I always had this idea of what Scotland might be like: dark pubs; happy people with captivating accents; fish & chips; elegant castles and endless shades of green that make the grass beneath my feet look photoshopped. I suppose we do this mental exercise no matter where we’re visiting, and often the reality is much different.
I have only been in Scotland less than 7 hours (Edinburgh to be exact) and I have learned to drive on the opposite side of the road, ridden a double-decker bus, visited a dark buzzing pub filled with happy people and those distinctive accents, ate fish & chips along with a cold pale ale, walked past the towering Edinburgh castle and stood on grass so green you have to see it to believe it.
Perhaps they are pros at branding, but my image of Scotland turned out to be everything I expected. It’s really the warmth of the people here that fascinate me. It is not possible to get past the door of a local pub without making 12 friends who want to sing and engage. There is a sense of happiness like I have never experienced.
Certainly these Scots have problems like everyone else, right? Either they drink their woes away, or they have tapped into a kind of human happy place that I promise to find the secret to before I leave.
My biggest learning curve so far has been driving on the opposite side of the road in the opposite side of the car and navigating multiple connected roundabouts every several blocks. I only had 2 near misses in four miles so I consider that success!
I decided that my game plan is: drive slow, smile and wave!
After a 6 hour flight from Chicago to Dublin, and another 45 minute prop plane to Edinburgh, a 6 hour time difference and no sleep, it was so energizing walking into a country that welcomes you with such open arms! So, while I’m here, I will do as the Scots do…eat, drink and be merry!
Comments
Jeff
Sounds like your experience was MUCH BETTER than mine! I tried doing as the Scots do once, and it was a MAJOR FAILURE! I figured I would try “fitting in” (since I didn’t want to walk around in my floral tourist shirt, wearing a fanny pack, and a camera dangling from my neck) and went to the local thrift store, before I left, to buy me a kilt. Not knowing what an actual kilt looked like, I purchased a short denim skirt (and it was SHORT). I then wanted to make sure I had shoes to go with my kilt, so I found me a pair women’s shoes, in a size 12.5, and packed my outfit to take my 6 hour flight to Scotland.
After I checked in to the hotel, I put on my new outfit and headed to the nearest pub… When I walked in to the dark pub, you could hear the “needle scratch across the record” as all the smiles on the faces of the Scots turned to a look of horror. I was lucky enough to get my “fish and chips,” but only as they flew at me from the patrons in the pub. And, well, all the “happy Scots” turned to a raging crowd that chased me through town.
My biggest learning curve was trying to outrun the angry mob in a pair of 4 inch heels, as if walking in them wasn’t bad enough! Since then, I’ve been banned from Scotland so I’ll never know how the fish and chips taste, I’ll never know what it’s like driving on the opposite side of the road, and I’ll never know what it’s like to stand on grass so green that I feel like I’m standing on slivers of emeralds. However, I made it out ALIVE and that’s what’s important!
The next trip I tried was China… ANOTHER DISASTER! Don’t ask me what happened when I tried going through the gates at the airport with a samurai sword while wearing a mask that covered my face!!! I just can’t seem to get it right. Maybe I’ll just stay here in the US and travel locally, so my next stop will be TEXAS! Rod’s Western Palace, HERE I COME! Just need to pick-up some chaps, some spurs, a holster, a straw hat, and a saddle for my loaner car when I get there. I’ll keep you posted with how it turns out!
BTW… None of this is true. Heck, I’ve never been out of the US, but it sounds like a cool place. Glad you had a good time. Drink a few for me. 🙂
Anietra Hamper
Jeff, you should be a writer! Funny though, sometimes life is so ridiculous while traveling you would be hard pressed to even make up such craziness. The fish and chips were out of this world. In fact, I am still on a fish & chips kick–but the fish in Scotland is literally 3X the size-no kidding! I do hope you make it to Scotland–or China someday, but please pass on the skirt and swords! Thanks for the note!
Gary
Well yeah, they meet a gorgeous red-head and they will befriend you quickly. Have fun! Post lots of pics!!
Anietra Hamper
Gary, I finally went someplace where I look like the natives! I absolutely loved Scotland – the people, the countryside, the landscape, the food — I loved it all!