Plaid Could Suit Me

I started out scratching my head about Scotland. I wasn't sure where to start. Usually Trip Advisor is my go-to-site but I didn't feel like I could start there this time. You search by city and I didn't even know which city was the right one to start in. Once I get into the nitty gritty details of the trip I'm sure it'll be helpful. I'm just not there yet.

I ended up going to my beloved NYtimes.com. I typed Scotland into the travel section and got the best overview. It explained:

Loch Ness Monster aka Nessie

• Scotland has amazing seafood and restaurants. It also gave a short list of the best restaurants. Fiance loves seafood and has been slowly making me appreciate it more and more.
• Teeny tiny country. It really does make more sense to look at Scotland as a whole in planning your trip because it is so small. The major cities aren't far from each other. It seems totally feasible to rent a car and road trip from region to region. 
• There is a lot of deep history to explore. Castles, cathedrals, museums, William Wallace (gotta hurry up and watch Braveheart), Loch Ness monster, the list goes on.
• The end of May is the perfect time to go!

I've decided that even though drinking scotch isn't my thing, it would be dumb not to check out the whiskey region. Plus, Fiance loves scotch. I'll be the designated driver that day.

Next up, nailing down dates and looking at flights.

Introducing Scotland

This weekend we got an invitation to a friend's wedding in Scotland. Now I can officially start planning our trip there at the end of May. One small problem. I know nothing about Scotland.

Usually when I go to a new destination I already have things in mind that I want to do or know a couple of the exciting tourist attractions. In this case I'm clueless.

What do people do in Scotland? I have no idea. I picture highlands, scotch, and kilts. I don't drink scotch, I can only spend so long running in circles on some highlands, and I think kilts are for men. I have some Scottish ancestry so it would be interesting to learn more about that. Fiance and I have been watching the show Who Do You Think You Are so we've been on a genealogy kick. Other than that I'm drawing a blank and since I'm the travel agent in the relationship I need to figure it out.

To start, I'm reading Lonely Planet's intro on Scotland. Wish me luck.

Any suggestions?

London Calling!

I'm going to London in a month!  Boyfriend has to go for work and he is bringing me.  Yup, he's a keeper.  I haven't been back to London since I left after studying abroad there in 2007.

Because I can't contain my excitement, the other night while I was dreaming I made a list of everything I need to fit in the week that I'm there.

Here they are in no particular order:

1. Ben's Cookies
2. Trafalgar Square
3. National Gallery
4. National Portrait Gallery
5. Tate Modern
6. UCL
7. British Museum
8. Oxford Street
9. My British Friends
10. My British Family
11. Nando's
12. Boots (to buy tons of their perfectly sized vaseline tins)
13. Wagamama
14. Brick Lane
15. Ben and Jerry's/Belgian Waffle stand by Bond Street Station
16. Fruit corner yogurts

Trust me.  All these things, places, and people are awesome.  Some mainly hold sentimental value for me.  But the others have concrete reasons for being great.  The restaurants are delicious and affordable.  The desserts are the ONLY desserts in England worth contemplating.  The museums were the first I never got bored in.

I never made it to the British Museum - which I why it's on my list.  Fruit corners are soooo delicious.  The milk tasted better in England too.  I'm not sure what the good dairy is about but I sure did miss my favorite yogurt.  They were my breakfasts since I reject beans on toast and all other horrible brit excuses for my favorite meal.  I think the beauty of the perfect travel-size vaseline tins speak for themselves.

I'm sure the list will expand.  Any suggestions?

Update:  I forgot to put Strongbow on the list!!!  Pubs and Strongbow!

Update:  We didn't go to London.  Boyfriend didn't have to go for work anymore.  I'm kind of glad it worked out this way.  Now we can go next year when there isn't a blizzard going on over there.