Hello Travel Friends! This year isn’t even half over and Talley Your Adventure can already add five new countries to our travel list: St. Lucia, Honduras, Belize, Scotland, and Ireland! I plan to write about each of these wonderful countries – starting with our most recent, Ireland and Scotland. For simplicity, please note that we are aware Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, so is Northern Ireland…and Ireland is the Republic of Ireland and part of the European Union. We’re going to list them separately as countries and know, in our hearts, that they understand and approve.

We decided to book a 9 day trip with Cosmos that started in Edinburgh, Scotland and ended in Dublin, Ireland. We’ve used Cosmos before when we went to Eastern and Central Europe years ago and loved the adventure. It includes all the hotels, an introductory tour of each city upon arrival, and the bus that takes you around to each location. Some of the days, such as when we went to the Edinburgh Castle, including a walking tour with a local guide. A couple dinners were included and breakfast usually each day – though half the fun is the ability to eat locally! What we really appreciate with Cosmos vs. Globus is that they allow for more opportunities to walk away from the bus and do your own thing on your own time. They would tell us to meet two different times, say 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., to get a ride back to the hotel or allow you to figure it out yourself. Either way, it is more our travel speed!

We were able to visit St. Andrews, the home of golf, drive past Loch Ness and see if we saw Nessy, and stay a gorgeous night in the Highlands. One of the highlights for me was staying the night in Glasgow and seeing a vibrant city come to life, if only for one night, and visiting the battlefield of Culloden Moor and Cairngorns National Park. Another highlight was seeing the Highland Coos!! With their long flowing hair and adorable attitude, it was a delight when the tour guide had a spot to pull the bus over for us to take some pictures. The drive around the country was absolutely breathtaking – I really enjoyed the Highlands especially. Our stay in the Ben Wyvis Hotel that seemed to be a former castle made for the perfect Scottish-vibe that we needed in the beginning of our trip!

We had an amazing ferry ride from Scotland to Northern Ireland, where we were able to get an honest and delightful tour of Belfast. It was pretty emotional hearing the stories of the IRA and the Troubles – reminded me distinctly of our visit to Berlin and Checkpoint Charlie. I can’t say it was a highlight of the visit but it was absolutely worth the trip. If you don’t schedule a tour through a company, we recommend taking a black cab with a local who will bring you to places more personally associated with their knowledge and experience of living through the Troubles. There is no need to judge or talk – listening is key in this city!

One of the experiences that I have had night on my bucket list for years was visiting the Titanic Experience museum in the birthplace of the doomed ship. We were able to receive an excellent tour of the city that ended with a couple hours in the museum, and it was absolutely worth it! What was even cooler was seeing the slip she was placed in before her launch and see how they built the ship in the shipyard. Clinton bought me heart of the ocean earrings and a lovely scarf that I was able to use for the remainder of the trip. Clinton had a similar experience going to the Giants Causeway a couple hours north of Belfast. Luckily, we both were able to book these trips together – it made for a long day, but it was great seeing more of Northern Ireland. While in Belfast, we stayed two nights in the main city center and had a good experience. It is a bit of a rough city, and I wouldn’t get into any theological debates with anyone, but hearing the history, seeing the sites, and being part of the experience was nice.

Scotland was a very proud country and can be shown by her people and the landscape as you go from one end to the other. I loved looking out the window as we drove past green pastures and fields filled with sheep. There were relics of former castles and battlements – the obvious struggle between early Vikings and later the British. I enjoyed the Cullen Skink – a hearty creamy fish soup that kept me both warm and full! I also enjoyed the fish and chips – not so much the mushy peas. The lager beer wasn’t too bad, either!

The last two days of our tour with Cosmos ended in Dublin, Ireland but also began another week of adventures. We moved hotels into the main city center at Point A Hotel, literally right off the main riverwalk. It was a nice change of pace since the former hotel with Cosmos was a bit off the beaten path.

I’m going to end the blog post here and pick up next Friday with the second part of our adventure! Follow along here and on my new podcast: Talley Your Adventure, Make America Travel Again