#i gotta bag on the outlander series it's who i am

[simstryingtheirbestok]

Despite David and Ruby's good fortune, he still rides a bicycle everywhere. So does Ruby, in fact. I didn't build them a garage, I dislike sprawl and car culture, and I think David's rebel friends would frown on him buying anything fancier than the Sloppy Jalopy he gave Diphda.

Besides, he's friends with his bike. 😄

The rebel influence, however, is no longer a factor, as David has quit the Art Appraiser career.

Yes! I was so tired of having to maintain that level-10 Rebel status, and don't even start me on how much the game complained that he wasn't scanning enough art. 😡 The dice roll said David was allowed five promotions in that track, so once he reached level 6, he worked one day at that level, then quit so he wouldn't be promoted to the next one.

So what's next for David?

Well, I did give him one day off after he quit. He spent it being astonished by everything he watched on television, which you must admit is completely on-brand for him.

And he finally got to finish reading Zombies? Zombies!, which he has been trying to do for literal weeks. The big obstacle to his finishing it has been... me. I have almost always had something else in mind for him to do besides read trash, and that was especially true while the triplets were still toddlers. But every time I looked away for even a second, David would choose Read Book on Multitab-->Zombies? Zombies!

So at last I relented. Who am I to judge, anyway?! Didn't I read all those Diana Gabaldon books about the dumb horny Scotsman???

It is, after all, much better than that couple of Sims weeks during which he became bizarrely fixated on rereading The Adventures of Raymundo, until I snapped and sold it out from under his dumb ass.

I've rolled for his next three career tracks, and they are:

Firefighter: Allowed 3 promotions, to level 4.

Acrobat: Allowed 3 promotions, to level 4.

Journalism: Allowed 5 promotions, to level 6.

Two of those, you may note, are active careers. Traditionally, I have avoided these, so I've literally never played an acrobat. This could be interesting!

[torontothoughts]

The final stage of my trip was exploring in and around Inverness. While I’d been to Inverness and to a couple of the historical places I was planning on visiting before, I really wanted to revisit Clava Cairns because of the Outlander connection. My cousin, Niki, was an Outlander fan and it seemed like a nice way to honour her memory to visit the site. And since I was going to be there, I wanted to visit the Culloden museum as I’d visited the battlefield before but not spent time in the museum. The other reason I was going to Inverness was it’s a good base to use when visiting distilleries and that section of the Highlands.

Stornoway to Inverness

As I was still not feeling up to par, I chilled until it was time to catch the ferry to Ullapool and then I was off. I truly love ferry crossings, probably because I enjoy being on boats and ships of all sizes. Luckily, it was another super calm crossing even if the sky wasn’t clear. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any marine life other than birds again. Ullapool, the town at the other side of the ferry ride, looked like I place I’d like to visit again, perhaps next trip as I’ve read there is some nice hiking/walks around there. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any of it as it was literally off the ferry and on the bus. The bus ride to Inverness was short – just over an hour and then I was checked into Inverness Student Hostel. 

The hostel room was small but clean, and there’s no room for bags under the bed (or anywhere) but what can you do. It’s a friendly place though and pretty central. After checking in and arranging to have to get my laundry done, I headed out for some fish & chips (decent and reasonably priced). But since I can’t really taste my beer (stupid allergies), I’m not sure I should book a whisky tour.

Side note: the soundtrack at the pub I ate dinner at is interesting.

The River Ness in Inverness

Inverness Castle and a statue of Flora MacDonald

The River Ness in Inverness

I asked the bartender which Scottish beer he would recommend

Inverness, Culloden and Clava Cairns

Thankfully, I started to feel better in the morning (and had energy again) so hopefully… I’ll be able to taste fully tomorrow as I plan on doing another distillery tour and to look for a place to do a tasting that I don’t have to pay £99 for. I might if I knew I could taste properly as it’s not the money but there are other options. The tour was great at Harris but I want to be able to drink whisky. 

In the meantime, I’m off to get my history, and Outlander fix today. My first stop was Culloden (the battlefield, not the town) which one can do by city bus (buy the day pass ticket for the correct zone and your golden for the day). Culloden, for those who don’t know, is the sight of the last major battle on British soil and the battle that ended the Jacobite rebellion in 1746. I had already decided to do the museum and as I spent about 2 hours there, it was worth it. I liked how they told both sides equally. While I knew the basic history, I hadn’t realized how young the Duke of Cumberland was – he was basically the same age as “Bonnie” Prince Charlie. Of course, that wasn’t the only thing I learned but it did stand out.

After wandering around the battlefield paying my respects, I headed over to Clava Cairns, which is a nice walk from Culloden (a few kilometers) and it was another amazing day. Clava Cairns are a group of Bronze Age cairns and standing stones which were recently made famous in the TV series, Outlander (and books). No Outlander moment for me, I tried, and some other tourist told me to be careful (I’m still trying to decide if he was joking). Too bad as Jamie was hot. It’s a peaceful site, at least it was until a tour bus arrived and I had to listen to some idiot, hopefully not their tour guide, spout inaccurate info. What this random dude was saying was completely different to what the sign I had just read said (and my limited knowledge). Pretty sure the official sign’s info was right. As it was another lovely, sunny day, I ignored the yapping and headed back to Culloden to catch the bus back to Inverness. Gotta love waiting for bus with a cute guy in a kilt. One of those, only in Scotland moments.

Back in Inverness, I went to the sweet shop I saw earlier and bought some traditional Scottish candies to take home. The I decided I’d had enough fish & chips and needed some veggies so I headed to the Co-op (a grocery store) to buy a salad and extra cherry tomatoes before calling it a day.

Side note: this hostel and the one in Fort William are owned by the same group. They name their beds and assign them instead of the first come, first choice model. In Fort William, they were all after famous Scots in my room and I got William Wallace (who fought the English and was drawn & quartered). In Inverness, they’re named after whisky in my room and I got Craggonmore which I’ve never tried but have to now.

Clava Cairns

Clava Cairns

A river I crossed walking to Clava Cairns

Clava Cairns

A guy in a kilt

Some traditional Scottish candies

Country roads can be really narrow

The Culloden battlefield

One of the standing stones at Clava Cairns

No Outlander moment for me

Clava Cairns

Inverness

It was a wee bit of a wet day but since I’ve had mostly great weather, I can’t really complain. I decided to head to a distillery I could both get to by city bus (again, get a day pass ticket for the correct zone) and that I couldn’t try at home… and ended up at the Glen Ord distillery. It was a nice tour but I accidentally signed up for the wrong one and ended up on a simple tour, not a tasting. Ah well, at least there was a small taste at the end and it was a nice tour.

Afterwards, I decided to walk to the next village to check out the Beauly Priory, which are ruins of an old priory from approximately 1230, before catching the bus back to Inverness. Despite the misty rain, it wasn’t that bad of a day and I enjoyed the 5 km walk. Plus it was nice to add some more history to my day, although I did find it a bit odd that there seemed to be monuments/tombstones inside the ruins of the priory.

Back in Inverness, I caught a bite to eat (fish & chips again, this time with mushy peas) before heading to the Malt Room for whisky, which was so memorable, it gets it’s own section.

The Beauly Priory

The Beauly Priory

A hairy coo (Highland cow)

The Beauly Priory

The tasting at the Glen Ord Distillery

The Beauly Priory

The Beauly Priory

Part of the tour at the Glen Ord Distillery

The Glen Ord Distillery

The Beauly Priory

The Beauly Priory

Making the whisky at the Glen Ord Distillery

The Malt Room

The Malt Room, a small, cozy bar tucked into the Victorian Market alleyway, is heavenly. They have whisky flights! As I hadn’t really done a tasting yet, just a couple of tours, I was so happy to have found this place. I tried the North Coast 500 flight, which is a five whisky flight with Glenmorangie Quinte Ruban, Old Pultney 12, Balblair 05, Clynelish 14, and Dalmore 15. Of the five, I’d only previously tried the Glenmorange, which is one I enjoy (sweet & fruity).

Old Pulteney 12 is light and tastes like a mild salted caramel, a nice intro whisky. Balblair is a sweet, mildly spicy/peppery whisky – for me, the spice/pepper dominated the other flavours after the first sip. Clynelish, this one explodes on the palate! It’s oaky, spicy and fruity all at once. Dalmore smells like chocolate covered cherries and tastes like a spicy fruit cake with licorice lingers. 

My conclusion on all five whiskies after trying them all neat and then with a drop or two of water is:

I still love Glenmorangie Quinte Ruban. 

Old Pultney 12 might be good for those who don’t think they like whisky or have never tried it and want a gentle entry. But I wasn’t a fan.

Balblair 05 is lovely to sip – I’d definitely buy it if it’s available in Canada. I really liked it and a drop or two of water soothes the spiciness and brings out the sweet toffee.

Adding a drop or two to Clynelish 14 softens it a bit but it’s still full of flavour – orange, oak and spice in equal measure, and in that order. It’s also a nice whisky and a bit sweeter with a bit of water. It’s a bit like a spicy fruity run ball/truffle.

Dalmore 15 did not improve with water. Even though I only added two drops (literally) of water, it tastes bland now. Not completely but it was much better without water.

Side note: there’s a fascinating discussion about Scottish independence here and one of the guys (it’s quite a friendly discussion despite the dissenting opinions) says “It’s fine, you’re wrong but I accept that.” 

The tasting at the Glen Ord Distillery

Pretty flowers at the Malt Room

My North 500 flight at the Malt Room

All in all, it was a lovely way to spend my last night in Inverness (and second last in Scotland). If you’re a whisky fan and in the Inverness area, I’d definitely recommend visiting the Malt Room. They have tons of whiskies and several different whisky flights to choose from.

Final Thoughts

The last part of my trip was all about history and whisky… and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. They are two of my favourite things. I still can’t believe how amazing the weather was for the majority of my trip but man, am I thankful. There’s still lots of Scotland I’d love to explore but I had an absolute blast on this trip.

What’s your favourite historical site in Scotland? Which whisky would you recommend?

Revisiting Scotland - Exploring Inverness Meant Whisky and History #Scotland #travel #whisky The final stage of my trip was exploring in and around Inverness. While I’d been to Inverness and to a couple of the historical places I was planning on visiting before, I really wanted to revisit Clava Cairns because of the Outlander connection.