Let's Review... Monday Train to Oban

Afternoon, lovelies! We're nearing the end of our Scotland adventures. A recap is due to you about our Monday excursion - a day trip to Oban.

We left around 7:15am for the train station at Queen Street in Glasgow. Coffees and nibbles were purchased, and then we were off on a three+ hour train ride to Oban, along the Western coast of Scotland.

We saw lots of this:



And this:



It's impossible to capture the true beauty of the Scottish landscape by train. The rolling green hills, the sheep, the hairy Highland "Coos" (cows), the little precious houses along the way, more sheep, the Lochs... And so on. You get the idea. It's freaking beautiful.

:: There's a tiny castle in the distance. Trust us! ::

:: Little Waterfall ::

:: Little Luna Eyes ::

:: Pretty girl on the train ::

:: This handsome little fella was also along for the ride! ::

We arrived in the darling town of Oban a little after 11:30am. Just in time for lunch! But first some cute town photos...

 :: Cute Town Photo ::

:: Beautiful Oban ::

Oban is OLD. The first known inhabitants were here around 8,000 BC. That's pretty freaking impressive, wouldn't you say?! They found their remains when they were building a warehouse in 1894. Interesting stuff!

But at that moment we were mostly interested in being fed, so we headed to the Waterfront Fishhouse Restaurant for a nice leisurely lunch on the water. (Hence the name, Waterfront. Duh, Jenna!)

:: There's our girl, Cindy! Miss those latte pictures!!! ::

:: Ooh... And Diana's beer! ::

:: Brandon ordered a Kilt Lifter - nice! ::

:: Jenna was happy to sample it - yum! ::

Another big YUM! Goat cheese and cranberry compote on toast. Tracy & Jenna loved theirs!

Oban is well known as the seafood "capital" of Scotland! Most everyone was ecstatic about this - with the exception of Jenna, who doesn't "feast on our friends from the sea." (Never fear - I did quite well despite the fact!) And a wonderful lunch was had by all!

After lunch we split up into two groups for shopping. Cindy & Diana headed out to the quilting and yarn shops, among other things I'm sure, and the rest of us popped in and out to the touristy shops, biding our time to the Oban Whisky Distillery tour, where we all met up once again!

:: Yay! It's Whisky Time! ::

There we were treated to a wondrous tour 'o' whisky, Oban style! No photos were allowed but it was a very interesting process, as we were lead from room to room, watching and learning the complicated process of whisky making. Of course no tour is complete without a taste, and they did not disappoint! We were able to sample a 9 year early pull as well as the final 14 year end product. Delicious! Some of you will be able to try this as well - especially our Spokane readers, as Jenna & Brandon bought a bottle! Super fun for everyone.

After the tour we had two hours to kill so we went to the "Olive Garden" which is in no way affiliated with the Olive Garden that we know and love in the US of A. But it was okay and kept us busy until the train ride back to Glasgow.


Back in Glasgow... Very sad to say goodbye to Kristin and Tres. We wish them a safe journey home tonight. They took an early train this morning (Tuesday) to London and then are on a plane, right at this moment, actually, from London to NJ.

That's it for the Monday update!

Signing off for now... Jenna