Exploring the Scottish Highlands

August 21, 2015August 12, 20153 Comments

By far, the Scottish Highlands were my favorite part of our trip! Our 12 hour road trip took us pass Glencoe and up to Loch Ness before heading back to Edinburgh. It was interesting to learn about the Scottish clans that inhabited this land and dive into Scotland’s deep history.

While on the road we passed hillsides spotted with sheep and highland cows. We were able to pull over and snap a few photos with our harry little friend below. Ian was bummed out that we didn’t bring any carrots to feed them. Maybe next time we will remember!

A few hours after Gelencoe we arrived in Fort Augustus, a small town perched on Loch Ness. As soon as we arrived the rain clouds came barreling in and left a dense fog on the loch. I wished we could have seen a better view of the loch, but Ian assured me the fog added an artistic element to our photos. You can’t help but love this guy!

And just like that, our UK adventure came to an end. Ian and I loved our time exploring and catching up with his family. Fingers crossed it won’t be too long until we return.

Edinburgh Adventures

August 20, 2015August 12, 20154 Comments

Ah, it felt good to be back in Edinburgh! We decided to take advantage of the rare sunny Scottish weather and hike up Arther’s Seat, an ancient volcano. The tour book said the hike was moderate and would only take 30 minute. Note to self, never trust the tour book! The hike was more vigorous that we expected, but that may have been due to the fact that we went up the wrong side of the hill…regardless, the views were breathtaking!

Rumor had it that J.K. Rowling walked through a Scottish graveyard for character names so Ian and I walked around until we stumbled across Tom Riddle’s grave. We also found a plot with the family name Potter. Sadly, we didn’t see anyone named Harry buried there. Never the less, Edinburgh proved to been a great city for Harry Potter fans to wander about.

Between attending events during the Fringe, the world’s largest arts festival, Ian and I toured Holyrood Palace and the Edinburgh Castle. While the castle was visually stunning, I preferred our time at the palace. That may be due to the fact that apart from one other family, we were the only people on the tour! It was a unique experience to be alone in the palace learning about it’s rich history.

My favorite part about Holyrood Palace was the abbey. It is now in ruins, but you can still see its beauty. We toured the abbey at sunset, which flooded the space with a golden light. Ian and I sat under the archway taking it all in. Sadly, the palace was getting ready to close so we only had a few minutes to soak in it all in before we had to leave.

Check back tomorrow for photos from our trip to the Highlands!

Hitting the London Sights

August 19, 2015August 18, 20152 Comments

London has always been on my travel bucket-list so visiting the sights had me grinning from ear-to-ear. We began our morning adventure outside Buckingham Palace to stare at the guards, but the crowds quickly had us retreating to our next stop – Big Ben!

After snapping a few photos with Big Ben and the London eye we grabbed lunch at Café Nero and ate on a set of steps over looking the river thames. Once refueled we walked down the road to Westminster Abbey. Being crunched for time, we were only able to oggle at the abbey’s beauty from the sidewalk. Next time we are in London we will have to book a few tours!

On our walk to the Tower of London I made Ian stop and take a few stereotypical photos – one in a phone booth and another next to a set of red buses. Yes, this was super touristy of me but can you blame a girl?!

Ian and I both agree that the Tower of London is at the top of our tour list next time we are in the city. We peered longingly through the gate entrance for a few minutes before we had to run back to our hotel and get on the train back to Edinburgh. Our time in London was short, but we felt we made the most of the time we had in the city.