{"id":2064,"date":"2010-09-23T06:00:44","date_gmt":"2010-09-23T11:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/?p=2064"},"modified":"2024-06-19T07:39:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T11:39:46","slug":"scotland-the-festivals-the-highlands-the-food-the-weather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/scotland-the-festivals-the-highlands-the-food-the-weather\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland: The Festivals, The Highlands, The Food, The Weather"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Having spent 10 days in Scotland, I\u2019m intrigued. Scotland \u2013 like so many<\/a> other<\/a> places<\/a> \u2013 is now on my list of destinations to return to, and experience slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some of the highlights:<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Scotland:<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This post was originally published in 2010. It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content. <\/em>

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Edinburgh<\/em><\/strong>: Festival Central<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The minute I stepped off the train in Edinburgh (by the way, taking trains and ferries all around the UK and Ireland is the <\/em>way to travel \u2013 but more on that in an upcoming post), my jaw dropped.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Edinburgh<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cEdinburgh is kind of like York on crack,\u201d was the demure explanation given to me by one fellow before I arrived. I wasn\u2019t entirely sure what that meant \u2013 until I disembarked and found myself standing in a sea of large five-story stocky buildings of inexplicable grandeur and character. Where York\u2019s architecture could be called quaint, Edinburgh\u2019s is grand.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Edinburgh<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Add to it the festival vibe \u2013 each summer consisting of numerous music and arts festivals including the Edinburgh International Fringe \u2013 and I was in heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Fringe<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Granted, if I lived in Edinburgh, I (like most residents) might come to dislike festival season, what with the hoards of people milling about aimlessly and generally getting in the way. But since I was happily one of the hoard, I simply gave in to the experience and loved every minute of it; the street buskers everywhere, casts promoting their show with various antics, and giant stage setups at every turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from Edinburgh\u2019s formidable festivals and constant activity, the city is absolutely gorgeous. Surrounded by giant green craggy hills (seven of them in fact), there are many opportunities to get up high and see a panorama of the city, replete with a castle in the centre, ocean at the side, and a solid collection of buildings and parks all around. My biggest regret was not bringing my camera to one such central hilltop at sunset; to see the well-placed lights illuminating the gothic features of this dense city as the sky darkened is a memory that will last a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parks are manicured to within an inch of their lives and are very useable. Although I hear the cost of living in Edinburgh is formidable, it also strikes me as a very \u201clivable\u201d city.

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The <\/em><\/strong>Highlands of Scotland<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After a few days in Edinburgh, it was off to the highlands for me. Being an avid hiker (\u201chill-walker\u201d as is one of the local terms), I was not disappointed. I rented a car<\/a> with a friend, a loose plan of where to go, and a totally inappropriate map for the journey. Much fun was had by all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See also: These are the best shoes for hiking<\/a>! <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Nora<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We drove through national parks, aside innumerable lochs (including none other than Lock Ness), around countless ports, and across islands. We toured distilleries (as a Scotch fan I had to see at least one distillery), stopped wherever we wished, and hiked our little hearts out.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Nora<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


The Food<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes. I had haggis. No. I didn\u2019t think about what haggis is really made of while I ate it. And yes. I loved it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from Scotland\u2019s iconic meaty haggis (which is a compliment to any meal of the day) I noticed another trend in Scottish cuisine; something I thought was attributable more to the English (what with their deep-fried bread instead of toast as part of a traditional English breakfast), but something which the Scottish seem to have a significant and creative handle on: fried foods.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"fried<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

You can get just about anything fried in Scotland. I remember hearing about deep fried Mars bars many years ago with an equal amount of horror and morbid interest. And although I didn\u2019t sample any odd deep fried delicacies myself, I visited a small take-away in Edinburgh that is reputed to be one of the best. In addition to all the regular fried foods you can imagine, here are a few of the more bizarre fried foods they had on offer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n