All vacations end up with special memories, things that made you laugh, made you go AH-OH, things you will always remember. This vacation was no different and here are some of the highlights for us.
FIRST RYANAIR FLIGHT
We were flying from Barcelona to Rome and I had my folding cane with me along with my backpack and small carryon suitcase. This was our only flight that used a walkway to/from the plane. All future flights had us using the plane stairs to board and get off.
I was standing in the line on the walkway waiting to board and took my hand off my suitcase for a minute. Mistake! The walkway was sloping down and my suitcase took off at a run. Without thinking, I started running after it, cane in hand, hollering “Excuse me, excuse me!”. Why I didn’t shout grab my bag or something similar. Fortunately, someone saw what was happening and grabbed the bag as I made my apologies.
ROME
We’ve seen so many movies where the police/fire/ambulance sirens are so different from our own in the states. When we hear them in real life, it totally tickled me.
MISHAPS
So many good memories of Scotland, saved in photos, but one sticks out for us both.
My Adventurous Husband
We were on our five day guided tour of the Highlands and we stopped to see a waterfall near the Old Man of Storr. It was a short hike but the path was very muddy, so I opted to stay back and let Stu go. About 15-20 minutes later, he arrived, covered in mud. He was trying to get a good view for a video of the water fall and slid into the mud. Good thing he had another pair of pants in the suitcase (and was wearing a baselayer of leggings). He stood at the back of the van and changed, putting the muddy pants into a plastic bag provided by our guide. He had to take off his sweatshirt as well. Everything got washed in the shower that night and thank goodness we were in the hotel in Inverness for two nights because it took that long for the pants and sweatshirt to dry.
Flying Hats
When we arrived in Scotland, it was cold, raining and the winds were gusting up to 40mph. Needless to say, my fedora didn’t want to stay on my head. I ended up tucking it under my jacket hood to keep it on my head. (photo) Thank goodness the weather changed the next day and stayed sunny all week!
The other flying hat was Stu’s. He had switched to his woven Panama hat when we arrived in Florida. Sunny & warm, right? Wrong! Extremely windy and cool. He lost his hat several times while waiting for our shuttle to get our rental car. (That was another defugalty – it took four shuttles before we managed to both get to Budget. Two were full, the third took me and the luggage, the fourth took Stu.).
ILLNESS
Yes, I managed to get sick. When we arrived in Barcelona, I had a scratchy throat and was tired. But not serious. By the time we were ready to fly to Rome, I was quite congested and when we were landing, I thought my ears were going to explode. I also noticed my taste had changed and I had switched to tea. By the time we arrived in Rome, I switched to cappuccino most of the time. Then I had a spell where I had a bit of confusion and couldn’t remember someone that I should have remembered. This all eventually passed, but we suspect it was COVID.
The next one came on quickly. We were at dinner the first night on the Holland America cruise. Just before dessert, I excused myself and went to our cabin. I crawled into bed fully dressed and when Stu arrived later, asked him to put one of the heavy beach towels over me as I was still freezing. By morning, I was fine. No idea what it was, but the fatigue hung on for a bit.
DRINKS
Our first night in Edinburgh, we ate at the restaurant beside our hotel. They were busy, mostly reservation only, so we waited at the bar for a seat. I decided to try some Guiness since that was the only darker beer they had. Guess, what? I loved it!
Irish Pub in Barcelona
I got to indulge my new love of Guinness (which I tried on our first night in Edinburgh) in a real Irish pub in Barcelona, of all places. All the employees were from Ireland! We loved it!!
Stu’s date with the girls
Our last night in Inverness and the tour, Stu was asked to go to a local pub with some of our tour mates. (I was spending time with my legs propped up to reduce the swelling from several days of them down too much.) We had traveled with some young ladies from various areas of the world. They heard a local musician would playing and they wanted to immerse in the whole Pub scene. Drinks, loud Scottish music and a raucous crowd. What fun!
Stu was surprised when one the young girls from Australia showed up with a tray of shots. He had no idea what was in them but enjoyed it. Later he found the young lady was just 16. Aye! To be in Scotland.
FOOD
Our first night in Barcelona (after our transatlantic cruise), we walked and looked for a good spot to eat. Not too far from the hotel, beside a HUGE tourist attraction (La Sagrada Familia church), we spotted a Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Ben & Jerry’s, and Five Guys. Yup, after ship food, we jumped on the chance for some Five Guys.
Fish and chips were the order of the day while in Scotland, they were always good and way too much. We should have split a serving, but always forgot. I got to try Venison Chili while Stu fell in love with Haggis, Tatties (Potatoes) & Neeps (Turnips) and had them several times. We also fell in love with breakfast baps (rolls) at the local Costa coffee shop around the corner from our hotel. Inexpensive and tasty. Stu ordered sausage and I got ham.
While in Rome, we were more traditional, enjoying several local restaurants for both lunch and dinner. Pizza, pasta, and delicious sandwiches were that the top of the list.
Once on Holland America, we found the buffet (not self-serve) was more our speed than the main dining room. We both fell in love with the pasta area where we could pick and choose what sauce and added items we wanted with our pasta.
BASIC CITY/COUNTRY PERCEPTIONS
While we had a couple of excursions in Portugal and Spain during our transatlantic cruise to Barcelona, nothing really stood out.
Barcelona
Barcelona was busy, lots of traffic, and seemed a bit too modern for us. We never did try any local food, nothing really appealed. Two visits and our opinion didn’t change.
Rome
We both loved Rome – the history, the people, the food, the cappuccino. We would go back in a heartbeat. We took the hop-on/hop-off bus twice and we really enjoyed seeing the sights.
Scotland
What can we say? We didn’t want to leave, we want to go back! Edinburgh was a charming city where we walked and walked, drank and ate, saw castles, the Kelpies, coos and much more. Our five day tour with Highland Explorer Tours was AMAZING and we highly recommend them.
While on the Isle of Skye (ancestral home of the MacNicol clan), Stu got to scatter some of his late wife’s ashes, a wonderful memory for him.
Our final day of the tour, it turned a bit rainy but we had no complaints. The previous four days were perfect. The last day in Edinburgh was still damp but we got to do some special sightseeing (along with a great lunch/dinner) with distant relatives who live in Scotland.
Edinburgh – locals ready for Halloween in front of Dirty Dicks. We went inside and got drinks.
2 thoughts on “Our European Vacation: Memories”
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We were at that 5 Guys near Sagrada de Familia in Barcelona on Halloween!
Small world!