Hello! I just returned from a trip to Scotland this weekend. Edinburgh is a very nice city with beautiful architecture, nice old cobbled streets, and of course the grand castle on a hill sitting in the middle of the town- makes for much easier navigation of the city when you can see it from virtually anywhere! I went on a free walking tour that was excellent, and it was fun to visit the graveyard where J.K. Rowling found inspiration for Harry Potter characters including Tom Riddle and Professor Mcgonagall, who both happen to be real people buried there. I also visited the Highlands, which were quite nice as well; I haven't seen proper mountains for a very long time, though the Scottish mountain ranges are quite different from those in British Columbia, with far less wild forests and more sheep grazing on grassy hills...Sounds a little bit like Ireland again. They also surprisingly have a few ski runs on some of the mountains, though they look rather dinky again in comparison to B.C. The daylong bus tour that I did of the Highlands probably didn't do the whole area justice, as the tour guide continually pointed out what looked like excellent hiking spots that we were simply unable to stop for. Renting a car would be grand for checking these spots out, and even better would be the opportunity to spend some more time touring the whiskey distilleries. I did come to Scotland with a small
distaste for whiskey in general, but after deciding to try a proper single malt scotch, as opposed to some of the horrible blended concoctions I've had before, I found it to be quite good! Luckily I discovered this potential in single malt whiskies a day before I left, and was able to go to some select pubs in Edinburgh to get some expert advice from bartenders and enthusiastic aficionados. So far, I like the more smokey tasting whiskies; they remind me of camping. I have now returned to Ireland wondering if their whisky is as good as that of the Scots. From what I've heard, it's slightly sweeter, but I suppose I'll have to do some investigating myself. Of course, it probably won't ever come close to the Guinness...
