PORTLAND, ORE., Friday, July 24, 2009, 2 p.m. — So we arrived back in Portland at noon today, and fortunately for Will, he slept four hours on the plane, but unfortunately for me, who didn’t, he is raring to go and sharing Scotland stories with our next-door neighbor, who is headed to Scotland in a few days.

So I figured I’d finish out our Scotland blog on the front porch. I’m bleary-eyed from the flights and the four hours of sleep I got last night (we got up at 3 a.m. Glasgow time and I now think it’s 10 p.m., so I’m running on fumes.)

CALLANDER, SCOTLAND, Thusday, July 23, 2009 – So sad to wake up on our last day in Scotland. Actually, wonderful waking up, but sad to be leaving tomorrow. Our last real night (tonight we stay at the Glasgow airport and get up at like 3 a.m. to catch our flight to Amsterdam) was very special.

We are staying in a lodge dating back to 1630 – there’s a gorgeous oak-paneled library whose wood goes back to the 15th century – not sure if the wood had just been lying around for 100 years before going into the library, but nobody seems to know the answer.
Anyhow, it’s a lovely place set on a number of acres along the Teith River – you can borrow a rod and catch trout and salmon within viewing distance of the library. The place has beautiful gardens (hard to keep up with the weeds) that have an elegant, slightly unkempt air.

Will ran through them yesterday afternoon in the sunshine, delighted by their maze-like corridors. The flowers were all in bloom, so it was a riot of reds, oranges, purples and greens. They also raise herbs and fruits and vegetables for the restaurant at the hotel, which is called the Roman Camp.

It is so named because a Roman fort once stood on the grounds – no one can tell us where, but Dad, grandfather of a soon-to-be-famous archeologist named Will – identified a large mound near the entrance that looks suspiciously like the mounds we saw at the Antonine Wall early in our trip. I’d originally booked the hotel on the romantic sound of its name, and it’s turned out to be a great way to end the trip.
The rooms are huge, with a separate sitting area, which is great for me so I can get up and type and make coffee while Will still sleeps. The furniture is old and antiquey and the walls wallpapered with flowers.

I usually don’t like wallpaper, but it’s so perfect here. And for the foodies out there, we had an amazing meal last night, so much so that I put aside my attempt to not gain weight on this trip and ate everything!
We started with haggis on a stick for an appetizer, which everyone, including Will, ate and declared delicious.

They were made “yakitori” style, with a crunchy crust on the outside and creamy black in the middle. So there, we did it! It tasted suspiciously like black pudding to me, so perhaps I’ve been eating it all along and didn’t know it. We had perfectly browned halibut on some Indian-spiced squash puree, sprinkled with garbanzo beans. That was followed by a cauliflower soup, which Will declared “fantastic.” Finally, and I was full by then, we had seared (nearly raw) steak with a few chanterelles and some lovely mashed turnip and herbs. OK, I won’t go on and on, but you get the picture.
Today, we’re going to the Rob Roy visitor center, lodged in what used to be the central church in this adorable town.

It’s basically a 19th century tourist town, as city folks from Glasgow and Edinburgh flooded into the Trossachs on the word of Wordsworth, the romantic poet, and others about the loveliness of the scenery. We walked its narrow main street lined with charming stone buildings yesterday evening in a rare moment of sunshine. It’s raining again today, but we plan to learn about the Scottish Robin Hood, Rob Roy, and then drive through the Trossachs before checking into our respective hotels in Glasgow and saying goodbye to my parents. It will be sad; we’ve had such a great time. But we do miss the Rickster and friends.
I think I’ll do a little more genealogy as an excuse to come back. And I know Rick and the DramaMamas stand ready to find an excuse as well!