I've now been in Scotland for about six weeks and am, very sadly, leaving tomorrow. I have had an amazing time here for so many reasons. The Wilsons, who I am working for, are fantastic, the scenery is something really special, I love the Scots- any one of them could have me rolling on the floor with laughter and the boys are particularly good lookin', and I am going to miss the luxuries of having my own room and an overly comfortable bed.
I've been working a lot here, not necessarily hard, but a lot! The days can be long and so can the weeks, but I have a lot of fun with the kids. Mark, who is 14 months, has changed so much in the time I've been here, from a 'wee babby' to a real toddler, biting, hitting and pinching included, but he is one of the sweetest natured wee boys I've come across and has the most infectious giggle. And as for 6-year old Ross, he is currently in the bath scrubbing off his Darth Maul (Star Wars) makeup he negotiated his mum into putting on 20 minutes ago and is also delightful and a barrel of laughs.
On my days off, I have made a real effort to go and see Scotland since I may not get much of another opportunity. I hired a bike and took it around a tiny island off Largs, called Milport. It took me a little while to re-master riding a bike- I was a little wobbly at first and nearly took out a bus, it's not really (as they say) 'like riding a bike'... but I got there and was a pro by the end of the day, and has seen some pretty cool birds. Another couple of days off I hired a car (I wouldn't do it again, petrol prices are too expensive here!!) and drove around the two main national parks- the Trossachs and Cairngorms, and stopped at some little villages on the way. The weather wasn't great (it almost never is here!!) but I had a great time none the less, I loved the scenery of Glencoe- especially with the eerie mist, and so enjoyed being behind a steering wheel again. I miss driving so much!! I also got across to Arran and stayed in a hostel near a castle at Lochranza (although everything is near a castle here, there are so many!) I went on a long walk around Brodick and got thoroughly attacked by midgies (like tiny mozzies) but it was well worth it, with the beautiful Glen Rosa and the forest right near it with it's really lovely waterfalls. My other over-nighter was to Inverness. I think that was the hi-light for me, not so much for the scenery but because I had a great night out with some people I met at the hostel. As great as it is here, my social life has taken a bit of a dive since living with the Wilsons, and it's hard to have a late night when I have to get baby up at 6am!!! So anyway, I met other travellers, a couple were a bit bizarre, but there's the fun in travelling! We found a pub with some great live Scottish music, had a few drinks, talked heaps, found another pub, had some more drinks, talked more, and ended up coming back to the hostel with a blow-up sheep ;-) And met some Germans there and talked more... and drunk more... I did actually make it up quite early to get down to Loch Ness and got a good look at old Nessie, but he declined to have his photo taken- wouldn't sign the disclaimer :(
