Scotland, Calm. Paris, Madness.
“I never trashed a hotel room or did drugs. I understand if you get caught in a fight, but to take it out on a room that implies some psychiatric disorder. The way I was brought up made me think about the person who has to clean up afterwards.”
-Sean Connery
My primary purpose for visiting Scotland was to see The Open Championship at Royal Troon. I wasn’t disappointed. What a majestic place, beautiful golf course and amazing golf tournament. I loved it immensely.
Troon is a nice, quaint, small little town in Scotland. To get there from the city of Glasgow, you have to take a train for about 30 minutes. It’s a beautiful ride with golf courses and magnificent vistas left and right.
My observations about Scotland are below. I stayed in the city of Glasgow, visited Edinburgh for one night and also flew to Paris for a day while over there. I needed to see the Eiffel Tower again … for the 3rd time!
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
- There’s Wi-Fi everywhere! Between coffee shops, bars, restaurants and the city centre, you’re always connected. On my way to Royal Troon golf course, I connected to Wi-Fi at the train station. Blew me away!
- We flew over a few golf courses on the way to Glasgow International Airport from Philadelphia. It was a nice teaser for what was to come.
- I personally think that all airplanes should land on a golf course. But that’s just me.
- On the flight to Scotland, I saw plenty of cloud cover. It rains a lot in the United Kingdom so I wasn’t surprised but these clouds looked real pissed off. Haha.
- I stayed in Kelvingrove. A nice little area west of the city of Glasgow and very close to the University of Glasgow. It was nice, quiet, warm and peaceful. Nice place to go write a book or retire. Kelvingrove will see me again for sure.
- There’s no shortage of places to eat or drink. There are bars (or pubs) on every corner and you can find all sorts of cuisine, including: African (Calabash), Indian (Curry Pot), American, Soul Food (Gumbo) and English of course.
- Everyone is warm and sincere.
- There are regular taxis, uber taxis, trains and bus transportation available in the city. If you get lost in Glasgow, you’re an idiot. It’s a small city with plenty of options.
- Quick tip about dining: most kitchens tend to close around 10pm. The bars are open though. Surprise, surprise.
- Hmmm, what can I say about driving on the left side of the road if you’re not used to it. Relax, don’t panic and always remember: STAY LEFT! Even when you’re turning RIGHT!
- The women are nice and have sexy accents.
- The more drunk a Scot gets, the worse they are to understand. I had a 10-minute conversation with a drunk woman where I nodded my head after every sentence. I had no clue what she was saying. Zero. No wait, I understood her name: Karen. That’s all I got.
- Nigerians dress like Kanye. Different. Flashy. Loud.
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
- Beautiful city. Bars everywhere.
- Visit the Edinburgh Castle. You’ll thank me later.
NEVER HEARD ANY OF THE FOLLOWING WORDS IN SCOTLAND
- kale
- vegan
- modeling
- audition
- headshot
- race/racism
- green juice
- smoothie
I DID HEAR
- Brilliant!
- Enjoy the golf!
- Fancy
- No bother
PARIS, FRANCE
- Ever since the terrible tragedies in France, they’ve beefed up security at the Tower. In 2009, I took a photo directly underneath the tower. On my visit, it was barricaded and there were security personnel everywhere.
- I took a taxi back to the main metro station (Gare Du Nord) and traffic was madness. There was no order. People made turns wherever they wanted to. I’m glad to be alive.
- The city was very busy. July is a core tourist season for Paris so if you think about going, plan for long lines, annoying summer heat and crazy traffic. It’s worth it but just be prepared.
- The Holiday Inn in Montmartre is amazing. They even offer a customized cell phone in your room that you can use to navigate your way around Paris. This includes food, transportation and free phone calls.