We arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland this past weekend. After resting up at an airport hotel, we hit the road the next morning. The goal of our first day in Scotland was to reach our new base: Inverness.

But there’s no reason to rush a road trip through the Highlands, right? Our first stop on the northern road trip, driving our Ford Kuga, was a short hike along the River Braan to check out The Hermitage. After a long day of travel the day before, it felt great to get outside in walk around in some wonderful weather. Here are some shots from the hike:

Next we stopped for a stroll and lunch in Pitlochry, and then continued on to the Highland Folk Museum. Kelly and I have visited a lot of open-air museums in Europe. This one started a little underwelcoming, but as the signage and variety of eras increased, it turned into a delight! The shots in the bottom row are from a reconstructed village representing the 1700s, followed by some Highland cows.

Next on the agenda was another hike – this time a longer one around Loch an Eilein.

Tired from a day mostly spent walking outdoors, we arrived in Inverness and got ready for our last week of working abroad. There’s not too much to do in Inverness as a tourist, but it does have some nice walking paths along the river (pictured below). Inverness also has our second favorite grocery store (nothing unseats Trader Joe’s). Marks & Spencer is a delight; most of the store is designed around quick, high-quality baked and microwavable meals. They also typically have cafés where I indulge in my favorite non-American dairy product: a scone with clotted cream and jam!

A few days into our stay in Inverness, we squeezed in a half-day trip before work. This adventure started with a hike in Grant Park in Forres.

The highlight of this outing was probably the monastary we visited next: Pluscarden Abbey. We were able to sit in on part of a mass filled with Gregorian chant sung by Benedictine monks.

Lastly, we headed to Elgin, where we walked around the its large cathredral, picnicked in Biblical Garden (a la M&S salads), and took a stroll through the town.