Scotland

Our son Matthew arrived in Glasgow last month to get settled before starting his PhD Program October 1. We flew up and spent 4 days in Glasgow with him and then a couple days checking out Edinburgh.

This was the first time we tried the very cheap EasyJet tickets that only includes a school size backpack each to put under the seat in front of you. It was surprisingly easy to have such limited luggage. We wore our jeans, shoes, and jackets; so all we packed was toiletries and additional shirts, underwear, and socks. I fit a small purse in my bag and John had his laptop. So much easier to travel with just a small backpack since there are often lots of stairs and no handy elevators in Europe.

It was great to see Matthew and we enjoyed having him show us around the Glasgow University and interesting places he'd found in the area. Kind of blew me away how old the school was; founded in 1451 & the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world. The West End is a vibrant area full of students, green spaces, cafés, shops, and historical architecture. We went to the botanical gardens, went on a beautiful walk along the river, and ate good food. John and I enjoyed traditional oat porridge a couple mornings and Matthew took us to his favorite ramen place near campus.

We spent the last couple days of the trip seeing Edinburgh; the castle and the Royal Mile as well as some other pretty areas of town. I tried whiskey and didn't like it, but the beer was better than in France. Scotland reminds me so much of Portland with similar weather and everything so green. We found the people very open and friendly in Scotland which made the trip even more enjoyable. Every time I see a new country I haven't been it make me excited to travel more. I came home and planned 2 more week long trips to take sometime next year, hopefully. Our next trip is back to the United States for a couple months for the holidays!