Andrew and I are actually going on two honeymoon trips. I know, I know, but are you really surprised? After all, travel has been very important to our relationship—we even included it in our wedding design by naming each table after a destination we had visited together. We were married in October and decided to wait until the next calendar year to go on our long honeymoon so we would have enough vacation time to spend a full two weeks away. I’ll keep that destination a surprise for now, but I want to share the shorter trip that we took right after the wedding.
During our wedding planning process, deciding where to go on our honeymoon was definitely something we were both excited about. We started throwing out all kinds of destinations—Thailand, Fiji, Costa Rica…it honestly became a little overwhelming. We just weren’t sure where to go! Finally, I suggested that we each choose the place we most wanted to check off our list. I think we were a little too hung up on the idea of picking somewhere grand and exotic for our honeymoon. When we sat down and really thought about the place we did not want to miss, it wasn’t Thailand or Costa Rica. We’ll be visiting my place for two weeks in May. Andrew’s place was Scotland.
The first step in any trip we take involves me going down a rabbit hole of research. Once I started researching Scotland I just got more and more excited by all the possibilities this beautiful country had to offer. I did a deep dive into the different regions, mapped out how long it would take to travel between each and narrowed it down to the most spectacular areas I thought we could do in our allotted time. In the seven years Andrew and I have been together, I’ve learned a little bit (OK, a lot) about the kind of traveling we like to do. Rule 1: We like to have a car. Andrew and I like to have the freedom to be on our own timetable and be able to get off the beaten path. Having your own car means you never have to worry about catching your train or skip a destination because there’s no easy way to get there. Of course, we knew that driving in Scotland would mean being on the wrong side of the road and the wrong driver’s side, but we decided we were up for the challenge.
We started our trip with two days in Edinburgh. This city has medieval charm, a pub on every corner and a castle at its heart. My favorite dinner was at Whiski Rooms, where we also tried a flight of whiskeys that included samples from all four whiskey-producing regions. We quickly realized that Andrew and I have opposite tastes in whiskey. While I liked the smooth lowlands best, Andrew loves the peaty highland and islays. We also were introduced to the classic Scottish breakfast, which we would eat over and over again throughout our trip. It includes smoked back bacon, pork sausage, baked beans, eggs, haggis, black pudding, mushrooms, tomatoes and a potato scone. Amazingly, we both loved haggis! Definitely give it a try when you are there.
After Edinburgh, we traveled to Glencoe and the Isle of Skye.
Caitlin Kenney Smith 