Tag: #Heathrow

Grand Tour of Scotland: Arrival Day: 11 August 2019

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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

 

 

 

Scotland are you ready for us?

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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