Ah Scotland, I looked Dead Sexy in a Kilt!

Hi everybody!

Well, my 2 weeks off for Christmas and New Years has flown by and I’m back at work. It was great to be back at school, I missed the kids and the staff but I find myself exhausted, I haven’t used my brain for 2 weeks, haha.

As most of you know I went to Scotland after Christmas for New Years. I spent 9 days there, stayed with my friends Dave and Juliet and was treated so well by them both. Not only did they pick me up at the airport but when I got to their place “Santa” had gifts for me under the Christmas tree, thanks guys! They even fed me and it turns out I like curry dishes, Juliet made an amazing one! If either of them ever need a kidney I’ll be the first to offer mine! J

I spent my first day in Glasgow looking around and doing some shopping, I got some pretty sweet deals on clothes for their boxing week sales! It was crazy how familiar it was, I had only been there once a couple of years ago and I remembered my way around. I took the train to Edinburgh the next day to do some sight seeing and there was a fair going on. It was weird to see a Ferris Wheel and other amusements rides in the middle of Edinburgh and in front of the old historic buildings. I’ve got some pretty cool pictures, I’ll send those out another time.

I went to Scotland because Juliet and Dave invited me to join them on a small island off the west coast called Tiree. We had to get up at 3 am to drive and make it to they ferry in time. The ferry was a 4 hour ride to the island and I had my first bought of Sea Sickness, couldn’t even blame it on alcohol. But it was worth it! We arrived to our destination along with some of Dave and Juliet’s closest friends. Every couple of years they get together, rent a large house on an island and celebrate Hogmany (that’s what they call New Years in Scotland). Each family took turns preparing lunches and dinners, we played games in the evenings, enjoyed a few drinks and even broke out the karaoke machine.

The Hogmany/New Years Eve celebration was by far the highlight. Dave was kind enough to hook me up in true Scottish formal wear, a kilt, dress shirt, vest and suit jacket. The kilt felt surprisingly, natural! For those of you who don’t know my Great Grandmother was born in Scotland, so I have a wee bit of Scottish in me. And yes, I wore the kilt like a true Scot, and I have to tell you it was a truly unique breeze when I went outdoors! We enjoyed a lovely 3 course meal of pâté and salad, a prime rib roast with roasted potatoes and veg and an amazing chocolate pie.

The place we stayed at was right on the ocean and the scenery was fabulous. We took in a hike along the beach and a driving tour around the island. It was hard to believe that it was December, it wasn’t that cold and there’s no snow (very strange for this Canadian boy). It was a bit windy but just enough sun poking out in the afternoon for us to enjoy the sights.

After the relaxing weekend in Tiree I had enough time to rent a car for the day and go on a road trip! I haven’t driven since renting a car London and cruising England and Wales, I’ve missed driving! I put on 300 miles in that day, made my way to Perth, St. Andrews and Peebles. Most of the touristy places in Perth were closed, so I wandered the city centre and made my way to St. Andrews. St. Andrews is the home of that famous golf course and where, of course, the game of golf was created. I didn’t get to play, would have cost a fortune and I don’t have my clubs, but I did get to wander the course, the beach nearby, checked out the British Golf Museum and wandered around city centre.

Sightseeing around in the winter is rather limited because it starts getting dark at 4:30, driving at night in Scotland could have been a challenge but luckily Dave let me borrow his GPS. I really want one now and I didn’t need to use a map, all I had to do was type in a destination and the computer told me where to turn and displayed a map on the screen.

My last destination on my crazy road trip was a bit of a family roots type of journey. In Peebles, Scotland there’s a monument of John Veitch who was a Philosopher, Poet and Professor at St. Andrews and Glasgow Universities. He was born and died in Peebles Scotland in 1894 and is a distant relative of mine. I wasn’t sure where the monument was, my Grandmother told me it was in the town but didn’t know where exactly. So I wandered in the rain and dark, decided to stop in a local pub and ask if anyone knew of the monument. A bartender gave me directions to an old grave yard that he thought might have it so I left the pub and on a whim decided to cross the street and guess what I found! The monument, what are the odds! I took pictures and will be showing them to my Grandma, I’ve already phoned her and told her about it and she was really excited. I went back to the pub to let them know where the monument was and sat for a pint, fish and chips and a great chat with some of the locals. I found out that Peebles is prospering from tourism, a lot of people are buying up houses to commute to Edinburgh and the population is about 12,000. What an experience!

So I didn’t spend this years holidays with family, but I did get to spend them with great friends and seek out my historical roots, so in a sense I was with family. 2006 has been amazing for myself, I can’t wait to see what and where 2007 will take me.

Take care everybody,
Stephen

P.S. I’ve moved to a double room in my house and have an air mattress and room for it! So, if any of you are planning to come visit me I can offer you a place to crash. And depending on who you are I might even give up my bed for you and sleep on the air mattress, haha. Let me know, I’d love to have visitors!