So Monika and I found cheap deals which flew from Switzerland to London and then London to Glasgow. It cost us 90 CHF (about equal to CND$) for 4 plane tickets, so it was definitely worth while. On Tuesday we arrived in London in the afternoon and our flight to Glasgow didn't leave until the next morning. So we thought why not hit the town! We bought tickets to a Chicago theatrical production which was EXCELLENT. After the production though we were hoping to buy a CD or something so we were taking our time. Apparently too much time, as we were quickly hussled out of the building, the doors literally closing and locking right at our heals. I have never seen a theater empty so quickly! After the show, we wandered around the town until 3am. Although it was neat to see some of the main sights (London Bridge, London Tower, London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Picadilly Square) by the end of it Monika and I were so exhausted. It was an hour bus ride back to the airport, where we took a nice nap, and then found a comfy spot on the floor of the airport for some more napping.
How we saw London - in the dead of night.We arrived at the Glasgow Prestwick airport only to find that the Prestwick airport was in fact about 75 miles south of the Glasgow airport. Whoops. Big whoops. The biggest issue was that the car I had rented was waiting for us at the Glasgow airport. Luckily, the rental company also had a booth in Prestwick and they were kind to us and sorted out my mistake. Won't let that one happen again!
So off we went... in our car... down the left side of the road! It surprisingly wasn't too difficult to get used to. Having the gear shift on my left side was probably the weirdest thing. And only once when I turned left did I go on the wrong side of the road. Luckily Monika was there to correct me quickly.
We drove for most of the first day... saw a lot of the Scottish Highlands, went past a few Lochs on windy roads and stopped at the Harry Potter bridge! Although not as fantastic as seen in the film, it was still neat to see. We finished in a small town of Mallaig, where we would be catching a ferry in the morning. We found a nice spot to park our car, where we could also sleep, and then went to find some food. Being a TINY little town in Scotland there wasn't much choice and we stuck out as tourists like a sore thumb. We found a spot, made a fool of ourselves, and ordered some delicious fish, made our way back to the car for a cold night sleep. Though the car we were given this time was definitely much more comfortable than the one we slept in in Sardinia.
Cozied up for the night in the car.Come morning we went directly to the ferry in hopes of catching the first one across to Isle of Skye. As we were paying for our ticket the lady says, "Okay just line up. Make sure you park backwards as you will be backing onto the ferry." And I think in my mind, BACKING ONTO THE FERRY!?!?! I am terrible at backing up in a car, and I knew this was just a disaster waiting to happen. But we had no choice, so backed onto the ferry we did. I failed miserably. By the end of it the guy directing me started wheeling his hands in the direction I was supposed to be turning the steering wheel cause he could tell I had no idea what I was doing. :S
One the ferry heading to Isle of SkyeFinally we made it onto the island though and we headed up North to the tip of the island. The further up we got the smaller the road got, and eventually it became a one-lane two-way road that went through unfenced farmlands. Fun to drive on? Yeah actually it was. Plus, although Scotland is known for its rain, we were lucky and had a beautifully shining sun. We stopped a few times to look at the funny sheep and cows and the beautiful ocean views. We were doing a hike and our instructions of the starting point said "turn at the phone box near Kilmaluag." Now considering we were in the middle of nowhere on a one-lane road with animals blocking our path we weren't exactly sure what type of phone box we were looking for. And then we turned the corner, and standing there in the middle of nowhere was a classic UK Red Phone Booth. Amused us greatly. =)
A classic red phone booth, in the middle of nowhere on Isle of Skye.We didn't read the hike beforehand, rather we just looked at the pictures and decided it would be pretty. The first instruction "Start the walk by crossing the cattle grid and then turning immediately left on a boggy path." Now "boggy" in Scottish terms means really really boggy. And all we had were running shoes. At the beginning we tried leaping around the mud and puddles, but by the end of it we had given up and accepted the fact we were going to get filthy. The hike was beautiful though - along the rolling hills to the top of the vertical plunging cliffs of the coastline. We then climbed down those cliffs to the water, and walked along it spotting a few otters (we looked for whales and dolphins as well, but no luck there). Finally making it back to the car, our shoes were full of mud, animal poop and water. Not only were they not wearable but they smelt, they smelt bad. Luckily I had brought flip flops, so I could take off my shoes and still drive.
Beautiful cliffs by the ocean side :)
The result of walking unprepared on a "boggy" path...We then headed up to Inverness, enjoying more beautiful views of the highland along the way. We arrived when it was dark and went to our couchsurfing house. Oh, I guess I haven't talked about couch surfing yet as the first weekend I did it was in Paris. Couchsurfing is a online community of people who offer up their couch to travelers, and then when they travel the favour is returned to them by them also crashing on people's couches. Monika and I have been couchsurfing for quite a few weeks now. Although initially we looked into it due to the cost savings, it has actually been quite an interesting experience. It amazing to see how trusting people are to complete strangers, allowing them to sleep in their house, and even give a key to the guests sometimes. Anyway, so we had arranged to couchsurf with someone in Inverness (Northern Scotland). Unfortunately we didn't get to spend much time with him, but we had some interesting conversations and enjoyed spending some time with his kid.
The next morning we headed back down South from Inverness, along Loch NESS!! It was an absolutely gorgeous road following Loch Ness with beautiful fall colours (again only one lane), and we kept our eye open to attempt to spot Nessie!! We stopped in Foyers and went for a hike down to the lake to explore around. I had planned on maybe going swimming but it was much too cold, so I instead just dipped my feet in. Oh, and Monika and I gave Nessie some nutrition for the winter months by relieving ourselves on the mountain side by the lake. ;) That's what happens when you don't pay for accommodation... when you gotta go you gotta go. I must say we have become quite adept at peeing anywhere. :P
Dipping my feet in Loch Ness.We got on the road again, and although we hadn't had any bad experiences yet, we were in for a wake up call. We were driving on a 2-way highway again, with no divider in the middle. I was on the correct side of the road, driving the speed limit at 60 miles/hr. And then I come around a bend and there, directly in front of me, on MY side of the road is another car. It had also been raining, so the road was slippery and this could have gone VERY badly. Luckily, as I saw this car and I saw that they weren't going to get out of my way I swerved, missed the car and got back into my lane. My nerves just about shot at this point, both Monika and I are trying to catch our breath knowing that we were lucky in so many ways for having avoided an accident.
Finally making it to our last destination: Edinburgh. Which for all you folk who have no idea how to pronounce that city (I didn't know either) it is pronounced "Edinbro." I had looked into parking spots ahead of time (yay for Google Street View!) and found a nice spot at the North of the city so we didn't have to do much city driving (other cars on the wrong side of the road terrify me). I also made sure there was a night bus which accessed this spot because we were going on a PUB CRAWL!! We had been on a pub crawl by the same company in Berlin and had a blast so we thought we would try it out again. The guide leading the crawl was a Canadian... from Edmonton in fact! So we had fun chatting about Canada, and overall it was a fairly tame but fun night.
Jaegerbomb train - like dominoes the shots were knocked into the glasses!After another comfortable night in the car, we went to the city of Edinburgh for a free walking tour. It was an excellent 4.5 hours history lesson of the city. Not only did we learn about history from thousands of years ago and the rock of destiny, but we also learned about the spot where JK Rowling wrote the first 2 Harry Potter books and the buildings of the town which gave her motivation for Hogwarts.
Finishing up our adventure we headed back to Prestwick (not Glasgow...haha) for another night sleep in the airport. This was the first time we got lost, trying to get out of Edinburgh. I had printed off maps of the area, but it wasn't much help because in Scotland they don't label ANYTHING!! So we headed in the generally right direction, and eventually made it somewhere. I think we probably did a good extra 40 miles of driving, but it was funny and we eventually made it!
We had completely run out of pounds at this point, and all we had left for food was cashews and bread. So we had delicious (not) cashew sandwiches for dinner, and then set ourselves up for a good night sleep. Overall, Scotland roadtrip was a success. :):)
Our bed for the night in the airport.What's coming up next?
This weekend I will be going caving in Switzerland with the IAESTE program.
Next weekend I am going down to see Pisa and Venice.
The following weekend I will be going up to Kiel (Northern Germany) to visit my friend Holly who is working there.
AND THEN I AM GOING ON A TWO WEEK PAID TRIP TO FINLAND!! My company is mainly based in Finland and we have our team meeting coming up, so my boss is sending me a week early to attend a Manufacturing Technology Training course. And then I extended my trip by 4 days in order to have some time in Finland for actual traveling. I haven't quite figured out what I am doing yet, but be sure to watch for updates!
I am missing all of you and I promise I will try to update my blog more often! Perhaps if I get a chance before Italy I will share some adventures from Paris, Luxembourg and Berlin. :)
