It was Queen Victoria's favorite getaway, and once her Walter Scott wrote about it, the Scottish

Highlands became a coveted destination. He wrote about the land of mountain and the flood

with every valley, a battle, and every stream of song. Coming up, we'll take the high road to

Locke Lohman. Among domestic destinations, the Alabama tourism director tells us how he promotes

the state's attractions and recommends a few of his favorites. Years ago, when I went to a trade show

in Las Vegas, the song Sweet Home Alabama came on, and everybody in the room cheered. I thought,

wow, pay attention to this. And we look at the enormous role Spain and its artists have played

in the art world, and what to look for in the museums of Madrid. We've had a great call.

There could be no impressionism, there could be no cubies, and there could be nothing. A great

miracle started the whole thing 400 years before. Come along, it's traveled with Rick Steves.

It's a project I completed during the pandemic, and it's probably my proudest hour, or six.

Today on Travel with Rick Steves, we'll go a little deeper into what I learned in preparing the

Rick Steves Art of Europe TV series. Today, we'll explore the enormous role Spain has played

for the last 500 years in the world of art. Also, the tourism director for the state of Alabama

tells us what his office has been doing to raise his state's profile as an international tourism

destination. Attractions range from sugary beaches and tasty barbecue joints to monumental sites of

the U.S. civil rights movement. We're at 877-3337-425, or by email its radio at RickSteves.com.

Let's start the hour with an insider's look at the Scottish Highlands.

We're going to talk about the Highlands right now with Scottish tour guide Anne Doig,

and thanks for joining us. Thank you, nice to be here. What are the Highlands? Explain just

the big picture. Well, the Highlands are an area of Scotland northwest of a fault line which runs

through the country in a diagonal line, and quite amazingly enough, the geology also follows or the

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