Scotland

If I was a girl with very low self esteem, Scotland would be the perfect place for me. Those are some extremely nice people. Also, if arranged marriages were still around I would probably be married off instantly (according to the amount of fathers who proposed to me on behalf of their sons). However, I do have a pretty good self esteem, and I also don't especially want to get married in the near future. Yet still, my high opinion of Scotland hasn't changed.

Maybe it's the fact that it's the most beautiful countryside I've ever, ever seen. Or that the Scottish pint is three times the size of an English one. Or that Scottish people are actually hilarious and say "aye" instead of "yes." Maybe it's because it's the land of some of the best writers in history, and and has some of the most fantastic imagination fuel (think castles, medieval alleyways, and an almost-constant, low-haging fog rolling from the sea and into the not-so-distant hills).

And the bagpipe/kilt combination

After saying a red-eyed farewell (mostly sleep deprivation, not really emotion) to Ireland early on Tuesday, I arrived at my hostel in Edinburgh, Scotland, with no problems. And wow! What an amazing city! As far as atmosphere goes, I don't think any other city I've been to can beat it. There's gigantic volcanic remains throughout the city, a towering castle on a cliff, and the city was the birthplace for J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. I think comparing the city to Harry Potter would actually be the best description for it. Edinburgh just feels heavy with imagination.

The first two days, I mostly wandered around. I saw the castles and old landmarks and went inside the Scottish National Gallery to look at some Scottish art. My favorite part of those two days was actually climbing Aurther's Seat. For those of you who are from Bend, it's like Edinburgh's Pilot Butte, only more the size of Smith Rock and just across from a giant, medieval castle. If felt absolutely unreal climbing it.

Part of the view from Aurther's Seat. There's people down there on that trail, just to put it into perspective

On my third day, I booked a day trip to Loch Lomond, Stirling Castle, and a Gengoyne Whisky Distillery tour. It was so much fun! I got on a bus in the morning and headed off with my native Glasglow-ian tour guide through the Scottish countryside. And let me tell you, I don't think I've ever seen wilderness as beautiful as the Scottish highlands. The sensation I got sitting in those hills was absolutely unreal. It's something I'll remember forever. At Stirling Castle, I got to take a tour inside the castle where Robert the Bruce and Queen Mary of Scotts ruled from. William Wallace also has a monument there, for a battle over the river he fought and won. Remember, in the movie Brave Heart, where all the Scots show their bums to the English to antagonize them into attacking first? Yup, that happened on the river by Stirling Castle. Really.

The monument's on that hill off in the distance

My guide was hilarious as well. He kept pointing out the "Unicorns" to the little girl on the tour, explaining that their horns had to be sawn off to protect them from poachers. On that note, Scotland's national animal is a Unicorn. A unicorn, people. We also stopped to see some cool bridges:

That's the Queen's Bridge behind me

The Scottish actually have some pretty interesting modern architecture as well. We stopped at Loch Lomond next, which is directly between the Highlands and the Lowlands of Scotland. It was absolutely, stunningly gorgeous.

The view into the Lowlands

Our guide took us on a bit of a hike around the lake and explained some of the history behind it. He also played "The Bonnie, Bonnie Shore of Loch Lomond" on the way out, which is actually pretty tragic. The Scots have a a very tragic, bloody history. The guide played the national anthem of Scotland, which is apparently "I Would Walk 500 Miles" by The Proclaimers. I might need to double-check that one. Next on the tour was a Whisky distillery!

In the tasting room

It was so fun! We weren't allowed to take pictures in any of the actual distillery rooms, but I promise it was cool. And guess what?! They use Oregon Pine for their barrels! Yay Oregon. I got to try two whiskies, a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old. The 15-year-old was excellent. In their shop, they had a 35-year-old whiskey that was worth about 2,500 pounds. And hey, now I understand why whiskey is expensive. It was a beautiful distillery, and I really enjoyed the tour.

Heading back, I also got to hit up the jazz and blues festival that was happening throughout Edinburgh. I got to see a woman called Buttercup preform, and she was amazing! I've never seen beat-boxing  at here level. She also had a really lovely voice.

Oh, and it was in an ancient church. 

Lastly, I got to meet up with a friend I met in Australia! Funnily enough, she's an American who is currently living in Cambodia. She's uber cool. We met for coffee at The Elephant, which is where J.K. Rowling first began to write Harry Potter, on napkins when she was homeless. I loved how the bathroom scribbled on, wall-to-wall, thanking Rowling for her writing.

First, Signed, addition of The Philosopher's Stone

Meeting up with Erin was so much fun. It was nice, after four days of talking with strangers, to talk with someone whom I share memories with. She even bought me a traditional UK breakfast!

It was on my checklist, actually 

After saying goodbye to Erin (gosh, I hate goodbyes) I headed off to Glasgow for the day, so I could catch my flight out of Glasgow easier. I stayed with an airbnb host, and she was fantastic. She even took me out to dinner and drove me around, so I got to see more of Glasgow than I originally planned.

University district. Pretty awesome.

Glasgow turned out to be really beautiful. It wasn't as indulging to the imagination as Edinburgh, but I still enjoyed it a lot. In the morning, I just packed up, left my stuff at the bus station and wandered the city. It was really lovely. Funnily enough, I actually ended up a the wrong airport with only two hours to get sixty miles away. Stupid mistakes = expensive taxi rides. Thankfully, I may have had the best taxi driver in the world. The whole time we talked like we had been old friends, and he totally calmed me down.

When he was helping me unload after the fasted sixty miles you've ever seen, he gave me the ultimate confidence booster. He shook my hand and told me, "Jessica, you're the nicest, bravest person I've ever met."

Granted, I'm definitely not the bravest person in the world, and I'm certainly not the nicest, but I think that taxi driver knew exactly what I needed to hear. And honestly, after this week of independent travel, I do feel braver. I think when I first left Amsterdam, I probably felt like Walter from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty when he was jumping onto that helicopter with the drunk guy in Greenland. I think now, I'm like Walter Mitty when he jumps out of the helicopter, into the ocean. Or when he longboards down a volcano. Or when we decides to climb the Himalayas. Just, braver.


And with that attitude, I arrived in Spain. I've just spent the day on the beach and gotten a proper sunburn. Next, I'll be heading out for some salsa dancing. Maybe not climbing the Himalayas, but I'm getting closer than I was before.

Until next time!

Jessica J. Wolfe

On the Scottish Parliment