Yeah. I know. Nice, huh. We had to be up before dawn cracked to pick up our ride to the airport for our hour-long prop-jet flight from Dublin to Glasgow.

Once in Glasgow, we headed for our hotel. It’s a former baronial manor house on the bonny shores of Loch Lomond.

All dark woods, candle light and tartan (and it’s daytime), it’s like a plush hunting lodge. This is the lobby. Yes, it’s daylight. So as you can see, it’s quite moody. In a Scottish brooding kind of way.

We had lunch in the “bar” while we waited for our room. Yeah. This is “the bar.” It’s full of leather chairs and leather and plaid sofas. There are probably 10 seating groups like that.

I had traditional Cullen Skink for lunch. But not before I Googled it to be sure it bore no resemblance to haggis, which I will not be having any time soon. Cullen skink is a creamy potato/haddock/onion soup served with crusty bread. Yum. Together with a pint of Guiness, it set me up right for a deep nap soon as the room was ready.

We landed in drab clouds with some drizzle, but the sun came out around 4pm. We’re cruising Loch Lomond for cocktails (in a boat, that is) with dinner to follow in the manor house.

This is bonnie, alright, and I’m not going to apologize for it. I’m going to enjoy every minute. If you can bear bagpipes, here’s the real thing, just a little twisted, but you’ll recognize the traditional Scottish folk song, Loch Lomand.