I'm Shipping Up To Scotland

Brief unrelated preface: my deepest apologies for my absence as of late. Too much life living and school work, not enough hours in the day.

     Edinburgh: the one weekend in Scotland that I will never forget. And if I had the ability to live a night over again, it would be my first night in Edinburgh at Finnegan's Wake (clarifier: it's a pub, not an actual wake for someone named Finnegan).
     The beautiful thing about Edinburgh, and Scotland in general, is how incredibly homey it feels. It's a smaller city, but it functions much differently than that of London. Its foundation is not only based on historical presence, but also tradition, customs, and an overall sense of family. Now by that I don't mean that everyone is creepily related because they marry their cousins, I simply mean that strangers are welcome just the same as old friends. It's a purely pleasant place that just feels comfortable.
     And Finnegan's Wake was no exception. Ironically enough, it's an Irish pub in the middle in the middle of Scotland. The band playing there consisted of a few middle aged men playing a mixture of Scotch and Irish folk songs, the Killers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dropkick Murphy's, Journey, etc. ("Don't Stop Believin'" came on at one point, and for any JMU kiddos out there....well you know what happens when that song comes on). Let's just say it was the best Scotch-Irish-JMU pub/party that I have been to.
     I hate to make it sound like a fairytale, but for that night, everyone lived happily ever after. Everyone left with warm hearts, new friends, and first-hand knowledge that Scotland is one of the most beautiful places in the world, inside and out.
     The following night we returned to Finnegan's Wake only to find another glorious night. Different band but it was equally as fun and the Aussie bartender invented a new drink for me and my friend. Sorry Mom and Dad that I'm making that a highlight, but you got to admit that's pretty cool :)

London Love, Kristen

PS- We discovered that you can take any song with "Boston" in it and change it to "Scotland" and it still sounds normal. Hence, the title of this entry.