Travel diary Scotland day 2, 2016: "On your feet soldier. Take me back to Lallybroch" - Claire, Outlander S1E11

 **Disclaimer: I write and upload the same day, often after a long and exhausting day. I often don't have the focus to re read and take out the typos, grammatical and vocabulary errors. Beware!**

Halloooo!!!

What a day, what a day, what.a.day! Little sleep, busy schedule and back on the road. Let's get cracking.

Car rental pick up @ Europcar
This should have been an easy thing, but it wasn't. It took me a good 20min to check in and receive my car keys. Reason being: if you are younger than 26 you can't have the premium protection package. You can only have the medium protection package, which means that if you have damaged the car for £250 or less, it is coming out of your pocket. On top of that, if you are younger than 25 you have to pay an additional fee because you are a 'young driver'. It doesn't bloody make sense. I've been driving for longer than 6 years now and you're telling me that someone who's 25 and has his/hers driver's licence for a month can rent a car without an additional fee and premium protection package? I can see a few things that are wrong with that theory. Anyway, after a painful check in, I finally got in my car (a red Vauxhall Corsa, pictures will follow) and I was on the road! It felt surprisingly natural to get back behind the wheel on the right hand side of the car^^

'Take me back to Lallybroch"
First stop of the day was Lallybroch! Well, Midhope Castle near South Queensferry, which features as Lallybroch in the tv series Outlander.

You can't actually enter the building as it is pretty much neglected and looks dangerous to enter. It's amazing how they changed it for the show. In reality, there is no front door, the windows are plain and dirty, etc. But when you have a look at the tv show, the house looks lively and warm... TV magic :)

As an exception to the rule, I couln't resist taking a picture... I'm not the selfie type of person, but sometimes I just like to have a picture of myself in a place that I think is beyond awesome, so here I am, focus on the background and 1/4 of my face not in frame. You see I'm skilled at taking selfies (*ahum*)

Mary, queen of Scots birth place
Next stop was Linlithgow Palace. Mary, queen of Scots was born in this palace in 1542. Nearly all her relatives with the name James have done some amendments on the palace, but she, obviously didn't. This is also a film location in Outlander when Jamie is in prison, but that was not the main reason why I came to this place. (I only just found out it was also used in Outlander)

Thanks to the TV series Reign, I became fascinated with Mary, queen of Scots. I'm still not sure if she was a cold hearted ruler or a queen with the biggest heart. After doing some research I found out where she was born and where she used to stay. I'll be visiting a couple more place where she stayed. In the below picture, on the second floor in a room in the corner of the palace, she was born. It once was also the bedroom of Queen Margaret, Henry's VIII sister... Interesting...

The palace itself wasn't too big. In about 45min I had seen everything. It is literally a ruin, but a fascinating ruin. You can wander around, get lost in the maze of little corridors, etc. The second kitchen, which was in the basement, freaked the hell out of me though. Brrrr.

On the below image you can see two fire places. On on the same level as the floor, another 1 level up. The level I'm standing on used to be the quarters of King James IV. Above his were the quarters of queen Margaret. Who would have thought these two fire places would ever made it onto one picture? x)

Black kirk - Outlander
Last stop of the day was West Kirk in Dunfermline. It was the setting for Black Kirk in Outlander season 1 episode 3.

ALSO on my way to West Kirk...
I SAW THE KELPIES!!! And they where majestic and beautiful and powerful and everything I'd imagined and I might have squealed rather loud when I passed. I might have.

Unfortunately I was driving and they caught me complety by surprise as I had not idea they were located near Falkirk, so I don't have a picture... But here's one from the interwebs, just so you know what I'm talking about. Kelpies are mythical waterhorses with super strength, by the way.

Image source: wikipedia

After West Kirk I made my way to Stirling, where I'll be staying for 2 nights. So that is what I'll be doing tomorrow. Wandering around Stirling ^^

This is where I'll leave you.
Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

Travel diary Scotland day 1, 2016: Edinburgh, home sweet home

 **Disclaimer: I write and upload the same day, often after a long and exhausting day. I often don't have the focus to re read and take out the typos, grammatical and vocabulary errors. Beware!**

Hallooooo!

And so it begins, daily blogging my way through Scotland ^^ For the next 14days I will driving through the Highlands, making various stops at Stirling, Falkland, Stonehaven, Aberfeldy, Grantown on Spey, Culloden, Inverness, Glen Coe, Loch Lomond, Alloway and Edinburgh again. And I'm going to blog every.single.day.* Let's do this!

*As I'll be blogging every day, I won't always be able to reread all of my blog post for typos and spelling mistakes due to tiredness. Of course I'll try, but just to give you a heads up ;)

Too early or too late?
The first post isn't too spectacluar I'm afraid. Lets start with a bang, hein?;) I've been traveling from London to Edinburgh and that consisted of a 4h30min train journey... But, I'm going to say it as it was anyway.

Today started off pretty mellow. I woke up at 8, got ready, finished packing, had a little catch up chat with my landlord and by 11am I was out the door on my way to London King's Pancras to catch my 1pm train. Unlike last year, when I had to run to catch my train, I arrived at the station a good hour too early. This gave me enough time to buy lunch and some snacks and a coffee and actually finish that coffee before I had to go on the train. Then, on the train I had enough time to put my giant North Face bag in the storage space, preparing myself without rushing for the 4hour and a half train journey North. It was bliss.

I saw the movie the Illusionist again with Jessica Biel, Edward Norton, Rufus Sewell and Paul Giamatti and I wrote a couple of emails. Very productive journey.

Somewhere along the way we were delayed, so instead of arriving in Edinburgh at 5.30pm it was something like 5.50pm. No biggy, I'm on freaking holiday. I've got all the time of the world.

'Mixed' dormitory @ Cowgate Hostel
Because I've visited Edinburgh last year, I kind of have a baring of my surroundings. That made it possible for me to book a bed in a hostel a little further away from the train station. I'm currently sitting in a 4-bed dormitory. It's supposed to be mixed, but my three room mates are men. Ah well. On top of that, across the street is party going and apparently the same is happening in the hall just outside my door. Probably not going to get much sleep tonight. But, it is a cheap way of traveling and it is only for 1 night, so I'm not too bothered by it (yet). Plus I have my laptop and access to a plug and free wifi so I'm good ;)

Home sweet home
When I arrived in Edinburgh on Friday 12 June 2015 it was love at first sight. When my train arrived at Edinburgh Waverley station today and I saw the Balmore hotel, I couldn't believe I was back! It just feels so right. After I checked in at my hostel, I wandered back to the Royal Mile and had a little brows through the little stalls. I was planning to buy another ring at the end of my trip, but since I was there, why not buy a souvenir at the beginning of a trip rather than at the end? Had a very touristy dinner at a Pizza Express, got myself a camomile tea at Starbucks (can't believe I forgot my tea at home!) and sat on a bench, people watching. Great first day of my 15day adventure.

I'm a bit scared though
I'm going to be completely honest here, but I am a bit scared. 15days is a long time. I had the same 'fear' last year about my 9 day trip, which turned out fine so this year I doubled it. But yeah, it'll be interesting.

I'm going to finish here. I'd like to say that I'm going to sleep, but I doubt that that will be possible whilst that party is going on in the hall and across the street and one of the men in my dormitory is snoring so loud I think I might be cutting through a forest. Maybe I should join the party-goers?x)

Anyway, this is where I'll leave you.
See you tomorrow!

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

I had a conversation with a stranger and it might just have changed my life.

Halloooooooo!

6 more days to go and I'm on my way to Scotland! I won't be doing a weekly post next weekend, but instead I will be daily blogging my entire trip throught the highlands! 15 days! Starting Friday 17th June.

Then, for this weeks update. Last weekend I had plans. Plans to go see Me Before You, plans to go Greenwich again, plans to go the the Italian Gardens in Hyde Park, etc. None of those actually happened. Saturday morning I did my grocery shopping again, when I came home I put the flowers that I bought in a vase, had some breakfast, watched an episode of Outlander (I'm catching up!), etc. The usual little routine. Early afternoon I was ready to leave the house to catch a screening of Me Before You. But when it came to it, I realised that I needed someone to go with me. So I arranged with a friend to go on Tuesday after work. So that meant that I had the rest of the afternoon and evening to catch up on Outlander and Skype with my parents.

Sunday went down pretty much the same way, although I had a moment of 'what am I doing with my life'?  Which made me think and resulted in me getting an idea, which I think is so cool and pretty smart, so of course I wanted to work it out immediately. That is where the majority of my Sunday was spent on.

Tuesday after work, I saw Me Before You. It was almost a sold out theatre, but it is probably one of the best crowds I've ever watched a film with. Halfway through the movie a concert of sniffing started and by the end of it tissues were passed on to one another. My "review" will be up on Monday ;)

Then, Wednesday evening was very exciting for me. On a Friday evening in April I bought myself a ticket to see the play Romeo and Juliet at the Garrick theatre from the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company. Nearly two months later and it was finally here. I had never seen a movie or read a book of any of Shakespeare's adaptations, so this was very exciting for me. Also, Richard Madden and Lily James are Romeo and Juliet and Derek Jacobi is Mercutio.

So, once I was there, I bought myself an appletizer and sat down on my (very small) seat. Somehow I started talking to the lady sitting next to me. Turned out she was from Northern California near San Fransisco and she's in London for just a month for her studies. Whilst she's here she grabbed the opportunity to see a play as, apparently, and I quote "we, in America, have nothing on plays as they do here in the UK. This is the West End." During the break I was reading the program that I bought and I wondered out loud how one gets into the theatre world. How do you end up behind the scenes for example. To which my lovely neighbour had an answer: "you ask a lot of questions, you do some research and you just introduce yourself. You just go for it." She used to work as a graphic designer in Hollywood for about 10 years. The story how she got in? One day they were filming a movie a few blocks from were she lived. Her family went to watch , but she hung around for the entirety of the shoot. After the few days filming were over someone on the crew asked: "And who are you?" to which she had about 3 second to introduce herself as a graphic designer. Faith had it that their graphic designer had just dropped out and wondered if she should help them out. Hupla, start of 10 year career as designer in Hollywood.

After the show we chatted for a little while and then parted ways. Looking back now, I wasn't sure if I should have asked for her contact details to keep in touch, but at the time it didn't feel like a necessity. Sometimes you cross paths with people you'll never see again, but they leave a lasting impression. This might have been one of those encounters.

Even though I had never seen the story of Romeo and Juliet in its entirety, I knew it already. It is so well known! So it was nice to see it for the first time :) The story is set in 1950's Verona, rather than 16th century. Colours and set were very monotone which made me focus more on the actors than anything else that happened on stage. Unfortunately I didn't understand half of what they were saying, but then, who can? And to my surprise, it was funny. Actually really funny and witty of the other half that I could understand. Well, the first half that was. Second half was very dramatic. The moment Tybalt dies, it all goes down hill. On multiple occassions I just thought: 'get a grip'. Or 'don't teach your children to hate another living thing (human being or animal)'. It could have all worked out just fine if everyone just took a second to think. Also, this is a prime example of miscommunication and overreacting.

But anyway, acting was superb, from all actors involved. The aggression of Juliet's father towards her was trully frightening. Music was a bit loud maybe, but Lily's singing was a goosebump moment. Derek Jacobi made the crowd chuckle multiple times as did the Nurse. If you're in London and you like plays, or you'd like to go to one, I'd recommend it :) The play goes on until 13th August.

Thursday evening's Ludosport class wasn't my best class, but enjoyed it so much. The entire week has been very stressful at work and on Thursday I had a terrible headache. I was also this close to bursting out into tears (which I had already done on Tuesday). All I wanted to do was just head home and curl up into bed with P.S I love you or another tear jerking film. But, the best remedy for a headache is physical excercise. My shoulders were completely blocked as well, so I pushed aside my desire to go to bed and it was the right desicion. Thursday evening I felt a lot better about life^^

And now it's the weekend again. Passed week has gone by so quickly, despite all the stress. But I am very happy it is weekend again.

So next week no weekly update, but the start of daily blogging! So looking forward to this ^^

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

A little trip down memory lane

Halloooo!!

I hope you are all doing very well during the first week in June. I can't believe we're nearly halfway through 2016! Can't believe only 2 weeks remaine on my countdown calender for Scotland! This time in two weeks time I'll be driving around, visiting castles and film locations.

But before all that exciting thing will happen, I still have a couple of weekends to fill and entertain myself. So last weekends was the second bank holiday in May. Unlike the first bank holiday, I didn't have any set plans. So what is a girl in London city to do?

On Saturday morning I got up before 9am, did my grocery shopping, wrote my blog post and drafted  a few more blog posts, watched some episodes of Reign and got ready for the day. In the afternoon I helped a friend moving house. She used to live in a room in a house with a family with a baby and it was getting too hard for her. So after a few viewings, she found an apartment she really liked and last Saturday she moved! Honestly, I might even be a bit jealous, because the location is so quiet and the view is just stunning. Unfortunately the price is waaaaay above what I can afford, but I'm really happy for her :)

After all her stuff was moved to her new apartment, we sat on the couch in her new living room, chatting away. We grabbed a late dinner a the Nando's around the corner and after that I took the bus home.

Sunday morning started off very relaxed as well. Ate some breakfast, catching up on the Michalaks vlogs, even though they weren't filming that week, etc etc. In the afternoon I took the bus to Greenwich. It's the first time I went there since I moved and it is truely amazing. It is only a 30min bus drive away!

First stop was the local Waterstones. I was reading a PDF version of Me Before You, but it just wasn't working. Plus, it is definitely one of those books that I am going to reread over and over again, so I might as well invest in a proper copy of the book.

After that, I walked to Greenwich park via the Greenwich University campus.

It was a bit of a strange experience because I can clearly remember the first time I've visited Greenwich. It was the weekend 24th March 2014 when my parents were dropping me off at my new host family as I was about to start my internship at the company I'm currently still working for. At the time I was considering studying in London for a year and Greenwich University seemed like a good match. That weekend there was an open day so I could go in and talk to some students, teachers, etc. I can't believe that was over two years ago.

Now that I'm at it, lets take a proper trip down memory lane ;)

I'm feeling a bit ill after watching that video. Motion sickness... :/ x)

Anyway, once I found a nice spot on the grass in Greenwich park, I got out my new book and started reading.

And I didn't stop reading until 6pm. After that it was time for me to head home and prepare dinner.

Monday was another day spend indoors. Compared to Sunday, it was grey and cold. And that dreary weather stayed right until Friday, when it was a bit warmer. On Wednesday 1st June I left the house wearing my winter boots. MY WINTER BOOTS. Not that I was that bothered by it. I don't mind 'bad' weather, but it is just the idea that it is somewhat wrong. In June you should be wearing ballerina flats, sandals, etc.

Anyway, Tuesday after work two colleagues and I went to the screening of The Boss starring Melissa McCarthy, Kirsten Bell and Peter Dinklage. Good cast, not so good movie. I would not recommend it.

And on Wednesday evening the entire office was invited for a screen of X-Men: Apocalypse at the Fox office in central London. I had only seen the very first X-Men film (2000) so I didn't really have anything to compare Apocalypse with and I really enjoyed it. It was 3D, visually stunning, nice introduction of the characters to me, a billion questions when I left the screening, but I'm definitely going to check out the other X-Men films ^^

Thursday and Friday the office management had a summit, so the executives and junior account managers were left behind to deal with all the work which was insane, but we made it. And Friday afternoon the entire office was invited to the recap of the summit and then some drink. Of course, knowing my colleagues, we all went out afterwards. Not that it was crazy late for me. By 11pm I was home and tucked up in bed, ready to start my relaxing weekend ^^

And that is it for this week's update :)

Thanks for reading, as always, and see you next week :)
xo - Sara

"You are scored on my heart..." - Will Traynor, Me Before You by Jojo Moyes "book review"

** spoiler free **

Halloooo!!!!

Oooh mate, it's one of those. One of those books that require a couple of days to recuperate from. One of those books that requires the right mindset before reading it. One of those books that will touch you.

A colleague recommended the book to me back in November with the following description: "Beautiful story, but incredibly sad".  In the past 6 months I wasn't in the mood for a heartbreaking, moving story that would make me sob. Instead I've read books like Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, the Doon series (again) by Lorie Langdon and Carey Corp and the travel journey the Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. Each and every single book moved me and inspired me in some way or another, but none really brought me to tears.

At the insistence of my colleagues, I decided to give it a go. The movie is coming out here in the UK the day after tomorrow, Friday 3rd of June and I wanted to read the book before watching the movie. I started reading Wednesday. I've finished it Monday morning. I don't think I've ever read a book so quickly.

Before you continue, you might want to put on one of the two below soundtracks of the movie.

Meet Louisa Clark, a young woman from a small town somewhere in the UK. She leads a simple and drama free life and holds a job as sales assistant at the local bakery: the Buttered Bun. From one day on the other, the bakery closes and Lou finds herself in want of a job. Which she finds as a carer for 35 year old quadriplegic, Will Traynor. Things start off pretty roughly as the two don't seem to get on at all. But as times goes by and they get used to each other, things start to look up. However, not everything is what it looks like and Lou ends up fighting a battle she'd never thought she'd face.

First of all, Jojo Moyes is right next to J.K. Rowling, Cassandra Clare, Alexandra Potter and Diana Gabaldon on my list of favourite writers. Her style is so fluid and clear and she doesn't use a lot of repetition in her words. It's easy to read in the sense that you don't have to read a sentence twice to know what she's talking about, but it doesn't make you feel like you're reading a book written for someone who has trouble reading. It's definitely a page turner.

Characters are very clearly described and are very likable. You feel a development in both Will and Lou. Will is this very sarcastic guy with a very negative view on the world who has been to places and done things Lou didn't even dream of. Lou is a very optimistic, even a little naive yet strong minded young woman who's never really been outside her small town. Both characters are incredibly witty which lead to chuckles and laugh out loud moments on my end.





Even though there are really funny parts in it, it's first and foremost a romance. You're pretty much able to guess what will happen. It is the comforting predictability of romantic story. But somewhere in 1/3 of the book you discover something, which will change everything you thought you actually knew. And the rooting, oh man the rooting, the hope, that you're wrong. The last 3rd of the book were read through tear filled eyes. The story touches some very sensitive subjects which actually makes you think. What would I do if I were in Will's position? What would I do if I were in his parent's situation? What would I do if I were Lou?

The one thing I was really afraid of, was the possibility that it might be a very heavy story. The subject is not to be taken lightly, but Jojo found a nice balance between heart torn moments and light hearted banter. Yes, I need to recuperate from it, but it's not like I'm stuck in bed, unable to function anymore. As I've said previously, it touches upon some very sensitive subjects of which I've never really thought about before.

I'm really happy my colleague recommended the book to me. She also recommended The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I know I know, I haven't read any book by Khaled Hosseini, but now that I'm on a role with reading moving stories, I might as well continue :) The sequel to this story, After You, will be released 30th June in UK in paperback version. It's already available hardback. I know what I'm going to do when I return from my trip to Scotland ;)

And now I'm recommending Me Before You to you!

Please let me know your thoughts on the book.

Many thanks for reading!
xo - Sara