Notes for visitors

This past week, two of my best friends from Willamette came for a visit. Hannah currently lives in Maine, Shannon is in Seattle, and (obviously) I'm in Scotland - but we've still managed to see each other quite a bit in the last few years. However, with a serious lack of visits planned on my end, they surprised me with plans to come and see me out here. Pretty awesome friends, right?

Matt and I always remember how great Scotland is when we have people come to visit (hint, hint - you should all do so) and we get to show off our tiny village and the surrounding area. This trip was no exception - there was a ridiculous amount of scenery photo ops, lots of Scottish specialties (props to Shannon for trying haggis for breakfast), and of course, beer and whisky tasting. We also added a few new ideas to our 'visitor to do' list:

When we were in Edinburgh, we found this amazing whisky shop on the Royal Mile:


Apparently, most whisky (that's Scotch, to the rest of the world) is watered down and full of additives to create an even color and flavor for export. However, independent bottlers (such as this one) don't 'chill-filter' or use additives, so the whisky is a lot stronger and has more variety from cask to cask. I hear from Shannon and her husband that the bottles she took home were pretty great, so I'm looking forward to trying to little bottle Matt purchased. Remember, future visitors, you can check up to 1 litre per bag on your flight home!

Aside from finding whisky, we finally got a chance to climb Arthur's Seat. We had been down to Holyrood Palace before, but never into the park and it was truly incredible. Next time, we'd like to take a picnic so we have something to eat while we enjoy this view:


We also decided to check out the Camera Obscura (and World of Illusions) at the top of the Royal Mile. Not only did the rooftop afford more amazing views of the city, but the activities kept Shannon, Matt, and I fascinated for almost two hours.

All in all, it was a great visit with wonderful people (and nice weather, for March!) and a nice chance to take a break and play tourist in our area. We've got Joe and Christine booked for September, but if any of the rest of you feel so inclined, we would love to expand our visitor repertoire and show you around!