Into the Higlands & Heather and Edinburgh Beyond...

Well the last time I checked in I was in Glasgow. Since then I traveled to Inverness,Scotland where I spent 3 days. The country/landscape around the area is beautiful: craggy mountains, muted purple heather ( i arrived to see it in bloom), and large rolling hills; some with wheat fields, others with pine or oak forests.

Inverness is perhaps most famous due to is close proximity to Loch Ness, home of the infamous monster. I took a 2.5 hr walk (7miles) to Loch Ness to see if I could find ol' Nessie but I had no such luck. The loch (lake) is huge and the 1/3rd I could see was very rough with white cap waves. I could see how people could think they saw the monster... I returned to the hostel in town using a method called hitching, aka hitch hiking.

The town and hostel had a quaint and cozy charm with kilt and souvenir shops everywhere. A lot of character. Another interesting thing about Inverness is that is at a point where the sea, the river Ness, and the man-made Caledonia canal merge. Supposedly there are a lot of seals and dolphins in the area but i didn't see any, and i walked for quite a while to catch a peak.

I am now in Edinburgh (EDIN-BURRA) where i arrived yesterday and walked the Royal Mile. Today i took a free 3 hr tour of the city and explored its National Gallery of Art. The city is interesting with a ton of stone buildings that are Georgian and Victorian in style, all with different facades. The streets are cobblestone. Another thing, the streets, especially along the Royal Mile are lined with tourist shops selling kilts, bagpipes, and wool or cashmere scarves.... The incessant bagpipes and varying styles of plaid are enough to make you go crazy! Oh and of course there is the nice castle with good views...

The plan is to leave this nice city tomorrow and head to London for a few days. Currently i am having some difficulty finding a bus for a Thursday departure. After i am done posting this I am going to head to the bus station and see what can be done...

I'd love to stay in London longer than a few days and the same with the UK overall, but the £ to $ exchange rate is killing my savings... Yesterday it was 1.84 down from 1.97 earlier in my travels. Basically i take the price in pounds and multiply by two to give me an idea of what it costs in dollars. Pretty darn expensive... Getting back to Euro spending countries will help a bit.

I still haven't found a location where i can upload photos but I am working on it... Give me a bit more time. Finally, two other things: If you have questions or comments send them to me either by commenting on the blog posts or by emailing me at nathan.p.litt@gmail.com. I believe my mum asked how food worked at hostels... She probably wants to make sure I am eating. Well i am eating... In hostels you have two options: eating out at restaurants, pubs or cafes, which is expensive or going to the local market and buying food and preparing it in the hostel. You are on your own. I usually buy, make, and eat spaghetti w/ sauce for dinner. Breakfast is toast w/ nutella and lunch is some type of cookies. Sounds good, huh?

Well, i hope to finalize travel arrangements for London in the next few hours as I'd prefer not to spend another day in Edinburgh despite how lovely it is. Ultimately, the unofficial, highly flexible plan is to be in France by the first few days of September.

yours truly,
NPL

P.S. Yesterday i saw a dead ringer for John Lennon, I saw an old guy with a Green Bay Packers hat on , and this morning I learned the origins of being 'shit faced'...