Guys. Scotland is gorgeous. BBC Radio 1 is perfect. Scotch eggs are delicious. There are sheep everywhere! And used bookshops for charity! And wonderful beer, and people, and fun!
I arrived in Scotland a week ago. Grant picked me up from the airport and we drove to a picturesque town in the highlands, Pitlochry, where we met Natalie. That evening we listened to live bagpipes, traditional Scottish music, and saw trad dancing at the town hall. I had my very first Scotch egg (a hard boiled egg encased in breaded meat) and loved it. The next day started off right with a full Scottish breakfast--including black pudding! We went out to Blair Atholl where I had my picture taken with some highland cows! (Mad horns, man!) We rested mid-day with high tea whilst watching Wimbledon. (At that point, I realized how insane these stereotypes were getting, but, when in the UK...) The next day I saw Blair Castle. The Ballroom is ridiculously decorated with a bunch of deer heads and random swords and it's pretty amazing. It has a huge wooden floor and I imagined I was out of time at some sort of contra dance-viking-fusion party. For dinner we went to The Old Mill Inn and I had haggis. And I loved it. The next day I relaxed and wandered around Pitlochry. It's pretty small, but cutesy. I got a poetry anthology at the train station secondhand bookshop for £1. After Natalie got back from work, we went to Gregg's for lunch. Hooray for cheap, hot food! On Friday we walked a path to Scotland's smallest distillery and went on a whiskey tour. It was cool to see how whiskey is made (and to taste some...especially on a cooler, rainy day). After lunch, Grant, Natalie, and I headed to Inverness! On the way there we stopped at the Battle of Culloden Memorial where Natalie told us the story of how Bonnie Prince Charlie lost Scotland to the English in in 1746. That night we got delicious pub food and went to a place called Hootananny where a group of 20-something guys were playing live traditional Scottish folk music (read: jigs and waltzes...it reminded me of Pine Lake so much). We made friends with a pair of older gentlemen named John and ? who've been to Belarus. They had some incredible stories. We ended up staying in the most lovely, chill hostel. In the morning we had free tea/coffee before heading to Primark where I got some new shoes (my old ones were wrecked from hiking through wet grass). Before heading out, Natalie showed us this AMAZING secondhand bookshop called Leaky's (which, let's be honest, belongs on Diagon Alley). Then we did some serious touring of the highlands, guys. I actually can't believe we got this all in--Urquhart Castle, Fort William (and Loch Ness, of course), the set of the Great Lake and the Hogwarts Express from the Harry Potter movies near the Glenfinnan Viaduct, and Glencoe. We did all of this on our way to Glasgow, where I got to meet Natalie's friends and get a taste of the Glasgow Uni neighborhood and Glasgow bar scene. We had a DELICIOUS American-style brunch at TriBeCa restaurant the next day before touring Glasgow University campus (which is essentially Hogwarts). Later we got refreshments on Ashton Lane and watched the crazy tie-breaker between Federer and Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. And then we headed to Linlithgow where I took a much needed shower, relaxed, and enjoyed a lovely evening with Natalie and her parents.
On Monday and Tuesday we're volunteering at the charity shop and seeing the Linlithgow sights and then on Wednesday I'll get to see Edinburgh before heading off to London. So much is happening and it's all wonderful and I'm just really glad, happy, and thankful. I can't believe I'm here. Shout out to Natalie for being a tour guide/host goddess; Grant for driving and being patient and up for anything; Sarah & friends for hosting Natalie and me in Glasgow; and Natalie's parents for being the sweetest people ever. Okay, I'm done now.
(No pictures at the moment because my computer charger doesn't work in the UK but stay tuned!)
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