As we prepared to leave for an overnight trip up to the Highlands, we each fixed whatever we liked for a light breakfast. I was on the computer dealing with house renovation issues. We made our target departure time of 9:30 AM.
Again, Pat drove, and we set off for Inverness, about three hours northwest. We were all getting a bit hungry, and decided to have a bite before going to the Loch Ness Center. Ron's phone was the only one working, and he found a restaurant in Inverness, Riverside on the banks of the River Ness. It seemed to have good reviews.
Pat dropped us off, and then had a difficult time finding a parking spot. If we'd have been able to reach her phone, we would have told her to pick us up and we'd go somewhere else. The restaurant was totally empty when we arrived (Bad Sign #1). Then the waitress said we couldn't sit together, as all the tables were booked, and they were expecting a large tour group (Bad Sign #2). But, we were incommunicado, so we sat at our two-person table in the corner. We saw the bright yellow Jeep pass by a few times. Finally, they arrived, and were seated at another two-person table in the opposite corner.
I had breaded scampi, which were strong, small and had WAY too much batter. Ron had cauliflower and smoky bacon soup followed by Shetland blue-lipped mussels in an arribiata. He didn't care for them, and finished about half. Discarded several he found to be mushy. Finn had child portion of macaroni and cheese. Pat had pan-seared halloumi and lightly fried goat cheese. Everything was ordinary. Pat said her coffee tasted like water. The set menu were reasonable enough, but thought the ala carte prices were high - Baileys coffee £6.50 and about the same for a crème brulee. Still haven't found a spot where we've found food in the UK to be wonderful.
We walked to the car, and drove along the Loch, which is south of Inverness, to the Loch Ness Center. Finn had asked why they hadn't used a submarine to search for "Nessie". The first thing we saw when we arrived was a single-person sub that had been used and found nothing.
Pat and Finn toured the center. Ron and I walked across to the Drumnadrochit Hotel, browsed in the shop, and then sat in the cafe. Ron had carrot loaf and cappuccino. I had my usual. Ron bought a bottle of JW Black, as we had failed to bring anything for evening toddies.
We drove along Loch Ness back to Inverness. Alas, we didn't see a sign of "Nessie". We had reservations at the Best Western Plus Lochardil, a Victorian mansion outside the city in a lovely residential neighborhood. Best Westerns in the US are not an up-market brand, but in Europe they are often very nice. We had reserved a twin-bedded room for Pat and Finn in the main house. Because we requested a ground floor room for ourselves, the only thing available was a "deluxe" king in the garden annex. It was about $50 more, and we were expecting a terrace or at least a garden view, but the room looked out to the car park. It was a bit more spacious than Pat's and the bathroom had a nice shower and was accessible.
We went over to dinner in the hotel dining room, which is in a lovely conservatory. I had an Isle of Mull cheddar cheese soufflé.
Ron had soup and sea bass. Finn had chicken wings. Pat had the haddock fish and chips. Again, nothing was spectacular.
There was a wedding party on premises, and Ron stopped to chat with one of the young blokes in a kilt and asked to take his picture. He declared that his name was Sean MacGregor, and tried to engage us in discussion. He was three sheets to the wind and we could hardly get away. Can't seem to transfer the picture from the phone to the computer......
The bed was comfortable and the pillow was the best I've had since we left home - soft feather!
I had breaded scampi, which were strong, small and had WAY too much batter. Ron had cauliflower and smoky bacon soup followed by Shetland blue-lipped mussels in an arribiata. He didn't care for them, and finished about half. Discarded several he found to be mushy. Finn had child portion of macaroni and cheese. Pat had pan-seared halloumi and lightly fried goat cheese. Everything was ordinary. Pat said her coffee tasted like water. The set menu were reasonable enough, but thought the ala carte prices were high - Baileys coffee £6.50 and about the same for a crème brulee. Still haven't found a spot where we've found food in the UK to be wonderful.
We walked to the car, and drove along the Loch, which is south of Inverness, to the Loch Ness Center. Finn had asked why they hadn't used a submarine to search for "Nessie". The first thing we saw when we arrived was a single-person sub that had been used and found nothing.
Pat and Finn toured the center. Ron and I walked across to the Drumnadrochit Hotel, browsed in the shop, and then sat in the cafe. Ron had carrot loaf and cappuccino. I had my usual. Ron bought a bottle of JW Black, as we had failed to bring anything for evening toddies.
We drove along Loch Ness back to Inverness. Alas, we didn't see a sign of "Nessie". We had reservations at the Best Western Plus Lochardil, a Victorian mansion outside the city in a lovely residential neighborhood. Best Westerns in the US are not an up-market brand, but in Europe they are often very nice. We had reserved a twin-bedded room for Pat and Finn in the main house. Because we requested a ground floor room for ourselves, the only thing available was a "deluxe" king in the garden annex. It was about $50 more, and we were expecting a terrace or at least a garden view, but the room looked out to the car park. It was a bit more spacious than Pat's and the bathroom had a nice shower and was accessible.
We went over to dinner in the hotel dining room, which is in a lovely conservatory. I had an Isle of Mull cheddar cheese soufflé.
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| Cheddar cheese souffle |
There was a wedding party on premises, and Ron stopped to chat with one of the young blokes in a kilt and asked to take his picture. He declared that his name was Sean MacGregor, and tried to engage us in discussion. He was three sheets to the wind and we could hardly get away. Can't seem to transfer the picture from the phone to the computer......
The bed was comfortable and the pillow was the best I've had since we left home - soft feather!
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