Love at first sight

I’m sitting in the lounge room of a friend (*cough*), lets call him NJ, in Glasgow, its Sunday evening at around 10pm and my week in Scotland is sadly about to come to its end.

Glasgow

I got in via a 5:30am train from London Euston on Tuesday morning. Five hours and a crooked neck later, I got off the train at Glasgow Central expecting at the very least to need my giant winter coat. But no, I walked out to a warm morning with only a smattering of clouds.

NJ treated me to a walk around town to take in some of the sights, those that there are. Admittedly I didn’t run into any knife bearing angry Scotsman to take photo’s, so we stuck to the cathedral and the acropolis atop a hill in the middle of the city.

The culture here, I could only describe as that of eating and drinking, drinking and eating and some more drinking all at a variety of different establishments and always with friends in tow.

After a bit of a pub crawl on what appeared to be Glasgow’s first evening of Summer 2010, we ended up at a swing night at the ‘Buff Club’, where I got my groove on to an amazing set of 50’s classics.
~ Tammy imagines herself as screen siren, wearing polka dots, pearls and mary janes ~

The Kelvingrove Park, Art Gallery and Museum in the West End kept me more than aptly fascinated, entertained and snap happy for the rest of the week.

Edinburgh

On Thursday afternoon I got on a 40 minute, £10 train to Edinburgh’s Waverley station. For those of you that read my Facebook status at the time, I walked out of the station and was literally smacked in the jaw with a city so devastatingly majestic, so green and so drenched in history that I think I heard my heart break.

I climbed up the hill towards the Castle, with my obese child still firmly clasped to my back and used my ever handy Google Maps to find the location of my hostel. Sweating from the journey (please take a moment to enjoy the oxymoron that is SWEATING IN SCOTLAND) I whipped on my thongs and headed out for a walk.

That is indeed what I spent the next day doing, walking. I enjoyed New Europe’s free 3 hour walking tour and then took in the Castle at a leisurely pace learning as much about the bloody (literally) Scottish history as I could.

Loch Ness Weekender – The Highlands

On Saturday morning, I boarded a bus in Edinburgh with 27 other travellers for a 2 day Loch Ness weekender tour with MacBackers. The trip took us up the east coast of the country where green lowland hills turned eventually into Highland peaks. We spent the afternoon at Loch Ness watching the sun go down, again on an uncharacteristically balmy afternoon, with a cold pint of bitters in my hand.

We stayed over last night (Saturday) in Inverness, a brand new city which still holds all the charms of a big country town. At a hostel packed with people, we cracked open the freaking BARBY and whipped on a couple of steaks and ate with our hands while we drank beers and sang dodgy renditions of Hotel California to a guitar with only 5 strings. Perfection really.

We finished off the tour this afternoon by coming back via Stirling (think William Wallace aka Mel Gibson) and ended up back in Edinburgh.

Alas, I am here in Glasgow, with a train back to London town tomorrow. Apart from the fact its kinda cool walking around seeing tacky Davidson clan souvenirs everywhere, my experiences of Scotland over the last week have ignited a firm desire to see more of the country and embrace is absolutely massive history. In fact it would be wise to assume that at this point I’ve become infatuated with the idea of finding a Scotsman to marry me just so I can live here.

In short. It was love at first sight.

‘What do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?’

I can’t believe its Monday already and that I’ve only been gone for a week. At this rate I’ll be 30 next month…or something.

I arrived at Heathrow last Tuesday cursing my need to pack 4 bottles of perfume, 5 pairs of shoes, a winter wardrobe and a summer wardrobe as I wobbled my way from the airport to the train. I know London Rule 101 is don’t catch expensive taxi’s – but with the weight of three obese children on my back, my hands were tied.

I arrived at the hostel (YHA Central London) which for those interested, was more than adequate for £20 a night and hit the sack by 9pm, 3:00am body clock time.

A super early start the next morning I found myself walking down Oxford Street with a coffee in hand and the ‘world at my feet’.
Its hard not to get a little bit excited about the big red buses and black cabs against the back drop of Marble Arch and Hyde Park.

I ambled all the way down to Buckingham Palace, where I unexpectedly arrived in time for the Changing of the Guard only to have The Queen (of England, not Mercury) drive past me waving in her black Rolls Royce.
Awesome unplanned experience # 1- tick.

I spent most of last week walking around London learning how to use my new SLR camera (we’ll see) and taking in the sights.

Thursday night I headed to London’s O2 Stadium to watch my beloved Westlife boys in concert with Fi. Undoubtedly still one of the best live acts you’ll see. Honestly, get yourself to a gig. You know you want to. I left the concert swooning and with a renewed resolution for finding myself an attractive, singing Irishman.

Friday night, Rosie and I hit up West End to catch the Lion King. Even the second time around, Timon & Pumba did not fail to entertain and incite childlike re-enactments of Can you feel the love tonight whilst walking home.

We spent Saturday at the gym and then hanging out on the Southbank near Waterloo with some of Rosie’s friends, a trip to the Tate Modern and a drink on the water. A spur of the moment decision as the sun (on this faux sunny afternoon) began to set led us up to the top of Greenwich Park where the view of London is breathtaking. Getting to hang out with Greenwich Meridian Line was also a little cool, which shoots out a green laser after sun set marking where it starts.

Some overwhelming market shopping at Camden yesterday and a friends gig at a small little punk band venue near Kings Cross Station all lead me here to Monday morning.

A little bit tired, but no less ready for my walking tour around Old Town London.

I’m off to Scotland tomorrow to freeze my t*ts off in 10-13C temperatures. Wish me luck.

Hakuna Matata

x

Hey Seoul Sister

After arriving at Sydney Airport with that gurgling feeling in the pit of my stomach, I eventually managed to get through the Departure gates after a little bit of a teary goodbye to Mum, Gaz and Dee.

Boarding my much anticpated Korean Air Oceania flight I was pleasantly surprised by both the size and quality of this so-called sub par airline. Albiet filled with crazy cookie cutter Korean women fresh off the photo shoot from the Opera House onto the plane with the ‘Duty Free Shopping Guide’ firmly clutched to their breasts as the fifth bag of their goods gets delivered to their feet in a frenzy of Dior and Bvlgari. No doubt. I’m insanely jealous as I plaster my lips with Lucas Paw Paw oinment and they sample the latest SKII products.
Ugh. One day.

A short bus ride, a lovely night in a 4 star Best Western with a bubble bath, white robe and awesome slippers, I’m awaiting my trip back to the airport to board the plane for London. At which point I fear I may be a little more grumpy and jet lagged. (I know – cry me a river right?)

I will however keep you up to date anyway.

Till then.

Hello world!

I’ve been instructed by the blog ‘powers that be’ that the name of my first blog is to be named… ‘Hello world!’. Annoyingly apt however, as I understand it that one takes this opportunity to introduce oneself to the world of blogging.

So without any further ado ‘Hi Mum, Hi Dad!’. I kid, I kid. If I asked Mum to read my ‘blog’, she’d assume I was talking about the instructions for use on a new toilet cleaner.

Right, so back to introductions.

Hi Everybody!

Follow me here to catch up on my latest updates, pictures and general worldly revelations as I embark on what I intend on being Life Changing Journey Part 2.

Some guy named Mark Twain tells me not to regret not doing something in life, but instead to explore, to dream and to discover. His worldly wisdom however does not include a disclaimer explaining that exploring and dreaming and discovering are not without great cost, risk or consequence.

So with that, I invite you as my family and my friends in life to follow me as I attempt to stumble, jump, cheer, cry, drink, love, hate, lust and enjoy my way through this next part of my life.

Next stop. The World.