March 28th, 2007 -- Posted in United Kingdom |
We’re in Dublin however before I forget, I wanted to post some overall thoughts about Scotland. Odd as it may sound, I think I was expecting to fall in love with Scotland to the point where I’d be telling Chris that one day, I would want to live there. I don’t know why, but since I got a taste of Edinburgh years ago when travelling with Morag, I’ve always thought of it as a place I could see myself one day. Alas, this is not the case. I loved Scotland, however I can’t really picture myself living there (and no, I’m not out actively scouting new places to live!!).
1. We found it difficult to find a healthy meal in Scotland…
I love a good steak and ale pie with chips as much as the next person, but when eating out, healthier options are fairly limited. I take full accountability for my choices - for example a burger with beetroot, fried egg, bacon, cheese, onion and pineapple — I coudn’t resist such an odd combo. While we had some seriously tasty meals, my favorites were prepared by Chris (Pamela’s boyfriend) at home — a great curry, and a tasty pasta. Chris and I also had an awesome meal on our last night in Edinburgh at an Italian restaurant called Bar Roma, however it felt like cheating.
2. There are sheep everywhere!
I thought this was very cool! We took a gondola up a mountain at the Ben Nevis Range and there were even sheep up there. For some reason, even after the 100th field of sheep they still seem novel!
3. Pub life in Scotland…
People in Scotland seem to know how to relax and let loose with a pint in hand. Pubs close early and people start drinking pretty early too. Everyone we met was very friendly and people are helpful in the street.
4. Scots love their history…
We watched Brave Heart in preparation for our Highlands road trip (any other likeness of William Wallace did NOT portray a man with HUGE hair, by the way)… Scotland is FULL of amazing history, castles, battlefields, ruins, etc. It was great to get out of the city and see the countryside. It is easy to see why people there are so proud of their roots.
5. Beer belly
I would have one if I lived in Scotland. I think it would be unavoidable. This also applies to Dublin…
6. Scotland is gorgeous
In the city, and in the countryside… beauty abounds. What a gorgeous country.
That’s all for now!
More later.
P
March 26th, 2007 -- Posted in United Kingdom |
Here is a quick summary of our Scottish adventures so far. We arrived in Dundee last Wednesday. Thursday morning we headed back into Edinburgh, about an hour by train South of Dundee to see some of the sites. Thursday night we got drunk in a pub here and I made a mission back to the airport to pick up our bags that had finally arrived from Amsterdam. KLM was a great plane ride, but they managed to lose our bags on a simple connection. Shit happens I spose. Anyhow, last train back to Dundee was at 11pm, so Pamela, Paula and I headed to the Haymarket Train Station and caught the train along with quite a crowd of very drunk Thursday night Scots.
Friday morning nice and early we packed up a rental car, the 3 of us, Pamela’s boyfriend Chris and Marty of the Queen Charlottes, who is in Scotland for a few weeks on his way to the Czech Replubic for a few months. The rental car was some sort of small GM 4 door hatch-back vehicle with a ‘rumble seat’ for the 5th person. European cars are very cool!
2 hours into the trip, on our way to Oban, which some of you will know as the home of the Oban Distillery, I got to drive for my 1st time on the left side of the road. 70 mile / hour speed limits on a road that is about the width of 1 North American lane. Exciting I can say the least. Great road conditions and excellent signage and very well engineered vehicles made it a blast. I did some good driving over the weekend and hope to do some more..
So, we made it to Oban on Friday evening, did the distillery tour, had a wee dram and headed to the pub for “a few” rounds. Great Pub, the Oban Inn. I will say now, that Oban is an amazingly scenic place. The weather was sunny and warm, t-shirt weather even! Got drunk again this night…. Stayed at the Oban Backpackers Hostel.
Saturday got off to a slow start, then we drove south along some more incredibly exciting roads to the Kilmartin Valley, where there are many many finds of monuments and whatnot from 3000 BC! Thats old. Then off to Fort William, about 2 hours North along the Western Highlands Coast. Quiet night, checked out the local town and had some steak pie of course.
Sunday, we headed to Ben Nevis, the highest Mountain in the UK. We took the Gondola up and did some walks around the peak to the North of Nevis. Spectacular views!
Time for the trip home, through what might have been some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. Glencoe is unbelieveable. Go there!
Back to Dundee in the late evening, well deserved sleep and up early this morning to say goodbye to my sister and take the train back to Edinburgh where I sit right now. Today we did some more touring around and saw the Edinburgh Castle and lots more.
Tomorrow afternoon we are off to Dublin by plane. Bye to Scotland.
One thing I will say, is that they are seriously set up for tourists here. It is quite expensive, but worth it to see, as many of us have our roots somewhere in this part of the world….
Bye for now.
March 22nd, 2007 -- Posted in United Kingdom |
Just wanted to let you know that we have arrived in Dundee. Unfortunately, our backpacks have not arrived in Dundee. We are with Chris’ sister and her boyfriend Chris in their apartment in Dundee. We are crossing our fingers that our bags show up tomorrow sometime… After all the care and packing… ugh. Anyhow, sitting here in Pamela’s pj’s and hoping we won’t have to buy too much before our bags arrive. Heading to Edinburgh tomorrow and going on a Highlands roadtrip from Friday to Monday. It will makes things all the better if we actually have a real change of clothes!! KLM is currently looking for our bags… three others from TO didn’t get their bags on arrival in London (which is also where we realized our bags were not on the connection from Amsterdam). We certainly haven’t had a lot of luck with flying, have we?! Oh well… guess if it was going to happen we are in the ideal place for it to happen. 14 days til we go to Morocco, so we have time before things become too stressful!! 
No worries, all is well… just a tad annoying.