A dream and a dreamland - Scotland

I remember, as a kid, the child-like excitement my mom used to have whenever my mom hears the word "London". She always used to say - "It must be an amazing place! Thames looks so lovely even on the TV. These guys ruled our country, I wonder how much they have flourished after they successfully sucked our bread and butter for nearly 200years". However, till now....She never even told me that she wanted me to take her there.... She always wanted me to explore places and live her dream, instead!! That is - Mom.

But now, I am not taking her to London but to another scintillating yet so tranquil place which I am sure she would be delighted to experience - Scotland :-). Then of course, it would be via London. The reason for just grazing through London and not exploring it is that she literally hates big and crowded cities. She is happy with Hyderabad and says that Delhi is not the place to be and how am I even living there :-D :-D

Heathrow Airport

The plan is to reach in July 2014, which is the warmest month touching a max temperature of 25 deg Celsius. The flight bookings would be on http://www.yatra.com/ from New Delhi to London, Heathrow. Yatra has always given me such reasonable rates to fly anywhere so I can just blindly go and book online. I would book the most economical yet with all necessary amenities hotels on http://www.yatra.com/ for four destinations - Edinburgh, Island of Staffa, Stirling and Glasgow.

London Tube

From Heathrow, we would take the "tube" to Kings Cross by Piccadilly Line. London tubes are a lot popular in India and I have no clue why. But then I will make my mom experience anything that she must. Also, Kings Cross has been so vivid in my head since I started the Harry Potter adventure 10years ago. So how can I miss the chance?? From Kings Cross I would take a direct train to Edinburgh, travel time of about 4hours and 30mins.

My first place to see would be Royal Mile - It is located in the Old Town, the historic heart of the city, and protects the secrets to Scotland 's past. We will explore the street on foot and experience the historic path to Edinburgh Palace. The Mile has Edinburgh Castle at the very top and the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the bottom. On the way to Edinburgh Castle, we would walk through the Prince's street viewing the pleasant Nor Loch. FYI – Loch is apparently Lake in Scottish :-O

Next comes Edinburgh Castle - The very famous Castle offers rich heritage of Scotland and home to the Queen when she's in Edinburgh. The palace has been a favored residence for Scotland royal lineage. I am really excited to catch up with the Crown Room where the Scottish Crown Jewels are kept, and the Stone of Destiny where previous Scottish Monarchs were crowned. 

Edinburgh Castle

Bagpiper

We would also explore the attractions, restaurants, bars and shops around the Castle. By the way I would love to catch up with a Bagpiper around the castle and hear out Bagpipes' wonderful symphony with the music of nature. As you know – “The earth has music for those who listen” :-)

Fingal's Cave with its Hexagonal Pillars

From Edinburgh we head towards Isle of Staffa. This is to view the beautiful hexagonal sea cave with Basalt - Fingal's Cave. This is also called as "Uamh-Binn" or "The Cave of Melody". When I went to Italy last time, I missed experiencing Blue Grotto at Capri. This time I have decided to live it and also make my mom appall at what else a sea can offer to relish our eyes with abundant beauty, after all – “True joy of nature is when every drop of water shines like a pearl”. The trip to the caves would be by boat!!

Wallace Monument

Deanston Distillery

The next stop is to Stirling, as they say - "Stirling, like a huge brooch, clasps Highlands and Lowlands together". Also, the city brings back the memories of a great movie, Braveheart. Fortunately, I have a good friend here, native Scottish, who would help us with the trip around here. We start our trip here to Wallace Monument where the movie was actually set. It is situated at hilltop so the view must be just indescribable. After the monument, we would walk around the neighborhood to feel the flavor of the countryside. Next step in Stirling is to sail on a steamboat on Loch Katrine to visit Deanston whisky distillery. Don't you worry, will get a miniature whisky bottles for all of you ;-)

Next stop is to the largest city in Scotland - Glasgow. Glasgow offers a blend of internationally acclaimed museums and galleries, stunning architecture, vibrant nightlife, fantastic shopping and a diverse array of restaurants and bars. The city has a long-standing reputation for its live

Glasgow City

music scene and is very well off too in terms of city parks. The idea here is to walk around the busy streets, marvel at the architecture of the buildings, sneak-a-peek into art galleries and restaurants wherever we get a chance. As the saying goes – “Nature is a haunted house--but Art--is a house that tries to be haunted”.

West Highland Way

Highlands

Considering the time and the patience that my mom has, we will be left with two options - head to London or walk along the The West Highland way. But I hope to walk along the breezy highlands which Scotland is renowned for and go up to Fort William! The highlands are quite popular in Hollywood movies. Quite a few movies have been shot in the Highlands such as Harry Potter, Rob Roy, Braveheart, The Wicker Man etc. 

Ultimately, I would have achieved two dreams on the expedition – to make my dream to visit Scotland come true and by the way, I am sure I would have thoroughly wallowed the trip but I would have also loved to realize the dream that “The most beautiful things in life go un-noticed”…. which in this case is my Mom’s true happiness and hence, my most lived dream :-) :-)

"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother"

- Abraham Lincoln