Lets just preface this trip by saying that even if it was the worst experience of my life and I hated it it still would have been amazing because it was my first time in an English speaking country in three and a half months. That doesn't seem like such a big deal but try it out and see what you think. I was making small talk all over the UK i was so excited. Someone behind me at the grocery store? People at restaurants? You better believe I was taking advantage of our common language. The weekend of May 9th I decided to take the UK by storm and have a little jaunt across the pond. As soon as I flew from Graz to Stansted I was basically ecstatic by all of the English ads and people with cheeky accents. I stayed with my friend Eric and our first matter of business was to get a proper burger. This was no regular burger, I got to have cheddar cheese which to all those Vermonters and Americans that means nothing. We eat cheddar like it is going out of business. Well not in central Europe! Those succulent bites were enough to double think my decisions to live in Austria. Being adventurous travellers such as ourselves we tried to maximize our time and visit Scotland while I was in the UK. This was done by taking an extremely spacious, comfortable and luxurious overnight bus from London to Edinburgh. Im clearly kidding, night buses are awful and cramped. I have never actually felt like a homeless person in my life until the time I washed myface and brushed my teeth in the bathroom of a bus station. Living the dream over here. But quite honestly it was the most efficient way to get there and a way to have the most time possible. I did make Eric promise that Scotland would be worth my time and I would gauge this by two things.
1. Seeing people in kilts
2. Hearing bagpipes
Lucky me as soon as I stopped being a homeless squatter in the bus station we explored the city. I immediately saw people in kilts. Success. Then as we were walking around in the distance over the Scottish hillside I hear the faint tune of bagpipes. It seemed way too easy! For my whole life the Robinson side of my family has been telling me how Scottish we are and what our clan is and how our tartan looks. So it was really a special moment for me to be able to be in Scotland, a place I know that my grandfather really adored. But, now I know why everyone in Braveheart was always rebelling and pissed. The weather is Scotland is atrocious! It literally always rains, in waterfalls. Walking up to Edinburgh castle seemed almost treacherous with the amount of rain pouring down on us. So to dry off we dipped into a nice little restaurant called Maggie Dicksons. This place is famous in Edinburgh because of its namesake. Poor Maggie was executed, pronounced dead and while her family was carting her body home she suddenly woke up and was declared fine! So after our little history lesson we decided to have a little fun. We went on the Scotch whiskey tour where we learned all about the process of creating and aging whiskey. I literally learned things I never even fathomed. It was a great tour topped of by a visit to the largest Scotch whiskey collection in the world and a shot. It definitely cemented the fact that I am not a whiskey drinker. Then of course since it was still pouring we set out to find another cafe. This time we went to the Elephant house where J.K. Rowling wrote a good amount of the Harry Potter books. Being a Harry Potter freak this was a dream come true, their pastries were pretty delicious as well.
The next day we topped off our trip to Scotland with a 12 hour bus tour of Loch Ness and the Scottish highlands. Believe me after a day of being soaked to the bone sitting on a bus all day was an absolute joy. We passed the memorial to William Wallace, which of course led me to spout out as many Braveheart references as possible. Then we made our way into the Scottish highlands, quite arguably one of the most beautiful places on earth. It literally looks just like Braveheart. After driving through the Highlands with some lovely scottish background music we made it to Loch Ness. This is a place I honestly never expected to visit. But just to think that I have been there is so amazing. We took a tour around Loch Ness, and saw Nessie.Thats a lie of course we didn't see Nessie. But nonetheless it is a beautiful lake and it was great to be a part of the folklore and excitement. Finally when we got back into Edinburgh there was a glimmer of sunlight. Just enough to capture some spectacular pictures and be on our way back to London.
After yet another amazing overnight bus where a small birdlike girl was sleeping on my shoulder we finally made it into London. Then it was time to kick it into high gear and do the London in a day tour. I saw all of the obligatory sights and some that I was unbelievably excited about such as platform nine and three quarters and Abbey road! I also got to see all of the historical royal sights! But the crowning moment of my day was definitely getting fish and chips from a little hole in the wall in the middle of nowhere London. And it was amazing, honestly I could eat it everyday! My U.K. adventure was awesome, I am so glad I made it over the pond to see some excellent things!
Me in front of the tower of London.
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