Places Dear to the Heart

[Tara]

As Spring is here, many of us are still trying to decide where to go on vacation. We're starting a thread for us to share our traveling experiences with each other, especially the most memorable ones, so as to help people decide where they'd like to visit.

We are all proud of our heritage. I will begin the thread with a link to a site where you can learn about my favorite island, enchanting Puerto Rico:

http://welcome.topuertorico.org/people.shtml

[Nic]

I'm going to God's country, Scotland, this summer. I love the North East of Scotland in particular, the heart of the Whisky industry, where the weather is drier than the West Coast and there are fewer tourists and no midges. This part of Scotland is separated from the West Coast by the great Fault, along which sits Loch Ness. I especially love the wilderness of the Cairngorm mountains and the magnificent rivers Spey, Dee, Don and Findhorn that tumble from their heights to the Moray Firth and North Sea. I love the coastal towns that run round from St Andrews to Inverness. There are some magnificent castles (this is where MacBeth was once king), no shortage of distilleries and some wonderful beaches. Nearly every coastal village has a golf course, set amongst the dunes, and fly fishing is popular in the rivers. I don't do either sport, but I do enjoy the scuba diving in the area, particularly up around the Orkney Islands off the North East tip of Scotland, a few miles from John O'Groats. The Orkneys are bleak but stunning, and have some astonishing prehistoric monuments. The fell walking around the Cairngorms is also superb, and you can participate in the great ritual of Munro-bagging. August is particularly pretty in the mountains because the heather comes out (as do the grouse hunters) - also a good month to catch a Highland Games and watch a bit of caber-tossing and bagpipe-playing. Grantown-on-Spey, Braemar and Aviemore are popular centres for activities in the mountains.

Late June and early July are great times to go, because it never gets really dark all night and the evenings are warm and balmy. You can fly direct to Glasgow and Edinburgh from NY - Edinburgh is a breath-takingly charming city particularly during the annual festival. A great way to see Scotland is to travel around on the railways, maybe taking in a few coach tours from Inverness and Aberdeen to the distilleries and places, although the most flexible way around is to hire a car.