The Neutral Zone

We stayed in Edinburgh for two days to conclude our Scotland adventure. Hannah spent a semester in Edinburgh in her spritely college days and she remembers it fondly. As we wandered through the city, Hannah would point out various places and reminisce. Here was the restaurant where she would gather with friends to celebrate special occasions (The Outsider), here was the local café they frequented between classes (Peter's Yard), this was the park she walked through to get home (The Meadows), and there is the shitty hostel she stayed in when she arrived (less interesting!).  Edinburgh was fun. We liked it more than Glasgow. Edinburgh had more to see (more ancient castles, museums and monuments) and the city was denser and more lively. Glasgow just felt more utilitarian.  Hannah - of course - led me to the far-flung corners of the city in an effort to find the newest and best food, including marching me straight out of Edinburgh and into the neighboring city of Leith. We ate well...

Our next stop in Scotland was the large national park called the Cairngorms that stretches across a broad swath of the eastern and southern highlands. The Cairngorms have stunning hills, mountains, forests, and lochs. The park is dotted with adorable Scottish towns like Dunkeld and Braemar and crisscrossed with windy roads that meander through the glens, over the hills, and between the mountains.  Roads in the UK Speaking of windy roads. I've commented on Britain's questionable highway engineering and planning before (see here ). Seeing as the situation hasn't improved materially since our last visit to the UK, I feel obligated to comment on it again, albeit with some new thoughts.  The roads in the UK are terrible. In particular, the roads in these remote parts of the country are incredibly narrow and not always well maintained: They are riddled with potholes, a key concern for Hannah who was convinced that they would puncture our tires. Hannah kept our drives through the ...