The time was 4:30 am, which is just an insane time to get up for anything. Here in the U.S., we call that “stupid o’clock in the morning”. None the less, there I was in the rain, trolling across a dark, desolate street in Dublin with my luggage in tow. I had an early flight to catch and my car (which I wouldn’t be driving until my return, was sitting in the car park at the airport.
Now mind you, I had not driven in Ireland or the U.K. before, much less driven this car, but I was borrowing it from a brave friend who had just left for Dubai the day prior. Driving said brave friend’s car, however, was not to be my first UK driving experience. That I was holding off for Scotland.

My UK Driving Experience
I wanted to get a proper feel for the hair-raising experience before I sat in the driver seat of my trusting friend’s unscathed Volkswagen. This would lend me just enough confidence to take the wheel after my UK crash course and drive fearlessly about Ireland. So, he parked it at the Dublin Airpark the day prior when he left for Dubai.
I always fancy using Airparks because they are so much cheaper than long term parking at the airport. I hopped the bus, with my luggage and rats nest of a hairdo, and off I was to catch the 6 am -something flight to Edinburgh.
“How can I avoid this like the plague?” I kept thinking to myself. I would literally have paid someone $500 to drive me around. I laughed out loud thinking, “shut up, stop being such a wuss about it, it’s just the left side of the road.” Yet there I was, near shitting my pants that I would be left in stitches, envisioning the dramatic setting of myself on a bus, in the rain, on a journey to sudden death.

I had made my way into the city just fine by 9 am. Edinburgh, God I love that place. Its blackened beautiful and layered streets. The Royal Mile is textured with character, popping with random splashes of colorful flowers against the medieval stone and a royal flare.
Beneath the streets lies a conduit of dark underground villages known to be haunted by the dead souls taken from the plague. And the Witch Trials, the history of the mass executions at Edinburgh Castle is captivating.
