We drove from Oban to Portree, on the Isle of Skye, and my parents dropped me off at the Portree Independent Hostel. Perhaps I had just grown used to the niceties of bed and breakfasts, but I found the Portree Independent hostel to be very basic and my room had a terrible sweaty sock odor …

The next town on our itinerary was Oban, a name I was familiar with because there is a popular whisky sold internationally which holds the same name. As we drove from Stirling to Oban, we made a stop on Loch Lomand to take in the massive Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Unfortunately, the trees blocked …

We decided the best way to see Edinburgh was by making a day trip from Stirling, so we made the short walk from the Forth Guesthouse to the Stirling train station and purchased tickets to Edinburgh from the self-serve machine. The train ride was uneventful and the Edinburgh train station was in the heart of …