Where, oh where, has she gone??

Where have I been, you ask??

Or did you notice I was gone?

:)

Well, I went overseas. I just couldn't post that ahead of time. You know, for fear of the whole "broadcasting when you'll be away from your house and people break in" kind of thing.

We went to Ireland and to Scotland. It was quite interesting. I did enjoy being there, however, could have stood to spend a bit less time in Ireland. Now, don't get me wrong, it was absolutely beautiful. And the people were so lovely. It was an adventure in and of itself just learning the different ways they do things. You know, like the toilet flusher is on the wrong side of the tank. And also when you ask for the bathroom, they look at you like you're crazy. You ask for the toilet. Which is so crass to Americans. It's odd, isn't it?

The food was amazing. I'm not just saying that. The meat was so fresh and tasteful. It's apparent the differences in grass fed, free range, antibiotic free meat. I wish we would go back to that. You wouldn't believe how much you could tell the difference. And even better, they didn't cook everything in grease and fat. Even the pizza didn't come with fat pooled on top. And you know what? It tasted great. Not just great...it was BETTER than any pizza I've ever had in the US.

On another note, the shopping was nice. The fashion is so different, I felt like I was in another world though.

To the not so great stuff. We walked our arses off. About 8 miles a day. And it was cold, windy, cloudy, rainy. Even the house we stayed in in Ireland was always damp. The sofa, the carpet, everything. And good luck trying to get a hot bath. You may get a few minutes of hot water, but you better make it snappy. Basically we were just pretty uncomfortable after a few days.

But then we went to Scotland. Perfect! The only downfall was that it was more expensive there than in Ireland. It was probably best we were only able to stay there a couple of days. But really, the architecture was stunning, the people were also pretty nice, and the weather was a tad better. Best part of Scotland? The whiskey, of course!

So, overall, yes I'd recommend each place to travelers. However, you may consider a shorter stay and travel amongst other places closeby. A short 2 day trop to Brussels, Amsterdam or London would have been easy and broken up the monotony.

The pictures above - the first one is one tiny part of Edinburgh, Scotland. The second is in Ireland, at the Cliffs of Moher :)