Just got back from an entire month spent in the UK and Ireland. Two weeks working in Bristol, then two weeks flitting about Scotland, Ireland and London, with a weekend side trip to Bruges, Belgium. It was all great, but I have to say I'd go back to Scotland in a heartbeat. Castles! Whisky! Sheep! The best bed and breakfasts! And I stuck my hand into the waters of Loch Ness, thrilling my inner raised-in-the-70s child who spent many hours reading about the legendary monster. The photo above is Ballycarbery Castle, which just sits out in a field being awesome on the west coast of Ireland, with no public access because it's not safe to get too close to its awesomeness.

Below is my second-favorite photo: eating a liege waffle in Bruges.

You can find a few more photos of our trip on my Twitter stream. It was one of those trips where every day was so packed with stuff, it felt like we were gone for ages and yet also felt like it whooshed by in a blink. Also, my fingers ache just thinking about writing an extensive blog post about it. I think that's a sign of a good holiday.