Aberdeenshire by auto and horse
The joys of a holiday in Scotland continue. I'm really enjoying staying in a big, luxurious lodge. Don't get me wrong--I love camping. But in this big house we all take turns making delicious meals for one another and get good nights of sleep and hot water, and the steam room, sauna and spa are just down the path at the hotel.
But I also love that there's a veritable playground for outdoorsy types like me just outside the door, from mountains and rivers to villages and even a big city.
Yesterday afternoon our group of seven drove to Aberdeen. I talked them into visiting Provost Skene's house.
This 16th century house was originally grand but was subdivided and became dilapidated by the 1930s, when it was almost razed in a slum-clearing effort. The Queen Mother Elizabeth then stepped in to help restore and save the house, and it's now a wonderful, free museum displaying how Aberdonians lived between 1600-1850. There are two marvelous, mysterious galleries featuring sublime wall and ceiling paintings, and three rooms at the top house Aberdeen-centered historical exhibitions.
After dinner at a pub, we went to the cinema to see a film, which is the British way of saying, "Going to a movie." I even call them cinemas and films myself now, instead of theaters and movies, but I did laugh when Neil said, "Let's go see this picture, shall we?" Apparently folks of an older generation still call it, "Going to a flick." We saw "Juno," which I really liked, but it was a bit surreal to sit in a Scottish theater watching a movie set in small-town Minnesota, not far from where I lived as a child and where I then went to college.
Today we splurged on a horseback ride through the Royal Deeside region, and it was absolutely worth it.
We took a two-hour horseback riding tour through the land surrounding Glen Tanar Equestrian Centre, near the village of Aboyne. It was a gorgeous and even warm day, with plenty of sunshine.
Neil smiles big for the camera as his noble steed Bob leads him through the forest.
We've just returned from a trip to the village of Ballater, near the resort. Instead of walking along the road we took the scenic path alongside the River Dee. When we reached Ballater we called in first at the local butcher's for a rib roast joint, then at the co-op for roast dinner ingredients, then at a mercantile to buy local jams and bread, and finally at a small book shop to pick up a thank you card for the time-share's owners. I love shopping this way! I think being able to stroll through any village's centre and run errands at small shops is one of my favorite things about Britain, although the English have their share of giant supercenters, too. Still, the old-time custom of strolling down the high road stopping at individual stores still thrives, especially in a village like Ballater.
On our way back from Ballater, we walked alongside the steep hill that Craigendarroch resort is built upon, making the trek more challenging but also providing a lovely view of the sunset over the gleaming river. Now our roast dinner (normally served on a Sunday, but we decided to have one anyway, even though it's Thursday) is sizzling away in the oven and sending out delicious smells. I'm about to concoct the Yorkshire Pudding, which is pretty funny since I'm the American. However, I just wrote a food article about Sunday dinner and Yorkshire Puddings for the Pioneer Press papers, so I am, strangely, the theoretical expert. Luckily Kathryn is also here, and her mom is from Yorkshire, so between the two of us we should be able to figure it out.
