Airline Information- Where It All Begins

I have finally done it! I have finally booked my first Vacation to Scotland. I was looking on Expedia and saw a great deal and so i did it. I bought the plane ticket.  Here is how my traveling looks like.


My trip begins in Toronto where I will be taking off at 6:50 pm on July 1^st, 2012 and will be heading to Edinburgh, Scotland. I think I got a good deal on my flight, which was $1681 in Canadian dollars. My airline carrier is Air France and my flight number is 351. I will also have one flight change, which will be in Paris. I am supposed to arrive here at 8:10 am and will have a few hours to spend in Paris, which is amazing considering I also hope to one day travel here and to maybe get a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower and get some shopping in! I will then have to get on one more flight to get to Scotland, which is at 10:05 am. Then I will finally of reached my destination in Scotland. This is where my adventure begins.

Currency- Changing Dollars Into Pounds

In Scotland, they use money called pound sterling. This is similar to a British pound, but is becoming less popular in Scotland and the British Pound is becoming more popular. I could also use a Euro at some places, but to be safe, I will have British Pound and the Pound Sterling. Right now if I were to take out a $100 in Canadian, I would only get £63.94 in the British pound. Or if I used the Pound Sterling, $1.00 Canadian dollar is equal to 1.56 Pound Sterling. Another example is let’s say a bottle of water. In Canadian dollars, it is usually around $2.00, so in a British Pound, you would pay around £1.28.  The British Pound is made of 100 pence. Pence is just like our penny, so 100 pennies. In the older days they use to have many names for their money. For example they used to have six pence, one shilling, half a crown and one guinea. They now use the 5 pound note, the 10 pound note, the 20 pound note and the 50 pound note. This is what i will be using while i am in Scotland. 

Visa Requirements-What Do I Need To Get Into Scotland?

Sometimes when you visit a new place like Egypt, you need a special visa and there are some requirements that need to be met to get this visa. However, since I am visiting Scotland and not a place like Egypt, a special visa is not needed to get into the country. This makes my life a whole lot easier and I am not forced to pay a huge amount before I even leave the country.

Travel Warnings? Yay! Safe To Go To Scotland!

One of the most important things I learned in my grade 11 Travel and Tourism class is that before you travel anywhere you should check the following 2 government websites to see if there are any travel warnings for the country you’re visiting. So, I checked and was happy and relieved to find no travel warnings for Scotland. The other most important thing I learned in that class was that you should always know where the closest Canadian Embassy is, in the country that you’re visiting. This is in case, heaven forbid something happens and you need to contact Canada right away. The closest one in Scotland is in Edinburgh, which is great, because that is where I will be staying. If I ever needed to contact the Canadian Embassy however, I could phone 44 0 7702 359 916 or the toll-free number 00-800-2326-6831. These are the 2 websites i was just referring to above. travel.gc.ca and international.gc.ca.

Health and Safety-Preparing To Keep Me Safe

Before I go to Scotland, I need to make sure that I have all of my medications that I need for the length of my trip and a signed letter from my doctor saying what my condition is and what the medications are that I need. So I am anemic, so I need to make sure that I have enough iron pills for my stay.  I do not wear glasses, but the website recommends that if I did, that I bring a spare, in case I lose my first pair. There are no needles that are recommended before I go, which is very good, because I HATE needles. They do however suggest that I have protection against diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella, polio and Hepatitis B. This is good, because I already have these needles!

Arrival Accommodations- Where Am I going To Be On My First Night?

Once I finally arrive in Edinburgh, Scotland, I will be exhausted and so I need to know where I will be staying for at least my first night. I need to keep in mind that I am still a budget traveller and so I can’t afford to stay at The Hilton hotel. So, I did some research, searched around and ended up finding a great place in Edinburgh for only £25.00, which is only $39.00 Canadian. It is a cute little place called Cherrytree Villa guest house. It is on 9 East Mayfield, Edinburgh. This is a cute, little hotel room that provides breakfast, a TV and even a hairdryer and of course a bed. Everything I need for my first night-stay. However, that is not all that is needed for my first night. I also need to figure out how to get to the hotel. So, I did more research and found a local cab company called city cabs. Once I arrive at the Scotland airport, I can phone 0 131 228 1211 to contact City Cabs and get them to take me to the Cherrytree Villa hotel.  Or I could even phone that number ahead of time and book the taxi ahead of time, so they will be waiting as soon as I get out if the airport. 

Culture Shock! How Am I Going To Feel In Scotland?

Honeymoon Phase

The first phase of culture shock is the Honeymoon phase. During this phase I am expecting to feel very excited and in love with Scotland. I will enjoy everything that Scotland has to offer and I will not want to ever go home. I will find the difference in culture so amazing and enlightening. I will love their Scottish accents and some of their famous dishes to die for like the Apple Butterscotch Pie and Carrot and Orange Soup. I will love seeing all the beautiful castles and architecture and I can’t forget the breathtaking mountains and green fields.  I will crave to hear the sounds of the Scottish music and I will absolutely love to hear every story of history that the locals share.

Negotiation Phase

The second phase of culture shock is the Negotiation phase. I think this phase will start around my second week of being in Scotland. I anticipate that I will now begin to get annoyed with the new things in my life that at first I thought was amazing. I will begin to long for the food that I am used to, like my wonderful pizza and fries or even amazing waffles and tons of maple syrup. All the amazing foods that I would be eating back at home. All the Scottish accents will begin to get on my nerves and become annoying and I will be longing to hear another Canadian accent. The scenery of castles and rolling, green hills will just become irritating and will start to crave my normal scenery, like open fields and forests of Canada. Life will just become too slow and like I have seen it all before and like I am living the same day over and over. The sound of bagpipes and kilts will become too much and will want to hear my Jonas Brothers or even Bruno Mars again. To prevent me from feeling this shocked when I visit Scotland, I have been researching the types of food that is very popular here and have begun learning a bit of Scottish, so I know a little bit of the language and so I am not overwhelmed with difference in languages. I am also going to buy a Scotland guide that I will read on the plane, so I can familiarize myself with some of the customs, like making sure that I do not call someone who is Scottish, English. They will get very offended. Or even some of the different religions that are popular in Scotland like, Christianity.