10) Whilst in Scotland you are never more than 74 miles from the sea.9) One is never bored with the weather. Our variety pack brought us rain, snow, wind and brilliant sunshine - all within 20 minutes.
8) Those Highland Cattle are just so darn cute!
7) Whatever it is that they are saying sounds great even though I don't understand a word.
6) Pheasants, pheasants, pheasants. There are pheasants in every area we went through. It's amazing to be driving through the Highlands and have a pheasant fly out across the road. I've never seen so many pheasants in the wild.5) Tartan. Everywhere you look there are touches of plaid.
Even the bus seats in Edinburgh are tartan clad.
4) Castles.
Especially when I can look out the window at one!
3) Great people and hospitality. A bus driver in Glasgow actually deviated from his route to take us to Central Station. A few days later a construction worker walked us through a jobsite on a shortcut to our hotel. This sort of above and beyond type of assistance can make you really appreciate a place.
2) Whisky. A terrific national industry steeped in tradition and nuances. I really discovered a love for those peaty, smoky, grab you by the back of the throat Scotch Whiskys. Could this be a situation where a little bit of know could end up being very expensive? I fear so, it's the single malts all the way, baby!
1) FOOD! I confess to having low expectations but WOW! I neatly sidestepped any encounters with deep fried Mars Bars (renown in Glasgow) and found excellent food. Many restaurants feature local game and produce. Small producers of terrific foods are commonplace and easy to locate. Scotland has long embraced the locavore philosophy. Intensely creamy local cheeses are awe inspiring. I ate so much incredible cheese I needed to institute a cheese moratorium for my own good. And then there's the haggis. How they can make it all taste so good is beyond me!
...you may notice that bagpipes are missing...
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