Category Archives: Scotland

Castles, Family Stories, Food and Drink, History, Humor, Landscape, Photography, Scotland, Sipping Espresso, Travel - Europe

Make My Order Of Haggis a Double, Please

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Jen and I recently went to Scotland with her family (HERE) and had a fabulous time exploring the Scottish Highlands.  We saw Aberdeen and quite a bit of the Scottish countryside.  Next on the agenda was a trip to the country’s capital, Edinburgh.  The original plan was to make it a day-trip, but we felt that there was too much to see and do in just one day (not to mention a two hour drive each way), so we planned an overnight stay.

Country road in Ballater
These dry stone walls have been used as field boundaries for well over a thousand years in Scotland
We set out early in the morning from our cottage in the charming town of Ballater, and headed south (still on the wrong side of the road) toward Edinburgh.  I was simply amazed to see how the landscape could change so quickly from one part of the country to the another (the colors went from a lush, fertile green to a more rustic, almost coarse landscape – beautiful in it’s own right).   Continue reading Make My Order Of Haggis a Double, Please →
Castles, Family Stories, Food and Drink, History, Humor, Landscape, Photography, Quotes, Restaurants, Scotland, Sipping Espresso, Travel - Europe

Scotland – Where Real Men Wear Skirts

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No, I didn’t wear one myself, but only because we were already half-way through our trip before I came across a store that sold them.  Real men also eat haggis (sheep’s heart, liver and lungs encased in it’s own stomach) – I did do that!  Of course, so did my two-year old daughter… and she probably had more than all of us combined.

A scenic shot of the River Dee in the Scottish Highlands

Since living abroad, we’ve been able to get in touch with most of Jen’s roots.  Her father is Italian (hence us living in Italy) and we’ve gone to many of the places where he has or had family.  Since he grew up in Africa, we still have that left to do.  Jen’s mother grew up in Ohio, and having crossed that off the list multiple times – it was time to go a bit further.  Diane’s lineage is a mixture of Irish (we went to Dublin in March, HERE) and Scottish.  Now, it was finally time to go to Scotland!  And since Jen’s parents and sister were here visiting us, we would all embark on this adventure together. Continue reading Scotland – Where Real Men Wear Skirts →