Day Tripping

Yesterday, I was taken on a lovely tour of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park by Madeleine's uncle Frank.  Frank arrived at the house in the morning to pick up us two and Gran.  It was very cold the night earlier, so everything outside was hardened with frozen fog.  Luckily the car was heated as we drove about 25 miles out of Glasgow.  Our first stop was the small town of Aberfoyle.  There we parked the car and took a look around the main street.  I saw some sheep walking around.  Frank treated me to a "bag of chips".  No, I don't mean a bag of Doritos.  I mean a styrofoam box of french fries!  Madeleine ordered fish and the man cooking it let me come behind the counter and watch him make it, since I kept standing on my tippy toes trying to look over the counter.  He was stirring the fish in a big vat of oil.  Now that I had eaten my vegetables for the day, we got back in the car and drove to our next stop, pulling over along the way to admire the wild life and nature.

An Aberfoyle sheep

This dog was parked next to our car.  One of the funniest looking creatures I have ever seen.

One of our stops was at the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park.  There was a beautiful view of the snow-capped Ben Lomond mountain.

There were so many Highland Muckle Coos along the road -- big cows with furry faces!  They were so cute.      

Loch Katrine: Notice the gorgeous castle in the background?  It is now a hotel- so start planning a vacation!

Our last stop was the town of Callendar for afternoon tea.  We sat by the fireplace of a placed called The Bank and warmed up.  I had a cup of rich hot chocolate and 2 scones with jam and butter.  The other three had tea and scones as well.  After we got back in the car and drove to Loch Katrine.  Frank told me that there is one one "lake" in Scotland - Lake Menteith.  All of the others are lochs.  Anyways, Loch Katrine is a big reservoir that serves water to the whole of Glasgow.  In the summertime the lake is said to be stunning with lovely walks.

 When we got home, we took a rest before heading out to Dub N Grub -- dinner and music at The 78 pub.  The pub was actually a really nice restaurant/lounge with delicious food!  They only serve vegan food and every Thursday they make one discount meal -- last night it was rice and chick peas in a moroccan sauce-- so yummy!  I also ordered another plate of chips.  The music played was called Dub Step and there was a small group of people dancing.  Alex, Madeleine's boyfriend, and their friend David joined us as well.

Afterwards we went to Art School, which I found super cool.  It is a club inside the Glasgow School of Art that serves as a pub and restaurant during the week.  On the weekends, including Thursday, the space turns into a dance club.  Downstairs the DJ was playing the genre rockabilly (early 1950s style rock) and upstairs the DJ was playing techno music.  Both The 78 and Art School were filled with beautiful, young people.  I drank my first cider and really enjoyed it!

Madeleine and Alex at The 78