Burnbank Hotel Ayr

... of LA style mansions on the way into Troon... I think this is Scotland's celeb coast.

We went for lunch at Scotts Restaurant/Bar at the Troon harbour, which was buzzing with a yacht festival. It was a lovely place, and the food was awesome too... amazing cheesecake :D

That's it for Troon... I did see Arran off the coast though, definitely want to go there at somepoint.

... of the rain and the wind and the general coldness, brrr, although it was summer I had the gas fire full blast in the living room full practically as soon as I woke up (granted that perhaps the place was freezing because the fridge was open most of the time with me in it.) Off we went camping to Portpatrick (one word, olde Scottish name whose loose translation into English is "Patrick's Port"). I am in the car with Mum and Auntie Maureen and am ...

... but both indicated that all was fine...which is why my dad had left already - it is only a 40 minute flight.

So, he gets to the airport, and the board states that the flight has arrived...? Hmmm...we'd possibly only just taken off at that point! He asked one of the people on the information desk, since he couldn't see me - and was assured ...

... then a shuttle bus from the station to the golf. Hustled through the security checks where they were confiscating any phones or cameras - so no photos of the golf :(. Found a great spot near the green on the 6th, which is supposed to be the toughest par 3 on the course - 230 yards uphill surrounded by bunkers and a green with a slope of about 30 degrees! From this spot I could also see the tee on the 7th. Saw some of the big names from this point, including ...

... br>It got to the stage where I had to ring my bell as I approached any sheep, as it appears they need extra time to panic before making stupid decisions. One ran out right in front of me and we both had to screech on the brakes, skidding towards one another. Not sure who was more scared. Others ran for ages along the road in front of me, not realising all they had to do was move to the side or stop. One sheep was ...

Woke up at the 'family' campsite feeling awful. I certainly never want to eat smoked sausage again, I think I've re-tasted it enough for a lifetime.

Gave myself an extra hour in bed before deciding I had no choice but to get on with it. Things would have been easier if I didn't have to get over a huge hill. A hot fly-fest on the way up didn't actually feel too bad, even when I was overtaken by a ...

... Scotland is so very different from the east coast where Jen had spent so much time previously. Both Lavender and Ros had encouraged us to visit this side of the country, and we left very glad we had been and seen. It is magnificent wild scenery, and whereas the east coast is characterised by granite-y hewn stone buildings, the west coast buildings, though still stone, are whitewashed and simple.

... with jess, there wasn´t much dance action. So after the bells and the obligatory "Happy New Year" we ran out and got the best tasting Cheeseburgers of 2007 and walked all the way to trusty Garage. This was no mean feat as the wind was raging. It was actually raging so much that the fireworks and street parties were cancelled in a lot of cities in the UK including Glasgow and Edinburgh. Garage was going off and we let loose with the usual craziness. Best thing of the entire night ...

... Vietnam it was.I went out to the shops and bought myself a guide book.Whenever I buy a guidebook to a country,I always go there! I was just on the verge of booking my flight,when I had second thoughts,as the media was full of 'bird flu' stories at the time,and I had read articles about flights being grounded from infected areas.I don't normally take any notice of scare stories,but this time I decided I didn't want to take any chances of my flights ...

... city center: a large, grey block erected at Jamaica and Clyde Sts. But with our sleep schedules confused, we wandered Glasgow for only a short time then crashed on the couches of the Euro Hostel. Dinner time came around, we conveniently woke up, and a bus trip up town for supper turned into a five hour adventure for a sandwich. While it would have been more "authentic" to grab dinner at a local pub, they were all fairly smokey and after a long search (and our ever ...