I spent six weeks in Scotland, exploring Edinburgh, Galway, the highlands, some of Perthshire, and the Isle of Skye. Through those trips and interactions, I came across a few observations (and learnings) that I found noteworthy enough to share. Aren’t you blessed? I’m sure someone from Scotland will read this and correct me so I fully am here for a deeper understanding BUT these were just various things I absorbed in my month and a half.

I think we all know that Scotland is a beauty, whether you’ve personally visited or not. Just in case, Scotland is a BEAUTY (I would say stunning but my mom said I use that word “a lot”). After staying there for six weeks, and traveling to and from Edinburgh on weekends, here are my top five favorite areas (that I was able to visit) in this country.

I’m a sucker for a quaint and cozy small town. Add in some colorful buildings, a local bakery, and artisan shops and I’m looking at real estate. Birnam and Dunkled hold all the charms I dream about, even amidst dreary Scottish weather. Here’s what I got up to during my long weekend.

I heard from so many locals that the Isle of Skye is a stunning place to visit in Scotland. The weather was absolutely crazy but I made the most of my trip for the weekend. With my base set-up in Portree, here’s what I got into on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.

I spent two nights with Fort William as my home base and then spiderwebbed out from there across the weekend. Here’s how I spent this weekend in the Scottish Highlands:

I’ve done cooking classes all over the globe, from Argentina to Italy, Indonesia to Scotland, anywhere from afternoon activities to six-week certificate courses. If there is one thing I love to do when traveling, it’s a cooking class. Since I want everyone to experience the joy of cooking while traveling I’ve put together this list of things to look out for, questions to ask, or things to be conscious of, in advance of choosing a course.

I spent six weeks in Edinburgh doing a patisserie course. I dedicated two weekends simply to exploring the Edinburgh city center. Here is what I’d recommend if you only have a single, jam-packed, weekend in the city!