Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

Hi all,

OK, here's the deal... I will be in Europe for most of the summer. The itinerary is Scotland (Dundee and Glasgow), Amsterdam and Rome for the first ten or so days, then I will be going to Tuscany to do 3 weeks of Maya 3D animation software training. At the college I teach at, we are going from 3D Studio Max to Maya, and while I am "ok" at Maya, I want to brush up a bit, so I found a training program that is English language in the town of Cantona (I think that is the proper name) and will be living in a castle the entire time. Sounds pretty rough, huh? Anyhow, I am looking for recommendations for these locations. Rome I am not too worried about, but Scotland and Amsterdam will be short trips, so I want to get the most from these. Suggestions???


Thanks!

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

For Scotland, Check out Thomas Heatons's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfhW84xfA6gEc4hDK90rR1Q/featured
or Scotland's Mountains: https://www.youtube.com/user/wilkiemurray

For Amsterdam, I found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joK0Attp7fI

dbarber71

Amsterdam is a great city for just wandering. If you want to visit the Anne Frank Museum, get your tickets ASAP. Without a ticket ahead of time, you won't get it. The Rijksmuseum is one of the great art museums with some of Rembrandt's best. Be sure to chek out a visit to a neighboring town like Arnhem. It's about an hour away by train and has an outdoor museum of houses and people from Holland's past.

I would do one day in Edinburgh and then get on a bus or train to see the countryside. St. Andrews is more than a golf course and not too far from Edinburgh. A ride north to Inverness would be beautiful, especially if you make it a loop. Urquart Castle is a beautiful ruin on the west side of Loch Ness is a great place for photos especially in the evening. If you haven't driven on the other side of the road before, don't be afraid to try. Cities can be scary, but once you are out of Edinburgh, you will be fine. The most dangerous parts for me were parking lots and intersections. Just take your time and don't worry about holding up traffic a bit while you make sure you will be turning onto the correct side of the road. A museum pass can be a good investment. And do try to stop at a distillery for a tour and tasting.

Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

Thanks for the info! and dbarber71, you ain't seen scary driving (either side of the road!) until you've driven here in Shanghai. Ultra Scary! :-)

dbarber71

Then you should have no problem driving in the Isles. Actually the scariest ride I ever had was in Sydney. It was raining and the driver did not know the streets. He actually left the road coming over a hill. Shades of Bullitt.