Day One: Inveraray Castle

The real impetus for our pit stop in Argyll was a hope to stop at Inveraray Castle. We reached the castle an hour before it opened, so we headed back to town and returned at ten. I didn't really know much about the history of the castle, and honestly, I still don't know a great deal, except that it is awesome and it is owned by the Campbell family, who still live and raise their children there. Parts of the castle are open to the public for tours, and, promptly at 10am, E and I trooped in with the buses of early morning tourists to get an idea of what it'd be like to live in a proper castle.

Inveraray Castle: Part 2 in the series of epic Scottish panoramas by E.

The first room we entered made it apparent that castle living was a little bit different than the living room that I grew up in.

Not exactly the rec room of my childhood. Panorama, as always, by E

After that, we headed towards the main hall. For anyone who's been watching or reading Game of Thrones, this immediately reminded me of the series. If only the Red Wedding had taken place here.. Robb Stark may've had a fighting chance.

Rifle circles make for much better decorations than boring paintings. 

A crescent of axes next to a houseplant provides whimsy and function 

I like how they've roped off the chair but not the giant stabby things (axes?)

There were several other interesting rooms in the castle, and as we toured, the weather cleared up for a few hours.

I somehow can't imagine eating Chipotle in here (all of these are E's pictures)

Percussion instruments are a slightly less threatening wall decoration than rifles

They did, actually, have paintings too 

All in all, there were only a few rooms open in the castle, but they were lovely and fascinating. Even though I was still blurry from travel, it was a great way to really start and feel like we were in another world.

Not a bad view to wake up to.

I couldn't even fit it all in my camera!