March 30-April 1
There's a lot that happened during my Scottish trip so I'm going to have to separate the posts.
Here's the Itinerary for my trip:
April 1 - Train to Glasgow
April 2 - Bus to Glenfinnan, Fort William, and then to Kyleakin
April 3 - Isle of Skye Tour
April 4 - Train to Inverness
April 5 - Bus to Loch Ness/ Urquhart Castle
April 6 - Bus to Culloden
April 7 - Bus to Newcastle
Prior to departing for our crazy jam-packed holiday, my friends and I planned to meet up at the Sunday market to confirm a few things and to exchange cash, as some things had to be booked by one person etc. However, things didn't go to plan. First one of the girls had slept in a bit and wasn't feeling very well and then it started to rain, so we didn't really want to go about the outdoor market. We ended up just going to the girl who was unwell's place to exchange the money and amp each other up for our adventure.
That day I packed, tried to organize my room, and looked up loads of info on Scotland since I would not be bringing my laptop with me. At the meeting I informed the girls of the weather we'd be expecting and told them what I saw travellers wearing in pictures on the worst days to be out. I didn't want them to come unprepared and take time out of our trip to hunt down water-proofs.
Just before I was about to go to bed I discovered a really good deal that would cut the costs of some of my castle excursions. I immediately paid for the deal as it was valid for 2 weeks starting the day I chose (my Urquhart excursion) all the way to my upcoming trip to Edinburgh where I'd be visiting the Monty Python castle and other things included in the explorer pass. However, you needed a printed copy to scan. I tried looking to see if any of our accommodations would be able to print it or if there was a store I could send it to, but it was all confusing because the Brits use different terminology and there's no store like Staples here.
I planned to then hike my way to campus prior to taking the train. When I went to select a printer I noticed they had some of the accommodations listed, and since some of the girls I was going with lived in those places I decided to ask if one of them could pick it up on their way - especially since I was running a bit late.
Once that was settled, I strapped myself into Em's backpack and headed down to the train station. The backpack had been heavy to put on, so I was beginning to regret my decision to not buy a carry-on suitcase that my friends would be dragging around. However, the minute I was properly set with it on my back the weight didn't bother me. Thanks Em!
There was a Gregg's across from the train station, but it's line went out the door and I only had ten minutes to catch my train, so I grabbed a meal deal from M&S. All the grocery stores have this deal - it ranges from 3-7 pounds where you get a main (sandwich/salad), a side (yogurt, chips, fruit/veggie bag etc) and a drink (this varies greatly). For 5 pounds I got a bbq wrap, some lightly salted chips, and sparkling orange juice.
I had to pick up my tickets at the train station as you needed a printed pass for some trains. It also printed my ticket for my train to Inverness, so I kept that safe in my wallet. The other girls were on an earlier train, which I didn't realize until I saw them messaging in the group chat at an earlier time then expected. As I didn't want to waste my data I just warned them I was on a later train so they wouldn't worry about not seeing me. The trains here either leave right on time or are delayed - they never leave early, so I made my train with minutes to spare.
I ended up not having anyone say beside me, but did have two men across from me; one of them left at one point leaving his stuff and didn't return until the train was stopping.
While seated on the train I re-opend my group's WhatsApp chat to discover that someone was MIA. One of the girls had paid for her ticket to Glasgow and had to hand them over to her so she could get on the train, but she never showed up and her phone was off. They ended up leaving the ticket with one of the workers and getting on the train instead of waiting (good on them, as I wouldn't want to have to pay for a new ticket because of one person). There was also the issue that the girl who was MIA was also the girl who'd paid for our accommodation that night. I knew my family would be able to help us find a hotel or even a hostel for the night so that didn't worry too much, and I didn't message my family right away as there was still time in the day for things to turn around.
We finally got a reply - basically the girl said she didn't know what happened (didn't explain her disappearance) and just said she was heading to the train station to figure things out. She eventually got her tickets and was planning to meet us a couple hours after our arrival. Normally I'd be very pissed, but I had to remind myself about the language barrier and to just give things the benefit of the doubt. She might have been more comfortable explaining the issue in person.
I'd originally planned to watch some shows I'd downloaded from Netflix, but the view was too amazing to take my eyes off. The train to Edinburgh travels along the coastline and it was a bright and sunny day. I nearly got off at Berwick-upon Tweed just to go see the beach.
I also passed by Lindisfarne castle and got a short clip of it. You'd have to know it was there to see it. The tide was out so you could see the road connecting it to the mainland. Blink and you'll miss it.
Once in Edinburgh I had to find my next train. This part was really confusing as my physical ticket only said it was valid on my last train and I had nothing as proof for my next train. I got on anyway as one of the other girls said her ticket was the same.
There were quite a few trains heading to Glasgow, there was one leaving earlier than mine that I debated just getting on. The weird ticket thing made me just get on the one that my app said to get on, so I followed that and waited in the cold until my train arrived.
We had the freedom to choose where ever we wanted to sit on this train, so I found an area to myself and sat down. It wasn't until quite some time had passed that I realized I was in a backward facing seat. I was too embarrassed to switch seats and just stuck it out for the short journey.
Once in Glasgow I met up with the others and we decided to head down Buchanan street (a popular street in Glasgow). We hit up a few things I knew about - some museums and even the infamous Duke of Wellington Statue. This lovely statue was what I'd been looking forward to the most as in my Popular Performance class I'd learned that the People had taken over this political statue by placing a traffic cone upon the Duke's head, making it their own. There had been a lot of debate over it, the city had spent a lot of money having to remove the cone, but they eventually gave up and let the people do what they want. You're not guaranteed to see the cone every time, but since it was April Fools' Day I knew it had to be there and I wasn't disappointed. The other girls really enjoyed it too.
Then, we headed to a second must of mine: Tim Hortons. Ever since I saw a fellow Canadian post her own picture at the Glasgow Tim's I knew i had to go. I careened the girls there by the promise of treating them to a Canadian ice-breaker/meeting tradition: Timbits. It looked small inside, but they had seating downstairs so we had some room to settle down with all our luggage. I ended up getting an assorted box as I couldn't decided which timbits to buy. They didn't have any French Vanilla box mixes, so I was a little disappointed as I'd been hoping to get one of those so I could have some back in Newcastle.
The girls told me that the treats were really good and that the coffee was good too. The timbits tasted more rich than the ones back home. The only one that tasted the same from what I could remember was the cinnamon timbit. There was also a lemon filled one that didn't even taste like one. However, the rest were very good.
There was an arcade that was just jewellery. A man in a suit with a top hat was standing by the entrance. We figured he was there to stick his foot out to trip any jewel thieves.
Also, the blue "police box" was an ice cream stand. Guess the Doctor decided to give up time travelling for the day and make some cash.
We then continued to explore on our way back to the train station to meet-up with our late-arrival friend. We were all looking forward to her story. I ended up not hearing the full-story as I took charge leading us to our hotel. It was a bit confusing as there was a lot of construction and road blocks set-up so my gps was very confused and kept trying to lead us down sketchy alleyways. From what I could grasp she'd overslept and that was it. She didn't seem the type to oversleep (on the trip she woke up way earlier than the rest of us - but that may have been her fear of oversleeping again).
Once at the hotel we dropped off our stuff in our room and I set up an uber to pick us up as the walk to the Kelvingrove museum/art gallery was longer than expected because of the road closures and we didn't have much time as everything closes at 5pm (really annoying). We had to leave our key at the hotel (you can pick it up on your way back as they have someone at the desk 24/7 - it reminded me of how hotels used to run).
The Uber driver told me how there'd been a fire a couple months back and that's why the road near our hotel had been closed. It was a pretty serious fire and the building had been fairly old.
Once at the art gallery/museum we entered the first exhibit together, which was the works of Leonardo Da Vinci (FYI Kelvingrove is free, but they do accept donations too). It was fairly interesting to see, but the works were tiny and people crowded in front to read the fine print, so I got bored fast and decided to just split up from the group and explore on my own. English is my first language, so I can read the exhibit plaques faster than the others anyway. I also enjoy looking at gift shops more than them so I figured I can give myself more time to do the latter in the time it'd take them to explore.
We spent almost 2 hours there, the building had a lot to offer. There was Dippy, a touring dinosaur that was going to be in Newcastle in May. Then they had the stuffed animals exhibit. Some of the animals were smaller than I expected and others much larger. They were also bemusing to look at, especially the beaver who had quite the expression on its face. The museum really catered to children as they had cool crawling areas for them and plenty of arts and craft areas.
In the art galleries I got to see some Monet and other artists. As well, I got to see one of Van Gogh's art pieces in person, which was a wonderful surprise as he is one of my favourite artists.
Entering into one of the art galleries I saw this painting which reminded me of the one in the Percy building back on campus. They're not the same at all, but they gave off the same aura of balding rich man sass.
I then enjoyed the floating heads and people watched from above. It wasn't hard to spot other members of my group because three of us were wearing brightly coloured coats. Me in my blue, another in yellow, and a third in turquoise.
One of the gift shops was mostly children's toys and Dippy related. I had quite the time trying to look around it without tripping over a small child. I got myself a pair of cheap amethyst earrings as that's my birthstone. I'd have worn earrings on the trip, but I hadn't put any in since my trip to London, and prior to leaving I hadn't been able to get any in. I didn't want to risk getting an ear infection, as to get earrings in I was going to have to re-pierce my ears (as of now I'm still afraid, but give me courage and I'll shove a pair in).
While paying a little girl came up and tried to force her purchase while I was in the middle of mine. The cashier laughed it off, but you could see she was a little annoyed. The mother of the child told her kid to wait her turn, but the kid was a brat. Luckily I didn't stay around to see her fit.
There was a second gift shop less child friendly which I wandered about. They had a lot of nice easter items and prints, but it was a bit more than I would like to spend on gifts for people back home (there's a lot of you, so I've budgeted you all).
I then met up with my group and we made our way to the University of Glasgow. From the pictures it looks like it could've been the set for Harry Potter, but it's not and it's not even the place that inspired J.K. It's beautiful nonetheless. Getting there was a bit tricky as there's a river that cuts between it and the art gallery. Once on campus we weren't really sure where to go, but I knew that we had to find the courtyard that I'd seen online. I ended up just walking into this really cool building pictured below.
I then entered the staircase area, but my friends didn't follow as they were worried we shouldn't be where we were. My senses were right and the exit from the staircase led to the courtyard I was talking about. I then hurried back to get the others and we explored and took some pictures.
We were very hungry, so I gave a list of restaurants that served fried haggis, as that's what I really wanted to try. We found one within 800m and headed there. There wasn't much seating inside, but we found a place. We'd all ordered takeaway not really knowing why not until we realized they came without cutlery. I then asked the server for a fork as my exchange friends don't even eat hamburgers with their hands. He gave me these little two speared forks that didn't really do much. I just picked up the haggis and ate it like a hot dog. It was really good, but really filling so I could only stomach half of it. I should also mention that Justin Bieber had also visited this store when he was in Glasgow, which was why we knew it even existed.
We then ended up deciding to take an uber to the city centre to try and get some things before all the stores closed since the city centre was far from where we were.
I got a glimpse of the Necropolis which is a cool graveyard I had wanted to go to, but didn't have the time to.
I went alone to a souvenir store, but didn't see anything I really wanted. I then went to the mall to see if I could find some wrap thing for my ankles to prevent a common blister I get from my rain boots. Basically my hunter boots leave a mark around my ankles that looks like I've been tied up and is annoying to treat. I remembered Em had used some stuff when we played soccer to prevent blisters, but I couldn't find anything similar and I didn't want to pay a fortune for a padded blister band-aid. The store was closing so I gave up and met back up with my friends. We then went into the Hard Rock Cafe as one of them collects stuff from them. She got a really cool hoodie, but took a while to decide as there was lots to choose from. In this time frame I nearly ended up buying the whole store, but then decided not to get into the habit of becoming a Hard Rock Cafe collector as they're souvenirs are pricey.
We then headed to the grocery store to get food for our long bus ride the next day and for the Isle of Skye as there wasn't a grocery store near our hostel.
Then, because it'd been a pretty stressful day as everything had been farther than expected and our hotel was actually at the top of a hill and not on flat ground we all headed back except for the girl who'd arrived late. She then went and explored some of the streets we'd looked at while she had been on the train.
In terms of the hotel it was decent and had all we needed. There was a kettle so we had tea before bed. However, the outlet where the TV plugged in and where our kettle would too wasn't working so we had to boil water using one of the outlets behind someone's bed and we weren't able to watch TV.
The wifi password had also changed so I had to go back to the front desk to get the new passcode.
I also had a shower. The shower had three temperature options: Hot as hell, swimming pool in May, and Polar dip. It wasn't enjoyable, but I had to wash my hair as there was no way I was going to shower at our hostel on the Isle of Skye.
The room had these amazing floor to ceiling windows and had a nice view of the streets below. Of course the windows didn't insulate well and I could feel a bit of a breeze while I slept. This was fine as I do prefer being a bit cold while sleeping, but it made waking up harder.
I'm going to stop this post here as it's getting long and the next day will have even more info.
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