Edinburgh and Beyond

To avoid sitting around alone on Valentine's Day, Catherine, Aileen and I decided to make our first out of country trip to Scotland last weekend. We took a bus early Thursday morning to Dublin Airport (5 hours!) and flew into Edinburgh via cheap Ryan Air. Immediately upon arriving we were impressed by the architecture of old Edinburgh. We stayed in High Street Hostel, which was the first true hostel experience for us all. Our all-female room had eight beds (pictured below), allowing us to meet some incredible women from all over the world. They were of all different ages, 20s to 50s, and backgrounds, from an au pair on 'holiday' to a mother and daughter traveling Europe. We also got great travel advice - like our Argentinian room mate suggesting a convent to stay in while in Rome instead of the expensive, dirty hostels. The hostel experience itself was remarkable - plus I ran into someone I grew up with in Midlothian! Will was in Dublin for six months is now living in that hostel in Edinburgh! What a small world...

Thursday night the hostel hosted a pub crawl which was full of meeting new people and taking in the Scottish drinking culture! Friday we explored the city, starting with a three hour, free walking tour. College students give this wonderfully animated, historical tour for tips only, and we all know that the drive for money will make someone put on his best show! Saturday morning we took a bus tour up through the Highlands and to Loch Ness. The mountains were snowy and picturesque while our van driver told wonderful Scottish stories. Our final destination was Loch (lake) Ness, and we learned all of the statistics about why it is probable that some creature is indeed living at the bottom of this Grand Canyon-sized lake. (We are pictured here on a boat on Loch Ness.) Sunday we took a smaller tour through the Kingdom of Fife and to the town of St. Andrews, also known as the homeplace to golf. When we boarded the 15-passenger Mercedes van at 9:00am, our van driver said, "I've got breakfast!" as he tossed us each an airplane bottle of "The Famous Grouse" Scotch-Whisky. These tours allowed us to see the coast and mountains of Scotland in a very short timespan. And our Scottish guides provided endless entertainment and facts on history and culture. This included an overwhelming dislike for England. Their history with England is similar to that of Ireland yet with a different reality. As one van driver said, "Sean Connery said he'll come back to the Highlands once Scotland is free." [We passed through the area where Ian Fleming, author of James Bond, used to live - which is now owned by the original Bond, Sean Connery.] After a fun filled weekend, we departed Scotland early Monday morning and arrived back in Cork around 3:30, just in time for my 5:00 class!