Scotland & EYF 2019!!

Hello, my friends!

I really wanted to take the time to share with you our Scotland trip that Mom and I took from mid to the end of March. It was simply amazing! This trip had been planned for almost a year so there was a lot of anticipation build up. Because I have Scottish ancestry,  going to Scotland has always appealed to me. In the months leading up to the trip, we shopped for things we needed to take on the trip. I needed a good winter/wind coat, and a cross body bag to take. I couldn't really take any of the bags I normally carry. I also bought a pair of good boots. After months of preparation, we were ready to go!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, one of the things I was required to get prior to leaving was a passport. My passport arrived in the mail just one week prior to leaving! What I had to go through to get it was crazy. I have a different legal name now. (I do have an old passport that would get turned in with my request for a new one.) This made things quite complicated in getting the appropriate documentation and I.D. so I could even apply for a new passport. When my new passport arrived in the mail a week before we left, I was ecstatic! 

Our trip started in Albuquerque, New Mexico and would take us to Dallas, Texas then London Heathrow, then onto Edinburgh Scotland. It was a long journey just to get there! We checked into our hotel and had dinner there as well that evening. Me, Mom, and our dearest friend Dr. Jane Bluestein. (shameless plug...Google her!) all had the same thing. The Cottage Pie. SO GOOD!!! 

The next morning we hit the Edinburgh Yarn Festival. I had a class to take with Bristol Ivey which was amazing! 

Here is where we met up with our friend Giovanna Fregni. She is an archeologist who travels around working in her field of Bronze Aged Metallurgy. Since we were coming to Scotland, she made arrangements to meet us there! It was so good to see her again!

Mom, Janie, and Giovanna

Mom, Me and Giovanna. I am sitting right on the edge of this bench and it makes me look oddly bigger than the other two!

This was the afternoon that I shouted at Woolly Wormhead when I saw her. She is a famous hat designer that I have followed on Instagram for a long time. She was gracious enough to take a picture with Mom and me!

Mom finally got to meet Stephen West and chat with him for a few! I would get my chance in a couple of days. The next couple of days we took for ourselves because we were not taking any of the classes or going on any of the trips that were pre-planned and optional in those first days. Since we went with a group and most of what we were doing was structured, we jumped at the chance to take the time that was available by not having signed up for the classes that were at the same time. Seeing and spending time with Giovanna, we felt, was more important. 

That evening, Mom, Giovanna and I went to a pub for dinner where some of Giovanna's friends were providing the live music! 

Giovanna showing off some of the yarn she purchased earlier that day

The next morning we all met at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. They had recently redone their prehistory section and Mom was definitely interested in seeing it. So was I! We started by having lunch at the museum cafe while waiting for a couple friends of Giovanna to meet up with us there. I am so sorry that I don't remember their names. They were the most delightful people. 

Museum selfie!

We saw wonderful things....

A very large penannular brooch made of gold and set with rubies and garnets 

And a small hoard of silver ones here. Absolutely stunning!

We didn't spend too much time at the museum as we had a taxi scheduled to pick us up and drive us to Rosslyn Chapel...

I was so excited to arrive at Rosslyn Chapel, made famous to masses in the movie "The Da Vinci Code." I took so many pictures of the outside. No pictures were permitted inside the Chapel. 

Being there was SO surreal. This was definitely the high point of the trip to me. 

The next morning we went back to EYF. Since I had taken a class a couple days ago... I didn't really get a chance to shop much. So I shopped. Not as much as Janie (WOW!!) but I did shop. I met Stephen West, and otherwise had an awesome day!

After this last day in Edinburgh, our group would be moving on into the Highlands. There was so much to see there at the stops that we made and the places we experienced! 

In the bus

It was a fantastic castle and a fantastic stop! Our next stop would be Scone Castle. Scone was a great little stop too...off the side of the main palace is Moot Hill. A beautiful little chapel sits atop Moot Hill. This was where all the Scottish Kings were crowned. Sigh. WOW. 

Scone Palace

Moot hill

"Friendly in Virtue Alone"

Our next stop was the Knockando Wool Factory. They had a little village set up so that we could see how wool has been a part of this area for a very long time. It was fun seeing Mom more in her element with raw wool and fleece. 

This post is getting long! There are a lot of pictures...lol. If I walked you thru every single thing we did, we'd be here for hours. We had a fantastic time. I will have to skip some. We went to the Scottish Folk museum (I took a ton a pics in here) and this was truly interesting. I will share some of the photos I took. I couldn't possibly share them all! 

They had huge shelves full of spinning wheels. All different kinds and many of them. As the spinner Mom is, she was fascinated. I was fascinated. I don't think I'd ever seen this many in one place at one time. 

I think the thing that caught my eye more than anything in the museum were the socks they had acquired. And seeing the darning on those socks that was done over and over again. 

And of course an old Shetland Lace Scarf or Stole. 

Our next stop was Pitlochry. I loved the little picturesque town of Pitlochry. We stopped for lunch and Mom and Janie and I went into the The old Mill Inn. 

This was fantastic. It seemed that Janie and I were having a Fish & Chips discovery tour....trying everyones everywhere we went. i have simply come to the conclusion that Scotland has the best Fish & Chips I have ever had. (Granted, I have not been to England). I tried to have it as often as I could...it was SO DAMN GOOD!

Our final days in Scotland were spent at a manor house in Arbroath Scotland. There were 30 of us in our group, and there were other houses on the property of Manor house. We ended up staying in the Coach house. The main house looked like this...

It was beautiful! There were many ways in which it reminded me of Downton Abbey...

This final pic was taken outside of the restaurant where we ate last with everyone in our group. There was so much to this trip, I just now realized I forgot to mention the Whiskey Distillery we went to and one other ruin. Other than that I believe I've covered everything. I think. 

This was a trip of a lifetime for us. We'd always wanted to go and go we did. I didn't want to come home. I felt very much at home there. The people are so nice, the city and the country are absolutely beautiful. The Scottish are very progressive in their thinking too... how they use renewable energy sources, and everyone works to help keep their city clean. I could live there. I could honestly, seriously live there. It was an incredible time! 

Unfortunately, I received an email from the folks that run EYF. They are not doing it next year. Sigh. Having been there now, in their largest year, I understand why. The place where it is held is not all that big. This started as a small festival for their locals. It has since become one of the most sought after yarn festivals to attend. Now, it has become a global destination for knitters from all over the globe. Check back with them in 2021!

Hope you've enjoyed this post! And until next time...Knit On!