Let me set the scene: After a four-hour train ride from London to Edinburgh, I stepped onto the platform at Waverley Station. On my first international solo trip, this next city was one that I didn’t know much about. Heck, the only reason I choose to make this part of my itinerary was because my cousin said I had to see it for myself. She made me read Twilight before it was popular so I knew her instincts were spot on. Little did I know, I was about to fall heart-first in love with the country of Scotland.
Walking the Royal Mile toward Edinburgh Castle, I’m sure I looked like an American tourist, gawking at the antique architecture and looking confused trying to find the way to my hostel. If you have read some of my work before and are putting the pieces together, I wrote about how this was The Best Hostel in Edinburgh. I won’t take a deep dive into this place, but I had a great time during my short stay here. While in Edinburgh, I toured the castle, walked by Arthur’s Seat, and made friends on a pub crawl. 5 am came way too early for someone who got in from a night out at 2 am, but I had to get to my next destination to go to what is now my favorite place I have ever been.
As I tried not to fall asleep on my hour-long train ride from Edinburgh to Glasgow, my mind kept wandering from thoughts of the night before to the upcoming day tour of the Highlands I was getting ready to embark on. We got to explore only a small part of the Highlands, but just that little portion made me want to live there. Nessie wasn’t out in Loch Ness, but I took my sweet time apart from the group searching for her. I also got to try a Scottish delicacy: haggis. The next day in Glasgow, I woke up to what looked like some sort of rally happening with men in kilts and Scotland flags flying everywhere. I always thought it might have something to do with Scotland trying to gain their independence from the U.K. Turns out I was right as I looked it up as I was writing this blog. I ended my time in Scotland on a ferry, heading toward Belfast. Looking out to the waters of the North Channel, I was already missing the new and exciting place I had come to love over the past two days and dreaming of the day I could go back.
I don’t think it was any one thing that made me head over heels for this country. Maybe the people I came into contact with that were helpful and kind had something to do with it. Or was it the rich history and folklore of the different clans? The landscape that left me speechless also probably had a big role in it. Trying to fit everything into two days was a mistake that I will never let happen again. You know when you are doing something uncomfortable and someone tells you, “Go to your happy place”, mine is a little cottage with a thatched roof in the Scottish Highlands with some animals and nothing around for miles except the beautiful scenery.
Lost in the Adventure 