31 Things I Learned Whilst Living Abroad

In December 2012, which was my last month living abroad (this time around, at least), I compiled the below list of some of the things I learned during my time as an immigrant in the United Kingdom.  Though in all likelihood this post does not signify the end of Travelin' Bunny, I do expect long periods of silence between posts.  Until we meet again, I wish you all happy travels and safe journeys.

31. Every country has hillbillies

30. When in doubt don't use sarcasm

29. There's more than one way to make a bed (see Evidence A)

Evidence A

28. You don't know what you don't know

27. English, even when both parties are claiming to speak it, is not necessarily a common language.

26. I am not a small town girl.

25. European Christmas markets make everything better.

24. Mulled wine makes everything better.

23. Mixer taps (aka regular faucets) are 'new' technology". (see Evidence B)

Evidence B

22. Nothing beats a £3.50 chicken doner kebab. Nothing. (Except, of course, a cheaper one.)

21. It is possible to see Europe for £25 return

20. I am capable of sleeping anywhere (e.g. standing, sitting, on the floor, lumpy futon, hard mattress, surrounded by shouting/crying/thumping).

19. Some cities completely shut down their public transit systems on Christmas day (I'm looking at you London). You wanna go visit your family? Hope they live within walking distance. You have work? Better sleep there overnight. Wanna go see the lights on Kensington High Street? Eff you.

18. Travelling by train, not that great. Don't get me wrong, plenty convenient (at times). Just not that great.

17. Not putting your rubbish in a bin is okay (and not considered littering) because people are employed to clean up after you. Seriously.

16. The USA was referred to as 'the most liberal country in the world' in either an article I read or something I saw on the news. Either way, even if it was just one person's opinion, I didn't know anyone believed that.

15. Michael Bublé and Bruno Mars are very popular.

14. Hotels in the US often have signs near the phone which read 'local calls are free'. I've always thought, 'well duh'. But, now I know that they say that because local calls are not free everywhere - like in Europe.

13. For the most part, things are exactly the same

12. Those of us who possess self-awareness are at a disadvantage and destined to be slightly frustrated with others at all times. (#12b, Europe is full of people lacking self-awareness.)

11. Shower head placement is arbitrary

10. Escalators are complicated and sometimes deadly (this may only apply in Scotland)

9. Generally, low standards/expectations equals more happiness

8. New friends are just as valuable as old ones.

7. Sometimes different isn't wrong, it's just different. But, sometimes different is just wrong. And, sometimes the wrong-different stuff is still different because people are too stupid/stubborn to change it.

6. I have a very unsophisticated palate

5. Street food is a cheap way to sample local cuisine (and delish!). (See Evidence C)

Evidence C

4. Comments are often made about the percentage of Americans who don't have passports (among other unflattering American statistics), both by Americans as well as others. But, I was shocked to find a number of people here who haven't been abroad (not even to Paris). More people in Scotland than London but there are still a good deal of people in London who've never left London. Shocking.

3. Not having to worry about health insurance, just knowing I'm covered, is a huge relief which I didn't expect. I thought because I always had amazing coverage in the States that I was never concerned about it. But I was. And I'm not here. And it's nice.

2. I don't hate all Americans I meet abroad. I may still hate all tourists, though.

1. When I left in 2010 I'd had enough of the States. The politics, the entitlement, the patriotism, the guns, the religious zealots, the anti-choice ignorants, the second class citizen-making. I was ready to never return. But, after about a year, the honeymoon period was over and I started to miss the States, something I didn't think was possible. But, I do miss it. And, I'm looking forward to coming home.

The Journey: Edinburgh to Amsterdam to Brussels to New York City to Baltimore and Reverse

On a Saturday in early June, we experienced the best travel day ever.  We took the train from Dundee to Edinburgh and, to save money, we walked about a mile (with our bags) to the stop for the local bus to the airport (£1.40) rather than the Airport Express bus (£3.50), which picks up right outside Haymarket rail station.  We've done this once before and it was pretty straightforward but this time, due to construction for Edinburgh's tram, it wasn't as clear cut and we wound up getting lost.  We arrived at the airport less than 30 minutes before boarding.  Luckily, we were flying KLM (instead of one of the discount airlines) and we got the VIP treatment (escorted to the front of the line to check our bags) upon arrival.  We cruised through security and made it to our gate with time to spare.

Schiphol Train Station

The flight from Edinburgh to Amsterdam took us only about an hour.  We waited longer at the airport, for our bags and the train to Brussels, than it took to get there.  We grabbed the train (€25, first class) from Schiphol to Brussels Central (an excruciating 2.5 hours) and arrived at our flat in Brussels about 30 minutes earlier than expected, around 11PM.

The trip from Brussels to New York City wasn't as pleasant as our first leg because a) the Brussels airport is shit and 2) our flight was connecting rather than direct, but the flights themselves were fine.

Comte de Flandres metro station

Getting to the Brussels airport is pretty easy (subway and bus, €3.50) and Air Canada was a nice enough airline.  We could've done without the 1.5 hours in Montreal but the flights only cost £230 so if the connection made the trip £500 cheaper then it was well worth it. We arrived into LaGuardia and took the bus to the subway to our hostel in the Bowery ($2.50).

For our trip to Reisterstown, MD we had to get creative.  We took the Megabus from New York to White Marsh, MD ($9.00), a suburb northeast of Baltimore.  From there we took a local MTA bus ($1.60) into Baltimore where we then grabbed the subway to Owings Mills ($1.60).  Our only option at this point was a cab and, luckily, there's a taxi rank right outside the Owings Mills station.  The taxi from the station to our resort cost $30.00.

Happily, we made a friend over our weekend at the resort willing to drive us into Baltimore.  We forced $20 on her for the inconvenience though, since she would've been travelling in the completely opposite direction otherwise.

Megabus, Baltimore to New York City

To get back up to New York we just reversed the above; local bus to White Marsh and Megabus into New York City.  Once we got to New York we had to make our way to JFK which required the subway ($2.50) and the AirTrain ($5.00).

Our flight back to Brussels was uneventful.  This leg was on Brussels Airlines and, besides the flight staff seeming rather surprised to be there, the flight seemed short and the seats were the most comfortable we've experienced in quite some time.  We arrived in Brussels an hour later than expected, around 7AM.

This next portion was one of our worst travel experiences ever.  We had hoped to simply reverse the above but the bus ticket (€3.50) is only good for a free transfer to the subway within an hour from purchase and we were stuck in a Brussels traffic jam for just over an hour, missing our free ride to Gare du Nord.  Not wanting to pay again we decided to walk, venturing forth with a compass, no map, and luggage.  We eventually got to Gare du Nord around 10AM and checked in for our 12PM Eurolines bus to Amsterdam (€9.00) only to be told that it was going to be late and not to expect it before 1PM.  It eventually showed up at 1:45PM.

We arrived at Amstel station in Amsterdam almost two hours later than expected.  Furthermore, for some reason our Google map had placed the distance from Amstel station and our flat at a mere 1.4km.  The reality was that Amstel station is 5km away from our flat, which makes a huge difference.  Had we known the actual distance we would've sprung for public transportation.  As it was, we just walked.

The train from Amsterdam's Centraal station to Schiphol airport was €4.05 (including €0.50 credit card fee because only Dutch bank cards are accepted for no-fee processing).  Schiphol is a wonderful airport but we didn't have much time to explore before boarding.  Our KLM flight back to Edinburgh was uneventful and we were home shortly thereafter, 17 days after beginning this journey.

This trip had many legs and, though the return trip from Amsterdam to Brussels and the bus ride from Baltimore to New York City were very long, it didn't feel as though we spent a huge chunk of time travelling.  Even at the end of the trip, the two solid days of travel (from Baltimore to Amsterdam) had almost been completely forgotten, though I fear the horrible Eurolines experience will stay with us for quite some time.

Fife Coastal Path: Leven to Elie

For our last ramble in Scotland, we chose to explore a different section of the Fife Coastal Path.  Our experience this past September was so idyllic, we really hoped to duplicate it whilst seeing something slightly different.

On a recent Sunday, we paid £9.50pp for Dayrider Plus bus tickets, transferred in St. Andrews, and were in Leven before we knew it.  Due to our previous experience, we expected to encounter many cute pubs on our way to Elie so we packed a lunch sans drinks and resolved to turn this 12-mile ramble into a coastal village pub crawl.

Our first stop was right off the bus in Leven, on the high street at The Windsor Hotel.  We weren't terribly impressed by Leven, or The Windsor Hotel, so we didn't linger.  After a relatively fast round of drinks, we made our way to the water to begin our ramble.

The Fife Coastal Path is very well marked and, since this portion has many sections which skirt the water's edge, also has a High Tide Alternative which we wound up taking more often than not because we found we do not much care for long distance rambling with sand in our shoes.

Our next town was Lower Largo where we encountered our favourite pub of the day, the Railway Inn.  We lingered over our drinks whilst watching the locals enjoying their sport on the telly (we couldn't see the TV but we could see and hear the crowd).  When the sun started shining through the window we decided it was time to get back outside.

The weather was of the classic Scottish 'four seasons in one day' variety.  The weather, sand, and rolling hills actually proved quite tiring and as we approached Earlsferry (no pubs), we began looking for a bus stop to take us back home.  Unfortunately, the first bus stop wasn't until the neighbouring village of Elie and we arrived just in time to watch our once-per-hour bus depart.  Luckily, Elie does have a pub and we were able to warm ourselves at the Station Buffet Bar (Scotland's Pub of the Year 2008) before catching our bus back to St. Andrews.

We had wanted to walk all the way to Pittenweem for the full 12-mile section but had to call the game at just under 9-miles.  This section of the Fife Coastal Path was also slightly disappointing.  There was a lot of garbage (see garbage sculpture, left) along the path and the villages weren't as cute as previously experienced (save Lower Largo).  Overall, we still prefer our previous experience and, though Lower Largo was the highlight of this walk, would recommend Anstruther as the place to go along the Fife coast for a day out.

For more pictures, please visit my Facebook album.

Perth & Kinnoull Hill

I love Perth!  It's a beautiful city with lovely people surrounded by amazing countryside.  I haven't spent nearly enough time there over these past 15+ months but yesterday I tried to remedy that.

Kinnoull Hill is an 11 km (6.9 miles) circle route, easy for those taking public transportation because the trailhead is just outside Perth's city centre.  The peak at 729 feet is reached fairly early making the bulk of the ramble rather leisurely.

The path skirts the cliff edge to the summit and then winds its way down the backside through fields of grazing horses and sheep, eventually hitting Coronation Road, the historic path of kings and queens of Scotland travelling from Falkland Castle to Scone, the traditional location of coronation.

Leaving Coronation Road at Milkboys Path, outside Scone, we followed neighbourhood streets back into Perth.  At the River Tay, the Sculpture Trail finishes the route by meandering through a few riverside parks back to the starting point.

We had envisaged spending the day in Perth but after our four hour ramble we were wiped out and increased our speed, leaving the Sculpture Trail a bit early, in order to make the return train home.

Although the day wasn't clear and we were hit by a few bursts of mist, we enjoyed this ramble immensely.  The ease of access, friendly locals, and amazing views were well worth the effort and, once again, we were reminded of how every other place in Scotland is miles more enchanting than our ever more disappointing home town of Dundee.

For more pictures, please visit my Facebook album here.

Scotland Highlights

With just 3+ months left in bonnie Scotland, I thought it would be nice to relive some of the highlights of our nearly 2 years here.

St. Andrew's Cathedral

St. Andrews: Upon first arriving in Scotland, back in Aug 2010, we were instantly enamoured by our neighbour to the south.  We've only been a few times since but each time we're amazed by its loveliness.  The residents may be a bit posh (the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge did both attend university here) but the scenery is unbelievable.

Coastal Paths: We've only done two (Seaton Cliffs and Fife Coastal Path) but we can pretty much guarantee that all of Scotland's coastal paths would make for amazing day trips.

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh: Of Scotland's two main cities, Edinburgh is by far the more impressive.  With the castle, festivals, and Arthur's Seat, it just can't be beat.  This is not to say that Glasgow isn't a nice city (because it is) but, as far as uniqueness on the world stage, Edinburgh is worth travelling for whilst Glasgow is worth seeing once you're here and if you have an extra day to kill.

Glamis Castle: Unlike Edinburgh Castle, Glamis Castle is still a functioning residence (with a recent link to The Royal Family).  It's super cute and fun and, to this date, our only fully functioning, non-ruin castle experience.

Rambles: Our rambles have been the best part of our time here.  They've forced us out and about and provided us with memorable experiences to cherish.  Including the aforementioned coastal walks, our countryside rambles (Pitlochry, Blair Atholl, and The Hermitage, to name just three) are definitely something we hope to replicate wherever we call home.

Since we're leaving a year earlier than planned, it's true there are things we wanted to do and see before leaving which we no longer have time to do, but we think we've seen a lot in these two years and we'd rather leave too early than too late.  Although our stay in Scotland has not quite jumped the shark it's perilously close and no one wants to read stories about our adventure once that precipice has been reached.  Thus, we begin the next adventure not completely averse to the notion of returning to Scotland in the future but happy we're leaving to experience something different.

Inverness

I went to Inverness in February and, though it's a lovely town, have been thoroughly uninspired to write about it.  If you're really interested, read my rant here.

For more pictures, please visit my Facebook album here.

Happy New Year, Bunnies! (2011 Highlights)

Here we are at the end of 2011, the year I started this travel blog.  Looking back at this past year, I wish I'd written a bit more about my travels but am happy with most of what I did write and am thrilled with my 2011 travel experiences.  Starting the year on the steps of Sacré Coeur in Paris and ending it somewhere in Rome, 2011 has been an amazing travel year for me and below are some of the highlights.

Best Travel Experience: Sóller to Deià

Outside castle ruins, Baden-Baden

Best Travel Moment: Stumbling upon a beer serving cafe mid-hike in Baden-Baden, and then another one outside the castle ruins, and another one inside them.

Most Disappointing Travel Experience: Brighton, England 

Most Challenging Travel Experience: We've had a few bad experiences with landlords this year.  Both in Paris and London, our experiences were dodgy and trying and our current Dundee landlord is non-responsive. Happily, having learned from our experiences, we're enjoying a lovely relationship with our current landlord here in Rome.

Most Rewarding Travel Experience: Spending 19 glorious days in Mallorca with no money, proving money isn't necessary when surrounded by a beautiful beach on the Mediterranean.

I have a few travel dates set aside for 2012 (April, June, July/August, December) and only one confirmed destination (Baltimore).  I'll be chasing cheap fares for the other dates and am looking forward to sharing those experiences with you.  Until then, happy new year, bunnies!

The End Is Nigh

Dundee

This month marks the half way point for our time in Dundee, scheduled to end June 2013.  Although I can't be certain, the odds are very good we will not be sticking around here once Mike graduates in May that year.  Thus, the end of this month means just 1.5 years left to get the most out of our Dundee adventure.

Once we leave Dundee, it's very possible we'll never visit this part of the world again.  Although we plan to stay in the UK for another couple of years, most likely in London, we probably won't be using any of that time to visit Scotland, not with both England and Wales to entertain us, along with the rest of the world.  Thus, with just 18 months left in Scotland, we need to start strategizing how we spend our time so we get the most out of this opportunity.

In addition to all the places we have yet to see, we still hope to 'bag a Munro' and witness some Highland Games.  We'd like to go to a ceilidh, spend more time at the Edinburgh festivals in August, and experience the North Sea (e.g. kayak, SUP, etc.).  Our monthly rambles allow us the opportunity to see the countryside, and provide us with some guidance as to what and where, so we plan to continue those.  But, we also hope to manage a couple staycations to tackle those things on our list which will take more than just an afternoon.

Seaton Cliffs

In addition to looking ahead, it's good to look back and review what we've accomplished in our first 18 months in Scotland.  Our rambles have really provided us with the best memories of our temporary home; the Fife Coastal Path and the Seaton Cliffs were both beautiful walks and Pitlochry and Crieff were both lovely towns.  Glamis Castle is still one of our favourite castles and both Edinburgh and Glasgow are great cities.

As this is our first step on a long journey, I'm really happy with how we've structured it.  Living slightly outside ones comfort zone can be difficult and trying at times but also rewarding.  Though we long for the days of comfortable couches and close friends, the new experiences and awkward interactions on a regular basis are their own reward.

Glen Tilt

Glen Tilt is in the Cairngorms National Park, just outside the village of Blair Atholl (pronounced like asshole not A-hole), the village surrounding Blair Castle.  This is a five hour hike and, with our shorter days, we needed to get an early start if we were to avoid being stuck in the Cairngorms after dark and perhaps dying of exposure.  Thus, we grabbed the 6:52am train to Blair Atholl (via Perth) this past Saturday morning in order to experience the ramble at its most ideal (with autumn colours) whilst simultaneously living to tell about it.  As it turned out, starting at 9:15am did not provide us with enough time and we wound up having to abort the mission in order to make it home alive.

We arrived in Blair Atholl before 9am but wandered around a bit in order to see what the village had to offer.  For your information, the village has nothing more to offer than what is visible from the train platform.  There is one inn with a restaurant and bar left unstaffed, a staffed pub around the back of the inn, a convenience store around the corner, a working mill (only open April-October), and a post office.  The castle is a bit outside of town (the town being those four buildings and outside being a few steps beyond them) and where our walk began.

After grabbing some picnic supplies and coffee from the convenience store, we headed towards the castle.  Although the beginning of our walk takes us down the castle's driveway, we actually never glimpsed the castle.  There was a part of the walk which supposedly overlooks the castle and Blair Atholl but we never got to that part.

Our first missed turn happened almost immediately after the trailhead and we didn't become aware of it until we got to the bottom of the hill.  Realising we shouldn't be crossing a river, we backtracked all the way back up the hill to where we should've turned.  For your information, the trail was well marked with yellow arrows on posts which we, for some reason, were incapable of finding.  This pattern of missing turns and having to backtrack for quite a distance would repeat itself at least two more times throughout our day and is the reason we weren't able to finish the walk.  What was supposed to be a five hour walk turned into a six hour walk because of our poor navigation skills.  But, the scenery was beautiful and we had a great time, minus the last bit where we were so confused we gave up and just followed a road back into town.

Six hours later, with sore feet and bruised egos, we wandered into the only pub in town to wait the two hours for our train back home.  Happily, this was just what we needed in order to lift our spirits.  We had a great time sitting next to the fire with our pints, warming up, and reliving the ramble which beat us.  Although resigned to defeat for now, we'll definitely be back.  We can't allow Glen Tilt to stand undefeated.  Hear that, Glen Tilt?  We'll be back and next time we're bringing friends.

For more pictures, please visit my Facebook album here.

Pitlochry

Pitlochry is located in the lovely area just west of Tayside (where Dundee is located) called Perthshire.  Less than two hours from us via train, Pitlochry is a hopping town with two distilleries, a brewery, a dam, a theatre, and a whole lot of people on a Saturday night.  We weren't actually planning a day in Pitlochry, just a stopover for the Blair Athol Distillery.  But, then we heard about the Edradour Distillery, Scotland's smallest, and the Moulin brewery, both right outside of town, and decided it deserved a full day's attention.

We started our day leisurely, departing Dundee around 10am.  We had a short layover in Perth, where we've found we enjoy grabbing a sophisticated cuppa at the Station Hotel right outside in the car park, but were in Pitlochry before noon.  We immediately headed in the direction of the Blair Athol distillery but wound up on an unplanned detour to the Pitlochry dam and fish ladder.  Since the salmon weren't running and the visitor centre was closed, we quickly reversed course.

The Blair Athol Distillery is right outside of town (not sure how we got lost) and possesses a nice visitor centre focused on Bell's Whisky, which contains Blair Athol in its blend, a good gift shop, and the best tour ever.  Our tour guide was amazing!  He had both great historical knowledge as well as general knowledge and, best of all, he was able to explain everything to us in a way which we understood.  We never have to go on another tour again, this guy was THAT good.  Our tour did cost £5 each but included a £3 voucher for their whisky and a proper whisky tasting at the end.  It was an excellent experience and one which we highly recommend.

We had hoped to grab some lunch in the distillery's restaurant but, sadly, they don't have one.  Thus, starving, we headed back into town for lunch.  We stopped at the Pitlochry visitor's centre where we bought a £1 map of the area and received a few restaurant recommendations, which we ignored, and headed back out.

Black Spout

After lunch in town we headed off on our ramble of the area, through the Black Spout woods towards Edradour Distillery.  We haven't seen a waterfall in ages, so we were excited to incorporate this ramble into our day.  We love waterfalls.  The Black Spout woods themselves were nice, too, and the trail was empty and well maintained.

Edradour Distillery was a bit of a disappointment.  They have a sign out front, before even entering the gift shop, that there is a £5 admission.  Having just been on the best tour ever, we didn't want to do another tour and were unclear as to whether we would be charged just for entering the premises or if that was a tour charge.  Thus, we stayed off their grounds and just looked from afar.

We quickly headed the long way back to Pitlochry so we could go through the small town of Moulin on our way home.  We had heard good things about their brewery but, sadly, the brewery was closed to tours because their guide was on holiday.  Happily, the adjoining inn was open (and packed) so we were still able to sample the beer before leaving.

We arrived back into Pitlochry around 5:30pm and the town was hopping.  There were tons of people everywhere.  We were not prepared for this at all.  Our previous experience in Crieff had made us believe that towns closed down around 5pm in this area but Pitlochry looked like it was going to be open until the wee hours.  Apparently, if you want to party Pitlochry is your place.

We really had a great day, with some lovely scenery and nice drinks.  Pitlochry is definitely on our list of places to send friends when they visit and we'll keep our eye out for events at the Festival Theatre, another reason to visit the area.

For more pictures, please visit my Facebook page here.

Knock of Crieff

Crieff

For our October ramble, we headed west to Crieff, described in our Frommer's walking guide as 'an attractive resort town, situated on the Highland edge at the foot of the Knock, a hill with panoramic views over mountain, wood, and farmland.'  We were looking forward to this ramble for two reasons: 1, because we've yet to experience this part of the country and 2, because the ramble starts from the car park of the Glenturret Distillery, basically incorporating a distillery tour into our ramble.  Beginning a ramble in the Highland foothills with a wee dram of The Famous Grouse, Scotland's favourite whisky?  Yeah, sounded like the perfect day to us, too.

Getting to Crieff from Dundee required a 20 minute train ride to Perth (£7.50 return per person) and a further 45 minute bus ride (£4.10 return per person).  The distillery is a bit out of town on the main road but the walk is pleasant.  We left Dundee around 10am and arrived at the Glenturret Distillery around 12:30pm.  Upon arrival, we paid for the 1:30pm Experience tour (£8.95 per person) and then headed up to the restaurant to kill an hour.  The restaurant was disappointing, though we did enjoy a drink before moving on.  The shop was better and we walked away with a chunk of whisky fudge (£1.60) as our souvenir.

The tour itself was fun but, especially when compared to the free tour available at the Glenfiddich distillery in Dufftown, a bit expensive.  Our tour at the Glenfiddich distillery had a smaller group (though we were there in November) and ended with a proper tasting of their three whiskies (12, 15, and 18 years).  Our group at the Glenturret distillery was much larger (it sold out) and the tour felt fast.  Though we did get small samples of four of their whiskies (Snow, Famous, Black, and 10 year single malt), it was not a proper whisky tasting and I didn't leave respecting the flavours, as I did after the Glenfiddich tour.  The tour ended with a pretty cool short film and, overall, I'm glad we did it because we were there but, especially at that price, we'd recommend Dufftown and Glenfiddich for a cheaper and perhaps better, though similar, experience.

view from the summit

We began our Knock ramble around 2:15pm and finished around 5pm, just short of the book's estimated 3 hours.  The hike took us up a few hills (total elevation gain was 710 ft.), some of which were pretty steep, giving it a moderate rating from the book, which I agree with.  We encountered a few other ramblers but, otherwise, we were completely alone.  With a castle in the distance and the autumn colours, this was a particularly scenic hike and we would definitely recommend it, though we would suggest going on a clear day to take full advantage of the views from the summit.

Crieff itself was a surprise; we hadn't expected such a large town.  When we arrived in the early afternoon it was bustling with activity and we should've stopped then for a pint rather than heading straight for the distillery.  Upon our return, around 5:30pm, the town had already seemingly closed for the night so we didn't really get to experience much of Crieff.  We did find a couple pubs still open however, though the one we chose we weren't terribly impressed with.  There were a few takeaways to choose from too, but again, the one we chose we were disappointed with.  With nothing left to entertain us, we jumped on the 7pm bus back to Perth and were home before 9:30pm.

Monzie Castle

Although we experienced poor weather, our day was otherwise perfect and we highly recommend this itinerary including the distillery tour, but only if incorporating it into the ramble and not as an isolated attraction.

For more pictures, please visit my Facebook album here.

Glasgow

With a local Glaswegian as our guide (slash bodyguard), we spent this past Friday and Saturday in Glasgow.  The first (and last) time we were in Glasgow, we had stayed only a day, not wanting to be in the city after the sun went down.  Right or wrong, we had expected a rough city prior to that first visit and we were terrified of it, thus we had planned our travels to get us out of there well before sundown.  Happily, upon arrival our opinions instantly changed and, as the day progressed, our expectations wound up being proved completely inaccurate.  Nonetheless, we hadn't bothered returning until a new friend, Adam, convinced us to spend more time there.  This past Friday we returned.

We started our evening in the West End.  It was super cute and reminded us of Montmartre in Paris.  The scene was fun and normal (no street fights or thugs wielding pipes as weapons) and the bars Adam took us to, Grosvenor Cafe and Hillhead Bookclub, were both in old, gorgeous buildings.  I could easily see myself living in this neighbourhood.  It was a great re-introduction to Glasgow.

We started the next day with a hike up Gardner Street, the 'steepest street in Europe', on our way to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum where we spent some time getting some culture.  It's nice to be able to stop into a free museum and see a Van Gogh, Monet, and Pissarro.  We were also able to catch a bit of the organ recital as we left.

Afterwards, we traversed the city on foot to the east end, passing The People's Palace on our way to West Brewery for lunch, which wound up being closed for a wedding.  Although a huge disappointment, we regrouped and headed to Home in Merchant City instead.  We had a lovely meal at Home and decided to pub crawl our way back to the West End.  We stopped at Waxy O'Connor's, an Irish pub in the city centre, and Chinaskis, a Bukowski fan pub on Sauchiehall, before heading back to Adam's for our bags.

We left Adam at the Partick underground station, on our way to Queen Street rail station where we would grab our train back to Dundee.  Adam had proven to be a great host.  We have similar tastes, so he knew exactly where to take us and what to show us.  We had a great time with him and recommend his tour guide talents to everyone.

Glasgow is a great city.  We felt safe the whole time and were never bored.  The plethora of pubs, beautiful buildings, and pubs in beautiful buildings could keep us entertained for weeks on their own.  The fact that Glasgow has so much more to offer than just those though, proves that we have many more eventful days to spend there.

For more pictures, please visit my Facebook album here.

Fife Coastal Path: St Monans to Crail

Our first Sunday back in Scotland, to celebrate our successful move, we decided to ramble for five hours along the Fife Coastal Path.  We wandered down to the bus station, purchased two Fife Day Rider Plus tickets, allowing unlimited rides throughout Fife for £9 each, and were off by 11am.

Besides having to transfer in St Andrews, our ride was pretty simple.  The bus drivers we encountered were very helpful and friendly and, with their help, we made it to our destination, the tiny town of St. Monans, with ease.

Our ramble would take us from St. Monans, through Pittenweem, Anstruther, and Kilrenny, to Crail.  We had no idea what to expect but we were guessing something along the lines of last year's Arbroath to Auchmithie ramble, so we made sure to pack a lunch.  What we actually encountered were adorable, peaceful, picturesque, little seaside towns peppered along the beautiful coastal path.  We were absolutely enamoured.

The Fife Coastal Path is actually very long (81 miles) and part of a larger network of walking paths which take you up and down Scotland's coast.  We selected this section due to it being highlighted in one of our Scotland guide books.  Happily, we had such a lovely time we can't wait to explore more of it.  Next time we won't pack a lunch, though.  We encountered so many adorable towns with equally adorable pubs that we plan to incorporate them into our future rambles.

Our five hour ramble came to a perfect end when we bid adieu to the coastal trail in Crail, wandering towards the main road, to catch our bus in front of the post office back to St. Andrews.  We almost seamlessly caught our connecting bus back to Dundee and were home in what felt like a matter of minutes.  We could not have had a better reintroduction to Scotland than this ramble and we're looking forward to the next one.

For more pictures, please visit my Facebook album here.