The End of a Saga

Maybe it was the stark contrast between Edinburgh and Glasgow after going straight from one to the other, but Glasgow just didn't quite measure up. It's a bigger city than Edinburgh (though Edinburgh is the capitol), but has no cohesive feel overall and is rather sprawling. It felt very much like a large American city. But I think mostly we were just spoiled by Edinburgh, and seeing Glasgow through judgmental eyes.

One of the prettier sections of the city. This was the art museum district.

After looking up some activities to do in the city online and finding "get stabbed by the locals" as one of the top suggestions, we decided to plan a day out of the city and get up into the Scottish Highlands. It was a last-minute decision, but I am SO glad we did.

Talking about it later, we all didn't really know what to expect. Sure, we had all seen pictures of the Highlands before, and expected to see some beautiful areas...but in reality, it was all beautiful. We chose a tour that took us up to Loch Lomond and through the small but quaint towns of Oban and Inveraray, before winding up to the true Highlands to Glen Coe. We stopped at castles, vistas, and towns. True to form, it was raining almost the entire time, but the rain felt like it belonged there and covered everything in this soft, roiling mist. And the landscape was so green and rugged, stretching out into the gray clouds in every direction, with countless waterfalls tumbling down the mountains to form pristine lochs. Everything felt old and untamed and mysterious. Where Ireland made me feel totally safe and comfortable, Scotland made me feel free and wild.

Not only were the locations of the tour well worth it, but our guide, Tony, was wonderful as well. From him, we learned about the friendly rivalry between Edinburgh and Glasgow (he was from Edinburgh, but had lived the last few years in Glasgow), and he assured us that Glasgow had plenty to offer, it was just more below the surface than in Edinburgh. He also taught us about the history of the area, from the attempts at conquering Scotland by the Romans (they were never totally successful), to the warring clans (it seemed they were constantly stealing each others' cows), to modern day politics (Scotland has the lowest land distribution among any country--a huge amount of the land is owned privately by just a few people and rented out). Did you know that Scotland was once 80% forest? Now it's 4%. And roads weren't introduced until relatively recently, in the 18th century as military highways to bring order to the Jacobite rebellions. They looked like this:

An actual national modern road system wasn't built until the mid 1900's. Before this, people would just trek over the land. Looking out over the moors and imagining the Roman armies advancing through thick forests rather than the open moors, with constant rain and no roads to follow, all the while being attacked by nightly raids from Scottish highlanders painted blue, it was no wonder they made little progress in conquering the land.

Our first stop was the southern tip of Loch Lomond. It was damp and drizzling, but the air smelled wonderfully fresh and the lake reminded me of our own Lake Devereaux up in Washington.

On the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond.

From there it was on to Inveraray castle and the town of Inveraray itself, a little seaside town full of quaint white-washed buildings.

So many castles and towers all over the countryside.

Then moving onto a Loch Awe, stopping to see Stalker Castle out on it's little island in the middle of the Loch, as well as St. Conan's Kirk, a fascinating old building full of a conglomeration of architecture borrowed from all ages and styles.

With lunchtime drawing near, we stopped in Oban, another coastal town and home to the Oban Distillery. We stopped by the distillery but didn't have time for a tour, only just enough time to grab some delicious fish n' chips before heading back out into the rain.

After leaving Oban behind, we moved onto the true Highlands. After being in Europe for a few weeks, it was almost unsettling to see such huge tracks of land empty except for the occasional cottage. Up there in the high country, people had access to electricity only through self-powered generators. They were well and truly isolated.

In front of one of the few houses up in Glen Coe.

The three sisters of Glen Coe, my favorite view of the trip.

By then the afternoon was getting late, and it was time for the home stretch back to Glasgow, stopping along the way for a few nice views, a waterfall, and to see Loch Lomond one more time, this time from the north banks.

A sprinkle of sunlight breaking through the clouds

Taking in the view

This looked so much like Little Thumber that I imagined I'd see grandpa climbing out onto the deck.

All in all, such an amazing experience, and one that I'll remember for a very long time. After such a small taste of Scotland, I'm already dreaming of going back to take a much longer trip, staying longer in Edinburgh and then renting a car and just wandering up deep into the highlands, exploring all the small towns and islands hiding up there. Scotland's a truly singular place, one that deserves so much more time than we were able to give it.

The next day we reserved for Glasgow itself, but we only really had half a day and were dragging our luggage around to boot, so we mostly stayed near the bus station. One person watched the luggage while the others took turns going out to grab food, take in a little of downtown Glasgow, and buy a few last-minute souvenirs as our trip drew to a close. Still wary of flying with Ryanair, we got to the airport plenty early and had another stress-free flight back to London. Well...stress-free until our arrival and we had to frantically figure out how to get to our next AirBnB. We had been expecting to use Uber (a cheaper taxi alternative), but the app downloaded onto my phone was having huge issues and kept blocking any accounts that we tried to make. After checking for an alternative route and finding that any public transportation that would bring us even near to our destination would take almost 2 hours (though it was a 20 minute cab ride), we finally were able to use Uber on Brittany's phone, nervously ordering a cab with her phone at 7% battery and threatening to die at any moment. We eventually did get a cab after some confusion centering around the cab driver being unable to call Brittany's American phone number, and were on our way to the AirBnB! Until...our cab driver backed up right into another car. The only highlight of the ordeal was Lindsay's facial expression as we heard that tell-tale CRUNCH. So horrified that it was almost hilarious. Almost.

Despite the rough start, we eventually got to our flat and all of us exhausted, went right to bed. Brittany had to leave very early the next morning at 4:30 AM, and Nick and I went to go see her off at the bus stop before coming back to get more sleep.

Then it was just me, Nick, Lindsay, and Niko left for one last day in London. We first headed to the Imperial War Museum, the first London museum of the trip that I had not yet visited before, and it was a fantastic museum. So much information packed into informative and interesting exhibits, and all displayed in a very engaging way. We spent over 3 hours in here, but I could easily have spent so much longer. 

After stopping to buy a few more souvenirs, we made our way over to the West End theater district, in an attempt to get some day-of tickets to the Book of Mormon (we failed), and then spent our last evening just strolling around and soaking up London. We visited a fantasy/sci-fi themed book store, ate dinner at a delicious Indian restaurant, bought some macarons from a patisserie, and ended the night at the Spice of Life pub, meeting up with Lindsay's high school friend Cassie and chatting late into the night.

The next morning it was finally time for us to all part ways. Nick and I went off to Germany, Lindsay and Niko back to the States. It was a trip full of amazing sights, museums, theater, and culture. We ate amazing food, we visited cities and countryside alike. We had adventures, tried new things, and had fantastic experiences. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

The Old Country

Well, Scotland was everything I had hoped it would be and more.

We went to Edinburgh first, and I wish we had a full week to explore what it had to offer, instead of just one measly day.

Our plane ride from Dublin arrived late at night, so we went to bed pretty soon after we arrived at our AirBnB, which was just a snort bus ride from downtown Edinburgh. The next morning we woke early, ready to hit the town.

None of us had ever been to Edinburgh before, so it was up to our good friend Google to help us find some things to do. Armed with a few different tourist attractions, we left eh AirBnB, go breakfast at a nearby hotel (Niko splurged on a peanut butter brownie to share with everyone and it was divine), and catching a bus to the town center.

When we got there, I think we were all blown away just but the architecture and the atmosphere of the city. Edinburgh is built on a long ridged spine, and was previously heavily fortified with huge city walls, so when it was really beginning to expand in population in the 15th and 16th centuries, more and more buildings were crammed in wherever they could find space. They even ended up building on top of each other, resulting in this towering, teetering city full of alleyways called closes. Streets were eventually widened, of course, and a lot of the high building were knocked down or leveled as foundation for other buildings, but that cosines remains, every building fitting together with the next. And Edinburgh was never really heavily attacked, so a lot of very old buildings remain, giving it a very cohesive, ancient feel.

My favorite aspect of the city was a result of its geography. As I said, it was built along a jutting spine. The High Street runs all along the ridge, ending at the striking Edinburgh Castle, and all the streets and closes run downhill on either side of the High Street. So if you turn off the High Street at all, the buildings just fall away from you and you are treated to the most stunning views of the city laid out beneath you, enticing you to go wandering.

A view of the New Town, the area outside the original city walls

The beautiful Edinburgh Castle

The first thing we did was hop on a walking tour of the city, which was both informative and great fun. We opted for the 18+ tour, which meant our tour had a little added flavor in the form of heavy cursing from our Scottish guide, as well as some more colorful stories from Edinburgh's past, which I won't repeat here, because my grandparents read this blog.

Finishing up with that, we wandered around the downtown on our own, stopping by the Elephant House Cafe, where J.K. Rowling wrote the majority of the Harry Potter books, as well as the National Library.

We also considered checking out Edinburgh Castle, but according to our tour guide, you need a full day just for that in order to get your money's worth and do it justice. So instead, we took a recommendation from Google and went to a tour of Mary King's Close. As I mentioned before, a close is a tiny alleyway that used to be the original streets of Edinburgh. Aside from the High Street, Mary King's Close was supposed to be the widest street in the city, and it was only 6 or 7 feet wide! So that gives you and idea of the tight quarters of medieval Edinburgh. Along these closes, tiny brick dwellings would be built on top of each other, reaching up to 14 or 15 stores high. The lower classes lived on the bottom sections where there was little natural light and rivers of human waste, as well as on the top few floors because it was a strenuous climb up. The wealthy would live in the middle sections. Mary's Close is particularly well preserved because it was one of the areas leveled and bricked over to use as foundation for other buildings, meaning that the original streets and buildings are all still there underneath the ground. They were recently cleaned up and opened back up for tours. Seeing it in person was fascinating. Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pictures as we were below a government building and they didn't want photos of their foundations.

We didn't only learn about the close, but also a lot of history of Edinburgh as a whole, especially about the Black Plague and how it ran rampant in such a confined city. Edinburgh was also the origin of the iconic plague doctor masks, designed to look like skeletal crows in order to scare away the "miasmas" believed to be causing the plague. In actuality, it was acting as a sort of gas mask, protecting the doctors. Lots of fascinating stuff, and a great tour overall on Edinburgh's history.

After the tour of the close, we went back to our AirBnB to relax for about 30 minutes before heading back out for some dinner at an amazing Indian restaurant. Their naan was the size of a baby.

Mmm...look at that naan.

Then on to our last tour of the day, a night tour of Edinburgh's most haunted places. This tour took us first into the New Town, underneath the South Bridge. Here there were a series of vaults and tunnels that had once been havens of dangerous criminals and gangs, as well as living quarters for the poorest of the poor. With no natural light and damp water constantly dripping from the low ceilings, they were bleak places indeed. And while our tour guide may have exaggerated her tales of the supernatural events that were supposed to have occurred there, there was no denying it was a creepy place. Wind moaned through the tunnels, and the uneven cobbled paths wound and split in a dark labyrinth. Not a place I would enjoy wandering through on my own.

From there we went to Greyfriars Kirkyard which, due to the Black Plague, is chock full of bodies. While there are only 500 gravestones in the place, there are estimated to be tens of thousands of bides buried there. Our target was a tomb said to be haunted by the Mackenzie Poltergeist, a malicious spirit of the graveyard and one of the most documented supernatural activities in the world. A place so haunted that it's been locked away from the general public and only allowed to be entered by supervised tours...(cue dramatic music). But again, no supernatural activities to be seen, just a beautiful, rainy graveyard with some spooky tales for atmosphere. Still, very good stories and good fun overall. 

In front of the Mackenzie Tomb.

Then it was back to the AirBnB and bed for us. We got up fairly late the next day, reluctantly boarding a bus to Glasgow....which I will post about tomorrow! One more blog post to wrap up our wonderful UK trip.

Goodbye, Ireland

The next day was a travel day. We rented a car in the late morning and headed towards our next AirBnB: Ballintotis Castle in County Cork. We decided to drive instead of take a bus so that we could stop at any little town or area that piqued our interest, and it was well worth it. Ireland's countryside is so much fun to travel through. The only downside was that the driving itself was a bit nerve-wracking. Not only did we have to drive on the wrong side of the road, but we decided to go on a toll-free route, which ended up taking us down these tiny little back roads through the country, winding around with just barely enough room to fit two cars. Never have I been so glad to not be driving. Luckily, Nick and Niko got us there all in one piece and we unanimously decided to use the toll highways on the way back, which are much easier to drive on.

Our abode for the night was AMAZING, probably the highlight of the while trip (besides the Harry Potter play, of course) so far. It was an old tower style castle that had been recently rennovated by an Englishman. There were 3 floors: on the 1st was a storage room, the 2nd had a bedroom and bathroom complete with huge bathtub, and the 3rd was a kitchen/dining room/extra bed. There was also a rooftop terrace.

Our castle from afar.

Looking up at Brittany on the roof

To give you an idea of the 3rd floor. All the furniture was so old and gorgeous!

While it was a small castle (especially the staircase! TINY!), it was nicely rennovated while still feeling ancient. What an amazing place to spend the night, and well worth the affordable price. When else will you get to rent out a whole castle? We spent the evening just enjoying leisure time at the castle, and picked up sandwiches from the grocery store to bring back and feast in our dining room. It felt positively medieval. 

The next day, we woke and ate a breakfast of fruit and pastries up on top of our castle, sipping tea and coffee while looking out at the countryside below us. 

Not a bad way to start the day.

Reluctantly leaving the castle behind, we meandered through the countryside in our rental car on our way back to Dublin. We stopped in Cork in an attempt to see Blarney Castle, but an hour long queue stopped us. Instead, we headed on to see the Rock of Cashel in Country Cashel, which made up for not getting to kiss the Blarney Stone (not that we were missing much, I've done it once before and it's perpetually damp from a million tourist lips). The Rock of Cashel is an ancient cathedral ruin up on a towering knoll. It was very grand and impressive, and well worth the trip.

Just driving through the County Cashel is worth it, the countryside is so green and gorgeous and picturesque. While not the breathtaking beauty of Yosemite or Yellowstone, it's a more comforting type of beauty, that makes you feel at home.

We arrived back in Dublin extra early after some trouble we had had with our last flight (just typical Ryanair drama), but had more than enough time, and a stress-free check in. And good news arrived! We received a full refund for the London AirBnB, after having complained to AirBnB itself. Hopefully no one has to stay in that God-awful place ever again.

Now we're on a plane to Scotland, and I'm beyond excited to explore a new country. I've been to London and Ireland before, and it's always fun to revisit fond places, but there's always something thrilling about going somewhere brand new!

Dublin

We all made it to Dublin in one piece. We dropped off our luggage at the hostel (too early to check into our room) and, exhausted from the early start to the day, ate some breakfast at a nearby restaurant, wandered around the downtown a bit, and then came back to the hostel to watch some Back to the Future movies while waiting for check in. It was nice to have a day of mostly relaxation after so much non-stop action day after day.

After finally getting into our room after 2 PM, we all took a nice long nap before heading out to dinner. At the hostel manager's recommendation, we hit up Slatery's, a nearby bar that served typical Irish pub food. It was fantastic, I had the Fish and Chips which were wonderfully crispy and greasy, and the others had various Irish classics, like Irish Stew, or Bangers and Mash, which were all equally good.

From there we wandered over to Temple Bar, the pub district, to find a pint to wash it all down. Most of the bars had live Irish music playing, and we found one that also had some performers step dancing. Sure, the area was overpriced and I'm sure almost everyone in the bars were tourists, but the beer was good, the music great, and the company superb. After playing cards for a bit, we headed back to the hostel room for an early night's rest in preparation for a full day in Dublin the following day.

The Temple Bar district.

Sláinte! 

Listening to some lovely Irish music.

Sadly, Lindsay had caught a cold and wasn't feeling well enough in the morning for a full day of sightseeing, so she opted to hang out around the hostel while Niko, Brittany, Nick, and I ventured out. Our first order of business was to see the Guinness Storehouse.

We decided to go here on the recommendation of literally every single person we've talked to about visiting Ireland (apparently this is a SUPER popular tourist attraction, like #1 in the UK popular), but if I'm being totally honest, it was kind of a letdown. What I had been expecting was a guided tour through an actual Guinness storehouse and factory, showing us the process of massive-scale brewing. That would have been well worth the 18 Euros we spent on tickets.

But what it actually was, was a museum-slash-shrine to the Almighty Guinness. There was no tour guide (why even call it a tour, or make people sign up for tour times???), we just wandered around the building at our own pace, with not a single employee to be found to ask questions to.

There were some saving graces: it was cool to learn about the history of Guinness, I especially enjoyed an exhibit on the making of barrels, and learning how to properly pour the perfect Guinness was a fun little activity.

Aww yeah, look at those perfectly poured pints.

But for the most part, it was just over the top showmanship. They had an entire floor just dedicated to the History of Guinness Advertising! There was a room just for sniffing brewing ingredients, complete with dramatic dry-ice filled basins. There was a massive water feature in the first room, just because. I mean, I like a little flair in a museum, but this just seemed like a distraction to cover up not a whole lot of substance. And why even have the "Storehouse" located at the factory if you don't even get to take a peek? 

But now I'm ranting. I did find the museum enjoyable, contrary to how it may seem, just not worth the 18 Euros per head, or touting the title of #1 attraction in the UK. There are plenty of other places more worth your time.

One of these places being the Teeling Distillery tour. After Guinness we all parted ways for a bit. Niko went off to the Distillery, and from what he told me, it seemed like everything the Guinness tour should have been: lots of history of whiskey in general (not just talking up their own product, looking at you, Guinness), an actual tour of their distilling facility, a very knowledgeable tour guide, and a great tasting of several of their whiskeys at the very end. Ah well, don't cry over spilled Guinness and all that.

Brittany went over to the Kilmainham Gaol, and this also turned out to be totally worthwhile. She managed to charm her way onto a tour, even though they were all booked up for the day, and spent an hour learning about the Irish Rebellion and the bloody history of the gaol.

Nick and I ate some lunch and visited the museum of the gaol, but weren't able to get on a tour. From there, we all met up at St. Patrick's Cathedral, including Lindsay, who was feeling well enough to join us. The cathedral was gorgeous, full of weighty old architecture and packed with information on its history.

From there we traipsed over to the shopping district, then went back to the hostel for dinner and another early night. We had a long day of driving ahead of us!