So we have a plan…

I didn’t say it was a GOOD plan, lol. But it is a plan.

We turned in the rental car in Newcastle-upon-Tyne today, as scheduled. Unfortunately, however, we could not leave on the ferry from there and instead had to ride on a motorcoach (Flix Bus) to London. It was an interesting people-watching experience and we learned a very valuable lesson…. DO NOT sit near the rear of the bus with the Port-a-potty. The smell was absolutely atrocious.

We are now waiting in Heathrow to fly out to Paris. The adventures today with trying to get approved to fly were interesting, to say the least. Eli is the only one who had to be tested as 12 is somehow a magic age where your risk increases.

Once in France, we will spend a week in the Loire Valley and a week in Normandy, in Rouen, to relax a little and lose the “we’ve been in the UK” travel impediment.

The flaws in the plan are that we tried to tag team the planning and somehow missed the little fact that the bus connection we need to get from Brouges to Chezal-Benoit does not run on the day that the Air B and B reservation begins… so what should’ve cost us €12 will now cost us €80 for an Uber.

And we did not allow for the fact that there is likely not direct transport between our destinations in Loire and Normandy. So I’ll have to spend time figuring out transport. Even if I wasn’t celebrating that I got to turn in the rental car and bit the bullet to rent another, there are NONE to be had. The press has actually referred to it as “Carmageddon”, lol.

On a happier note- we spent 9 lovely days in Scotland. We spent two nights in Glasgow, one in Oban where we had the most amazing breakfast ever, one in Wick, three nights “glamping” in Rothes on the Whisky Trail in the Highlands, and the last two in Edinburgh.

We did travel over to Argyll to see the ancestral home of my grandmother’s clan. The ancient clan of Maclachlan has an incredible history and my grandmother was very proud of our family’s heritage. You can visit the webpage here: http://www.oldcastlelachlan.com/

There is a newer castle, built in the 18^th Century ( http://www.castlelachlan.com/ ). It is split to allow the current Clan Chief (the 25^th) to live in part and rent the other portion. Maybe someday….

As an interesting aside, the 24^th Chief was a woman, Marjorie Susan Mary Maclachlan. When she married (sometime around the 40’s) her husband took HER name. I visited her grave and paid my respects.

The residents of Wick in the extreme northeast of Scotland are all known as Wickers. All 6,000 of them. It is a small, friendly fishing community that is as far north as Juneau, Alaska but not nearly as cold. It seems to stay chilly year round, however, with an August high of 61° F and a January low of 34° F. It rains about half of the time from what I could tell, so if you really enjoy chilly, gloomy days, old stone architecture, and cobblestone streets I now know an absolutely perfect place for you! We decided that they filmed every Dickens movie there, ever.

The glamping was lovely even in chilly rain. The shower was hot and the beds pretty comfortable. I haven’t cooked over an open fire in a bit, so that was interesting. On a very happy note—the third time is obviously a charm. The last two times we went camping a Wicker ended up in the hospital but we all came through unscathed this time! If we had had a catastrophe this time, we would not have attempted again!

I have heard for years how different Glasgow and Edinburgh are and now understand it. Glasgow was very working class and young. Edinburgh is very classic and sedate and we had trouble finding a self-service laundry. Considering how near they are, it is an amazing difference and I wish we had more time to explore and investigate.

The trip must go on, however, and they have just posted our gate assignment. (Yes, we are at the airport and through Security so early that they had not yet even assigned our gate! That has NEVER happened in Wicker History!) Wish us Bon Voyage!