I know – I’ve been terribly slack. But, I really haven’t had too much to report because I’ve just been kicking back in Edinburgh with Cam and Sare and my laptop to work on.
We are currently on our way to Rome yet again and after fixing up our flights we will move down to southern Italy – not really sure where yet. Thinking of stopping in at Sorrento again and making our way to Sicily. We’ll see what takes our fancy – it just needs to be warm!
So after a wonderful two weeks of not a lot I am feeling quite refreshed. I was beginning to feel quite homesick and absolutely sick of travelling around, but this two week break from being on the go all the time has done wonders. Despite being really sad that I have just left two of my best mates behind, they have re-energised me to complete my last couple of months without pining too much for home. Bahahaha! In your faces! Maybe I’ll stay longer…..don’t worry mum, I need to get home before the school year finishes so that I can pick up gear to plan for next year….then again, I could take another year off……
So after making you feel insecure, I might actually quickly recount my last two weeks of R&R. After getting in to Edinburgh I was quickly rushed off to the local pub to be welcomed in the traditionally Scottish way – overconsumption of alcohol. Can’t say I remember too much of the night, but I know that the bartender was bored, creating cocktail concoctions, toasting marshmallows and enjoying a broken glass so much that another was accidentally broken, giving him something else to do. It was hard to pay for my drinks, as the bartender would only accept my money when he had Cameron’s permission that it was okay that I pay for my own drinks. I know, tough night!
I woke the next morning feeling a little seedy (some hazy memory of drinking a shot from my bosom flashed past) but Sarah still managed to pull me out for a walk around the city. I must admit I didn’t take a whole lotta photos, but as I’d already been here a few years ago it was not really about sightseeing as much as spending time with loved ones. Nonetheless, it was a pretty walk through leafy paths, winding rivers and beautiful old stone buildings. It certainly made me feel a bit better!
That night we went out for tea at the local pub and I got to meet some of Cam and Sarah’s friends here in Edinburgh – which unsurprisingly consist of many Australians. One woman (Nikki) in particular was fantastic – she was so easy to talk to and really helped me to put things into perspective, alleviating my homesickness substantially! After a great dinner and a game where I beat Sarah in pool and nearly beat Cameron, we retired to bed.
Most of my weekdays were spent working or watching Bones (I do NOT have a David Boreanaz addiction, I swear!). Cam introduced me to the local drink Irn Bru, which outsells Coke here. It’s essentially orange-coloured creamy soda, or in other words, yum. On Friday I was promised a big night at the pub with Cam because he finishes work at 1pm, but after a nice few drinks at a relaxing metal/rock bar called Black Rose we ended up watching movies at home. Black Rose was really cool actually – the very few venues that play metal in Oz are definitely clubs, and this was a bar where you sit down and chat….and play the air drums to Slipknot in the background. Awesome.
Snuffy joined us on the Saturday, coming up from the Lakes District to join me for what was initially planned to be a day and turned into a week. Granted it was partially dictated by flights, but after receiving news on Sunday morning that my little one-eyed snot-box had moved on I was in no state to be travelling and was a sheer case of misery guts for a few days.
We went out for Teppanyaki on the Saturday night which was a bit of fun – I’d never been to a Teppanyaki restaurant before. Had a few drinks at the pub afterwards and Andrew was in a good state of jovially clumsy by the time we left. However, this did not prevent him from finding our way home – we were both impressed that his first night in a strange country and having gotten a cab from the house that he just winged it and we made it home. We were going to cab it, but it was so damn cold we couldn’t stand and wait – we started walking then all of a sudden we were home.
Sunday night we went over to another friend’s house and they cooked us chicken laksa and we watched YouTube videos all night. Sounds terrible, but it was actually good fun. On completely unrelated news you will all be very proud to know that I have stopped chewing my nails. I know, 27 years in the making, and I finally have nails. They’re starting to irritate me a little though – I keep accidentally scratching myself and if they get too much longer they will start to interfere with my typing, and I certainly can’t have THAT happen. No siree. How do girls do it? Plus, they snap and get dirt under them. What’s the big damn appeal??? Sheesh.
Anyway….on Friday Andrew and I decided to take a tour up to Inverness and back, going through the highlands and Loch Ness. Unfortunately I had a very late night trying to get my work finished, and consequently I kept falling asleep on the bus, waking up to take a photo or two and dropping straight back to sleep. Ah well, I’ve never been good on staying awake in buses anyway. We spent more time on the bus that we had envisaged, but it didn’t really bother us much because the weather was completely miserable. The highlands were beautiful though. Autumn was draped throughout the countryside, its red and orange leaves sprinkled across the countryside, peering out from underneath the blankets of fog that hung amongst the mountains and added a beautiful sense of mystique to the endearing Scot-accented commentary we had running in our ears. We passed lochs galore and learnt a bit about Scottish history. One notable story is the story of Glen Coe, whereby an entire clan was massacred, the MacDonalds, by soldiers that had stayed with them for two weeks – apparently they were rebels. Not sure – if you’re curious there’s a site called Wikipedia. Check it out.
We eventually got up to the famous Loch Ness where it was REALLY freaking cold. Wind, rain and a good dose of brrrrrr. We looked out across the loch for a while, enjoying the beauty of it all and yet again dispelling perceptions in our heads. Well in mine anyway – it’s much longer than I had thought it to be – 37km in fact. I expected it to be more circular I guess. Anyway…the only monster around was Snuffy the cuddle monster, though they kept plugging what a ‘friendly’ monster Nessie is. Righto then.
After that we headed up to Inverness and had a walk around, looking at their Victoria Market (nothing like ours), and the beautiful river and buildings lining it before getting back on the bus. A final stop at a small Victorian town called Pitlochry for a quick bite to eat and then back home. 13 hours after leaving home, we were back and bloody tired.
This brings me to yesterday – we took Sarah and Cam out to lunch and somehow didn’t end up back home till after midnight. Not quite as large a night as it sounds – we drank slowly, stuffing around with modes on my camera and ended up at a friends house with the promise of Nintendo playing but ended up watching the X-factor. God save me. At least Ernie was entertaining. Ernie is a dog belonging to Chris, one of Cam and Sare’s friends, who only has eyes for Chris. However, he LOVES wrappers and packets, and sticks his head right in before tearing them to shreds to get all the yummy goodness out.
So here we are, sad to have left behind Cam and Sare but very happy to be going on to warmer weather. I’ve nearly lost all my tan. Pouty McPouty Pants. Andrew has nearly lost his Zorro feet tan.
I can’t really do a very thorough summary of my time in the UK because it was more about seeing people than exploring, but we’ll give it a go:
Bottom Four:
4. Having to spend so long working
3. Everything being so expensive
2. Saying goodbye to Cam and Sare
1. The shitty, shitty weather
Top Six;
6. Seeing Ross again after so long.
5. Staying still in the one spot for two weeks – easily the longest since I’ve left home.
4. Having unlimited access to the net and entertainment at home!
3. The beautiful Scottish accent – I just love it!
2. Visiting the highlands and Loch Ness
1. Seeing Cam and Sare again after so long!
Edinburgh photos
Highland trip photos
