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Scotland, Calm. Paris, Madness.

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

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.