Stirling Castle is a huge complex of royal buildings, workshops, and fortifications atop a huge volcanic rock that rises dramatically from the lowland plains near the River Forth. It’s strategic position made Stirling Castle an important stronghold and center of power throughout Scotland’s turbulent Medeival and Renaissance history....
Rosslyn Chapel was founded in 1446 and stands proudly today as one of the most beautiful historic chapels in Scotland. The beauty of this chapel led to it being used as the setting for the finale of the film of Dan Brown’s best-selling novel The DaVinci Code....
The Isle of Mull and the Middle Hebrides Islands are worth spending some time exploring. Iona in particular stands out due to its historical significance and its beautifully fresh air and pleasant scenery. On Mull, Tobermory is quite picturesque...
Oban has everything you could ask for - all of the needed amenities and services, fantastic food and great little shops, plus easy access to beaches, hiking, and historical locations. Oban is a wonderful destination and a great place to spend a day on the beautiful West Coast of Scotland!...
Tucked away in a less-treveled corner of Scotland’s West Coast, pastoral Kilmartin Glen has been home to local inhabitants for around five millenium. Over 350 Neolithic and Bronze-age monuments, cairns, and rock art sties dot the fields in this picturesque glen, along with an important Dark Age hilltop fort, a historic church, and a Medieval ... Read more...
A portion of this grand fairytale castle is tourable, as are the extensive gardens around the castle. Built in the mid-1700’s and expanded in 1877, this Baroque castle is a popular showstopper and a centerpiece in the Argyll region which was used as a film location for Downton Abbey....
Stunning scenery meets a famously tragic history in gorgeous Glen Coe, in the West Highlands of Scotland. The drive through this glacially carved valley is absolutely breathtaking, with myriad viewpoints en route. ...
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a top-notch experience on par with the world’s major museums like The Louvre and Rijksmuseum, but with more natural history along with art. The fact that it is free to enjoy is absolutely incredible. ...
Located centrally in downtown Glasgow, the gallery features works in a variety of media and includes a really cool art studio space on its top floor plus a museum shop with wares inspired by pieces in the museum’s collection....
Likely the oldest surviving structure in Glasgow, construction of the city’s mighty Cathedral began in the 1100s. The style is ornate and distinctly Gothic, with similarities to other large cathedrals of the day like Notre Dame and The Se in Lisbon...
Scotland is stuffed with castles, with a higher density of them than anywhere else in Europe. Our first visit to Scotland revealed the huge variety in structures, functions, and states of preservation or decay amongst the castles in this gorgeous country....
Out of the many castles we visited in our two-week trip to Scotland, Duone Castle (pronounced “doon”) was one of my favorites and one I highly recommend. ...
Arran is often described as “Scotland in miniature” featuring highlands and glens in the north and gentler rolling terrain in the south. With so much beauty and variety within a day trip’s reach of Scotland’s most populous city it’s no wonder that Arran is a popular place to visit....
Brodick Castle is well worth a visit. We spent two hours here but we could have easily spent the entire day. In two hours we saw the castle and garden but barely any of the trails....
Dunstaffnage Castle is in a state of partial ruin. The castle gatehouse does have a roof and wood floors on the three explorable levels, accessed by the original stone spiral staircase which eventually leads up to the castle wall walk. What a view! The kitchen section of the castle is in a much more advanced state of ruin....
Castle Stalker, set on an islet in Loch Linnhe at the mouth of little Loch Laich near the village of Appin, is one of the more iconic Medieval castles in Scotland. Monty Python fans will surely recognize it as “Castle Aargh!”, the setting for the final scene of Monty Python and the Holy Grail....
Edinburgh Castle is perhaps Scotland’s most iconic landmark as well as its most visited single attraction with around 2.25 million visitors annually. Contained within the imposing stone walls are the country’s most treasured possessions, kept in the place where so much of Scottish history actually happened. ...
The biggest draw in Puerto Vallarta are it’s glorious beaches and tropical climate. They stretch for miles around the bay and continue northward in the Riviera Nayarit. The ocean temperature is cool and pleasant during the sunny Dec - April season, which is also the busy season. ...
Fort Stevens State Parks occupies the extreme northwest corner of Oregon, where the mighty Columbia River finally empties in the Pacific Ocean. This sprawling 4,300-acre park includes miles of beaches, gorgeous coastal forests, a huge river bay, and two lakes. But unlike most Oregon State Parks, the history of humans at this location is the star of the show....
Intentional and harmonious are the two words that best describe Lan Su Chinese Garden. Visitors see and experience exactly what they are supposed to in each space. Every stone, branch, leaf, and blossom are there because they were intended to be there. The attention to detail in this garden is of the highest caliber....
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is one of the greatest parts of Oregon. Comprised of three separate units, each with it’s own flavor, visitors have the opportunity to witness the past captured in stone. The beautiful, semi-arid environment is not exactly a desert, but it’s also a far cry from the wet forests and valleys found west of the Cascades. ...
The museum’s website describes the museum as “nationally renowned” and I can see why. Columbia River Maritime Museum takes what could be a boring subject and really creates something fascinating out of it. The displays are beautiful and varied, the museum is well-designed, and the location makes visiting easy....
Amsterdam is lucky to have a world-class museum like this. With several famous paintings and a mind-blowing number of art objects on display, it’s easy to discover aspects of art and history that speak to you within their vast collection....
moco Museum Amsterdam, along with it’s two sibling institutions in London and Barcelona, curate works by modern and contemporary artists. The name of the museum combines the words MOdern and COntemporary to create the name, and is always in lower case letters…how edgy! At moco Amsterdam you will find a relatively small museum with works by Banksy, Basquialt, a piece or two by Warhol, and limited representation by several other artists from around the world....
Madame Tussauds Amsterdam is one of the premiere attractions in Amsterdam’s busy old town and is certainly worth the time. We visited in the middle of the day on a Sunday and had a great time. The Madame Tussauds brand produces incredibly realistic wax figures and displays them in fun, sometimes interactive environments in several cities around the world....
Amsterdam is known as “The Venice of the North” for good reason. From the city’s humble origins in the 1270’s to the metropolitan capitol city we know today, Amsterdam is bursting with history and culture waiting to be explored and experienced....
