Firstly, after the bereavement of someone very close to me and having had a pretty busy time over the last few months, I decided that I had earned a break. Seeking some solitude, scenery and Scottish single-malt whisky, I took myself off to one of my favourite parts of the world - the Scottish Highlands. I was determined to sample some of the country's finest produce, and for that there is only one place to go - The Torridon Hotel, on the beautiful banks of Loch Torridon itself. The hotel boasts a dedicated whisky bar, with some of the rarest and most amazing whiskies in the world. Dexi-heaven, indeed.
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Dexi - The Whisky Bar at The Torridon - and a very happy girl |
The whisky bar and lounge offer breath-taking views of the Torridonian hills and loch - the perfect back-drop for the whiskies themselves. As I considered the trip part of my 40th birthday celebrations, I decided not to skimp on my choices from the bar. My favourite, and indeed now all-time favourite whisky, has to be the Ardbeg Galileo - ok, at £28 per measure it was pretty expensive, but worth every penny. All the others that I tried (The Macallan 18-year old, Ardbeg Gator, Glen Mhor 1980, Glenfiddich 15-year old, Bruichladdich 18-year old... and er, a few others) were fantastic, with tremendous varying textures and flavours, but the Galileo was simply exquisite. I had a couple of measures, just to make sure it really was my favourite. My bill from the whisky bar managed to add up to £150, and that was before I started the 5-course evening meal! Well... it was my birthday, sort of.
I know it may sound from that whisky-tasting list as though I didn't venture out of the bar for any of the time I was in Torridon, but I did - you cannot go all that way and ignore the draw to explore the scenery of the Highlands. My travels took me up the west coast, from Applecross to Ullapool, and I definitely found the scenery and solitude that I was seeking.
I detoured on my way home to visit Aberfeldy and the Ben Lawers mountain range. At Grandtully, near Aberfeldy, I was delighted to discover more Dexi-delites at The Scottish Chocolate Centre - the shop of the very talented Mr Iain Burnett.
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Dexi - chocolate delights at the Scottish Chocolate Centre |
It wasn't all chocolates and whisky, though. I did manage to do some walking - despite not taking any proper walking boots I managed still to enjoy some of the views of the Ben Lawers Nature Reserve. Although certainly not my highest heels, they were certainly the highest heels that I've clambered up a mountain in.
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Dexi - definitely NOT my usual walking boots |
As mentioned in this post (and my last, er, two!) it was recently my 40th birthday. I've had some lovely presents and treated myself too - Agent Provocateur have certainly benefitted from my recent celebrations. I'm sure that there will be, er, photographic proof of my purchases coming to a website near here very soon! However, the one thing that I did miss was a birthday cake - and surely a girl on her 40th must have a suitable cake. With friends visiting to help me celebrate one evening last week I decided to surprise everyone, myself included, and make my own. Sadly for me, and my friends, it didn't work out too well. Luckily for you, it turned into a fairly messy disaster...
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Dexi - cake mix and me equals a Cake Minx |