Pitlochery, Scotland

As we drove from Edinburgh north toward Inverness we stopped for the afternoon in Pitlochery. This was a very charming little town where we walked the streets and checked out the little shops. We stopped at a cute little shop called The Sheep Shop and that's where be bought the cutest little sheep for our niece Briana. Jason also considered buying a kilt, but decided to wait for Inverness where the largest tartan and kilt manufacturer was located.

Heathergems creation process

We had lunch at a very interesting little cafe and took the opportunity to embrace our inner-Scottishness--we tried haggis. For those unfamiliar with haggis, it's a bunch of stuff you don't want to know about from sheep and goats ground up with some oatmeal and cooked inside a sheep's lung. Check out this link for a recipe, if you dare! We tried haggis balls which were rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried. They were served with salsa. After each taking a bite we each admitted that they really weren't bad--not a favorite, but something we'd try again when back in Scotland.

Near the cafe was a factory called Heathergems. We decided to pop in and check it out. We found that this company cleans the steams from the heather plan, dies them different colors, compresses them to make them as hard as stone, and makes jewelery from them. It's an interesting process which we watched through the windows of the small workshop, and the showroom of jewelery for sale was breathtaking. It's amazing to think that the beautiful stones were once plants. Erika treated herself to a beautiful necklace with a Heathergem heart.