June 15, 2025 • 52 mins
Today we are joined by Lynne Neiman, host of the Wander Your Way podcast and experienced travel planner. Lynne takes us on a captivating journey through Scotland's diverse landscapes, from the rugged Highlands to its 94 inhabited islands with pristine beaches. She shares insights from her multiple extended stays in Scotland, revealing why this northern country has completely stolen her heart.
Scotland offers extraordinary diversity in a relatively compact country. Lynn's exploration of the Scottish islands – from the popular Isle of Skye to the less-visited Lewis and Harris, and the enchanting Isle of Mull – showcases their distinct personalities and jaw-dropping natural beauty. Her description of single-track roads winding through Mull's dramatic terrain perfectly captures the adventurous spirit required to truly experience Scotland's remote corners.
Beyond the landscapes, Lynn illuminates the soul of Scotland through its people, traditions, and unexpected pleasures. The surprisingly excellent food scene (fresh salmon, venison, and spectacular berries), the warmth of locals who strike up conversations on hiking trails, and cultural celebrations like Hogmanay all create what Lynn describes as moments that "give you all the feels."
For those planning their own Scottish adventure, Lynn offers practical insights on accommodations (book early, especially in remote areas), transportation (rent a car for maximum flexibility), and ideal regions to explore based on your interests. Her small-group tours through Wonder Your Way Adventures, including a Scotland itinerary planned for 2026, promise the authentic, immersive experiences that have made her fall deeply in love with this extraordinary country.
Whether you're drawn to misty mountains, windswept islands, historic castles, or simply the promise of connecting with one of the world's friendliest cultures, this episode will have you dreaming of Scotland long after the conversation ends.
You can also find Lynne at her website Wander Your Way.
Her podcast is Wander Your Way.
You can also find her on Instagram @wanderyourway.
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Hosts
Carol Springer: https://www.instagram.com/carol.work.life
Kristen: https://www.instagram.com/team_wake/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Hi, welcome
SPEAKER_00 (00:16):
to our podcast, Where Next?
Travel with Kristen
SPEAKER_01 (00:18):
and
SPEAKER_00 (00:19):
Carol.
SPEAKER_01 (00:19):
I
SPEAKER_00 (00:20):
am Kristen.
And I am Carol.
And we're two long-term friendswith a passion for travel and
adventure.
Each episode, we interviewpeople around the globe to help
us decide where to go next.
SPEAKER_01 (00:33):
In today's episode, we're meeting
SPEAKER_00 (00:35):
with Lynn, host of the Wonder Your Way podcast and
experienced travel planner.
Today, she takes us on acaptivating journey through
Scotland's diverse landscapes,from the rugged highlands to its
94 islands with pristinebeaches.
She shares her insights...
from her multiple extended staysin Scotland, revealing why this
(00:55):
northern country has completelystolen her heart.
Enjoy.
SPEAKER_01 (00:59):
So today we have Lynn Neiman.
She is the host of Wander YourWay podcast, and we're going to
talk about what your podcast is,
SPEAKER_00 (01:10):
what other things you talk about, but we're going
to focus specifically onScotland today since you were
there, you've spent a lot oftime there, and we love talking
about slow travel and spendingtime time and places for maybe
more than a couple of weeks.
And so six months, I mean.
But
SPEAKER_01 (01:26):
yeah, so we're excited to hear about your
story.
SPEAKER_00 (01:28):
So my business is Wonder Your Way, and I have a
podcast, a blog.
I started with the blog.
Oh, you did?
Okay.
Yeah.
So I have a blog first, but Ialso am a travel planner.
So I'm a full-service travelagent, but I specialize in
Europe.
And I like to have people Inamed the business Wonder Your
Way because I want people totravel their way.
So I kind of ditch the cookiecutter.
(01:49):
I like to get to know myclients.
I like to know what theirinterests are because I believe
that no two people are alike, sono two trips should be alike.
So I really try to get to knowmy clients, and so I can really
customize a trip tailored totheir needs.
You've they only have a week andthey really want to go, go, go.
Other people who maybe want toslow down and maybe they have a
few weeks to travel or maybethey're able to travel longer.
(02:11):
And so I can kind of recommendthe proper countries, the
cities, the regions, the smalltowns, the outdoor things,
whatever it is that they want todo, whether they're into more
cultural museums or if they'remore into hiking.
So I tend to be less of a cityperson and more of a hiking
person, but you know, I doappreciate the cities and have a
few cities that I really like.
(02:33):
So after the blog, I decided tostart a podcast, you know, in
the midst of the pandemic, whichI think a lot of people did.
So, uh, so yeah, so I startedthat and that's, you know, I put
out a podcast episode everyother week.
I'm having fun with it.
In fact, we might even go toweekly.
So yeah.
Wow.
Yeah.
Now do you full-time as acareer, you're, um, a travel
(02:55):
agent?
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's, um, mostly I have a, like,a very part-time remote job
where I do some communitymanagement and I do like email
newsletters and stuff you knowit's maybe like 30 hours a month
at the most but yeah I will sayit's a little slow this year
starting off but but we are weare going in the right direction
(03:15):
and the new thing that I have ifI can just kind of put a plug
out for this is I am startingsmall group tours and I call
them wonder your way adventuresso I have a few of those for
2025 a couple going to theDolomites of Italy.
There's one still for Irelandthat's open and we are looking
at Scotland for 2026.
(03:36):
So I'm happy about Scotlandtoday.
So I was unable to, the companythat I wanted to work with was
not available for 2025.
So they told me 2026 and I said,let's do it.
So, so yeah.
2026 is when you're going toItaly, the Dolomites?
No, 2025.
That's this year.
In fact, there's one in June andthere's one in September.
(03:57):
So if you would go to WonderYour Way Adventures, that's
That's W-A-N-D-E-R.
One of your way adventures, youwould see the trips there.
Small group tours, keeping itsmall, personally curated by me
so that we are going to theplaces that I've been to and
want to spend time and want toshare with, you know, people
that are interested.
(04:17):
Okay.
So I have to ask a questionbecause we all love travel here,
but Kristen and I have, youknow, normal, I'm not saying
normal, just like verycorporate, you know, independent
corporate jobs.
So like we're, you know,grinding and like a travel
career sounds really cool.
Does any of it fade when itbecomes like your primary job or
is it still like, oh my God, Ican't believe I'm doing this.
(04:38):
This is so fun.
That's a good question.
There are days where it can geta little, it can get a little, I
don't want to say difficult,Yeah.
(05:08):
In Europe, they don't do like,you know, we have our hotel
rooms here where you've got likemaybe two queen size beds in a
room or whatever.
So you can kind of put a familyof four in there if you want to.
They don't do that so much inEurope.
So it's harder to find hotelrooms to fit families.
So that, you know, unless theyhave like one younger child,
like I've got some peopleactually going to Scotland and
(05:31):
there it's, you know, a husbandand wife and they're traveling
with their six year olddaughter.
That's a little easier becauseshe's smaller.
We can kind of put her wherever.
Yeah.
They can roll in an extra littlelike cot, something small that
she can still fit in.
Then I've got another trip.
actually for my niece and herhusband and their 15-year-old
daughter, that's a little bitmore challenging because she's a
full-grown young lady and sheneeds a regular-sized bed.
(05:55):
So that becomes a little bitmore challenging.
So that's when I feel like itgets hard because when I'm
trying to find that diamond inthe rough, so to speak, or that
needle in a haystack, it gets alittle, it can get difficult.
So that's the challenge.
People need you.
Yes, people do need me.
And how often do you travel in ayear?
(06:16):
It kind of depends.
When I kind of first started mybusiness, obviously, like I
didn't feel like I had the, youknow, the means to be able to
travel for too long, but I wouldbe gone for a couple of months.
And so I kind of did that.
And then a lot of personalthings, because I started my
business at the end of 2013.
My mom passed away in early2015.
(06:36):
I didn't travel again until2017.
I think I traveled in 17, 18, 19years.
We did a week in Paris rightbefore the pandemic in 2020.
Then the pandemic hit.
Then I was able to, as thingsstarted to open up in Europe at
the end of 2021, I traveled for,I think, four months.
Two of those months were inScotland.
(06:56):
Came back.
My dad was diagnosed then withcancer, and he passed then in
2023.
So 2022, I wasn't able to goaway.
But then 2023, both my parents,who I was, you know, helping to
take care of, well, I lived withthem, so I was taking care of
them.
were gone.
And so I was able then to kindof go and do a little bit more
(07:17):
of a digital nomad lifestyle in2023.
So then I was gone for like, Idon't know, seven, eight months
in 2023 and then six months in2024.
This year, I'm going to scaleback a little bit just because,
like I said, business, it's alittle slow.
I feel like people are a littlereluctant to travel right now.
They're kind of watching theirtheir money and things being
uncertain.
(07:38):
People are feeling a littlereluctant and that's fine.
I understand.
Still getting some people, and Ido hope that people still will
travel because Europe willwelcome you with open arms.
So I do try to be gone for, youknow, at least a few months.
I mean, it's always kind of mygoal to be gone for at least
maybe like three months, if notmore.
Nice.
That's like perfect.
(07:59):
Yeah.
Okay, cool.
You can work your other jobanywhere.
Sounds like that remote job.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
That remote job, it's like,it's, yeah, it's, I can do that
wherever.
And where are you right now?
I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio, justkind of in the suburbs.
So in the Midwest, that's whereI grew up because I'm not around
a whole lot.
I'm just renting a room from mysister and her husband who are
retired.
(08:19):
So I'm kind of the girl thatthey let up from down in the
basement every now and again.
I come up and I'm like, hi,because I have kind of my own
space down here except for thekitchen.
So, yeah, it works out well.
Yeah.
Okay.
So what do you like aboutScotland?
UNKNOWN (08:38):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (08:38):
Oh, gosh.
You know, I feel like Scotlandis one of those countries that
kind of has a little bit.
It's got something for everyone.
You know, you've got a couple ofreally great cities in Edinburgh
and Glasgow.
I have not been to Glasgow yet.
I have a friend who's aGlaswegian.
He keeps saying you need to getover here.
But you have these two amazingcities and then you have all
(09:02):
these wonderful small towns.
You have beautiful outdoor.
I mean, you can do everythingfrom time along the water and
the sea to the locks or thelakes, mountains.
They call them locks instead oflakes?
Locks.
Lock.
You have to say it.
Oh, hence the Loch Nessmester?
Yeah.
L-O-C-H.
(09:23):
L-O-C-H.
Yeah, Loch Ness is one of the, Ithink it's the largest lake as
far as like it's the deepest.
It's not the prettiest.
And they will call them...
The inland lakes will be lochs,and then on the west coast, you
will see loch as a sea loch,which means it's more like, we
would think of it more like abay.
(09:43):
Oh, okay.
So they do on the West Coast.
They'll still call them locksthere.
I have a good Scottish friendwho's actually also a guide
there.
So I get a lot of a lot ofinformation from her.
So I feel like that it haseverything.
You know, there's all this greathistory with with Scotland.
You know, it's very interesting,intriguing, very tumultuous
(10:04):
because of their push and pullwith England.
And are they independent?
Are they not over all thecenturies?
So there's a lot of you know,there's a lot of historical
stuff.
For people that enjoy that andcultural sites, the food is
actually surprisingly good,especially if you are into like
maybe good beef or venison,seafood, mild white fish.
(10:30):
Very good.
They have a very strong kind offarm to table, sea to table
movement.
I think they are too.
Yeah.
So the food is surprisinglygood.
You've got whiskey, of course.
They make really good gin.
Their beers are pretty good.
SPEAKER_01 (10:42):
Obviously,
SPEAKER_00 (10:43):
they don't make wine if you're into your alcoholic
beverages.
But if you're not, you know,they have good water.
Yeah, there's probably a lot ofwater, huh?
Yeah.
Yeah, there is.
There's a lot of coastline.
And the other thing is there area lot of islands.
I mean, there's like...
Really?
Oh, yeah.
There's...
What is the...
I've got it here.
(11:03):
I got my map, my Google map.
There are...
Oh, I see the Kirkawale,Lerwick.
There are technically 790islands.
94 out of 790 are inhabited.
So if you want to do islandtime, it's kind of a great thing
(11:24):
to do in Scotland.
And what I would say is youdon't think about places like
Scotland having beautifulbeaches, but there are some
really spectacular beachesthere.
Do you have to go in the summer,though?
You're not going to be in yourbikini.
I was going to ask that.
You might be cold.
You're going to be cold.
But, yeah, the weather there isnever– you're never going to
(11:46):
have very, very warm weather.
I mean, if you get– If you getlike 70 to 75 degrees
Fahrenheit, which is low 20s inCelsius, you know, you're lucky,
you know, in the summer.
Like San Francisco weather allthe time.
Yeah, but it will get cold.
I mean, there will be I mean,they can get snow.
I've been there in the winterbecause of the mountains.
(12:08):
You will definitely get somesnow at some of the higher
elevations in the winter.
And sometimes even a littlelower.
Yeah, it's just it's a beautifulcountry.
And it just like the people, Iwould say that's probably your
number one reason to go is thepeople are some of the nicest on
the planet.
I always understand them becausesome of them have a very strong
(12:30):
accent.
But yeah, they are just supernice.
They will stop and talk to youabout anything.
I mean, I can't even tell youhow many times I've just been
out on a trail and somebodystarts up a conversation with
you.
And especially with Americans, Ithink that they're always
intrigued to hear about ourlives.
(12:50):
They will talk about ourpolitics as well.
Some of them will, some of themwon't, some of them will.
So But yeah, it's great fun.
It's just such a beautifulcountry, and I just think it has
a little something for everyone.
So when were you there and howlong were you there for?
Did you say three months?
(13:10):
So I've been there a few times.
So my first visit there, I wasthere for probably just a few
weeks, and I actually walked along-distance trail called the
West Highland Way.
It's pretty popular.
And so it took me a week.
I walked 96 miles.
I had a company, actually a verysmall company, kind of set it
all up for me.
So like she did, she kind ofbooked my B&Bs that I stayed in
(13:31):
so that I didn't have to takeall of my stuff with me because
I was traveling for a couplemonths.
Like I had been over in Irelandand I was going to be going down
to England.
So I had my big bag.
They transfer your big bag toeach of your kind of, you know,
stops.
And I just had my day pack withme.
So I was hiking everywhere.
you know, just with my stuffthat I need for the day, food
and water, extra clothing.
(13:52):
And that was my introduction toScotland.
I landed in Glasgow and I wentto this little kind of northern
suburb, started the hike andtook a week and walked it and
ended up actually having awonderful time, made a friend
who I'm still in contact with.
We met along the trail.
Yeah, I had beautiful weather,which was surprising.
(14:15):
What time of year did you go?
That was May, May of 2017.
And that's a good time to go.
It really is.
And also like, yeah, for womentravelers, when you're on the
trail doing that, did you, youstayed in B&B?
Yeah, more like a bed andbreakfast or like hotels.
It kind of just depended onwhich town you were, which,
which, which town you're in andwhat kind of tourist amenities
(14:36):
they had.
And what was that called again?
The trail that's 96 miles?
That sounds really fun.
West Highland Way.
Yeah.
And I can send a lot of links toyou guys.
So you guys have them.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So then I didn't go back untilduring the pandemic in 2021.
I had met a woman at the time.
So I spent a couple of days inEdinburgh and I went up to St.
(15:00):
Andrews because I really this mydad was still alive.
My dad was a big golfer.
And I went up to St.
Andrews to go and do a tour ofthe old course there.
And my guide happened to be thiswoman by the name of Bo Frazier.
And she and I became friends.
She's a Blue Badge guide.
And we have kind of stayedconnected.
(15:20):
So when I went there, back toScotland in 2021, I went and
stayed with her and her husbandfor a few days.
And then I went over to a towncalled Fort William over on the
West Coast, because St.
Tedra's on the East Coast, andhad an Airbnb booked for like
two months over there.
And I was just, so I was thereNovember, December.
So I was there when the dayswere getting very short, when
(15:42):
the weather was getting cold.
I saw snow.
I saw sideways rain.
I had beautiful, sunshiny days,a little bit of everything.
But I just...
kind of just hunkered down andstayed there for a while.
And it was great.
Fort William's not like thecutest of little towns.
Most of your cute villages andkind of charming villages are
(16:03):
going to be further southcompared to in the highlands,
just because that's just kind ofhow things sort of developed.
in Scotland, but it's a greatbase for doing outdoor things
because it's the end of the WestHighland Way.
So that's where you end.
And then Ben Nevis, which is thehighest peak in all of Great
Britain and all of the UnitedKingdom, is right there.
(16:25):
So a lot of people stay thereand they'll do the summit of Ben
Nevis.
And what was that town?
The one that's not so great, buta good base?
Fort William.
Fort William.
Fort William.
And what's a blue badge guide?
You said a blue badge guide.
So they have to go through aspecific type of training.
(16:45):
In fact, it's almost like a yearand a half to two years.
And it's pretty, it's prettyrigorous.
And so they have to go throughand they really have to have the
knowledge.
So, and usually like, so she's ablue badge guide for like, for
like all of Scotland.
SPEAKER_01 (16:59):
Okay.
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (17:01):
So does she like, Is it like a travel agent or?
She's a guide.
So she's a driver guide.
I meant, that's what I meant.
Sorry.
So, but you would hire her tolike take you all over Scotland?
You can.
You can.
Yeah.
Somebody like her.
Like if you wanted to, if youwanted to hire somebody, she's
not cheap.
SPEAKER_01 (17:19):
Yeah.
And who comes to her?
I was just curious.
Who comes to her?
Is it companies, corporations?
SPEAKER_00 (17:24):
Yeah.
Sometimes it is.
And then sometimes she getsindividuals.
It kind of depends.
So if you're booking a trip,would you then hire her?
A lot of times if I have peoplethat want to do something like
that, I always reach out to herfirst.
And then if she's busy, then shehands me off to somebody else
that she knows.
SPEAKER_01 (17:43):
And when you say expensive, like, What does that
look like?
SPEAKER_00 (17:47):
Oh, you know what?
I'm not 100% sure what her feesare.
But yeah, but yeah.
It's like a per day because Iknow like I...
Yeah, it'll be and it'll dependon what you're doing.
So that's all I can say.
I was in Bali and someone that Iknow...
set me there and she was like Ihave a driver and so I just paid
him like 35 bucks a day and hetook me yeah she's a lot more
(18:07):
than that
SPEAKER_01 (18:07):
yeah
SPEAKER_00 (18:14):
absolutely But
SPEAKER_01 (18:16):
yeah, so all the little islands, there's a lot.
And there's even ones that, andit says Hebrides?
SPEAKER_00 (18:24):
Hebrides.
So there's the inner Hebridesand the outer Hebrides.
The inner Hebrides are justcloser to the mainland and the
outer Hebrides are a little bitfurther.
So like a couple of the islandsI've been, the Isle of Skye is
the most popular.
It's the most popular because itis breathtaking.
I went there on my first visitand it's beautiful.
I had a car.
(18:45):
which is how I would recommendto get around because it's a
little difficult.
You can get to some places viatrain and you can use buses, but
a car gives you a little bitmore freedom and will get you
into the nooks and crannies andwill to probably allow you to
also get, if you wanted to go tothe islands, to be able to
really transport yourself aroundthe islands a little bit easier.
(19:06):
But the islands- Can you driveon the left side?
They drive on, yes, yeah.
So the opposite, yeah, becausethey're part of the United
Kingdom.
So, you know, so they drive onthe left side.
So like the Isle of Skye wouldbe kind of one that, you know, I
would say, yeah, go there.
(19:27):
But it's very, it's gotten alittle bit over-touristed.
And as such, because it's, youknow, I think one of the things
that I would just kind of say toyour listeners is...
that don't assume that you'regoing to be able to find
accommodation super easy.
A lot of these towns, they'revillages or settlements.
There's not a lot to them onceyou kind of get away from
(19:49):
Edinburgh and Glasgow.
As such, there's not a lot ofaccommodation choices there.
And it's the same.
When you get out onto an Isle ofSkye, there's only so much
there.
And if you have all this influxof people, then it's going to be
harder for you to find places tostay.
So that's where, like, it'sessential to book in advance for
(20:12):
books.
for your trip because of thefact that these places, you
know, they're small.
You got these little B&Bs.
They maybe only have like fourrooms.
They're easy to fill up fourrooms.
So, you know, if there's only 10places that have four rooms, you
know, you can do the math veryeasily and you can find out that
there's just, you know, maybenot a whole lot there.
So it's very, very essential todo that.
(20:35):
But the Isle of Skye isdefinitely one place.
I am a big fan of the Isle ofLewis at Harris, which is...
Even though it's two names, it'sreally one island.
It's a little bit further northfrom Skye.
I went there in 2023 and stayedon the Harris part, which is the
southern part, which I would sayis the more interesting part.
There's a beautiful beach therecalled Luskentire.
(20:56):
It's kind of one of the most,kind of one of the more famous
beaches in Scotland.
It's a gorgeous, gorgeousstretch of sand.
Never really warm.
I just think I was able to wearshorts and a short-sleeved shirt
at one point in early September.
Just a beautiful place.
Lots of natural beauty.
The Calanish Standing Stones,which are pretty popular on the
(21:17):
Lewis part, which is thenorthern part of the island.
That part of the island's alittle flatter.
But just a beautiful place.
And then this last year, in2024...
I went to the Isle of Mull,which is a little further south
off the coast.
You'll see it's by Oban.
Oban is where you catch theferry.
It's only maybe about 45, 50minutes to get over by ferry.
(21:39):
But wow, what a beautifulisland.
I totally fell in love with it.
But boy, I tell you what,driving, it's almost a whole
single track.
There's probably a stretch of 10miles that's that's you've got
two lanes, all the rest issingle track.
And I loved it.
Oh, my gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (21:58):
Island of Isle of Mull, M-U-L-L.
And there's all
SPEAKER_00 (22:02):
these.
M-U-L-L.
SPEAKER_01 (22:03):
Is that what I'm
SPEAKER_00 (22:04):
seeing?
These little houses that linesthe water's edge with
(22:24):
different...
Stunning, stunning place.
And that's how I feel about alot of Scotland.
Like a lot of people don't makeit maybe all the way up to like
the far kind of northwest.
There's a driving route.
(22:44):
They call it the North Coast500.
It's gotten a little bit busy,but it's way up in that
northwest corner.
You'll see like this piece ofland, if you look at a map, kind
of sticking up there into theNorth Sea.
And that driving route is about500 miles.
But that driving route is not,you know, you're talking about
two lane roads.
I'm trying to think if there'sany single track along there.
There might be.
(23:05):
I've never done the whole thing.
So you're saying, like, way upnorth near, like, Ullapool and
Dingwall?
Yeah.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ullapool is where you would getthe ferry, like, over to Lewis
and Harris.
So, but up there, like, Gerlach,Ullapool, on up to Elphin.
I don't have the map in front ofme, so I'm kind of trying to
remember.
Yeah, so that's...
Up to Durness.
(23:26):
Yeah, so, but that area...
is just beautiful.
It's stunning.
It's very rugged and remote.
Again, you know, there's notnecessarily going to be tons of
places to stay.
It's about the landscape upthere.
You know, there's not going tobe necessarily a ton of like
sites per se.
(23:46):
You'll see some.
There's some lighthouses out onplaces, but it's just
spectacular.
Okay.
Wow.
I had a stereotype of like
SPEAKER_01 (23:57):
dingy, cold, stone houses and people drinking at
the pub.
Like that's what I think it was.
Oh,
SPEAKER_00 (24:07):
my gosh.
Yeah.
Awesome.
And like in the center part,it's like, you know, you get
sort of your boggy, sort of yourpeaty boggy land, which, you
know, you would see that like inparts of Ireland, like in
Connemara, Ireland or placeslike that.
But you'll see some of that aswell.
And it's just, you know, it's avery different ecosystem and,
you know, just totally differentlandscape.
(24:28):
And it's really beautiful, youknow, and then you kind of get
down into like along the EastCoast.
kind of like if you go likenorth of Edinburgh, between like
Edinburgh and like aroundAberdeen, that area, that's
Aberdeenshire.
There's, you know, you'll see alot of castles around there.
Of course, you know, Balmoral isout there, which is the royal
residence, the royal Scottishresidence.
(24:50):
So all these beautiful castles.
Is that Balmoral?
near Ballater, Braemar, some ofthe little towns.
It's like in Cairngorms NationalPark, which I remember
mentioning that.
My friend was looking at themap.
She goes, that big green glob inthe middle of the country.
(25:12):
Oh, yeah, I see.
That's Cairngorms.
So that's all like National Parkwithin there.
And you've got kind of more of amain road, the A9, that goes up
the sort of the western side.
But that eastern side is...
Wow.
I looked at Balmoral and it
SPEAKER_01 (25:38):
looks like a fairy tale castle.
SPEAKER_00 (25:44):
Yeah.
And it's only open like atcertain times because, you know,
because of it being the kind ofthe summer Scottish residence of
the royal family of the King.
Looking at it, I feel like I'mlooking at Shrek.
Yeah.
So but there are other castles.
So there's a there's a rivercalled the River Dee out there
that supposedly I know a coupleof people there that live there
(26:04):
that are that fish and that's abig fishing river.
But that that river along there,there are some other castles
along there, too.
So they call it Royal Deeside.
Like I said, there's justsomething for everyone.
And then you go down like aroundSt.
Andrews, that region is calledthe region of Fife.
And if you kind of go around thecoast, they've kind of got all
(26:25):
the sort of like the Fife kindof coastal little towns that are
just, they're charming littlefishing villages.
So when you went the second timefor a couple months, did you
just like bounce around?
Because obviously you saw a lot.
No, I just stayed in FortWilliams.
So when I went back then in2020, I've been four times.
(26:45):
So when I went in 2023, I spent,I have to think about this,
because I was just about at theend of my staying my UK visa,
because you can stay for sixmonths.
Oh, really?
Okay, that's good.
I spent about a month in...
Six months?
Wow.
I spent about a month inEngland.
So I must have been in...
in Scotland for about four, fourand a half months maybe.
(27:09):
So I spent a couple of monthsand I actually did a road trip.
So I literally like started outkind of in that Royal Deeside
area and I went up to the north,went all around.
I went out to Lewis and Harris.
I came down.
I went all the way and I wentall the way down into Dumfries
(27:29):
and Galloway, which is South ofGlasgow.
So that's that region.
So it goes down and it's kind ofthe border.
It's that western border withEngland.
And then I went over to theborders, which is the eastern
border with England.
And I literally like pretty muchwent around the country in two
months of a road trip.
So that's when I got to reallysee like everything.
(27:52):
And then in 2024, I was justthere and I was kind of
hopscotching a little bit allaround because I went to the
Open Championship, the golf.
I went to Royal, which was inRoyal Troon.
So I kind of had to make my tripa little bit around that because
I had tickets.
So, yeah.
Okay.
And so say Fort Williams to likethe top, the north where you
want to go tour around, like howlong is it a day drive, a half a
(28:15):
day trip?
Two days?
Well, yeah.
I mean, oh, no.
I mean, you can get up there ina few hours.
Yeah.
It depends exactly where you'regoing to go.
Yeah.
Exactly where you're going to goup there.
But yeah, you can go up.
I wouldn't do it like as a daytrip, like going up and back.
If you were basing yourself inFort William, you would want to
(28:36):
go up and, you know, spend acouple nights up there.
Yeah, absolutely.
So did you rent a house then?
When you were in Fort William?
Yeah, so I had an Airbnb, so Irented an apartment for those
two months.
And then, you know, so then I'vehad other times where I've maybe
rented, like I know in 2024, Irented, you know, an apartment,
(29:00):
a flat for like two weeks in alittle town called Blair Athol,
which is right near...
Pit lockery, yes.
So if like for a month, so say Iwant to go for a month, like
what's the range?
Two grand a month, three grand amonth?
Yeah, I would say it's going todepend on exactly where you are
because those places that arestronger holiday places where
(29:21):
the Scots are also going to goor the English are going to come
up are probably going to be alittle bit more if you kind of
find some of those towns thatare maybe...
not as much of a holiday placeor a vacation spot, they're
going to be a little cheaper.
So, you know, I would say, andagain, if it's You know, is it a
(29:51):
studio?
Is it a one-bedroom, atwo-bedroom?
(30:11):
These kids are out of school.
And then the next week, thesekids are out of school.
So you kind of have to watchthat, too.
But was it hard to findsomething for a whole month or
just Airbnb?
You know, Airbnb maybe isn'talways the best.
Sometimes I kind of find that ifyou kind of Google your specific
area that you're staying in,sometimes like you can find long
(30:34):
term rentals that way.
And they tend to call them likehotels.
holiday homes or holidayapartments, self-catering
places.
So, you know, those would kindof be some of the terms that I
would use as you Google it.
And you would be able to findsome places that maybe or not.
We used to do like Craigslistfor that back in the day.
(30:55):
I don't know if people still useCraigslist or Facebook groups.
I hear like you find like expatFacebook groups or something.
Yeah, you might be able to findsomething there.
You know, again, you know,Airbnb sometimes is a good place
to start.
I mean, sometimes even going onbooking.com, sometimes people,
you know, because you can findplaces there that are more
apartments.
But then again, like I thinkalso just kind of diving in
(31:16):
because some of them don't putstuff out there as much like on
Airbnb.
They don't want to.
And I Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(31:47):
Very interesting.
So just curious, weather-wise,what's the whole year look like
in terms of what's When's theirwinter?
What does that look likeweather-wise?
When's the, you said the summer,May, June?
I don't know if they, if it'sthe same as ours.
I know Australia's flippedaround.
Yeah, no, it's pretty much thesame.
It's the same as ours.
(32:07):
What I would say, though, isthat, again, I would not think
about things being too warm inthe summer.
Always be prepared for rain justbecause it's, you know, it's
going to rain on you.
It's a rare thing for it.
So, you know, pack yourwaterproof shoes and your good
(32:27):
raincoat.
And, you know, you can still goin the winter.
I think one of the things that'smaybe that we don't think about
is the light because it's somuch further north.
You know, the days definitelyget shorter.
You know, when I was there inNovember, December, January,
when you're having thoseshortest days, and I was when I
was in, especially when I was inFort William because I was a
(32:49):
little bit further north.
Right.
The days are really short.
You know, you're talking 930 to330.
So you got to get out and, youknow, do your stuff, you know,
if you're going to go out likefor a hike or something like
that.
The reverse, of course, is thatyou get these very long days,
you know, in late May, in June,into July.
That's kind of nice because thenyou have these very long days to
(33:10):
be able to take advantage of tobe in the outdoors.
So, yeah.
What's the food like?
Well, as I said, the food issurprisingly good.
I think that people don't, youknow, you think about like fish
and chips and, you know, haggisis this thing that I'm not even
100% sure what it is.
It's like grains and stuff andthey stuff it into something.
(33:32):
I don't eat meat.
I'm gluten sensitive.
But I still find it very easy toactually eat there.
I do eat fish.
So I eat the fish and theseafood.
Very fresh, you know, from whatI understand, like things like
their beef is very good becausethey have lots of places where
they can graze cows.
(33:53):
There's also a large deerpopulation.
So I think the venison isactually, you can get very good
venison there if that's yourthing.
So I think the food is betterthan what you think it's going
to be.
And haggis, I just looked up anda traditional haggis recipe
includes sheep's heart, liver,and lung with suet.
Oatmeal and spices.
(34:14):
Yeah.
People say that it's really goodand they actually do make it.
Ground beef.
Yeah.
Oh, it's like a sausage?
Kind of, yeah.
But they do make a vegetarianversion of it, but because it
has the grains in it, I can't,you know, it's like, I can't
really eat it.
So, but people do say that it'sactually very good.
SPEAKER_01 (34:34):
It says ingredients are traditionally encased in a
sheep's stomach and boiled.
UNKNOWN (34:40):
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_01 (34:40):
Very
SPEAKER_00 (34:40):
interesting.
Although I guess, you know, whenyou're there and on an island,
you gotta eat.
It's like you use it all.
Yeah.
What was something that you,what was your favorite meal
there?
Oh gosh.
Um, Probably, you know, they doreally good.
They do a lot of good salmonbecause you get the North
Atlantic salmon.
So it's probably a salmon dishbecause it's really good.
(35:03):
And they do really nice smokedsalmons as well.
So it's like that's something Ipick up in the grocery store
like all the time because youcan pick it up pretty easily in
the grocery store.
And it's usually, you know, it'sScottish, you know.
The one thing that's kind ofreally surprising is you'll find
really good berries.
So they're berry season.
They grow a lot of berries,especially like kind of closer
to Edinburgh, like the Fiferegion is kind of one of those
(35:24):
regions where they'll grow alot.
So Like I've had some of thebest raspberries there.
Oh, all that water, right?
Well, yeah.
I mean, and I just think thatthey've kind of figured out ways
to grow some of this.
You'll see those polyurethanekind of tunnels as well so that
they can kind of get a littlebit longer growing season
(35:44):
because it doesn't get as coldin some places.
So those milder temperatures, Ithink, can help them out.
But you're going to find like alot of really good fresh food
there, surprisingly.
Yeah.
And what are some of the mainholidays and how do they
celebrate?
Like, I was curious, like theirbirthdays or Christmas or
like...
(36:04):
Well, you know, I think theycelebrate their birthdays pretty
much like we do, I would say.
Christmas is a big deal, buttheir bigger deal is because
there was a time, if you lookback at the history, to
actually...
and it has so much to do withtheir tumultuous history with
England, is that they weren'tallowed to celebrate Christmas
(36:26):
for a while.
So their bigger holiday thenbecame New Year's, like New
Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
So they call it Hogmanay.
And that's definitely a bigcelebration.
There's usually, in Edinburghparticularly, you will see a big
celebration for New Year's Evewith fireworks and everything.
And then New Year's Day, like Iwas in the town of Pit Lockery
(36:49):
on New Year's Day of 2024.
And there was like this bigstreet fair and, you know,
traditional music.
And they had a keli, which islike a dance kind of thing.
It looks like it's spelledsomething really weird.
It's a Gaelic word, but it'spronounced keli.
And everybody's out theredancing.
(37:09):
And it was just so much fun tobe there.
And yeah.
you know, with locals andtourists alike.
So yeah, so they tend to makethat a bigger deal.
Christmas is still a big deal.
So, yeah, it would have beensomething that they would have
done.
Like, you know, way back inhistory, you know, they would
all meet at a local, you know,there would be a local hall or
(37:33):
whatever, a meeting place.
And that's where everybody wouldget together, the community.
And that's kind of one of thethings about Scotland that I
think is so great is just likethey still have those
communities.
They still have thosetraditions.
You know, people, young peopleare...
taking up the traditional music,the bagpipes and the drums.
In fact, there was a pipe anddrum band at this street fair.
(37:56):
And I got teary eyed at the end.
Like I was there with my cameraand I'm like trying to take
video and everything.
And there was a woman, I don'tknow if she was like with her
husband or son.
I couldn't, I didn't get a goodlook at him, but she sort of,
she was, you know, I'm short.
So she's like pushing me up tothe front so I can get that.
And I was like, oh, thanks.
You know?
And when they were done, I'mlike, I had tears in my eyes and
(38:17):
I turned around and I'm like, ohmy God.
I'm like that.
I said, tears in my eyes.
She goes, yeah.
She goes, it gives you all thefeels, doesn't it?
And I just, you know, it was,Just like...
All the feels.
All the feels.
That's what she said.
And that's kind of how I feel.
I mean, I will be honest withyou, this last time, so when I
had been in...
(38:39):
Where was I?
I think I was in...
I'm trying to remember where Iwas this last time.
I was visiting a friend inSwitzerland, and I flew back up
to Scotland, and I gotteary-eyed when we're flying in.
And then when I left, come backhere to the States...
I told myself, Lynn, you are notgoing to cry.
And I started to cry.
(39:03):
I felt like I was leaving home.
Wow.
(39:34):
I love Ireland.
I've been to Ireland like six orseven times.
But Scotland is just, I have toadmit, lately, it's just, it's
been my place.
It's really stolen my heart.
And...
SPEAKER_01 (39:46):
That's great.
What would you say are the topthree
SPEAKER_00 (39:49):
places that you said, like, if you had to pick
three, if someone was coming,check these out.
And based on, you know, I knoweveryone has their preferences,
so I'll just use yours, which isoutdoors and nature.
Yeah, you know, I would sayprobably stay somewhere in the
(40:09):
Cairngorms National Park area.
And that can be like a fewdifferent places.
It kind of depends.
It could be somewhere moreremote, like Braemar.
You could stay somewhere like byAviemore.
You could even stay down by PitLockery because you can very
easily get into the park thatway.
I would probably say...
I'd probably say in some waysto...
(40:35):
go up to that far northwest.
I've stayed up around a towncalled Gerlach, but you don't
have to stay there.
There's a lot up there forpeople that want to do the
outdoors.
You just need to have a car.
SPEAKER_01 (40:45):
And
SPEAKER_00 (40:47):
then I would probably say, yeah, stay
somewhere around like FortWilliam or Glencoe.
I didn't even mention Glencoe.
There's tons of hiking aroundthere.
There's beautiful drives.
There's a lot that you can do inthat area as well.
And that was really hard for meto do.
I'm like thinking about 10 moreplaces in my head.
(41:09):
Are there pubs on every corner?
Is it very...
Yeah, you know, there are a lotof pubs.
(41:43):
Oh, wow.
That's amazing.
(42:04):
Burial tombs.
I didn't even mention KilmartinGlen, which is another place.
It's like off the beaten paththat most Americans don't know
about.
It's got all these burial tombsand stuff.
What was that one called?
Kilmartin Glen.
Kilmartin Glen.
Okay.
Yeah.
All
SPEAKER_01 (42:20):
right.
Well, we are coming up to ourend of our hour here, and I have
our rapid fire questions.
Unless Kristen has any finalburning questions.
No, just look at it.
Kilmartin Glen.
That's...
Really, yeah, it's got lots of,lots to look at.
SPEAKER_00 (42:38):
Yeah, yeah, burial.
Yeah, you can actually get intosome of the burial chambers.
It's pretty interesting.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Okay.
There's a lot to do.
SPEAKER_01 (42:48):
Exactly.
It's really, really coollooking.
SPEAKER_00 (42:52):
All right.
So what's a typical breakfastthat you would have there?
What's your favorite breakfast?
I would say either what theycall porridge, which would be
oatmeal.
As long as it's gluten-free,100% gluten-free.
Or like scrambled eggs, youknow, farm-fresh eggs.
Okay.
With smoked salmon.
(43:13):
Oh, that sounds like my perfectbreakfast.
It's good.
SPEAKER_01 (43:17):
And then do you have a favorite dessert?
You talked about berries, butare there any unique
SPEAKER_00 (43:22):
desserts that they have there?
UNKNOWN (43:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (43:26):
I can't think of a dessert they have.
They do really nice scones, butthat's more like what you would
have like with some tea orcoffee.
Yeah, cakes or puddings?
You know, no, but they have thisthing called tablet that's like
condensed milk and sugar.
And it's like, you'll see it,like they sell it everywhere.
It's like a little square andit's just like pure sugar.
(43:48):
Pure sugar.
It's a square, it's solid?
Yeah.
Oh, okay.
And it's called tablet.
It's like, oh, I need this.
It's like sugar.
And it's like nothing but puresugar.
It looks like, well, from kindof.
It looks like, it's like smalllittle like fudge.
Fudge, yes.
Yeah, like fudge.
(44:09):
Like only, it's like small, likealmost bite size.
Correct.
Yeah.
Although you're in differentbite size, but
SPEAKER_01 (44:15):
yeah, like a
SPEAKER_00 (44:16):
sugar cube.
But it's like, yeah, it lookslike a,
SPEAKER_01 (44:19):
like a, I don't know, brown sugar.
To me.
SPEAKER_00 (44:23):
Yeah.
Yeah.
They have really nice icecreams, too, because all the
cows.
So there's there's good milk.
So they do.
There are some like specialtyice creams that, you know, from
certain companies and dairiesthat are pretty, pretty popular.
SPEAKER_01 (44:36):
All right.
OK.
And what's the popular religionup there?
SPEAKER_00 (44:41):
I don't know.
I think most people are probablyI think it's probably a mix.
A lot of Christians, maybe allmostly Christians.
Oh, okay.
Got it.
All right.
And then what's the moneysituation there?
Because they're not in theEuropean Union anymore, but do
they use the euro or somethingelse?
No, they would always be usingthe same thing because they're
(45:02):
part of the United Kingdom.
So it's the British sterlingpound.
Oh, okay.
Which they always would havebeen.
Oh, okay.
Got it.
And then generally, do youtravel, like use everything on a
credit card or is cash in there?
I tell you what, you can useyour credit card a lot in
Scotland.
It's one place that I would saythey are definitely, you can use
(45:23):
your credit card or your debitcard and tap, tap, tap.
There you go.
There may be a few places, but Itell you what, since COVID, it's
a lot of use of card.
Very easy to use your cardthere.
Is it there?
Is there a lot of fees?
I know when I was traveling inBali and you.
(45:43):
Yeah, you have to.
That's one thing I always tellmy my my travel clients is be
sure that you have a credit cardthat does not have a foreign
transaction fees.
Correct.
Yeah.
I got stuck.
But yeah, I learned it will addup.
It
SPEAKER_01 (46:05):
sure
SPEAKER_00 (46:09):
did.
(46:31):
So you would get, you know, youwould get sort of a fiddle and
maybe an accordion and that,guitars.
So, you know, a pipe maybe.
So you'll get a little bit ofeverything.
But yeah, I mean, anything, youknow, like the bagpipe, it's
just kind of one of those likesounds that you're like, that's
(46:53):
very Scottish.
SPEAKER_01 (46:54):
And
SPEAKER_00 (46:55):
do a lot of places, I mean, you go out to eat, do
they have live music or just?
No, not really.
You know, I, I kind of feel likethe music is a little bit harder
to come by.
Like I feel like in Ireland,like the pubs, it's a little bit
more popular, like it's easierto come by.
You will still be able to findit in Scotland, but you'd
probably just have to make sureand seek it out a little bit
(47:17):
more and just kind of see.
There's definitely, I mean, theydefinitely have like, there are
music festivals and things likethat.
And there would be, there woulddefinitely be pubs where they
would have music.
And, you know, the music's stillgoing to run the gamut.
They'll still have, like, Iremember being out and, you
know, you'll hear somethingthat'll be a little bit more,
you know, you know, maybemodern, like acoustic, like, you
(47:37):
know, kind of indie folk kind ofstuff, maybe as well, too.
A little bit of everything.
But yeah.
All right.
And then a final question,closest place to surf?
I would imagine they're surfingwith like really thick wetsuits,
but.
Yeah, very thick wetsuits.
You know, I'm not 100% surewhere the surfing is the best
there.
I've seen a little bit aroundSt.
(48:01):
Andrews, but probably I'm kindof like wondering, I'm kind of
thinking the West Coast probablyis a little bit better over that
way.
And I would imagine that I'mkind of also wondering a Yeah,
nice.
(48:33):
All right.
And where can our listeners findyou?
Yeah, W-A-N-D-E-R.
So WanderYourWay.com.
And that's where you can find meon Facebook, Instagram,
Pinterest.
And of course, if you areinterested in those small group
tours, you can go to Wander YourWay Adventures.
So just add adventures onthere.com and you can find those
(48:54):
as well.
And of course, podcasts.
I was looking at the Dolomites.
I do this kind of like a HIITworkout, H-I-I-T, the gym on the
bikes.
And I bike through theDolomites.
And so that actually is veryinteresting.
It looks a lot of fun.
And I love how you have it.
You have a lot of detail inthere, which is great.
(49:16):
And I love how you have it whereyou can click on each day.
And then it shows you picturesand what you're going to do each
day.
And it's really, well, there's amap.
You have it very welldocumented.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah, that's a new endeavor forme.
So fingers crossed that thatcontinues to grow because that's
something I've always wanted todo is just be able to share some
(49:37):
of these of my favorite placeswith, you know, just a small
handful of like-minded travelersand have people hopefully
connect as well over the loveof, you know, wherever we are.
SPEAKER_01 (49:48):
Absolutely.
And just as a glance, most
SPEAKER_00 (49:51):
of them, are they when you're hiking and outdoors,
are they to visit like artgalleries or like points of
interest?
Is that a combination of names?
(50:18):
You know, there'll be a coupleof towns where you'll be able to
go in and see the beautifulchurches of the area because
it's a very unique area.
And I know the September tour,we're going to an abbey.
And then there's also some winegrowing regions kind of nearby
that we'll also visit those aswell and kind of learn a little
bit about the wines of the areaand the traditions and stuff.
(50:40):
So, yeah.
Nice.
Sounds fun.
I'm sure everyone will lovethat.
Yeah, it's amazing.
SPEAKER_01 (50:47):
Great to meet you, Lynn.
Yeah, it's nice meeting both ofyou.
I love talking to people thatare so passionate about a place.
Oh, my gosh.
I
SPEAKER_00 (50:53):
learned so much.
I really do want to go.
It sounds like a lot of fun.
Scotland's amazing.
2026.
I'm ready to go back.
I'm ready to go back.
In fact, I probably need to booka ticket.
Yeah.
Perfect.
Wonderful.
Thanks so much.
Have a great weekend.
All right.
Thanks, you ladies, too.
Have a great weekend.
Have a great weekend.
Thank you.
Bye.
(51:13):
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed the podcast, canyou please take a second and do
a quick follow of the show andrate us in your podcast app?
And if you have a minute, wewould really appreciate a
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Following and rating is the bestway to support us.
If you're on Instagram, let'sconnect.
We're at where next podcast.
(51:34):
Thanks again.
UNKNOWN (51:45):
Bye.
Hi, welcome
SPEAKER_00 (00:16):
to our podcast, Where Next?
Travel with Kristen
SPEAKER_01 (00:18):
and
SPEAKER_00 (00:19):
Carol.
SPEAKER_01 (00:19):
I
SPEAKER_00 (00:20):
am Kristen.
And I am Carol.
And we're two long-term friendswith a passion for travel and
adventure.
Each episode, we interviewpeople around the globe to help
us decide where to go next.
SPEAKER_01 (00:33):
In today's episode, we're meeting
SPEAKER_00 (00:35):
with Lynn, host of the Wonder Your Way podcast and
experienced travel planner.
Today, she takes us on acaptivating journey through
Scotland's diverse landscapes,from the rugged highlands to its
94 islands with pristinebeaches.
She shares her insights...
from her multiple extended staysin Scotland, revealing why this
(00:55):
northern country has completelystolen her heart.
Enjoy.
SPEAKER_01 (00:59):
So today we have Lynn Neiman.
She is the host of Wander YourWay podcast, and we're going to
talk about what your podcast is,
SPEAKER_00 (01:10):
what other things you talk about, but we're going
to focus specifically onScotland today since you were
there, you've spent a lot oftime there, and we love talking
about slow travel and spendingtime time and places for maybe
more than a couple of weeks.
And so six months, I mean.
But
SPEAKER_01 (01:26):
yeah, so we're excited to hear about your
story.
SPEAKER_00 (01:28):
So my business is Wonder Your Way, and I have a
podcast, a blog.
I started with the blog.
Oh, you did?
Okay.
Yeah.
So I have a blog first, but Ialso am a travel planner.
So I'm a full-service travelagent, but I specialize in
Europe.
And I like to have people Inamed the business Wonder Your
Way because I want people totravel their way.
So I kind of ditch the cookiecutter.
(01:49):
I like to get to know myclients.
I like to know what theirinterests are because I believe
that no two people are alike, sono two trips should be alike.
So I really try to get to knowmy clients, and so I can really
customize a trip tailored totheir needs.
You've they only have a week andthey really want to go, go, go.
Other people who maybe want toslow down and maybe they have a
few weeks to travel or maybethey're able to travel longer.
(02:11):
And so I can kind of recommendthe proper countries, the
cities, the regions, the smalltowns, the outdoor things,
whatever it is that they want todo, whether they're into more
cultural museums or if they'remore into hiking.
So I tend to be less of a cityperson and more of a hiking
person, but you know, I doappreciate the cities and have a
few cities that I really like.
(02:33):
So after the blog, I decided tostart a podcast, you know, in
the midst of the pandemic, whichI think a lot of people did.
So, uh, so yeah, so I startedthat and that's, you know, I put
out a podcast episode everyother week.
I'm having fun with it.
In fact, we might even go toweekly.
So yeah.
Wow.
Yeah.
Now do you full-time as acareer, you're, um, a travel
(02:55):
agent?
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's, um, mostly I have a, like,a very part-time remote job
where I do some communitymanagement and I do like email
newsletters and stuff you knowit's maybe like 30 hours a month
at the most but yeah I will sayit's a little slow this year
starting off but but we are weare going in the right direction
(03:15):
and the new thing that I have ifI can just kind of put a plug
out for this is I am startingsmall group tours and I call
them wonder your way adventuresso I have a few of those for
2025 a couple going to theDolomites of Italy.
There's one still for Irelandthat's open and we are looking
at Scotland for 2026.
(03:36):
So I'm happy about Scotlandtoday.
So I was unable to, the companythat I wanted to work with was
not available for 2025.
So they told me 2026 and I said,let's do it.
So, so yeah.
2026 is when you're going toItaly, the Dolomites?
No, 2025.
That's this year.
In fact, there's one in June andthere's one in September.
(03:57):
So if you would go to WonderYour Way Adventures, that's
That's W-A-N-D-E-R.
One of your way adventures, youwould see the trips there.
Small group tours, keeping itsmall, personally curated by me
so that we are going to theplaces that I've been to and
want to spend time and want toshare with, you know, people
that are interested.
(04:17):
Okay.
So I have to ask a questionbecause we all love travel here,
but Kristen and I have, youknow, normal, I'm not saying
normal, just like verycorporate, you know, independent
corporate jobs.
So like we're, you know,grinding and like a travel
career sounds really cool.
Does any of it fade when itbecomes like your primary job or
is it still like, oh my God, Ican't believe I'm doing this.
(04:38):
This is so fun.
That's a good question.
There are days where it can geta little, it can get a little, I
don't want to say difficult,Yeah.
(05:08):
In Europe, they don't do like,you know, we have our hotel
rooms here where you've got likemaybe two queen size beds in a
room or whatever.
So you can kind of put a familyof four in there if you want to.
They don't do that so much inEurope.
So it's harder to find hotelrooms to fit families.
So that, you know, unless theyhave like one younger child,
like I've got some peopleactually going to Scotland and
(05:31):
there it's, you know, a husbandand wife and they're traveling
with their six year olddaughter.
That's a little easier becauseshe's smaller.
We can kind of put her wherever.
Yeah.
They can roll in an extra littlelike cot, something small that
she can still fit in.
Then I've got another trip.
actually for my niece and herhusband and their 15-year-old
daughter, that's a little bitmore challenging because she's a
full-grown young lady and sheneeds a regular-sized bed.
(05:55):
So that becomes a little bitmore challenging.
So that's when I feel like itgets hard because when I'm
trying to find that diamond inthe rough, so to speak, or that
needle in a haystack, it gets alittle, it can get difficult.
So that's the challenge.
People need you.
Yes, people do need me.
And how often do you travel in ayear?
(06:16):
It kind of depends.
When I kind of first started mybusiness, obviously, like I
didn't feel like I had the, youknow, the means to be able to
travel for too long, but I wouldbe gone for a couple of months.
And so I kind of did that.
And then a lot of personalthings, because I started my
business at the end of 2013.
My mom passed away in early2015.
(06:36):
I didn't travel again until2017.
I think I traveled in 17, 18, 19years.
We did a week in Paris rightbefore the pandemic in 2020.
Then the pandemic hit.
Then I was able to, as thingsstarted to open up in Europe at
the end of 2021, I traveled for,I think, four months.
Two of those months were inScotland.
(06:56):
Came back.
My dad was diagnosed then withcancer, and he passed then in
2023.
So 2022, I wasn't able to goaway.
But then 2023, both my parents,who I was, you know, helping to
take care of, well, I lived withthem, so I was taking care of
them.
were gone.
And so I was able then to kindof go and do a little bit more
(07:17):
of a digital nomad lifestyle in2023.
So then I was gone for like, Idon't know, seven, eight months
in 2023 and then six months in2024.
This year, I'm going to scaleback a little bit just because,
like I said, business, it's alittle slow.
I feel like people are a littlereluctant to travel right now.
They're kind of watching theirtheir money and things being
uncertain.
(07:38):
People are feeling a littlereluctant and that's fine.
I understand.
Still getting some people, and Ido hope that people still will
travel because Europe willwelcome you with open arms.
So I do try to be gone for, youknow, at least a few months.
I mean, it's always kind of mygoal to be gone for at least
maybe like three months, if notmore.
Nice.
That's like perfect.
(07:59):
Yeah.
Okay, cool.
You can work your other jobanywhere.
Sounds like that remote job.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
That remote job, it's like,it's, yeah, it's, I can do that
wherever.
And where are you right now?
I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio, justkind of in the suburbs.
So in the Midwest, that's whereI grew up because I'm not around
a whole lot.
I'm just renting a room from mysister and her husband who are
retired.
(08:19):
So I'm kind of the girl thatthey let up from down in the
basement every now and again.
I come up and I'm like, hi,because I have kind of my own
space down here except for thekitchen.
So, yeah, it works out well.
Yeah.
Okay.
So what do you like aboutScotland?
UNKNOWN (08:38):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (08:38):
Oh, gosh.
You know, I feel like Scotlandis one of those countries that
kind of has a little bit.
It's got something for everyone.
You know, you've got a couple ofreally great cities in Edinburgh
and Glasgow.
I have not been to Glasgow yet.
I have a friend who's aGlaswegian.
He keeps saying you need to getover here.
But you have these two amazingcities and then you have all
(09:02):
these wonderful small towns.
You have beautiful outdoor.
I mean, you can do everythingfrom time along the water and
the sea to the locks or thelakes, mountains.
They call them locks instead oflakes?
Locks.
Lock.
You have to say it.
Oh, hence the Loch Nessmester?
Yeah.
L-O-C-H.
(09:23):
L-O-C-H.
Yeah, Loch Ness is one of the, Ithink it's the largest lake as
far as like it's the deepest.
It's not the prettiest.
And they will call them...
The inland lakes will be lochs,and then on the west coast, you
will see loch as a sea loch,which means it's more like, we
would think of it more like abay.
(09:43):
Oh, okay.
So they do on the West Coast.
They'll still call them locksthere.
I have a good Scottish friendwho's actually also a guide
there.
So I get a lot of a lot ofinformation from her.
So I feel like that it haseverything.
You know, there's all this greathistory with with Scotland.
You know, it's very interesting,intriguing, very tumultuous
(10:04):
because of their push and pullwith England.
And are they independent?
Are they not over all thecenturies?
So there's a lot of you know,there's a lot of historical
stuff.
For people that enjoy that andcultural sites, the food is
actually surprisingly good,especially if you are into like
maybe good beef or venison,seafood, mild white fish.
(10:30):
Very good.
They have a very strong kind offarm to table, sea to table
movement.
I think they are too.
Yeah.
So the food is surprisinglygood.
You've got whiskey, of course.
They make really good gin.
Their beers are pretty good.
SPEAKER_01 (10:42):
Obviously,
SPEAKER_00 (10:43):
they don't make wine if you're into your alcoholic
beverages.
But if you're not, you know,they have good water.
Yeah, there's probably a lot ofwater, huh?
Yeah.
Yeah, there is.
There's a lot of coastline.
And the other thing is there area lot of islands.
I mean, there's like...
Really?
Oh, yeah.
There's...
What is the...
I've got it here.
(11:03):
I got my map, my Google map.
There are...
Oh, I see the Kirkawale,Lerwick.
There are technically 790islands.
94 out of 790 are inhabited.
So if you want to do islandtime, it's kind of a great thing
(11:24):
to do in Scotland.
And what I would say is youdon't think about places like
Scotland having beautifulbeaches, but there are some
really spectacular beachesthere.
Do you have to go in the summer,though?
You're not going to be in yourbikini.
I was going to ask that.
You might be cold.
You're going to be cold.
But, yeah, the weather there isnever– you're never going to
(11:46):
have very, very warm weather.
I mean, if you get– If you getlike 70 to 75 degrees
Fahrenheit, which is low 20s inCelsius, you know, you're lucky,
you know, in the summer.
Like San Francisco weather allthe time.
Yeah, but it will get cold.
I mean, there will be I mean,they can get snow.
I've been there in the winterbecause of the mountains.
(12:08):
You will definitely get somesnow at some of the higher
elevations in the winter.
And sometimes even a littlelower.
Yeah, it's just it's a beautifulcountry.
And it just like the people, Iwould say that's probably your
number one reason to go is thepeople are some of the nicest on
the planet.
I always understand them becausesome of them have a very strong
(12:30):
accent.
But yeah, they are just supernice.
They will stop and talk to youabout anything.
I mean, I can't even tell youhow many times I've just been
out on a trail and somebodystarts up a conversation with
you.
And especially with Americans, Ithink that they're always
intrigued to hear about ourlives.
(12:50):
They will talk about ourpolitics as well.
Some of them will, some of themwon't, some of them will.
So But yeah, it's great fun.
It's just such a beautifulcountry, and I just think it has
a little something for everyone.
So when were you there and howlong were you there for?
Did you say three months?
(13:10):
So I've been there a few times.
So my first visit there, I wasthere for probably just a few
weeks, and I actually walked along-distance trail called the
West Highland Way.
It's pretty popular.
And so it took me a week.
I walked 96 miles.
I had a company, actually a verysmall company, kind of set it
all up for me.
So like she did, she kind ofbooked my B&Bs that I stayed in
(13:31):
so that I didn't have to takeall of my stuff with me because
I was traveling for a couplemonths.
Like I had been over in Irelandand I was going to be going down
to England.
So I had my big bag.
They transfer your big bag toeach of your kind of, you know,
stops.
And I just had my day pack withme.
So I was hiking everywhere.
you know, just with my stuffthat I need for the day, food
and water, extra clothing.
(13:52):
And that was my introduction toScotland.
I landed in Glasgow and I wentto this little kind of northern
suburb, started the hike andtook a week and walked it and
ended up actually having awonderful time, made a friend
who I'm still in contact with.
We met along the trail.
Yeah, I had beautiful weather,which was surprising.
(14:15):
What time of year did you go?
That was May, May of 2017.
And that's a good time to go.
It really is.
And also like, yeah, for womentravelers, when you're on the
trail doing that, did you, youstayed in B&B?
Yeah, more like a bed andbreakfast or like hotels.
It kind of just depended onwhich town you were, which,
which, which town you're in andwhat kind of tourist amenities
(14:36):
they had.
And what was that called again?
The trail that's 96 miles?
That sounds really fun.
West Highland Way.
Yeah.
And I can send a lot of links toyou guys.
So you guys have them.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So then I didn't go back untilduring the pandemic in 2021.
I had met a woman at the time.
So I spent a couple of days inEdinburgh and I went up to St.
(15:00):
Andrews because I really this mydad was still alive.
My dad was a big golfer.
And I went up to St.
Andrews to go and do a tour ofthe old course there.
And my guide happened to be thiswoman by the name of Bo Frazier.
And she and I became friends.
She's a Blue Badge guide.
And we have kind of stayedconnected.
(15:20):
So when I went there, back toScotland in 2021, I went and
stayed with her and her husbandfor a few days.
And then I went over to a towncalled Fort William over on the
West Coast, because St.
Tedra's on the East Coast, andhad an Airbnb booked for like
two months over there.
And I was just, so I was thereNovember, December.
So I was there when the dayswere getting very short, when
(15:42):
the weather was getting cold.
I saw snow.
I saw sideways rain.
I had beautiful, sunshiny days,a little bit of everything.
But I just...
kind of just hunkered down andstayed there for a while.
And it was great.
Fort William's not like thecutest of little towns.
Most of your cute villages andkind of charming villages are
(16:03):
going to be further southcompared to in the highlands,
just because that's just kind ofhow things sort of developed.
in Scotland, but it's a greatbase for doing outdoor things
because it's the end of the WestHighland Way.
So that's where you end.
And then Ben Nevis, which is thehighest peak in all of Great
Britain and all of the UnitedKingdom, is right there.
(16:25):
So a lot of people stay thereand they'll do the summit of Ben
Nevis.
And what was that town?
The one that's not so great, buta good base?
Fort William.
Fort William.
Fort William.
And what's a blue badge guide?
You said a blue badge guide.
So they have to go through aspecific type of training.
(16:45):
In fact, it's almost like a yearand a half to two years.
And it's pretty, it's prettyrigorous.
And so they have to go throughand they really have to have the
knowledge.
So, and usually like, so she's ablue badge guide for like, for
like all of Scotland.
SPEAKER_01 (16:59):
Okay.
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (17:01):
So does she like, Is it like a travel agent or?
She's a guide.
So she's a driver guide.
I meant, that's what I meant.
Sorry.
So, but you would hire her tolike take you all over Scotland?
You can.
You can.
Yeah.
Somebody like her.
Like if you wanted to, if youwanted to hire somebody, she's
not cheap.
SPEAKER_01 (17:19):
Yeah.
And who comes to her?
I was just curious.
Who comes to her?
Is it companies, corporations?
SPEAKER_00 (17:24):
Yeah.
Sometimes it is.
And then sometimes she getsindividuals.
It kind of depends.
So if you're booking a trip,would you then hire her?
A lot of times if I have peoplethat want to do something like
that, I always reach out to herfirst.
And then if she's busy, then shehands me off to somebody else
that she knows.
SPEAKER_01 (17:43):
And when you say expensive, like, What does that
look like?
SPEAKER_00 (17:47):
Oh, you know what?
I'm not 100% sure what her feesare.
But yeah, but yeah.
It's like a per day because Iknow like I...
Yeah, it'll be and it'll dependon what you're doing.
So that's all I can say.
I was in Bali and someone that Iknow...
set me there and she was like Ihave a driver and so I just paid
him like 35 bucks a day and hetook me yeah she's a lot more
(18:07):
than that
SPEAKER_01 (18:07):
yeah
SPEAKER_00 (18:14):
absolutely But
SPEAKER_01 (18:16):
yeah, so all the little islands, there's a lot.
And there's even ones that, andit says Hebrides?
SPEAKER_00 (18:24):
Hebrides.
So there's the inner Hebridesand the outer Hebrides.
The inner Hebrides are justcloser to the mainland and the
outer Hebrides are a little bitfurther.
So like a couple of the islandsI've been, the Isle of Skye is
the most popular.
It's the most popular because itis breathtaking.
I went there on my first visitand it's beautiful.
I had a car.
(18:45):
which is how I would recommendto get around because it's a
little difficult.
You can get to some places viatrain and you can use buses, but
a car gives you a little bitmore freedom and will get you
into the nooks and crannies andwill to probably allow you to
also get, if you wanted to go tothe islands, to be able to
really transport yourself aroundthe islands a little bit easier.
(19:06):
But the islands- Can you driveon the left side?
They drive on, yes, yeah.
So the opposite, yeah, becausethey're part of the United
Kingdom.
So, you know, so they drive onthe left side.
So like the Isle of Skye wouldbe kind of one that, you know, I
would say, yeah, go there.
(19:27):
But it's very, it's gotten alittle bit over-touristed.
And as such, because it's, youknow, I think one of the things
that I would just kind of say toyour listeners is...
that don't assume that you'regoing to be able to find
accommodation super easy.
A lot of these towns, they'revillages or settlements.
There's not a lot to them onceyou kind of get away from
(19:49):
Edinburgh and Glasgow.
As such, there's not a lot ofaccommodation choices there.
And it's the same.
When you get out onto an Isle ofSkye, there's only so much
there.
And if you have all this influxof people, then it's going to be
harder for you to find places tostay.
So that's where, like, it'sessential to book in advance for
(20:12):
books.
for your trip because of thefact that these places, you
know, they're small.
You got these little B&Bs.
They maybe only have like fourrooms.
They're easy to fill up fourrooms.
So, you know, if there's only 10places that have four rooms, you
know, you can do the math veryeasily and you can find out that
there's just, you know, maybenot a whole lot there.
So it's very, very essential todo that.
(20:35):
But the Isle of Skye isdefinitely one place.
I am a big fan of the Isle ofLewis at Harris, which is...
Even though it's two names, it'sreally one island.
It's a little bit further northfrom Skye.
I went there in 2023 and stayedon the Harris part, which is the
southern part, which I would sayis the more interesting part.
There's a beautiful beach therecalled Luskentire.
(20:56):
It's kind of one of the most,kind of one of the more famous
beaches in Scotland.
It's a gorgeous, gorgeousstretch of sand.
Never really warm.
I just think I was able to wearshorts and a short-sleeved shirt
at one point in early September.
Just a beautiful place.
Lots of natural beauty.
The Calanish Standing Stones,which are pretty popular on the
(21:17):
Lewis part, which is thenorthern part of the island.
That part of the island's alittle flatter.
But just a beautiful place.
And then this last year, in2024...
I went to the Isle of Mull,which is a little further south
off the coast.
You'll see it's by Oban.
Oban is where you catch theferry.
It's only maybe about 45, 50minutes to get over by ferry.
(21:39):
But wow, what a beautifulisland.
I totally fell in love with it.
But boy, I tell you what,driving, it's almost a whole
single track.
There's probably a stretch of 10miles that's that's you've got
two lanes, all the rest issingle track.
And I loved it.
Oh, my gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (21:58):
Island of Isle of Mull, M-U-L-L.
And there's all
SPEAKER_00 (22:02):
these.
M-U-L-L.
SPEAKER_01 (22:03):
Is that what I'm
SPEAKER_00 (22:04):
seeing?
These little houses that linesthe water's edge with
(22:24):
different...
Stunning, stunning place.
And that's how I feel about alot of Scotland.
Like a lot of people don't makeit maybe all the way up to like
the far kind of northwest.
There's a driving route.
(22:44):
They call it the North Coast500.
It's gotten a little bit busy,but it's way up in that
northwest corner.
You'll see like this piece ofland, if you look at a map, kind
of sticking up there into theNorth Sea.
And that driving route is about500 miles.
But that driving route is not,you know, you're talking about
two lane roads.
I'm trying to think if there'sany single track along there.
There might be.
(23:05):
I've never done the whole thing.
So you're saying, like, way upnorth near, like, Ullapool and
Dingwall?
Yeah.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ullapool is where you would getthe ferry, like, over to Lewis
and Harris.
So, but up there, like, Gerlach,Ullapool, on up to Elphin.
I don't have the map in front ofme, so I'm kind of trying to
remember.
Yeah, so that's...
Up to Durness.
(23:26):
Yeah, so, but that area...
is just beautiful.
It's stunning.
It's very rugged and remote.
Again, you know, there's notnecessarily going to be tons of
places to stay.
It's about the landscape upthere.
You know, there's not going tobe necessarily a ton of like
sites per se.
(23:46):
You'll see some.
There's some lighthouses out onplaces, but it's just
spectacular.
Okay.
Wow.
I had a stereotype of like
SPEAKER_01 (23:57):
dingy, cold, stone houses and people drinking at
the pub.
Like that's what I think it was.
Oh,
SPEAKER_00 (24:07):
my gosh.
Yeah.
Awesome.
And like in the center part,it's like, you know, you get
sort of your boggy, sort of yourpeaty boggy land, which, you
know, you would see that like inparts of Ireland, like in
Connemara, Ireland or placeslike that.
But you'll see some of that aswell.
And it's just, you know, it's avery different ecosystem and,
you know, just totally differentlandscape.
(24:28):
And it's really beautiful, youknow, and then you kind of get
down into like along the EastCoast.
kind of like if you go likenorth of Edinburgh, between like
Edinburgh and like aroundAberdeen, that area, that's
Aberdeenshire.
There's, you know, you'll see alot of castles around there.
Of course, you know, Balmoral isout there, which is the royal
residence, the royal Scottishresidence.
(24:50):
So all these beautiful castles.
Is that Balmoral?
near Ballater, Braemar, some ofthe little towns.
It's like in Cairngorms NationalPark, which I remember
mentioning that.
My friend was looking at themap.
She goes, that big green glob inthe middle of the country.
(25:12):
Oh, yeah, I see.
That's Cairngorms.
So that's all like National Parkwithin there.
And you've got kind of more of amain road, the A9, that goes up
the sort of the western side.
But that eastern side is...
Wow.
I looked at Balmoral and it
SPEAKER_01 (25:38):
looks like a fairy tale castle.
SPEAKER_00 (25:44):
Yeah.
And it's only open like atcertain times because, you know,
because of it being the kind ofthe summer Scottish residence of
the royal family of the King.
Looking at it, I feel like I'mlooking at Shrek.
Yeah.
So but there are other castles.
So there's a there's a rivercalled the River Dee out there
that supposedly I know a coupleof people there that live there
(26:04):
that are that fish and that's abig fishing river.
But that that river along there,there are some other castles
along there, too.
So they call it Royal Deeside.
Like I said, there's justsomething for everyone.
And then you go down like aroundSt.
Andrews, that region is calledthe region of Fife.
And if you kind of go around thecoast, they've kind of got all
(26:25):
the sort of like the Fife kindof coastal little towns that are
just, they're charming littlefishing villages.
So when you went the second timefor a couple months, did you
just like bounce around?
Because obviously you saw a lot.
No, I just stayed in FortWilliams.
So when I went back then in2020, I've been four times.
(26:45):
So when I went in 2023, I spent,I have to think about this,
because I was just about at theend of my staying my UK visa,
because you can stay for sixmonths.
Oh, really?
Okay, that's good.
I spent about a month in...
Six months?
Wow.
I spent about a month inEngland.
So I must have been in...
in Scotland for about four, fourand a half months maybe.
(27:09):
So I spent a couple of monthsand I actually did a road trip.
So I literally like started outkind of in that Royal Deeside
area and I went up to the north,went all around.
I went out to Lewis and Harris.
I came down.
I went all the way and I wentall the way down into Dumfries
(27:29):
and Galloway, which is South ofGlasgow.
So that's that region.
So it goes down and it's kind ofthe border.
It's that western border withEngland.
And then I went over to theborders, which is the eastern
border with England.
And I literally like pretty muchwent around the country in two
months of a road trip.
So that's when I got to reallysee like everything.
(27:52):
And then in 2024, I was justthere and I was kind of
hopscotching a little bit allaround because I went to the
Open Championship, the golf.
I went to Royal, which was inRoyal Troon.
So I kind of had to make my tripa little bit around that because
I had tickets.
So, yeah.
Okay.
And so say Fort Williams to likethe top, the north where you
want to go tour around, like howlong is it a day drive, a half a
(28:15):
day trip?
Two days?
Well, yeah.
I mean, oh, no.
I mean, you can get up there ina few hours.
Yeah.
It depends exactly where you'regoing to go.
Yeah.
Exactly where you're going to goup there.
But yeah, you can go up.
I wouldn't do it like as a daytrip, like going up and back.
If you were basing yourself inFort William, you would want to
(28:36):
go up and, you know, spend acouple nights up there.
Yeah, absolutely.
So did you rent a house then?
When you were in Fort William?
Yeah, so I had an Airbnb, so Irented an apartment for those
two months.
And then, you know, so then I'vehad other times where I've maybe
rented, like I know in 2024, Irented, you know, an apartment,
(29:00):
a flat for like two weeks in alittle town called Blair Athol,
which is right near...
Pit lockery, yes.
So if like for a month, so say Iwant to go for a month, like
what's the range?
Two grand a month, three grand amonth?
Yeah, I would say it's going todepend on exactly where you are
because those places that arestronger holiday places where
(29:21):
the Scots are also going to goor the English are going to come
up are probably going to be alittle bit more if you kind of
find some of those towns thatare maybe...
not as much of a holiday placeor a vacation spot, they're
going to be a little cheaper.
So, you know, I would say, andagain, if it's You know, is it a
(29:51):
studio?
Is it a one-bedroom, atwo-bedroom?
(30:11):
These kids are out of school.
And then the next week, thesekids are out of school.
So you kind of have to watchthat, too.
But was it hard to findsomething for a whole month or
just Airbnb?
You know, Airbnb maybe isn'talways the best.
Sometimes I kind of find that ifyou kind of Google your specific
area that you're staying in,sometimes like you can find long
(30:34):
term rentals that way.
And they tend to call them likehotels.
holiday homes or holidayapartments, self-catering
places.
So, you know, those would kindof be some of the terms that I
would use as you Google it.
And you would be able to findsome places that maybe or not.
We used to do like Craigslistfor that back in the day.
(30:55):
I don't know if people still useCraigslist or Facebook groups.
I hear like you find like expatFacebook groups or something.
Yeah, you might be able to findsomething there.
You know, again, you know,Airbnb sometimes is a good place
to start.
I mean, sometimes even going onbooking.com, sometimes people,
you know, because you can findplaces there that are more
apartments.
But then again, like I thinkalso just kind of diving in
(31:16):
because some of them don't putstuff out there as much like on
Airbnb.
They don't want to.
And I Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(31:47):
Very interesting.
So just curious, weather-wise,what's the whole year look like
in terms of what's When's theirwinter?
What does that look likeweather-wise?
When's the, you said the summer,May, June?
I don't know if they, if it'sthe same as ours.
I know Australia's flippedaround.
Yeah, no, it's pretty much thesame.
It's the same as ours.
(32:07):
What I would say, though, isthat, again, I would not think
about things being too warm inthe summer.
Always be prepared for rain justbecause it's, you know, it's
going to rain on you.
It's a rare thing for it.
So, you know, pack yourwaterproof shoes and your good
(32:27):
raincoat.
And, you know, you can still goin the winter.
I think one of the things that'smaybe that we don't think about
is the light because it's somuch further north.
You know, the days definitelyget shorter.
You know, when I was there inNovember, December, January,
when you're having thoseshortest days, and I was when I
was in, especially when I was inFort William because I was a
(32:49):
little bit further north.
Right.
The days are really short.
You know, you're talking 930 to330.
So you got to get out and, youknow, do your stuff, you know,
if you're going to go out likefor a hike or something like
that.
The reverse, of course, is thatyou get these very long days,
you know, in late May, in June,into July.
That's kind of nice because thenyou have these very long days to
(33:10):
be able to take advantage of tobe in the outdoors.
So, yeah.
What's the food like?
Well, as I said, the food issurprisingly good.
I think that people don't, youknow, you think about like fish
and chips and, you know, haggisis this thing that I'm not even
100% sure what it is.
It's like grains and stuff andthey stuff it into something.
(33:32):
I don't eat meat.
I'm gluten sensitive.
But I still find it very easy toactually eat there.
I do eat fish.
So I eat the fish and theseafood.
Very fresh, you know, from whatI understand, like things like
their beef is very good becausethey have lots of places where
they can graze cows.
(33:53):
There's also a large deerpopulation.
So I think the venison isactually, you can get very good
venison there if that's yourthing.
So I think the food is betterthan what you think it's going
to be.
And haggis, I just looked up anda traditional haggis recipe
includes sheep's heart, liver,and lung with suet.
Oatmeal and spices.
(34:14):
Yeah.
People say that it's really goodand they actually do make it.
Ground beef.
Yeah.
Oh, it's like a sausage?
Kind of, yeah.
But they do make a vegetarianversion of it, but because it
has the grains in it, I can't,you know, it's like, I can't
really eat it.
So, but people do say that it'sactually very good.
SPEAKER_01 (34:34):
It says ingredients are traditionally encased in a
sheep's stomach and boiled.
UNKNOWN (34:40):
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_01 (34:40):
Very
SPEAKER_00 (34:40):
interesting.
Although I guess, you know, whenyou're there and on an island,
you gotta eat.
It's like you use it all.
Yeah.
What was something that you,what was your favorite meal
there?
Oh gosh.
Um, Probably, you know, they doreally good.
They do a lot of good salmonbecause you get the North
Atlantic salmon.
So it's probably a salmon dishbecause it's really good.
(35:03):
And they do really nice smokedsalmons as well.
So it's like that's something Ipick up in the grocery store
like all the time because youcan pick it up pretty easily in
the grocery store.
And it's usually, you know, it'sScottish, you know.
The one thing that's kind ofreally surprising is you'll find
really good berries.
So they're berry season.
They grow a lot of berries,especially like kind of closer
to Edinburgh, like the Fiferegion is kind of one of those
(35:24):
regions where they'll grow alot.
So Like I've had some of thebest raspberries there.
Oh, all that water, right?
Well, yeah.
I mean, and I just think thatthey've kind of figured out ways
to grow some of this.
You'll see those polyurethanekind of tunnels as well so that
they can kind of get a littlebit longer growing season
(35:44):
because it doesn't get as coldin some places.
So those milder temperatures, Ithink, can help them out.
But you're going to find like alot of really good fresh food
there, surprisingly.
Yeah.
And what are some of the mainholidays and how do they
celebrate?
Like, I was curious, like theirbirthdays or Christmas or
like...
(36:04):
Well, you know, I think theycelebrate their birthdays pretty
much like we do, I would say.
Christmas is a big deal, buttheir bigger deal is because
there was a time, if you lookback at the history, to
actually...
and it has so much to do withtheir tumultuous history with
England, is that they weren'tallowed to celebrate Christmas
(36:26):
for a while.
So their bigger holiday thenbecame New Year's, like New
Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
So they call it Hogmanay.
And that's definitely a bigcelebration.
There's usually, in Edinburghparticularly, you will see a big
celebration for New Year's Evewith fireworks and everything.
And then New Year's Day, like Iwas in the town of Pit Lockery
(36:49):
on New Year's Day of 2024.
And there was like this bigstreet fair and, you know,
traditional music.
And they had a keli, which islike a dance kind of thing.
It looks like it's spelledsomething really weird.
It's a Gaelic word, but it'spronounced keli.
And everybody's out theredancing.
(37:09):
And it was just so much fun tobe there.
And yeah.
you know, with locals andtourists alike.
So yeah, so they tend to makethat a bigger deal.
Christmas is still a big deal.
So, yeah, it would have beensomething that they would have
done.
Like, you know, way back inhistory, you know, they would
all meet at a local, you know,there would be a local hall or
(37:33):
whatever, a meeting place.
And that's where everybody wouldget together, the community.
And that's kind of one of thethings about Scotland that I
think is so great is just likethey still have those
communities.
They still have thosetraditions.
You know, people, young peopleare...
taking up the traditional music,the bagpipes and the drums.
In fact, there was a pipe anddrum band at this street fair.
(37:56):
And I got teary eyed at the end.
Like I was there with my cameraand I'm like trying to take
video and everything.
And there was a woman, I don'tknow if she was like with her
husband or son.
I couldn't, I didn't get a goodlook at him, but she sort of,
she was, you know, I'm short.
So she's like pushing me up tothe front so I can get that.
And I was like, oh, thanks.
You know?
And when they were done, I'mlike, I had tears in my eyes and
(38:17):
I turned around and I'm like, ohmy God.
I'm like that.
I said, tears in my eyes.
She goes, yeah.
She goes, it gives you all thefeels, doesn't it?
And I just, you know, it was,Just like...
All the feels.
All the feels.
That's what she said.
And that's kind of how I feel.
I mean, I will be honest withyou, this last time, so when I
had been in...
(38:39):
Where was I?
I think I was in...
I'm trying to remember where Iwas this last time.
I was visiting a friend inSwitzerland, and I flew back up
to Scotland, and I gotteary-eyed when we're flying in.
And then when I left, come backhere to the States...
I told myself, Lynn, you are notgoing to cry.
And I started to cry.
(39:03):
I felt like I was leaving home.
Wow.
(39:34):
I love Ireland.
I've been to Ireland like six orseven times.
But Scotland is just, I have toadmit, lately, it's just, it's
been my place.
It's really stolen my heart.
And...
SPEAKER_01 (39:46):
That's great.
What would you say are the topthree
SPEAKER_00 (39:49):
places that you said, like, if you had to pick
three, if someone was coming,check these out.
And based on, you know, I knoweveryone has their preferences,
so I'll just use yours, which isoutdoors and nature.
Yeah, you know, I would sayprobably stay somewhere in the
(40:09):
Cairngorms National Park area.
And that can be like a fewdifferent places.
It kind of depends.
It could be somewhere moreremote, like Braemar.
You could stay somewhere like byAviemore.
You could even stay down by PitLockery because you can very
easily get into the park thatway.
I would probably say...
I'd probably say in some waysto...
(40:35):
go up to that far northwest.
I've stayed up around a towncalled Gerlach, but you don't
have to stay there.
There's a lot up there forpeople that want to do the
outdoors.
You just need to have a car.
SPEAKER_01 (40:45):
And
SPEAKER_00 (40:47):
then I would probably say, yeah, stay
somewhere around like FortWilliam or Glencoe.
I didn't even mention Glencoe.
There's tons of hiking aroundthere.
There's beautiful drives.
There's a lot that you can do inthat area as well.
And that was really hard for meto do.
I'm like thinking about 10 moreplaces in my head.
(41:09):
Are there pubs on every corner?
Is it very...
Yeah, you know, there are a lotof pubs.
(41:43):
Oh, wow.
That's amazing.
(42:04):
Burial tombs.
I didn't even mention KilmartinGlen, which is another place.
It's like off the beaten paththat most Americans don't know
about.
It's got all these burial tombsand stuff.
What was that one called?
Kilmartin Glen.
Kilmartin Glen.
Okay.
Yeah.
All
SPEAKER_01 (42:20):
right.
Well, we are coming up to ourend of our hour here, and I have
our rapid fire questions.
Unless Kristen has any finalburning questions.
No, just look at it.
Kilmartin Glen.
That's...
Really, yeah, it's got lots of,lots to look at.
SPEAKER_00 (42:38):
Yeah, yeah, burial.
Yeah, you can actually get intosome of the burial chambers.
It's pretty interesting.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Okay.
There's a lot to do.
SPEAKER_01 (42:48):
Exactly.
It's really, really coollooking.
SPEAKER_00 (42:52):
All right.
So what's a typical breakfastthat you would have there?
What's your favorite breakfast?
I would say either what theycall porridge, which would be
oatmeal.
As long as it's gluten-free,100% gluten-free.
Or like scrambled eggs, youknow, farm-fresh eggs.
Okay.
With smoked salmon.
(43:13):
Oh, that sounds like my perfectbreakfast.
It's good.
SPEAKER_01 (43:17):
And then do you have a favorite dessert?
You talked about berries, butare there any unique
SPEAKER_00 (43:22):
desserts that they have there?
UNKNOWN (43:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (43:26):
I can't think of a dessert they have.
They do really nice scones, butthat's more like what you would
have like with some tea orcoffee.
Yeah, cakes or puddings?
You know, no, but they have thisthing called tablet that's like
condensed milk and sugar.
And it's like, you'll see it,like they sell it everywhere.
It's like a little square andit's just like pure sugar.
(43:48):
Pure sugar.
It's a square, it's solid?
Yeah.
Oh, okay.
And it's called tablet.
It's like, oh, I need this.
It's like sugar.
And it's like nothing but puresugar.
It looks like, well, from kindof.
It looks like, it's like smalllittle like fudge.
Fudge, yes.
Yeah, like fudge.
(44:09):
Like only, it's like small, likealmost bite size.
Correct.
Yeah.
Although you're in differentbite size, but
SPEAKER_01 (44:15):
yeah, like a
SPEAKER_00 (44:16):
sugar cube.
But it's like, yeah, it lookslike a,
SPEAKER_01 (44:19):
like a, I don't know, brown sugar.
To me.
SPEAKER_00 (44:23):
Yeah.
Yeah.
They have really nice icecreams, too, because all the
cows.
So there's there's good milk.
So they do.
There are some like specialtyice creams that, you know, from
certain companies and dairiesthat are pretty, pretty popular.
SPEAKER_01 (44:36):
All right.
OK.
And what's the popular religionup there?
SPEAKER_00 (44:41):
I don't know.
I think most people are probablyI think it's probably a mix.
A lot of Christians, maybe allmostly Christians.
Oh, okay.
Got it.
All right.
And then what's the moneysituation there?
Because they're not in theEuropean Union anymore, but do
they use the euro or somethingelse?
No, they would always be usingthe same thing because they're
(45:02):
part of the United Kingdom.
So it's the British sterlingpound.
Oh, okay.
Which they always would havebeen.
Oh, okay.
Got it.
And then generally, do youtravel, like use everything on a
credit card or is cash in there?
I tell you what, you can useyour credit card a lot in
Scotland.
It's one place that I would saythey are definitely, you can use
(45:23):
your credit card or your debitcard and tap, tap, tap.
There you go.
There may be a few places, but Itell you what, since COVID, it's
a lot of use of card.
Very easy to use your cardthere.
Is it there?
Is there a lot of fees?
I know when I was traveling inBali and you.
(45:43):
Yeah, you have to.
That's one thing I always tellmy my my travel clients is be
sure that you have a credit cardthat does not have a foreign
transaction fees.
Correct.
Yeah.
I got stuck.
But yeah, I learned it will addup.
It
SPEAKER_01 (46:05):
sure
SPEAKER_00 (46:09):
did.
(46:31):
So you would get, you know, youwould get sort of a fiddle and
maybe an accordion and that,guitars.
So, you know, a pipe maybe.
So you'll get a little bit ofeverything.
But yeah, I mean, anything, youknow, like the bagpipe, it's
just kind of one of those likesounds that you're like, that's
(46:53):
very Scottish.
SPEAKER_01 (46:54):
And
SPEAKER_00 (46:55):
do a lot of places, I mean, you go out to eat, do
they have live music or just?
No, not really.
You know, I, I kind of feel likethe music is a little bit harder
to come by.
Like I feel like in Ireland,like the pubs, it's a little bit
more popular, like it's easierto come by.
You will still be able to findit in Scotland, but you'd
probably just have to make sureand seek it out a little bit
(47:17):
more and just kind of see.
There's definitely, I mean, theydefinitely have like, there are
music festivals and things likethat.
And there would be, there woulddefinitely be pubs where they
would have music.
And, you know, the music's stillgoing to run the gamut.
They'll still have, like, Iremember being out and, you
know, you'll hear somethingthat'll be a little bit more,
you know, you know, maybemodern, like acoustic, like, you
(47:37):
know, kind of indie folk kind ofstuff, maybe as well, too.
A little bit of everything.
But yeah.
All right.
And then a final question,closest place to surf?
I would imagine they're surfingwith like really thick wetsuits,
but.
Yeah, very thick wetsuits.
You know, I'm not 100% surewhere the surfing is the best
there.
I've seen a little bit aroundSt.
(48:01):
Andrews, but probably I'm kindof like wondering, I'm kind of
thinking the West Coast probablyis a little bit better over that
way.
And I would imagine that I'mkind of also wondering a Yeah,
nice.
(48:33):
All right.
And where can our listeners findyou?
Yeah, W-A-N-D-E-R.
So WanderYourWay.com.
And that's where you can find meon Facebook, Instagram,
Pinterest.
And of course, if you areinterested in those small group
tours, you can go to Wander YourWay Adventures.
So just add adventures onthere.com and you can find those
(48:54):
as well.
And of course, podcasts.
I was looking at the Dolomites.
I do this kind of like a HIITworkout, H-I-I-T, the gym on the
bikes.
And I bike through theDolomites.
And so that actually is veryinteresting.
It looks a lot of fun.
And I love how you have it.
You have a lot of detail inthere, which is great.
(49:16):
And I love how you have it whereyou can click on each day.
And then it shows you picturesand what you're going to do each
day.
And it's really, well, there's amap.
You have it very welldocumented.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah, that's a new endeavor forme.
So fingers crossed that thatcontinues to grow because that's
something I've always wanted todo is just be able to share some
(49:37):
of these of my favorite placeswith, you know, just a small
handful of like-minded travelersand have people hopefully
connect as well over the loveof, you know, wherever we are.
SPEAKER_01 (49:48):
Absolutely.
And just as a glance, most
SPEAKER_00 (49:51):
of them, are they when you're hiking and outdoors,
are they to visit like artgalleries or like points of
interest?
Is that a combination of names?
(50:18):
You know, there'll be a coupleof towns where you'll be able to
go in and see the beautifulchurches of the area because
it's a very unique area.
And I know the September tour,we're going to an abbey.
And then there's also some winegrowing regions kind of nearby
that we'll also visit those aswell and kind of learn a little
bit about the wines of the areaand the traditions and stuff.
(50:40):
So, yeah.
Nice.
Sounds fun.
I'm sure everyone will lovethat.
Yeah, it's amazing.
SPEAKER_01 (50:47):
Great to meet you, Lynn.
Yeah, it's nice meeting both ofyou.
I love talking to people thatare so passionate about a place.
Oh, my gosh.
I
SPEAKER_00 (50:53):
learned so much.
I really do want to go.
It sounds like a lot of fun.
Scotland's amazing.
2026.
I'm ready to go back.
I'm ready to go back.
In fact, I probably need to booka ticket.
Yeah.
Perfect.
Wonderful.
Thanks so much.
Have a great weekend.
All right.
Thanks, you ladies, too.
Have a great weekend.
Have a great weekend.
Thank you.
Bye.
(51:13):
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed the podcast, canyou please take a second and do
a quick follow of the show andrate us in your podcast app?
And if you have a minute, wewould really appreciate a
review.
Following and rating is the bestway to support us.
If you're on Instagram, let'sconnect.
We're at where next podcast.
(51:34):
Thanks again.
UNKNOWN (51:45):
Bye.
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