Things I learned in Scotland Part Three

I think this is the last installment of "Things I learned in Scotland" but I want to be sure I include them all so that I will remember later when scrapbooking our trip.

1. Traffic lights in Scotland are funny. They go green, yellow, red, yellow, green. Steve loved it. If the light was red and about to be green, it would first flash yellow...when it was yellow, most people took their foot off the brake and put it in gear if needed so that they were ready when it turned green. It was very strange.

2. The airports in the United Kingdom are very frustrating. On the screens where they put your flights, there is no indication if your flight is late. When leaving Scotland, our plane was delayed. Once we got to Gatwick, we had to catch a bus to Heathrow...an hour long trip. We didn't have any time to waste. Once we made it to Heathrow, the screens were telling us "Go to Gate" so we ran and hopped on the tram to get to our gate. As we left the tram, the screens said "Gate is Closing" so we raced. Upon arriving at our gate, we were told there were mechanical problems and the plane was delayed about 2 hours. All the running for nothing. The screens are completely computer animated and go through all the motions...

3. Dogs are allowed and encouraged everywhere. On our second night in Glencoe, we had a Labradoodle and a terrier sitting right next to us in the pub.

4. You know how in Texas, we have rest stops? Well, in Scotland, they have parking just about every 400 yards. It is amazing. The following sign appeared about every 400 yards and then there was a little place where you could pull into and park. I guess this is to allow you to hike or take pictures of the beautiful scenery. In some cases, it was used to allow cars to pass you or to help share the road since at times there was only room for one of you. :)

5. You can camp or hike just about anywhere. If you see a place that looks neat, chances are someone else did too and there is already a trail to follow. You can just park and explore. All of the land is open to everyone...no fences or restrictions. It was fun to just stop and see what you could find.

6. There are VERY FEW gas stations between Glencoe and Glasgow. We were low on gas, and I was pretty sure we were going to have to push. We finally found a "Green Welly Stop" and got some gas at pretty much the last possible moment.

7. Most drinks...especialy water and coke...are not served very cold. They are cool but defnitely not what we are used to.

8. Most people drink sparkling (bubbly) water. If you want regular water, you have to ask for still water, and you have to ask for ice. Most of the time, the still water comes from a spring in the area.

9. Next time we go to Scotland, we will first become members of the National Trust of Scotland. For a minimal fee, you can get into almost every monument for free. It is definitely worth the money.

10. The most common music we heard while in Scotland....mostly in the pubs....was 80's american music.

11. Glasgow is not a city I would like to visit again.

12. Every town has a "city center" and this is where most of the stuff is....there are always signs pointing you to the city center so you can always find it....

13. A true Scottish breakfast consists of fried or scrambled eggs, bacon (which is actually ham), baked beans, grilled mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, sausage, black pudding (made with blood), and tatties (what they call potatoes....the ones at breakfast are kind of like hashbrowns). We ate this every morning. Well, Steve usually ate everything but the blood pudding and I usually ate the bacon, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, and sometimes the tatties. :) There was also always cereal, pastrys, and granola or yogurt with dried fruit. By the last day, I was definitely ready to eat something different for breakfast. I am not a big breakfast eater anyway. Now that we've been home for about 2 weeks, Steve says he misses the breakfast! We actually had leftover baked beans from the other night and he heated them up with his eggs yesterday morning....he's a big fan of baked beans with breakfast! Try it....it's actually pretty tasty...

14. The hotels in Scotland do not believe in alarm clocks!! We were pretty much confused timewise all the time. It didn't get dark until 10:30 and it was super bright at 5:30. We were constantly looking at our nooks to tell time. :)

All in all, we can't wait to go back! :)