My overnight bus from London dropped me in Edinburgh exactly one half hour before my 5 day bus tour of the Scottish Highlands left from the Royal Mile.

I had no clue where I was going but I asked a few strangers for directions and made my way, arriving almost early for my tour. I’d never done a tour before, imagining I’d be bonding with old couples over early dinners and oversized binoculars, but instead I was met with 20 other 20 somethings and a guide who had more energy than all of us combined (Mindy he was a male version of you. If you weren’t with Colin I’d make you move here to marry him). We piled on the half sized bus and the adventure began, our guide making us speed date to make friends. After a few introductions I felt confident, these people were just like me, here to see Scotland cheaply, socially and without renting a car. Though an unsettling number of Australian teachers live in London and want to see Scotland.

We all bonded quickly, making friends as we drove and taking pictures for each other at stops. Our guide Andy took us to waterfalls and overlooks, cliffs and churches, asking us to hike and climb and explore in the wind and the rain. It was exactly what I was hoping for, the trails reminding me of home and the adventuring fostering friendships. The weather didn’t matter as we wandered, our rain jackets and scarfs tight as our cheeks burned red from excitement and chill.

There was something happening every night at the hostels – a quiz night, a kilt party, chill pub pool and game night. I never lacked for people to talk with. It was nice to feel like I belonged to something, that I could walk into the room and talk to anyone whether we’d shared a few words, a conversation or nothing at all. By the end of the 5 days I felt incredibly close to everyone, getting emotional as I realized so much of this adventure is going to be building friendships and then leaving them.

The Isle of Sky was unbelievable and I can’t even begin to explain all the places we went – Wednesday’s sunshine, hiking muddy waterfalls and seeing snow on the epic mountains standing out as highlights of the trip. We saw hairy cows and went whiskey tasking on a distillery tour, saw Loch Ness and stopped by a ski resort, climbed to the top of a waterfall with clear enough water to drink and drove through the Macbeth movie set. We visited war memorials and small town bakeries, beaches and cliff faces, saw deer and sheep, goats and white horses. We wandered pagan stone circles and giant cathedrals, heard bagpipes and sang along to Shaggi’s Wasn’t Me. I learned about my Mackenzie roots and that Scotland is voting for independence in August, that Edinburgh is a mixture of the shitty city and the Athens of the north.

It was an unforgettable 5 days, and I’m so grateful for all the people I got to meet and places I got to see. We made memories I’ll always appreciate and as we had our last beer together in Edinburgh and walked up Carlton Hill to see the sun set over the city I was genuinely sad to say goodbye. Good thing Facebook exists so I can believe we’ll all be friends forever.

My good friend Julia went to school in St. Andrews for a bit so I was grateful when her friends in Edinburgh agreed to host me for the weekend, showing me all the sights for free in a matter of two days. They’re experts, Sara because she was born and raised there and Marion because she’s an American whose done her best to get to know her new home well.

We played board games and went out for drinks, climbed Arthur’s Seat and Carlton Hill, went inside the castle and Dynamic Earth (the science center!). We ate a ridiculous amount of Chinese food and they cooked me a special Scottish meal with haggis and the wildly popular Iron Brew. Sara’s parents invited me for dinner one night and took me to church in the St. Giles Cathedral on Sunday. We explored Camera Obscura (an optical illusion museum!) and hung out in the University’s Library Bar, wandered the grass market and crisscrossed the Royal Mile. It was a great weekend and I can easily say Edinburgh is my new favorite European city, effortlessly merging historical sights with modern style.

Bring it on Europe, Scotland gave you a tough week to beat.