Wrapping up the trip

Originally written 10/13/11, but just now posting:

We got back a week ago, so I figured I'd do a concluding blog post to report on the trip back home since I haven't written since we left Glasgow.


We flew from Glasgow to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Atlanta with a 3-hour layover in Amsterdam. With no direct flights from Glasgow or Belfast to Atlanta, we had to fly the "wrong" direction to get back home. So, it was a long travel day.


So, we started off our day at around 7 a.m. (local time, 2 a.m Atlanta time) and got to the Glasgow airport around 8 or 8:30, where it began to hail while we were dropping off the rental car. Our flight wasn't until 10:50 and there's not as much advanced arrival required when flying between European countries, but we weren't sure of how long it would take to get to the airport, the check-in process, the airport layout, etc., so we figured better safe than sorry. The rental car return took a bit because the family in front of us took forever, but everything else was quick and smooth.


The Amsterdam airport was phenomenal--lots of shopping options, a free mini-art museum, even a casino. We grabbed a bite to eat and milled about for a while. We had to check in at the gate an hour before boarding there, and it's an airport where you go through security again before being let into the glass-enclosed gate area, where you can't get out to go to the bathroom or anything without going through security again. As we waited at the gate for the hour before boarding, I noticed several guys in dark suits all with the same or similar lapel pin follow the pilots onto the airplane, and I thought, "Boy, they're serious about security here!" It turns out they were U.S. Secret Service detail and former President Jimmy Carter was on our flight. He came around and shook everyone's hand before we took off.


The flight back was long 9-10 hours in flight, but it passed rather quickly thanks to the personal TVs on the plane. KLM is great. There were tons of movies, TV shows, video games and such. I think I watched 4 movies on the way back. We landed around 8:30 p.m. (local time) in Atlanta, but by the time we got to the terminal, went through customs, walked to baggage claim after the airport "train" broke down, etc., it was after 10 p.m. And traffic to and around the airport was tough, so it took Scott's brother Tim a bit to get to us after we picked up our luggage. So, we were glad when we finally got home.

Almost our last day

We woke up this morning and after picking up coffee and scones headed to Edinburgh. We spent most of the day at Edinburgh Castle. The weather was very windy, but mainly sunny. It began to drizzle a bit just as we left. It was an easy drive to get there, but we had a bit of trouble getting out. After a few turns and turnarounds, we finally got on the highway.

We stopped along the way back to Glasgow to get a small bit of gas, but apparently not enough. We almost ran out of gas. All sorts of signals started going off in the car as we got really close to our hotel. Fortunately, the guy who manages the car park was very helpful in pointing us to a gas station. He gave great directions, then we filled up a bit more than we wanted to since we'd pre-paid for gas at the rental car company, but better safe than sorry.

We made dinner again at our "apartment"--gnocchi and salad. (Lunch was another great soup--Scotch broth this time.)

Tomorrow a.m., we head to the airport for a 10:50 a.m. flight to Amsterdam then home to Atlanta by the evening. It's going to be a long travel day. Something tells me we'll crash pretty hard the moment we get home.

Kintyre & Glasgow

Our flight from Belfast to Glasgow on Sunday was canceled due to mechanical problems, after we tried to take off a couple of times, so rather than departing at 10:30 a.m., our 30-minute flight left at 1:05 p.m. But at least they gave us meal/refreshment vouchers.

Once we got to Glasgow, we picked up our rental car and drove to our hotel in Tarbert on the Kintyre peninsula. We drove along Loch Lomond (the largest lake in Great Britian) and through the Argyll Forest. Both were gorgeous. It was an incredibly beautiful drive! I don't think our pictures will do it justice. We passed our hotel because we were distracted by some sheep that had escaped their pen and were running down the road. Another great sheep photo opp! ;-)

The Stonefield Castle Hotel was very stunning as well, particularly as it seemed to pop up out of nowhere as we drove along a narrow drive. It overlooks Loch Fyne, and we took a stroll around the property Monday morning after breakfast and before heading on a drive further south on Kintyre. The drive along the coast was very pretty (on the west coast on the way down and on the east coast on the way back, with a stop at Westport Beach and in Campbeltown midway).

Campbeltown was once home to more than 30 whisky distilleries and once proclaimed itself the whisky capital of the world, but the industry has died down. No, we didn't do any whisky tasting here. In fact, we haven't yet tasted any Scotch/Scottish whisky and likely won't before we leave. All tasted out, I suppose.

Anyway, the trip south was very smooth and while I thought the roads were a bit narrow, they were pristine compared to the trip back north which was on a one-way road that had passing spots periodically along the way. At least it was daytime.

We stopped in Inveraray on the way back to Glasgow today. I bought a couple of wool scarves in the woolen mills there.

We had a bit of an obstacle driving through the one-way streets of Glasgow today, but found our hotel without much trouble. The place we are staying (Glasgow Lofts) is different than a typical hotel. It's more like an upscale Residence Inn in the U.S. It's a modern-design apartment with two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen, dining area, living room. In fact, it probably is the size of my former apartment, and it has a great view of Glasgow.

We're near a pedestrian shopping district, which has tons and tons of shops including a number of clothing stores popular in the U.S. (Gap, Diesel, Abercrombie, Urban Outfitters, etc.) and others that we've seen in our time in Ireland and the U.K. Good thing our suitcases were pretty much full from the get-go or I could have spent the day shopping. It was a chilly, drizzly day, so what better to do than shop, right?!? But, I resisted. We picked up some food for dinner tonight and tomorrow--simple pasta, sauce and salad. We about over eating out. We'll still grab coffee, tea and a scone in the coffee shop within our building and lunch out, but dinner in will be nice.

We're likely heading to Edinburgh tomorrow. We feel as if we've seen much of Glasgow already. Despite historic buildings, one city seems much like another after a while. It's only about an hour drive to Edinburgh, and while we've been driving quite a bit the past several days, we think it's worth a hop to the other side of Scotland while we're here.

It will be nice to have a few days at home before having to return to work.

Driving around Northern Ireland

Today was a driving day--just checking out the scenery in Northern Ireland for the most part, except for a snafu with our hotel reservations in Glasgow the final two nights. Fortunately, we got that sorted out and got booked in a different hotel. What a fun start to the day learning that news. Fortunately, we had internet and cell phone to help get it worked out while we ventured around the country.

Once again, I'm tired after a long day of driving, so here are a few highlights:

Went back to Dunluce Castle. It wasn't raining but was rather chilly. We took a number of photos there. The castle is built right on the edge of the cliff, so you have to wonder how many people fell off the edge over time.

Then, we drove along the coast and ventured to a spot were tall trees come together over the road. I spotted it on Google maps using the photo overlay. Some call it the Dark Hedges; I don't know if that's an official name. We got a couple of photos, but didn't travel all the way through as a wedding party was getting their pictures taken there. We didn't want to disturb that, of course.

We took a mid-day break in Ballymoney and ate at a small pub called Molly's. A cup of soup sure hit the spot. It's a very cute town.

Then, back in the car we went--driving through the Antrim Hills, past Slemish Mountain, then along the coast from Glenarm to Larne before heading to our hotel in Templepatrick, which I booked thinking it would be near the airport, but then we ended up flying out of the Belfast City Airport instead of Belfast International and couldn't change the reservation. So, we have a 10 mile drive to the airport in the morning. Fortunately, it's Sunday so there shouldn't be much traffic as we cross through Belfast (or at least the northern end of Belfast). Hopefully, I didn't just jinx us by typing that thought.

That's about it.

Tomorrow, we fly to Glasgow then drive to the Scotland countryside where we'll stay for a couple of days.