Remember the Guinness Storehouse that I wrote about in Ireland? Well, they have something in Amsterdam called the Heineken Experience that’s pretty much the exact same thing, but with Heineken instead of Guinness.
If you walk around Dublin for long enough, you’re going to see someone holding a bag from the gift shop at the Guinness Storehouse. It’s definitely one of those must-visit places for tourists.
Well, I’m a tourist. I like must-visit places. I also quite like Guinness, so yeah, it’s a no-brainer.
I don’t know that I’ve ever actually gone on a hike before. Also: I’m honestly not entirely sure what differentiates hiking from walking. I mean, is it basically just walking, but in nature? If so, maybe I have hiked?
I’ve been almost entirely eschewing organized tours on this trip — partially because I like wandering around on my own, and partially because that stuff isn’t cheap. If you’re only travelling for a week or two, it makes complete sense to pay for stuff like that, because why not? You may as well cram as much as you can into the days that you have, and then worry about the money when you get home.
But when you’re travelling for several months, your budget is drastically different. Every cent counts, and if you’re taking pricey tours everywhere you go, that’ll add up fast.
Still, exceptions have to be made, and in Scotland — which is known just as much for its scenic countryside as anything else — I figured I’d be remiss if I stayed entirely in the city. Since renting a car was out of the question, a tour was really the only option.
Free museums appears to be a UK thing, because all of the big museums in Scotland are free just like the ones in London.
So I’ve been to a ridiculous amount of of them over the last couple of weeks (I’m actually starting to get a bit museumed out). Still, Glasgow has a couple of museums that are worth mentioning.
It’s quite touristy, and you probably won’t get much out of it if you already have some scotch know-how, but the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh is still a decent enough way to spend an hour or so.
I’m not going to post about every museum I went to, because like I said, I went to a bunch (they’re free! So why the hell not??). But I did want to quickly mention the Natural History Museum.
I’m just going to admit it: I don’t quite understand the vast majority of the oddball, experimental modern art that you find at places like the Tate Modern.
Pretty much all of the major museums in London are completely free — free! — which is an absolute gift when you’re on a budget. So I’ve been to a bunch, obviously, because why not?
It might seem weird to go to Disneyland by yourself, but you know what? It’s the happiest place on Earth. You know what’s weird? Not going to Disneyland by yourself. Yeah, that’s right, I turned it around on you.