27 posts tagged “travel”
If Ireland was the drinking component of the trip (and, yes, it was!), then Scotland was the eating part! I'm working on my pictures and am remembering some of the foods I got to try:
The hog roast roll at Oink - every day the roast a locally-raised pig, put the recognizable body in the window, and serve hog roast rolls until they run out.
Oatcakes at the Taste of Scotland event (handily across from our hotel in Glasgow.. we had free lunch that day!). Oatcakes are a mild near-biscuit that are served with cheese & pickle, or with jam. I actually made some when I got home (I find I really want to cook SOMETHING when I've been away for a while) but the results from this recipe
are too sweet. I'll try again, though, as I brought home some Branston pickle as this trip's food tourism. (I had it in a couple of cheese & pickle ploughman's sandwiches.)
Cranachan - this is a Scottish dessert that's basically whipped cream and raspberry, with some ground oats (I think) mixed in. It was only okay. It was fun getting the waitress to pronounce Cranachan for me. It's more like Crrrrran-a-hhgghan. I can't figure out how to spell the throaty swallowed gghh sound.
Mince & tatties = minced meat and potatoes. Yummy and basic (and salty!).
Salmon, and some other fish at a fancy restaurant, but I can't remember what type it was. It was red-something.
That's how many pictures I took! 748! Don't worry, I'm a ruthless editor and will cull them a lot, and I'll also split them up into smaller groupings, because I don't expect ANYone to hang through that many pictures at once!
I'm back from my trip and it was great. I can't believe it's over, of course, and am a little sad about it, but I'm also ready to be home. I'll pull together a few blog posts as I go over my pictures - here's what's on my mind at 5 am (I just can't sleep in any further - my body thinks it's 1pm).
Both parts of my trip were great. Ireland was nothing short of epic, traveling with up to six people, driving over 1,000 km, and keeping the Guinness flowing in the evenings. My mom broke her collarbone 2 weeks before the Scotland leg, but she came anyway and got along fine. The people we met were quite helpful, though the weather was not at all good for much of our time in Scotland. Ireland's weather was a bit nicer - kinda crappy for the first few days, and nicer toward the end of the ten days. Still, all the books say that spring in that part of the world = big rain, and I can testify to it!
Food
The food was almost universally excellent. I got a couple of only-ok fish & chips, and I stuck to a tradition I started in Italy where the first meal in-country is just bad (in this case, I got some meat in between two slices of white bread.. not very inspired). I had the best seafood chowder of my life, truly, at O'Dowd's in Roundstone, Ireland. I had an amazing melon & rocket (arugula) salad in Glasgow. All the fish I had was crazy fresh and well-prepared. I will, however, say that I'm fully over the full Irish/Scottish breakfast, which is meat + meat + meat + meat + egg + toast + a tiny girlled-to-death tomato. And beans if you're lucky. And no.. that's not an exaggeration!
Drink
The Guinness really was yummy, though I don't know that it tasted very different to me from the US Guinness - I guess I'll have to go have one here and see if I notice a difference! I kind of hope it tastes the same, since what we have is what I get. However, my favorite discovery is Hot Whisky, which is a bar drink that seems pretty widely available in Ireland. Now that I think about it, we may only have ordered it in smaller towns, I'm not sure, so maybe it's more old-school. Anyway it's some whisky, super-hot water, and a thin half-slice of lemon with three cloves studded into it. It's dreamy. I asked one bartender/waiter guy in Scotland if he was familiar with it and he wasn't, so I suppose it could be an Irish-only thing.
As far as non-alcohol goes, I stuck with tea almost exclusively. Everywhere you go, when you ask for tea, you get a little pot, and a little side container of milk, and a proper cup and saucer and little spoon. It's so damn civilized - I can only imagine the horror of people who've grown up with that coming here and being served a little thing of hot water and a basket of tea bags... not the same at all! I did have coffee one time, but that was the morning after the wedding, at the official breakfast, when I was running on under 5 hours of sleep and probably still had a lot of alcohol in my system! At that point I was desperate for Hot Caffeine and happened upon coffee first.
Driving
Well - driving on the wrong side of the road is very exciting! And tiring, too, as it takes some crazy concentration at first. I was really happy that in Ireland we had an automatic transmission, so that was one less thing to focus on. Also, it felt like a team effort as the navigator would always talk the driver through the (terrifying, at first!) roundabouts. By the time I got to Scotland I was much more used to it - not flinching at all at oncoming traffic! - and added in a manual transmission for fun. Finding 3rd gear remained challenging, but I didn't hit anyone and no one hit me, so I'm chalking that firmly into the Win column.
Lodging
A lot of our lodging was arranged in advance, but even the times we/I were booking last minute, we didn't have any real problems. I borrowed an unlocked cell phone from a friend, and got an Irish SIM card for it, and I really recommend having a phone. We were able to have a three-person meeting of the minds in a parking lot with our guide books, and then book lodging in a TINY town at the end of the world (Kilcar, Ireland). That night there were 6 of us, three rooms, and I wouldn't have been comfortable just showing up in such tiny towns without reservations (ha! as if I'd EVER be comfortable without reservations!). How small was Kilcar? Well, there weren't any restaurants open so we had to drive 20 minutes back to the only one in the area that was open so early in the season. However, it did have at least three bars that were open, if not busy.
Harry Potter
I love the Harry Potter books, and it was really cool to be in the UK and see that some of the things in the book were actually modified from real-life things, but as Americans, we have no idea. An example I've known for a long time is that in the UK, they don't use Scotch tape (which is, after all, a brand name) - instead they use cello tape (as in cellophane). Turning that into Spell-o tape to mend wands is a stroke of genius that I missed entirely for a long time. So, I found other examples of this while traveling.
While in Derry (aka Londonderry), my friends and I went to a bar and stumbled upon a football match being aired: Manchester United v. Arsenal - and even *I* have heard of those teams! Seeing the packed stadium and hearing the non-stop full-throated singing and chanting helped me see what quidditch is supposed to be like. Also, when I arrived in Edinburgh, I passed a town nearby that has a massive stadium and was hosting something like ten rugby matches that day - the streets were filled with people in team jerseys streaming toward the event.
I was walking through the Queen St. train station in Glasgow and saw signs for Platform 9, Platform 8, then an arrow saying something could be purchased on platforms 3/4 - not a big leap to get to Platform 9 3/4!
When you're waiting for the bus in Scotland, you are supposed to stick out your hand to indicate to the approaching driver that you want his bus. I was walking past a map of bus routes in Edinburgh, and noted that they have a Night Bus route map and schedule - clearly J. K. used those two bits together!
Luggage
I was in a larger-than-carry-on sized suitcase, and although it was necessary, I was never happy about the size of the bag. Ironically, I even jettisoned some free books at one point, only to purchase books later in the trip when I was traveling solo! Towards the end of my trip, I checked the big suitcase into long term storage ("Left Luggage") at the train station, and carried only a small little backpack, and that was a HUGE relief. Especially when I got to the place I was staying in solo for my last two nights in Glasgow - it was a guest house that was created by knocking out the walls between three buildings, so I had to go through some very windy corridors and up a lot of stairs to get to my room. I'd have hated that with my big suitcase! However the really big excitement was when I reclaimed the suitcase - the combination lock on it refused to UNlock. I fiddled with it like mad, but in the end had to get it cut off, by a very helpful hotel maintenance guy.
Traveling solo
I had the last three days to myself, and at first it was nice to get to recharge my introverted batteries, but I think the fact is, I'm not a great solo traveler. It's not in my nature to strke up conversation and make friends with random people. I can entertain myself REALLY well during the day, and am happy as a clam hiking about and looking at things, but mealtime & evening companionship really improves a trip a lot! I'd had a romantic notion about traveling all over Scotland alone, and I'm really glad that's not how it wound up.
Expenses
I haven't crunched the numbers, but I did manage to average $45/night for my lodging, by sharing rooms, looking for deals, getting two FREE nights in a friend's cousin's country cottage in Liscannor, Ireland, and by staying in a super-shabby guesthouse when I was solo in Glasgow. That's about half what I guesstimated, so I'm really really happy about that.
What I'd do differently
1. I bought an 8-day train pass and only used half of it. Next time I might get a better idea of my itinerary and THEN buy the train ticket.
2. If I'm going to have a two-part trip like I did this time, I'll try to book in some solo travel time between the two main events, so I get a chance to restore my energy!
3. I would bring a smaller bag. I did use everything I brought, but I felt oppressed by it. I could not have packed smaller this time, given that I was going to a wedding and so brought a dress, wrap, shoes, purse, makeup, etc. - but for my future reference, I prefer to travel light!
Gear that worked well
1. I was super happy with my wool clothing. The shirts were light but warm, the one I washed in my room dried very fast, and they didn't get stinky at all. I had two lightweight long-sleeve wool shirts, one black, one brown. One was from Royal Robbins, one was from Icebreaker. I also had a zip-up wool/polysomething lightweight sweater which was a workhorse. I also had an Icebreaker pull-over heavier item, and I did use it earlier in the trip, but not so much later. I preferred the zip-up layer when possible, since it was easier to negotiate.
2. I was also really happy with my Keen shoes. I had a second pair of shoes that I rarely wore - they're old, and I intended to jettison them if I needed luggage room (but I didn't).
3. My Eddie Bauer rain jacket was a trooper. It was put to the test many a day and I never got wet underneath it.
4. My Timbuk2 mini messenger bag was perfect for day-to-day usage. It held pens and my passport and wallet and notebook securely, and I had enough room for a tour book, map, glasses, and bottle of water - all I really needed, without schlepping along a lot of extra crap. I like that it closes with velcro AND a clip, so I was never worried about stuff falling out, or persons getting into it without my knowledge.
*sigh* I can't believe it's over! I also can't believe it's only 6:15 in the morning!
Hmmm it's been quite a while since I updated! I'm socially busy as usual, knitting up a storm (am working on the first of two arms for my sweater.. no, not making a three-armed sweater!), and am really excited about my pending trip.
I'm thrilled at the itinerary - roughly thus:
Friday: get rental car, drive to my friend's cousin's country cottage in County Clare
Sunday: drive to Galway
Tuesday-Friday: work our way around northeast Ireland, and Northern Ireland, ending in Newry in time for the wedding that is the main cause of this trip.
Saturday: head to Belfast, Sunday fly out of Belfast to Scotland
Which looks like this:
Tuesday: take the train to Inverness, pick up rental car
Tuesday-Thursday: drive around, mostly west, to the Isle of Skye and wherever else we feel like going.
Friday: train to Glasgow
Sunday: small-town Highland Games west of Glasgow, then back to Edinburgh
Monday: mom leaves
Then I have three days to do whatever I want, as I leave from Dublin on Thursday the 14th. I currently have a 50-dollar plane ticket from Glasgow to Dublin on Wednesday. I'm not sure what I'll do in the meantime. I could go to Aberdeen, I could go to other-random-place-in-Scotland. I'm also thinking I could hop a plane to London for a couple of days, and just scrap the $50 ticket I've already booked. I wonder how late I can make that decision? I'd kind of like to see how I'm feeling - will I want Big City, or Small Town, or Quaint Seaside, or what? I spent two weeks in London in 1999, I think, so I don't feel like I *have* to go.
If I had it all to do over (it seems early for hindsight for something that hasn't happened!) I might not buy the rail ticket I have, since I'm going to have a rental car or will be in a city most of the time. That's one vote in favor of taking the train to Someplace, Scotland on Monday/Tuesday.
I'm trying to figure out luggage options. I think that I'll be a LOT happier if I travel with a small carry-on size. My one friend can view lots of options as abundance, but I think I get oppressed by too many options to sift through (probably why I prefer to Just Decide, now that I think about it), and that applies very much to clothing - especially since I'll be packing up at least every other morning.
Costs:
So far this is coming in under my wildly made up budget. I'm sure whatever I wind up not spending on lodging will be spent on food and drink, but that's okay. I've been saving for this trip since October, I think.
Transportation:
Airfare, train pass, and two shared rental cars = $1280. Add in gas and I should have all three weeks covered for $1400
Lodging:
I'm doing really well with this so far. I guesstimated $75/night and I'm averaging $45/night instead (woo!) That's not counting the two free nights, either! A couple of nights are in fancy places and several nights are in more low key spots That leaves me with ten nights that are unbooked, so I do have a lot of opportunities to blow the budget all to hell, but so far I'm feeling pretty good about this aspect of the trip.
Excitement Meter:
Pinging hard
Ah, what a nice sunny day it is today! I frittered it in a lovely way: got caught up on BSG (wow), did tons of laundry, got a bunch of recycling out, and have been poking about looking at my travel plans.
It looks like I'll have about ten days in Scotland traveling solo. It should be really cool! But it leads me to really really think about what I want to do, where I want to go, and how structured I want to be. I know I'll be leaving from Belfast, probably on the 3rd of May, and have to be back in Dublin on the 13th (my flight is mid-morning on the 14th). I just spent a while concluding that a ferry back to Dublin is going to be a huge hassle, not worth it, so I'm going to probably fly back to Dublin from wherever. That much will definitely get locked in!
Leaving Belfast, I think I will take a ferry to Stranraer, which is about 2 hours south of Glasgow. If I leave Belfast early Sunday (a 7:25 am ferry), I'll get to Stranraer with an hour before the train to Glasgow, and will arrive in Glasgow just before 1pm (13:00 - I'm trying to get used to that time structure). That seems perfect, and is the best arrangement I could find so far.
From there, it's a bit of an open question. I can take a train from Glasgow north to Oban or Fort William, and from there maybe to Edinburgh. Edinburgh is a major hub, so I can then take the train to Dundee or Aberdeen or Inverness or, or, or...
I'm leaning more and more toward traveling ultra-light. I expect it'll be rainy and not terribly warm. I have a rain coat, and a couple of wool shirts and silk long johns. Do you think I can travel with 3 shirts, 2 pants, 2 warmer layers, a couple of shoes and a jacket or two? All I know is, I get stressed out by having too much crap with me. So, hm.
I have to start deciding soon: about a week from now I can start booking tickets and rooms at hostels, I think.
Of course the idea of traveling ultra-light opens the luggage question: wheels or backpack? what I own, or borrowed, or purchased? the handle broke off of my small rolling suitcase; I hope I can get it fixed but am not sure how to start working on it. I have a camping backpack I could use, but would prefer something more suitcase-like. I've looked at a few carry-on bags that convert to backpacks, but I would have to be VERY dedicated to the traveling light proposition.
hrm, hrm, hrm.
I feel a little silly about my headline.. after all, it's warm HERE compared to lots and lots of places. Still - I went to see my sister in Florida for a long weekend, and it was SO lovely. I was a bit worried about the travel because I still haven't really settled in post-Christmas, and was a bit sick to boot. But we had a super-fantastic time.
My favorite part was just sitting on the couch in the sun room looking out the windows. I felt like I was slipping into a Vacation Coma, a state I don't get into very often. I began hatching elaborate schemes to stay on the couch forever, including a walkie-talkie to use to call for more coffee.
Ah, looking forward to a new year is always so fun! I have BIG PLANS, my friends. huge.
As per usual, much of my plans involve travel. The big! exciting! one is that I'm going to the UK for three weeks in April/May. Friends are getting married in Belfast and are being incredibly gracious in allowing this C-list-friend (at BEST) to crash the party. Since I'll be out that way, I'm going to spend a week circling Ireland, 2-3 days being wedding-focused, a week exploring Scotland, and approximately 4 days in Wales or something. I spent 2 weeks in London in 1999 so don't feel the need to dip that far south this time.
I'll also be going back to Ashland for the Shakespeare Festival. I may be going in Julyish this time - partly so we can experience a different season, and partly because I may be crewing for crazy bike friends on a weekend event outside of Portland. I figure I can head north to Ashland, head further north and do the bike race support thing, and then come home. They're not sure they're doing the ride, though, so it may be only Ashland, which is fine, as I'll have thoroughly pillaged my vacation time already.
Other travel: Florida to help my sister move/see her new place at the end of January. Portland and Rhode Island in December. I've heard rumblings of some friends maybe hiking Half Dome, possibly this fall, and I would love to do that (though... it looks scary hard). Every year I intend to camp and hike more than I actually do, so maybe a trip to Big Sur or Shasta is in order. Then of course there's wine country day trips, some biking, and hopefully I'll have visitors this year (though none booked yet!), and there you go: 2009.
What else does the year hold? Most importantly, I'm going to pay off my final scrap of debt: my student loans. Right now I'm saving aggressively so I can pay for all of my big trip as it occurs (I already paid for my ticket), but after that, Sallie Mae is getting the giant smackdown. And I will be 100% out of debt for the first time since I got out of college! (of course then I start saving for a mortgage.. but that'll take ages before I nerve myself up to purchasing real estate)
Well, my trip is over. I'm sad, because it was great, but I'm happy, because I loved every minute of it. I even had a tiny bit of love in my heart for the twelve-hour day spent biking on Day 5... hard and long as it was, it was beautiful. Here's my mini photo journal:
Our hats were SO great, but unfortunately Ken & Lisa stayed behind due to Hideously Infected Cat Bite:
And the biking buddies I was traveling with were great fun.
And by the .. 12th or so day of vacation, I had no idea what day or time or date it was. It was perfect.
So it's been, I dunno, let's say a while since I posted here. Sorry, Faithful Reader!
I'm off on vacation starting TOMORROW! I'm unreasonably giddy, but I think the last time I had 2 weeks (and three weekends!) off was the summer of 2001 when I was unemployed. (Then I had a total of 20 weeks off, which was awesome.. but a little stressful too.) .. Edited to add: I realized I had a chunk of time off before this job, a month maybe. Of course that was full of conference travel and packing and driving here and unpacking... so it wasn't very vacationny.
I'm excited! Road trip and hanging out in a cool small town with smart great people, seeing plays, having a picnic, and relaxing. Another little road trip and almost a week in one of my favorite cities, visiting people I don't get to see NEARLY enough, and having a tiny bit of down time too. Then yet another little road trip and a WEEK of camping and biking with great fun lovely people. Then another trip back to the city, and the next day an 18-hour train ride back to work. Yeah, the train ride is a wee bit long, but should be a nice chance to decompress and stare out the window and nap. And since it drops me off across the street from work within 15 minutes of my start time (..except I'm expecting it to be late as usual), it's so efficient it makes my little heart sing.
See yaz. Pics on my return.
My trip:
Here's the list version of my travels. Oh, and I'm happy to report that I just did the math and the entire week cost me $750, practically on the nose.
Day 1: travel to NYC - wow, is a direct flight the awesomest thing ever? Yes, I think it is.
Day 2: walk NYC - I focused on the East Village/Soho/Greenwich Village area. I visited three parks: Tompkins, Union, and Washington Squares. I bought a cd from a jazz quartet playing in Washington Sq. I ate at a Ukrainian restaurant, visited a yarn store, two book shops, and a high-end chocolate store. I walked and walked and walked and walked.
Day 3: NYC -> Boston - I took the (cheap, a bit smelly, but timely, and did I mention cheap?) Chinatown Bus to Boston. When I arrived in Boston, I didn't have my wallet! I thought I must have left it in my suitcase in NYC (I'd left stuff behind so I could travel light), but Jennifer later realized for me that I DID have the wallet at some point, since the bus stopped for snacks en route to Boston. Doh! I was unbelievably fortunate - the driver had found the wallet and left it for me at the main desk. It was missing the NYC bus pass and the $20 I'd had in it, but I was so relieved that was fine by me. The non-heart attack portion of the day involved meeting another old friend for lunch at a favorite spot from the old days, walking through the Boston Common, down Newbury Street, through the first large public library in this country, and up to the Top of the Hub for a yummy yummy drink. Dinner at a tapas restaurant and home.
Day 4: Reunion. It was great! Shockingly, the women looked pretty much exactly the same; the guys looked a bit puffier but were otherwise unchanged. Those who had kids had *good* kids, and we got to revisit our old dorms (even breaking into one of them, via a conveniently unlocked window). Good times.
Day 5: More time in my old stomping grounds in the Boston area, especially my three favorite places in Inman Square. Then to RI to see my parents & older brother, all of which was lovely. Their neighborhood is so full of trees in the early summer!
Day 6: morning in RI, then train to NYC and finally I got to see my NYC hostess (I was crashing in her apartment alone, as she was out of town on the first part of my trip). We walked through Central Park and had an amazing burger for dinner.
Day 7: Another day of walk walk walk walk walk in NYC. This time we hit a cool museum shop, another famous library, got some for-real New York pizza (made in a coal-fired brick oven!), and then walked over the Brooklyn Bridge (that's a cool link). Finally we walked down to Wall Street and picked up my friend's brother's tickets to see the Yankees/Blue Jays game. It was great to visit Yankee Stadium, but so weird to be surrounded by Yankee fans (I'm a Red Sox fan because my family is... I really don't care much at all).
Day 8: one last walk through a rainy Central Park, and my flight home. Sadly, not a direct flight, but it went without a hitch.
Pics will be up later... I'll put some highlights here! Man, I can't believe the trip is over. It was great and I am TIRED but happy it all went so well.
