This spring into summer took a turn I genuinely never could have predicted.
We came home to the United States from Abu Dhabi for the summer, and despite the fact that we are absolutely not football (soccer) people, we somehow got completely swept up in the World Cup.
There was something incredibly special, and honestly healing, about watching people arrive from all over the world and have such a wonderful time in our country. The energy was contagious. Different languages, flags everywhere, people singing in the streets, opposing teams celebrating together, strangers becoming friends over football. It was one of those rare moments where the world felt a little smaller and a lot happier.
But there were two groups of fans who stood out to me (and probably everyone) more than anyone else: Scotland’s Tartan Army and the Norway Vikings.
And the Tartan Army, in particular, completely took over Boston and drank the city dry.
The Tartan Army Takes Boston
Once we started seeing what was happening in Boston with Scotland’s Tartan Army and Norway’s Vikings, we decided we had to experience it for ourselves. Given the Tartan Army spent more time in Boston, this piece will be focused on them, but you can enjoy some Erling Haaland/Viking content on my instagram page if that interests you.
We booked a completely last minute two night stay from New York to Boston and headed up to join the madness.
Bagpipes. Outdoor parties. Kilts everywhere. Queues around the block for the pubs (Dubliner specifically), Cones appearing on seemingly every statue. Scottish fans taking over the streets. Singing. Laughing. Interacting in the best way with opposing teams. Absolute shenanigans.
It was one of the most unexpectedly fun trips we have ever taken.
I started sharing everything online and, somehow, my content went extremely viral during those few days. I suppose the Tartan Army won the hearts of the world and everyone wanted to see it. With this, suddenly thousands of Scots were finding my page, commenting, messaging me and joining my online community, and so I have many new friends from the region.
I had no idea that Boston was basically about to become the prequel to our next adventure.
Because little did anyone know, we already had a trip to Scotland booked.
And the reason we had booked it in the first place had nothing to do with football… it was because of Outlander.
How Outlander Put Scotland on Our Radar
While living in Abu Dhabi during the war, we were in the middle of watching Homeland, which by season 3 felt too close to home, so I discontinued watching ASAP for my mental health. While we were looking for a new show to binge that would give us a little escape from everything happening around us, I remembered a few family members and friends of mine insisted that I watch Outlander.
That decision became a full blown obsession that I am eternally grateful for. As an Irish American with dual citizenship, having lived in Ireland and spent so much time there, I knew my Irish history pretty well, but it never dawned on me to explore Scottish history until watching this show. The amount of historical epiphanies and rabbit holes this show sent me to was absolutely wild that I immediately craved seeing this land for myself.
There was something about the scenery, the history, the characters and the story that was incredibly healing during a stressful period of our lives. I truly have never felt so connected to characters on a show created by a talented historical fiction author. The acting, the set design, and even costumes are top tier. The show still has me in an absolute chokehold that I will find myself going on YouTube to watch clips to relive it.
We watched all eight seasons in about five weeks, followed by an entire season of the spin off Blood of My Blood.
And apparently television wasn’t enough because, as I write this, I am now halfway through the Outlander book series too.
So between Outlander and our unexpected initiation into the Tartan Army in Boston, by the time we actually landed in Scotland it already felt like this trip had developed an entire storyline of its own.
Arriving in Edinburgh
Our work schedule was crazy, which meant we had only about five to six days of real exploring built into the trip and needed to make every minute count.
We landed in Edinburgh and checked into Gleneagles Townhouse, which immediately became one of the highlights of the trip.
The hotel was absolutely unbelievable. Everything felt thoughtful and beautifully done, from the location and facilities to the gorgeous dining room where we had breakfast. The breakfast was delicious, the coffee was excellent and we could walk to almost everything we wanted to see in Edinburgh. And I need to specifically acknowledge the heated bathroom floors – just wow.
The team was also fantastic, including the General Manager, Ewan, who made our stay incredibly special and gave us a nice detailed tour of the facility.
An amazing detail that made me so happy was discovering Mossgiel milk in the minibar. It was the best milk I could find in Scotland, and the hotel very kindly kept stocking it for me so I could make my coffee in the room every morning. If you know me, you know this is the kind of hotel detail I notice.
I also tried haggis for the first time and was genuinely shocked by how much I loved it. Fun fact: traditional Scottish haggis isn’t actually legal to import and sell in the United States. Authentic haggis traditionally contains sheep’s lung, and U.S. federal food regulations have prohibited livestock lungs from being used for human consumption since 1971. You can find American-made versions that leave the lung out, but trying the real thing in Scotland made it feel like an essential part of the experience.
Exploring Historic Edinburgh
We spent our time in Edinburgh and taking in as much history as possible and trying to stay awake after a not-so-great redeye flight.
We explored the Royal Mile, Grassmarket and some of the city’s most historic and haunted places including Greyfriar’s Kirkyard and The Last Drop (a haunted pub!). I made a video from The Last Drop here.
Edinburgh is one of those cities where you can almost feel the layers of history underneath you as you walk. Speaking of layers underneath, one thing I wish we had done was the Real Mary King’s Close, which is a fascinating network of preserved 17th-century streets and homes hidden beneath Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, where stories of plague, poverty and everyday life offer an eerie glimpse into the city’s past.
We also stopped at Alandas Gelato, a local Scottish gelato shop, for a sweet treat while exploring Edinburgh. Their gelato is made in a huge range of flavors, including some with a distinctly Scottish twist, and it was incredibly creamy and delicious. The Edinburgh shop even has a fun connection to Greyfriars Bobby: the building was once home to the coffee house where Bobby was reportedly fed during his famous daily visits to his owner’s grave.
We also explored the newer shopping center in town St James Quarter and visited the historical Catholic cathedral nearby, which was stunningly beautiful.
For dinner during our time in Edinburgh, we went to The Balmoral and had steak at the brasserie, which was delicious.
Another evening, after a long day of exploring, we were completely exhausted and ordered sourdough pizza from the restaurant beside our hotel, Franco Manca.
It was excellent, and eating pizza in our room after walking all day was exactly what we needed.
Sometimes luxury travel is a gorgeous hotel dining room, and sometimes it is eating sourdough pizza in your pajamas. Both have their place.
Lastly, I had signed up to take a reformer pilates class, which I was really excited about, but I had to sit it out due to a mild early stage hernia that needed to heal.
A Conversation About Scotland With Ben Macpherson, MSP
On our second day, I met up with my friend Ben Macpherson, MSP, who is currently serving as the Minister for Innovation, Technology and Tertiary Education in the Scottish Government and Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith constituency.
We had such a fascinating and fruitful conversation about Scotland.
One of my favorite parts of traveling is having the opportunity to actually learn about a place from the people who live there, particularly people who understand its history, government, economy and culture on a deeper level. I walked away from our conversation having learned a great deal more about Scotland and its people.
Immediately after, by his recommendation, Albert and I went up to Calton Hill and took in the views over Edinburgh before exploring more of the city.
I also managed to take another meeting and squeeze in some shopping near the hotel where I found a Holland & Barrett, which immediately made me nostalgic because it was one of my favorite health and wellness stores when I lived in Ireland.
There I found Freja instant bone broth.
I tried it and loved it.
You can shop all of their broths HERE: https://www.frejabonebroth.com/MEGCONNOLLY10 or use code MEGCONNOLLY10 at checkout for a discount.
That evening we also stopped near the Johnnie Walker experience. We didn’t do the actual tour, but it was still fun to see the shop and everything they had created around the brand.
Into the Highlands With Andy the Highlander
Day three was one of those travel days you remember forever.
We headed into the Highlands with Andy the Highlander of Highlander Tours, and from the beginning of the day, we knew we had found someone special. Andy is incredible.
He is knowledgeable without making anything feel like a lecture, incredibly entertaining, genuinely passionate about Scotland and just the kind of person you want showing you around his country. We bonded over a lot of topics on our drive and learned a lot from each other.
His adorable dog Charlie joined us too, which obviously made the entire day even better as I am an animal lover.
We fed Highland coos (here is a fun video with them), drove through some absolutely breathtaking scenery and spent time in Glencoe, which is even more dramatic in person than photographs can capture.
We stopped for an amazing meal where I found a zero proof beer, took in the landscape and spent the day learning, laughing and seeing parts of Scotland we never would have experienced in the same way on our own.
Andy made the Highlands come alive for us.
By the time we returned to Edinburgh, I wanted absolutely nothing complicated.
So I ordered jacket potatoes with haggis to the room, got comfortable and called it a night.
Glasgow and the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony
The following day we headed to Glasgow, where we had a surreal experience: attending the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Before the ceremony, I had great conversations with @GullyTalksUK and Derry the Piper, both of whom were so much fun to speak with. See interview 1 here and interview 2 here.
There was not a bad seat in the entire OVO Hydro Arena, however, I was blessed with the best possible seat I could get, given that I am not an athlete, the family member of an athlete or a dignitary.
The ceremony itself was incredibly creative.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla attended, with the King officially opening the #Glasgow2026 Games. The evening incorporated music, Scottish culture, athletes from across the Commonwealth and some wonderfully unexpected theatrical moments.
When Team Scotland entered, pipers filled the arena and the atmosphere completely changed.
And in one of those bizarre little coincidences that make travel so fun, I looked over and realized that Derry, who I had just been part of the Gully interview with, was piping right beside me.
Then the Outlander universe somehow found us again.
Sam Heughan, who played Jamie Fraser, appeared during the ceremony with Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, as part of one of the show’s most distinctly Scottish moments, sporting a bespoke Siobhan Mackenzie kilt and outfit.
After spending weeks watching him run around eighteenth century Scotland on our television, seeing him suddenly appear in the middle of the Commonwealth Games while actually sitting in Glasgow felt very full circle.
Watching all of the countries walk into the arena with their teams was beautiful, but I got especially emotional seeing the only athlete representing St. Lucia walk the stage and everyone cheer louder.
It was one of those nights that reminded me of the same thing I had loved about the World Cup back home: people from completely different corners of the world coming together to celebrate something.
I made a recap video of the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games HERE.
A Slower Day in Glasgow
Unfortunately, the following day I was not feeling well at all.
I had developed significant pain in my side, which I later learned was the beginning of an early hernia that I thankfully addressed. So instead of pushing ourselves, we slowed down.
We walked around the area near Kelvingrove and the historic University of Glasgow, taking in the architecture and enjoying this part of the city at a much easier pace.
We stopped at Ottoman Coffeehouse, which came highly recommended, where I had both a flat white and an ibrik. Because apparently when I say I am taking it easy, I still mean ordering two coffees. Both were delicious and a beautifully authentic experience. I made a video here.
Eventually we went back to the hotel, ordered burgers to the room and rested because the following day was going to be a big one: the Outlander tour.
An Outlander Tour With Andy the Highlander
For our final full day, we reunited with the amazing Andy the Highlander, this time joined by his daughter Lana, for Highlander Tours‘ Outlander experience. Fun fact: Andy and his entire family have all appeared in Outlander and/or Blood of my Blood at some point!
Unlike our private Highlands tour, this was a small group tour, which was exactly what I wanted because there are certain experiences that are actually more fun with other people who are equally excited about what you are seeing, and Outlander is absolutely one of them.
Our first stop was outside Wardpark Studios, where much of the series was filmed.
Standing outside the studio after watching eight seasons of the show in five weeks was surreal.
From there, we began visiting recognizable locations from the series.
We stopped at the cemetery used for the Boston scenes associated with Frank’s burial where Brianna visits him.
Then came Midhope Castle, better known to Outlander fans as Lallybroch.
Seeing Lallybroch in person was probably one of the moments I had been anticipating most.
It was as awesome as I thought it would be, and the grounds are beautiful. The team at Midhope was lovely and welcoming, and they now have a lodging experience with a couple of cottages that you can stay in. We got some photos outside the castle and practiced our sword fighting before a wee dram of whisky to kick off the rest of the tour.
We continued to Blackness Castle, which served as Fort William, and got to see the exact place Jamie was flogged as well as many other scenes from this structure. We also went to Linlithgow, which was used for portions of Wentworth Prison.
At the old chapel in Linlithgow, a couple on our tour even participated in a handfasting ceremony, which made the day feel that much more immersive.
We also learned how to make a great kilt, the traditional style that requires you to actually pleat the fabric yourself before wrapping it around your body the way Highlanders once did. A great kilt, or féileadh mòr, is the traditional Highland kilt that predates the modern tailored kilt. It’s essentially one large piece of wool tartan that is pleated by hand on the ground, then wrapped around the waist and belted in place, with the extra fabric draped over the shoulder or used almost like a cloak. Highlanders wore it because it was incredibly practical: it provided warmth, freedom of movement and even extra fabric that could be used as a blanket or protection from the weather.
I made a video pleating the kilt here.
And yes, it is much harder than simply putting on a modern kilt.
Then we went to Culross, one of my favorite stops of the day.
Not only is Culross incredibly atmospheric and, according to local stories, very haunted, but Outlander fans will recognize it as Cranesmuir, seeing many scenes and settings from the show. I especially loved seeing Geillis’ herb garden which was swarming with friendly bees – but it had herbs that could heal you and herbs that can kill you in there!
We stopped at the Red Lion Inn in Culross for lunch, where I ordered steak pie and enjoyed every moment of it. By this point, Andy was no longer simply our tour guide, he had become our friend.
Between our private Highlands tour and the Outlander tour, he gave us two completely different experiences of Scotland and somehow managed to make both feel personal, fun and unforgettable.
I made a video recap on our full day of the Outlander tour with Andy here.
If you are going to Scotland and want someone who genuinely loves the country he is showing you, book Andy and tell him I sent you! I cannot speak highly enough of him.
Leaving Scotland Before We Were Ready
On our final day, we took a car from Glasgow back to Edinburgh and it was raining, of course.
I still wasn’t feeling well, which made leaving even harder. We had originally hoped there might be an opportunity to extend the trip, but because of our schedule, it simply wasn’t possible.
I was genuinely so sad to leave. There are trips you enjoy, and then there are trips that leave you feeling like you have unfinished business with a place. Scotland was the latter.
There is still so much I want to see, particularly more of the Highlands, Inverness, Culloden, the Scottish isles and St Andrews, parts of Edinburgh, and so much more. .
What started with binge watching Outlander in Abu Dhabi somehow turned into cheering alongside the Tartan Army in Boston, making thousands of new Scottish friends online, learning about their deep cultural history and its similarities and differences to that of the Irish, eating haggis in Edinburgh, feeding Highland coos, bopping around the highlands, watching the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, learning to pleat a great kilt and standing outside Lallybroch.
I definitely didn’t have any of that on my 2026 bingo card.
We made it home safely, took care of my side and immediately began talking about when we could go back.
So Scotland, this is definitely not goodbye… I will see you again very soon.
Interested in what I wore all week? I did an outfit roundup post here.
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