Scotland and Ireland trip — Kelly Jamieson

Well I’m home from RARE Edinburgh 2024! What an adventure this trip was! My sister accompanied me as my assistant for the signing, and we took a little extra jaunt over to Ireland to explore our Irish heritage. We both felt we connected with our Irish roots and we learned a lot about Ireland, the people, their history.

First, the signing! It was amazing, as usual, and I loved meeting everyone who came by my table! Hearing from readers is the best part of this job and I was really touched by some of the conversations. it was a whirlwind day but so much fun. It was also so great to connect with author friends I don’t get to see very often, especially old friends I haven’t seen for a long time! We ended up closing down the meet and greet party we were having so much fun!

With Elise Faber, Kate Meader, and Kat Mizera

We explored Edinburgh, our first time there, and it was gorgeous. The city has a castle on a hill right in the middle of it! I love old architecture and every corner we turned was another beautiful vista. We also went for a lovely afternoon tea and of course checked out a few pubs.

We also took a tour across the country to Inverness, Loch Ness, (sadly we did not spy Nessie despite keeping a close eye out) and Urquhart Castle, which dates back to AD580. It is crumbling but so beautiful.

Then it was on to Ireland! More beauty! We took several guided tours and the guides were all such great storytellers. We learned so much about the history of the country. We did a walking tour of Dublin, a tour of the Jameson distillery and the Guinness brewery — both so much more than I expected! Very polished and interesting! We also drove across Ireland to the Cliffs of Moher—stunning! We visited Galway and drove along the Wild Atlantic Way. So much more amazing old architecture, beautiful parks, cute pubs…I took so many pictures! These are just a few.

I’m full of story ideas and my creative well is brimming! So much beauty, laughter, and learning.