"Wherever I Wander, Wherever I Rove, the Hills of the Highlands Forever I Love."

It's been some time since I last posted. For that matter, it's been a long time since I had something to post about. But now that I'm back in the country I love, let the travel blogging commence.

When I first stepped foot back into Scotland, I felt like I could breathe again. #Scotlandround2 #home My first nights in Edinburgh gave me the best homecoming a girl could ever ask for - complete with a gorgeous Christmas display downtown and a birthday party with my name on it. But before I could call myself settled, I set off on a three-day trip in 3 of Scotland's most wonderful cities: Perth, Aberdeen, and Glasgow. #letthegamesbegin

Day 1 of the tour had me up before the sun to catch the first 2-hour coach from Edinburgh to Perth. #Starbucks in hand, I boarded the bus and watched the stunning landscape pass by me as I ventured north. When I had reached my final destination, and walked away from the bus station, I saw all of the city in front of me - literally. By that I mean, Perth is so tiny that one long gaze in either direction and that pretty much covers it. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a small city, just as long as you're prepared ahead of time. I expected to spend the whole of the afternoon and evening buzzing about the place, but very shortly after dropping my bags in the hotel and heading out on the town, I'd seen the whole town.

Despite its size, Perth is a special little place indeed. Lovely architecture up and down every street that's as classy as the Parthian's posh accents. There's plenty of shopping and dining jam-packed downtown as well. And I'll never forget all the hair dressers! I've never seen so many places to get my hair cut and styled in my life! Every block had at least one hair salon covering every inch (no pun intended) of the client market. But that wasn't the only strange thing I encountered during my time in Perthshire. You see, Perth is the place where old Scottish people come to live out the remaining 20 years of their life merrily and comfortably - a fact that I was blithely unaware of until it was far too late. Now, you might ask why this matters and the answer is simple... Maybe it was all in my head, but I was convinced that something about the atmosphere in Perth makes you as sleepy as the rest of the people wandering down the street. After just a few hours in the streets I was ready for an early bedtime - and that's actually what I did! I headed back to the hotel for a 2.5-hour nap - something I'd normally never dream of doing on vacation, but I just couldn't help it. It was almost like the combination of running out of things to do early on in the day and the slow pace of life that everyone lived around me just took over. #ohwell I rounded the night out with a visit to the old bridge that sits on the edge of town and a fantastic steak pie at a local hotel, and with that, I headed to bed for the night. I packed up early the next morning and started on my way to Aberdeen and so ends my adventure in Perth, Scotland.

Aberdeen couldn't have been more opposite to Perth. The atmosphere in Aberdeen was buzzing with life. If I had too much time to spend in Perth, I had NOT ENOUGH in Aberdeen. I could have explored those streets for days. I love Aberdeen to my very core.

Aberdeen was so much bigger than I ever imagined that it would have been and it had so much to offer tourists like me. There were streets-upon-streets of shopping and sights to see with big beautiful castle-like cathedrals and city halls to look at. Aberdeen even had a Christmas fair like the one in Edinburgh for me to venture through. I found myself taking more pictures while I was there than I have in a long time. Everything was prettier in Aberdeen - even the weather was perfect (and in Scotland, that's a pretty big deal).

The people were my favorite part of Aberdeen, though. They went out of their way to be helpful and kind to you - a concept you don't often find in today's world. And Aberdonians have the most adorable accents ever! They are very difficult to understand in comparison to Edinburgh or Perth, but I loved just listening to the conversations around me and taking it all in. And for every barbershop and hairdresser there was in Perth, there were 50 red-heads in Aberdeen. Every direction you looked in, redheads dominated the crowd. Whoever said the ginger gene is dying out clearly has never been to Aberdeen, Scotland.

I wandered, I gawked, I took photos, I rode the bus, I ate, I had drinks, I did the whole tourist kit-and-caboodle and then I closed my chapter in Aberdeen with a magnificent full Scottish breakfast before catching my train back down south. I just can't get over how far over my expectations Aberdeen flew. I'm sincerely sorry I never visited before now and I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer than I did this time around. I won't cross Aberdeen of my list of places I've came to, saw, and conquered just yet - Aberdeen hasn't seen the last of me.

The last stop on the American girl-tourist-adventure was Glasgow. Now, I've been to Glasgow before, but I am attending Grad school here in the fall and I just couldn't resist coming back.

So when I first arrived in Glasgow it started pouring down rain. Not only that, but I got turned around looking for my hotel and walked an extra half hour with my heavy bags (in the rain). In typical Glasgow fashion, I wasn't in the city five minutes and already I saw a shady addict trying to pick a fight in the streets and a near-miss car accident at an intersection. I was about ready to throw in the towel when I found the hotel (which was gorgeous and had a phenomenal view of the city out my windows), I got dried off and regrouped.

Being not Scottish, I have the pleasure of seeing Scotland with a "tourist gaze". I see the entire country for the beauty that lies within it and not the troubles that lie before it. Some Scots might have a hard time seeing things from my perspective, but I can't get enough of (tourist) Glasgow. So, I stayed in the city center and perused the shops where carolers were singing and lights were twinkling. I went for an early dinner at my favorite tea room where I had French toast and drank yummy tea from fine china tea cups. #whenindoubtpinkyout Later, I went for pricy cocktails at the most gorgeous gin bar in the city and grabbed my favorite take-out. 

In my short 22 years of life, I've seen 10 countries (including my own) and too many cities to count, but there's no place in the world that will ever be as special to me as Scotland. No matter how far I venture or how many times I return to this place, I'll never see everything I want to see here (and that's the best part). Scotland's own Robert Burns said it best,

“the birth-place of valor, the country of worth; wherever I wander, wherever I rove, the hills of the Highlands forever I love.”

— Robert Burns