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The road trip that changed my life

While most of the trips grant you great memories, only a few, special ones, are meant to change your file, or at the very least the way you live it. The road trip I did around Scotland, on my very own, in August 2008 would change me forever.

Travelling alone is a marvellous way of discovering yourself while discovering the country you are visiting. You face difficulties with no one on your side to rely on, but you also have the freedom that only being in a place where not a single soul is aware of your existence can give you.

Freedom, that’s what Scotland is all about. Wide green grasslands spread on both sides of the road, a fresh breeze filling the air in the car, and so few cars on your way that you even get a bit scared once you run into one.

I spent half of the time I was awake inside the car, and I didn’t even have the radio on, I was listening to the sounds Scotland would make for me; and no, I’m not talking about bagpipes! With the help of my GPS I visited as many castles, ruins and cities as I could. Not as single thing was planned, not even the location where I would crush that night.

I didn’t feel like planning at all, I wanted Scotland to show the the way to a new city by its own, without rushing things. Stopping in the middle of nowhere for a short walk, enjoying every single detail. Imagining myself in the time were battles were held in the very same spot I was now standing.

After a long day of driving and sightseeing the hunt for a bed in a B&B started. It’s a totally different thing to book a room online and to do so the very same day you are staying, talking to the owner of the place. You focus more on the personality of the man who is going to host you that on the facilities your private will have. And you hardly ever are wrong if you do so. A friendly host will nearly always mean a great stay.

A stay that, in the land of Scotland could only end with a sip of whisky. Peated, oaky, with a hint of fruit, like its very own land. Scotland is a flavourful whisky you should drink slowly and, at least once, alone.

My road trip around Scotland made me realize I love to travel above all things, I love to meet new people on the road and hear their stories, I love to experience new places, things, drinks and foods; and I love to talk and write about it all. My road trip around Scotland made me a travel writer.