Scotland & Ireland: A 10 year trip in the making…

This past summer I finally crossed off an item from my bucket list that has been haunting me for 10 years. I finally made it to my dream destination in the ancient country of Scotland! When I tell you that I have been planning this trip for over 10 YEARS, I am not exaggerating. I knew I wanted to go to Scotland when I first heard the Amazing Grace rendition on the bagpipes when I was a young woman serving in the Honor Guard at Travis Air Force Base in California. I provided military honors to well over 70 funerals during my time there, but it was always the funerals with the bagpipes that left me teary-eyed. There is something just so haunting about the sound of the bagpipes and as I did research on its origins and culture, I became extremely fascinated with Highlander culture. I knew I wanted to go to Scotland to witness this culture for myself so I began keeping a list of sites to see and places to go.

Fast forward to 2019, I finally watched the show Outlander and was captured not only by the handsome Highlander Hero Jamie Fraser, but also by how well the show (and books) portrayed the series and unfolding of history as it was…right down to the colloquial-isms and the details in the time period. It’s history and a love story all in one and I was sold! I had a deployment coming up where I could save money to plan my trip and set out to find the help of a travel agent. Here is why I chose to hire a travel agent:

• Most agents have an extensive travel background and can give you helpful tips on transportation, currency and etiquette.
• My agent in particular had previously traveled to Scotland and Ireland and suggested I see the two while I was there. He also had contacts there to reach out to directly for private tours to set up.
• Travel agents can tell you the best times to travel, off peak and during tourism. They also give you an honest opinion on the sites worth seeing and what to expect when you get there.
• Travel agents take all your must-have’s and must-see’s and can plan a trip for you that makes sense logistically and financially. They work with everyone and ANY budget.

During my deployment, COVID happened and I was stuck in Oman for nearly a year. You can read all about beautiful Oman and the things I saw and did while I was there HERE. Travel was up in the air and my agent and I made the call to scrap the trip for the dates I picked and settled for travel the following year. I planned to go again in 2021 but then my baby boy Charlie decided to make his appearance in this world and I couldn’t very well go traipsing around Scotland at 7 months pregnant during a pandemic. So we put the trip on pause again. I was starting to think I would never go, but after some coordination and lots of planning we decided to finally pull it off this past August.

I took over A THOUSAND photos on this trip. Literally a thousand photos. So while i’d love to not break down the servers by uploading them all into one post, Im going to make this a 10-part series and breakdown all the incredible things we did day by day. So this post is going to start with DAY 1!

DAY 1: High Tea at the Signet Library

I am obsessed with old books and the Signet Library gave me two experiences in one. The first was being able to revel in a very old impressive library. As a child, I dreamt of a wall-to-wall library, with fun reading nooks and furniture and the ambience. Not to mention the smell of antique books is what inspired the Antique Books candle on my line. It also happens to be my best seller!

The other first experience I got to have was my very first High Tea. Im not much of a tea drinker (I would take coffee over tea any day) but when in the U.K., drink tea and let me tell you that this experience was divine. We got to select from a menu of teas, and I went with the House Blend, while Matt went with an Apple Mint infusion. Add a little cream and a cube of sugar and the tea was a nice sweet treat after a long trip.

The menu was preset, but since I was on a strict diet to lose weight for my surgery, they were able to accommodate a dairy free menu for me, which was just as delicious (yes, I did sample some of Matt’s food). Everything they brought out was miniature and bite size, but after three courses of trays, it was A LOT of food. We were stuffed.

Edinburgh City

If there is one thing we know about the Scots, it’s that their accent is unmistakeable. Thick, strong and loud…some would even describe their spouses this way but it took some adjustment for us to decipher at first. We wandered around the city for a bit, taking in the local culture and came across some very quaint shops downtown. Matt even got talk a bit with a former member of The Black Watch, a special operations military division with the Scottish Special Forces. He helped Matt to pick out his kilt which was such a coincidence. He was a lovely gentleman who took the time to talk with us touristy Americans.

We couldn’t resist a good selfie on such a beautiful day. Scotland, much like England and the other countries of the U.K. gets a lot of rainy and gloomy weather. The stars must have aligned because we got gorgeous weather almost everyday!

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

First, what is the Military Tattoo? No, it’s not a festival commemorating permanent ink and needles. Instead, the Royal Tattoo invites military members, bands, and exhibitions to come display it’s finest military members and skills. There were over 20 exhibitions at the 2022 tattoo to include Banda Monumental Mexico, The U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, the Top Secret Drum Corps of Switzerland, and the Highland Pipers. The respect for the performers was incredible, as you could hear a pin drop during small silences of the show. Attending the Royal Tattoo was a beautiful experience. It also paid homage to both mine and Matt’s military careers and if you have never been to any kind of tattoo, I highly recommend it.

The Tattoo was held at the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade which quite a hike on foot, but the show was worth every moment. It’s also a three day event so you can plan which day is better for your schedule, just make sure to buy your tickets in advance because they do sell out. Every seat sells!

And that’s a wrap for our day 1 trip. I have plenty more to show you and if you have any questions regarding the trip, whether it’s the info for my agent, or best places to see/eat in Edinburgh, drop it in the comments below! I can’t wait to show you more!