Scotland and France

A combination of bus and ferry landed me in Edinburgh from Belfast.  I've heard lots of good things about Edinburgh but had no idea how beautiful the city was itself.  Wow....

Edinburgh Castle

Park in front of Edinburgh Castle

Edinburghs' functioning flower clock celebrating its 100th year!

Bustling Grassmarket Square

Calton Hill

Lucky toe of David Hume, rubbed by locals for good luck!

'The Royal Mile' - Major street running down from Edinburgh Castle

Scotland is the home of scotch whiskey, and since I’m a novice fan of scotch I figured I’d take a tour at the scotch whiskey experience museum.  It’s not a distillery itself, but it goes into great detail about the different regions in Scotland that produce scotch as well as single malts vs blends and everything else scotch related.

Just a taste of the 3000 bottle collection housed in the museum

One of a kind bottle of scotch simply called '1000''.  It gets it's name because the scotch that is inside this bottle has a combined age of 1000!

The different regions within Scotland that produce scotch.  They are Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside, Islay (my fav) and Cambeltown

The burned inside of a 15 year scotch cask.  They burn the inside of certain casks to give it a more smokey flavour.  "We all stand for for 15 years"

Most large cities like Edinburgh offer free city walking tours that usually run a few times per day.  Like other cities I’ve stayed in, I decided to take advantage of the tour.

I can't recall the name of this structure, but I do remember that if you were caught stealing in the 1800's, you'd have your ear nailed to the door for 24 hours so that everybody knew you were a thief!

The heart of the city....spit on for good luck!

Off The Royal Mile there are several closes such as this one that give the downtown lots of character

The main cemetery which houses approximately 100,000 bodies (a mass grave was dug in the 1800’s as smaller cemeteries couldn’t keep up with the demand).  Grave robbing was a great way to make money back in the day, as it wasn’t illegal to steal bodies from graves!  Robbers used to sell the bodies back to laboratories for research and make a killing (pun completely intended).  Cages such as this one surrounded the body and prevented these thefts and could be purchased by the family.

A statue commemorating Bobby the dog.  As the story goes his master died and was buried in the cemetery, but Bobby never left his masters side and lived another 14 years guarding the grave site!

But what trip to Edinburgh would be complete without a visit to the Edinburgh Castle!  The greatest thing about this castle is that its smack dab in the city up on a pedestal, you can see it from anywhere.  The castle is entrenched in history.  It was the focal point of city takeovers over the years and has seen its ownership tossed back and forth between the Scots (FREEEEDOM!!!!) and English.

Panoramic shot from the castle looking out over Edinburgh

Mons Meg means business

The “one o’clock gun” that goes off every day at 1pm fired by a guy named “Shannon the cannon”.....best nickname ever maybe?

Calton Hill in the distance

However much like Ireland with Dublin, too many people come to Edinburgh and don’t get out to the Scottish highlands, where I think the true Scotland is found!  Although I could only get out for a day trip as longer duration trips were all booked up, I was amazed by the beauty once you get outside the city.

First stop was at a rest-stop equipped with Scottish Coo’s (Cows)

Scottish Coo...so emo

In a sassy female cow voice "What I would do for a comb and opposable thumbs"

Scottish thistle

Glencoe area....amazing views

No trip up to the Scottish Highlands would be complete without a stop at the infamous Loch Ness!

No Nessie sightings that day....I was crushed

Ok seriously you could take an hour boat ride around this lake for 15 Euro...the boat even had sonar equipment on it.  I’m not kidding people these boats are just packed with eager onlookers....amazing

We also stopped at a location that was used to train elite British 'Commando' soldiers....awesome

Ry I took these pictures for you...it’s the world’s biggest bridge of a certain type, which I can’t recall.  They’re tearing it down in a few years though as it’s past its prime....much like your short game (ooooh).

Somehow I stayed busy enough in Scotland to completely forget to try haggis!  I’m actually pretty disappointed, although after talking to a few locals who informed me nobody really eats it on a regular basis, usually just once a year.  Also Scotland has a pop called IRN BRU, which is a huge hit and everybody seems to drink it.  Interesting stat about IRN BRU is that it outsells Coke in Scotland, and there’s only one other country in the world where another pop outsells Coke and that’s Peru with Inca Cola...which I’ve also tried!  IRN BRU is essentially a sweeter cream soda for those wondering.

That about wraps up Scotland and the UK!  So it was off to France!

I stepped off my RyanAir flight in Paris and was greeted by the smell of Wine, Croissants and this familiar looking guy..

Oui Oui Monsieur, welcome to France!

Paris has an underground metro system that much like London puts Toronto to shame.  15 or so lines running every which way, easy to read signs and automated ticket booths everywhere.  Also its only 1 euro ($1.35CAN)!  It’s ridiculously easy to get around Paris to see all it has to offer.

So what to see first?  The ‘giant asparagus’ itself.....The Eiffel Tower!

Cool....but what’s cooler is taking pictures of other tourists taking ‘funny’ pictures of themselves with the tower in the background. 

Exhibit A:

Some things you just can't un-see

Pretending to hold the Eiffel Tower in your hands...so original!

There were so many others as well it was awesome...and if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em right?

RIGHT

I can't remember if I was doing Le Tigre or Blue Steel

Cranning atop a fence...don't try this at home kids

And while I was in a goofy mood, I figured I’d throw in a photo bomb in there as well

Warrior pose behind a bride and groom....outstanding

If you take the stairs for the first third of the journey up the Eiffel Tower, it’s cheaper and the line is a lot shorter.

View from the top of the stairs before a life takes you the rest of the way

View from the top!

From there it was off to the Arc De Triumph!

From there it was off to the Louvre.

Hate it or love it, I decided against waiting 3 hours to get in, and skipped it....“OMG SHAWN WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU HOW CAN YOU GO TO PARIS AND NOT SEE THE LOUVRE”.  Ok put down the shiv and relax people, after talking to several locals including a tour guide and a friend who’s lived in Paris for a few years, they recommended that if you're not a massive art fan, skip the Louvre and hit the Musee D’Orsay, across the river (Probably France’s second most coveted museum). The Musee D’Orsay houses France’s national collection of paintings, sculptures and artwork produced between the 1840’s and 1914. No pictures as they are forbidden as are with the case with most museums in Europe I’m finding out. Never the less there were some incredible pieces of art in there and I'm glad I went!

My next stop was the Catacombs.  One of three underground cemeteries in Paris, The Catacombs is 1.6km of winding, spooky underground tunnels that house the bones of millions of Parisians.  Not for everybody, but I couldn’t wait to get in!

And now...dead people

A creepy experience...but memorable!

Notre Dame was next on the sight seeing list....2 hour lineup however, so I decided just to get shots from the outside

There's something strange about the guy 2nd from the right...

The back of Notre Dame

While in Paris I also went to the Basilique de Sacre Coeur, in the Montmarte area.  Again there was no pictures allowed inside so I had to opt for a few snaps of the outside.

Even the French birds are rude...this thing flew right in front of the camera as I snapped the pic....crazy! 

Pic taken from the stairs of the Sacre Coeur

Notice the football player on the pillar near the lamp post to the left of the pic

He could play keep up with the best of them

Next thing I knew he climbed the lamp post whilst keeping the ball on his forehead!  Then started doing some insane tricks on the lamp post while still playing keep up!

 He had a banner seen in this pic advertising his performance...apparently he’s huge and France and used to play pro

The Montmarte region was beautiful.  Picturesque cobblestone streets with cafes and bakeries around every corner.

Leaving Paris felt a bit like leaving London.  It’s tough to escape the tourist trap areas in these cities and sometimes you simply get overwhelmed  Much of the city infrastructure is built for tourism which is great, but you don’t feel as if you’re seeing the real city so to speak.  I thoroughly recommend trying to meet locals and going to where they go to eat and drink.  It’s well worth it, even if it’s getting off the tourist trail for one night. I enjoyed Paris none the less and was off to my second destination in France, Nice!

My mode of transportation to Nice was the high speed TGV train.  I’ve heard of the high speed lines within France and just had to try one out.  I believe the line I was on topped out at 180km/h or something...not crazy fast but fun none the less!

 if you look closely you can see where many insects were vaporized by colliding with the speeding train

My goal in Nice was just to relax on the beach and catch some sun.  No museums, no churches, no sight seeing.  Mission accomplished.

Going to Cannes on the train

Nice!

Myself and a few others from the hostel spent an afternoon at a beach in the coastal town of Cap D’Ail
.

Paradise

Nice has rock beaches....after a while you get used to them....but "rock volleyball" just doesn't have the same appeal

My hostel....haha I wish

This girl was so interested in us she forgot to put down her book and pose

While in Nice I took a day trip to Monte Carlo, Monaco to see the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

The bus trip alone was worth it...

Arriving at the Monte Carlo Casino....so much money here it's insanity

Curved mirror outside the casino

Yachts too!

Beast of a yacht

Flag of Monaco

Even the female cops are gorgeous!

My buddies Alex and Rory standing beside our rental cars....haha we wish

And that’s France!  From Pepe Lepue to pain au chocolate and $2 bottles of wine, France certainly lived up to the hype!  Nice surprised me the most...what a gorgeous city, and relatively cheap compared to other ocean-side cities.  Italy on deck baby, where the gilatos and pizza flow like wine!

Caio!