There's no doubt about it...


Our accomodation was AMAZING.

View out one window - behind the building you can see in this photo lies Greyfriars Kirkyard. Note the decanter - Our host provided some whisky, shortbread and oatcakes so we could share a wee dram on arrival. Also, in the fridge was: croissants, cheese, OJ, milk, butter, marmalade. So thoughtful and lovely.


View from the opposite window, above the kitchen sink. Wow! On the first morning, waking up to see these views was so unbelievably exciting for me.


View of the Castle from Greyfriars Kirkyard.


See the roof in the centre with the two windows? That's our attic! The left window is in the first photo above. The right window was the bedroom.


We ended our day with a Caledonian Ale at the Last Drop Inn, on the Grassmarket.

Another day we wandered over to the New Town. So new! Built between 1765 and 1850. One of the tour guides said it was the inspiration for Manhattan's layout.



This is St Mary's in the haar. That day was deliciously dreich.


The castle, from Princes St. I think I have sunny photos from the same location...


Leith Docks - I finally got to see the Firth of Forth up close. This was snapped through the bus window (top of the double-decker!) on the way to Ocean Terminal, which is essentially a massive shopping mall, with the Royal Yacht Britannia/museum outside it.


Here's me on board the Royal cruise ship. It's not a yacht. It's a luxury cruise liner. I was attempting to pose like a sailor peering out to sea, but in my left hand I'm holding the audio-guide to my ear, so it didn't really work. Anyway, look - there's water!


There's even a Rolls Royce locked away on the top deck. Handy for when you want to nip out to the shops when you're at some far flung port. (Also, this was probably the first photo I took of Sasha and I together on the trip. Sneaky.) :)


Queenie's bed.

Look, I was sceptical about going onto this ship. It's billed as "Edinburgh's Top Attraction" which is bullshit unless you're a rabid an avid Royalist. But once I was there it was actually really interesting. And the self conducted audio guide was informative. This is Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom on board. The quilt cover was originally Queen Victoria's. Whoah.

The tour also went through the different living quarters, including where the sailors slept. This was on one of the locker doors:


A little piece of Aussie memorabilia.


We went grocery shopping and came home with these Scottish essentials. Oats and haggis-flavoured potato crisps. Aye, but that's naw how ye make porridge!



Balmoral Hotel.


Edinburgh by night - Royal Bank of Scotland on left, the Castle on the right. (Did I post this one already? Oh well. I must like it if I'm sticking it here again.)


Sasha jumped into my photo for a laff. I love this one. We were about to head up into the Highlands on a one-day minibus trip. :)

But those photos are still on my camera so I'll do them another day.

( some more under here )

Tags: dsl, edinburgh, scotland

Amsterdam set on flickr.

Amsterdam: February 8th-11th 2011.


Me, on my last afternoon in Amsterdam. I realised before it was too late that I didn't have any photos of myself here. Thanks to the stranger who took this one. :)


Upside down!


First afternoon in Amsterdam - glorious!


Sunset on the Oude Kerk (Old Church)


These plaques on the wall indicated a person's profession - apparently they were used instead of street numbers.



A beer and a book at the hostel bar. Beautiful end to my first day in Amsterdam.



Amsterdam at night: Oudezijds Voorburgwal - the street/canal I was staying on.


A crisp sunny morning at Dam Square - waiting for my guided walking tour to start.


I really love this little ship on the wall. :)


De Waag, by night. (The Weigh House)


Orange bicyle and canal. <3

Tags: amsterdam, europe, flickr, photography, photos

I've added some more photos to my Antwerpen 2011 set on flickr. Most of what you find below was written last Thursday. Finally got around to illustrating the words with some photos.

Thursday 3rd Feb

I've discovered the downside of traveling during the off-season: everything's closed!! Well, not everything... just the things I want to see. ;)


(KMSKA - fine arts museum)

The Fine Arts Museum is closed for renovation, as I discovered online. Today I tried to visit the FotoMuseum but it's closed until May. Boooo. I walked for over 30 minutes to discover that. Their website doesn't mention it. So then I decided to visit MuHKA (contemporary art). It was *mostly closed*. But it was alright, because for half-price (3 euro) I got to see two levels. It was mostly Belgian artists as far as I could tell - but I did get to see a Barbara Kruger and a Cindy Sherman, so that made it worthwhile.


(outside the M HKA museum)


(cool rusty old gate outside the M HKA)


After a bit of culture I caught a tram into the centre of town and hunted down a cafe for lunch. Ended up at a gorgeous little place called the Daily Roast which served me a delicious broodje (Antwerp is good at sandwiches) and a cappucino. Then the sun came out so I went for a stroll. First stop was the River Schelde! A man played accordion and took more photos of the Cathedral from a new angle.


(the river!)


(Het Steen)

I also stumbled upon a little medieval castle, Het Steen ('the stone') which looked familiar from Sasha's travel photos. It houses the maritime museum - also closed! - and features a funny statue of a folk character known as Lange Wapper.

I also came across the Vleeshuis ('meat house'/ butchers' hall) which was first built in 1250. It now contains a museum about musical instruments. I contemplated going in to have a look but didn't think I could hack the disappointment if it turned out to be closed like all the others.


(vleeshuis)

Actually, it was quite sunny by then so I was happy to stay outdoors and keep walking.

I took more photos of the Grote Markt because, lets be frank, it looks much nicer in the sunshine. Also, my day was greatly enhanced by the presence of school kids dressed as chickens. :)



I ended up walking the full length of the Meir - the big grand shopping street. Think Pitt or Bourke Street Malls, except longer and inside fancier, older, bigger buildings. Same kind of shops, though.

At the end of Meir is the most beautiful railway station I have ever seen. Antwerp Centraal is truly impressive. It's big. It's bold. It's beautiful. I was a little bit awestruck. Fortunately, I got there as the sun was setting (no clouds) so the light was gorgeous.


(the dome)


(the station - with two levels of train tracks)


(sunset inside Antwerpen Centraal)



Wow. Just wow. On Tues I'll be back there to catch a train to Amsterdam!

Lots of walking today. Judging by gmap-pedometer it was about 8km.
morning route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4270010
afternoon route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4270021


Friday 4th Feb
On Friday I had a quiet day in the apartment. It wasn't too cold outside but I felt like staying in and I managed to get a bit of writing done so that was good. In the evening, Sasha and I went out for dinner to a Spanish tapas joint in the centre of town called Tapa Bar. It was delicious. Chorizo, olives, bread, cheese and some more Belgian beer. This time I tried a De Koninck. We went further with the Belgian-things-to-try by sharing a waffle afterwards at a teahouse called Desire de Lille. It was pretty yummy, but there was nothing particularly 'wow' about it. The cheap icecream and sweetened cream probably didn't do it any favours. Oh well, it was another one to tick off the list: eat a belgian waffle in Belgium. Check. :)



( more photos )

Tags: antwerp, belgium, europe, flickr, photos

Today was warmer. I think it was up to 4 or 5 degrees instead of 1 or 2. Toasty!







Things I love about Antwerp:
* The Plantin-Moretus Museum. I spent nearly two hours in here, with an audioguide commentary, marvelling at the 17th century interiors, the gilded leather walls, the oldest surving printing presses (!) and all the associated history (the first ever world atlas, Rubens' sketches for title pages, the foundry where they cast the lead letters, and more. Best museum I've been to in a long time.)
* It's flat and easy to walk around.
* Trams. How good are trams? I could ride around on them for hours.
* Shops with gorgeous winter clothes and wonderful boots.
* The beer.



Things that confuse me about Antwerp:
* People seem to eat their sandwiches (broodjes) with a knife and fork. I noticed this at a vegetarian cafe I visited for lunch. It was a bit odd.
* The seeming impossibility of purchasing an "Antwerp Card". I've given up on the idea.
* Traffic on the wrong side of the road. I'm only a pedestrian but I'm slowly getting used to which direction I need to look in order to avoid stepping in front of a bicycle, car or tram.



I quite like these dudes, too.

( a couple more photos under here )

Tags: antwerp, belgium, europe, history, museum, travel
Current Location: Antwerp, Belgium

Antwerp is wonderful! It's cold and crisp and beautiful. It seems to be a very clean city with lots of amazing architecture. Some photos are up: Antwerp set on Flickr



Cathedral of Our Lady


Frieze at the entrance to the cathedral


Grote Markt - beautiful in the afternoon sun.



Cathedral


Groenplaats




Antwerp, on a crisp winter afternoon.



Antwerp has some pretty amazing architecture - I love this art deco building.


and this:





On Sunday afternoon we visited Rubenhuis, where Rubens lived and worked.



We finished our first day in Belgium at a restaurant with this view out the window!

Perfection!


and with a glass of Duvel. Yum!


Today, Sasha went to work and I set out to do some more exploring. It was colder than yesterday. No sun and probably only about 1 degree celsius. Brrr.

I'm glad we didn't arrive on a day like today because it was grey and chilly and most of the museums and shops were closed. In the morning I wandered up to the Grote Markt again to find the tourist information office.

This is a statue of Brabo with the City Hall (Studhuis) in the background.


In legend, Brabo cut off the hand of a giant and threw it into the river, hence the name of the city, apparently (hand-werpen = hand throw). But there are other explanations for the name.

Tomorrow I'll probably start checking out some of the art galleries and museums. What a lucky girl I am.

Tags: antwerp, belgium, europe, flickr, photos
Current Location: Antwerp, Belgium

November 2007: Poland

(Flickr photo set here)

The next part of the solo leg of my Adventure, I visited Krakow and Wadowice to visit my friend Andrew. I stayed at his place for a few nights and the final night at a hostel in the Old Town of Krakow. His girlfriend at the time fed me lots of yummy food; we explored the town (where JPII was born); we explored Krakow in the cold; it snowed; and we celebrated as John Howard lost his seat and Kevin Rudd became the next Prime Minister of Australia.

I wrote a short entry from the Tutti Frutti hostel I stayed at for one night.

Wadowice (pronunciation is kinda: Vadovitzeh)
I had timed the trip so that I would be at a friend's house when the election results were announced. I'm a bit of a politics nerd and I knew I wouldn't want to be: a) without internet access in some hostel somewhere, b) without a fellow Australian to celebrate or commiserate with.

Fortunately, we ended up being able to celebrate!! It was about 8am in Poland. I was awoken with a text from Sasha to tell me that the election coverage had started in Australia. I got up and I remember watching some footage on ABC Online on Andrew's laptop at the kitchen table. It was pretty clear early on that Labor were going to win and it was pretty bloody amazing. Ola was making me a cup of tea but not really understanding why I was soooooo excited, and then Andrew came out just when I'd learned that John Howard had not only lost the election, but that he'd lost his seat. I think he could tell by the look on my face that the Libs were gone. :)



In Wadowice - Ola and I pose with the Pope and some Polish soldiers.


Krakow
The obligatory Szczepanska Street shot (for anyone with friends called Szczepanski)


Me - inside the cool sculpture in Krakow's Market Square.


I finally found out, just now, that this sculpture is called Eros Bendato (meaning "Eros Tied").

Polish banquet

We went out for dinner in the Old Town with a friend of Andrew and Ola's, Sebastian. It was delicious and filling and it's when I knew *for sure* that I was no longer a vegetarian. Afterwards, Sebastian took us to a cute little candle-lit bar in the heart of Krakow. I can't remember the name of it, but it had cool art on the walls and I remember loving it because it was so... for lack of a better word, bohemian.


Krakow by night.

It was absolutely beautiful. I had one night at a hostel in Krakow before a stupidly early train trip. I walked around by myself in the cold and it was magical.



The sculpture took on a completely different feel when it was dark and snow had fallen on it. (And without stupid tourists poking around inside it!)



Breakfast! (Self-portrait on train...)

At stupid o'clock in the morning. It was still dark. It was snowing. It was amazing. Next stop, Prague!

Tags: europe, friends, kevin07, krakow, poland, politics, wadowice

The travelblogging continues!

[Full set: Vienna 2007 on Flickr.]

20th November 2007
The solo part of my round-the-world adventure began in Vienna. I flew from Cyprus at stupid o'clock in the morning into the pre-dawn cold of Vienna airport. I managed to find my first hostel easily enough - Wombat's - and then I took myself out for a coffee and croissant at the train station, which is where I needed to be in order to book the first of my Eurail trips.


Museum Quartier

I also picked up a 3-day Vienna Pass which was very helpful indeed. My first stop was the Museum Quartier, where I spent the rest of the afternoon. It was cold outside so art galleries and museums were perfect.

I took myself to the Leopold Museum (saw some Austrian art like Klimt and Schiele and also an exhibition of art nouveau furniture) and also went to MUMOK, where I saw some Warhol, pop art and some crazy/interesting photographs and performance art from the 1960s.


Snow on the ground is such a novelty for me.

In my diary I have written that I was feeling a bit tired, lost and lonely, so I went back to the hostel for a nap. In the evening I had a free beer in the hostel (I love a hostel with a bar!), did some emailing, and got chatting with a woman from Colorado called Jen, who was also travelling on her own.

21st November 2007
Had a big and much needed sleep-in before heading out to book my train seat to Krakow. Then I headed to Hofburg Palace.


Hofburg Palace, Vienna

I walked around for quite a while in the brisk can-see-my-breath air, before finding the main entrance and deciding to check out the Kaisserappartements - the imperial rooms of Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth, better known as Sissi. There was a whole exhibition dedicated just to her and her strange, rather sad life. I enjoyed learning about her and the Austro-Hungarian empire.

I was also strangely fascinated with one section of the museum which was a massive display of silverware, tableware and glassware from the Habsburg empire, including gifts from Queen Victoria and Louis XIV. There were so many beautiful and opulent objects - far more interesting than I had anticipated.


Coffee and applestrudel in the Hofburg Cafe.

The most perfect afternoon tea! I tried to practice my German when ordering, but the waiter got in quickly and was pleased he could practice his English, which was, of course, brilliant, in that annoying I'm-European-I-can-speak-five-languages way.

In the evening I strolled around the shopping district. There was jazz music and gluhwein and the city was all twinkly and festive in the lead up to Christmas.


Hofburg Palace by night


Wien at night


St Stephen's.

Blurry photo but what a gorgeous roof. I hadn't seen it during the day.


Jumpys: kangaroo-shaped paprika-flavoured snacks. I had to try them!

22nd November 2007
My last day in Vienna I jumped on the tram that goes on the ring-road around the city. I also hunted down the Freud Museum, which is in the building where he used to live and work.




Freud's couch.

I didn't get psychoanalysed but I did see lots of Freud family photos and letters. In the afternoon I did a spot of souvenir shopping and back at the hostel, my new mate Jen came to find me to see if I wanted to join her to see if we could get the cheap seats (well, the standing room only spots) to the opera. I'm glad she invited me because I probably wouldn't have gone by myself. We got tickets for only 2 Euros, we hired some binoculars for fun, and we saw Romeo and Juliet. I was a bit miffed that there was no Prokofiev awesomeness, but I suppose that's what I get for not knowing my operas from my ballets. In any case, it was pretty special to see an opera in Vienna. A lovely way to end my stay in this gorgeous city.




Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera)

Tags: austria, backpacking, europe, vienna, wien

It seems a bit silly to continue slowly going through my photos and blogging about my 2007 trip. It was 3 years ago!! But I will keep plodding on because I want to share the pictures and as I write about the adventures I get to re-live them and have a record of them for later.

When I wrote last it was about my time in Oxford with Sasha, followed by an afternoon in the London suburb of Rickmansworth and a trip out to West Wycombe. After that we headed to an airport hotel and the next morning we flew to Cyprus. So today I bring you some Cypriot stories. :)

I blogged a couple of times when I was there. You can read the entries here and here.

We were warmly greeted at the airport by Sasha's aunty Ilana, and driven to Limassol. We checked into our hotel and then joined Ilana, George and JJ for dinner at their place. It was lovely to have a home-cooked meal and be with family.

The next morning Sasha and I explored Limassol. It was warm, sunny and the architecture very different from what I had been experiencing in the comparatively cool grey Britain.







Limassol scene (with minaret)


Ilana and Sasha (and JJ) on the steps at the Kourion Theatre



Covered archaelogical site at Kourion

Another day, Uncle George drove us to Nicosia, the capital, to explore but also so I could vote in the 2007 Australian Federal election!!

I didn't take many photos there, but I remember we had a delicious Cypriot mezze lunch and we explored an archaeological museum.


This church was in Nicosia

One night Sasha and I dined at a Lebanese restaurant in Limassol. This was the most amazing Lebanese feast I've ever eaten - and the closest I'd ever been to actual Lebanon.



Later in the trip we hired a car and did some touring around. Out to Paphos one day and up to the Turkish-controlled northern part of Cyprus another day.

The birthplace of Aphrodite, near Paphos:



Petra Tou Romiou (Rock of the Greek) or Aphrodite's Rock

At the UNESCO World Heritage Site, we explore incredible archaeological sites, beautifully preserved Roman mosaic floors, underground tombs and ancient castles...




Tombs of the Kings, Paphos


We drove into the northern part of Cyprus, occupied by Turkey since 1974. It was a bit scary at times because you have to go through an intimidating checkpoint. We saw some amazing scenery on the way, in particular the gorgeous views at Saint Hilarion Castle (most of which we couldn't photograph because it was a military zone) and we had lunch at Kyrenia, overlooking the harbour.


Kyrenia Harbour

On my last night in Cyprus, we stayed in a funny little motel in Larnaca. But not for the whole night because my flight out was at 3.45am! In the afternoon we explored the town a little bit, but it was pretty quiet as it was the low season.

I really enjoyed my stay in Cyprus. It's such a beautiful part of the world, with so much history, it's a bit mind-boggling. It was a wonderful place to hang out with Sasha and some of his family. It was the last leg of the trip where I was with people I knew. The next morning I began the solo backpacking adventure in Europe.

I remember arriving in Vienna just before sunrise. The cold was a shock to the system after sunny Cyprus. On the bus from the airport into town, there was snow on the ground. Snow! Snow is a novelty for me as a Sydney-sider. What a glorious beginning to my backpacking adventure around central Europe. But those photos and stories are still to come...

Click here for my Cyprus photo set on Flickr

Tags: 2007, cyprus, europe, family, holiday, kyrenia, limassol, paphos

Full Oxford photo album here.



Yep! I'm still in the process of uploading and labelling my photos from my 2007 Grand Tour.

Blogging about it so long after the event means I'm losing some of the spontaneity but I hope I make up for it with enthusiasm and some good photos. It's fun re-living my trip by going through my images. I'll have to dig out my paper journal to help fill in the gaps in my memory. What castle was that again? Which ruins are these? etc.

I last wrote about the 2007 trip in this entry, about my time in London with Sasha.








Tuesday 6th November - Saturday 10th November 2007

On the day before we headed to Oxford, Sasha and I visited St Paul's in London. We climbed up inside the dome and it was pretty spectacular. No photos - I think my camera batteries must have died. I remember the organ started playing while we were up there and afterwards we had afternoon tea in the Crypt Cafe underneath the cathedral.

Next day we caught a train to Oxford! I fell in love with the place immediately.

I'm going to quote from my paper journal:

Tuesday 6th Nov
How can I not love a place with so much education and learning associated with it? So many beautiful old buildings. Caught train here from London and then went wandering around the town. So pretty and easy to walk. Lots of bikes and students and colleges.

Found the covered markets - lots of cool shops and fresh produce. Had a pasty from Cornwall franchise.

Checked out the Ashmolean History of Science museum. Very cool! Einstein's blackboard form a lecture on relativity he gave here in 1931; Lawrence of Arabia's camera and Lewis Carrol's box of chemicals for his photography. Marconi's prototypes of Morse and wireless transmitters and also lots of surgical devices and other gruesome looking things.

Looked at the Bodliean library - couldn't really get in without a tour but the shop was great. Taking lots of photos. Our hostel is comfy and nice...TV and a kitchenette all to ourselves.

Friday 9th Nov
Last night here - a bit sad to go really. We've seen quite a lot of the town. Went on a great walking tour of the place - learning lots about the city, its history ad the way the university and colleges operate.

Were taken inside Jesus College - amazing dining hall! Yesterday, wandered to Christ Church College and botanic gardens. Beautiful. It bucketed down with rain on our way back. Last night went to see Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Blanchett and costumes terrific, but overall something was lacking...

Today we caught a bus out of Oxford to a little town called Woodstock to see the impressively large Blenheim Palace, built in the 1700s and where Winston Churchill was born. Went on a spooky but cool AV tour of the palace and then wandered around the Secret Garden: so many beautiful autumn colours!!!

Pub dinner back in Oxford. Sausages and Yorkshire pud for him; brocolli and stilton soup for me. Yum. Visiting Andrew in Rickmansworth tomorrow.

Pies from the covered markets in Oxford.



Radcliffe Camera



One of the oldest buildings in Oxford... and it's a Nokia shop!






Afternoon devonshire tea. :)








Blenheim Palace



Beautiful autumn in the "Secret Garden" at Blenheim Palace.


Saturday 10th Nov
We hired a car from Oxford and drove back to London, to the suburb of Rickmansworth where Dominic grew up and where Sasha's Uncle Andrew lives. We went out for a drive to West Wycombe and visited some West Wycombe Caves that were built in the 1700s by the noblemen who founded the Hellfire Club. It seemed to be a den of drunken debauchery.


Inside the Hellfire Caves



Very serious padlock. On the mausoleum in West Wycombe.


We went out for a coffee in Rickmansworth with Andrew and it was nice to check out the place and hear some stories about Dominic's family.


Rickmansworth

After that we said our goodbyes and drove to Heathrow to find our hotel for the night. The next morning we flew out to Cyprus!

( Some bigger versions under here )

Tags: 2007, flickr, london, oxford, photos, rickmansworth, uk

I've been avoiding writing this entry partly because it has taken ages to label all my photos on flickr, but mostly because I fear that I won't be able to do the Scottish Highlands justice. But this is a silly reason not to at least try to capture my experience. I realised this week that I haven't even finished sorting my photos from my massive 2007 world adventure. I will get around to those pictures soon, but I don't want to wait until 2011 to share the rest of my Scottish adventure.

My favourite part of my Scotland trip was the three day Skye High tour that I did with Haggis. I'd been on one of their trips before, to Cornwall in 2007, and was very impressed. So I was more than pleased to be boarding one of their yellow buses again.

'Skye High' Haggis Tour - June 24-26

Day One

One of the first stops on the Haggis trip was Dunkeld Cathedral - begun in 1260 and completed in 1501. We didn't get a tour of the place. It was basically just a photo stop giving us a chance to get off the bus and letch our stregs for a bit. I'd chatted to a guy called Bruno (Argentinian) who was sitting next to me, and while walking around the cathedral I made friends with two other young women who were also travelling solo, Claire (a Kiwi) and Susan (from Melbourne, but she'd been working in London for a while).

For lunch we stopped at a little town called Kingussie, where there was a pub that was hired just for us. We all sat out in the sun, and some of us tried haggis and Irn Bru (Scotland's other national drink - sickly sweet orange fizzy stuff. I didn't try any when I was there, but managed to find some by chance in a lolly shop in Sydney). I still haven't tried any haggis. Next visit, for sure.

If it hadn't been so warm I might have tried one of these:


Next stop was Culloden Moor, site of the 1746 Battle of Culloden.


Perhaps is is wrong of me to be so smiley on the site of a battlefield, but I was very happy to be in the Highlands. :)


The bricks that are jutting out represent the casualities of the battle. I won nerdy/brownie points for guessing their significance, when our tour guide asked what we thought they were. There were many more Jacobite bricks than British. The field had red and blue flags marking out where the battle took place.



We drove through Inverness which I learned means 'mouth of ness'.

And then I had my first glimpse of Loch Ness!!!



We had a quick stop at Urquhart Castle.





And Debs, our tour guide, taught us how to do the dance and chant that would help entice Nessie out of the depths. :)



We finished the day by checking into our hostel in Fort Augustus, a gorgeous little town on the shores of Loch Ness. Then we went to a demonstration of what life used to be like in the Highlands, with a man who showed us how a traditional kilt was worn, told us how stinky everything used to be along with gruesome details about how the weapons were used.




View of the loch from Fort Augustus.

I had dinner at a pub in Fort Augustus with some friends from the Haggis bus before heading back to the hostel, where (happily) there was a bar and some live entertainment. Claire and I asked the bartender to recommend us a whisky - one that's relatively easy to drink for first-timers. She suggested Dalwhinnie and I thoroughly enjoyed mine. The perfect end to my first day in the Scottish Highlands.


We finished the bottle! ;)

Day Two

While waiting for everyone to join our yellow bus, I took some photos outside the hostel of an absolutely gorgeous morning.





The scenery just kept getting better and better in the Highlands. We stopped for photos at this gorgeous place, overlooking Loch Garry. I scored a thousand-gabillion points and was declared an honorary Scot for recognising that the loch is not only heart-shaped but that it's the shape of the map of Scotland. Fun!



Next up was a tour of Eilean Donan Castle. The kilt-wearing castle tour guide spoke to us in Gaelic at first, before conceding that English would have to do. He asked if there were any Campbells on the tour and I hesitantly raised my hand, knowing that having Campbell heritage is not necessarily something you want to admit to when you're in the Highlands. The tour guide pulled out his walkie-talkie and threatened to call security so that I couldn't enter the castle. Ha!



The bridge to the castle + Loch Duich


There was a bit of an incident with our big yellow bus while we were at the castle. The emergency exit door wouldn't close properly so the tour guides were forced to wait until someone could come and fix it. While we were waiting, I wandered away and found a bench to sit on and admire the view. I struck up conversation with a friendly old bikie who was from the Lakes District and touring around Scotland with two mates. It was one of those cool moments that happen more often while travelling, where you get to talk to someone you might not ordinarily.

Eventually I headed back to the bus but couldn't find anyone. Thinking that they'd all gone into the visitors centre to kill some time, I wandered in. Several moments later, while perusing the postcards, I heard a "Phew! I found you!" from Chris, our tour guide, looking part frantic, part relieved.

Turned out that everyone had been piled onto two other buses driven by rival tour companies and they had been waiting around for me. Oops! I'm glad they didn't leave without me. I might have ended up hitching a ride with some Lakes District bikies!

We were bussed to the Kyle of Lochalsh for an impromptu lunch-stop while the bus was being repaired. Our temporary driver was fantastic - a tall gorgeous Highlander who was even wearing a kilt. :) After lunch our normal guides returned and we drove across the bridge to the Isle of Skye.



We stopped at a stream to fill up our bottles with some fresh Highland water:


Skye Water! Try some today!


Because the weather was so brilliant the Haggis team took us for a walk up into the beautiful scenery on the Isle of Skye, to a place known as the Fairy Pools. It was wonderful to be off the bus. We went on an easy hike up to a spectacular spot in the hills. A few people went swimming in the cold crystal water. I just marvelled at the beauty of the place and enjoyed watching everyone frolicking in the sunshine.











On the way back to the hostel we saw Eilean Donan again, from a different angle. I couldn't resist...



Back in Fort Augustus, I had fish+chips by the canal with Susan and Claire:


And then we went on a cruise on Loch Ness!!! On board was all this equipment for peering underwater, hunting for Nessie.



We didn't spot her. :(



But I didn't really mind. :)



After the cruise, it was still daylight, despite being around 9pm so we kicked on to another of Fort Augustus' drinking establishments. Pints all round. I remember meeting some other people from the bus - some Canadians and South Africans and a couple more Aussies, of course. When the pub closed around 11 we headed back to the hostel bar. On the way, my new kiwi pal received a text message from her dad saying that Michael Jackson had been rushed to hospital.

I didn't think much of it, but a while later, when we were sipping our wee drams (I'd definitely acquired a taste for whisky by then) someone came back from the computer room announcing that Jackson was dead. There was lots of discussion about him then, and someone pulled out an iPod with his music on it. And the rest of the night was a blur of dancing, drinking and Michael Jackson tunes. I like that I'll always have a fun story to tell when someone asks "what were you doing when you heard Michael Jackson was dead?". :)


Some of the crew from the Haggis tour, hanging out in the hostel bar.

Day Three
Feeling a bit hungover after one too many whiskies the night before, I was pleased to discover that the weather for the last day of the trip was just as glorious as the previous two. Today we started winding our way back south to Edinburgh.

First stop was a lookout to view Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain. For many days of the year the summit is obscured by clouds, but not when I was there! The perfect weather continued!

Beinn Nibheis (Ben Nevis) - I think it's the snow-capped one at the back:


And just when I thought the Scottish Highlands couldn't get any more spectacular, we arrived at Glen Coe, site of the infamous massacre of 1692 (the reason I was almost banned from Eilean Dolan when I said I was from Campbell stock) .

The place was filled with an eery sense of melancholy. The sadness of the place was heightened because we'd just heard tales of the brutal and bloody massacre, but I got the impression that it has always been a sad sort of place, despite it's rugged beauty.

Me at Glen Coe:


I know it's touristy, but when this man began playing his bagpipes while we were at Glen Coe it was just perfect. They are quite haunting sometimes, but they can also be uplifting, I think. Perhaps that's just my Scottish heritage talking. :)



Outside the "Green Welly Stop", another Wild+Sexy Haggis bus drives off. This roadside lunch stop was my second visit to the Green Welly. Mum, Em and I stopped here in 2007 on our way from Oban to Glasgow. Fun to see the place again. :)



Hamish, the hairy coo.


The batteries of my camera ran out while snapping the gorgeous Hamish, so there are no photos of our last stop, the William Wallace monument in Stirling. I suspect you've just about had enough anyway. :) We climbed up a big hill, with nice views of the town, and sat outside the monument while Chris regaled us with heroic tales of Wallace.

Eventually we got back into Edinburgh, where I was pleased to be staying for another couple of nights.

( click here for map and some larger pictures )

Tags: deep scottish love, haggis, photos, scotland, scottish highlands, uk