From Scotland, With Love

Caroline Witts Queen Mary University of London, England

Date

March 3, 2015
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I knew two things about Scotland before I went. The first was that people wore kilts. I didn’t know why and I didn’t exactly know how common it was to where a kilt, but I knew they existed. The second Scotland fact I was aware of was that they ate something called Haggis. I couldn’t tell you what it was made of or where it would fall on the food pyramid but, again, I knew it existed.

In my three days in Scotland I broadened my knowledge of the country quite a bit. Turns out a lot of people over there wear kilts, especially if there’s a rugby match going on. Also, haggis is actually made up of sheep liver, tongue, intestines and stomach. Don’t look at me like that! It was delicious and I would have it again.

I also learned that Scotland is unbelievably beautiful, but that’s kind of common knowledge. You can’t go anywhere in the whole country without seeing mountains, lakes, or really old castles. It’s basically like you’re living in an episode of Game of Thrones.

We stayed in the capital city of Edinburgh and we got to see the beautiful Edinburgh castle. I would say that Edinburgh is probably one of the best cities I’ve ever been to. Every single street is beautiful and fun and there’s so much to do.

One of the best things to do is walk up Arthur’s Seat, which is giant hill that looks over the entire city. In my opinion, you didn’t really go to Edinburgh unless you’ve seen the view from the Arthur’s Seat. It also makes a great background for a selfie.

We took a bus tour through the Highlands and saw even more castles, mountains, and lakes. (Or as they’re called in Scotland, “lochs”) We saw the most famous loch of all, Loch Ness, but we didn’t see Nessie herself. However there were a lot of Highland coos wandering around. A coo is a cow but it has long bangs and hair and they’re by far the cutest form of cow.

Everyone should go to Scotland at least once in their lives. If you can’t make it there, at the very least you should try haggis. It may be made up of sheep intestines but damn’s its good.