Scotland

After I left Ireland, it only made sense to go to Scotland.  My sister said something to the effect that, Ireland was like a crazy old uncle & Scotland was  the wild Aunt…let’s see if that rang true.

When I planned the trip, the first thing I noticed was…holy-hell…Scotland was expensive & getting a reasonable place to stay was a challenge.  I love Airbnb because I love to cook my own breakfast & have snacks at night (I’m a ruthless snacker!) plus, I also host an apartment through Airbnb & like to support the community that supports me.  But, man…that wasn’t much more economical.  I hate spending much on lodgings because I know I’ll only be there to shower, change clothes & sleep, so I settled on a shared situation, which I had never done before, but the bedroom was up in a loft with it’s own bathroom in a great area of Glasgow + the couple that hosted sounded lovely. Great first stop on the 16 day trip.

Honestly, I don’t remember much about Glasgow other than it was August & it was friggin’ freezing.  It was a great soft landing for us & we adjusted to the time-zone quickly while walking the city, which by the way is stunning. The architecture was incredible & quickly fell in love with this gorgeous country.

We took a day trip to Oban, famous for its seafood & stuffed ourselves with fresh crab & oysters just plucked from the sea.

My Grandma’s father hailed from Scotland & we took the train to Stirling from Glasgow one day & then a bus to Kippen, where it was said he grew up.  The day was drizzly, but calm.  Kippen is a small town of about 1000 people, but we heard there was a couple of great pub restaurants there, plus of course the coveted cemetery I wanted to peruse for family headstones, so I was excited for the day.  When the bus dropped us off, we had no idea where to walk to find the graveyard, but it was just a day you felt like walking, despite the misty drizzly rain.  A lady was walking ahead of us, so I called to her to ask where the cemetery was & she said about 1/4 mile down the road.  If you’ve been following along with me you know there are moments when I’m travelling where I actually start crying because I’m so stuffed full of joy of the moment & here I found myself walking down this little country road, a big lump in my throat & finally tears streaming down my face…looking at the greenest grass & trees, with sheep in the pastures & the air ripe with freshness. Thank you God for these moments.  Simple moments where you’re just acutely aware of how lucky you are to be alive & be blessed with the life you’ve chosen to live.  I walked, bathed in self-awareness & unadulterated bliss.  So, that was me that day, walking in the mist down Fore Road just happy as all get-out.  Scotland is like that.  It takes you back.  It draws you in.  It’s simple, but poetic.

The pub we walked back to, The Inn at Kippen was absolutely perfect.  Old country charm & the food was a stunner.  The menu included things like; Parsnip chestnut mushroom & pumpkin pie, Beer battered monk fish cheeks, Pig - Belly, cheek fillet, black pudding with apricot & broccoli, Guinea fowl terrine…absolute drool-worthy!  We settled on a sharing plate that included, Great Glen venison salami, hot smoked Rannoch Salmon, Ayrshire Dunlop cheddar cheese, rabbit terrine, home dried tomatoes, pickled things, chutneys, Perthshire oatcakes & rapeseed croutes, whole grain mustard dressed leaves & globes of Scottish sea salted butter….help me Ronda!! Hidden gems galore once you pop into the countryside & explore the quaint little towns.

When we hit Edinburgh, we didn’t realize that it was Festival month & you cannot believe the amount of festivals that are held in the month of August.  There is the Edinburgh Festival, Royal Edinburg Military Tattoo, Fringe Festival, Art Festival, Book Festival, Film Festival…it truly is the worlds leading festival city. I had my picture taken with Elaine Davison, the worlds most pierced woman…3500 piercings in her vagina alone.  As I stood beside her for the picture, she attempted a quick feel of my butt & told me she wanted to eat me.  We laughed…all in good fun!

Edinburgh quickly became one of my most favourite cities in the world & we just submersed ourselves in its culture.  We did do all the touristy things, but the best times were sitting outside, drinking a beer or a cup of tea & just loving our surroundings.  We took a day trip up to St. Andrews history golf club, which is a beautiful drive up the coast to Fife.  All in all, I can give Scotland 5 stars for absolutely everything…food, festivals & fun!  Oh, & of course SCOTCH!

Here are my favorite things about my trip to Scotland in 2015:

• The seafood was the best part of the food.  In particular, Oban is amazing for that & I suggest a trip there just for the food.

• Getting groped by Elaine, the lady with over 15,000 piercings.

• St. Andrews Golf course was amazing with the history of golf.  Although, getting a tee time was impossible, we actually booked a round at a course South of Edinburgh that was simple enough to get to from the place we stayed at in Leith.  We book rental clubs & a round, but when we got there they didn’t have clubs for us.  Massive let-down, but I wasn’t to be deterred!  I noticed a side-room full of men when we first walked into the club house, so I said to my partner, “watch this…I’m going to get us clubs!”…I walked into the room full of about 50 guys, clapped my hands together & said, “Excuse me!  We booked a round & thought we had rental clubs booked as well, but they tell us there are no clubs for us.  Can anyone lend us a couple of sets…he’s a lefty & I’ve got long arms?!”  Immediately, we each had clubs & a free round of golf :-). Gotta love the Scottish hospitality.

• Dear God, the Scotch!  Since the golden elixir is my alcoholic drink of choice, I imbibed with reckless abandon.  We did various distillery tours & everyone was fabulous.  Glenfiddich distillery was particularly good, but OBAN distilled the top honours & the western highlands in particular have a place in my heart.

• Listening to the bagpipes being played in the town square our first day in Glasgow.  Just revelling in the Scottish customs & heritage.

• Walking the back country road to the cemetery near Kippen & discovering a grave with the family’s name, Malcolm, gave me shivers.

Don't just take my word for it, though - check out my photo gallery to catch a glimpse of my own Scottish adventures. And if you're interested in planning your own trip to Scotland, don't hesitate to contact me for more information and recommendations. I'd love to help you create an unforgettable Scottish experience!