Scones

This morning, we planned out our day in hopes of driving through a National 

Forest and stopping by to see the Queen's summer residence. But, working without s GPS, depending on signs meant that we somehow missed the palace. Even though there is a well-publicized website we decided they just really want the Queen to remain secret. Oh well, that meant that in the end, we got to spend more time at another truly remarkable place.

After the recommendation from a friend and Rick Steves, we decided to stop in the picturesque small town of Pitlochry. No wonder this town has been a vacation town for centuries. The beautifully placed, one-street town was a lovely little stop. Here, we went inside the John Muir Trust, a small museum about the Scottish born conservationist who is to thank for many of our own national parks. A small, free, lovely museum reminding us all to enjoy nature and all that needs to be done to preserve it. After some shopping, and some ice cream, we wandered down to the dam and the salmon ladder. Although a bit underwhelming, the lovely weather was worth a stroll.

Our next destination, Scone Palace, was once again sought after only through road signs. I had underestimated the size of the city of Perth, but once we arrived there, we were able to find signs to Scone Palace. I did not exactly know what to expect here, but my cousins Mack and Stephanie had recommended it as a place to visit, and I was excited to see the historical significance of the place. The long drive way perfectly sets up the impressiveness of the vast estate. There were Highland coos, peacocks and gardens galore. Knowing that the glorious weather can change at any point, we wandered through the grounds first.

The palace itself is only a couple hundred years old, an infant compared to many places around, but the area is of great significance. For hundreds of years, the kings of Scotland were crowned here, sitting atop the Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny. In 1296, the English king took over and took the stone to London. It was there, in Westminster Abbey that the rock sat under the coronation chair for centuries. In the 1950s, the stone was stolen by some college students and taken back to Scotland. They turned themselves in, but because of their actions, the stone is now on loan to Scotland sitting in the Castle of Edinburgh until the next royal is to be crowned. On the grounds of he estate sits a replica of the very stone, a fun place to sit and ponder.

As elementary teachers, our next stop was obvious: the playground where we had just about too much fun on a zip-line style swing. The gardens were lovely and the pine forest of trees from around the world quite impressive. The maize was challenging and entertaining, and thankfully not too terribly impossible.

Inside the palace, we were able to visit most rooms in the main floor where docents shred information with us in each of the rooms. Queen Victoria at one point visited this palace. She gave the current residents of the time a two year warning as much needed to be done to the house: change the driveway because her carriage couldn't fit under the entrance way, build a bedroom on the main floor for her and many other expensive repairs and changes. In the end, the Queen only stayed for one night, but the room she stayed in is just as it was then. The Queen even got to watch a curling demonstration while here but as it was only September, and so there wasn't much ice, the curling was done in the longest room of a privately-owned home in Scotland. 

Another reason I really wanted to visit this palace was because of a biography I recently read about Belle. Dido Elizabeth Belle was a mulatto girl (mixed race) raised by her father's aunt and uncle, the first Earl of Mansfield. Although they owned this home, she was raised closer to London because her adopted father was a judge in London. Her story is fascinating and heartbreaking, but there is no doubt she had a great influence on the laws of slavery that her father ruled on. Her portrait with her adopted sister hangs in this palace.

In the gift shop, the lovely lady behind the counter, whose husband was from Colorado, helped to get us directions to our hotel so we did not have to depend on GPS. Before we left, we of course had to have a scone considering the name of the place we were visiting. Man were they delicious!

We've checked into our nice hotel that has water running through it considering it was once an old mill and are soon to head out to find some dinner here in Perth.