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Published: December 30th 2010
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I learned long ago that when a friend invites you to visit them in a place you've never visited, it's foolish to refuse. When my friend Samantha said she would be visiting Scotland for work while I was in Ireland and asked if I wanted to come over to see her, my first question was, "when should I book my flight?"
I had never been to Scotland and after hearing from so many people how beautiful it was, Scotland was definitely at the top of my list of places to visit this year. So, after class one Thursday, I set out on the painless 45 minute flight from Dublin to Glasgow. Though it was quite late when I got in that night, it was so nice to see my friend Sam and her mom who had also come along on the trip. Two wonderful Kansans! How nice it was to spend the weekend with people from home!
The next day Sam had a bit of work to do, but we all walked around Glasgow city, which I actually found quite nice. We visited their city hall which has a replica of the Statue of Liberty posted on it, the
Glasgow cathedral and the necropolis (a really old and beautiful cemetery). That evening we had a delicious dinner at one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants Jamie's Italian. The food was impeccable.
We ended up going out for a couple drinks afterwards and what wasn't really meant to be too late of a night turned into one. The three of us ended up at a late bar dancing and chatting up or being chatted up by a group of attractive Scottish men in kilts. Needless to say, it was a good night.
The next day we decided to take to train to Edinburgh. What a beautiful city! The valley, the castle, everything was just gorgeous. We spent most of the day walking around the city, eating, and stopping in shops here and there. As it was Halloween, we decided to take a ghost tour that night before we headed back to Glasgow. We opted for a tour of the underground vaults. As the population of Edinburgh grew, the city began to use underground vaults that were originally meant for storage to house people. Lawless and lacking light and sanitation, you can imagine the monstrosities that occurred in these vaults. Unfortunately,
the tour wasn't as exciting as some of the stories of the vaults' past. But, we still had fun.
For my final day in Scotland the three of us took a guided tour through some of the Scottish countryside to Loch Lomond and Stirling Castle. It was such a nice and relaxing way to see a bit more of the country, and there's nothing I love more than a tour guide with an accent! We also got to see something Sam and I had been wanting to see the whole time we were in Scotland - a hairy coo! (Or, a Scottish Highlander Cow.) One of the stops on the tour was to see Hamish the Hairy Coo, who we had fun feeding potatoes and carrots to.
Though the time for me to go back to Ireland seemed to come all too soon, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Scotland with Samantha and her mom. It was so nice to be around people from home, even if just for a little while, and I was so happy they allowed me to come and visit them during their time in Scotland.
I write this blog because there is
nothing I love more than sharing all of my travels and experiences with my family and friends. But there is nothing like actually traveling and sharing experiences with a friend, a family member or loved one. And ultimately, that's what traveling is all about - making new friends in unforgettable places and having unforgettable experiences with old friends in new places. And in Scotland, we did both.
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