{"id":10212,"date":"1998-06-11T19:02:59","date_gmt":"1998-06-11T16:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/?p=10212"},"modified":"2016-09-07T13:59:38","modified_gmt":"2016-09-07T10:59:38","slug":"traveling-to-and-arrival-in-scotland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/traveling-to-and-arrival-in-scotland\/","title":{"rendered":"Traveling to and Arrival in Scotland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wednesday June 10th<\/sup>, 1998 6:52 pm<\/p>\n

I\u2019m on flight 425 to Toronto, waiting for takeoff. I\u2019m so<\/em> nervous! Everything\u2019s gone well so far, though. (My mother)\u00a0and Grand-maman (who insisted on coming) took me out for supper. I tried a \u2018Rickard Red\u2019 beer. It\u2019s… red! And delicious.<\/em> Both agreed it would loosen me up but wear off by the time I got on the plane. They were right! I suppose that my nervousness comes from the fact that this is my first major trip where I\u2019ll have only myself to rely on. I guess I\u2019d feel better if I hadn\u2019t listened to (my mother) and booked my bed at the Glasgow youth hostel. Anyhoo, I\u2019m getting there early. If worse comes to worse I\u2019ll have time to go to Paisley (!) Or Milgavie (pronounced \u2018Mullguy\u2019) and sleep there.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so… peaceful here. Soothing music is playing. The setting sun comes through my window in golden rays. I feel that my whole life has come together, it\u2019s all existed to reach this<\/em> point in time. Yes, it\u2019s like everything I\u2019ve done in my life has lead up to this moment. It\u2019s my<\/em> hour, my<\/em> month, and my dream<\/em>. It\u2019s up to me whether or not it becomes a nightmare. Think good thoughts! If this is a dream, it\u2019ll be the best dream of my life, so there<\/em>!<\/p>\n

8:41<\/p>\n

Waiting patiently for my 9:30 connection. [Everything\u2019s going off without a hitch! It was funny, landing in Toronto, the new developments look like models of houses!]<\/p>\n

The flight to Toronto was wonderful. The pressure I felt was minimal <\/em>thanks to a bit of gum and some ginger ale! We even got free cheese flavoured \u2018Sun Chips\u2019. \u00a0At one point, we were flying between two levels of clouds. Our optimum altitude was about 35,000 feet. (My mother) bought me 3 magazines and I read one, as well as a terrific<\/em> short story by (my best friend at the time). \u00a0So far so good.<\/p>\n

9:17<\/p>\n

I\u2019m nestled quite comfortably in my seat for the flight to Glasgow. This<\/em> time I knew how the seat belt worked! Why I don\u2019t remember from last time is beyond me! Later.<\/p>\n

July 11th<\/sup>, 1998 6:25 Glasgow time<\/p>\n

The sun is rising over the Atlantic in golden pink magnificence.<\/p>\n

8:16 GT<\/p>\n

The food (I got my vegetarian option) has been delicious<\/em>! I got an hour snoozet after seeing \u2018The Man in the Iron Mask\u2019. Now, the clouds have cleared. \u2018The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"map\"<\/a><\/p>\n

12:36 GT<\/p>\n

[I am so discouraged!!!] Nothing<\/em> is going as I \u2018planned\u2019. Haggis (the operator of the jump on\/jump off tour I followed the first half plus a bit of my journey) is picking me up at 4:30 tomorrow. I\u2019ll be sleeping in Edinburgh tomorrow night. I guess I\u2019ll be doing my circuit backwards, backtracking to Edinburgh for the 27th<\/sup>. I\u2019ll do Ben Nevis later rather than earlier. Now that I\u2019m putting this down on paper, I\u2019m getting more relaxed. I mean I\u2019m here<\/em> aren\u2019t I? (The Glasgow youth hostel that is?) Unfortunately, I won\u2019t have access to my bed until 2:00. Since I\u2019ll be \u2018stuck here\u2019 till tomorrow, I think I\u2019ll just stay in this afternoon (maybe I\u2019ll feel different once I\u2019m clean and changed) and get an early night! I\u2019ve already spent the \u00a320 allocated to today on bus to the city, bus to the hostel, bed (\u00a311.50) and \u00a35 phone card. I\u2019ll pull out \u00a35 and try to get some dinner. I did<\/em> say \u00a325 a day. It\u2019s understandable that the first day is a little more expensive.<\/p>\n

I must say that my first\u00a0view of Scotland was breathtakingly beautiful<\/em>. It\u2019s so lush and green and hilly! I saw Loch Lomond from above. Unfortunately, fatigue and stress are masking any joy I should be feeling. To be honest, I\u2019d give my right arm to be in my bed right now! But this is only the first day. It\u2019ll most likely get better once I\u2019m out in the country.<\/p>\n

I sat next to a really nice woman on the plane. She\u2019s from Calgary, but she\u2019s lived in Scotland. She told me lots of great stories. She also gave me a card so that I can contact her if I have any questions.<\/p>\n

Actually, I think that once I get access to my room, I\u2019ll go straight to bed! I\u2019m not in a mood to go anywhere. I\u2019d better perk up soon, I have \u2018I\u2019m-so-enthusiastic-I-never-want-to-leave\u2019 postcards to send! Yes, I\u2019m sure that the picture will be brighter in the morning.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m in Scotland<\/em>. It looks a lot like home (one part on the way from the airport looked like the 10 near St. Lambert!), but it feels different. Glasgow has yet to impress me. What I\u2019ve seen is dirty. I said the same thing about New York, and you know how I loved<\/em> N.Y.C.!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m enjoying using \u00a3\u2019s and p\u2019s, etc. \u2018They\u2019 have half-pound coins. Their shape is funny! I have no change left for tomorrow. I\u2019m going to get more cash tomorrow afternoon since I don\u2019t know how the banks and ATMs are on the weekend. (You can use the ATM\u2019s seven days a week, but not every bank will accept a withdrawl from an overseas account. I had the best luck with the Clydesdale bank. By taking out money once a week, I only used cash for my trip and I had very little on me at all times, most of which I kept in a secret pouch next to my skin. The exchange rate was actually better than what was offered in \u2018bureau de change\u2019 and the exchange from dollars to pounds was made automatically and immediately.)<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to be okay. I know I am. But right now I\u2019m tired, dirty, and probably hungry, only I\u2019m to tired to go in search of food. Maybe a short<\/em> nap!<\/p>\n

3:06 GT<\/p>\n

Everything\u2019s going to be okay. This is a very<\/em> nice hostel. My \u00a311.50 includes sleepsack and pillowcase as well as breakfast. We have a private shower and toilet. I just took a shower. Unfortunately, it was ice<\/em> cold! I do<\/em> feel much<\/em> better now! Totally<\/em> excited and ready to do some serious sight seeing! Amazing what a change of clothes can do!<\/p>\n

There are white clouds, but boy is it sunny! (It was so sunny my first week I actually got a minor sunburn!)<\/p>\n

7:02 pm (from now on, unless otherwise mentioned, G.T.)<\/p>\n

I did about 3 hours worth of walking this afternoon. I made it to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and had one hour to wander around the unimpressive exhibits. Oh, there was<\/em> interesting stuff, but nothing new except for a painting of Burns. Unfortunately, \u2018Massacre at Glencoe\u2019 was no longer on exhibit. Figures.<\/p>\n

I then got myself purposely lost searching for food without a map. I eventually ended up buying a cheap (but delicious and filling) veggie burger at the European (or at least Scottish) equivalent of a fast food joint. But here there\u2019s little fast but rather lots of courtesy and edible<\/em> food.\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018When in doubt, do as the locals do\u2019 and it was obvious that the owner had \u2018regulars\u2019. Sure, the place was kind of seedy. Who cares? When I got out of there, nibbling on my very yummy potato\/cheese\/chive burger, I was caught by an unexpected spill of rain (ain\u2019t that poetic?) The rain came down really weirdly, it looked and felt like long filaments of water rather than individual droplets.<\/p>\n

Some observations:<\/p>\n