Maybe It’s Okay To Speak Your Mind in Scotland, part VII

Things about Scotland.

The garden at Edinburgh Castle.

The garden at Edinburgh Castle.

1.The Scottish prefer Americans to blurt out crass comments they agree with, but would never say and politely keep to themselves.

I mentioned to a Scottish lady ringing up my purchase that I found the Scottish people warmer and friendlier than the British, who seem more reserved. She quipped, “You said it. I didn’t.”

2.The salesclerks in Scotland neatly wrap your purchases in paper before putting it in a bag.

The Scots never ask you, as sales people in America often do, “Do you want a bag?” The Scottish know you want a bag and that you would like it wrapped with perfectly folded edges. The salespeople in America ask if you want a bag with your purchase and then shoot you a facial expression that threatens, “Don’t make me get a bag for you. Don’t make me hate you for wasting a tree.” It’s not easy carrying things without a bag. If we don’t bring our own bag and we don’t accept a store bag, then we can only hope we wore a big, baggy shirt to stretch out and carry our items in. If I forget to wear the baggy shirt, I refrain from buying cantaloupes or watermelons. read more

The Cure For Disappointment

Downtown Chester, where my mission for moisturizer began.

Downtown Chester, where my mission for moisturizer began.

If you find yourself overseas, in a foreign place you’ve never been, and you have lost your luggage…then, like me, you may focus on basic necessities.

Add to this, your delayed flight in Phoenix causing you to miss three days of your cruise. You then may also feel the need, (like me), to compensate yourself for your loss.

For this reason, I spent my afternoon in Chester, England in search of moisturizer. I could not enjoy the U.K. until I knew I had my skin care under control. read more

Be Miserable and Enjoy Life Anyway, Part V

Strap your seatbelt, we're on our way!

Strap your seatbelt, we’re on our way!

Tiredness, jet lag, disappointment, and a big dose of self pity made my summer travel adventure more challenging.

But the seatbelts on the bus to Londonderry made the challenge even worse.

I choked as I strapped in, “AHHHHG-GAAAAGGGG!’

The seatbelts had torturous qualities with malicious intentions of strangulation.

“Seatbelts must be worn!” our tour guide said after our group boarded. Click. Click. Click. We all dutifully obeyed.

This compulsory seatbelt law in the United Kingdom must have an ulterior motive. Either to slowly kill tourists by constriction or to prevent their return to their country. read more

Where Are the Tangerine Trees? Part IV

Welcome to Liverpool

This is the sign I saw after disembarking the ship at Liverpool.

This is the sign I saw after disembarking the ship at Liverpool. I didn’t see tangerine trees or marmalade skies, just funny-looking little taxis and gray skies.

Everything in Liverpool is Beatles. The Fab Four Cafe. The Beatles Story Museum. Giant poster in a restaurant window announces the Beatles knock-off band, “The Cheatles.” Bus tours go to Penny Lane (there really is a Penny Lane); to Strawberry Fields and John Lennon’s childhood home. Beatles smile at you from colored t-shirts sold in every shop.

…Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes…

Ha, I always thought Penny Lane was a person, not a street.

Ha, for the longest time I thought Penny Lane was a person, not a street.

We love you Liverpool, but where are the tangerine trees and marmalade skies?

We love you Liverpool, but where are the tangerine trees and marmalade skies?

The weather is windy and biting cold in Liverpool. “Not our usual weather for summer,” a Liverpoolian explains. (This is summer?) read more

The Call of the Wild, Flyaway Hair: Part III

Before the adventure, there's waiting.

Before the adventure, there’s waiting.

Friday–July 31. Gate 18.

“Your flight will be delayed 20 minutes,” the ticket agent announced over a microphone.

“And this won’t delay your connecting flights in Minneapolis,” she added.

My fellow passengers waiting at Gate 18 focused their eyes on books, like The Girl on the Train or a J.A. Jance detective novel.  Lit screens on phones hypnotized many others. The man across from me crunched potato chips. Ka-rrrrrunch! A lady chomped on gum. Chaaw-ommmppp! Some took dainty sips of bottled airport water as others gawked blankly into the vast chasm of the airport’s back and forth hustle of people towing luggage… read more