Dunnottar Mains Bed & Breakfast Stonehaven

... series - slowly seeing the world, one small step at a time :)

Insurance covered, visa granted, deposit paid and hopefully proving funds in Aus shouldn't be too difficult. Got a rough itinerary planned out, and just waiting to hear back to find out where my placement is going to be [either Brisbane or Sydney!]. In just a week one of my greatest dreams will finally become a reality. Screw Cancún, this Spring Break is going to kick some ass.

... a crapload of work. And I'm also trying to find one of those "job" things so I can get some extra £ for travelling purposes. So no real time for immediate fun, grrr. But I'm hoping at some point I'll be able to do a bit of mountaineering, and also planning on heading down to Glasgow and Edinburgh sometime. There's a couple other Travelpodians scattered around somewhere too, but I think it's ...

... all taken care of the adventuring will begin. I'm starting to think Ill hop over to Dublin for a day or two before I start traveling south because I am dying to taste their Guinness! Ill write as soon as I know, but I think Ill be lounging around Scotland for two weeks while I get my ducks in a line. Obviously there isn't much to log yet but i promise it will get interesting soon!!!!

... in a 30 ltr something backpack. The photo here is what I've settled on so far plus the camera (minus the router of course). One really important item i realized i've forgotten till today is toilet paper.Thats in the red and white plastic bag so easy for me to find in case of emergency. The string if you're wondering is in case I need to wash my own clothes so at least I have something to hang the clothes from. Also a mini french dictionary for Syria ...

... I wish I could find in my own city. It's nice that a city this size (roughly 200,000, I'm told) can be so pedestrian friendly. It's a wonderful thing to live somewhere where you don't have to own a car. Also, there're a lot of small businesses downtown, which is a nice change of atmosphere from our big-box store culture.

All in all, my vacation was exactly what I wanted it to be: quiet, simple, easy.

... serious doubts about our journey's future, we stopped in at Sandy's Fish and Chips for a pretty average lunch in one of the cleanest diners I've ever seen.

The rain did not let up, so we caught a taxi back to the train station and headed back into Aberdeen. I will try this journey again, though, since the castle is supposed to be amazing, and it's right on the North Sea.

Back ...

... exciting, but, as they say, when in Rome . . .

Things picked up as the evening wore on, and I ended my night at Cheerz, Aberdeen's gay bar and club. I took in a drag queen contest over a pint of Foster's, and even joined a conga line around the block. I called it a night after they played The Proclaimers' "500 Miles," as what evening is not complete at that point?

... t true. For example, "Turn left at King Street" might be rendered in Scottish as "OytearnloftaytKyngsdreed."

... them, the boat is thrown about so much and is stopped every other minute by waves, that forward progress is massively impeded. Mind you, when you have the sails up you have to sail at an angle to the wind ie not in the direction you want to go in. In short, it takes an inordinately long time to make any progress over the ground towards your goal. It took us from 06:15 through till 17:00 to cover the 35 miles to Stonehaven, it was not ...

... the Scottish Crown jewels were hidden in the castle (we saw these yesterday at Edinburgh Castle). Also visited the ruined Easell Church which houses a carved Pict stone at least 1000 years old. Spending tonight in the quaint seaside town of Stonehaven, then off to Elgin tomorrow! PS it is crazy how early it gets dark here at this time of year, need to use tripod after 2pm.