So long, Scotland! We love ya (traffic circles and all)!

Traveling, I like to say, usually has at least one big challenge.  There is something that goes wrong, some nightmare challenge that comes up, something that tests you to your limit. On this trip, that never happened to us. And... that is mainly because of the good guys of Budget Rental Cars.

You see, after a long trip through Scotland (on very small roads with PLENTY of traffic circles), I left my passport in the rental car.  I never would have even known, but the nice guys called me yesterday while we were (yay!) still in Scotland.  So Bob looked at me and said, "Sounds like that could have been our big challenge..."  And it never happened.  

I wasn't surprised the rental car guys tracked me down. Because EVERYONE here is so nice. People have been lovely and so friendly everywhere in Scotland.  And while I find myself constantly apologizing for the state of affairs in the U.S., everyone knows how to see us as separate from our country's craziness.  People are welcoming, curious, happy to have you here.  It truly has been a fantastic experience.

If I had to highlight some of the best parts of this wonderful 3.5 week trip:

- London!!!  I loved every one of the seven days there.  I loved the theatre, getting around on the tube, staying in Covent Garden and hanging out from dear friends who joined me from back home.  I loved the history of London, the tours I booked... it was grand.

- Old England.  Bath and York are both AMAZING. I also got to see Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol and Oxford. But my favorite was York, I think. I stayed in a wonderful hotel (the Grand... five stars!) and the town is fantastic.  A highlight was the Roman walls around the city and all of the little passageways.  

- My best places.  I loved my hotel in York, my VRBO in Bath was right next to the baths AND our last place in Glasgow is fabulous (Also called the Grand... Voco Grand, next to the train station).  I had a few places that were not quite as great, and loved the places that stood out.

- The villages.  I loved Mallaig, where you catch the ferry to Skye, Oban (both great water towns), Inverness and Portree on Skye.

- Pushing myself to drive.  Driving here was no joke.  I only did it from Edinburgh to Glasgow and all around Scotland for a week, but it was REALLY tough. The smalllllll roads are a challenge.  It was pretty windy and rainy on Skye while we were there. Lots of construction and places where you need to pull over to let others go. But the hardest part for me was the traffic circles. Bob did a great job of giving guidane as I made my way through each one of them, but I get why people warn you... and that is in addition to driving on the left.  :-) But we prevailed... and that was including a low tire situation and an unexpected stranding at a tire repair place. Yay, us!

- Tea.  I had so many wonderful teas here.... I think I will be dieting for a year.

- The tours.  I planned a lot of wonderful tours... castles, whiskey tours, Harry Potter, the Beatles.... it was all lots of fun. The tourguides are great and I loved learning so much about this lovely land. Last night’s whisky tour was such a beautiful way to wrap it up. 

- The art.  I saw maybe 10 museums between all of the cities, including THREE paintings by Van Gogh.  I will never forget it.

—TRAINS!! I loved the trains so much! Between trains, planes and automobiles, I covered some ground!

- The churches. The only thing I saw more of than museums was churches.  I loved the cathedrals so much. It is very hard to choose a favorite. How do you choose between cathedrals like St. Paul, Westminster and much more? I will tell you for sheer beauty, I may go with the Glasgow Cathedral.

So tomorrow is our big trip home. Sounds like the entire day is going to be about 20 hours, counting from when we leave here in Glasgow to walking into our home on Vashon Island.  Lots of patience will be called upon.  But I am telling Bob I plan to be less bothered, less antsy.  I am just going to try to get every last moment of beauty I can from this amazing, wonderful adventure. This is the longest vacation I think I have had in my life. And it has left me memories for a lifetime. I am so deeply grateful for the experience and cannot wait utnil the next adventure.

Thanks for coming along with me!