Inverness, Scotland

After our two nights in Glasgow, we headed to Inverness to start our tour with the Rick Steves tour group! We had originally booked a train from Glasgow to Inverness, but after some record-breaking rain, the trains were cancelled. Luckily Charles did his research and booked bus tickets as a backup before they sold out. 

We arrived in Inverness and quickly walked from the bus station to our hotel to meet up with the group for an orientation. We were supposed to arrive an hour earlier, but arrived right at the start of the orientation so we had to go in soaking wet from the rain. We met everyone, including our guide, and received a nice introduction to the tour. We checked into Glen Mohr for our two nights and relaxed for a bit before our group Inverness Orientation Walk and dinner at The Mustard Seed.

Our hotel was situated right by the river. Due to the heavy rainfall, the river was dangerously close to the banks. 

The next day was filled with lots of activities! After our breakfast at the hotel, we were off to Loch Ness for a boat ride to Urquhart Castle. Unfortunately, no one spotted Nessie. 

This little bird was happy to hang out while tourists (like ourselves) snapped his picture. 

Another stop of the day was to Clava Cairns. Have you heard of Stonehenge? This place is similar. No one knows the purpose of these stone mounds and structures. Our guide encouraged us to come up with our own theories while walking around the area. I am amazed that this place is completely free to visit. 

Another stop was to Culloden Battlefield. Honestly, my expectations for pretty low for this stop. Why would I care about a battlefield? However, after spending an hour with our battlefield guide, this became one of my favorite stops of the trip. She provided us so much interesting history about the Jacobites and the history of the battle. It was also interesting to think about how history could have been completely different if the outcome of the battle was different. Would America be what it is? Would the French Revolution happened? 

At the battlefield, stones were added to represent several clans that were part of the battle. These were added much later on and not necessarily historically accurate. I looked for clan markers for my ancestors, but did not spot them. Mixed clans it is!

Throughout the tour, our guide gave us snacks and treats to try. This was our first taste of whiskey and Scottish tablet. Tablet is the Scottish version of fudge.

Gorges du Verdon and Moustiers St. Marie

A highlight of our trip to France was a visit to the Gorges du Verdon. When I saw pictures of the Gorges during my research phase, it looked too good to be true. I have learned that many bloggers edit photos to look more amazing than the locations actually are. But in this case, it was just as impressive in real life. 

A popular activity is to rent a boat and cruise along the water. You can rent a paddle boat, kayak, canoe or an electric boat. Because it was ungodly hot, we opted for an electric boat to reduce the amount of effort we would have to exert. It turned out even better than we thought because the electric boats have covers unlike the other boat options. This is a win for us pale skinned folks!

In anticipation of this trip, I searched out tips on how to pose in pictures. This is my attempt to be more "Instagram worthy". The water was a beautiful turquoise color! 

If I am correct, this was a first for Charles--driving a boat. It was so easy and relaxing. 

These sandals are amazing! If you need some cute, but super comfortable sandals for walking, check out Ecco! 

After our boating time came to an end, we visited the nearby town of Moustiers St. Marie. We parked below the town in a lot off the main street and took a little train up to the town. It was perfect because it was hot, hot, hot! Luckily there were fountains scattered throughout the town. We splashed water on ourselves to try to stay cool. 

The town was adorable! We stopped for cool drinks at a café and had gelato at another place. 

If it had been cooler, we probably would have spent more time in town. But it was just ridiculously hot and uncomfortable. Before heading out, we did stop at a market vendor selling pottery. Charles picked out a mug and we chose a cat figurine to add to our little collection.