European vacations

I visited the Outer Hebrides as a student at the University of Glasgow and again on my honeymoon. Many words have been used to describe this lonely fringe of the world: lonely, bleak, stark, peaceful…they are all true, but the fact is that words are not enough to describe this place. The Hebrides are as much a spiritual destination than a physical one: the quality of light is difficult to describe, except that it permeates everything with an air of tranquility and finality. I kept wondering if I felt like this was the beginning of the world, or the end.

This past summer I had the great pleasure and opportunity of visiting SCOTLAND along with a cruise to NORWAY and several jaunts into ENGLAND. I’ll just be writing about SCOTLAND here. I was fortunate enough to have a pen pal from SCOTLAND so her and her husband invited me to spend a few weeks with them and see their country. She’s coming over here next summer so I hope to show her my beautiful TENNESSEE.

Edinburgh is a great city to visit and to use as a jumping off point to visit other parts of Scotland. It is full of historical sights and is also a very modern city.

Edinburgh castle is a great place to visit to get a sense of Scotland’s past. The tour is very informative and military buffs will find it very interesting. Just outside the castle gates is another tourist stop that is well worth the visit. The Whiskey Society has a tour where you can learn the history of Scotch Whiskey, how it is made and also sample many of the different varieties that they have from all over the country. If you are going to go on the whiskey trail then this should be a first stop before leaving Edinburgh to obtain maps and to find out which distilleries have tours.

I can remember landing at the Glasgow Airport on September 10, 1998. It was rainy as usual, but my curiosity had the best of me. I remember my classes started in October, so I didn’t have much time to tour Scotland. I wanted to emerge myself in the culture and really get an appreciation for the Scottish right away.

PLACES I VISITED AND MY EXPERIENCES:

-ABERDEEN was an industrial kind of city, but I was intrigued to see it looked most like a modern US city than any other in Scotland. I spent just a few hours here, not much for tourism.

Glasgow International Airport - airport code GLA -( or Abbotsinch for those of us with longer memories ) is visible from the M8 motorway about 8 miles out of Glasgow and a mile or so from Paisley. So is very accessible to reach by car. It is my local airport and I have flown from here many a time on both international and domestic flights.

One thing to confirm, if you are using a low cost airline, is which Glasgow Airport you are going to. There is another - Glasgow Prestwick ( airport code PIK ) which is about 25 miles south of Glasgow.

I visited Scotland with my husband and his family in September 1998. What can I say, the place was beautiful.

We drove from Harrogate, England to Fort William, Scotland. Fort William is on the left side of Scotland, almost at the top of the country. It was a long trip because there are not many highways in Scotland. I think we were taking the scenic route anyway.

On the way to Fort William, we drove through Glasgow, which seemed like a nice city. The best part of the trip was the mountains, however. England has some beautiful countryside but it is flatter than Scotland. Many of the mountains in Scotland have heather growing on them which gives them a purple color. It’s just beautiful.

What do you want? Bit of history? There’s a lot of Roman stuff in Chester and York. If you prefer medieval go to Stratford, there’s some nice places round there. The West side of the country is a lot nicer than the East. Try the following trip:

1) Weymouth, on the South coast - not interesting in itself, but find the Portland heights hotel (on the coast road towards Portland Bill). There is a go kart track opposite, walk through it and you’ll be in a quarry which was given to the local Stonemasons college. There is some weird stuff in here. It’s cool. You won’t find any signposts.

(Glasgow) Prestwick Airport is tagged as Scotland’s Airport, and out of all four of the country’s four major terminals, Prestwick definately has the richest history. In terms of physical size, it is also Scotland’s largest, although its passenger traffic is tiny compared to Glasgow-Abbotsinch.

One of the most unsettling experiences I have ever had was in the Edinburgh vaults on our latest trip to Scotland. Being guests of the Scottish Tourist Board certainly opened the doors to many things we would not have experienced otherwise, but what we saw in the vaults was especially unique.

I have been to Edinburgh twice now, I still have not seen it in it’s entirety! I love this city! I really do not think I could ever visit it too often. If you are a "Royal Family" buff there is much here for you. If you love mystery and gothic adventure, this is your city! History buffs will be in heaven here, as well as expert "shoppers" who love the art of shopping.

This year we began our visit at Waverly Station, as we took the train from our little town of Troon. Changing trains at Glasgow, we arrived in Edinburgh in little more than an hour. The train system in Scotland is marvelous and I highly recommend it!