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Ireland and Scotland October 2024

Writer's picture: Rachelle BennettRachelle Bennett

Updated: Jan 28


Planning the trip...

This is where I get into my process of how I planned my trip--I can ramble a little (just the way my brain works). If you prefer the quick/clean version, I suggest you go to the itinerary tab or skip to the details of the actual trip by clicking here. Now, let's dive right in!

I was looking for a place that was worthy of a senior trip for my daughters that graduated high school in 2024. Scotland checked all the boxes, and Ireland was a bonus to the trip because flights into Dublin from the United States were cheaper with less flight time than going directly to Edinburgh, Scotland.

First things first though, I checked travel restrictions on this site. You will type in the country you plan to visit in the "where are you traveling" search bar. For this trip I searched Ireland and United Kingdom (which encompasses Scotland). This site will tell you travel advisories, passport, visa, and vaccination requirements, as well as direct you to that country's page to learn more information if desired. A passport was all that was required for our travel to Ireland and Scotland; however, I do note now there is an additional visa requirement for travel to Scotland as of January 2025. We had passports ready to go, so that box was checked. If you do need a passport, you can go here, and follow the steps. I highly recommend finding a place that has "photo on-site", so you can get your picture and paperwork filed all in one place. It makes life so much easier.

Second thing I did was price comparisons on flights. Keep in mind any time I list prices this trip is for four people: me, my husband, and now 2 adult daughters. I will preface this section with stating for the last decade we have almost solely flown using Southwest Airlines because they covered all the places we wanted and could afford to go, and I had points to use! Southwest does not fly to Europe though, so I went to all my price tracking apps and Google to figure it out. I looked on my Hopper mobile app, Kayak online, Google flights online, and then searched "cheapest towns to fly into from United States to Europe". As I already mentioned above, Dublin was the clear winner when flying from our closest airport, St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The airline I chose that was the most cost effective was United Airlines. I had to make sure our luggage was included in the price because the first price airlines give you is never the final price when you have to include seat upgrades, luggage, additional fees, etc (which is why I love Southwest--never have to worry about that). United Airlines allows a carry on and personal bag with no extra charge when flying internationally (even if there is a connecting flight in the United States). It's always good to verify this information. I checked with customer assistance online, and as paranoid as I am, I also checked with the United Airlines desk before we boarded our flight because I would just dieeeeee a thousand deaths if I held a whole flight up because of luggage---ok so it's not that serious other than having additional cost, but still. I like to be SURE. I simultaneously researched flights from Dublin to Edinburgh to make sure it was still cost/time effective to travel into Dublin vs going straight to Edinburgh. It was.

I ended up booking directly through United Airlines website on June 11, 2024. I had purchased a United Airlines Visa credit card to rack up miles, so my roundtrip ticket from STL to DUB was $80.30 plus the 70,100 I redeemed using my credit card. For my family's other three tickets from STL to DUB, the cost was $2122.54. This included the seat selection charges. Additionally, I paid $135.33 for cancelation insurance. In hindsight, I should have skipped that because it would have been included in the travel insurance I purchased at a later date through my employer's benefits hub for $258--this covered the entire cost of the trip, plus medical benefits if needed while traveling internationally.

Now where are we going to stay???? I should add, I do a brief search of hotel cost, food cost, activity cost to any destination before booking a flight. I certainly don't want to fly to a place and have to sit in a hotel the whole time because I can't afford to go anywhere! Since the flight was booked and I knew my travel dates I could start a deep dive into the perfect place for us to stay. I utilized all my regular search spots including hotels.com, vrbo.com, airbnb.com. I filtered by looking at the map to see proximity of places we wanted to visit, cost, and of course reviews. On July 1, 2024, I booked 2 nights at Cassidys Hotel in Dublin on hotels.com for $524.61. I chose to pay at the property on check-in, and when I paid, I used my credit card that did not charge foreign transaction fees--only the standard currency rate exchange (you would need to verify you card doesn't charge foreign transaction fees before traveling). Other places booked by mid-August were 3 nights at this vrbo apartment in Edinburgh for $888.62, 2 nights at this bed and breakfast in Inverness for $682.08, and 1 night in this hostel in Edinburgh for $203.82.

During the same time I was finishing up booking the places we would stay, I circled back to book the flight from Dublin to Edinburgh. I found Ryanair by doing some google research, and it was the cheapest including luggage expenses for roundtrip DUB TO EDI totaling $396.72 for the four of us.

On to booking the real fun stuff...excursions and food!!!! My favorite site to look on is Viator.com or tripadvisor.com. I filter by city and always check out the top attractions, then I start to filter depending on what I have time for---a 1/2-day tour, full day tour, walking tour, etc. I knew I wanted to see beyond the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, and I found this 3-day bus tour we could take. We did have to make our own accommodations where we would stay the night in Inverness (we chose the bed and breakfast listed above), and the tour was little pricey at $1,272.68 USD; however, it was THE BEST decision I made for Scotland. We were able to see so much and were guided by a local tour bus driver, wee Stevie, who loved to sing "I'm Gonna Be" by the Proclaimers at the top of his lungs---can't beat that kind of experience. Since Dublin was not the main reason for our travel, I thought we could be more spontaneous there and just look around to see what there was to do once we arrived. I did book a literary pub crawl for the first night we were in Dublin, and it cost $83.08. Other must-dos on our trip that were pre-booked were Edinburgh Castle Tickets at $129, an afternoon tea at Tigerlily in Edinburgh approx $150, and because we were traveling in October, we had the opportunity to do a lantern walking tour in an underground close in Edinburgh for $157. When booking things in another country, sometimes they charge in their currency, but again, I used my credit card with no foreign transaction fees, so I only needed to take into account the currency exchange rate. I do this by using this app to determine what the cost is in US dollars.

Other things I did to prep for the trip is ensure the hotels or other places we were staying would hold our bags if we arrived early or were leaving late from a city. This wasn't an issue with any of the places we stayed. I also looked to see what electrical outlets were used in the hotels and purchased an adapter. I double, and triple checked I had the right carry-on bag size for both of our airline carriers: United and Ryanair. We ended up getting this luggage on Amazon and this personal bag at Wal-Mart.

I researched currency used in the places we were going. Ireland uses euros and Scotland uses the British pound. Although I still don't completely have a grasp on if it is better to go to an atm at the airport or a use the currency exchange counters, I have only ever used my debit card (making sure my bank knows I will be in another country along with travel dates). It has worked out fine so far. I use my credit card as mentioned above for the most part, but I always like to have some local currency with me just in case.

Again, I love to use TripAdvisor or Yelp to explore top rated and cheaper restaurants around the area as well as free attractions we can walk to and save them to a folder for easy access. I did notice that neither of these sites were totally reliable in regards to restaurants, as some places listed were no longer in business.

Transportation getting back in forth places, like the airport to the hotel, is also very important to plan ahead of time. We used Aircoach to get from Dublin airport to Cassidys hotel. I did purchase tickets ahead of time, but it is very easy to purchase a ticket right outside the airport at the bus ticket stand, so you aren't concerned about missing your designated time. In Edinburgh we used Airlink100 to get from the airport to the place we were staying, and we did utilize the Freenow mobile app (similar to Uber or Lyft in the US) to get around once in Edinburgh.

Welp, that's it. Easy-peasy. If you made it this far reading, thanks for hanging in there as I brain dumped all I can remember in planning this trip. Next up-- how the trip actually went--let's get into it.


 

The actual trip...

I planned all I could plan. This is how it went.


Day 1 Wednesday, October 9, 2024 All the flights were on schedule. We flew United Airlines out of STL (St. Louis) at 5:34pm and had a connecting flight in ORD (Chicago). When boarding a United flight you board in groups 1-6. 1 and 2 board first, and basically everyone else trickles in after. My ticket said 2 (maybe because I purchased with miles), but the rest of my family was in boarding group 3; however, we just boarded together. I think the only issue that could come about if you have a lower boarding group is having to check your carry on at the gate if there isn't enough room on the plane.

Chicago airport is huge, and now I know why the McCallisters had to run through the airport to catch their flight. Fortunately, we had about two hours between flights, so it allotted us enough time to grab a pizza and snacks and use the restroom before we boarded our United flight at 9:30pm headed for DUB (Dublin). The flight was 7hours 30mintues long. We were given earbuds to connect to the tv, a neck pillow, and blanket for free on the flight. We brought a carry on, which was stored in the above head bins, and personal item (backpack) stored under the seat. There was not a lot of leg room, but we managed. We were provided two meals, dinner in the evening and a breakfast before we landed. I thought it all tasted good, and I really wasn't expecting it to. I tried to watch a movie but ended up falling asleep. Pretty normal behavior for me.


Day 2 Thursday, October 10, 2024 

We arrived at Dublin airport around 11:10am (we lost 6-hours in flight). While still in the airport, I pulled 200 euros from the atm. I had pre-purchased the tickets for an Aircoach bus ride from the airport to Cassidys. The bus stop is right out the front door and down the escalator in Terminal 2. You can't miss it! However, the bus ticket was timed, and I didn't realize that until we were standing in line. After my anxiousness hung around for 15 minutes while we were waiting on the bus, the bus driver acted like he could care less it was time stamped and let us on anyway. lol. Hindsight-it would have been super simple to purchase a ticket from the ticket counter right beside the bus stop rather than pre-purchasing and worrying about certain time restrictions. The ride from the airport to O'Connell street was about 30 minutes. The drop off point was in front of the Gresham Hotel, and then Cassidy Hotel was a straight 3-minute walk from there.

Luck was on our side, and the front desk attendant said he had a stack of people ready for check in, but they just had a room come ready as we walked in. He let us have it! We went straight to the room, dropped off our luggage, and freshened up before exploring. (Well, we did this after we figured out the door key also controlled the electric in the room.) We took off from Cassidys Hotel and walked to Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Castle, the gardens right beside Dublin Castle, and then ate at a restaurant called Taste Food Company---they had the best burgers including vegetarian burgers. We ate everything. Then we stopped by Saint Patrick's Cathedral around the time the sun was setting and went back to our hotel until it was time for the literary pub crawl. During our walks we met the nicest Irish woman who highly recommended the Diwali Restaurant, but it was Indian food, and we weren't confident we would all like it. We passed the recommendation this time. There was also a super friendly man at the entrance of Christ Church Cathedral, and he was the reason we decided we needed to tour it the next day.

The pub crawl started at The Duke, and to get there we walked along the popular Grafton Street, where there are tons of boutique stores and talented street performers. We met our tour guides in an upstairs room. The tour lasted about 2.5 hours, and I think if we hadn't had a full day of travel, this would have been more enjoyable. The guides took us to three bars (that were all insanely packed--shoulder-to-shoulder inside) including The Duke, O'Neill's, and The Old Stand as well as walked us through the grounds of Trinity College. Throughout the tour one guide would recite aloud literature and the other would sing songs. They were so talented, and it did allow us to see around part of the city.

When the tour was over, we walked back to the hotel to get a good night's sleep before adventuring out the next day. 16,465 steps in today.



Day 3 Friday, October 11, 2024 

What a beautiful morning! The weather was 50s and sunny. 50 degrees Fahrenheit that is...we about choked when landing with the airline the previous morning the captain said it was 9 degrees until we remembered everyone else in the world measures the temperature in Celsius. The girls didn't feel like getting up and at em' too early, so my husband and I got ready and headed out in search for breakfast--he looked up a café he thought I would like. So sweet! We were able to see kids headed to school and others headed for work. The atmosphere was busy but calm at the same time. We ended up taking a left at the Dublin Portal and walking down to Central Brew Coffee. Coffee and croissants. Yummmm! The girls said they wanted a cream cheese croissant, and we stopped by two Starbucks and numerous cafes --turns out they don't make those anywhere there- only custard filled (the workers looked so confused about what we were asking), so the girls got donuts from The Hot Donut instead.

We decided we would start our day off with a tour of Christ Church Cathedral. It did not disappoint. I purchased the tickets right inside the door, and you can either use your phone or a provided device that guides you around and tells you history of the church. Highlights were just looking inside-wow, sitting down in the pews and hearing a man recite The Lords Prayer, going through the crypt and seeing a 14th century copy of the Magna Carta, and wearing traditional Irish clothing the wrong way. It was money and time well spent.

It was lunch time after completing the tour and we spotted a café on the way to the church, so that is where we headed next. Chorus Café Bistro was delicious and provided us with fresh pasta, sandwiches, bread, and warm soup. After we got our bellies full, we went to tour Dublin Castle or what is now called the State Apartments and used by the government for events. Upon purchasing tickets, we received a brochure that had each of the paintings listed and some history or a story to go along with it. At the very end we started to see who could come up with the best caption for the paintings, and this led to lots of laughs. I wish we would have done it the whole time. St Patrick’s Hall was the showstopper.

Next, we pit stopped at Gino's Gelato for a snack and walked to Stephen's Green Park where we were mesmerized by a young boy who handed his coat to his mom and proceeded to dunk the upper half of his body in the cold fountains to dig coins out. When we left there, we stumbled upon a Disney store on Grafton Street and had to walk through to check it out. Before heading back to the hotel we needed to take a bathroom break, so we wandered into a Burger King where we told by security we had to be customers to use the public toilets. We purchased a dessert, and then used the restrooms. ha!

At the hotel, we collected our luggage and headed to the bus stop to wait for a ride back to the airport. We used Aircoach again. When I purchased tickets I did roundtrip, so these tickets had a designated pick-up time of 6pm. The pick-up spot for returning to the airport was in front of Ned Kelly's Casino, and it was a three-minute walk from the hotel. While we were standing there, we watched machines that came through and cleaned the streets. Which leads me to say, the city was very clean, and we never felt unsafe.

Our flight with Ryanair to Edinburgh was scheduled for 10:15pm out of Terminal 1. We arrived at the airport around 6:45pm, so we had to wait 30 minutes before we could check our carry-on bag with Ryanair (the earliest you can check is 3 hours before your flight). There was a self-help area, and it was pretty self-explanatory how to use it to tag and send off carry-on luggage. After checking our luggage, we went through security and found our gate. Then we ate at Tap+Brew--I am still thinking about those berry waffles. When it came time to board, our passports were scanned, and we waited in a group before going out on tarmac to board. You are given instructions to board on either the back or front of the airline on your tickets. The plane was very plain but felt safe and clean to get us from point a to b on a one-hour flight.

We landed in Edinburgh at 11:25pm, and went through security (security being the cutest little dog that walked along beside us) when exiting into the main part of the airport. I stopped at an atm and pulled out 200 British pounds, then we walked out the entrance and went to the left to wait for the bus. I booked Airlink tickets online and downloaded the Lothian bus and tram app. These tickets weren't timed, but the way it worked was odd. A few minutes before boarding I was to "activate" the passes, and if it wasn't used within five minutes it would "expire". I screenshotted the ticket when it was active, and by the time we got on the bus it had just expired, but the bus driver did not seem to care at all. I think on all the bus systems; they would be pickier if it was during rush hour. We loaded on the bus, put our luggage in the lower-level luggage rack, and then took a seat in the upper section of this double decker bus. Taking a seat in the very front of the top level gave a fun view of the city at night, and what we mainly notice was how quiet it seemed (it was almost midnight). Our stop was at Shandwick Place, and we had a two-minute walk from the bus stop to our VRBO rental. The manager of the VRBO communicated detailed instructions on how to retrieve the key from the lockbox outside of the door, and we were able to get settled in and ready for bed. It was quite a day. 21,341 steps.



Day 4 Saturday, October 12, 2024 

WE SLEPT IN!!!! PANIC! How did this happen? I didn't set an alarm because I just knew I would wake up without an alarm, and no one else set an alarm either. It was 9:45am and we had to be at our appointed time for the Edinburgh Castle tour at 10:15am. Since I read in numerous places the tickets sell out, I knew I didn't want to chance trying to reschedule. That wasn't an option. My people are freaking rockstars because somehow we all end up getting ready in ten minutes while I simultaneously used the Freenow app to get a taxi to take us to the castle. We arrive at the castle with a literal minute to spare.

We started the tour outside in the rain. We did have raincoats and an umbrella, so it was manageable, and we signed up for the guided tour, so we were given an earpiece to be able to walk around and hear the guide. After the guided tour we were able to continue walking around freely and was able to see the Scottish Crown Jewels, Great Hall, War Memorial, and Prisons of War. One of the coolest things that we saw, was a cannon fired. At 1pm every day a cannon is fired, so despite the rain, we grabbed a coffee from the café and waited. Worth it! The firing of the cannon dates back to the 1800s, and we were told they did this so that incoming ships could set their chronometers and everyone would know what time it was.

After the cannon was fired, the rains let up and the skies became clear and sunny. Walking out of the gates of the castle, we were met with a bustling city and something so exciting--a bagpipe player wearing a kilt. We walked from the castle down to the farmer's market that was going to be closing in about 15 minutes. A brisk stroll through along the blue and white pin-striped awnings, led us to a kind man that sold us delicious falafel. There was fresh produce, meats, cheeses, and a few baked goods as well, but we didn't want to carry all that around. Our first stop after the castle was the Piemaker. We had a downpour of rain during this fifteen-minute walk from the castle terrace, so getting into this cozy little restaurant and indulging in a warm, flaky steak and ale pie hit the spot.

With the rain subsiding, we headed back out again, and within five minutes we came across the National Museum of Scotland. This place was HUGE. We spent a large amount of unplanned time there because there so much to see, and we still didn't see it all. We left the museum and walked another couple of minutes to our intended target, Greyfriars Kirkyard Cemetery, to look for headstones that inspired some of the names in Harry Potter. This cemetery, although old, was very peaceful to me, and there were mausoleums. How cool! To go along with Harry Potter inspired places to visit, we also stopped by The Elephant House where it was said J.K. Rowling wrote some of the Harry Potter books. Next stop was Victoria Street, with the multicolored, multistoried buildings and again another inspiration to Harry Potter's Diagon Alley. We browsed The Enchanted Galaxy shop and looked through tons of Harry Potter merch before leaving empty handed--it was quite pricey.

Checking off all the Harry Potter sites for the day we were back onto the street in Grassmarket. The sun was shining, but we were still chilled, so we stopped in at a little shop called Festival Stores to buy a couple beanies and gloves for those of us who forgot to bring them. Then we crossed the street to a Turkish Scottish café called Zaza's where we had a pot of hot tea and tried Scottish millionaire's shortbread for the first time--delicious!!!!! The sun was starting to set, so we decided to see a few more things on our list before heading back to the apartment for the night. We went to places Avengers: Infinity War filmed scenes or used as backdrops: The Milkman coffee shop, Waverly Train Station, and St. Giles Cathedral. Then we continued to walk 20 more minutes along Princes Street back to the warm apartment. It was about 8pm at this time. My husband and I left the girls to take showers and get comfy, while we walked 5 minutes to a Taco Bell and local grocery store to grab a quick dinner and snacks before bed. 19,970 historical steps walked.



Day 5 Sunday, October 13, 2024 

I can't remember if we set an alarm, but we didn't have anything scheduled until the afternoon. We managed to wake up at a decent hour and took our time getting ready. If I remember correctly, this is the day that if you hadn't brought proper shoes that you have worn in, your feet will be seriously hurting. (For reference I had bought Columbia hiking boots that I wore a good month before this trip, and I maybe didn't look the most stylish, but my feet and ankles were just fine. No offense to people that can suffer through being cute--you do you!) We did pick up some bandages from the local grocery store this morning to try and ease sore feet.


Do you wear cute shoes no matter the cost or go for comfort?

  • cute

  • comfy


With both cute shoes and hiking boots, we trekked on to another part of town. In the background we could hear the pleasant sound of church bells ringing. The plan was to get breakfast first. Achy feet and hangry is a huge issue for our family-not sure about y'alls. The Dean Coffee Shop was our intended destination, but unfortunately it was overflowing with people, so we grumpily went to the second option listed on the map- The Coffee Bike on West Mill Lane. To get there we walked over the Leith Walkway, and this is where the stunning, quaint Dean's Village comes into view. If we weren't so hungry, it may have looked even more beautiful! lol We kept trodding on a few more minutes and spotted the bike, but it was just being set up, so we detoured a few steps over to Bell's Brae Bridge to take in the view before finally being first in line to get our hot drinks and tasty treat for the morning. Once again, the millionaire's shortbread was a choice, and it was paired with my first americano on this trip. We walked up Miller's Lane and came to an area to set and enjoy our drink and snacks, then we decided to walk further down this stone path with water running along it...because, why not?! It was a lovely walk, but also a dead end, so we made our way back up the path before taking Bell's Bae Bridge the opposite direction we came in, toward Queensferry Road.

We decided to make our way back to the apartment and just take in the sites along the way. It was only about a ten-minute walk, and we managed to find St. Mary's Episcopal Church. Wanting to get a closer look-we walked toward it. It was quite stunning from the outside and surrounded by cute neighborhoods. There was one apartment door front decorated festively for fall, and I when I see things like this, I always think I would love to recreate it at my house but know that will likely never happen. ha! It's a nice thought though. To allow some reprieve to achy feet, we decided to take it easy (since we have many days left of this trip), and hang out at the apartment until our afternoon teatime.

At about 12:30pm we took the ten-minute stroll to Tigerlily for our reserved afternoon teatime. It was a more modern looking restaurant, and the staff were kind and welcoming. We were seated immediately in large, brown, ribbed leather booths with clean white marble-looking tables. Our waitress explained how it worked, we each were able to choose the type of tea we wanted and were brought a pot and mugs, then there were multiples of the same style dishes presented on three-tiered trays for us to share. They were accommodating for our vegetarian request as well. The waitress, along with others that had asked where we were from, were concerned and empathetic toward the hurricanes happening in Florida--it was even on many news stations. That empathy just really made me feel a way. Such kind people. Love it!!! Now, I to be fully honest--I feel if I had a more proper English palette the sandwiches would have been exquisite. Sadly, none of us really cared for them, but we did thoroughly enjoy the scones with clotted cream and jam served in cute little jars as well as some of the desserts. Looking around and seeing others sitting together and slowly consuming their food and drink while visiting really made me love the idea of teatime. Overall, I am glad we did it, and I am happy with where we chose. There are so many places to pick from in Edinburgh.

We went back to the apartment and took a nap, and I went ahead and made a dinner reservation for the evening. At about 4pm we made our way back down Princes Street, but this time we went through Princes Street Gardens. Walking out of Princes Street Gardens we got onto Calton Rd and followed it down to Palace of Holyroodhouse, which had already closed for the day. There is an option to do tours here, but we hadn't made time for that. It is gated, and it said online this is where royalty of Scotland lives. Right next to this is the entrance to Arthur's Seat which is said to be a brisk 45-minute hike to a beautiful viewpoint, but didn't make enough time to do this either. This is one thing I wish we would have made time for...if we ever get the opportunity to travel back, we will.

It was now time to head for our dinner reservation, so we made our way back up Canongate Road. Along the way we spotted a souvenir shop that sold kilts and flat caps, so I stopped and bought one of each (as requested) for my sister. Our dinner reservation was at Bertie's Proper Fish and Chips. Shockingly, we had fish and chips.... they even had a vegetarian version of fish (although it wasn't my daughter's favorite). With our bellies full, we stretched our legs and made our way to The Real Mary Kings Close to check in for our 7pm lantern tour. A close is an old alleyway, and the tour led us through alleyways that were now underground because the roofs of houses were eventually cut off and used the walls were used as a foundation to build the city up. The tour gave lots of history regarding Scotland in the 1600's. The lanterns were only battery-lit, but the information and experience were top notch...the lantern tour is only available during October (from what I read).

We arrived back at the apartment around 9pm, and I attempted for the third time to use the washer/dryer combo in the apartment searching YouTube for tutorials to no avail. It's fine. I did manage to figure out the oven and cooked the strudel I picked up at a nearby grocery store, Sainsbury Local. I may have also set off the smoke alarm in the process. Oops. Now, time for bed! 20,125 steps today.



Day 6 Monday, October 14, 2024 

Bus tour day! We packed up all of our things and tidied up the apartment before requesting a taxi using Freenow to take us to our designated bus tour pick up spot. Upon arrival there was someone from the company already there to check us in and tell us when we would be boarding the bus. The bus tour company was The Hairy Coo, and as mentioned in the planning section, I am absolutely- 100% happy I planned this tour. It took us to so many places we wouldn't have been able to see unless we rented a car. First, we met our guide, wee Stevie. The bus was comfortable, we stored our carry-ons in the luggage hold under the bus, and there was overhead storage for our backpacks. Wee Stevie was enthusiastic and provided tons of information on the places we went. The first stop was the Kelpies. We had coffee, water, and pastries with the view of the Kelpies inside their cafe. Our next stop was Blair Athol Distillery where we sampled Scottish whiskey for a little cost. There was one with honey that I enjoyed. Next we stopped for lunch in the quaint little town of Pitlochry--we had limited time so we didn't get to go in any of the cute shops, but we did have a delicious lunch at Mac & Pinch--soup, sandwiches, salad, and a huge, warm, fluffy slice of bread. I don't think I've mentioned yet, but water is pretty much a given with most meals, but there isn't ice. It just isn't common there.

Continuing on into the afternoon, we stopped at the Highland Folk Museum where we got to see the actual place they filmed scenes during the first season of Outlander. Our tour guide even played the opening song as we were driving there. lol They didn't charge to go in, but they welcome tips to help with upkeep. The area is preserved to show life in the 1700s. I believe we paid a small fee of a few pounds to get a paper book that showed things to see while there. Seeing depictions of life in that area was very cool, but my favorite was when we got back to the area where Outland was filmed. There was a beautiful landscape in the distance. Very peaceful. We strolled back to the bus, stopped to use the public restrooms, and then went on our way.

Next stop was the Culloden Battlefield, which again, wee Stevie shared lots of information about prior to arrival. The battlefield is flat, and you can see for long distances. They had flags marking where the each of the armies would have been standing prior to the battle. Now there are stones to mark the clans that died here, and they are still finding remains. When we were there, there were people with metal detectors. Overall, the area felt eerie to me. It was pretty chilly, and since it was flat there was nothing blocking the wind, so we went into the visitors center to get a break from the wind and look around. I did go into the souvenir shop and pick us up some road trip snacks-clotted cream fudge and jellybeans. Last stop of the day, Clava Cairns, which is essentially a 4000-year-old cemetery protected by Scotland, and where I willingly reenacted where Claire fell through a headstone in Outlander.

We ended our tour for the day in the city of Inverness, where we had already booked our stay at Adrians Guest House. The bus parked at Inverness Cathedral, and we had a seven-minute walk (with luggage) to the bed and breakfast. I had already told the host we would be arriving in the evening, but I was concerned at first when we went up to the door and the lights were off in the lobby area. Fairly quickly, the host (I wish I could remember his name-it wasn't Adrian-he said Adrian had past and he was helping his son run the B&B), came and greeted us. He provided the keys to our rooms; my husband and I were on the upper level and our daughters on the lower. The place was very clean, cozy, and safe feeling after we got settled. The host did ask if we would be having the breakfast, but we informed him our bus left early. He said he would provide us with scones, cream, and jam and there were cereals, coffee, and fruits available in the kitchen area.

After a day of traveling, we all freshened up, and then walked down the street, across the pedestrian bridge to have dinner at Coyote Burger. We were told they were short staffed and there would be a wait on food, but they would be happy to serve us, so we stayed. The food was worth the wait. I had the best burger--and there were vegetarian burger options too. Surprisingly, the theme in this restaurant was punk rock themed and constantly played 90s punk rock band music the entire time we were there. We were showered and in bed by 9:30pm --where (we found out later) we all watched Titanic to fall asleep. 14,761 steps walked.



Day 7 Tuesday, October 15, 2024 

We woke up, got ready, and all met downstairs in the dining area. As mentioned, our host set jam and scones out for us on the table, and we made ourselves a cup of hot coffee. It was a crisp, cold morning, and the sun hadn't risen yet. We walked quickly to the designated bus stop area and boarded. The mood was quiet and still on the bus as we took off, I may have even dozed off for a bit. About an hour into the road trip, our driver pulled over because there was a beautiful silhouette of the mountains showing on the loch (lake). We all got out and took pictures. Back on the bus, and awake from cold air hitting my face, I was able to watch the sunrise. We traveled another 1.5 hours before reaching out first stop on the Isle of Skye. It was essentially a stretch your legs, bathroom break, and grab a snack stop. There restrooms were separate from the gas station, and we did pay 50 pence (65 cents) using credit card tap pay. Wee Stevie said the town did upkeep on the toilets and the charge is for the upkeep. They were clean, and I was happy to pay to use them. Then we walked just few steps over to the gas station to grab some snacks and a drink. There were great meal deals for a sandwich, snack, and drink for a little less than four pounds, but (from our experience at the teatime) we knew we weren't keen on their common mayo and egg delicacies, so we skipped this.

The scenery along the roadways on the Isle of Skye are stunning. We were surrounded by mountain views, huge rock hillsides, and occasion waterfalls. Our first scenic stop was at Kilt Rock Viewpoint. If you look at the right angle, you can see how the 295-foot-tall rock-wall around the waterfalls looks like a kilt pattern. There was also information printed in the area about how dinosaur fossils being found here. The next scenic stop was my second favorite of the trip, Quiraing. We drove uphill on curvy roads to get to the viewpoint, and it was worth it. Let me just put what the professionals had printed on the plaque to set the scene. "....outdoor museum offers you shorelines, mountains, and hidden lochs. We invite you to explore our waterfalls, dinosaur footprints, and traditional way of life. This part of the Trotternish Ridge, a 19-mile-long escarpment formed around 60 million years ago and subsequently sculpted by multiple ice sheets and landslides. It is made of layer upon layer of lava which sit on top of older sedimentary rocks from the Jurassic period." Basically, standing in one spot, as far as you could see were green covered, mountainous formations, with glimpses of the sea. We spent about thirty minutes here, but I would have loved to spend a whole day just walking the trails.

Heading back down the mountain, we saw lots of free ranging sheep up on the mountains and on the side of the road. Now, I had mentioned that our driver educated us about the areas we were visiting, and some of that education included myths and legends. On the way to the next stop, he told us of the enchanted waters under Sligachan Bridge, and how they came to be enchanted. I can't remember all the details, and when I attempted to google to see if it triggered a memory, none of them were exactly the same as he told it--but all had to do with an ongoing battle and a plea to the fairies (by the waters) to stop the fighting. Someone had a brilliant idea to provide a feast for those in battle, they ate together, and all was mended. Legend says, if dip your face in the enchanted waters for 7 seconds and let it dry off naturally you will be granted eternal beauty. Of course, I did it! When in Scotland-dip your face in enchanted waters. My husband did too! The girls weren't into it. lol Since it was chilly, we went from the bridge to Seumas' Bar. This is where we had THE BEST carrot cake of my life.

Leaving the Isle of Skye, our last stop was the Eilean Donan Castle. We stopped where we could see if from a distance. Then we headed back to Inverness of the night. Back at our B&B we got freshened up and headed back over the pedestrian bridge to the Hootananny. I made reservations earlier in the day while on the bus using OpenTable. We had the most authentic Scottish dinner experience here. I had haggis, neeps, and tatties, my husband had a burger and chips, and our girls both had mac n cheese and chips. I can't exclaim enough how good the haggis, neeps, and tatties were, and I sampled the girl's mac n cheese, which was scrumptious. We enjoyed this lovely meal all while getting to listen to a local Scottish singer live. Ahhh! This is what my dreams are made of-- great food and live music. He even sang "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond" while we were there. If I am being real, as dreamy as this was, everyone's moods weren't at an all-time high, so we thought it best to just make it back to the B&B and get some rest for the night. Good choice. 8,333 beautiful steps taken today.



Day 8 Wednesday, October 16, 2024 

Our last morning at the B&B we packed up our things, ate a small breakfast, and checked out. It was a rainy day. Raincoats on and umbrellas up, we made our away back to the tour bus's designated spot. The first stop of the day was a Loch Ness boat cruise. This was the only thing that we did on the tour that we paid extra cash for admission-our tour bus had reserved seats the night before, and we paid him a total of eighty pounds for the four of us. It was only about thirty minutes before we arrived. The sky was still cloudy and drizzly, but there was lots of heated indoor seating on the boat where we could look out at the loch to try and spot Nessie, the Loch Ness monster. No luck.

On the down the road, we stopped at the Commando Memorial, and with luck here we were able to see a remembrance ceremony that was taking place which included a bagpipe song, a prayer, and presentation of country flags. This memorial commemorated the soldiers who died during the Second World War, and the countries acknowledged included the United States, Canada, and three other European countries (sorry I didn't recognize the flags). The statue stands with a viewpoint of the Commando training grounds, and it is a spectacular view.

Next on the agenda, and something we were all looking forward to, was stopping at the Glenfinnan viaduct. This is the iconic bridge and train that has been a filming location for four of the Harry Potter films. You can look ahead and see the train schedule if you want to see the train crossing the viaduct. We were on a schedule with our tour, so did not get to see the train crossing. We hiked uphill several steps, and did get a good view of the viaduct and Loch Sheil-also used as a filming location for the HP films.

Back on the bus, and it was getting close to lunch. We pit stopped at Fort William where we could eat at McDonald's or at the recommended food court inside Morrisons supermarket. We chose to eat at the supermarket, but unfortunately the service was just not the best that day. We only had about thirty-minutes to grab a bit to eat, and we only received half of our food before scarfing down some fries and hot tomato soup and bailing. Things happen. I always have emergency granola bars with me for times such as this. lol

Now, all this was forgotten, when we came to my favorite stop of the trip. Glencoe. Similar to how I mentioned I would have loved to have longer to hike around Quairing, I would have LOVED to be able to hike around here. You could see trickling waterfalls coming down from the tall, moss-covered mountains, and way in the distance you could see people that looked like little ants going up designated paths. It was breath-takingly beautiful. Even when we were back on the bus and driving through the valley surrounded by these tall mountains, it felt like we were in a fairytale.

Our last tour stop of the day was at Trossachs Woollen Mill to meet their famous highland cows, Hamish, Honey, and Holley. We purchased a bag of vegetables from their store (I believe for a pound) and fed them. It was so fun and entertaining watching them excitedly stick out their long tongues and slurp up a carrot. They have restrooms here as well and a really good souvenir shop. We took a picture of our whole tour group here minus a few who were still entranced by the cows. lol That was the cherry on top of a wonderful three-day tour bus trip. Wee Stevie was the best, and as he did at every stop when we departed the bus, he said "Miss you already" (in the most lovable Scottish accent) as we stepped off the bus for the last time in Edinburgh.

For our final night in Edinburgh, I decided we should check out a hostel because we have never been, and we just needed a place to lie our head down for a few hours while before catching an early flight. This hostel was only about a five minute walk from where our bus dropped us off {always good to verify pick up/drop off places with tours when you book them, especially if you are planning your next hotel stay around it}. I'm not sure about all hostels, but this one, Kick Ass Greyfriars, was for 18+ only. When I booked through hotels.com there was an option to pay for just a bed or the whole room. I went ahead and booked a whole room, which included three bunk beds. There was still shared bathrooms and showers. I thought the hostel was great for just a night and the experience, but probably wouldn't be my choice for a longer stay with our group. The hostel was in a great location, clean, and the people were very friendly. We were told about a trivia night they were having in their café/bar area, so we unpacked our things in our room and then went to check it out.

The bar area was adorable. What initially caught my eye when researching was the bar that is in a VW van. We sat at a booth in the corner and ordered chicken/vegan wings and drinks, then our girls went back to the room while we stayed and played trivia. Our team of two's name was "Missouri", and I am sad to say we came in last of the five teams (including the bartenders-ha!), but we had a blast. There was a lot of pop trivia, and we could have really used our girls help or Google for those questions. lol We still had some life left in us, so we took off into the streets of Edinburgh at night. My husband was the guide and without following a map (blows my mind) he led us through Victoria Street-absolutely gorgeous a night-and right up to the castle. We peered over the ledge down on the city at night, took some pictures, and then walked the Royal Mile headed toward Palace of Holyroodhouse. Along the way we heard live music, and walked into The Canons' Gait pub. It was pure magic. My heart gets excited just thinking about it. The pub was somewhat empty with an orchestra of at least ten people playing fiddles, flutes, and other instruments. We got a drink from the bar and snuggled into a booth to sit and listen. It was such a wonderful atmosphere, I felt like I could cry. That may be THE HIGHLIGHT of the trip for me. You never know what you can find when you let go of schedules and wander around. After the pub, we finished the Royal Mile down to Palace of Holyroodhouse, stared at Arthurs Seat, and really contemplated using our phones to go on a night hike (which is allowed, but you have to be cautious of the path), but since we had our kids nestled back at the hostel we thought we better head back.

Back through the hostel doors, and down a few hallways to our room, we found our girls in bed, but not necessarily sleeping or at least they weren't anymore with the commotion of me climbing into the top bunk-ha! We all tried to get some rest before our 3am wakeup call--even with the sound of excitement outside coming from people leaving nearby night clubs. 11,603 steps today. Goodnight.



Day 9 Thursday, October 17, 2024 

The 3am wakeup call was a mistake on my part. When booking the flight back to Dublin, I didn't account for how early we needed to arrive at the airport. Oops. Edinburgh at 3am was quiet. It was a cold, drizzly morning, so we did book a Freenow ride from the hostel to our bus stop at Waverly Bridge to take the Airlink bus back to the airport. We could have taken the taxi all the way to the airport, but I had already booked round trip bus tickets, so it was cheaper that way (sometimes I can be cheap..lol) Either way, we made it back to the Edinburgh Airport, and I am grateful we planned to get there early because Ryanair's bag check systems were down, and the airport staff were rushing and around trying to figure out a solution. They ended up having to check our bags by writing out information on paper tags. I didn't know if we'd ever see our carry-ons again (spoiler alert-we did). Then we made our way through security, boarded our hour flight back to Dublin, and we all took a nap before we landed. I don't even know if we stayed awake through take off. Back in Dublin we did go through customs again, and got our passports stamped. We were kind of bummed we didn't have to go through customs so we could have got a stamp in Scotland.

Anywho, same as before, we used Aircoach. This time I purchased roundtrip tickets at the counter when we got there. We were staying at Cassidy's again, so same familiar route. We arrived at the hotel around 9am, and they had rooms available, so let us go ahead and check-in. I loved this second room set up even more than the first. We put all our bags in the room, and headed out for breakfast. Lovinspoon was a five-minute walk from us, and although they were busy the host sat us quickly in what I thought was the perfect spot to be cozy for the four of us. They had lots of choices. Most of us got "The Big" which included traditional Irish breakfast foods: egg, sausages, mushrooms, toast, baked beans, and pancakes. It was a lot.

We were stuffed and still a little sleepy, so we went back to the hotel, got comfy, turned on Brave, and took a nap. When we woke up from our slumber, we got freshened up and walked a couple minutes toward the day trip bus tour we were taking. I was so happy with how our Edinburgh tour turned out, and getting out of the city, our last day of that tour I booked a day trip tour out of Dublin. Check-in for this tour was easy, we just stood outside the visible Paddywaggon bus until the tour guide told us to get on. I'm not sure he even checked our tickets, and he was a little gruff, giving off Alec Baldwin vibes, but he ended up being pretty cool. He absolutely did not like people talking when he was talking. I think he would have actually kicked someone off and left them stranded for not listening. lol He did teach us a lot of about their economy, cost of living, school system etc. Loved that!

Our destination was Wicklow Mountains National Park, and the drive there was 1.5 hours. The tour guide told us the best route to take to optimize our time there when we arrived.  The entrance before the path is a monastery of Glendalough, founded by Saint Kevin in the 6th century. The area is sacred and beautiful, full of ruins, Celtic crosses, round towers, and headstones with many things dating back 10th and 12th century. Making our way passed this area (we planned to spend more time here on the way back), we went onto the path that led down to Glendalough lakes. The walk was very pretty, and it was a beautiful day for it. We were surrounded by moss covered trees, babbling brooks, leading to little waterfalls, and the occasional siting of cute little ducks. On the way back from the lake, we were gifted a rainbow which protruded out of the hillside with round bell tower in the distance. When we got back to the monastery, there were deer, completely unbothered by us, grazing in the grass around the old headstones with the sunlight beaming down on them. We ended our day there by hugging the large Celtic cross. Legend says, anyone who can wrap their arms around Saint Kevin's cross will receive their wish. I couldn't wrap my arms alllll the way around, but I did make a wish. The ride back was relaxing, and we made it back with the in time to see the sunsetting over O' Connell Bridge.

Dinner tonight was at a Burger King that was conveniently located along our walk back to the hotel. Burger, fries, and a milkshake hit the spot. All was well with the world. Then we got back to the hotel, and I received a notification that our flight from DUB to Newark (the connecting flight to get to St. Louis) was canceled. We were going to try and make our way into a pub recommended by the tour driver (The Cobblestone, The Celt, The Hairy Lemon, The Confession Box, The Long hall, or The Stags Head), but instead I spent the night demanding United book another flight for us while simultaneously researching flights we could take. The initially rebooked us for a flight the next day. Three United representatives, and four hours later, I convinced them to rebook us through a partnering agency Air Canada. I did this by going to United site and seeing what flights pulled up on their site and continuously sending it to them in screenshots until they gave up. lol It was totally unnecessary in my opinion and should have been done initially, but we did get rebooked and were only going to be arriving home a few hours later than what was originally planned. {Later, I filed a claim and was also reimbursed for the extra money I paid for seat assignments on the original flight} Midnight came too fast. Time for bed. 12,836 steps.



Day 10 Friday, October 18, 2024 

I woke up around 6am, downloaded the Air Canada app, and made sure we were all checked into our Air Canada flight. Then within the hour we all woke up, got ready, packed our things, and checked out of Cassidy's. Like we did before, we walked a few minutes to the bus stop and took the Airlink bus back to the airport. We were flying out of Terminal 1 this time since flying Air Canada. You can always check that on the airline's website to see what terminal the airline is in. At Dublin's airport the terminal entrances are a ten-minute walk from each other, so even if you end up at one instead of the other it's not catastrophic. It is always good to check on that ahead of time and save yourself the stress/time. We stopped at the Air Canada desk to see if we needed to check our bags, and they said as of right now we should be able to bring on board, but they may have to be checked at the gate. We decided to chance it and take them with us. We made it through security, and since our connecting was in Toronto, Canada instead of the United Stated we skipped customs in Dublin and would be going through customs in Canada. We made it to our gate by 8am, so going through security didn't take much time at all this morning.

Once we got settled at the gate, we took turns going to find breakfast. We used up the rest of our euros on breakfast and a few souvenirs, and waited to board our flight that was delayed from 9:50am to 11:15am. While we were waiting, staff from Air Canada said it would be a full flight and encouraged us to tag our carry-ons at the gate. We conceded and did that, and it worked out fine. I loved flying Air Canada. I found the flight to be very comfortable, food was great--we got breakfast earlier in the flight and a fancier hot pocket sort of lunch before landing at 1pm.

We gained some time flying back because of the time difference. Customs at Canada was a breeze. We didn't get our checked bags at Toronto-they went to our final destination, St. Louis. Our flight to St. Louis didn't take off until 6:25pm, and it was on time. We boarded and were seated in the very back, but just happy to be there. My husband, who randomly gets super talkative at times (but is really out of character for him) made friends with our stewardess. I got a full coke zero out of it, and she told us about her favorite place to visit--Newfoundland. I added that to our list.

We landed in St. Louis safely, collected our luggage still in one piece, and took the shuttle to our car. Guess what? Our battery was dead. No clue how this happened, but it was our lucky day because someone had called a local person they knew to jump start their car because their battery died just a few cars down from us. We paid the guy $50 and were on our way home within minutes. Worth every penny! By midnight we were back home snuggling our dogs, who were well taken care of by the sweetest dog sitter while we were gone. 10,884 steps to home sweet home.


If you want to have a copy of the itinerary I used for this trip and a budget list of every penny spent, you can go to the itinerary tab. Thanks for reading!


-Rachelle






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