Hassells in the Highlands

Burns Night. What is it? Almost immediately upon arriving in Scotland, people talked about Burns Night. So often we heard from people, “Oh, good. You’ll be here for Burns Night.” Okaaay.   We knew it was in January. We knew it would be a dinner that involved haggis. And that was about it.  Burns Night in Scotland is a big deal. It is a night to celebrate the the life and poetry of Scotland's Robert Burns - fondly known as "Rabbie." It is celebrated on or about January 25, which was his birthday (1759). I know you are thinking (because I did, too)  - what was so special about Robert Burns that he gets a night that the Scottish people so heartily embrace and celebrate? Well, he is considered the national poet of Scotland and wrote a number of poems and song lyrics.  You will best recognize him for his poem/song that is sung around the world at midnight every New Year's Eve (or Hogmanay, as it is called in Scotland)   -"A...

We took a road trip to Glasgow this weekend. Some people actually asked me why I would go there, which made it seem like it might be an unsavory place.  But we found it to be a city. With all that implies. It was busy. It was noisy. There was lots of people and lots of cars and pay public parking lots in high rises. It was a city. But we liked it.  The name of the hotel is way up under the little sign that says 'hotel' We stayed in a place called The Grasshopper Hotel, which was located above the Grand Central train station. I have actually never stayed in a hotel where the sign was so small that it was almost missed and where we had to enter a key code onto a touch pad to let us in.  It was a hotel built on the 6th floor above office space and it was a very nice place to stay. They had cupcakes and homemade ice cream to offer us and a really great cooked breakfast with a lovely staff. We are planning to stay there again when we are there in early January...