Last weekend I went to Scotland on a trip planned by LSE. Overall, Scotland was amazing, but the trip was kind of a bust. We took the train up on Friday morning, passing the British Midlands countryside before following the coast. Beautiful. Once in Edinburg we met our tour guide, who was one of a kind. He had long curly brown hair worn down, dimples, and spent the entire weekend in a knee-length green kilt (props to him) topped with a hoodie and finished off with wool socks bunched up to mid-calf and very sturdy hiking boots.
Edinburg was amazingly beautiful. The city is split in two; old town, with its windy streets, cobblestone roads, closes, surprise squares, and buildings (including the castle and palace) that are hundreds of years old. New Town was build in the 1700's after Old Town became too dirty and too stinky for the wealthy to bear. Its well planned on a grid system, with rows of stone buildings and lots of shops and pubs. We got to explore Edinburg on Friday afternoon and evening, and spent much of it walking up and down the mile long principle street. It was rainy and chilly, but still beautiful. As we were walking over the bridge from old town to new town, the sun began to set, and a rainbow came out, almost simultaneously. It was absolutely Beautiful; I really wish we spent more time there. But, alas, after dinner in an Italian restaurant, a few drinks in an Scottish pub (where for some unexplainable reason, my friends got the live musician to dedicate Mrs. Robinson (is that what its called) to me (I have never robbed the cradle, so I'm not entirely sure why)), we made out way back to the Hostel to catch a few hours of sleep before the Highlands tour began the following day.
The hostel was nice for a hostel, but by an afar, the single reason why this particular hostel experience was far superior to any past hostel experience was their amazing, incredible, (as Kenyon says, even better than good sex) shower. Our room was in the basement, and the shower had better water pressure than your average water fall. All 30 minutes of the time I spent in it were amazing. The following morning we woke up early, then shuffled as a group of 40 onto a tour bus. Although I like doing touristy things, and going to places as a tourist, one of my least favorite things in life is feeling like a tourists. After living in DC, and now in London, I find tourists annoying. They get in the way, move in packs, walk incredibly slowly, and don't know the rules of the city (where to stand on the metro escalator is a big one). So by default, spending my trip on a tour bus with 39 other people and a tour guide dressed in a Kilt (despite what people may think, kilts are not normal attire in Modern Scotland), was not exactly amazing. But, as we headed into the highlands, the amazing scenery partially made up for the circumstance.
After a few hours on the bus we stopped to see what apparently is a major tourist attraction, the Scottish Hairy Koo, a GIANT, very furry (the name is quite discriptive) cow of the species that the Scottish Highlanders relied on to make a living for hundreds of years. This particular one was quite friendly. You could buy packets of food to feed him, and if you put a carrot in your mouth, he would give you a big kiss (not unsurprisingly, several of our group did- thats Kenyon going in for a kiss in the picture above). He was cute, and was definitely covered completely with long curly hair. In fact, he kind of reminded me of our tour guide. The second major stop of the day was as Loch Ness. After briefly looking for the Loch Ness Monster, we were given a Scottish history lesson and taught how to put on a kilt inside of a traditional scottish black house (what their houses were called because, due to the fact that 20 people lived in one and there was no chimney, the whole house was covered in black ash, dirt, and soot). After the demonstration, we went as a group down to the water. Loch Ness is famous for its monster, but even without a monster siting it was absolutely beautiful. Plus, a few people from the group jumped in (its about 5 degrees celsius), which was definitely entertaining.
The rest of the day was spent on the bus. It was rainy outside, which, because of the rain drops on the windows, made it hard to take pictures from the bus. The rain made the Highlands absolutely stunning. I really, really, really want to go back and hike.
After spending the night in Inverness, the largest city in the Highlands, we got back on the bus and drove out of the highlands to Blair Castle. Blair Castle is the seat of the Murray Clan, which, even though either it isn't the same clan, or we are about 35 generations removed, was kind of cool to see because one of my Mom's family names is Murray. After Blair Castle, we got back on the bus, and drove back into Edinburg, where we caught a bus to Newcastle, a train to London, and a bus from Kings Cross Station to home. Scotland is beautiful, and I really, really, really want to go back. But, next time it will be with a small group of hiking friends to experience Scotland how it should be experienced- slowly, and on foot.
Last weekend I went to Scotland on a trip planned by LSE. Overall, Scotland was amazing, but the trip was kind of a bust. We took the train up on Friday morning, passing the British Midlands countryside before following the coast. Beautiful. Once in Edinburg we met our tour guide, who was one of a kind. He had long curly brown hair worn down, dimples, and spent the entire weekend in a knee-length green kilt (props to him) topped with a hoodie and finished off with wool socks bunched up to mid-calf and very sturdy hiking boots. 
Edinburg was amazingly beautiful. The city is split in two; old town, with its windy streets, cobblestone roads, closes, surprise squares, and buildings (including the castle and palace) that are hundreds of years old. New Town was build in the 1700's after Old Town became too dirty and too stinky for the wealthy to bear. Its well planned on a grid system, with rows of stone buildings and lots of shops and pubs. We got to explore Edinburg on Friday afternoon and evening, and spent much of it walking up and down the mile long principle street. It was rainy and chilly, but still beautiful. As we were walking over the bridge from old town to new town, the sun began to set, and a rainbow came out, almost simultaneously. It was absolutely Beautiful; I really wish we spent more time there. But, alas, after dinner in an Italian restaurant, a few drinks in an Scottish pub (where for some unexplainable reason, my friends got the live musician to dedicate Mrs. Robinson (is that what its called) to me (I have never robbed the cradle, so I'm not entirely sure why)), we made out way back to the Hostel to catch a few hours of sleep before the Highlands tour began the following day. 
The hostel was nice for a hostel, but by an afar, the single reason why this particular hostel experience was far superior to any past hostel experience was their amazing, incredible, (as Kenyon says, even better than good sex) shower. Our room was in the basement, and the shower had better water pressure than your average water fall. All 30 minutes of the time I spent in it were amazing. The following morning we woke up early, then shuffled as a group of 40 onto a tour bus. Although I like doing touristy things, and going to places as a tourist, one of my least favorite things in life is feeling like a tourists. After living in DC, and now in London, I find tourists annoying. They get in the way, move in packs, walk incredibly slowly, and don't know the rules of the city (where to stand on the metro escalator is a big one). So by default, spending my trip on a tour bus with 39 other people and a tour guide dressed in a Kilt (despite what people may think, kilts are not normal attire in Modern Scotland), was not exactly amazing. But, as we headed into the highlands, the amazing scenery partially made up for the circumstance.
After a few hours on the bus we stopped to see what apparently is a major tourist attraction, the Scottish Hairy Koo, a GIANT, very furry (the name is quite discriptive) cow of the species that the Scottish Highlanders relied on to make a living for hundreds of years. This particular one was quite friendly. You could buy packets of food to feed him, and if you put a carrot in your mouth, he would give you a big kiss (not unsurprisingly, several of our group did- thats Kenyon going in for a kiss in the picture above). He was cute, and was definitely covered completely with long curly hair. In fact, he kind of reminded me of our tour guide. The second major stop of the day was as Loch Ness. After briefly looking for the Loch Ness Monster, we were given a Scottish history lesson and taught how to put on a kilt inside of a traditional scottish black house (what their houses were called because, due to the fact that 20 people lived in one and there was no chimney, the whole house was covered in black ash, dirt, and soot). After the demonstration, we went as a group down to the water. Loch Ness is famous for its monster, but even without a monster siting it was absolutely beautiful. Plus, a few people from the group jumped in (its about 5 degrees celsius), which was definitely entertaining. 
The rest of the day was spent on the bus. It was rainy outside, which, because of the rain drops on the windows, made it hard to take pictures from the bus. The rain made the Highlands absolutely stunning. I really, really, really want to go back and hike. 
After spending the night in Inverness, the largest city in the Highlands, we got back on the bus and drove out of the highlands to Blair Castle. Blair Castle is the seat of the Murray Clan, which, even though either it isn't the same clan, or we are about 35 generations removed, was kind of cool to see because one of my Mom's family names is Murray. After Blair Castle, we got back on the bus, and drove back into Edinburg, where we caught a bus to Newcastle, a train to London, and a bus from Kings Cross Station to home. Scotland is beautiful, and I really, really, really want to go back. But, next time it will be with a small group of hiking friends to experience Scotland how it should be experienced- slowly, and on foot. 
