Last Scotland Entry

---

After Ireland, we flew to Scotland and I showed my parents and sister around Edinburgh for a day and went to the castle again. The next day, we drove to Inverness, stopping at Cawdor Castle along the way. After Inverness, we drove through the Highlands, stopping at Loch Ness and Eileen Donan castle before crossing over to the Isle of Skye. I had travelled a similar route on my Highlands tour but I saw a lot that I didn’t see last time and also didn’t see stuff I did see last time so it was good I did both.

As I explained last time I want to the Highlands, there is breathtaking landscape of towering mountains, often over lakes or the ocean. Waterfalls can be spotted throughout the Highlands, even as you drive along the road. We stayed in the seaside village of Portree. We had our fair share of seaside villages in both Ireland and Scotland, and our fair share of seafood and fish n’ chips. On Isle of Skye, I got to visit my third whiskey distillery and we drove around, taking in the sights. We also went to the Museum of Island Life set in the cottages of an old Skye village. Although Isle of Skye is now easily accessible from the mainland, it used to be very remote. The museum showed us how the village was set up, the culture and language of Gaelic Scotland, and the roles of each member of the community and each occupation such as fishing, weaving, tailoring, etc. It made me understand better the origins of Celidh. While people were weaving and sewing, they would often pass the time by singing, dancing, and storytelling. And the tailor’s or blacksmith’s house was often the center of Celidh life. I tried a lot of Scottish ales during this trip, tasting the local ales of Skye and Oban as well as the more national ales.

After Skye, we drove to Oban, another scenic seaside village. In the morning, we went on a boat ride that took us along the coastline and we saw a colony of seals!

We then drove to the Trossachs area where we took a short hike to a waterfall. The next day, we drove to Stirling Castle. I had already been there but this time, I was able to see the Royal Apartments which had been closed last time.

After that, we went back to Edinburgh. That night, we went to Sandy’s Bells, a pub where musicians were having what seemed to be the “session” that the pub crawl in Ireland had described. They sat together around a table and would play a song, chat and drink for 10-20 minutes, then play another song or two. It was an interesting experience. They didn’t seem to have a set show and given the infrequency of the songs, I am going to guess they were not getting paid. There were two fiddlers and two mandolin players. I had never heard someone play traditional Scottish music with a mandolin but it sounded very good.

The next day was my last day in Edinburgh and I went with my family to the Britannia and Palace of Holyroodhouse which I had already seen. We had lunch, cakes, and tea in the tea room of the Britannia.

And now I am finally back home! Honestly, it feels like I never left! I have a lot of catching up to do with people and I am excited to be back, but also grateful for my experience abroad. I feel like I really took advantage of everything there was to offer and made the best of my time, not only in Scotland but in Europe. The Scottish history and culture classes taught me soooo much extra stuff about Scotland, knowledge that was reinforced by hands-on experiences. And as a bonus, the classes were also pretty easy and I already know I did well in at least 2 out of 3 of them (probably all 3). I only got back last night so I’m not sure if I miss Scotland yet, I probably will as the days go by. It is weird to think I may never be back there though. There are so many other places I want to see first and not enough money to both see new places and also retrace my steps. But I will certainly always have a special place in my heart for Scotland!

---