• NOTE: This post is based on my original blog entry.

Glasgow
I arrived Wednesday morning. My friend Max came by the airport to pick me up; him and Patsy had been in Scotland for a while already sorting out wedding details and concurrently having their work visas get fucked. That’s another story though, and not even mine to tell. Moving on, I dropped my luggage off at the hotel before we roamed Glasgow. This was my fourth time in the UK, but my first time in Scotland. The other three times were based solely in London. We grabbed lunch with one of Max’s friend who works for the company both Max and I used to work for (it was a Scottish firm). After lunch, we went for my kilt fitting.  I’m in Scotland for a wedding, hell yeah I’m wearing a kilt. A nice one at that. Made of alot of wool…in the mild/warm Scottish spring weather. I would regret this later, But for now I just wanted a kilt. We roamed some more afterwards, and most likely drank beer. It’s sorta fuzzy. I was most likely groggy and jetlagged and inhaling coffee later in the evening.

Edinburgh
Max and Patsy had wedding details to sort out, so I took a day trip out to Edinburgh. There was something weird about Glasgow as we were walking around the day before, and couldn’t put my finger on what was until I got to Edinburgh…no Asian tourists! Actually, hardly any tourists at all in Glasgow. In Edinburgh though, they’re everywhere. Edinburgh’s definitely a tourist city, and rightly so. It’s very picturesque and touristy, with it’s Royal Mile, Closes, and of course Edinburgh Castle. One aspect thought that let me down; I was hoping they’d play up more of the haunted aspects of the castle, which they didn’t. At all. Sad. I also decided to climb up Arthur’s Seat, the massive hill in Holyrood Park. I don’t know what I was thinking; that was a bad idea. I have enough things in my life to remind me that I’m out of shape. I didn’t need a vacation to remind me too.

I got back to Glasgow in the evening and we went to a house party. More drinking ensued.

Max and Patsy’s Wedding
We had lunch with Max and Patsy’s family before the wedding. From there on out it was a brief wedding reception, then nonstop drinking til I don’t know what time. 3am? 4am? I don’t remember. And that wool kilt and ensemble? That was painful. I stripped off the wool jacket shortly after the reception, but still had on the wool kilt and wool vest. On the flip-side though, the sporran was amazingly handy. I kept my wallet and Iphone in there. It’s like a purse, but manlier.

Post-Wedding
We had lunch with Max’s family the day after, and then roamed Glasgow.  We drank more at night. Because of course we did.

Amsterdam
I planned a nice one day layover in Amsterdam before heading back to New York. It’d been years since I saw my two friends in Amsterdam, and I thought it’d be a nice place to (ironically) detox after Scotland. My friend lived out in Ijburg, and we just laid on the beach in front of her apartment for most of the day. We grabbed dinner in Amsterdam, then roamed the canals for a bit. I also really wanted to see the old neighborhood; the Amsterdam branch of the company I worked for was shuttered months prior, and the old animation space was turned into an underwear shop. How sad.

Remainders
Oh, I got my niece a mini-kilt and a clan pin from Edinburgh. My brother-in-law got a bottle of Bowmore Whisky.  You’re welcome Dave.