Grand Tour of Scotland 25 August 2019: Day 15 – Fort William to Isle of Mull

We left Fort William very early around 6:00 because it is approximately one hours drive without any stops. And as you know by now that won’t sit right with me. We had to be in Oban at 9 to board the ferry to Isle of Mull.

Tonight we are spending the night at The Tobermory Hotel.

All photos taken with my Huawei P10 cellphone.

Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand Tour of Scotland 24 August 2019: Day 14 – Travel from Skye to Fort William

We left Skye over the long and beautiful Skye bridge to get on the Mainland as they call it. We did some exploring on our way to to Fort William.

Tonight we are spending the night at The Moorings Hotel.

All photos taken with my Huawei P10 cellphone.

Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand Tour of Scotland 23 August 2019: Day 13 – Exploring Isle of Skye

Today was our last day on Isle of Skye and we did some more exploring.

Just a few random photos of our day…

All photos taken with my Huawei P10 cellphone.

Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand tour of Scotland 22 August 2019: Day 12 – Exploring Isle of Skye

Today we explored Isle of Skye.

Here are some random photos of our day. More to come when I have edited the rest.

All photos taken with my Huawei P10 cellphone.

Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand Tour of Scotland 21 August 2019: Day 11 – Exploring Harris and do some island hopping….

Today was our last day on Isle of Harris so we did some more exploring before heading to Cal Mac Ferries in Tarbert. It was raining cats and dogs when we left Harris

We then traveled to the Isle of Skye where we will spend 3 nights at Orchard House Bed and Breakfast in Portree.

Here are some random photos of our day…

All photos taken with my Huawei P10 cellphone.

Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand Tour of Scotland 20 August 2019: Day 10 – Exploring Isle of Harris and Lewis

Good evening everyone,

Today we did 2 circle routes today. Covering Lewis and Harris.

The photos are random and not in a particular order.

Vegitarian breakfast

Cream cheese with matured salmon on bagel with salad

Egg and mayo sandwich with salads

Beer battered Haddock with peas and chips
Butt of lewis

Sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and ice cream
Lentil soup and brown bread
Butt of lewis

Butt of lewis
Apple crumble and ice cream
Butt of lewis

All photos taken with my Huawei P10 cellphone.

Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand Tour of Scotland 19 August 2019: Day 9 Ullapool to Isle of Harris

Good evening everyone,

We left Ullapool on the ferry to Stornoway on Isle of Harris.

We then traveled via the coastline to Tarbert. We are staying at The Harris Hotel for 2 nights.

Photos are random and not in the order we have traveled.

All photos taken with my Huawei P10 cellphone.

Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand Tour of Scotland 18 August 2019: Day 8 – Travel from Orkney to Ullapool

Good day, just a heads up that the photos are random and not in the order it was taken. I am going to write a blog about our trip and what happen each day when I get back home.

We left Orkney Island on the ferry to Scrabster. We then traveled via the coastline to Ullapool. We got lost but more on that in my blog with edited photos. We tried to cover as much as we could.

All photos taken with my Huawei P10 cellphone.

Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand Tour of Scotland 17 August 2019: Day 7 – Exploring Orkney

I have been struggling with uploading to my blog the past few days. Please let me know if you can’t see the photos. The photos are random and not in order of how our day went.

Today dad and I drove all over exploring Orkney Island from north to south and east to west. We tried to cover as much as we could.

A

ll the photos was taken with my Huawei P10 cellphone.Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand Tour of Scotland 16 August 2019: Day 6 – Inverness to Orkney Island

Good evening everyone,

Today dad and I drove Inverness along the coast to Scrabster where we got on a ferry to Orkney Island.

We had rain, strong wind, fog and sunshine all in one day….

All photos taken with my Huawei P10 cellphone.

Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand Tour of Scotland 14 August 2019: Day 4 – St Andrews to Aberdeen

Good day everyone,

We drove from St Andrews along the coast to Aberdeen.

It was hectic, we got lost, gps took us round and round. We lost alot of time and ended up not doing half the places on our itinerary.

The positive side is I saw a lot of places not on our itinerary…

I did not capture that much on my phone. But here are some random photos.

All the photos were taken with my Huawei P10 phone.

Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand Tour of Scotland 15 August 2019: Day 5 – Aberdeen to Inverness

Good evening everyone,Yesterday we drove from Aberdeen inland through to Inverness. I did not take a lot photo’s while driving. The roads were very busy.Here are some random photos of our day.

My breakfast

Dad’s breakfast

All the photos were taken with my Huawei P10 phone.Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand Tour of Scotland 13 August 2019: Day 3 – Edinburgh to St Andrews

Good evening everyone,Today we drove from Edinburgh along the coast to St Andrews.Here are just some random photos. More detail about our day when I post the edited photos.All the photos were taken with my Huawei P10 phone.Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand Tour of Scotland 12 August 2019: Day 2 – Exploring Edinburgh

Good evening everyone,Today Dad and I walked 21 kilometers in total….Sorry I did not post last night but we only got to the guest house just before midnight. We where tired and cold.I did not take a lot of photos with my phone due to the fact that we had to fit in the previous days route also. When we got to the Royal Mile we could not even walk up to the castle. Royal mile was closed for a festival so we decided to do it the day we return to Edinburgh.Also dad had a hard time with all the steps and uphills. So we had to take it slow. More about our day when I post my edited photos. Here are just some random photos.

Oats with honey
Bacon, sausage, egg and toast for Dad
Pancake with bacon, banana and syrup for me
Eleven o’clock tea
All the photos were taken with my Huawei P10 phone.Thank you for taking the time to discover Scotland with us.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Grand Tour of Scotland 11 August 2019: Day 1 – From Cape Town to Edinburgh

Good evening everyone,

Well from the word go things did not go according to the schedule of our trip.

We got to Cape Town International just after 16h00 yesterday afternoon. Everything went smooth till we had to go through security… I was called aside and they patted me down… I am innocent but at that moment I felt guilty of whatever they thought I did wrong…

Dad and I went to drink some coffee and juice before we boarded. After boarding we waited for 19:30 but nothing happened the pilot then made an announcement that there was some technical issues with the plane and they are working on it…. In the end we took of at 20:27 an hour late.

The flight was not very comfortable it was hot for an international flight the space are not much. I developed a headache of the heat and short bursts of sleep.

We landed at Heathrow and the bus took us to terminal 5. The driver drove like a maniac. I must say the staff at Heathrow is not very friendly and they have no respect for tourists. It is a shame that my first encounter with them were not that great. Here in South Africa we don’t have all the technology that they have and they expect you to know what to do and when. That in my books are not on.

You are tired after a 12 hour flight and then they give you attitude when you ask them for help.

Dad and I had some breakfast at Wetherspoon and walked around for a bit before we went to security.

Oh and the best of all I got called aside again… This time I had to stand in a cubicle while they exrayed you or something. The best of all only woman on the big side had to go through. While standing there not one man was called to go through it.

Then to top it all our flight got delayed for 20 minutes….

Luckily not all was bad. When we arrived in Edinburgh everything went smooth we got our luggage and our driver was waiting pasiently for us. It was raining cats and dogs outside when he took us to Ben Cruachan Guesthouse.

He realy went the extra mile and showed us around telling us a bit of Edinburgh and its buildings. He also gave me some driving tips.

Dad and I wanted to cover the 8 km exploring of today but it was not very enjoyable. We ended up having dinner at a restaurant. We will try to fit todays route in with tomorrow’s. And if I have to I will fit it in when we return to Edinburgh at the end of our trip.

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Scotland are you ready for us?

In two days and a few hours we will be on our way with British airways from Cape Town International to Heathrow London where we have a 5 hour layover before we depart for Edinburgh.

My suitcase have been packed since Monday and in the meantime I have added and taken out clothes. Just to put them back again…. I probably have to much clothes but rather to much than too little…. I am on a very tight budget and can’t afford to have to buy something I already have at home… Dad already dreamed he had to buy some warm jackets and shoes….

I am not going to lie to you I am a bit nervous this will be my first trip overseas and I have no idea what to expect. But that is the cool thing of going to explore other countries of even provinces in your own country. I had a few nightmares about this trip… One was I lost my father he wandered off into a antique shop while I was taking photos of the old buildings in Edinburgh…. Another one was I dreamed I forgot my camera battery charger at home and I could not find a charger anywhere…. At 3 in the morning I woke up and took my spare charger and put it in my camera bag…. The same happened when I dreamed that dad and I walked and it started coming down on us. My camera bag was soaking wet and everything inside too. I woke up went to the drawer where I put all my camera accessories took out the raincover and put it in my camera bag…. I spoke to my sister in law who travels alot for her work and she said I have travel anxiety….

Since we have booked this holiday I have been travelling through Scotland through other people’s eyes and camera lenses. I like to be prepared as you all know and have a detailed travel itinerary with total driving hours we will spend on the road and how much time I have to explore and take photos. This is something I got from my dad. When we went on road trips he also planned everything to the T. Most of the time things change and we had to take a different road, but that is what makes road trips so much fun. You must be open to unexpected changes….

This is why we decided on a self drive tour of Scotland. So that we can explore as much as we can and also get in some views that the tour busses do not cover. I don’t like to be told I have to spend half and hour on a place and then I am finished capturing it after 10 minutes…. The other 20 minutes can be put to much better use traveling to my next destination. Where they would only give me 10 minutes and I will need at least 30 minutes…. Do you get the point I am trying to make?

Our days will start at 6 o’Clock in the morning and we will leave at the latest at 9 o’Clock for our next destination. I have worked out that we are going to be travelling around  5 hours a day from place to place.  Yes I know Scotland has traffic jams in the form of four legged creatures, but I assure you I would not change it. This will give me a chance to capture my surroundings while we wait.  On our schedule I have also allowed 5 to 6 hours exploring time a day.

We have jam packed days but we have to fit in as much as we can. In my original plan I left the town where we are spending the night for the next morning. But if dad and I are up for it we will be exploring the towns after we have checked in. We have to go for dinner anyway so why not explore. This way we will have more time the next day for some extra exploring.

I have a list as long as my arms plus legs of all the places I would like to visit. But I will also be happy just to stand outside and take photos of the buildings, Castles and it’s surroundings. My aim is to at least visit 3 Castles and 3 Cathedrals and go inside and also take some photos.  I have at least 6 cathedrals and churches on my list every day and to go inside of them all will unfortunately take up to much of  our time. So I will have to settle for  a few photos of the outside and surroundings only….

Luckily for me the sun rises early in the morning and sets late at night so we can fit in some extra time if we are up to it.. I know for sure I will be up by 5 in the mornings. I have been conditioning my body since January and every morning I wake up between 4:45 and 5:05 without my alarm going off. But if I do sleep till 6 it won’t be a train smash. We have more than enough hours in the day.

You are probably saying to yourself right now I am out of my mind to be trying to plan everything to the hour… Don’t worry it is just a guideline and if we only see half of the places on our list that will be fine too. Just know that whatever we see you will see. I have ample memory cards and I will take thousands of photos…. The most important part of this trip is spending time with my dad.

davThank you for taking the time to read my post. Hope you stick around and explore Scotland with us.

Greetings,

Coreen

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Exploring South Africa: Richmond

How do I start this post. Editing these photo’s was very emotional and it took me 4 years to get the guts to do it.

These photo’s were all taken one week after my mother passed away while on holiday….

My parents went to visit my mothers friend and sister while I went to support my sons in their different sports. Armand had his National Air Rifle Competition in Hartebeespoort and Lian my youngest had his first Badminton Tournament in Rustenburg. 

Well on our way to Gauteng my mom said that she would like to go to Richmond because every time we just stop at the garage for coffee and a bathroom break and then we are on our way again.  I told her that we can go there on our way back home….

But due to a aneurysm she passed away on  10 October 2015.  My dad and I stayed in Gauteng to arrange for her cremation and to finalize everything before we head home. I am not going to lie losing my mom broke me but I had to be strong for my dad.

As we approached Richmond I told my dad that in honor of my mom I would like to go there as promised. She would have loved it.  I took some photo’s and we were on our way again.

Thank you for visiting Richmond with us.

 

“If you can dream it you can do it.” Walt Disney

Views from Yzerfontein Harbour

Travelling back in time today…

Since I started going through the folders on my computer and external harddrives I came across a lot of photo’s  that I havent edited  yet dating back to 2015.

Today I am sharing a few photo’s form our visit to Yzerfontein Harbour on the West Coast.

It was a cloudy Saturday morning in November 2016 when we decided to go to Yzerfontein for the day.  We went to the harbour were I took some photo’s. When we took a strole on the beach I had to put away my camera. The wind was not that friendly and I did not want to harm my camera and lens.

On our way back home we stop at a pub and restaurant for a bite to eat and a cold beverage…

Yzerfontein5721wYzerfontein5724wYzerfontein5727wYzerfontein5728wYzerfontein5730wYzerfontein5731wYzerfontein5733wYzerfontein5735wYzerfontein5736wYzerfontein5739wYzerfontein5742wYzerfontein5744wYzerfontein5748w

Thank you for taking the time to look at my blog. Feel free to leave some comments.

“If you can dream it, you can do it.” Walt Disney