22/08/2023
Scotland
Scotland is INCREDIBLE!
Upon landing in Edinburgh and thinking it will only take a relatively short time to get thru immigration, it turned out that seven flights, pretty much all at once, had arrived the same time as my flight. So the wait was very very long. Hundreds of people.
However the moment the arrival doors opened to the waiting hall I saw my gorgeous cousin, Magda! We hugged and hugged and hugged! The last time I saw her was six years ago. We figured out that in the last 40 years we have only seen each other twice! You can imagine how much catching up we had to do!
Magda and I are both free spirits but she takes that phrase to a whole new level!
She had just come back from Costa Rica, where she spent the last five months working, surfing, swimming, growing her own food and just enjoying every minute of every day.
Magda has one of those fantastic vans where there is a bed, kitchen, everything you need for a second home. It has seen a lot of the world! And she built the inside herself!
So we drove to the town centre of Edinburgh and straight away I was awe struck by the quaint and beautiful buildings, the gorgeous pubs (so many of them!), the cobblestone roads, it all felt like a movie scene.
And of course the first thing we did was go and have a beer at one of the iconic pubs! It was so cool to sit there and listen to the accents (that was one of my favourite things about this country!).
After that pub, we had to go to another one, of course!
We caught up with one of Magda's friends too. Well, we were feeling a bit peckish so we decided to have something to eat. Can you believe that this pub we were at had a Polish restaurant next door? And that pub and the restaurant shared their menus together! So you could sit in a Scottish pub and have Polish food or you could sit in a Polish restaurant and have Scottish tucker! Very cool.
I chose placki ziemniaczane z gulaszem, which means potato fritters with goulash. Oh my lord! They were the best potato fritters I've ever had! And I had to come all the way to Scotland to find them!
Well after that, of course we had to go to a Polish grocery shop and stock up.
Broadbeans, raspberries, blueberries, breadsticks, tomatoes, dill, yellow beans, spring onion, and of course a giant fresh sunflower...for snacks!
Magda is a vegan so I was looking forward to giving my body a bit of a break from cheese and meat that I had been consuming in abundance, in France.
So after having a quick tour of the city we set off the 1.5 hours to get to where she is staying.
We headed towards Stirling and then Balquhidder. Interestingly this is where Rob Roy is buried (died 28/12/1734), so a very old cemetery!
Magda works at a place called Mhor Hotel Monachyle. A luxurious boutique hotel literally in the middle of nowhere.
Beautiful and romantic buildings, opulent rooms, breathtaking scenery, expansive grounds, house gardens, and an award winning restaurant.
Magda had been front of house for quite a while there but because she broke her foot surfing (in Costa Rica), she swapped roles to a night porter. Which basically means she started at 10pm and finished at 10am. She would reset the restaurant, polish all cutlery, glasses etc. Tidy adjoining lounge rooms and games room, do the till, and all the jobs that weren't done on that day...in the kitchen and/or in the restaurant. A big job that kept her very busy. At 8am she would serve breakfast.
All the staff lived in staff quarters, right at the back of the whole property. Small to large cabins, depending if there was more than one person living there.
Magda had one of the small ones but my goodness it was cute!! And it had everything a person needed to be very comfortable.
Our sleeping situation was funny. She would go to work at night, I would sleep in the bed, then she would come home in the morning, have a cup of tea and go to sleep on that same bed.
I would cook something so we could eat together when she woke up.
On the nights she would go to work, a few times I would wake up at 2 or 3am and feel so bad she has to be in that building all alone, so I would rug up, and with the guidance of a torch light I would venture to the restaurant to give her a hand. Polishing cutlery at 3am in my pyjamas, by the bar or in the kitchen, looking like a zombie, gas bagging about everything will forever be etched in my mind as one of life's most beautiful moments.
On the days when she slept I went bike riding and walking.
The scenery, while biking, was by far one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. It literally felt like I was the only person on earth. Imagine a valley, with rocky terrain on one side and on the other, kilometres and kilometres of pine forests. Sheep and goats grazing the terrain (or sometimes on the road!), crystal clear water flowing thru brooks, lakes as far as the eye can see, forests that seem to have a life all on their own.
I found stone walls covered in green moss, old uninhabited stone houses, rickety bridges, and plenty of open fields.
Perfect summer's day, clear blue skies, freshness in the air, sun warming my body.
When I rode down a hill, and looked around me, I had to blink a few times because I couldn't believe I would ever see such natural beauty. It was breathtaking.
On another day, Magda took us to an opened field, right at the bottom of the valley. This field was in between two lakes, grazing sheep, goats and geese. But in the middle of this field there was a mirror box. It's a small building (cabin) that was covered from top to bottom with mirrors. So you can take a photo of yourself with your back to the scenery yet have the scenery in your photo. Really cool and so much fun! We hung out there a bit with a couple more of Magda's friends.
On Sunday night, Magda invited me to be her dinner guest at the restaurant.
We got a bit dolled up and had a beautiful time together. The food was delicious. For entree I had a local organic salmon with broad beans, fennel oil and lobster consomme. Full of flavour, the fish was perfectly cooked, especially the crispy skin!
For mains I had fish again (my favourite!) and this time it was Scrabster cod (a region in Scotland) with zucchini, pardon peppers & pine nuts.
That fish completely melted in the mouth, it was amazing!
In between courses we got spoiled with morsels of all kinds of different dishes too. All were harmonious with each other and very tasty.
For dessert, I of course, had the Scottish cheese course! So much for a cheese fast!
After dinner, Magda had to work for a few hours as they were very busy, so I pitched in too!
Let's just say drinking a dirty martini at the bar, while polishing glasses is a very rewarding task!
Monday to Wednesday were Magda's days off. As she worked the entire week and didn't have that much sleep, Monday was a big rest day for her. I kept myself busy reading, cooking, and even watching a bit of Netflix on her laptop!
And on that Monday night, there was a birthday party to go to! Scottish countryside style!
Big old hall, plenty of booze, DJ with all the right beats and everyone ready to have a big night!
I danced so much!!! (Probably gin induced). Everyone was so friendly and we all just wanted to have a super fun night. And we did!
The shenanigans went on till about 4am!
We all climbed into Magda's van and somehow made it back to the hotel (about three miles). Needless to say, the next morning was more of an afternoon wake up.
The following day we drove to Edinburgh to have a tour of the city and to stay the night at Magda's friends. But we were a bit late getting there because along the way, as we passed forests we noticed porcinis! And heaps of them! I couldn't believe my eyes. They were growing everywhere. I was like a kid in a lolly shop! We picked as many as we could eat and then found wild raspberries, other varieties of mushrooms and even a smelly morel (the actual name of that mushroom).
When we finally got to Edinburgh, Bartek and Basia welcomed us with open arms. I volunteered to make a porcini risotto, vegan of course, and I must admit it was very delicious!
The next day, unfortunately it rained a LOT so we stayed inside for as long as we could.
When we did venture out, the sights and sounds of Edinburgh were just amazing! I love this city so much. It has such a unique character and there is so much to do and see.
As we didn't really want to leave the city just yet....I still had haggis to try, and Scottish whisky, Magda made a phone call to another friend and we stayed that night in a caravan (she was out of town that week and said we could use it). The caravan stood amongst other makeshift homes (caravans and cabins) in an establishment set up for people who could live there for free, as perhaps they couldn't afford rent or needed to save money.
It was a big ol' adventure for me! Magda had friends that lived there so we hung out with them for a bit, by a campfire, drinking red wine and swapping stories.
I don't know why but that night, even tho that was the smallest space I had slept in during my European trip (and shared that space with Magdzia), I ended up having the best nights sleep I had for a really long time.
I was renewed!!
And of course I did try haggis that night earlier. Probably not something I would eat a lot of but nevertheless it was very tasty. It was served with mash potato, mashed turnip and whisky cream. As you can imagine this was a very rich meal but great if you've had one too many whiskey's.
Which, by the way I tried and enjoyed very much.
So the next morning we set off to do more sightseeing. The city was bustling with people. We had arrived one day before the Edinburgh Fringe Festival kicked off, so the buzz was electrifying. I even stood on the ground of where The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo was so to be performed. It felt a lot smaller than what I had expected.
A visit to Scotland begs to do something crazy, so Magda booked an appointment for me at her friend's tattoo shop. And no I didn't get a tattoo but I did get a very cool piercing on the top of my ear lobe! It felt right to get it done in Scotland. It will always remind me of the special time I had there, with Magda.
And of course, Magdzia being a crazy girl, got herself another little tattoo. A cute hermit crab on her ankle because they remind her of her favourite place on earth...Costa Rica. (And yes that country is already on my wish list).
That day I also had another speciality of Scottish food and that was fish and chips at a place called Bertie's.
My goodness they certainly live up to their slogan of "Proper Fish & Chips". Everything was amazing! Thin and crispy batter on the delicious Haddock and super crunchy chips from Agria potatoes.
We left very full so we needed to walk a bit more and immerse ourselves again in the atmosphere of this gorgeous town.
And so finally it was time to head home. We had 1.5 hours worth of driving so there was plenty of time to keep talking!
The next day we took a really long walk through the forests, with the three dogs that lived on the property.
This is a part of the world where you feel like you're the only one on this planet earth. And to be surrounded by such beauty of nature is like the best medication anyone could ever give you. This is a place to find peace, tranquility and oneness with nature.
On my last day there, Tomek, a fellow colleague (who happened to be Polish and who lived in the cabin next to us) made a huge bonfire and it was so cool to hang out and enjoy my last night in Scotland, in such a perfect way.
As the plane ascended into the sky I was sad to leave this magical place. A small piece of my heart has stayed there and I cannot wait to come back and discover more of what this amazing country has to offer.
Now for a bit of amusement, here are three of my favourite Scottish sayings:
Haste Ye Back! – Return back with speed – said as a farewell.
Is the cat deid? – Has the cat died? This means your trousers are too short, similar to “is your budgie/parrot dead?”
Yer oot yer face! – You’re extremely intoxicated from the effects of alcohol
😍
