Castles, monsters, mountains, and mist (Scotland, Part 1.)

Our gates were strong, our walls were thick,
So smooth and high, no man could win
A foothold there, no clever trick
Could take us, have us dead or quick.
Only a bird could have got in.

Oh then our maze of tunneled stone
Grew thin and treacherous as air.
The cause was lost without a groan,
The famous citadel overthrown,
And all its secret galleries bare.

(Edwin Muir)

After a day's traveling in the clouds, past gushing rivers, grazing sheep, and magnificent peaks, my sister and I found ourselves in pretty little Inverness. From there we went on a day trip to Loch Ness and Urquhart castle. Many had been there before us:
I wondered if the lonely ladies of the desolate castle met for secret nightly chats with the equally lonely Nessie, tired of being considered a "monster"?
Inverness is a surprisingly stylish little city, and thus not needlessly dubbed the capital of the Highlands. It was tempting to spend my shopping budget in the artesan, delicatessen, and art shops upon arrival in Scotland, but I managed to hold my horses until the Hebrides, where I seriously sidestepped. Come back to read about my confessions...

For a delicious dinner, pop into the Mustard Seed, or it's little sister, Kitchen, both by the banks of the black, rapidly flowing river Ness.