Single Malt Skiing...

I spent the last week on a Highland Adventure travelling around Scotland skiing, developing my taste for whisky and eating an unhealthy amount of haggis and black pudding.

Instead of giving a day-by-day account of the trip, I've attempted to summarise the adventure in to key thoughts / quotes / trivia.

Enjoy...

It's best to have more than one hour's sleep before setting off on a 5 hour journey  -  Scottish roads can get confusing when not paying attention  -  Scottish lamb hot pot is generally the same as English lamb hot pot  -  The Old Bridge Inn, Aviemore is definitely worth a visit when in the area (just try not to spill your 16 year old single malt whisky)  -  Cafe Mambo karaoke night is the highlight of the week in Aviemore  -  "Do you know Ian Mackenzie?"  -  European hikers / climbers get up stupidly early  -  Mountain Cafe all-day-breakfasts are delicious but pricy  -  grey and blue 'Trespass' ski gear wasn't cool in 1998 and definitely isn't cool in 2011  -  slopes too tame for 4 year olds sledging are excellent warm-up for the pistes  -  although the snow conditions are excellent, visibility and wind are a major problem up the Cairngorms  -  one cup oats to two cups water is the perfect ratio for porridge for three  -  regardless of what some may think, skiing is way cooler than snowboarding  -  where have all the residents of Aviemore gone?  -  having 60 single malt whiskys (57 more than customers) obviously isn't a great selling point for a bar - when exactly is the Macdonald Highland Resort full?  -  Balvenie Signature 12 year old single malt is the Old Bridge Inn barmaid's (and therefore my) favourite whisky  -  paying £6.50 for a whisky does not impress Scottish barmaids  -  Papa Rock's 'Highland Stack' is delicious despite being a heart attack in waiting  -  Inverness is the 5th most desirable place to live in the UK  -  Nessie is more allusive than first thought  -  when trying to attract customers to your distillery and / or bed and breakfast, one must a) not call them d*ckheads (including hand motion) b) avoid insinuating they are mentally retarded c) give out free whisky  -  try not to pass out after one free sample of whisky whilst reading a map, especially with camera phones and access to Facebook readily available  -  traditional Scottish bands warm up by playing 20 seconds of 20 different traditional songs before opening with Leona Lewis 'Bleeding Love'  -  Fort William FC have at least one (crazy) fan  -  Glencoe pistes may be good (despite spending the day on them we didn't get to see them)  -  the cool kids in Fort William go to The Ben Bar and then the £5 Disco (over 18s only!) on Friday nights  -  £1.20 for a can of Irn Bru is apparently reasonable - starting a camp fire in February is ridiculously difficult  -  Morrison's braising steak makes for a perfect bbq food (just don't get impatient and eat it raw) - roll mats are essential when camping  -  it's impossible to listen to the Rolling Stones 'Sympathy for the Devil' too many times  -  spending a week in sub-zero temperatures, sleeping on settees / in hostels / in tents, and wearing wet to damp clothes most of the time, makes you appreciate your warm, cosy, Quayside appartment.