The Escorted Tour Experience.....Part One

We promised some more info about the escorted tour that we embarked on, so here it is!

The tour that we took was operated by CIE Tours, and they were amazing from start to finish. Prior to us booking through them, we had put down our deposits with MyGuideIreland. Larissa's mother and sister booked their trip a few years prior through them with no problem. A few weeks after we put down our deposit, we got an email saying that they were bankrupt, but that our deposit was paid to the supplier and all we had to do was pay off the rest of the trip direct to them. Several phone calls later, we were notified that they never handed over our deposit money. In the end, everything worked out because the deposit was paid on a debit card which we were able to charge back for a refund, plus we saved money by booking direct through the operator. But what a rough start.

Fast forward 15 months later. We're paid, packed, and ready to go (finally!!!!!!!). The week before we flew out, we were hit with Superstorm Sandy which wrecked NJ. When we left, there was still mayhem. Larissa got her power on two nights before we left, and Vanessa still had none. Newark Liberty Airport finally got power back a few days before we left, but we were left wondering if we were going to be able to get out for a bit.

From Newark, we flew nonstop to Glasgow, Scotland. CIE met us right outside of customs and transferred us to the hotel. The first night, we stayed at the Glasgow Thistle Hotel, which was very sleek & modern. We both got to the hotel and crashed for a few hours.  After that, we were off for some sightseeing around town, followed by a trip to Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum. {if you're ever in the area and have the opportunity to visit, definately check it out!}. They had everything from a $20 million dollar Salvador Dali painting, to Egyptian Mummies and dinosaurs.

Nessie & the cows

oh hey! It's St. Patrick! in Scotland!

The $20 million dollar Salvador Dali painting that ate their entire budget one year.

After the museum, we had a group "welcome" dinner where we got to really talk and meet everyone for the first time. 

For day two, it was an early bags out day for the long trip up to the Scottish Highlands. We got to make a few photo stops-the highlands are absolutely STUNNING.

doesn't this look like a post card!!!

it took a few tries to get this photo without being photobombed by the two busloads of Asians who pulled up behind us.

 We also made a stop at the soldier's memorial.

We were both super pumped because this was the day that we got to to go Loch Ness. And the closer we got, the more abundant the Nessie merchandise became. And of course, we bought a ton of it.

Nessie with Nessie

Nessie hat? sure!!!!

Included in the tour was a cruise on Loch Ness. We were on the last one of the day, and with the sun setting, it was beautiful. 

my god was it freezing!!!

From Loch Ness, it was onward to Nairn for the night. We stayed at the Newton Hotel, which is this HUGE country estate. One downside to the escorted tours is that while we stayed at some pretty cool hotels, we get in late and leave early, without any time to really explore the grounds unless we had more than one night in a certain place.

They had yaks on their property. Larissa really wanted to run over there to pet them but we ran out of time :(

This was also the night that we got to try haggis for the first time with dinner. If you don't know what haggis is, go to google.com and look it up. This is what it looks like:

It looks like someone cracked open a can of dog food and arranged it pretty on a plate. Maybe they did-it tasted like dog food. I think Nessie's face sums up how it tasted (and for the record, we both sucked it up and tried it)

All of the above was just from out first two days in Scotland!! We have so much more for you, so check back soon!

And if you're interested in taking the tour, here's the link for their 2014 Taste of Scotland & Ireland: Tour Info

Til next time!

XO,

Larissa & Vanessa

Two Chicks Who Travel