Another cruise contract down, another trip completed!
Having switched cruise companies and finding myself working for a better employer that unfortunately doesn't pay for vacation time, most trips I was looking outside of my price range. So, I found cheap round-trip plane tickets and booked hostels, and made plans to return to Ireland and Scotland!
At the time of booking, which included the hostels, flights and day trips at each location, the price I had paid was roughly the amount of what I would pay for a standard trip without the flights. Afterwards, the expenses added, from travel insurance to food, local entertainment and souvenirs, I had paid less than what I would usually spend on a trip. I call that a job well done!
So, how did this one go down? Follow me with one of my Irish heart's favorite pastimes: storytelling!
The Pre-Trip Drama
It's inevitable at this point. As mentioned, I switched cruise companies which was a better choice for me, but they also had the ability to extend your contract without authorization. Hence the reason why I booked my flight 9 days out from my return date.
Nine days may not seem like much, but since my time crunch with Belize and Guatemala last year, I now have an entire box dedicated for travel products in case I find myself in another situation like that. I started packing as soon as I got back, thinking I would be good to go when my trip began.
And then I donated blood.
Only 2 days after returning, I went to donate a pint of blood to bring me one step closer to my 7 gallon lifetime donations. I was already exhausted from having worked every day over 6 months, but this is something I do right after every contract so I thought there wouldn't be any problems. This time was different because, only a few minutes after I donated the blood, I nearly passed out.
Thankfully, I was okay, but I wasn't good to drive. I had borrowed my mom's car, so she had to be dropped off so she could drive me home. While waiting, I chatted with the lovely nurses who watched over me, and they agreed that in addition to eating too soon before the donation, putting my body through this loss of blood was too much to handle after working so long without a day off.
I spent the next few days resting up as best I could before flying out.
Part One: Dublin, Ireland
I had my first experience flying with British Airways on an Airbus A380, which is a double decker! I also found myself in a row entirely to myself and had a nice, leisurely flight to London Heathrow. After a brief layover, I found myself in Dublin, hopped on an Airlink shuttle, and was dropped off a block away from my first hostel, Abigail's Hostel.
After freshening up, I went down the street for dinner at The Merchant's Arch, a popular pub with an Instagram-able interior. There was a young lady doing live music while I had a soup and cider for dinner. I then set off for my regular top five spot for Dublin: Murphy's Ice Cream on Grafton Street. Being jetlagged and still a little weary from the blood donation, I decided to take it easy tonight and just walk.
On my way, I took a slight detour to check out The Vat House to see if the bartender I met last time I was there, Promise, was around. Unfortunately, he was not, so I just ordered a Guinness and stuck around to listen to the musician playing for a bit until my hankering for Murphy's was too strong to ignore anymore.
I was a happy camper after eating that much-awaited two-scoop ice cream cone and took the time to wander Grafton and Temple Bar. Temple Bar was already decked out for Christmas despite Halloween being just a few days out, but it had a magical feel this time around. Eventually I crossed the Ha'Penney Bridge to go to a meetup of other solo travelers at another nearby hostel, but unfortunately, no one else showed up. I returned to my own hostel shortly afterwards to prepare for my upcoming day trip.
I slept exceptionally well that night and woke up at a decent hour to have breakfast a few blocks away. Google Maps found me Keoghs Cafe, a cafe that was open early for breakfast. It was already busy when I arrived, but the food arrived quickly, and there was a lot! The omelet and muffin sustained me for several hours into the day, which is the recipe for a perfect holiday breakfast.
It started to rain as I headed for the meeting spot where the bus would be picking up our group. The day trip was to visit the Hills of Tara, Knowth and Newgrange, booked through Newgrange Tours by Mary Gibbons. This tour was found by searching through suggestions in a Facebook group I am a part of, and the referral was well worth it!
While waiting, I chatted with another traveler who was visiting from Germany with her brother. They would be leaving the next day and were excited for the trip. Once the bus and our guide arrived, they took us through the city while talking about some of the city's recent history and filling our group in on the significance of our first stop: the Hills of Tara.
It was still raining by the time we reached Tara, so our guide brought us first to the site map and pointed out the best route to take. We spread out to explore and take our pictures, but most of us only stayed as long as we could handle the rain, which wasn't long. There was a gift shop and cafe on site where most of us headed out to escape the rain, which was lessening to a drizzle by this time.
After Tara, we piled into the bus and set off for the Newgrange Visitor Center. From there, we would go through the experience/museum, pick up a lunch or snack, and then board a shuttle to take us to Knowth first. The experience was informative about the site and featured a few artifacts that had been recovered, many of which showing the ancient artwork associated with what is believed to be the religion at that time.
When the time came to go to the shuttle, we followed the path going over the River Boyne, a river with mythological significance with the folk hero Fionn mac Cumhaill, and historical with the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. The river was a beautiful sight to behold. Once we crossed the river, we followed the path to the shuttles and were taken to Knowth. Thankfully, the rain and stopped by then.
Knowth is a smaller version of Newgrange, with more ancient artwork on the outside of the tomb, and with about a dozen smaller mounds outside. Unfortunately, this tomb couldn't be entered, but the guide told us of a section inside that had undisturbed artifacts. There was also a stairway to the top of the tomb which provided amazing views of the Boyne River Valley.
We were transported to the Newgrange site next, and the group was split into two since the tomb was small and could take no more than 15 people at a time. Being claustrophobic, I opted to be in the second group and took the time to explore the site. We were able to take pictures of the outside, but none when we went in.
The passageway was narrow and a little low in places, but once we reached the center, there was enough room to feel more comfortable. The guide showed us the chambers, Celtic spirals and artwork, and even turned the lights off to demonstrate how the natural sunlight would enter the room. During the winter solstice, the rays from the sunset naturally fill the chamber.
We returned to Dublin afterwards, and I took the time to explore Connell Street. I found the Arisu Photobooth, the Dublin Portal, and the Samhain Family Festival, which was just wrapping up. Since I had missed the festivities, I wandered Temple Bar until I found some pizza.
I had some time to kill, so I returned to Grafton for ice cream and enjoyed the music of the buskers. There were setups for all the Christmas lights, but sadly, they wouldn't be lit until after Halloween.
When the time came, I went to a crack den!
Just kidding, I went to a comedy spot called The Craic Den. I got to talk with the host, a fun comedian from Australia named Damo Clark. He had done several comedy shows aboard cruise ships, and since I work those, it's possible we may work together in the future, we'll see! Anyways, there was a bachelor/stag party from Norway with all of the guys dressed up that became the butt of the jokes of the comedians that night.
The next day was an early start because I had three venues to check back-to-back. The first was breakfast at a restaurant called The Ebb & Flow, recommended by Instagram. I arrived just as they were opening and had French toast and a cappuccino that I promptly spilled all over myself when I tried to take a selfie.
My next stop was only a few shops down, which was The Last Bookshop, also recommended by Instagram. I always love looking through older-styled bookshops, but this one was said to have a hidden chamber with even more books! I was short on time and looked through the shelves, but there were so many overflowing books that they blocked any possible hidden doors. I had to move on by then because I had a reservation at Trinity College.
The last time I was in Dublin, I had learned too late that you needed reservations to see the Book of Kells, so I did just that before I arrived. I listened to the audio guide as I went through the exhibit, and found that one of the pages that was heavily featured on the displays would be the exact pages opened in the book that day!
Coming into the library itself was different from my last visit as the library is still in the process of restoration, and many of the books have been removed. There is also a giant globe at the end of the library, and a duplicated copy of the Book of Kells is on display and open for pictures. Once this part of the experience is finished, a new section around the corner from the library is the next stop. I went there to go through the new exhibition featuring history about Ireland, the Book of Kells, and visual display of Celtic artwork.
I went to the Bram Stoker Festival next, which was being held in the courtyard of St. Patrick's Cathedral. There were food trucks, local vendors, arts and crafts, and most importantly, a spooky story time! These festivities were geared more towards kids, so I hung out for the story time before heading back toward Grafton for a lunch of wine and cheese at Loose Cannon. They also had cheese toasties that looked incredible, so I'll have to swing by there again next time.
The next stop was at Epic: The Irish Emigration Museum. This immersive experience delved into the history of the Irish leaving their country, whether voluntarily or not, and talked about the people who had a major impact on their history. There was one point where a performer from the Bram Stoker Festival led kids through the museum in character, telling another chilling ghost story. It was a fun thing to watch.
I started back to the hostel and stopped in a shop on the way. I asked the gentleman at the desk about local things to check out, which he recommended Gallagher's Boxty House for its authentic Irish cuisine. After my nap, I made a beeline for that restaurant and had an amazing meal of Dublin coddle, a dish I'd tried making myself a few times but never quite felt was right. Being able to finally try the dish as it's made was wonderful. It was also paired with three different types of bread, and I added the "Grace O'Malley" cocktail because it looked too good to pass up (it was amazing!).
I made another stop at Murphy's Ice Cream before moving on to the next item on my list: O'Donoghue's Pub. This pub had an enormous impact on Irish culture as it allowed The Dubliners to do live music there, which not only helped to launch their career, but the cultural trend of having live music in pubs. When I arrived, the pub was overfull, but I still got a pint and stuck around for as long as my claustrophobic self would allow.
I had hoped to stay there until my 10:00pm reservation, but I couldn't handle the crush of people there. I left earlier than I'd hoped and went to another pub I love: Mary's Bar & Hardware. On the way I passed several people dressed up for early Halloween, including three dudes dressed up as Norman invaders. I absolutely had to take a picture of them, and then one insisted I do one with them. It was awesome!
Once 10:00 started rolling around, I made my way to a Burritos near St. Stephen's Green. I checked it with the hostess, and then was taken into a hidden speakeasy called El Silencio Fff with a massive margarita menu! I enjoyed a luscious margarita before calling it a night.
Interlude 1: Mid-Trip Drama
The next morning I would be setting off for Belfast. The Dublin Marathon was going on at the time, and thankfully was going around the Temple Bar area, and wouldn't cause any delays where I was. I had another lovely breakfast at a cafe in Temple Bar called Buzz. I also learned later that Colin Farrell had been running in the marathon, so I regret not finding the route to cheer on the runners.
The first bit of drama was that of the three pairs of pants I brought, two sprung holes in the inner thighs, which women will attest immediately renders the trousers junk. The second was that I was supposed to take a train/bus trip to Belfast, but this weekend had to be the one that the trains at Connelly Station were down for engineering services, so I had to book the Aircoach instead.
The bus pickup was on Connell Street, and since I had to check out of the hostel by a certain time, I left earlier than was needed in the one pair of pants that were still intact. On the way, it so happened that Penney's had just opened, and despite being on a time crunch, I found a pair of fleece-lined leggings that I could pair with the skirt I'd brought. One issue halfway down.
Part Two: Belfast, Northern Ireland
I made it to the bus pickup to a packed coach but managed to sleep most of the way to Belfast. By then, it was raining. The bus route I needed to take had a stop right across the street from the Aircoach drop off, and the bus was due in a few minutes. The good news was that it showed up quickly, but then the bus powered down and the driver got out. Everyone at the stop was confused but hung around.
After about 20 minutes, I tried flagging down a cab, but no one pulled over. Soaking wet and cold with a carry-on suitcase that wasn't waterproof and no umbrella, I went down the block to the next stop with another bus route that should stop where I needed to go. It was another 20 minutes when the original bus finally showed up and took me 5 minutes to my stop.
And then, more issues popped up.
I had hoped to go to the Ulster Museum not far from my hostel and the Botanic Gardens nearby if there was time, but it was now about 3:00pm and the museum closed at 5pm.
The issues? I had locked my luggage keys inside my suitcase and the intact pants I was wearing had developed a stain in an embarrassing area that needed cleaning ASAP.
I checked in at my all-girl hostel called Botanical Backpackers, and asked for advice on the lock situation. This being a Sunday, there were no locksmiths about, and the closest hardware store was about 20 minutes away by bus. So, we put our heads together and spent the next half hour researching the locks and ways of opening it. Finally, two of the girls managed to break the lock without having to break the zipper. Thank God for these ladies, and the fact that most of my clothes weren't even wet!
At this point, I had to hand wash my pants first, and still needed to buy a pair of trousers that were appropriate for both outdoor wear and eating out at nice establishments. There was a Primark in the opposite direction of the Ulster Museum, and they also closed early on a Sunday, so I had to choose to buy pants. I caught the bus to the city center and found only one pair of pants (that weren't jeans!) in the entire store that suited my needs.
My next destination was to find dinner, but in the process I found that Belfast had decked out the city center with inflatable Halloween monsters and had to track them down.
From there, I made my way to Common Market, an indoor food truck venue with live music. It was an extremely busy night but I managed to snag a nice dinner and have an enjoyable time there.
The last time I was in Belfast, my Contiki group did a pub crawl that took us to the The Dark Horse Courtyard in Commercial Court next to the Duke of York pub where there were murals and poems on display, which was where I was headed next. I did find the pub but the courtyard was closed. The pub itself was busy, as it is the oldest pub in Belfast, and there was live music going on. Two local ladies let me sit with them and enjoy my drink and the tunes, and we even joined in on singing with everyone when the band started playing the song, "Black Velvet Band."
After that, I made my way to The MAC for the Belfast Arts Festival production of a play called Aurora: A Modern Myth. I nodded off a little bit in the first part of the show because I was so tired, but managed to stay alert for the rest of it. The show itself had an interesting premise and was well performed, and I enjoyed it. It was later by then and the buses were done with their routes by then, so I checked if Uber was available, and it was.
I was picked up by a nice driver who had the thickest Irish accent I'd ever heard to the point that I couldn't understand a word he was saying! I felt a little bad when I tried talking to him so I left him a bigger tip than I usually would.
The next morning I enjoyed a small breakfast provided by the hostel, swung by a Spar to buy a few items for lunch, and headed for my City Sightseeing Game of Thrones tour. The first stop was Carrickfergus Castle, which was not open to the public but allowed for pictures to be taken by it. Our next stop was to Carnlough Harbor, our first Game of Thrones location being used for a brief scene of Arya climbing out of the water in Braavos.
We passed by the Cusheden Caves used as multiple backdrops through the series, and made our stop at Stranocum for the visit to The Dark Hedges. Unfortunately, it was perfectly sunny at this time (one of the few times traveling where it's inconvenient), so the hedges weren't as foreboding as they're seen in photos.
They still made for a fun stop, and the bathrooms at the hotel on site had a great sense of humor.
A brief stop was made before our next destination of the Bushmills Distillery, which was the scenic overlook where we could see the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge, a high point on my travel bucket list. There were a few people crossing it from our vantage point, but that was as close as we were allowed. Next time!
The stop at Bushmills was brief and not long enough to take a tour of the distillery, but we checked out the bar and gift shop on site. The group made it back to the bus early enough that our guide took us on an unscheduled detour to quickly check out Dunluce Castle, another Game of Thrones filming location. We took a few quick pictures at the scenic overlook and then moved on to our major stop: The Giant's Causeway.
I had been here before in 2018 with Contiki, so our guide gave us a different route from the direct one my group took last time. There are several trails around the Causeway, and our guide highly recommended the red trail. It proved to be a great recommendation, for the trail took us above the Causeway for amazing overhead pictures, and then took us down a winding stairway to follow the rest of the route.
It was exciting to return to the Causeway after 6 years, but it was unfortunately dimmed by the tourists. When I was there last time, it was mid-morning and there were barely any other tourists there. This time, the place was literally crawling with people trying to take photos of their groups, families, or selves all over the place instead of marveling in the beauty of this UNESCO Heritage Site. Even though I had time, I left earlier than I needed and returned to the visitor's center.
When the bus returned for the pickup, we were brought back to Belfast. I had hoped to check out The Observatory, but Daylight Savings Time ended the day before and it was darker than usual and I wouldn't be able to enjoy the city views from there. Instead, I walked around the city center again to see if I had missed any of the Halloween inflatables (I found 2 more but there were still others to be found) on my way to my chosen dinner location: Granny Annie's. This restaurant and bar had a fun rustic country feel to it, and had some amazing deals on cocktails. The food was good too!
I returned to my Hearthstone landmark, City Hall, before figuring where I would go next. I was feeling a little under the weather so I chose to walk the Linen Quarter to pick up dessert at a place called Molly's Courtyard. Along the way, I passed several pubs I'd visited in my last trip: Pug Ugly's and Filthy McNasty's. I passed another pub, Empire, that would be doing a trivia night in about an hour and took note of that. By the time I reached Molly's, they had just closed, so I went back to the hostel.
Several other lodgers were hanging out in the kitchen, so I asked if anyone wanted to join me for trivia, and they said no, so we all hung out and chatted for a good while. Staying at an women-only hostel was definitely a cool experience, and I will definitely do it again.
Here's my reel of my visit to Ireland!
Interlude 2: Travel Woes
By this time, it was apparent that I had picked up a slight cold from having been in the rain so long the day before. I was a bit congested, but was able to keep quiet enough to not disturb my roommates too much.
I grabbed a quick breakfast from the kitchen before gathering my things and saying goodbye when I checked out. I went to the bus stop and, despite having checked the schedule online, the bus I was supposed to take had left 15 minutes prior and the next one wouldn't be by for another 45. It was overcast but not raining, so I decided to walk to 20 minutes to Grand Central Station.
The Station was in the final stages of being built and was a beautiful facility that was easy to navigate (and I took no picture of, silly me!). As I made my way to the Translink bay to the international airport, I found that today was the day that the direct train line between Belfast and Dublin opened. That would probably explain the engineering closures in Connolly Station these last few days.
I made it to the airport early enough, but I had booked my flight to Edinburgh using what I believe is a rite of passage for every traveler: RYANAIR.
It was about 2.75 hours before the flight, and there was nobody at the counter to check us in! I chatted with the other two people I was in line with, and they explained that this was a common issue at the Belfast Airport. It was about 20 minutes before an agent showed up, and we all got checked in and went through security. I paid the extra for the Fastpass through security, and that was well worth the money.
After purchasing more tissues for my trip, the departures screen showed that my flight would be delayed and to check back in a half hour. I bought lunch and checked again, and it was delayed yet again!
The flight wound up being delayed about 1.5 hours, which definitely had an impact on my plans for Edinburgh. Thankfully, I had a good seat, so I was able to board quickly and debark just as fast.
Part Three: Edinburgh, Scotland
From here, there was relatively no drama. I claimed my luggage, bought an open ended-round trip ticket on the bus to Waverly Station, and made it to my hostel off the Royal Mile. I checked in at the High Street Hostel and immediately took off to try to catch some attractions before they closed, but unfortunately, everything was sold out for the day. I was able to snag a ticket for The Real Mary King's Close for later that evening (yay for single spots available!), but when I tried a few other attractions to book tickets, everything was sold out for the day, some for the next day too.
To kill time till then, I walked the Royal Mile and checked out a few shops before searching for food. I went to Grassmarket and visited the White Hart Inn, a pub said to be haunted, and then moved on for dinner at The Last Drop, named for its history with city hangings. The pub grub offered was good, and afterwards I tried catching another meetup at a local hostel for a whisky tasting, Kick Ass Greyfriar's, but sadly, this had been done the night before.
It was soon time for my tour, so I went to Mary King's Close. For a bit of context, a close was essentially an alleyway under bigger buildings that had multiple rooms where people would live hundreds of years ago, and also a hive of plagues! The tour took us through the best preserved closes in the city and retold tales of the Black Death, witch trials, and of ghosts that supposedly haunted these areas. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take pictures, but I highly recommend checking it out!
The tour ended in the gift shop (naturally) where I picked up a copy of the one picture that was taken by the tour operator and chatted with some of the role-players. By that time, it was still too early for me to turn in, so I walked around some more. My hostel provided me with a list of bars and pubs that I would get a discount at, so I used that to help me pick my next destination.
On my way to my choice of Dropkick Murphy's, a pub I had meant to visit the last time I was in town, I passed the Frankenstein Bar, which I absolutely HAD to check out. Being so close to Halloween, it was overflowing with costumed people, so I just looked around and took a few pictures before continuing to Dropkick Murphy's. Dropkick Murphy's had live music and Halloween-themed drinks, which I couldn't resist trying.
I was up early the next morning because I had a hill to climb. After swiping a quick breakfast from the hostel, I made my way to Arthur's Seat, the best vantage point in the city. I was about 2/3rds of the way up when I met another American solo traveler, and she and I completed the hike together. She went down after a few minutes while I stuck around to take more pictures.
I took the scenic route and stopped by St. Anthony's Chapel ruins, and even climbed another hill below the Seat for more pictures. My intent after that was to visit the Palace of Holyrood, but wouldn't you know it? They are closed on Wednesdays, which, of course, was the day I was there. I had a quick stop at Cafe Vivo before I returned to the city center and visited the Writer's Museum.
This free museum is small and features history on Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Burns. It was an interesting and informative experience, especially if you are an avid reader. From there, I visited the Scottish Whisky Experience and was able to see how Scotch whisky is distilled, and got to try some of the whisky too. The tasting room was filled with hundreds of whisky bottles, some of which were a few hundreds years old! It was practically heaven for Scotch aficionadoes. For those who were underage or not drinkers, IRN BRU, the top Scottish drink after whisky, was provided for them.
Now that it was past noon, I decided to knock out two items on my list at once and went to Oink on Victoria Street. Victoria Street is another UNESCO World Heritage Site and said to be one of the inspirations for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter series (another being The Shambles in York, which I've also been to) and is a popular site not only for Instagram, but for fans of Harry Potter. Oink is a pork-based sandwich shop where you have the option to put haggis on your sandwich, but I've already tried haggis and wasn't in the mood. In addition to this gloriously unhealthy meal, I completed it with a bag of crisps and an IRN BRU.
Oink was ridiculously busy, so I headed right out as soon as I was finished and went right across the street to check out The Enchanted Galaxy, a shop mostly devoted to Harry Potter merchandise but also featuring collectables from other fandoms. Though I'm not much of a Harry Potter Fan, I would recommend it for anyone who is. I moved on to Grassmarket to grab dessert at Kilted Donut afterwards and partook of one of the biggest donuts I've ever eaten; one so big that I couldn't eat it all in one sitting! And I got the discount there too.
By this time, I was starting to get a little tired. After all, I had climbed a big hill that morning and been on the go since then! I got some amazing pictures of Edinburgh Castle (I visited there with Contiki last time) before crossing over to the other side of the Royal Mile and took time to explore the Princes Street Gardens. There was some construction going on in some of the areas, but overall, it was a beautiful and relaxing walk. I also took an incredible picture of Ross Fountain with Edinburgh Castle in the background.
There were a few other items in this area I wanted to check out, so I struck out along Princes Street toward a teahouse called The Dome. When I reached there, I found a gorgeous establishment offering full tea sessions, but I was still full from that donut and underdressed for such a nice place that I moved along. I made a quick pass at St. Andrew's Square before visiting the Scott Monument and taking a quick gander through the new Waverly Station.
Later that evening, I stopped at the Tron Kirk, an indoor marketplace for small businesses to sell their merchandise. I found some lovely pieces there and would recommend swinging by there. I went next door for dinner at the Tron pub, and then across the street to Monkey Barrel Comedy. There were having a night of up-and-coming comedians, most of which were decent.
The best part was the host who took the time to get to know a few of the audience members, two of which were from Belgium. Between every act, this host came back with more random facts about Belgium, even admitting that he was just reading the Wikipedia article on Belgium whenever he was offstage.
It was another early morning, as I was taking a day trip through the Highlands through Discover Scotland Tours. The original trip I was set up for was supposed to take me to castles and lochs, but the company reached out to me the night before to let me know that the coach for that trip had broken down and they couldn't do the tour, but they offered to put me on this Highland tour instead, which I accepted.
I met with my small group, and we set off for our first destination. I chatted with our guide about how I'd had to switch my trip, so he took a brief detour to take me to Doune Castle, the castle used for Winterfell in Game of Thrones, Castle Leoch in Outlander, and, my reason for wanting to go, Castle Anthrax in Monty Python's Holy Grail. I had brought coconuts with me on this trip, but since I hadn't thought we would go here, I left them at my hostel. I still got a great picture there!
Our next stop was in Callender, a small town for us to pick up food for lunch later. There was a historical walk which I sadly wouldn't have enough time for, but I visited several notable stops in the town. We moved on to a brief stop at the Trossachs Woolen Mill that had three hairy coos on display! We got to pet one of the coos, Honey, before we continued on.
We crossed over into the Highlands and made several stops, one of which was a lovely waterfall called The Meeting of Three Waters. After taking a few pictures, we went a little further down the road to the Three Sisters, three mountains that make for a beautiful backdrop. Our guide gave us a Scottish flag to utilize for the pictures we took at the site, which was pretty awesome.
At this point, it began to rain pretty steadily, and fog was rolling in. We made it to Glencoe, a beautiful area for intense mountaineering, and a historically significant site where the MacDonald massacre occurred. The Glencoe visitor's center featured a reconstructed "turf house," that was open to explore. Unfortunately, with the fog that had rolled in, the magnificence of this gorgeous area was blocked.
The big stop for this day trip came next: Loch Shiel and the Glenfinnan Viaduct. The Glenfinnan Monument next to the loch was erected as a memorial to the fallen soldiers who took up with Bonnie Prince Charlie, culminating in the defeat at the Battle of Culloden. I went to the viaduct scenic overlook first to take some pictures, then took the small hike to the main photography spot. This viaduct is best known as the route for the Hogwart's Express in the Harry Potter films, and during the spring and summer months, the Jacobite Train runs its route across the railroad.
One fun thing about this trip thus far was that the trip we were taking was also run by another company called The Hairy Coo. The driver was friends with our tour guide and he was constantly joking about taking everyone in our group (there were only 7 of us total) in his bus. We all had a good laugh at that.
As we started to head back toward Edinburgh, we made two stops, both of which were locations I had visited before. The first was at the Commando Memorial where we were also hoping to catch a picture of Ben Nevis, the largest mountain in the country, but it was blocked by fog.
The final stop was in Pitlochry for a brief pitstop. Most of the venues were closed, but I managed to purchase a clan scarf before the shop closed. I bought an absolutely phenomenal scotch infused ice cream after that and walked the main street, there were a few vendors selling glowing toys for the kids that were dressing up, as it was Halloween. Many of them were heading for the main hotel where buses would be taking everyone to a celebration nearby.
When we returned to Edinburgh, I went straight back to my hostel and changed into my own Halloween costume: a Ghostbuster! It only felt ironically appropriate since the city is renown for its ghost tours. I also added a slight twist to incorporate my guilty pleasure 80s movie: Highlander! That scarf I bought? It was of Clan Macleod. All I needed was a proton pack and a broadsword that said Macleod, but alack, TSA wouldn't allow them in my carry-ons.
I was booked for the Extreme Paranormal Ghost Tour, as it seemed appropriate for the location and date, but had some time to kill so I picked up a quick pasty and did a little shopping. When our tour met up, our guide, who was dressed up as a ghostly apparition, gave me a little hard time over my costume, but it was in good fun. I regret nothing!
We were led up the Royal Mile where our guide pointed out the spots where public executions took place, then guided to the Greyfriars Kirkyard and filled with graverobbing tales, especially of the notorious Burke and Hare. Our last stop was at South Bridge and exploring an underground vault unearthed a few decades prior, and filled with more grisly tales of the tortures by witch hunters and a ghost that supposedly haunted the vault.
The tour wrapped, and I went to a Halloween party at another one of the hostels near Edinburgh Castle, but the party was just ending as I showed up. One of the girls from my hostel told me that the party would be moving on to another pub in the city, but nobody was heading there. I waited a bit to see if anyone else would be heading out, but no one did. So I went out and took as many pics as I could with people dressed up!
I took that time to embark on a little pub crawl of my own, focusing on Halloween-inspired pubs. I started with Deacon Brodie's, named for the man who was the inspiration for the title characters of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I moved on to Finnegan's Wake, an Irish pub featuring live music, and got to do a little dancing. From there, I went to Mortal Cocktail, an 80s themed pub featuring sweet arcade! I got to chat with some of gals there, one of who was dressed as Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service and was very excited that someone knew who she was!
The final stop was at Whistlebinkies, a pub that didn't have a Halloween-ish theme but did have a fun name. Outside I met some Trekkies dressed as Captain Picard and Commander Riker of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and ran into 3 people dressed up as Patrick Bateman of American Psycho. One girl dressed up as a gender-bent Bateman was also surprised I knew who the character was (longtime Balehead here). Inside Whistlebinkies, there was more live music so it was a busy venue, but I chatted with a few more people and then called it a night.
From there, the trip wrapped, and I was on my way home the next morning. I left wishing my stays in each country had been longer, but glad that I had been able to do everything that I had.
And here's a reel of Scotland!
Travel as a Learning Experience
Solo traveling is an amazing means of seeing the world, but also an opportunity to learn about yourself and how you adapt to certain situations. Here are a few things I learned while on this trip.
Instagram is a Great Resource
Before taking this trip, I sought out Facebook groups for recommendations, but most recommended places I had been to before, or areas I wouldn't have time to visit. I had saved some posts on Instagram about these countries and revisited them, going through these pictures and videos for promotions.
Thanks to these profiles, including DiscoverDublin and Dublin.Explore, I was able to find restaurants like Loose Cannon, El Silencio, and Ebb & Flow. I saved these and other recommendations to my Google Maps lists, and of the 56 (most were IG, others were from other resources), I made it to 36. Had I not checked Instagram, both lists would have been much shorter, and I wouldn't have found such niche attractions!
Check Your Pants!
You remember how I sprung holes in two of my three pairs of pants, both in the inner thigh region. Believe it or not, this was not the first time happening to me! Last year, when I went to Japan, the same thing happened. Ironically, one of the pairs of pants that sprung holes were the ones I bought in Japan!
If holes in that area are an issue for you, make sure to check those pants, leggings, or shorts beforehand so that you don't have that same problem. It's annoying to have to take time and money out of your schedule to go shopping for pants instead of souvenirs!
Take the Naps
Jet lag is part of traveling overseas, and while some may be able to adapt quickly, it's not guaranteed that you'll synchronize with the time zone immediately. When taking bus trips, you can usually find time to take a snooze, which should hopefully be enough to recharge and refresh. However, on days where you're walking or taking public transportation, you can wear out much faster, especially when going from venue to venue.
It's likely in this case that you will be physically and mentally drained, so when you are starting to drag, take time for a nap. Even if it's just a power nap, it should be enough to keep you up to a decent hour. Listen to your body and take the rest when you need it.
Other Countries Use Daylight Savings
This is a fact I was completely unaware of until I was in Ireland. Thankfully, my devices changed with the times, but losing an hour of daylight did affect a few of the things I wanted to do, such as visit The Observatory in Belfast. In you are visiting any country in February, March, October or November, make sure you check when that country's daylight savings ends so that it doesn't affect your plans.
Food Allergies are Taken Seriously
Here in the US, there are usually signs pointing out what foods have allergens or are prepared in facilities that use foods that could potentially cause a bad reaction. In the countries I visited, every time I ordered food, I was asked straight away if I had any allergies. Thankfully, I do not, but it was refreshing to know that if I had, that the employees had my health at the forefront.
Layering is the Way to Go
Rain is inevitable in Ireland and the UK. However, when it is sunny, it can start to warm up a bit and can make you uncomfortable if you are wearing a parka. It may be more economical to invest in a thicker jacket, but the smarter thing to do is to layer up.
When I went to hike Arthur's Seat, I wore a flannel shirt, a fleece jumper, and a windbreaker. Eventually, as I got closer to the top, I started getting warm, so I shed the jumper and wore the windbreaker. Throughout the rest of my time there, I would alternate between the two coats to adapt to the weather conditions.
Less Pictures of Yourself
I had noticed this the last time I visited Ireland, but when you travel by yourself, you have to rely on selfies. I've become pretty good at taking selfies, but sometimes you want to take a full length picture and have to make the choice to ask a complete stranger to do it. Many times, it'll be fine, but you never can be entirely sure.
I do have a selfie stick and a mini tripod, but I opted to not take them with me, so that's entirely on me. But in this day and age of needing to rely on our phones, especially when traveling to foreign countries, it does mean having to take the selfie instead of the better picture when you want to be captured in certain areas.
Bring that Dish Soap!
I've mentioned this on previous posts, but bringing dish soap is an enormous help. After losing two pairs of pants and then finding an embarrassing stain on the third, that soap pretty much saved my booty. Had I not brought it, these brand new, wonderful pants probably would have been ruined. Just squeeze some Dawn or your favorite degreaser into an empty 30 ML container, and you're solid!
Skip the Jewelry
Staying in hostels is an extremely cost-efficient way of traveling, but there is a lack of privacy and a need to be courteous with your other roommates. There are plenty of people who have had bad experiences in hostels that include theft, though the odds are still low. Despite that, I brought no pieces of jewelry along, and that includes the rings I usually bring to discourage creepers.
Thankfully, I returned with all of the possessions I left with, excluding the two pairs of pants I had to trash and the souvenirs I purchased in each country. While one could argue that bringing a simple pair of earrings or ring may be worth bringing, it is entirely up to the traveler. I am absolutely for wearing what you want when traveling, but if you're staying in hostels, my advice would be to leave those pieces at home, especially the ones that have high value.
Scarves!
Depending on where you're from, many people would bring a scarf either for accessorizing their outfits or for warmth. Coming from California, scarves aren't really part of common clothing in more areas. Visiting these countries in late October/early November definitely requires at least one scarf.
Luckily, Scotland sells plenty of scarves, especially of clan tartans. If you are of Scottish descent, it's a fun little souvenir to pick up a scarf of your clan! Even if you aren't Scottish, you can finds scarves for sale in just about every shop you visit, and in various materials, such as lambswool and cashmere.
Recommendations for these Countries
One of my goals on this trip was to find as many places that aren't usually featured in brochures as possible. While I did visit many places that I had been to before or received many promotions on tourism sites, I would like to bring these attractions to my list as places that are worth checking out.
Keep in mind that I was unable to visit all of these areas, but I would still recommend them based on the feedback or recommendations of trusted sources.
The Icon Walk - The Icon Factory is a small shop located in an alley leading to Temple Bar, and outside of it are several murals and artwork featuring historic figures from Irish history.
Many have sadly had graffiti cover them, but it's a free attraction with interesting tidbits about these people, and worth taking a few minutes out of your schedule for.
Keoghs Cafe - I absolutely love a good breakfast joint, and Keogh's offered the best. The massive portions offered were worth the price, the muffins were enormous, and the coffee was amazing. If I hadn't already made plans to go to other cafes, I would have come back here for another breakfast or brunch.
A Taste of Spain - a Spanish grocery store on Camden Street Lower, this store not only features foods from Spain, but also an amazing coffee shop! I helped myself to some coffee here, which was very fairly priced, and enjoyed some amazing espresso. Definitely worth swinging by for coffee and other Spanish products available.
Anti-Slavery Walking Tour - another attraction I was unable to do as they are only offered once a month. It focuses on Belfast's history with slavery, and how Belfast eventually grew to become a hub of abolitionism. I would highly recommend this tour for American tourists.
Lagan Towpath Walk - best utilized in spring and summer, this 14 mile path takes walkers, joggers, and cyclists down to Lisburn and offers a gorgeous view of the Lagan River. Based on user reviews, it is possible to take a train down to the start in Lisburn for walkers and joggers.
The Golden Mile - partially explored by me, this path leading from the City Hall to the Ulster Museum focuses on the Linen Quarter, an area of the city where linen was originally produced.
These factories have since been converted into entertainment venues and restaurants, but maintain the original architecture. Not only informative, but also safe to walk at night!
Ulster Folk and Transportation Museums - only 3 miles away from Belfast, the Folk Museum focuses on how the buildings and lifestyles changed over the years. The Transportation Museum, located just next door, does the same but with vehicles including bicycles, automobiles, and trains. They will take several hours to explore both, but offers a unique perspective on how the country progressed through these means.
The Scotch Corner - located in Pitlochry, this quaint corner sweets shop offers scotch whisky ice cream! And as much as I rave over the boozy ice cream I consume from Murphy's Ice Cream, this simple ice cream packs a serious punch! If you love boozy ice creams, this stop is absolute must!
Mhor Bread Store - this is one place I missed due to lack of time and an enormous line, but that line spoke volumes! This bakery is located in Callender, Scotland, and offers a variety of breads, savory meat pies, sweet pastries, and cakes! Even if the line is long, it's well worth waiting for if you have the time.
NQ64 - a bar located in the city center, it not only offers amazing drinks, but is also a full arcade! Keep an eye out for your favorite racing or first person shooter game while you enjoy some scotch! I did indeed miss out on this one but won't next time.
Colinton Station & Tunnel - an old train tunnel located outside of Edinburgh that was converted into the country's largest mural. Featuring artwork depicting history and culture, it is a unique way of experiencing another country's heritage.
What's Next
I'll be heading for my next ship in a few weeks, so my next post I will be switching things up a little bit with my review of Amazon products for traveling. After all, when you travel for your job and you have little space, you need whatever advantages you can to utilize what room you do have! And since I'll have been through the Caribbean, I'll be doing a little deep dive into the cruise ports after that one.
Until then, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
All pictures were taken by me or by using my device and are not to be used without permission. Gifs courtesy of Giphy.
