I spent Labor Day weekend driving around western Scotland with a childhood friend of mine who now works in Germany. I probably should have gone there 3 weeks ago, because as great as the Highlands are, they are not as exciting when you have just been to the Alps. That said, the people were very nice and there is plenty to see. Plus, the hotel had a free whisky tasting, where once I mentioned I was a lawyer to another guest, I was treated to a very long story about the man's "most recent" divorce, which his current wife did not seem to appreciate. If I had a dime for every divorce story I hear from complete strangers when they find out I am a lawyer ...
I have attached two photos. The first may or may not be the world's northernmost palm tree. We spotted palm trees up the western Scottish coast as far north as Fairlie, which lies at a latitude of 55° 45′ N, slightly north of Ketchikan, Alaska. They are not native to the area, but they survive in the very wet climate. Everytime I saw one, I would say, "The world's northernmost palm tree," which now that I think of it, was probably a little annoying of me.
The second picture is an optical illusion. For reasons not entirely clear to me, the surrounding hills make this appear to be an uphill slope on A719 south of Ayr, when in fact it is slightly downhill from where I stood taking the picture towards the background. We put the car in neutral and it rolled "uphill." This phenomenon is known as the Electric Brae, because it was originally, and mistakenly, thought to be caused by an electric or magnetic force. It was a weird sensation, to say the least.
I'm back to work in Paris now and trying to complete as many projects as I can here before my probable farewell at the end of September.
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