Well I am sitting in the airport again (should really check, because a lot of my posts end up being done in the airport. Anyways, I am on my way to South Africa for Scott's wedding! Its been a long and twisty journey, but I will get there in the end.
I have really enjoyed my time in Scotland, met some great people, worked really hard, learned some lessons and generally just taken the entire experience in.
This past weekend I was down in London again. I got to stay with Kris and Ali on Friday night and just say cheers to them. Then I was able to have lunch with Casey and leave a bag with her (I'm only allowed one bag back to South), then I met up with Vera and got to catch up with her a bit, then went out to dinner, which was actually Nick's (my ex-boss) wedding dinner. From there I stayed the night with Maurice and his girlfriend Julia, before heading back to Aberdeen on Sunday night.
A quick couple of highly busy days at work and I am now done.
Its been crazy quick, but SO worth it. I shall always remember my time here, and I really want to visit again!
On that note, all people back home, I am heading there for Christmas, so I look forward to seeing you all!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Scotland explored
My sister came up this past weekend, and we rented a car. We decided to follow a similar route as I did with my cousin, as there is no way you could get tired of that scenery!
Its a lot warmer now than it was when my cousin was up, so all the snow that was there had melted and as a result there was some flooding. The scenery was just as breathtaking and it was awesome to spend some fun time like that with my sis... Think it has been many a year since we have been able to spend that long together!
The objective really wasn't to go and see something specifically, but more that we were exploring, and as such, if we saw something we wanted to stop for... we did... and how much fun was that!
The next morning we took a drive up the coast, and saw the angry face of the North Sea. We parked on a pier at one of the little towns, and it was actually scary coz the waves were crashing against the car and the wind was blowing it so much it felt like there were 5 big guys rocking it from side to side!
A good time was had indeed, and really the opportunity to spend time with my sister was just the best thing ever!
That afternoon I flew back with my sister to London, as I had to physically go into the Canadian embassy in London for visa purposes (I'm not going to get started on that story now). I stayed the night with Casey, and that was great coz we got to spend some time catching up. The next morning I jumped on a tube into London and found my way to the embassy and did my business. I then found my way to Buckingham palace and Trafalgar square for a quick "I was here" picture or two, and then i jumped on the tube out to Heathrow. N.B. I was able to find my way around London on the tube, I am quite proud of myself for that - coz I was a bit nervous to do that...
A lot done this past weekend, and another full one coming up (my last one in the UK).
Its a lot warmer now than it was when my cousin was up, so all the snow that was there had melted and as a result there was some flooding. The scenery was just as breathtaking and it was awesome to spend some fun time like that with my sis... Think it has been many a year since we have been able to spend that long together!
The objective really wasn't to go and see something specifically, but more that we were exploring, and as such, if we saw something we wanted to stop for... we did... and how much fun was that!
The next morning we took a drive up the coast, and saw the angry face of the North Sea. We parked on a pier at one of the little towns, and it was actually scary coz the waves were crashing against the car and the wind was blowing it so much it felt like there were 5 big guys rocking it from side to side!
A good time was had indeed, and really the opportunity to spend time with my sister was just the best thing ever!
That afternoon I flew back with my sister to London, as I had to physically go into the Canadian embassy in London for visa purposes (I'm not going to get started on that story now). I stayed the night with Casey, and that was great coz we got to spend some time catching up. The next morning I jumped on a tube into London and found my way to the embassy and did my business. I then found my way to Buckingham palace and Trafalgar square for a quick "I was here" picture or two, and then i jumped on the tube out to Heathrow. N.B. I was able to find my way around London on the tube, I am quite proud of myself for that - coz I was a bit nervous to do that...
A lot done this past weekend, and another full one coming up (my last one in the UK).
Here Nessie, Nessie, Nessie...
Well I haven't updated for a couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean I haven't been doing things!! A couple of weeks back my cousin came up to visit me in Aberdeen. She's across here on a working holiday visa, and is staying in Cambridge. Like far too many of my loved ones I had not seen her for years, so it was just fantastic that we could take this opportunity to meet up and spend time together.
She flew up on the Saturday morning and we rented a car, ready for a long day's driving! We drove across from Aberdeen to a place called Ballater, which is a town that supplies a lot of services and goods to Balmoral Castle (the royal vacation spot in Scotland). From there we really went into the middle of nowhere as we headed north towards Inverness. This took us through the deserted, mountainous area of central Scotland.
As we were driving we noticed that the frost on the ground seemed to be thicker and thicker... until we realised that it was actually SNOW! This was the first time my cousin had seen snow, so we HAD to stop and play with the snow a bit! There was one stretch where we stopped, which was rather spooky as it was so deserted and still, it really felt like the beginning of one of those scary movies...
We kept on through the mountains towards Inverness and arrived there after lunch and then found our way down to Loch Ness (ya gotta do it - don't ya). Nessie, unfortunately, was on sabatical, so we left there and drove into Inverness and looked around there for a bit, before heading back to Aberdeen.
That may sound a little mundane, but let me tell you that the Scottish scenery is really something else. Its so changeable and perfect, every corner brought a new picture that could have been on the front of a postcard.
The next morning we drove up the coast a bit from Aberdeen and stopped and a couple of small towns, and saw some amazing dunes and beach areas, as well as a really craggy shoreline which was our last stop before heading back to the airport to drop her off for her flight.
What a fantastic weekend - 350 miles of driving - 2 days of fun!! Pictures to follow soon!
She flew up on the Saturday morning and we rented a car, ready for a long day's driving! We drove across from Aberdeen to a place called Ballater, which is a town that supplies a lot of services and goods to Balmoral Castle (the royal vacation spot in Scotland). From there we really went into the middle of nowhere as we headed north towards Inverness. This took us through the deserted, mountainous area of central Scotland.
As we were driving we noticed that the frost on the ground seemed to be thicker and thicker... until we realised that it was actually SNOW! This was the first time my cousin had seen snow, so we HAD to stop and play with the snow a bit! There was one stretch where we stopped, which was rather spooky as it was so deserted and still, it really felt like the beginning of one of those scary movies...
We kept on through the mountains towards Inverness and arrived there after lunch and then found our way down to Loch Ness (ya gotta do it - don't ya). Nessie, unfortunately, was on sabatical, so we left there and drove into Inverness and looked around there for a bit, before heading back to Aberdeen.
That may sound a little mundane, but let me tell you that the Scottish scenery is really something else. Its so changeable and perfect, every corner brought a new picture that could have been on the front of a postcard.
The next morning we drove up the coast a bit from Aberdeen and stopped and a couple of small towns, and saw some amazing dunes and beach areas, as well as a really craggy shoreline which was our last stop before heading back to the airport to drop her off for her flight.
What a fantastic weekend - 350 miles of driving - 2 days of fun!! Pictures to follow soon!
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