Dirty Bird, Part deux

Earlier in the trip, we came across a seagull in the road, picking at the carcass of another bird.  Carrie’s immediate response was DIRTY BIRD!  Either that same cannibalistic fowl had migrated from Orkney, or there is a strange breed of zombie birds preparing their assault on brains.  After last night, our expectations were high for our breakfast this morning.  We were not disappointed.  The cold item spread normally waiting included lots of fresh fruit, including some beautiful cherries.  I limited myself, knowing their dastardly effect on my innards.  Katie brought out some tea and took our orders.  I somehow forced myself not to order the sheep kidneys.  When it arrived, it was beautiful.  The eggs were so golden, you know they were the good stuff.We didn’t have a lot specific on our schedule, just a drive around the island to see what’s what.  First, we drove into Tarbert.  Carrie noticed that her phone was showing 4g with 4 bars.  AMAZING!  We parked in the tourist info lot, and pulled out our computers and promptly tethered them.  We had the fastest internet we’ve had so far in Scotland.  I was able to upload a few days of missing pictures, and post 2 days of blogs.  Carrie was happy, that she was able to put loads of stuff on Facebook.  Who would have known - wardriving in Scotland!At dinner last night, we tried a gin and tonic with the locally made gin, and Carrie really liked it.  Harris Distillery was spitting distance from our car-based internet cafe, so we stopped in. Unfortunately, their  tours were all booked.  One suggestion - if you’re traveling to Scottish Isles, make all your tour bookings in advance.  They have really gotten popular - so much so, the locals aren’t sure if they should be glad for all the tourists, or mad.  So, we headed off to tour the Isle of Harris.  Pretty much the entire island is single track roads with frequent turnouts to allow two directions of traffic.  We took a bit of a detour to the island of Scalpay - connected by a one-lane bridge.  It was quiet, and offered up some awesome pictures.  There were some wrecked ships and lots of sheep.  After the brief tour, we continued on around the coast of Harris.I think we enjoyed this drive more than any of the other island drives we’ve done.  It was far more rugged, and was slow-going, but around every bend was a beautiful vista.  We came upon an art gallery featuring husband and wife artists.  The Cottage Gallery, with Willie and Moira Fiulton was small, and in a beautiful location.  It was humorous, though, for the sign giving directions was simple - Enter first gear, then take the next left.  It wasn’t lying - it felt like we were going straight up.  As we drove the path, I saw a car appear behind me.  I parked, and it continued on to the shop.  It had been Willie - he saw our car and then drove over behind us from his house.  He was gregarious and welcoming.  Their artwork was beautiful, and really captured the views we had been seeing.  Of particular note were his paintings including sheep.  Carrie was immediately drawn in.  They had the trademark splotches of paint on them, though it was a color we hadn’t noticed on sheep before - orange.  After a moment of wistful wishing we were the sort that would be looking for art to feature in the new wing of our country home, we bought a print and some cards.  Forty pounds is a lot better than 2,500 :)After we left the gallery, carrie was taking some pictures of the nearby coast, and she noticed some seals.  We got out the long lens, and she got some closeups.  We left, and immediately noticed orange-painted sheep.  So, of course, she had to take some pictures.  We stopped off at a cafe/gallery, and had some scones and coffee/cocoa.  The weather was turning, and by the time we left the cafe, it was sprinkling.  That continued the entire way back to the B&B.  We got back, and relaxed for a while.  I went down to the lounge, and actually found functioning wifi (well, mostly functioning…I had to reconnect periodically, but it allowed me to check my burgeoning inbox).  Katie came in, and we had a nice chat about the island.  She gave me a sneak peak at our menu for tonight.  She had crab tarts prepping, and would be making beef filets for us.  Carrie had finished getting ready, and joined me.  We made some plans for tomorrow, and went in to dinner.  We had a great seat overlooking the bay, and it was a wonderful meal.  Stuffed, we went upstairs to pack for the morning.  We have an early ferry, so we will miss out on Katie’s breakfast tomorrow.  I would definitely love to come back and stay here again.