Jamaican Girl on the move through Scotland

Jamaican Girl, Contributor

Have passport (and visa), travel! And on that note, Scotland it is.

Whenever I visit a country for the first time, I like to visit the capital city first. I think it sets the tone for the visit. So my first stop was Edinburgh.

Upon arrival at the airport, an immediate sense of belonging came over me. And if I needed any more confirmation, five minutes later in the cab en route to the hotel, I realised that I love this place. I could live here.

There was a certain peace and calm about it. The journey into Edinburgh was uneventful. Thankfully, they drive on the left. The streets are clean and cyclists and bikers ride in their designated lanes and await their turn at the stoplights. No horns blaring. Simply put … a very orderly society.

The Hotel Missoni is an absolutely beautiful, contemporary landmark, and the only five-star hotel on the historic Royal Mile in the heart of the Scottish capital. Rosita Missoni's personal style of family hospitality is evident throughout the hotel. What I admired the most were the covetable Missoni sheets, bathrobes and designer products in all 136 guest rooms and suites, complete with iPod docks, LCD TVs, and free high-speed Internet.

The Scottish people are quite friendly and charming with that lovely English lilt. The accent is just to die for. Yes, and they do say, "Good morning", "Good afternoon", and "Hello" - even when they are passing you in the streets.

Now Edinburgh is breathtakingly beautiful and brilliant and I reckon it is one of the most perfect cities in the world. It is the capital city of Scotland and is situated on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth. With a population of 482,640 in 2012, it is the largest settlement in Lothian and lies at the centre of a larger urban zone of approximately 850,000 people.

Now I know you have heard of A Tale of Two Cities, in Edinburgh, it's more 'A Tale of Two Towns'. The Medieval Old Town contrasts sharply with the Georgian splendour of New Town, making it a stunning experience.

The mighty Edinburgh Castle dominates the city like no other castle in Europe that I have ever seen - and I have seen a few.

In the Middle Ages, Edinburgh became Scotland's chief royal castle, enduring siege after siege during the long wars with England. By the time of King James VI's birth here in 1566, the castle was little more than a garrison fortress. On a personal note, I knew deep down that I have Scottish ancestry. And this was confirmed on my visit to the Clans of Scotland store just outside the castle gate. Yup! I'm from the Gordon Clan.

HOLYROOD HOUSE

From Edinburgh Castle, I journeyed along the Royal Mile to Palace of Holyroodhouse. More commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, it is the official residence of the monarch of the United Kingdom in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace has served as the principal residence of the kings and queens of Scotland since the 16th century, and is a setting for state occasions and official entertaining.

Soon after, it was time to board The Royal Britannia. Described as "officially Scotland's best attraction" by Visit Scotland, I eagerly anticipated my boarding pass; and with the ease and an assumed air of royalty, I stepped on-board.

The Royal Britannia was home to Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal Family for over 40 years, sailing over 1,000,000 miles around the world. Now berthed in Edinburgh, not only did I walk in the footsteps of royalty, I also touched everything that royalty touched, as did world leaders such as Sir Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela. And if you look closely at one of these pictures, so did former Prime Minister The Most Honourable Percival James Patterson!

Another worthy site to behold is that of the Forth Road Bridge. One of the world's most significant long-span suspension bridges. With a main span of 1,006 metres between the two towers, it was the fourth longest in the world and the longest outside the United States when it wasopened on September 4, 1964 by Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh.

After all of the travelling and sightseeing, it was time to return to the Hotel Missoni for dinner.

Now you simply cannot visit Edinburgh and not eat at the Witchery. Originally built in 1595 for merchant Thomas Lowthian and established as a restaurant over 30 years ago by James Thomson in a historic building at the gates of Edinburgh Castle, the Witchery takes its name from the hundreds of witches burned at the stake on Castlehill during the16th and 17th centuries. It is reputed that more witches were put to death on Castlehill during the reign of James VI than anywhere else in Scotland, and the area around the Witchery by the Castle remains deep in history.

It remains a destination for many celebrities visiting the city, including notable Hollywood actors such as Jack Nicholson, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Pierce Brosnan. So in one day, not only have I walked in the footstep of royalty, I dined where celebrities have dined! Not bad for a Jamaican girl on the move.

The menu is quite impressive, so I decided to head straight to the 'Roasts and Grills' section of the menu. Immediately, I was drawn to 'Three Little Pigs' - roasted pork cutlet, crispy rillettes, grilled shoulder bacon, apple purée, dauphine potato, grilled langoustine with a side of buttered spring greens, topped off with a bottle of Processo. It was simply delish!

A cup of coffee later and some Scottish fudge, I called it a night.

Having done Edinburgh, it was time to move on.

Driving through Edinburgh is like walking through a maze. There is no grid system here like downtown Kingston. It was my intent to use a road map to make the road trip as authentic as possible, but I quickly abandoned that idea when I saw the road system. Car with GPS, please!

Stirling Castle

The drive to Stirling to view the Stirling Castle was quite pleasant. In no time, I was at Stirling Castle. It is a spectacular royal castle which stands on a high volcanic crag, dominating the plains below. An ancient site with an obscure ancestral past, it occupied the most important strategic location in the country. Stirling Castle's main buildings are arranged around the Inner Close, a large enclosure at the highest point. These include the Royal Lodgings, The Great Hall, The Chapel Royal, The Forework, and The Regimental Museum of the Argylland Sutherland Highlanders.

Gleneagles Hotel

If you all don't know by now, like cricket is to England, so is golf to Scotland. In fact, Scotland is the birthplace of golf. And for golf enthusiasts, the Gleneagles is the place you want to be in 2014 when the PGA Centenary Course will be the venue for the Ryder Cup Matches.

The Gleneagles Hotel - appropriately called 'The Playground of the Gods' and, in my case, 'Goddess' - had its Grand Gala on June 7, 1924; but its history commenced in 1910, when Donald Matheson, general manager of the Caledonia Railroad Company, was on holiday in Strathearn and was so impressed by the surrounding countryside that he conjured up the vision of a large country house hotel, built in the style of a palace, which would provide leisure in the form of golf to the travelling public.

Nights at the Gleneagles Hotel Bar can be quite rowdy! Just imagine approximately 50 hot-blooded Scotsmen drinking, drunk and jipping! It quickly turned into a Scottish night out, with food, entertainment and lots and lots of drinks - and Scotsmen, of course!

It was an early day the next morning as I was off to The House of Bruar - the home of country clothing - and the Edradour - the smallest whiskey distillery in Scotland - and Atholl Palace Hotel, but all this and more next week!