#edinburgh – Picture Perfect Memories for life

Grand Tour of Scotland: Day 2 – Exploring Edinburgh Part 2/20

Next on our Itinerary was the famous Circus Lane but first we stopped for a little break and there we discovered St Vincent’s Chapel and St Stephen’s in Stockbridge. Along the way I captured some beautiful Lilies and of course some more buildings and streets or Lanes.

St Vincent’s Chapel is such a beautiful building and I just love the red doors. When I visit Edinburgh again I am definitively going to stay longer than one day. Due to our tight schedule and sooo many places to see we could not go into all the chapels and museums we wanted to. I am already planning our next trip and this time we are taking our time to explore properly.

St Stephen’s Church is no longer used for Sunday services, currently it is used for community events, a daycare, performances, and private and commercial events. The best of all I had St Stephen’s Church on my list but when I could not find it I did not tick it off. Only while doing my research on the places I photographed I was shockingly surprised that I did see it. One of our hosts on holiday told us that many churches and chapels have been sold and some even used as pubs… On our journey we did see that a lot. It is sad if you think about it but on the other hand at least the buildings are getting used and some even restored. They are given a new lease on life…

When I did my planning for our trip I went on Instagram and search anything to do with Edinburgh and the other towns we were going to visit. Circus Lane was the one place I just had to go and see for myself and I was not disappointed. It is magical. All the detail and oh my word all the flowers I just could not stop clicking away….

Thank you for taking the time to walk through the streets of Edinburgh with us. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Our next stop Water of Leith Walkway…

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

December 4, 2019 by Coreen Kuhn Photography Categories: Bucketlist, Discovering Scotland, Exploring Skotland, Grand Tour of Scotland, My Bucket List, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel PhotographyTags: #August 2019, #beautifulbuildings, #bucketlist, #canon18to200mm, #CanonEOS7DMark II, #capetownbasedphotographer, #capturingmemories, #capturingscotland, #circuslane, #citiesvisited, #coreenkuhnphotography, #countriesvisited, #dadandme, #discoveredinburgh, #discoverscotland, #edinburgh, #explorescotland, #fatheranddaughtertime, #flowersofscotland, #flowersthroughmylens, #grandtourofscotland, #lovemyjob, #lovetotravel, #mypassion, #mywork, #nature, #nordicvisitor, #outdoors, #pinkflowers, #placesvisited, #purpleflowers, #scotland, #scotlandthroughmylens, #Scotlandvacation, #spendingtimewithlovedones, #stockbridge, #ststephens, #stvincentschapel, #summerinScotland, #townsivisited, #travel, #travelingtheworld, #travelphotography, #walkingthestreetsofedinburgh Leave a comment

Grand Tour of Scotland: Day 2 – Exploring Edinburgh Part 1/20

Dad and I slept like logs. I woke up around 5:00 AM long before my alarm. I got dressed looked out of the window and was very happy to see that it stopped raining. I then woke up my dad around 6:15 AM so that he could get ready.

While waiting for dad I made us a cup of coffee and took some photos of the birds in the garden through our bedroom window.

Took some photos out of our bedroom window of the birds in the garden.

Breakfast was only served at 8:00 AM and dad and I was finished and ready by 7:05. So we decided to go outside and take some photos of our surroundings before we went for breakfast. There were a slight breeze and a bit cold outside but we soon warmed up from all the exploring.

We went down stairs to the cozy dining room and sat down at a table in the corner. We both started with a cup of coffee and then a bowl of porridge. In South Africa we also eat porridge but we prepare it different and I must be totally honest with you I prefer the Scottish method. The porridge is so creamy and with the honey it is even better. Dad ordered a Scottish breakfast consisting of Eggs, Bacon and Sausage and I ordered Pancakes with Bacon, Banana and Syrup. It was absolutely divine.

After Breakfast we got our “Goody bag” from Nordic Visitor with all our holiday arrangements and also a map of Edinburgh. For the first part of the day I had to navigate our way around Edinburgh with a map the old fashioned way. Only later in the day did I went to a Vodashop to buy a data contract so that I can use my google maps with our pre-programmed routes.

We left the Guesthouse around 8:45 AM on our way to our first stop on our list of places to visit Mansfield Traquair. As you will see I could not get enough photos of the beautiful flowers and the Architecture.

Our first place of interest was Mansfield Traquair. A beautiful chapel and Wedding Venue. Due to our tight schedule I could not go inside. For more information on the Mansfield Traquair please visit their website.

As we walked to our next stop on our itinerary I capture some of our surroundings…

Thank you for exploring Edinburgh with us. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Have a look out for part 2

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

December 3, 2019 by Coreen Kuhn Photography Categories: Bucketlist, Discovering Scotland, Exploring Skotland, Grand Tour of Scotland, My Bucket List, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel PhotographyTags: #August 2019, #beautifulbuildings, #bencrauchenguesthouse, #breakfast, #bucketlist, #capturingmemories, #capturingscotland, #coreenkuhnphotography, #countriesvisited, #discoveredinburgh, #discoveringScotland, #discoverscotland, #edinburgh, #explorescotland, #fatheranddaughtertime, #flowersofscotland, #flowersthroughmylens, #grandtourofscotland, #lovetotravel, #Mansfieldtraquair, #nature, #nordicvisitor, #outdoors, #placesvisited, #portraitphotographer, #scotland, #scotlandthroughmylens, #Scotlandvacation, #spendingtimewithlovedones, #summerinScotland, #townsivisited, #travel, #travelingtheworld, #travelphotography, #walkingthestreetsofedinburgh Leave a comment

Grand Tour of Scotland: Arrival Day: 11 August 2019

I finally finished up with our first day in Edinburgh and is busy with day 2… I still have not decided how I am going to post it because there are thousands of photos and I would really like to share them all with you…

Now just to let you know, every evening I made notes on my phone about the day we had all the ups and downs all the interesting facts we learned but due to the theft of my phone all that information is gone along with the photo’s of our rooms, decor and selfies of dad and myself. I am just glad I posted a few photos on my blog so you will see some of them again to fill in the gaps of our days.

When we landed in Edinburgh the rain was really coming down hard and I realised that my planning for day 1 won’t be possible… But I was positive that maybe it will stop and we could at least see something on day 1.

Sarah from Nordic Visitor arranged a driver for us from the airport to our Guesthouse. I started stressing when our flight got delayed by nearly an hour. What if the driver had other appointments and had to leave…. But as per usual I stressed for nothing.

After collecting our luggage we head to the arrival hall and there he was. Unfortunately I can’t remember his name lost that information too… Neatly dressed in his black suit, white shirt and black tie. Well this is not something you see in South Africa only if you hire a limousine maybe.

He was really enthusiastic about his city and the history behind it. He asked me what our plans was while staying in Edinburgh I told him all about my research and the places I would like to see. He then said if we are not in a hurry he will show us some of the places and also a few more. I was overwhelmed hoping I remember all the places and streets. He gave us an information overload and I started taking notes like mad. I have a good memory but between the information, traffic rules and beautiful buildings I knew I would forget some of it.

Funny how a person’s memory works, While I am busy editing some information comes back and some I just can’t seem to remember.

Our driver dropped us off at Ben Cruachan Guesthouse and we were received by our hostess…. Oops I forgot her name now…. Well hopefully it will come back to me.

This would be our home away from home for 2 nights. Well our room was so beautiful and had a nice view of the garden. It was really coming down and dad and I first had some coffee and relaxed before we decided to go for a walk in the rain in Edinburgh.

We put on our rain jackets, took the umbrella and of course I took my camera…. We changed our plans a bit we were just going to explore some of the streets around the Guest House….

While walking and taking photos it started raining very hard and we saw a Pub that is open and we headed in for a nice dinner and hopefully it will have stopped raining when we were finished.

Bushwick Pub and Grill was very cozy but not very busy. The waiter gave us a window seat. I think he saw the camera and knew that I would like to take some photos. Dad ordered a draft and I ordered a Banana Milkshake….. When the waiter put down the milkshake in front of my my jaw dropped I did not expect a mega mega Milkshake…. I could not even finished it… So sad though it was delicious and I will definitely go there again if I am ever in Edinburgh again. That is if they are still there of course. We also ordered a burger and chips and when the waiter put it down in front of us dad and I just looked at each other and right there we decided that the people at Bushwick don’t believe in normal they go big…..

Well needless to say I could not finish my dinner. I ate my chips and drank my milkshake as far as I could. I asked if they can put my burger in a takeaway container so that I can enjoy it a bit later.

It stopped raining and dad I headed back to the guesthouse I took some more photos and when we got “home” I took a nice hot shower and had a glass of sherry to keep me warm. After my shower I tackled my burger and I could not finish it….

We were very tired after the flight and went to bed just after 10 pm.

Thank you for exploring Scotland with us. I hope you enjoyed our first day just as much as we did.

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

October 6, 2019 by Coreen Kuhn Photography Categories: Bucketlist, Discovering Scotland, Exploring Skotland, Grand Tour of Scotland, My Bucket List, Nature/Travel Photography, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel PhotographyTags: #August 2019, #beautifulbuildings, #bencrauchenguesthouse, #britishairways, #bucketlist, #bushwickpubandgrill, #CanonEOS7DMark II, #canongirl, #capturingmemories, #capturingscotland, #discoveringScotland, #edinburgh, #explorescotland, #grandtourofscotland, #Heathrow, #lovetotravel, #mywork, #nordicvisitor, #outdoors, #pinkflowers, #scotland, #scotlandthroughmylens, #Scotlandvacation, #townsivisited, #travelingtheworld, Canon 7D, Canon EF 18-200mm lens, Coreen Kuhn Photography, Nature/Travel Photography, Photographer, Travel, Travel Photography, www.coreenkuhnphotography.com 1 Comment

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

August 13, 2019August 13, 2019 by Coreen Kuhn Photography Categories: Discovering Scotland, Exploring Skotland, Grand Tour of Scotland, My Bucket List, Towns/Places I visited, Travel PhotographyTags: #2019, #August 2019, #bencrauchenguesthouse, #bucketlist, #capetownbasedphotographer, #capturingmemories, #capturingscotland, #carltonhill, #coreenkuhnphotography, #dadandme, #discoveringScotland, #edinburgh, #explorescotland, #fatheranddaughtertime, #grandtourofscotland, #huaweip10, #landscapephotography, #lovemycanon, #lovemyjob, #lovetotravel, #mywork, #nordicvisitor, #scotlandthroughmylens, #Scotlandvacation, #spendingtimewithlovedones, #townsivisited, #travelingtheworld, #travelphotography, cameraphone, Travel Leave a comment

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.

Pancake with bacon, banana and syrup for me

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

August 13, 2019August 13, 2019 by Coreen Kuhn Photography Categories: Bucketlist, Discovering Scotland, Exploring Skotland, Grand Tour of Scotland, Landscape Photography, My Bucket List, News, Street Photography, Through the lens of my Huawei P10, Towns/Places I visited, Travel PhotographyTags: #2019, #August 2019, #bucketlist, #capetownbasedphotographer, #capturingmemories, #capturingscotland, #coreenkuhnphotography, #dadandme, #discoveringScotland, #edinburgh, #explorescotland, #fatheranddaughtertime, #grandtourofscotland, #huaweip10, #landscapephotography, #lovemyjob, #lovetotravel, #mypassion, #mywork, #naturephotography, #nordicvisitor, #scotlandthroughmylens, #Scotlandvacation, #spendingtimewithlovedones, #townsivisited, #travelingtheworld, #travelphotography, cameraphone, outdoors, Travel Leave a comment

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

August 11, 2019August 11, 2019 by Coreen Kuhn Photography Categories: Discovering Scotland, Exploring Skotland, Grand Tour of Scotland, My Bucket List, Towns/Places I visited, Travel PhotographyTags: #2019, #August 2019, #bencrauchenguesthouse, #bucketlist, #capetownbasedphotographer, #capturingmemories, #capturingscotland, #carltonhill, #coreenkuhnphotography, #dadandme, #discoveringScotland, #edinburgh, #explorescotland, #fatheranddaughtertime, #grandtourofscotland, #huaweip10, #landscapephotography, #lovemycanon, #lovemyjob, #lovetotravel, #mywork, #nordicvisitor, #scotlandthroughmylens, #Scotlandvacation, #spendingtimewithlovedones, #townsivisited, #travelingtheworld, #travelphotography, cameraphone, Travel Leave a comment

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.

dav Thank 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

August 8, 2019August 8, 2019 by Coreen Kuhn Photography Categories: Bucketlist, Castles, Discovering Scotland, Exploring Skotland, Grand Tour of Scotland, News, Towns/Places I visited, Travel PhotographyTags: #2019, #August2019, #britishairways, #bucketlist, #canongirlforlife, #capetown, #capetownbasedphotographer, #capturingmemories, #coreenkuhnphotography, #countingthedays, #discoverscotland, #edinburgh, #explorescotland, #fatheranddaughtertime, #grandtourofscotland, #Heathrow, #huaweip10, #scotland, #Scotlandvacation, #travelingtheworld, #travelphotography 2 Comments

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