I know it has been a couple weeks since my break, but I will talk about these experiences for the rest of time, and I'm not going to apologize for it. So...Scotland was a continuation to the perfect spring break!
Upon arriving in Glasgow it was immediately apparent that we were in the United Kingdom based on the architecture alone. I had not expected Ireland to differ so much from Scotland in aspects such as this but Glasgow was certainly a change from the plain-looking homes we saw all over Ireland. We only had one and a half days in Glasgow unfortunately because it was an awesome place. We definitely a college-age and young professional type of feel. However, one thing we found very strange was the fact that the major stores in the shopping area closed down promptly at 18:00. Later we asked a taxi driver if the stores were open later on weekends and he just said sometimes they close at 19:00… So that was weird but I honestly that is probably all the better, who really needs to go clothing shopping late at night anyways.
Glasgow is also home to an amazing college campus, or a few. We walked to an art and history museum which ended up being free entry, bless their souls. The location of the museum was fantastically situated right near a beautiful green park and the college campus. Right around the corner from there we stumbled upon a quirky street that had unique shops and the most amazing retro tea-time cafe. Of course we had to try the classic tea-time meal with sandwiches, scones, desserts, and, naturally, tea. It was actually a monstrous amount of food.
From Glasgow we rented a car and drove to Inverness. Along the way we stopped at the Glenfinnan Viaduct and Loch Shiel that were filmed for scenes in the Harry Potter films (more like we took a one and a half hour detour out of our way to see it but zero regrets). This was a highlight for sure, I am a nerd for the Harry Potter books, and this was only the first thing that we did relating to that series. More on that later.
Also on our drive to Inverness, we drove directly through the highlands. These served some views unlike any I had ever seen before. It was absolutely beautiful. There were mountains, waterfalls, and the perfect amount of mist surrounding. I wish I had more photos of this place but I was driving at the time so you will have to trust me that it looked like a laptop screensaver. We also drove alongside Loch Ness. Let me tell you what, if Nessie really does live in its depths, I do not know how anyone would find the creature because that Loch is huge. I had no idea it was so large. It is narrow but it is very long, you cannot see the entire thing from standing in one position.
Inverness was a sweet small city. We found the most amazing book shop there that I could have spend days in. It 100% reminded me of Beauty and the Beast. There are also a collection of small islands that are connected by tiny bridges that we walked around on in the morning before we had a monstrous traditional Scottish breakfast. This type of breakfast consists of: eggs, two types of sausage, bacon, black pudding (google if you dare), tatties (hashbrown hybrid), baked beans, and grilled tomato.
From Inverness to Aberdeen we stopped at the Culloden Moor which is the marsh area where many Scottish clan members lost their lives to the English in 1745. This was the final battle of the Jacobite rising and it was a beautiful commemorative place that had stones set up with the names of each clan represented. You can tell how much their heritage means to the Scotts.
We also had to stop and do a tour and tasting at a whiskey distillery! This is a big deal in Scotland and there is an entire region that has distilleries along a specific road route that people can drive along and visit. The Scottish uphold their whiskey like the Italians uphold their wine. It was a neat experience, and this particular distillery had many bottles for sale including one that was of the same batch as the bottle they sent to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for a wedding gift. The Prince and his new bride even wrote back to the distillery thanking them for the gift and that letter was framed next to the £10,000 replica royal wedding edition bottle. Wowza.
Next up was a pink castle that reminded me of something Barbie would have approved of. We reached Aberdeen and stayed in a quaint airbnb with yet another phenomenal hostess. She set the fireplace for us all and chatted away, giving us another castle recommendation on our way to Edinburgh. I still can’t get over how nice everyone was.
The castle our host pointed out did not disappoint, and it was right on the ocean. Stunning to look at but it was too early so we could not actually go inside and tour it unfortunately. But we reached Edinburg and that was a blast!
This city was also filled with architecture that, in my mind, I had placed firmly in England not Scotland. It was in Edinburgh we learned more about J.K. Rowling and her inspirations for writing aspects of the Harry Potter series. In fact, we took a walking tour dedicated to this. It was in Edinburgh that J.K. Rowling had written most of the books and she spent a lot of time walking around the city getting ideas for character names, Diagon Alley, the Hogwarts set up, and other oddities. Edinburgh had a similar vibe as Glasgow with many university students roaming about. There was also a big football game against an English team so many people had flocked to the city for the day and evening.
Final thing I can say is that I will be back. You read it here first, I will make it happen.