August '26 Scotland Trip-ish Report, lol

Packing strategy:

Suitcase: Osprey Ozone (4.5#). Day Pack: A cheap Chicos foldable day pack I got in Yellowstone a few years ago which is slightly too light for hiking but fine for this (7.5 oz). My purse was the Tom Bihn Everyday Cubelet which I was able to stow in the day pack for boarding my flights. (Yes, the gate agents on the Spokane to SEA and SEA to Spokane flights both insist on no small cross body bags as a “3rd item”. No one else gives a 2nd look for a tiny bag.)

I needed to go light as I was flying a leg on KLM and needed to meet their carry on baggage requirements. I had art supplies which were non-negotiable. I forswore all my cute and colorful Tom Bihn organizers, swapping out my small travel tray/bedside organizer for my tech stuff for one of those small square snack size ziplocks (Actually Kroger brand colorful 4.7inx4.7in). I was shocked I could manage with one charger cord for my Apple Watch and a charger cord with a combo end for my phone and iPad Mini. I had the UK plug with several USB ports. I went back to ziplocks for my 3-1-1 and dry toiletries saving a few ounces here and there. I cut back drastically on the amount of shampoo and conditioner I took as I was only gone for 11 days. I actually just took the leftovers from my April trip to Paris, lol.

I cut back to 3short sleeve tees and 1 long sleeve tee along with a dri-fit quarter zip and a chambray shirt. I cut back by 1 on underwear and managed fine. Actually, this is TMI but I was able to manage with one pair, hahaha, being diligent about taking 2 minutes each night to wash it out. I wore jeans, packed a pr of jeans, and at the last minute added in some lightweight travel pants. Thank goodness for the travel pants as it was quite warm on my arrival day to Edinburgh and the next day too. I had a waterproof rain jacket which I used a lot as well as rain pants which I did not use at all but you never know for Scotland! I had a warm beanie which I could have used on one plein air painting outing which was rainy and cold but didn’t think to grab.

When I left my house my bag was at 17.3# and my personal item was at 5.2# so under the KLM limit of 26.5#. Coming home I had more art supplies (oops😬😂) and I’m not sure what my bag weighed but fortunately noone at the KLM gate batted an eye. I was ready to check if needed inbound. OK, weighed the suitcase and my day pack before I started unpacking and the suitcase is up to 22.7# and the day pack is 5.5…so I gained 5#+ of luggage weight! Yikes. AND that is all art supplies for pete’s sake! OK, 2 cute ball point pens for the older great nephews but they are not heavy!

Weather: It was quite warm in Edinburgh with highs around 80. By the time we got out to the countryside it was much cooler plus it rained so daily highs were in the 60’s. One day we got pretty chilled outside as we sat and tried to paint before the rain started.

Midges: Bought Smidge in Edinburgh but fortunately we had no midges at the venue and none on any of our field trips. I had a head net but it stayed in my pack.

continued....

Communications:

-One of the things I started doing at home a couple of months ago was emptying my email spam folder every day. After Carol NR had issues with her updates from her cruise line recently, I realized how important it is to check while traveling. It is easy enough to click on the spam folder when I’m going thru email in the AM and once you clean it out the first time it’s easy to get rid of all the nasty stuff in there. It’s also easy to see if a non-spam somehow got routed there too.
-The workshop also had a FB group ahead of time and a What’s App group during the program. The people who were not watching the WA group did not realize there were updates to times and some slight program changes. We were a small group and all staying in a compact location so it usually worked for someone to go tell someone else of a change of plan. It’s OK if you don’t choose to do FB or WA at home but when you are doing some kind of group travel this is imperative. If you want to delete the WA app after you get home, fine, but do keep up with your group communication while you are traveling! If your tech skills are not up-to-date so that you are intimidated by What’s App work on this ahead of time. If you have younger family members, have them set up a WA group and get comfortable with it.
- I started out doing the Verizon day pass but realized I needed the data to keep up with WA. The WIFI was good in some areas of the venue and not good in other areas so paying for the month at $100 would have been better and I would have been less stressed about “using a day”....good grief. I was kind of at the break even point on day pass vs monthly as I was international for 11 days. It’s so important to have it on travel days to get airline notifications and next time even for a short trip I’ll just go with the monthly program. I am all for creating less anxiety for myself. In the end I’ve been billed for 6 travel days/$72 so managed to come out ahead.

The workshop itself: The artist is Leslie Stroz who is a fabulous watercolorist. She is currently working with a tiny painting format so that was the focus of the workshop. She was working on 2inx2in squares of watercolor paper most of the time for her demos. She is an awesome instructor having taught art at SUNY Geneseo. The first few days she took us thru basics like color swatching our palettes to see how many colors we could make with the small limited palette of paints she had given us. She gave us the Art Toolkit Demi palette with 8 colors from the Portland-based watercolor company M. Graham that she likes. We had a “split palette” of warm and cool shades of yellows, reds and blues plus 2 earth colors. She also had us do value exercises with graphite putty which works as watercolor as well. As a novice this was SO helpful to me. I loved doing the color swatch charts! I’d seen them done but I didn’t “get” how to do them. I also had seen value studies done and it was really helpful to me to be taught how to figure out lights and darks using a viewfinder with a red filter and then to translate that to paper. Many of the other students were advanced artists so not sure how much they got out of this but for myself, it was invaluable.

continued....

We did 3 field trips for plein air painting. On separate days we went to Stirling Castle, St Andrews and Loch Earn. We were also free to roam about the property and paint wherever we wanted as well as a lovely studio where we could set up and leave our paints/gear. Stirling Castle is cool BUT is not a good place to try and do plein air painting with a group as it is simply too crowded. St Andrews was perfect even though it was the longest drive. It was the sunniest day, not crowded and such a gorgeous setting right beside the water. Leslie easily had space to do a demo with all of us crowded around her to watch her composition, pen and brush strokes. She also gained a few new fans from passers-by including a dang juvenile gull we named Herman, lol! We went to Loch Earn at St Fillians. She got her demo in but by the time the rest of us were set up to paint the rains came. Fortunately we were able to retreat to a cafe for a snack and hot drink before we headed back to the “Farm” at Logiealmond.

There were 14 students and Leslie. She usually drove herself to the venues as 15 did not fit in the van. The first couple of days her husband was with her and came along.

The food at the venue was provided by a private chef, James, who was fantastic. He easily managed vegan/GF diets and other dietary needs and produced delicious food. In fact I did get his recipe for the Asian noodle salad he produced one day for lunch. It was SO GOOD that another person and I asked to have left overs for dinner. James and the host, Steve, were kind of shocked that we wanted leftovers but it was that delicious. The next day as we were leaving, one of the folks who was going to rent a car and continue around Scotland asked for a to-go container of it for her dinner that night, lol.

Venue: Rachel’s Farm at their location west of Perth in Logiealmond (which does not show on their website??). We were the first art course held at this location but it worked out fine. They do have other art courses at their other locations and some are used by the art workshop company UpTrek. In fact, some of our folks got mixed in with the Uptrek folks when we were waiting for pick up from the airport as both groups were in the same area near the parking garage.

Pre and Post workshop: I spent 2 nights ahead of the workshop meet up in Edinburgh at the Ibis Styles St Andrews Square and 1 night after in the same hotel. I love that location…just so easy to walk to nice restaurants and down to the Princes St Gardens/Scottish National Gallery. The staff is quite young but good and in fact on my departure morning the person on the front desk kind of insisted she get me a breakfast go-bag so I could put some pastries and a bagel from the breakfast buffet in it for later. That was so nice and yes, it was handy!

continued....

Side observations:

-Airplane announcements: KLM has so many battery related announcements it made me wonder if there was an incident. At least 3 times before takeoff and, of course, in perfect English. On the Edinburgh to Amsterdam flight they also announced that the safety instructions would be in English only.

-Health-wise….I wore a mask on the way over. Coming back I had not packed smartly and had to dig into my suitcase to pull out a mask as people were coughing and hacking in the Edinburgh and Amsterdam airports. I did not notice much coughing in Seattle or on the plane.

-Under the “It’s a Small World” category, when I was in line at Stirling Castle to get lunch, I thought the guy ahead of me looked familiar. When he finally turned around so I could see his face, it was one of the ER Docs from St Joes in Lewiston where I worked until retirement. He, his wife and I were laughing about the coincidence and another guy stepped up and said…Did I hear you all say you are from Moscow? I’m from Moscow (ID) as well, hahah. So 5 Idaho panhandle folks in the same small cafe in Scotland, hahaha. Funny!

-Under the OMG-how-could-you-embarrass yourself category….I went all fan-girl (or is it fan-crone at my age??) and asked for a selfie with the artist’s husband who is David Knopfler (Dire Straits and subsequent solo artist and poet). He is just SO nice. We bonded one of the first nights over case stories as he was a social worker in Inner City London for 2 years before the band took off. Pretty funny!

Conclusion: I had a fantastic time! The trip was slightly more spontaneous than my normal way of travel and a way shorter trip than I usually do but oh-so-much fun. I met wonderful people in my art group and saw some of their amazing art. I loved watching Leslie create! I am in awe of these new friends. Scotland as always was awesome and the cool, damp weather was such a huge relief from the hot, smoky conditions we’ve had in North Idaho this summer.

PS For anyone that is interested in art…DO a workshop with your favorite artist. You will learn so much and be so creatively challenged!

30 years ago when I was still young and getting started, travel further than Disneyland was just a dream. While I read your trip report I kept thinking how lucky we are that we can travel further for a specific purpose like to take a painting class. I have no hobbies and so I can't relate how much that probably meant to you, but I think on some past and upcoming trips and how lucky my wife and I are to be in a position to be like you and find something that interests us and then build a trip. For example last November we decided to go to London just for the Christmas lights and built a whole itinerary about just that.

I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself as well as I'm thinking the thoughts in my head. I hope I'm making sense.

Pam, what a wonderful trip-ish report. You covered it all: travel info, packing report, reminder of the importance of data in today's travel environment, great writeup on the workshop (although as an untalented nonartist I had to read it several times to get a hint of an understanding) and a bonus celebrity meetup! Welcome home.

Are you going to share the recipe with us?

I have no interest in doing any painting myself, but I really enjoyed reading about your trip.

Pam, great trip report! And very quick, too—I am impressed!!! I love that comment about going through Global Entry. I have a feeling that biometrics have expanded and now just catch you as you walk along. But you're right, it's probably better not to know. 😂

And your class just sounded so great! I love that you did this, and I think it's such a fabulous idea. As you know, you inspired me to sign up for a sewing retreat in England in 2027, so hopefully mine will turn out to be as wonderful as your's was! And I'm salivating over your description of the food. That sounds so good. Honestly, you really packed it in for such a quick and short trip! I am amazed at everything you got done and how much fun it looks like you had!

@Allen - Yes, I know exactly what you mean! And doing Christmas lights or having some other focus is spot on! ANYthing that is of interest and can provide an anchor point for a trip is a fun way to structure things as we are no longer novice travelers. A few years ago when there was a huge Vermeer Exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam many of us structured a trip around seeing that exhibit.

@jeanm - Thanks for the comments! Go look at some watercolors at the Art Institute! And my artist is from just south of Chicago and may have a workshop there next year when she comes to visit her mom. And yes, it was an Asian noodle salad!

Thai dressing (which he laughingly said he googled how to make!)
Roasted salted Peanuts, rice vinegar, lime juice, maple syrup, soy sauce, a little sugar for balance, sesame oil, sriracha to taste

cooked Glass noodles
Baby Bok choi, chopped fine
Carrot shreds
Sesame seeds
Green onion

I'm going to add:
Water chestnuts
steamed broccoli
sugar snaps

@Cala - thanks for reading!

@Mardee - In thinking about it, there is a very long hall from the jetway along to the start of the Arrivals hall. I'm sure they have multiple cameras there as well as perhaps when you come down the escalator. If it can get me thru faster, the cameras don't bother me! You are going to have so much fun at your sewing workshop! I think you are going to have to take an empty bag to check to bring your projects and your fabric home! At least watercolor stuff is "fairly" small, lol!!

Yay!! So glad you could take this trip. I'd love to send my daughter on something similar someday. And I like that it wasn't something you had to plan ahead for years for..sometimes short notice works out.

Wow, sounds like an amazing trip Pam!! I'm so glad you jumped in and went for it as soon as you realized she had an opening. I had been wondering when you'd tell us all about it, but so surprised you got to it so quickly. I get that about the color wheel /charts, it's an effort, I probably need a refresher, LOL.

It's a great way to accelerate your technique, in a beautiful setting with wonderful food!
I've done 2 one week-long landscape oil painting courses in Tuscany, the first one I did without knowing anything about painting & I learned a lot.

The trip was slightly more spontaneous than my normal way of travel and a way shorter trip than I usually do but oh-so-much fun. It's certainly spontaneous when you book a workshop & have your hotel and flights booked the next day! I'm glad you had such fine weather, it's really not a given & carrying the rain pants but not needing them is PERFECT. AND that you managed to pack so lightly, I know it took some time and energy to figure it all out. Thanks again!! PS, thanks for the noodle recipe!

Nice report, Pam.
I always enjoy reading yours as they have just the right amount of information without getting bogged down in too much detail. 🙂

OH!!!! TOFU! He had pieces of fried tofu on top of the salad...how could I forget that. He said he made a slurry of soy sauce and cornstarch to dredge the pieces in before he fried them. They looked just like Croutons but tasted great!

@pbscd - Oh I am sure your daughter would love a workshop similar to this one!

@Sandancisco....thanks for your kind comments. You are the one that inspired me!

@S J - thank you! I am a detail person but try to slim it down for forum consumption, hahaha!

This sounds like a really wonderful trip. I am so glad the opportunity arose for you and you were in a position to jump on it. Everything about this sounds so fabulous. I am just jealous that I haven't done this !!

Thank you for your trip-ish report. Even with the shocking news that you left your Tom Bihn travel tray (and other Tom Bih items)at home !!!!!

Your additional five pounds on return sounds well worth it.

Pam, I just loved your trip report, your encouraging your painting talent and your spontaneity. I have no artistic skills & my slight tremor in my dominant hand discourages me from attempting it. I do like adult coloring books sometimes & I always make a photo book of my trips. That's how I try to be artistic. I'm a retired project manager, so administration, time management & time engineering are my natural forte. That's probably why I still use an Excel Workbook for my trip planning rather than a tool like Wanderlog. I'm coming to the meet-up next month with Lynn from Boise & we are driving from there so I look forward to seeing much of eastern ID. I also get to meet Jean from ID tomorrow during her long layover at MSP. I already know Andrea from Sacramento & Mardee from MN so I'm really excited about the meet-up and getting to know more Forum friends.

What a great trip! Both for the purpose and for the spontaneity!

"I'm glad you had such fine weather, it's really not a given & carrying the rain pants but not needing them is PERFECT. "

Bob Pease (one of my heroes) used to claim that being prepared for bad situations caused them not to happen. I'll go with that.

@Kim - oh yes, you should do something like this!

@LaurieBeth - I look forward to meeting you in person!

@TexasTravelMom - It was fun!

@RobertH - well had to buy a cheap umbrella the first day and of course did not need it after that!

Welcome home, Pam! I always read your trip reports because they are such a pleasure: your enthusiasm is infectious and your descriptions are so compelling (you're the reason I went to the Outer Hebrides!).
This one in particular, the way you jumped on the opportunity to learn new skills but also while on a spontaneous adventure. (It's great you're familiar with the country from prior trips, your Edinburgh hotel, for example.)
You even squeezed in a packing list and I appreciated how practical you were in the choices!
And so many unexpected and fun surprises along the way! A real example for those of us who typically plan everything so far in advance. And an inspiration to try something new and keep learning and growing.
Happy painting until you are off again!

Pam, reading this in the airport hotel room this evening, as you suggested, ready to start my flights tomorrow for the art workshop in Ireland. How crazy, yet exciting that we both had art opportunities literally fall into our lap! Your experience is making me even more excited.

Thanks for sharing all of the fun details & sites you visited! And that salad sounds very delicious! I predict we’ll be making another run to the local art store together soon! : )

Even with the shocking news that you left your Tom Bihn travel tray
(and other Tom Bihn items)at home!

I know you worked hard at getting your packing list right, but I did wonder how you fared without your Tom Bihn items?? hahaha.

@Bon Voyage! - I am SO not a spontaneous personality, lol! This worked well I think because I was just in Edinburgh last June/July and did not have to research hotels or do much on flights as I knew what was available from my end-of-the-line airport. My suitcase and day pack size worked well for me to handle bags on my own thru 4 airports!

@Jean - Ohhhh, shopping at the art store!! Woohoo!! I know you will have a wonderful time!

@Sandancisco - Well, I'm ashamed to admit my little square generic brand zipper lock worked just as well as the travel tray. NOT as much at hand but it was fine in this situation!

BTW....for anyone still reading....do NOT NOT NOT go to Edinburgh in August unless you are going to the Tattoo or Fringe and are prepared to pay 2x as much for hotel rooms.

Pam, thanks for the recipe. I just happen to be bringing a salad to a family thing on Saturday.

Wow! Wonderful, fun trip report, Pam!

thanks for posting, loved reading about your workshop experience! I have sort-of decided that sometime in the next year or two I am going to do an art retreat, just having trouble figuring out which medium and where -- I love watercolor, acrylic painting and also mixed media and collage but have not-much experience in any of them. part of the decision-making process will be where and when.......there's an interesting watercolor workshop in Sedona next April (Hannah M. Pickerill, who has some wonderful youtube tutorials, FB posts and books) but the dates confilct with Passover.

I really admire your spontaneity and spirit!

what great reading! I loves a trip-ish! And the recipe. Printed out, complete with Tofu coda, ready to try - let me at it!

Thanks so much Pam - I love art but could not draw a straight line with a ruler. Good to live through others' successes.

Curious - the finished works - did you roll them for traveling in the luggage, or did you find a way to keep them flat?

Although I don't know one end of a paintbrush from the other (do know there are 2 ends) my father was fairly accomplished in oils but mainly watercolours (which don't hold up as well)... I have crates of them.

@milgreen2, maybe one of these could be what you would like. I chose the pastel class with Susan, but your art preferences are available with other instructors.

https://hotelleonemarche.com/en/2027-retreats-programme/

@JeanM - I hope your family (and you!) likes it!

@Cathy! - Thank you! See you Saturday????

@milgreen - Oh, I hope you do decide on a workshop! I love Hannah Pickerill! I have her Watercolor Wanderlust book which I bought JUST BECAUSE she has step-by-steps for the Palouse which is the region of Idaho/Washington that is just south of Coeur d'Alene. It's a gorgeous area and I was shocked that someone knew about it and would put it in a book. Plus she also has Stonehenge in that book, hahaha. And Yellowstone. It annoys me greatly when people rip off her work and one site that came up for me recently was one of her videos (recognized her voice) that they were pushing as their own. Reported that immediately. I can't imagine what it would be like to be a professional and have to guard against all this stealing of intellectual property.

In addition to Jean's suggestion below, take a look at the companies UpTrek and TheBlueWalk. I've not traveled with either of them but that can get you started. Several of the folks in my group had traveled with Uptrek and said they were wonderful. I'm also signed up to do a watercolor workshop with Road Scholar in January in Jekyll Island Georgia. They have several across the country for an inexpensive way to get started with workshops.

Also...when deciding your medium, give a thought about the weight of your materials. Watercolor is fairly light. I took WAY too much stuff (everything she had on her art supply list) and in the end did not need all that. A small palette (ArtToolKit), a couple of water brushes and maybe a regular brush or two, a small sketchbook, a pencil, a fine liner and an eraser and it will all fit in a small pouch. Jean's pastels set is way heavier, bulkier and more fragile although her results are beautiful!

And thanks for your kind words!

@Nigel - I hope you and Carol like it! This artist works in a tiny format....her demo paintings were on 2in x 2in paper taped to a small board. She gave us some sample papers, the biggest of which was 4in x 3in. I had cut pieces of "good" watercolor paper to 2in x 3in so was in between those measurements. So....all my work fit into the pocket at the back of my 3in x 5in sketchbook, lol!! I had one A4 sized piece of paper on which we did our color charts and I just slid that into the computer pocket of my suitcase. It was not pristine when I arrived home but good enough for me to see the colors.

My dad also did watercolors and framed them all so we have stacks of stuff too. Some good, some not so good. No one in the family wants it so I started shredding his not-so-good work and the other family members got upset. I have started taking them out of the frames and taking the frames to the charity shop and just stacking the art in a cabinet. My thought with working tiny is that it will be easy for family to just throw out when the time comes to clean out my stuff, lol. I currently have my tiny paintings white-tacked (a kind of putty for those that don't know) to a piece of foam core. Easy to dispose of!

BTW, she lives in Devon and does plein air out of the back of her converted van. She can retreat to the van to continue painting if the weather turns wet.

You might enjoy her short videos of painting at Blenheim Palace. She is invited there to paint once a year or so.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=leslie+stroz+bleinham+palace

@Jean - I forgot to tell you that one of my group is going on a workshop to your 2027 location! She is doing watercolor, I'm sure. I recognize a couple of the watercolor artists as ones that are active on Youtube and also have the book from one of them.

I did wonder about doing watercolors or pastels where it rains so much? (No personal experience so maybe a silly question.)

Also...when deciding your medium, give a thought about the weight of
your materials.

Yeah, no joke. So why did I choose oils (heavy) as my first medium for my painting course in Italy?!? I brought along brushes, but bought a simple easel and wonderful, Italian pil paints in Florence, donated the easel at the end of the trip. But it was still heavy hand carrying home all those wonderful colors!

"I did wonder about doing watercolors or pastels where it rains so much? (No personal experience so maybe a silly question.)"

@Sandancisco -This is a consideration! We only got really rained out one day which was the visit to the Loch. We just ducked into a nearby cafe for hot drinks and cake, hahaha!! It rained off and on at Stirling Castle but we managed to miss any showers for the duration of Leslie's demo and our paint time! What we wound up doing for the rainy day was get our compositional sketches done in pencil and some actually got to the inking in stage, then saving the watercolors until we were back to the studio.

Great TR, Pam! Love the spontaneity.

I love this trip report and how you were able to make this spontaneous trip work. Great job.

@Mary! Thank you! I have to push myself to be spontaneous!

@Andrea - thank you! You know how much I enjoy the planning process so this was a stretch!

For anyone still reading…..here is a Youtube video Leslie posted today of her sketching demo at St Andrews Castle. Gorgeous day! Wonderful demo. Juvenile gull begging….😬😂.. All the class members were hanging over her shoulder, 🤣

https://youtube.com/shorts/BhbsnnJnEzs?is=D2pfgHl0HZryz4Nu

Pam, thanks for sharing the video. I'm in awe. Like Nigel, I can't draw a straight line. I envy your newfound talent.

Wow Pam! That's really cool. What a setting. Love the gull. Intrigued by the ability to paint such a small picture. So glad you shared this video. Are you planning more art class trips?

what wonderful little painting kits

@jeanm - well, I have no talent at all but am trying to build some skill which is doable even if there is no innate talent! Trust me on this when I say I am not in the least creative!

@travelergirl - Her style really intrigues me. I love the light pencil, darker pen and then the watercolor wash. To me the small format is less intimidating although you really have to limit your amount of detail. No, you cannot put in every brick in a castle wall, hahahah!! I do have one scheduled with her for next April in Toulouse but I'm not sure it will go. All the single rooms are sold out so what is left are double occupancy rooms and Leslie does not feel like her followers will want a shared room situation. The company running it says they will not convert the double occupancy rooms to singles. She is going to decide this week if this is a go or not and then may do a small workshop at a hotel near her home in Devon, UK.

She's got lots of free content on Youtube and Patreon, more if you join Patreon. She also published a book this spring...The Big Book of Tiny Painting.

https://a.co/d/0gljWW8V

@LaurieBeth: With the tiny paintings, when you are out and about you really only need a small amount of paint. The palette she is using in the demo is by Art ToolKit and is their Demi-palette. It's about 2 inches by 1 3/4 inches. I was shocked that she gifted all of us with one as they are about $35. She also filled them with her favored brand of professional paint by M. Graham. The small wooden palette she uses in some of her videos is by a company called GoDraw.

IF you (or anyone) are interested in a small palette, do NOT go with the Tobio's palette that is advertised all over FB. It is terrible. I insisted on getting one for Christmas and the palette is awful (wells are very small, the wood somehow draws all the moisture out of the paint and you are left with globs plus the magnets fail) and the paint is terrible. You'll get much better results if you buy better materials to start with. Even Michaels has the Cotman student grade paint which is better than the Tobios.

Pam , I loved everything about your TR; the packing, (what no tom bihn!) the travel, Scotland, Dire Straits, (yes please!) and the art! What a great experience. Even the inappropriate rain was part of the charm.

So are you kicking the Christmas market trip to the curb for more art workshops? I hope your Toulouse trip manages to work out. You know I bet learning this new skill is excellent brain work for us folks of a certain age. You are using new muscles so to speak.

Your trip reports are so well put together, always fun and informative. Thanks for sharing.

@Lyndash - "You know I bet learning this new skill is excellent brain work for us folks of a certain age. You are using new muscles so to speak.". My thoughts exactly! I am hoping learning new skills will help rattle my cage, lol! I've pretty much got the "travel skill" nailed, hahahaha!

I am not sure about the Christmas Market trip yet. I have not cancelled my hotels yet and had not made plane reservations. I am waiting to see what Leslie decides. IF she cancels Toulouse, I will do the Christmas Market/Lights trip and "just" do Paris for 3 weeks or so, hahahaha!

And thank you for your nice comments on my TR style. I usually start my TR on the GoogleDocs app while on the trip especially if there is something I don't want to forget to mention, particularly about clothing or packing!

Pam, I think I forgot to tell you that Katie brought along a small watercolor tablet and did miniature watercolor paintings while we were on our recent trip. After studying each night, she would paint from photos that she had taken that day. She was an art major in college and worked as a ceramicist mostly, but also painted some. She got away from it when she made her foray into medicine, but has returned to it as a hobby.

Anyway, her birthday is coming up, and I was trying to think of some things to get her. I remembered that book you mentioned that Leslie wrote about tiny paintings, so I went on Amazon and just ordered it. I think she will like that. So, thanks for the idea!

Pam,
I loved your trip report! It’s so cool that you are learning how to paint. I’m in awe that you met Dave Knopfler of Dire Straits, one of my favorites of all time! I absolutely love their music.

I was in Scotland for 12 days in early August on a RS Heart of Scotland tour and enjoyed temperatures in the 60’s. Some light drizzle and occasional 5 minute rainfall in the Highlands and sunny blue skies for the rest of the tour. It just shows you how hit or miss the weather can be.

Thanks for sharing.

I am not sure about the Christmas Market trip yet. I have not
cancelled my hotels yet and had not made plane reservations. I am
waiting to see what Leslie decides. IF she cancels Toulouse, I will do
the Christmas Market/Lights trip and "just" do Paris for 3 weeks or
so, hahahaha!

Ah, so you barely have time to unpack, rearrange your plans and pack maybe 'just' for a 3-week trip to Paris!!

@Mardee!!! No, you didn't tell me Katie took a palette and paper with her! That is so cool that she got to paint. I hope she can continue to find 5-10 minutes here and there in her busy schedule for art. She will need that to help get the knots out of her brain with her heavy schedule and family commitments! Watercolor set ups can be SO small. One of the folks at the workshop literally had her entire watercolor set up in a small first-aid type field kit that was maybe 4x6. She did the whole workshop using just stuff from her bag plus the teeny palette the instructor gave us. Of course several others had giant check in type suitcases for their supplies, hahahaha!!! I hope she likes the book!

@JudyB - So funny you live Dire Straits and of course you know who Dave was right off! He was such an interesting guy. Scotland weather can be crazy, can't it? We might have crossed paths, hahaha!!

@Sandancisco - Wash is done more or less so if I have to pack for a Christmas trip it will be mostly the same stuff only swapping out short sleeve tees for the Lands End thermal underwear tops, hahaha!!

That's hilarious Pam that you're basically packed for December in Paris, which just shows what the weather could have been like in Scotland!

This thread about carrying and using art supplies started by Pam might interest some of you - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/do-you-sketch-draw-paint-do-art-when-traveling

And for those of you who said you can't draw a straight line, it's really not a requirement to draw of paint! hahaha. I was told by my first drawing instructor that 'technique comes first, talent may emerge later'. Luckily, I now have enough technique I get told I have talent!! LOL.

@Sandancisco...."I was told by my first drawing instructor that 'technique comes first, talent may emerge later'.". THAT is brilliant!