When we travel anywhere, we like to blend in. Do as the locals do. Experience a new place from its roots. Some may say turning up on a Scottish island dressed in fluorescent-colored tank tops contradicts our “blending in” mantra, but hey, whoever said blending in meant stop being fabulous?
Regardless, learning about the culture, getting the lingo down, and unearthing all of the hidden gems are of utmost importance to us. At the very least, we want to pronounce the name of our destination correctly… Duh!
Yet, despite numerous back-and-forths of us practicing the correct pronunciation of Islay; “EYE-Lah, EYE-Lah, EYE-Lah,” aloud to ourselves, we (of course) marched up to our hotel check-in, confidently announcing our excitement to be in “I-slaaaaayyyy”! facepalm We sounded like a bunch of gay guys cheering a drag queen performing a lip-sync… Luckily, the check-in lady laughed it off.
Visiting Gay Islay
The Isle of Islay is a Scottish island in the lower Hebrides, famous for rain, wind, cold, and more rain. Such weather is ideal for creating good quality peat… which in turn, makes a superbly delicious whisky, which gay Islay is super famous for. So, all in all, it’s rather worth it.