Wednesday & Thursday, July 13th-14th - Good-bye Scotland, but Not Forever

I must mention the rain again. It did rain while we were in Scotland. In fact, it rained a lot. Miraculously though, it only rained while we were on the bus. Every time we arrived at a stopping point and got off, the rain had stopped. On the Old Man of Storr, it was absolutely beautiful, but then rained as we drove to our next destination. I would not bank on this happening if you are planning a trip to Scotland, the best I can figure is that the Scottish weather was smiling down on us because we had a Scot with us.

We ended our last tour day with a quick stop at a bakery so we could have lunch on the beach because the weather was so nice. Of course, by the time we got there the sky had clouded over, but the beach was still packed with pale Scottish children learning to kayak, playing cricket, or braving the cold water. The sand was coarse, like river sand where I’m from, and it was a really lovely lunch.

During the long drive back to our initial starting spot, Andy had the tour group decide on a clan name. We became the MacGaryLeftOurLuggageBehind Clan because, as we pulled away from our last hostel another guide chased the bus, banging on the side of it. Turns out our bus driver, Gary, had left the back open and luggage was spilling out. I was elected to draw a coat of arms for our clan in a large book that the Haggis Tour keeps for comments, and I drew a bus driving across a Scottish sword (with luggage falling out) with our clan name and the date of our tour encircling it. In the four spaces I drew a hairy coo, a white horse, a Scottish flag, and a stuffed sheep that rode at the front of the bus. Meanwhile, Andy counted up the points (he had been awarding points to the various countries aboard the bus if the members of that country did things like remember important dates or tried haggis, etc.) and the top 3 countries - Australia, US, and UK all had to elect one member to compete for the winning title. We elected Mc and Andy announced . . . a dance-off. The UK girl sat down almost immediately, but Mc and the Aussie gave it a real go. In the end, the Aussies won, but the real winners were M and V who have a video of Mc dancing in the aisle of the bus.

We arrived back in Edinburgh at about 5:30pm, and when we showed Andy the address of our hotel and asked how much he thought a taxi would cost to get there, he offered to just have the bus drop us off, which was amazingly kind. We dropped our things off at the Edinburgh House Hotel (I have no idea what that means) and headed back into the city center for dinner, just a 10 min walk according to the website (who remembers my SuperNova Travel Observation about times in the UK?). 30 min later we finally reached the main drag and found a lovely restaurant on High Street (a little less spendy than Princes Street) and had our last haggis and shepherd’s pie. Then M and V went exploring while Mc and I started the long walk back.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  Book your accommodations close to where you want to explore. This is sometimes hard to figure out when you’re looking at a very large city and don’t know exactly what you want to see. But if you have limited time and want to see/do just a few things, then try to get a hotel close to that. It will likely be more expensive, but the extra expense is worth the extra hours spent sleeping or at the sight (instead of commuting to your hotel). We made this mistake twice on this trip; we could’ve gotten more sleep in London if our hotel had been closer to the Globe and we could have explored Edinburgh a little more if our hotel had been near downtown. Do not trust the website description. As I mentioned before, the website said that Edinburgh was a short 10 min walk from our hotel (the hotel, by the way, was perfectly nice with a fantastic English breakfast). Always map the hotel and the areas you want to sightsee; GoogleMaps even has a “walking” setting so you can see how long it’ll take to walk. I actually really like walking and don’t mind long walks, but when you have so little time to see something, I’d rather spend less time getting there and more time seeing.

The next morning, Mc and I made a quick trip to Princes Street to see if we could find something with the Mc tartan on it. We went to lots of shops and even found a swatch of the Mc tartan, but no one carried it in stock. It is possible that it’s very obscure, or it’s possible that you just have to go to the area of Scotland where the Mcs are from to find it more prevalent. Mc did stop to buy me a beautiful silver necklace of a Celtic knot, which I’d planned to cherish forever (more on that later), so we didn’t go back completely empty handed. We got back just in time to jump in the taxi and head to the airport for Germany.

This is our tour route, starting and ending in Edinburgh

Tuesday & Wednesday, July 12th-13th - Drop Your Drawers

The 2^nd day of our tour of Scotland involved a quick jaunt up to see The Old Man of Storr. Or so Andy would have us believe. Turns out that The Old Man of Storr is 719 meters (2,359 feet) high and involves little to no path, but only at the really steep part. Whilst wheezing at the base of the pathless bit and wondering if the view would really live up to the hype, Mc and I encountered an Australian gentleman who informed us that not only had he, in his younger days, hiked up to the Old Man, but he had then rock climbed the sheer face of it. Upon wondering aloud whether or not we should hike up, he smiled and said, “Of course you have to hike up there! You can do it, no problem.” Thus encouraged, we made it up to the top, where M and V had already set up a spot for lunch.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  Take advantage of Scottish bakeries! They have so much more than pastries, they have meat pies and sausage rolls and filled rolls (crispy rolls stuffed with chicken salad, tuna, etc.), treats, drinks; Mc and I got lunch for the both of us on 2 different days for less than 6 pounds!

Coming down was much easier, but the real accomplishment was that I made it to the top and back, through loose rock and bog, without getting my white capri pants dirty.

We spent the 2^nd night in Loch Ness at a very nice hostel with our own bathroom. The hostel also had a bar, featuring the live music of Donald “The Human iPod.” We had a few drinks and settled in to listen, but Donald did not appear to understand how microphones work and despite the fact that we were 10 feet away from him, still had it turned up to top volume. As the room packed with people, we shouted niceties across the table at Kiwi who was also on our tour with his Norwegian girlfriend. We eventually packed it in, ears ringing, and I tried to remember the last time I’d attempted conversation in a loud, crowded bar, screaming over the music in the background, and was not disappointed that I couldn’t remember.

Looking for the Loch Ness monster

Our Nessie spotting!

The morning of the 3^rd day, we went to see the Highland Show. We all crowded into a little traditional Highland hut and a man came out in traditional Highlander gear and told us about the traditional Highlander weapons and way of life. He asked for a volunteer to be dressed in a traditional kilt and Mc, being Scottish, volunteered. (He was the only volunteer, our tour group was kind of timid.) The man explained that, of course, nothing was worn under kilts, turned to Mc, and waited. Mc, being the rock star that he is, kicked off his shoes and unbuckled his shorts and stood there in his boxer-briefs waiting for the next direction, while cameras flashed throughout the crowd (that’s right, ladies). Then the man started the complicated method of turning 7 yards of wool into an intricate and impressive kilt. When he asked for a female volunteer, I clearly had to step up. I got to wear a giant white nighty. He waited for me to remove my clothes, but I am a teacher and easily out-stared him. The whole experience was unique and I recommend volunteering, but make sure you have on your best underpants. 

Monday, July 11th - Hurray for Haggis!

To get from Edinburgh from London takes about 9 hours. We considered renting a car and driving, which would allow us to stop at sights along the way and take our time, but considering the short amount of time we had in Scotland in the end we opted to take a 3 day bus tour. To get to Edinburgh, we booked an overnight bus through National Express. During the summer, National Express has a deal where you can book your trip for just 9 pounds as long as it’s 14 days in advance, which is a great deal compared to the 39 euros we would have had to pay otherwise. (Pay the extra pound for priority boarding, there’s no assigned seating on the bus and people arrive super early and crush the line, so it’s definitely worth it if you want to actually sit next to your travel buddy.) The bus left at 11pm, it was a 9 hour ride, and our tour was scheduled to leave at 8:45am the next morning. It was cutting it close, but it was our only choice, and we like to live dangerously. Also by taking an overnight bus, we saved on a night’s hotel.

*SuperNova Travel Tip:  If you are taking an overnight bus, you should be 20 years old. You will not sleep well and if you’re like us, you’ll be off and running as soon as you arrive. If you can’t manage to be 20 years old, take a Tylenol PM and dress warmly (they had the air conditioner on “because it’s summer” regardless of the fact that we were in the UK and it was the middle of the night).

We booked a Haggis Adventure (www.haggisadventures.com) 3 Day Isle of Skye tour. I would absolutely recommend this tour company. The buses are clean, the guides are knowledgeable, and they fit in a good deal of stops and sights. I was a little worried at first because on the website it says that it caters to the 18-35 crowd (and we’re at the very end of that crowd) and you spend the night in hostels. However, if you book in advance, you can request a private room (we booked too late for that, all the private rooms were booked, but they did reserve us a room for 4, so it was private to our group). If you end up in a bunk bed (as we did), just reminisce about the good old days of summer camp. I resisted the urge to write “SuperNova was here” on the wall next to my bunk.

Because this was one of the things that we’d booked in advance, and because I am organized (other people use another term, but I prefer “organized”), I’d printed a map so we’d know how to walk from the bus station to the tour office. And because the universe frowns upon such preparedness, the map was utterly useless. I still have no idea why. I tend to believe that Google Maps was simply messing with us. However, we found the office (by asking strangers) in time to check in and get some Starbucks (mmm, traditional Scottish Starbucks) before boarding our bus.

Did I mention the rain?  England had been overcast, but still pretty nice. When we woke up in Scotland, it was pouring (surprise).  Unfortunately, I didn’t pack a raincoat. At the risk of sounding like a 4 year old, I hate my raincoat and in all my summers in Europe, I have worn it once. I had a jacket and figured if it was that awful, I’d look for a jacket or umbrella in Scotland. So, we were in Scotland before the shops were open and it was pouring. However, by the time we’d all used the toilet, it had stopped. Huzzah!

*SuperNova Travel Reminder:  Fear not the word “toilet.” The US is pretty much the only country that calls it a “bathroom” or “restroom” and in most countries if you ask where the bathroom is, they will stand there wondering why you want to take a bath in the middle of a shopping mall. There are many different words for the room where the toilet is located, but the actual word “toilet” is understood clearly in every country I’ve ever been in. Especially if you accompany the question, “Toilet?” with a certain look in your eye. If the word toilet makes you uncomfortable, then hopefully by the time you’ve finish reading this tip you’ll be over it, since I mention it 47 times. Toilet.

Our tour guide was a young guy named Andy, and yes, he wore a kilt. In traditional Scottish fashion, he was a fantastic storyteller and he helped pass the time on the bus by telling us stories about the Scottish history. The stories were interesting and informative and I felt badly that I kept passing out due to sleep deprivation and my carcolepsy (like narcolepsy, but only in the car). One thing that I really liked about this tour was that we stopped and got off the bus about every hour. I can’t tell you about every stop that we made because I don’t want to spoil it for you when you go, and not at all because I can’t remember them all.

Glen Coe

On the first day of our tour, we hiked up to the William Wallace memorial and Andy told us about all the inconsistencies and flat out lies in Braveheart, with only a modicum of personal rage.  After that, we stopped for a snack at a little tourist spot where we got to meet Hamish, the Hairy Coo, (we’d seen this term, “hairy coo,” on a number of signs and a bus, but had only our wild imaginations to guess at its meaning. Turns out “coo” is just how the Scottish say “cow.” They look like cows with skater hair.) and it was here that we had our first encounter with haggis. Being the brave culinary adventurers that we are, we all ordered a haggis roll (one per couple, let‘s not get crazy). I knew what was in haggis and was fully prepared to try a bite and then check the box in my mind that says “tried haggis.” I was pleasantly surprised to find that haggis is delicious! I see your skeptical looks, and I will admit that I pretend to like natto because it freaks Japanese people out, but we had haggis on a number of occasions and in a variety of ways and it was always good. (Although M and V went out to dinner one night and M got an entire plate of haggis and was done with it for a little while.)

We spent our first night on the Isle of Skye, which can be reached by bridge and is very picturesque. We ended our first night in Scotland with delightful pub food where I discovered that glories of Tennent's beer. The only really memorable feature of our hostel was that we each paid 4 pounds for breakfast and when we arrived downstairs there was only tea and toast and containers that had at one time held cereal and a small bowl that had maybe once held jam packets, but now only contained the worst marmalade in the history of time.