From: assist@orion.oac.uci.edu (ASSIST Coordination Site)
Subject: Re: Honeymoon in Scotland
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Organization: University of California, Irvine
Date: 8 Oct 92 00:00:43 GMT
Distribution: world 
 

In article <BvrJ33.2xt@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk> jack@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (Jack Campin)
writes:
>kris@fs2.assist.uci.edu  wrote:
>> thigpen@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov (Keith Thigpen) writes:
>>> My fiance has mentioned Scotland as a candidate for a honeymoon. Is this 
>>> a good candidate? 
>>> What kind of attractions / activities are available (August, '93)?
>> I can't think of anywhere I would rather go on a honeymoon than to
>> Scotland.  It has a magic quality about it that I have found nowhere
>> else I have ever been (and I have travelled all over the South Pacific,
>> Caribbean, and parts of Europe).  Edinburgh (even though it is a city
>> and not in the country) is absolutely enchanting.  In August, they 
>> hold a huge festival at Edinburgh Castle which should not be missed.
>
>The castle is one of the few bits of town where the festival *isn't*.
>There's a military display, the Tattoo, which happens on the esplanade in
>front of it;

Maybe my use of the preposition "at" (Edinburgh Castle) was a bit unclear;
next time I will be sure to use exact terminology such as "IN FRONT OF IT" or
"nearby" the castle so I don't get flamed :-)  (And I was considering that
military display as part of the festival -- maybe locals don't see it
that way). 

>But that's a tiny
>part of the Festival and quite ignorable if marching bands are not your
>thing.  (I have only seen it on TV, despite living 200 yards from the
>Castle for a few years).

Well, as an American, I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the festival (as
with Americans in America perhaps because this occurs close to your home
you don't find it all that interesting, however, that does not mean
that a tourist would not find it so).

>> I found just walking around the city, strolling through beautiful parks
>> stopping to do shopping for local goods (you can't go home without a kilt!),

>Well, actually you can.  There is a lot more to Scottish culture than this
>sort of tourist-tartan stuff, which most of the locals regard as a bad joke.

I'm sorry you feel it is a "bad joke" as I happen to have friends from
Scotland who own kilts made of their clan's tartan which carries a
proud tradition and history with it.            

>> And the people are just as amazing as the country.  They are so warm and
>> friendly and make you feel as if you have fallen back into a time when
>> things were simpler and less chaotic.
>
>I don't know where you come from, but "warm and friendly" is not a pair of
>adjectives often applied to Edinburghers (the stereotype is that they'll
>welcome you on a visit with "You'll have had your tea" as an excuse for not
>feeding you)... true, it's not as hostile an environment as London, though.

Actually, the people I met and spoke with were very friendly (as with all
countries, there are nice people and rude people -- perhaps I just got
all the nice ones while I was there :-) 

Jack, a tourist's view of a country is often more glowing than the  
resident's view of their own country and so I will give you some slack
for being so cynical; however, I still love Edinburgh . . .
 
>--  Jack Campin    nroom G092, Computing Science Department, Glasgow University,
>17 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RZ, Scotland   TEL: 041 339 8855 x6854 (work)
  

Kris
kris@fs2.assist.uci.edu





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