"Ah Ha" Moments & Pictures

     You know that moment when you are traveling and you see something, hear something, or experience something that makes you stop and say "Wow". That moment you know you will never forget. The memory that will always be linked to that vacation. I had 2 of those moments in Scotland that will be forever inked in my memory.
     The first moment was at Edinburgh Castle. We had tea time in a private room above the gates of the castle and I wandered out to the balcony and surprisingly there was not anyone else outside. I walked around the balcony overlooking the city and all of a sudden I heard bagpipes! I had to be imagining it! I listened closely and I really heard them! I heard bagpipes in the distance! It was a magical moment to be standing above Edinburgh Castle - all by myself - listening to bagpipes.
     My second "Ah Ha" moment was our last night in Scotland. Jen and I went to Biddy Mulligans, a local pub in the Grassmarket. There was live music that night so we sat in a big booth in the window listening to the musician and drinking Tennants, a local Scottish beer. We sat there talking and I looked out the window and the view was exactly what I would imagine a night in Scotland to be...it was drizzling outside and I could see a traditional red phone booth in the middle of the Grassmarket and everything was a glow from the beautiful trees adorned with white lights. All of a sudden The Kooks song, Seaside, began playing inside Biddy Mulligans. I have loved that song since my freshman roommate at Clemson, Ashley, introduced me to the British band. In that moment, I felt like a local; like it was my local pub and I was listening to my favorite local band.
     Those moments in Scotland will be engrained in my memory forever and when I think of those moments, I know I will remember that Wow feeling like it was the first time. I will remember the awe I felt of being in a new country exploring and learning about a new culture. Travel opens your eyes and makes you realize what an amazing world we live in; what an amazing Creator we have.

Now, here are a few of my favorite pictures from Scotland...

Scottie in a whisky shop window

Elderly people crossing signs in every town

Taste of Scotland with CIE Tours - Day 4, 5, & 6

April 24, 25, & 26, 2012 - Edinburgh

     I have to say Edinburgh was my favorite part of Scotland! It is such a beautiful city - full of character and history. We spent the first day touring the city. We did a driving tour to get our bearings and we stopped at the Palace of Holyrood House where Queen Elizabeth stays when she is in Edinburgh. It was a beautiful stately palace and they offer tours and a museum for visitors. We didn't have time to take a tour but I highly recommend doing a tour if you are there!

 

     We visited Edinburgh Castle - the fortress on the hill overlooking the historic city.Edinburgh Castle is home to the infamous Military Tattoo every August. The Tattoo is a celebration concert of bagpipes and military bands. The event lasts for 2 weeks in the middle of August and every night 3,000-4,000 people gather in front of the castle to listen to the music. My favorite part of the castle was the view of the city of Edinburgh. The castle sits so high above the city that it seems like you can see all the way to the Highlands! We were treated to tea at the castle provided by the Historic Scotland Foundation. Tea time was in a private room above the gates to the castle, but the best part was the breathtaking view from the balcony. We could see the side of the castle and the Royal Mile and the homes below the castle.

 

     After tea, we had the afternoon free to explore Edinburgh. We walked the historic Royal Mile and shopped the cashmere boutiques. We crossed the bridge to New Town Edinburgh and had lunch at the authentic Scottish  Hard Rock Cafe...it was time for some American food! I loved our free time because we finally had time to explore at our leisure and wander where we wanted to wander. Just so you know, I am a true wanderer! My roommate, Teresa, said next time she traveled with me, she was going to get a leash for me because I always ended up behind the group or way ahead of everyone! We visited a local whisky shop in search of an old whisky distillery brand that one of the girl's great-grandfather worked at. I have never seen such a collection of whisky! Even after all of our tasting and lessons on how to properly drink whisky, I still don't like it! The only whisky I enjoyed was a cocktail of whisky and cranberry juice; sounds weird but it wasn't bad at all!

 

     After dark, we hit the town to explore the Edinburgh night life! We were told that the Grassmarket was the place to be for local pubs and music so when we finally found our way there, we went to the Black Bull. It was a great little pub with local music - just like we were told it would be! Surprise, the music was all American! We were shocked to know all of the songs! They even played "Brown Eyed Girl"! Beach music in Scotland! I was so excited!

 

     Day 5 in Scotland was spent at the VisitScotland Tourism Expo. A requirement for attending this tour with CIE was to complete the ScotsAgent training for the Scotland tourism department. Yes, I am a certified ScotsAgent! The expo hosted tourism vendors from across Scotland; hotels, ghost tours, golf companies, castles, etc. We talked to a lot of different people and even saw some of the hotel representatives we had already met on our journey! The expo was a little overwhelming with hundreds of people in attendance but a lot of fun!
     Our last night in Scotland was spent trying to soak up the last bit of the Scottish culture. We had a group dinner at a local pub on the Royal Mile and then we did a Dark Side of Edinburgh walking tour. Our guided showed us the alleyways which are called a "close" and she told us about the dark history of the Royal Mile. We ended our tour in the Grassmarket again so the babies of the group - us girls in our 20s - hit the town again! We went to Biddy Mulligans and the Last Drop, local pubs in the Grassmarket with real Scottish music.
     Day 6 brought our tour of Scotland to an end as we flew back the States from Edinburgh. Another surprise, Edinburgh airport is tiny! Security was a breeze and there was a small mall in the airport! We had so much fun - well as much fun as you can have at 6am - shopping in the airport. Scotland was a beautiful welcoming country and I can't wait to return and explore more!

Taste of Scotland with CIE Tours - Day 3

April 23, 2012 - Culloden Battlefield, Pitlochry, Edinburgh

         We said goodbye to the Newton Hotel in Nairn and hit the Highlands road again. Our first stop wasn't too far away, Culloden Battlefield. This battlefield is where the infamous Battle at Colloden took place between the Jacobites and the Red Coats. The National Trust Foundation of Scotland built a beautiful museum and visitor's center to commemorate this 50 minute battle. The museum hosted replica weapons, interviews, and videos. We toured the museum at our own pace and our CIE guide, Rosie, made sure we didn't miss the Immersion Room.

         The Immersion Room had video screens on each wall which showed a reenactment of the battle as if you were standing in the middle of the opposing sides. I think I would have been ok missing this room...it was a bit gruesome! It was a really cool experience until the cannons were fired and one of the Jacobites were hit in the face with a cannonball. When I saw an eye pop out on the screen, I headed for the exit! Culloden Battlefield used a GPS system to provide guests a self guided tour experience around the actual battlefield. I opted to take a panoramic view the battlefield from the rooftop of the museum.

         We departed Culloden Battlefield and drove south toward the town of Pitlochry. I bet you have never heard of Pitlochry, have you? Me neither. We learned on our coach ride to the town that Pitlochry is famous for Heathergems. The plant, Heather, grows rampant in Scotland and since the people of Scotland have resolved not to waste anything - and I mean anything! - they decided to compress the plant, add some dye, and create beautiful jewelry! The Heathergems factory and outlet are still located in Pitlochry. We toured the factory and did our part in boosting the Scottish economy. Our main goal in Pitlochry was to find Fish & Chips for lunch! After hiking up and down the main street, we finally found our lunch spot, The Auld Smiddy Inn. I ordered a traditional plate of fish and chips and a half pint of Tennents, a local Scottish beer. It was all delicious! The chips were a little different from what I expected...they were very thick square french fries. Different but yummy!
                                                
        What, may you ask, is the most popular drink in Scotland? Why whisky, of course! Finally, we headed to a distillery! Blair Athol distillery gave us a wonderful walking tour of their working distillery. The smells were so strong that I was a little anxious to actually consume the whisky. As would any good tour, we finished with a tasting of the Blair Athol single malt whisky. Our tour guide taught us how to appropriately drink the whisky. We had to smell it, then swirl the whisky in the glass to release the flavors, then take a small sip and swish the whisky in our mouth. I'll admit the first sip made my mouth burn! The guide instructed us to try again and we would taste different flavors and, surprisingly, she was right! The whisky had a completely different taste the second sip!

         All that whisky drinking and I still don't like it! We finally headed toward Edinburgh! I knew that this was going to be my favorite city! Our hotel, the Marriott Dalmahoy, was located just outside the city center. The Marriott Dalmahoy was a castle! We finally stayed in a real castle! Every girl dreams of staying in a castle! Of course, the Marriott Dalmahoy was renovated on the inside and the country club was added on later. It was still beautiful!

 

More about the Marriott Dalmahoy and Edinburgh to come in Day 4! Stay tuned!

Taste of Scotland with CIE Tours - Day 2

April 22, 2012 - Loch Lomond, Luss, Loch Ness, Nairn

       I have to say my favorite part of the Menzies Hotel in Glasgow was the shower in our room! My roommate asked me if I was washing a boat in the shower because I wouldn't get out! After we were squeaky clean, we experienced our first traditional "full breakfast" at a Scottish hotel. The Menzies offered a huge variety of food from sausage, bacon, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, dates, and potato scones. Have you ever had mushrooms and baked beans for breakfast? Personally I prefer Cheerios, but I had to make the best of a croissant and scrambled eggs.

        We headed North to Loch Lomond. Maybe I just live in a bubble, but I have not heard this infamous Loch Lomond song everyone was talking about! We wandered around this adorable little village, Luss, that was on Loch Lomond. The town had 1 Bed and Breakfast, 1 store, and 1 restaurant. Every little cottage looked the same. Surprising fact, we learned that the Scottish people have a slight obsession with garden decor! There were nomes and statues covering every square inch of their yards! My one thought as we wandered the town - Where do the kids go to school!? I never saw a school!          

 

We stopped for lunch in the town of Glencoe. To be such a small town, there were several hotels. We toured the Isle of Glencoe hotel which sat on another lake  loch. The hotel had beautiful scenery but it was nothing fancy by any means. After lunch we prepared for our hunt for the Loch Ness Monster! First stop upon arriving in the Loch Ness village was to get some food for the hunt, a Nessie chocolate bar! We cruised Loch Ness for an hour and I think I spotted Nessie! What do you think?

                                              

       We finished up our monster hunting with some souvenirs and loaded back on the coach to drive to Nairn. We drove over the beautiful hills of the Scottish Highlands and through the picturesque town of Inverness. I would love to go back and spend time in Inverness! We spent the night in Nairn, a seaside town south of Inverness.
       The Newton Hotel was our home for the night. Charlie Chaplin is rumored to have adored the Newton Hotel. He spent many of his summers there. Our rooms were charming and spacious. We were treated to a special Highlands Evening with traditional Scottish food (more Haggis), whisky, traditional Scottish dance, and bagpipes. The dancers were phenomenal! The girls were only 13 and 15 but they danced like professionals! Now I'll be honest and say that I'm not a big fan of bagpipes...ok, that's putting it mildly...I hate bagpipes. However, in Scotland, they seem only appropriate and they were magical!
                                          

Taste of Scotland with CIE Tours - Day 1

           I just returned from a whirlwind exploration of Scotland! What an amazing experience! I am so grateful to my company for encouraging us to travel with the tour operators/cruises that we sell. I traveled with CIE Tours who specializes in Ireland and the United Kingdom. They did a phenomenal job! We spent 6 days visiting as much of the country as possible. We toured hotels, museums, battlefields, castles, picturesque villages, and so much more. Are you ready to read all about my experience? Are you sure? It's going to be long. Ok, here we go!

Day 1 - Glasgow - April 21, 2012
            My co-worker, Teresa, and I drove to Charlotte on April 20th to begin our adventure. We flew United from Charlotte to Newark then from Newark to Glasgow. Thankfully, I slept a few hours on the overnight flight. United had an individual tv for each seat so I could entertain myself the hours I wasn't sleeping. The flight was about 7 hours and not bad at all! I love flying though!
We arrived into Glasgow around 8:00am on April 21st. CIE representatives were waiting for us at baggage claim where we realized so many people on our tour were on our flight too! CIE loaded the motorcoach with our luggage and we departed for our hotel, the Menzies Hotel. The United Kingdom has the Automobile Association (AA) which is the equivalent to AAA here in the US. The Menzies Hotel was a AA 4* Hotel. They actually had our rooms ready when we arrived which is uncommon since we arrived at 8:30am and check in is normally at 3:00pm. We were so grateful...and exhausted! Our room was very nice and spacious! We slept for a couple of hours and showered so we felt human again then we were ready to explore Glasgow.

           First stop, the Marriott Glasgow, another AA 4* Hotel. The Marriott was just across the street from the Menzies so we toured the hotel and ate lunch in their restaurant. This was our first taste of Scottish food. Have you ever had Haggis? I think I will spare you the ingredient details for now. Let's just say that it is a Scottish delicacy that can stay in Scotland. I am proud to say that I tried it not once, but twice!
          After lunch, we did a city tour of Glasgow. We drove through Central Station, around George Square which is the place to be on New Years Eve, and past countless beautiful buildings and cathedrals. Glasgow was beautiful even though it was raining! The city was very modern and industrial. The River Clyde runs through the city with some really cool bridges connecting either side of Glasgow.

 

           We stopped for a few hours to visit the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. I'm not a big fan of museums or art, honestly, but it was fun because they focused a lot on the history of Scotland. They had several exhibits on the local animals and the history of the Scottish people. My favorite exhibit, Expressions, was unique because we caught the beginning of the Glasgow International Visual Arts Festival. Expressions was a group of suspended head sculptures with different facial expressions on each sculpture. The faces had such detail! It was incredible!

 

           We finished the day in Glasgow with a Welcome dinner at the Menzies Hotel with our whole group. There were 26 travel agents from across the country, 4 CIE representatives, and our tour director and coach driver. A majority of the travel agents were from AAA clubs so that was great to meet them and hear about their experiences with AAA! As always, I was the youngest person on the trip but surprisingly there were 2 other girls in their late 20s. They were from AAA clubs up North. It was so much fun to talk with them and hear how much they love their jobs just like I do!

I told you this was going to be long...Day 2 to come.