03.21.19 | Glasgow, Scotland | 23:31
I would rather live in the country, than in the city. I hope I will always have a home in a place where you can still see the stars at night. Although this is true, I sure do love to wander around the city at night when it’s all lit up! This is what I did last night- it was amazing!
Glasgow at Night
03.20.19 | Glasgow, Scotland |21:25
After this morning’s breakfast, I should probably eat only celery sticks for the rest of my journey. I promise I don’t always eat like a pig- but this is a vacation, after all. I had to stop at Oban Chocolate Company one last time for breakfast. Plus- ice cream for breakfast! When my server brought it out, she told me that it was a good choice because the mango made it healthy.
The train ride from Oban to Glasgow was rather nice. I was supposed to get off the train part way and transfer to another one, but one of the workers told me that was a misprint on my ticket and this train would take me all the way.
I’m staying in the most awesome flat, a little farther west than I’m familiar with. I usually have stayed in the Euro Hostel here, but I’m well under my budget and so I thought I’d splurge a tiny bit.
I created this little video of a few clips from the train ride, as well as a tour of my Airbnb here in Glasgow. I hope you enjoy!
03.19.19 | Oban, Scotland | 21:03
When the plane first landed in Edinburgh at the start of this adventure, I thought that I had matured and that I’d given up childish things- you see, it had become a Scotland tradition for me to dye my hair. It was never a conservative shade either. I definitely wanted something funky that makes people wonder who or what I am.
I thought I’d forego the tradition this year, however. Not only would this save me some money, but I’ve learned from the mistakes of my past and I want to be the kind of person that my mom wants me to be….
Just kidding- my hair is currently blue.
03.18.19 | Oban, Scotland | 13:30
When my alarm went off at 07:00, I stood up, got ready, and left the pod. I wanted to get the first ferry back to Mull. Iona is a pretty island! I wish I had more time to explore it, not that there’s a whole lot to see and do there. But it’s sometimes a good thing to step back and just relax. This is definitely a possibility on Iona because not only was there no access to the internet, it was nearly impossible to get a cell phone signal. This is my definition of “roughing it”.
It amazes me how hard it is to slow down. I have certainly become programmed. Especially at night- the first thing I do when I lay down on the bed: Look at my phone. This isn’t even an option for me on Iona. Maybe this is a sign that I do need to reserve those times or those days where I can just turn off my phone and relax.
I’m back in Oban now, and I just got back from Nories, a local fish & chip restaurant. On Iona, I had only eaten peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches for the last two days. It sort of reminded me of college days, or when I first starting working as a flight attendant. PBJ and ramen noodles, just about every single day.
Tonight I went to the Oban Phoenix Cinema saw A Private War. Definitely not a typical “feel good” kind of movie! It is a true story about a woman whose life’s work was reporting in war-torn areas of the world. She had such a strong desire to be IN the action going on, many times risking her own life. It was a sad film, but defintiely worth seeing, in my opnion.
03.17.19 | Iona, Scotland | 08:09
Aside from the fact that the bed is not the most comfortable, I had a pretty decent night’s sleep- as it turns out, I was worried about nothing. From the moment I got a message from the owner, I’d been stressing a bit. I woke up at about 07:00- it’s a perfect Sunday! I think I will hang out for a bit so I can see what the weather wants to do.
Today was a ton of walking! Since Iona is only three miles long, by one mile wide, I was able to see so much fo the wee island. The island is where St. Columba built his abbey, back around 563 a.d. [see info on Wikipedia- scroll down to heading Scotland].
03.16.19 | Iona Pod | 16:34
The trip to Iona was incredibly beautiful! I boarded a bus in Tobermory and had to switch to another bus in Craignure. Then came the part of the trip where we drove the non-existent town of Torosay. The reason I bring this up is that this is one of the places that my ancestors came from. The town doesn’t really exist anymore, but my bus driver, a local, knew exactly where it was. There are still families in the area with the surnames of my ancestors. Sadly I’m just passing through. My aunt Pam asked me to take the time to search for “our people” wherever the keep the records. I’m guessing that would be back in Tobermory, but not sure. That search will have to be another trip, another year.
I finally shot some video… hope you enjoy!
The “pod” that I’m staying in is very, very small. There’s not room for much more than two beds and a shelf. The restroom/shower is at the family’s house- they keep the foyer unlocked for pod renters to have access. It’s a cozy little setup. The pod is nice and warm since it is double insulated and the owner has added a little wall heater. I was a bit worried, to be honest. This is Scotland in March, after all.
03.15.19 | Tobermory, Scotland | 19:46
My Airbnb is huge! I didn’t realize when I was booking it that it actually sleeps 6+ people! That’s just on this end of the house too. The familly owns the other side of the house- but they keep the door between the residence and the Airbnb locked- so it’s like I have my own place. Wanna know the coolest part of this house? It has a washer/dryer combo… as in- it’s ONE machine that washes and dries your clothes! My mind is blown! Get with the times, United States of America! I plan on using it tonight!
When I woke this morning, it looked like it was going to be a sunny day. By the time I walked down the hill into the town, I had to duck into a restaurant to get out of the rain. Since I was there, I ordered some breakfast in order to wait out the storm. Soon, the sun crept out from the clouds and it looked like the rain was done.
I walked up to Argyle Street and explored some more of the town. I wasn’t walking long before I saw some thick clouds rolling in, and so I made my way back to the Airbnb. As I was almost there, it started to hail. My plans changed and I decided to wait it out.
I stayed at the house for the rest of the morning- the weather today is so funny! Mother Nature isn’t committing to rain or sunshine. It’ll be sunny for about 20 minutes, then it will hale/rain for about 10-15 minutes. Then the sun will come out again, and it feels like a perfect spring day. After about two hours of trying to nap, I decided that it was time to go for a walk, rain or shine.
I checked my AllTrails app to look for a place to hike, and found one that was about three miles round-trip. I thought this would be perfect. I stoped by the Tobermory Handmade Chocolate Company for a quick hot chocolate, then I was off to find the Tobermory Lighthouse.
On my way back into town, I stopped by a war memorial. There were a few last names I recognized from my own Scottish ancestory, but I’m not sure if there is a connection or not. Someday, I’d love to figure it all out! It would be great to find a distant relative over here!
Before I left town, I got a message from the owner of tomorrow’s Airbnb. So- months ago, when I was learning about Iona, I was intrigued. Iona, which is a small island off the coast of Mull, is considered by many, to be sacred ground. I was so excited that I found a place to stay, that I didn’t go in to read all the details of what I was getting myself in to.
The message from the owner reminded me to bring all my own provisions because the “pod” I’m staying in is more-or-less camping. That’s right- I’m staying tonight in a less-than-desirable lodging. The reason I have brought my own provisions is that the only store on the island doesn’t open for the season until March 26th. Let the lesson be learned: Read the fine print before you purchase your Airbnb.
For this reason, I went to the Co-Op (the local grocery store) in town and got some groceries. Since I don’t think I’ll have any kind of refrigerator, for the next two days I’ll be living off the following items: bread, peanut butter, Nutella, cookies, chips, Coca-Cola, and two liters of water. This is either going to be really cool, or really, really not cool.
03.14.19 | Tobermory, Scotland | 23:07
Getting to Tobermory is fairly simple- you board a ferry in Oban, sail west/ northwest, and about 45 minutes later you’re at Craignure, on the Isle of Mull. Side note- Craignure is near Torosay Castle and Torosay is one of the places my ancestors came from! Talk about a full circle- gives me chills just being here!
Once you land in Craignure, there is a bus that will take you the rest of the way to Tobermory. I first discovered this town last year, when I came for just a day trip [see post]. What a great little town this is! I had time to get some lunch, and then some dessert in a tea room.
I had an early dinner, while I was waiting to check in to the Airbnb. I went to a pub/restaurant called Mishnish and ordered. I sat with two guys who are here on vacation from France. I found out their names are Ferman and Teebo (I’m 97% certain those names are spelled incorrectly, but when I got their names, I didn’t ask for the correct spelling. They ate fast, because they were in a hurry to catch a ferry to some other island). They were a couple of nice guys!
03.13.18 | Oban Hostel | 21:01
I was hoping that the rainclouds were on their way out. This morning I woke up to a partly cloudy sky and thought it would be turn out to be perfect conditions to record some videos of the surrounding area. After a few minutes, however, the clouds came back in and the rain started. I don’t know if it even let up all day.
After breakfast, I went to the Oban War and Peace Museum. This was fascinating- free, of course, but they do ask you for a donation on your way out. What fascinated me the most was the old pictures of the Oban area from way back in the 1850s. I learned that there are quite a few caves aroudn the Oban area and in one of these they found the human remains of up to 20 different people. When they dated the remains, they leaned that it was from a people that lived here about 6000 years ago!
Instead of lunch, I got some treats at the Oban Chocolate Company, on the shoreline. I drank some bitter hot chocolate and had a little piece of cheesecake. I guess I need to restart my diet again tomorrow- we’ll see how long this lasts. I’m guessing it won’t be very long until I cheat again. I tell myself it’s ok since I’m on vacation, but I tell myself that the rest of the year as well.
I went to another fish restaurant for dinner. This one was a bit more expensive but had a nicer menu, and I was also paying for a more classic dining experience. Plus the servers were incredible. I don’t see that a whole lot in the U.K. because most of them think you don’t want to be bothered. Many servers over here won’t even check on you until you flag them down. I guess that’s a good thing if you want to eat in peace.
03.12.19 | Oban Hostel | 20:54
Earlier today, I had to say goodbye to Glasgow. It wasn’t too sad, however, because I’ll be back next week, at least for a few days. I’m looking forward to getting more into Glasgow, as I won’t be attending C2C every day. By the way, C2C 2020 tickets go on presale tomorrow, I do believe. Should I?
The train ride heading out of Glasgow was amazing! So beautiful and picturesque! On the way, I tried to shoot a few short videos, just so I could share the countryside. How awesome would it be to call this land “home”?
[I will upload some videos as soon as I have a faster connection]
Dinner was at a little fish restaurant. For my first course, I had some brie cheese, and the main meal was a haddock and chips. This is my second fish and chips of this vacation, and I’m pretty sure it won’t be my last. Dessert was banoffee pudding- it was a small portion, so I don’t feel bad.
DavTravels 