travels, races, and other musings

This is a boring day and not really anything happened to feel free to skip! We were sort of tired and needed a chill day so we didn’t really plan anything for the day. We got up and got everything packed, which was no small feat because on the way out, the airline damaged our luggage beyond repair and we were down a suitcase. We had come with two mediums and a carry on and so I expanded the remaining medium and the carry on and unfolded a little packable duffle bag we travel with in case we need an extra bag. And everything just barely fit.  We gave our bags to the front desk and went out to do a little shopping, first to a bookshop and then to a vintage store. We didn’t make any purchases, but we had an enjoyable time. We then went to a little nearby cafe for some lunch before returning to pick up our luggage. We decided to take an Uber to the train station because it seemed simpler with all our baggage and it was about the same price as three bus tickets anyway. We got some coffe...

We had a pretty chill morning. We slept in a bit and then grabbed an Uber to Swanston Farms because Emmaline wanted to see Highland cows and this was the closest place we could do that. (We saw one from a distance at a loch the previous day but it was very far.) There wasn’t a public transport option to get there, thus the Uber. We finished there and we had originally decided to have lunch in their cafe, but it was pretty early so we just had coffee and scones. Then we got another Uber (after a really long wait) and went to Holyrood Palace.  Like the castle the day before, we were given an audio guide that was actually really good. We all enjoyed the palace, its old abbey, and the beautiful gardens. (No photos allowed inside the palace.) We left there and went to have some lunch at a little cafe about halfway down the royal mile and I also made that purse strap swap out I mentioned in my entry about the bag making.  We walked the royal mile and Emmaline and I went inside St. G...

We had to wake up extra early for our day trip to the highlands. We had booked a tour with Rabbie’s to the west highlands to see some lochs and castles. We got up, ate breakfast and took a bus to the central bus station to meet the tour.  We drove for about two hours and our first stop was Loch Lomond (and of course I had the song going through my head all morning). We spent a little time there at the loch and in the tiny town next to it, Luss. We got some coffees from a little cafe and I picked up some shortbread to eat later.  From there we stopped by a viewpoint called “Rest and Be Thankful” to take in the beautiful view and snap some photos then continued on to Inveraray where we had about an hour and half for lunch and shopping. There was the option to go over to Invararay Castle, but we didn’t feel like it was enough time so we just walked around the town and did a little shopping after lunch.  We left there and set out again making a stop at Kilchurn Castle, which ...

We had a leisurely morning so we could sleep in and have some rest. Emmaline and I had reserved a time at 11 AM to make Harris Tweed handbags at Islander UK. This was something she was really excited to do and I decided to join in. Roger did not make a handbag so he stayed back at the hotel and arranged to meet up with us later. We took the bus and first made a stop at the Ba Ba Sheep store to see the sheep (and some Highland cow) merchandise. She got a little keyring to hang on her bag.  The bag making was actually really fun. You pick a base then a top and straps and they show you how to put it all together while giving you information about Harris Tweet, tartans and Scottish Isles. The guy who led the class was super funny and we had a lot of fun. And at the end we had cute bags. Classes book out so if you're ever going to Edinburgh, you do have to book in advance. They have multiple locations throughout the city so if one location is booked up, which happened to us, try another...

We didn’t have the smoothest travel to Europe. When originally booking our tickets, we had multiple options to get to Edinburgh and one of those was the direct flight from Austin to Heathrow that runs every day. However, Heathrow is not super fun so we decided to book Austin to Philadelphia and then Philadelphia to Edinburgh. We had a pretty lengthy connection in Philadelphia so I wasn’t too concerned. We got to the airport around 10:30 AM for our 12:15 PM flight and while waiting for our flight, got a notification that it was delayed until 2 PM and the new time would put us in past the departure time for our flight to Edinburgh. So I got in the insane line at the gate and while waiting I called American. The phone agent left us on the same (delayed) flight to Philadelphia and then rebooked us on a flight from Philadelphia to Heathrow and then connecting to Edinburgh. Great. Exactly what we tried to avoid, but there weren’t really any other options.  So we waited. Then I got a noti...