This Is Not A Love Story

A common travel saying is “Catch flights, not feelings” but I can’t help it — I do both.

I was on a boat! In Loch Ness, Scotland, circa 2019 pre-COVID-19.

Note: The below is adapted from a few older Instagram posts.

As soon as I left the plane and walked into JFK airport in New York City, I heard a Metronomy song playing on the sound system. I looked at the random airport people but didn’t see them. Like the madeleine cookies, I was, without warning, brought back to Hogmanay in Scotland, specifically the day after the new year when I decided to go on a last minute one-day Highland tour around Loch Ness.

I woke up in my hostel bed late and was running late to my tour and literally running down many hills and stairs to get to the bus, which was set to leave Edinburgh right at 8 o’clock in the morning. Panicked, I asked someone for directions but she was useless. (Pro tip: If you don’t know the directions, please say outright that you don’t know in order to not waste someone’s time.) I then found another tour bus, asked for directions, and successfully made my bus. I found a cozy seat and caught my breath. A few minutes later, we left other people behind because they were super late.

Needless to say, I made it just in time.

I love the Scottish Highlands so much I didn’t mind being surrounded by couples and was the only person in the mini tour bus (besides the bus driver) riding solo. The bus driver gave insightful comments about what we were looking at once we left Edinburgh and were in more rural areas. I listened to Scottish music when the bus driver took breaks explaining, and continued to wake up while looking out of the window at the never-ending beauty.

I didn’t think I’d go on a Loch Ness boat ride, thinking it was too touristy, but I didn’t know how else to spend an hour in a town where, because it was right after Hogmanay in the heart of winter, most everything was basically closed. So I bought a ticket, boarded the boat, and found a seat on the top deck, freezing in the sharp cold air but content to be there.

I opened a British meal deal cheese sandwich and as I was eating, a guy with a brightly colored beanie asked to sit down next to me. I said sure and we started talking and turns out he lives in New York, because of course he does. (At the time of the trip, I too was living in New York.) We chat and then he explores the boat and I see the scenery and at the end we find each other again and exchange WhatsApp numbers to meet up later that night for dinner.

Fast forward through More Amazing Scotland Landscapes and Why Is Scotland So Beautiful? to life back in Edinburgh. We make a plan to meet up at a restaurant, but I’m running late, and according to GoogleMaps I was at The Location but because hills are a thing and Googlemaps didn’t quite understand the layout of Edinburgh, I was a floor above where I needed to be. I texted the New Yorker saying I’ll be there as soon as I find a staircase.

What it feels like, sometimes, trying to navigate the many staircases and closes in Edinburgh. That being said, it adds to the charm! Every day is leg day in Scotland. Photo by Thomas Serer on Unsplash

After I found a suitable staircase in which to descend to the restaurant, the New Yorker admitted to taking an embarrassingly long time to find The Hidden Restaurant, too. He then texted me that he got a table by a window and so I texted him back saying I was here and he wrote back “you can’t miss me” which upon later thought is an interesting turn of phrase.

We enjoyed dinner and afterward while standing outside on a cool winter night deciding where to go to next, A Random Scotsman walked up to us and asked if we were from New York. We said yes, which thus continued One Of The Best And Most Random Solo Travel Experiences Of My Life, to be explained in full another time.

But in brief, The Random Scotsman had two friends who joined in and after a few more laughs and conversation, they asked The New Yorker and I if we’d like to join them for a drink, and we said sure! We wandered around Edinburgh (probably down some stairs, up some streets, along an alley and something that’s akin to defying physics) and entered a lovely bar with pints of Guinness and a live band.

We talked some more and drank into the wee hours of the morning. We left the bar and went to an Italian restaurant, where I ordered The Perfect Lasagna. And then it was time to say goodbye to our new Scottish friends and head back to wherever it was The New Yorker and I were going. I had to wake up early the next morning to collect my belongings and check out of my hostel because even though I had planned on leaving the city that day, plans often go awry so I wasn’t actually leaving Edinburgh... yet.

After I gathered my belongings and checked out of the hostel, I met up with the New Yorker in front of Edinburgh Castle, a short staircase away. An overcast day yet perfect for quiet contemplation. We ended up ordering a hearty Scottish breakfast (my favorite!) and spent the day lounging and napping after being up all night drinking with our new Scottish friends. Because I had decided to spend an extra day in Edinburgh instead of spending my last day in London, I had to book a Super Early Flight from Edinburgh to London. There was literally ONE seat on the ONE flight I needed which arrived at my airport at the right time so I booked my destiny seat.

The last day in Edinburgh passed and the next morning I woke up in a panic because I WAS LATE. I’ve been late to airports before (hello Mexico City! More explanations for another time) but if I missed this flight, I’d miss my flight back to the states! The New Yorker for whatever reason had rented a car so he drove me to the airport.

Surprise! By some miracle,

I made my flight.

Live footage of my trying to make my flight on time. Photo by Andy Beales on Unsplash

So for my first experience on British Airways business class (last seat, remember? not by choice) I don’t even think I wore makeup or deodorant.

Lovely.

Back in the states, the New Yorker and I continued texting for a month because I stayed in Florida for my sister’s baby shower and then found out my grandpa was being moved to assisted living.

So, the night I flew back to NY, I went to a friend’s birthday and coincidentally the New Yorker was with a friend a few blocks away, because Welcome To New York. We met up that night, had a great weekend, and that’s The End.

Never seen again.

I may have prolonged the inevitable return to NYC by staying at his cozy one-bedroom near amazing brunch spots and may or may not have admitted Some Feelings via text.

Oh well!

A common travel saying is “Catch flights, not feelings” but I can’t help it — I do both.

I can’t really compartmentalize romantic feelings I have for someone abroad, and I guess I haven’t learned My Lesson just yet?

Regardless, I’m glad I had the experience.

After all, it’s a bit romantic to meet someone on a Loch Ness boat ride.

Taken on the amazing Loch Ness boat, I think. The soundtrack to this piece is courtesy of Metronomy. Fun fact, both the New Yorker and I went to Hogmanay but separately because we hadn’t met yet. I didn’t see Metronomy live (oops)—I just wanted to see Franz Ferdinand, which was AMAZING. But that’s a story for another time.