2013 Travels

Brussels

Although Husband and I returned to the USA this year, bringing an end to our European travels, we still found ways to satiate our wanderlust. Our move to New York City provided us with a great base for exploring New York state and the northeastern United States, both regions we'd almost fully neglected prior to our move. We did sneak a little bit of Europe in at the beginning though, just for fun.

We started 2013 travelling. After celebrating the new year in London, we boarded the Eurostar to Brussels. After a day there we went to Duesseldorf for our flight to New York City, where we permanently relocated on January 3rd.

Cape Cod

We stayed within the city limits until June when we traveled to Cape Cod in Massachusetts for our first mini-break of the year.

The rest of the summer was mostly spent in the parks of New York City, especially once we discovered the Urban Park Rangers Family Camping program. We also spent a good deal of time at Coney Island, our favorite place in NYC and where we'll be watching the final sunset of 2013.

In late summer and early autumn we ventured into upstate New York, visiting The Adirondacks, Syracuse and the Finger Lakes region, including Watkins Glen State Park and Ithaca.

Watkins Glen State Park

From October we began venturing out of town for day trips and rambles. We hiked Bear Mountain and stayed to celebrate their Oktoberfest, we journeyed out to Long Island for their Oyster Festival and we devoted two trips to Tarrytown, rambling along different sections of the Old Croton Aqueduct.

We already have a few trips planned for 2014, including another big move, so our travel in this area of the USA will greatly decrease after 2013. And, while our travels in 2013 weren't exactly what we had expected, we do realize how incredibly fortunate we are to have had them.

In 2014, we'd like to find ourselves abroad again, with plenty more to write about. We'd also like to find ourselves healthy and happy, wherever we may be.

To all the Travel Bunnies out there, may 2014 bring you good health, happiness and many safe travels.

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.

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.

Lake District

Ravenglass estuary

In February we purchased a voucher for a 2-night stay in the Lake District National Park from KGB Deals for £79 (including breakfast). With train tickets from Dundee to Ravenglass only £34pp return, this trip to England was an effing steal and a perfect birthday present for Husband.  Last week we redeemed our voucher and had perhaps the most perfect holiday ever.

Our voucher was for The Pennington, a gorgeous hotel in Ravenglass, a charming coastal village on the west coast of the Lake District in Cumbria, England.  We arrived on Thursday morning too early to check-in (around 11am) so we dropped our suitcase off and started to explore the area.

The village is super small so we made our way along the main road to the neighbouring tourist attraction of Muncaster Castle.  We had planned to spend Friday exploring this area but we had nothing better to do and it was still relatively early so we decided to enter (£11pp).  This would prove to be the first of many correct decisions made on this trip.

Muncaster Castle

We rambled a bit through the gardens, up to Bluebell Hill, and then back down to the castle.  We started the castle tour just after 1pm and were done before 2:30pm.  The castle is still occupied by The Penningtons and it's their voices (parents, daughter, and son-in-law) who narrate the audio tour.  The tour is lovely and the castle is beautiful.  They've made it charming and comfortable but it's still definitely a drafty, old castle.  I do not envy their maintenance or energy costs but they've done a marvellous job of refurbishing and I wouldn't be averse to spending a summer in their shoes.

In addition to their lovely grounds there is an owl reserve on their land and at 2:30pm they put on a very entertaining bird show.  We got to see a common buzzard, barn owl, and eagle owl in action and learn a bit about their plight here in the UK.  Afterwards, we made our way to the actual sanctuary where they house many more varieties, all available for adoption.  The owls are fed dead chicks, which we got to witness, and then at 4:30pm the leftovers are fed to a rather large but patient group of wild herons.  The whole experience at Muncaster Castle was magical and easily supplanted Glamis Castle as our new favourite in the UK.

After the heron feeding we made our way back to Ravenglass via Public Footpath, passing fields of grazing sheep with their newborn lambs.  The return trip didn't take very long and we were quickly back at our hotel.

Day Two saw us rambling 6 miles into the park to the town of Boot, along the River Esk.  One of the great things about the UK is the fact that one can probably get anywhere via Public Footpath.  We hadn't known that there was a trail from Ravenglass to Boot but we knew we wanted to go and assumed  we'd eventually hit a trail so we just started rambling.  Public Footpaths, Bridleways, and Right of Ways (all free to use) are definitely lovely perks of the British countryside.

Our 12 mile ramble took up the bulk of our second day but it was a lovely way to while away the hours and we thoroughly enjoyed the scenery.  The highlight though was the surprise ending when we popped out of some trees to discover we were at the top of a hill, in a pasture of grazing sheep, with an amazing view of the estuary.

The rest of our time was spent sampling local real ales from the various establishments we stumbled upon, resting at our lovely hotel, and walking along the pebble beach at low tide.  We left Saturday afternoon with giant smiles on our faces from a weekend well done.

For more pictures, please visit my Facebook album here.

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.

What It Costs To Live In London

The hard numbers behind our four months in London:

Rent: We spent £750 per month on our small, furnished studio flat in the Cricklewood area (Zone 2, midway between Kilburn and Willesden Green tube stations).  This included mediocre Wi-Fi internet access and utilities (less electricity).

Electricity: We averaged about £40 per month, including television usage.

Television: A television licence cost us £29.10 per month

Entertainment: Our entertainment costs averaged £55 per month.  This included Buckingham Palace, Zoo Lates, outdoor film screenings, and an Elton John concert (and festival).

Travel: We averaged £370 per month.  This included our weekly Oyster card top-up (£28 per person for unlimited travel, Zones 1-2) plus our train rides to Eastbourne, Oxford, Hatfield, Brighton, and Bath.

Food: We went out a lot, especially during the last half of the summer.  We averaged £475 per month on dining out costs (including pints) and £160 per month on groceries.

I found London to be very affordable.  Although I was disappointed with our flat, at least we were able to find one within our budget which got us there (and the neighbourhood was safe and fun and convenient).  Once there, we found living expenses to be low.  There are plenty of dining options across the economic spectrum and we were always checking out new places.  There are also many attractions that are free (parks, museums, Thames Walkway, etc.) making entertainment very affordable.  Other necessities, like groceries and public transportation, are completely reasonable and, in both cases, cheaper in London than in Dundee (though public transportation isn't as necessary in Dundee).

Yes, you can definitely spend a lot of money in London.  But, the fact that we averaged only £2000 per month for all expenses, doing everything we wanted to do, shows that spending a lot of money isn't necessary to enjoy yourself.

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.

Bath Day Trip

Jane Austen lived here

This past Sunday we hopped aboard the 9am train from Paddington station to Bath (Somerset) for our last London-based day trip of the summer. Situated 1 3/4 hours west of London, Bath is famous for its Roman ruins and healing thermal waters (both of which we completely bypassed).  Additionally, it was also the former residence of a little known author from the late 18th century (you may have heard of her), a Miss Jane Austen.

Upon arriving around 10:40am, we quickly made our way to the Bath Abbey for the only Jane Austen walking tour of the day.  Starting at 11am and lasting a bit longer than planned (2.5 hours rather than 1.5), our walking tour met our expectations for its historical anecdotes and literary references along with just being a nice introduction to such a lovely town.

Jane Austen lived in four homes in Bath.  First, when her brother was prescribed Bath’s healing waters (along with electric shock treatment) for his ailments, she and her mother accompanied his family on the trip. Next, upon retiring, her father relocated the household (including herself, her mother, and her sister) to Bath, where he subsequently died. Upon her father's death, the family tried to stay in Bath but, after relocating twice, finally acknowledged that Bath was prohibitively expensive for their circumstances and had to leave town for good.  Both Northanger Abbey and Persuasion are products of her time in Bath (neither of which I know anything about).

Parade Gardens

After our walking tour we grabbed a couple pints at The Porter, an adorable vegetarian pub with outdoor seating and a great location and then headed to 'the famous' Sally Lunn's to sample some 'world famous buns', where we wound up having an excellent lunch and grabbing a few buns to-go.  After our meal, we walked to the riverside to enjoy the sun, water, and our lovely surroundings.  Then, just to add to our contentment, a band began playing in the bandstand at Parade Gardens, across the River Avon from where we were sitting.  It was lovely.

Besides a disappointing hike up to Alexandra Park - located at the top of a neighbouring hill it was supposed to be a great spot to view the town but really isn't at all due to all the trees - we had a perfect day.  In hindsight, the hike was actually quite nice and the park was cute and, though requiring an exhaustive and frustrating search, we did eventually stumble upon a break in the trees which did provide a mediocre view of the town.  But, disappointing view aside, we did discover the existence of a ravenous, man-eating, invisible plant with a sting that lasts around 24 hours and is painful enough to make two adults run screaming from the wilderness.  So, you know, that was cool.

Royal Crescent

We spent the rest of the day revisiting spots from our walking tour and trying to find places that were pointed out in the distance and discussed but not actually seen.  We took a turn around the Royal Crescent, just like the high brows would've in Jane Austen's day, and found the spot where Jane Austen's father had been buried in a churchyard on the hill, next to one of Jane's inspirations, Frances Burney.

More than any of our other day trips, this trip to Bath was the most fun historically for me.  I'd say Bath is my favourite town thus far in the UK and I'm looking forward to returning for further exploration.

For more pictures, please visit my Facebook album here.

Brighton Day Trip

I had high hopes for Brighton.  Earlier this summer we visited the unknown seaside resort of Eastbourne and found it to be absolutely adorable and charming so the famous 'London by the Sea' should be much better, right?  Wrong.  Brighton was a mess.  There were some nice bits about it but mostly it was disappointing; over-crowded with unhappy families, an unexceptional pier, over-priced entertainment, and lots of hen-dos and stag groups wandering around in fancy dress screaming, trying to prove they were having a good time.  Perhaps Brighton just isn't our scene and most people enjoy it but, because it's not our scene, we'll be enjoying Eastbourne again before ever returning to Brighton.

The weather was overcast and a bit chilly with a strong breeze at the seaside when we arrived at around 10am yesterday morning.  We braved the breeze for a bit to check out the beach and pier but then headed inland to see the rest of the town.  We stumbled upon the Royal Pavilion, a Brighton must-see, but much like Oxford chose not to spend £6 per person to go inside, admiring the architecture from the exterior.

We found The Lanes, a charming but crowded area of small, winding streets with cute shops and restaurants, and promptly tucked in at English's Oyster Bar for an early al fresco lunch of oysters on the half shell and some live jazz.  This was a nice, safe spot to do some people watching before venturing out into the crowds again.

Post-oysters, we headed back to the shore for some seafront rambling.  We grabbed some cockles ('like clams'), whelks ('sea snails'), and anchovy wrapped olives for an impromptu beach picnic but the weather quickly chased us away.  We did sit on the stone beach long enough to determine it was more comfortable than expected, though walking on it was not pleasant at all.  Also, I liked the cockles more than the anchovy wrapped olives and the whelks  were okay with some vinegar and salt but otherwise a bit too chewy for my palate.

We spent the rest of the day just rambling around town and occasionally ducking into a pub to escape the poor weather.  One of the highlights of our day was discovering Bill's Cafe (thanks, Lou!), where we enjoyed afternoon tea.  This area of Brighton felt very authentic and we liked it a lot, though we didn't spend too much time exploring it.

The sun eventually did make an appearance and we rushed down to the seafront to enjoy it there.  We sat on the stones for a short while, just enjoying the beach and the sea.  When the sun started to set, and the chilly breeze returned, we headed back inland.  The crowd was beginning to change from families to fancy dress and the mood from stressed family outing to forced drunken fun.  Not enjoying either mood but finding the latter to be exponentially more dangerous than the former, we decided 8pm was a good time to split.

Yes, the stone beach was charming and The Lanes were cute as well but the rest of Brighton felt like forced fun and, though we're glad we went, we're sad to say Brighton is our first day trip disappointment since arriving in the United Kingdom almost a year ago.  That being said, that's not a bad record at all.

For more pictures, please see my Facebook page here.