From Banff we spent an afternoon driving along Scotland’s northeastern coast, enjoying the views and popping in and out of a string of tiny fishing villages.
Read moreEastern Scotland: lighthouses and small coastal towns
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Eastern Scotland: Hairy coos! (and Banff)
One of my favorite parts of driving around the Scottish Highlands is hairy coo spotting. As you drive along, you’ll catch sight of a couple cows grazing in a pasture far up the road.
Speyside: Glenfiddich Distillery tour
We hadn’t specifically set out to visit any distilleries on this last trip to the Highlands, but somehow we managed to find ourselves driving the Malt Whisky Trail through Speyside one afternoon. Clearly we were meant to tour a distillery right then. We were spoiled for choice with such a large cluster of distilleries at our feet; not knowing which to choose, we trusted our guidebook’s recommendation of Glenfiddich.
Eastern Scotland: from Nairn to Speyside (or beaches to casks)
On our last morning in Nairn, we couldn’t resist taking one more stroll along the beach.
Read moreEastern Scotland: from Nairn to Speyside (or beaches to casks)
Scotland: dolphins and oil on the Moray Firth
To start out our recent trip to the Highlands, we based ourselves in the seaside town of Nairn for two nights (and we would have happily stayed another night or two). We spent our second day exploring the Moray Firth (a firth is basically the Scottish equivalent of a fjord) on both sides of Inverness.
Beyond Edinburgh: Exploring northeast Scotland
We’re finally getting the chance to get out and see some of the wonderful other parts of Scotland that we’ve been hearing so much about. Not knowing where to start, we chose a direction and hopped in the car. We ended up covering a good bit of northeast Scotland on our first five-day excursion, getting just enough of a taste of its rolling hills, castles, beaches, distilleries, and hairy coos to know we definitely want to go back for more.
Edinburgh in August: diving into the Fringe
What Oktoberfest is to Munich, the Festival Fringe is to Edinburgh: that time of year when all the tourists show up. Edinburgh more than doubles in population during August as visitors and performers from around the world flood in. The Old Town is packed with street acts and revelers. Hundreds of buildings around the city turn into venues for performances. Theater, dance, music, spoken word and comedy are the main types of entertainment you’ll find at the Fringe, with comedy dominating in recent years. But the Fringe hardly has a lock on your entertainment options in this city
Tokyo food porn: yakitori
Dining out in Tokyo can be a bit tricky if you don’t speak Japanese. Surprisingly few restaurants offer English menus (despite the government’s efforts to encourage menu translation), and servers are often hesitant to admit they speak a word of English.
Plum blossom season in Tokyo
As it turns out, mid-February through mid-March is the perfect time to catch the plum blossoms in Tokyo. They don’t carry the fame or multitudes of cherry blossoms, but they have a certain charm.
