The Great Curling Detour, AC/DC & even the Scots don't like Nickleback

Originally Colin & Maria were suppose to take the train directly from Inverness to Endinburgh, but Colin really wanted to see the birthplace of curling. Maria was thinking it was going to be a logistical nightmare, but he sulked a little and convinced her that it would be fun!

She made it happen, after she threatened him within an inch of his life :)

BTW if you ever take a trip to Scotland, especially the highlands, take the train! You'll see many things on your travels, mountains, old castles, ruins and lots of sheep, at the right time of year, you'll see plenty of lambs!

Their first stop was in Stirling population 34,000.. With no map or directions they headed straight for the Stirling Castle, they had 3 hours to get back onto the train....

The great thing about finding a castle, is just walk up the hill.. You're bound to get there!

You might have heard about this castle.. As William Wallace once defended it. William Wallace? Remember the movie Braveheart? Mary Queen of Scots also lived here.

Here's Maria sitting in her throne.

Once the Castle Tour was over, Colin & Maria started walking back to the train so they could get to a village called Croy, population 399, which was the closest station near Kilsyth, population 10,100, home of the Curling Pond. On the way there a car raced by blaring AC/DC, how fitting the song that was pumping out the windows was "Rock N Roll Ain't Noise Pollution", you know, the one with the bag pipes! How fitting! (BTW AC/DC is actually from Scotland)

They made it to the train station with exactly 2 minutes to spare!

Once in Croy with no idea where to go, they found Fred the taxi guy, A Celtic fan!

Nice guy! Great stories and very accommodating! It was off to the pond, the birth place of curling, but they only had an hour.

Fred drove into a park called Colzium Estates and there it was! The mecca for curlers and a drinking spot for teens (as told to them by a local couple who wondered what the hell 2 Canadians were doing traveling 5,000 km's to this swan infested swamp)! Here is where the very first curling game was ever played in the 16th century.

A dip in the water.. Watch the swan poop!

A kiss for good luck!

It was back to Croy thanks to Fred, to catch the train to Edinburgh! After arriving in Edinburgh, they stopped for a beer. Colin & Maria had about an hour and a half to kill to wait for Sara, the host for this leg of the trip.

The Black Bull it is!

As soon as they walked in there was hard rock/heavy metal on the stereo! Fantastic!
It must have been a satellite fed music service because Nickleback started to play but was quickly stopped by the bar staff who must have put an iPod on full of old skool punk, guess the Scots don't like Nickleback either...

After ordering a pint of Tennants (tasted like Coors Light) & a Stella for Maria, Colin enjoyed a Guinness Extra Cold.

Then they spotted a brew called Blue Moon, "brewed in North America" & it was served with an orange, Colin then found out from the bar staff that it's Rickards White with a different label.

When the two finally met up with their hosts in Edinburgh, Sara & Jaime, they had chilli ready for supper and a superb line up of Scottish beer..

Don't ask what it was like because the drinking lasted well into the night!

Tomorrow, it's off to improve international curling relations over a dram of whisky & an adventure in the middle of Edinburgh!