extended out to the sea and towns, the grass was so green. We hung out for awhile and even noticed someone taking a jog around the top of the fort. Soon after, it was time for dinner at our hotel for our last night there.
