So... I think I have finally recovered from my trip to Scotland.. it was a big 7 days! After my overnight bus trip to Edinburgh- travel tip- don't even try to sleep on a coach... it's just not going to happen. But I arrived to a still dark city and found my way to the Tour Departure place and off we went.

Let me set the mood- middle of winter in Scotland, its dark until about 9 to 9.30 in the morning.. and then its pitch black by 4 at the latest. And Freezing Cold. And not New Zealand Cold, Try still being in minus temperatures at noon. But Oh my goodness.... so so beautiful.

Ok.....

Day 1: We head north of Edinburgh, stopping at the Firth of Forth and the two famous bridges crossing the Firth to get to St Andrews etc... but we didn't cross here we went along the Firth to the town of Stirling (as featured in Braveheart) and we went through there, passed the William Wallace Memorial and up to a castle called Doune Castle.. which was just gorgeous. It was used in the Monty Python film Life of Brian. Beautiful. then we carries on up to meet Hamish. he is apparently a national treasure.. hes a Hairy Coo (Scottish for Cow!), we then visited the grave of Rob Roy and his family.. which was at the end of a very dodgy narrow road (not made for coaches, but never the less... ). We then passed a mountain called Ben Nevis.. which was visible right to the top, which apparently happens once every 10 years or so because of all the fabulous Scottish mist. We then went past a Commando memorial for the soldiers of WW2 and then we went to a re-enactment of how Highlanders dressed back in the day... the traditional way to wear a kilt. We are now at the base of Loch Ness, in a place called Fort Augustus.

Firth of Forth

Doune Castle

Ben Nevis

Day 2: We headed off from Loch Ness, following the lake... then we stopped and had a paddle in Loch Ness... May I point out it is about 9.00 in the morning and still freezing with a thin layer of snow on the ground. Our Tour Driver wouldn't leave until all of us went for a paddle. So I had no choice! From here we went passed the bridge which became very famous in the movie Brigadoon, on which Gene Kelly meets Cyd Charisse. (the cutest bridge ever!) We then saw the most haunted hosue in the world.. which from the stories we were told, I never ever want to go there. We then got to Inverness, in carried on through to visit the site of Culloden. The area is just a field- which i learned is the reason of the Scottish's demise... their Highland Charge, whcih was their biggest weapon was supposed to be them running down a hill towards their opponent. But Good Ol' Bonny Prince Charlie chose this spot and we all know the rest. Am glad to say i have been there. We then went to the Clava Cairn.. which is a set of three mounds of stones which have been there since Day 1 basically. They are supposed to be older than Stonehenge and a lot more powerful. Eerie place. We then saw the most deepest gorge in UK. Called Corrieshalloch Gorge. 16 year old boys are supposed to swing across under the bridge on their birthday.. to prove their manhood I guess! Also today- we passed through Drumnadrochit, which I am sure everyone knows is the home of Groundskeeper Willy. This night, we stayed in a town called Ulapool- the furtherest north we go.

Me paddling in Loch Ness!

Clava Cairn

Corrieshalloch Gorge

Day 3: So this day was the day our driver was the most overhung. which means the day kinda dragged on and wasn't the most fun int he world. but we did go for the coolest beach waslk at Little Gruinard Beach. From sand dunes and mussels on the beach, it was so pretty. We went passed a number of gorgeous lochs and ended up at the Isle of Skye- which there is now a bridge connecting the mainland. We stayed at a pub called Saucy Mary's on the Isle of Skye tonight.

Little Gruinard Beach

Skye Bridge

Day 4: Today we left the Isle of Skye and visited the famous Eilean Donan Castle.. really pretty. we then travelled back through Glen Nevis- home of the amazing ben NEvis.. which is right in the middle of Braveheart country. Our tour guide then thought it would be fun to take us on a 3 hour hike through a Glen to an amazing waterfall- an physical endurance, not exactly my strong point.. but i made it, and I wasn't running up the rear.. I was proud of myself.

Eilean Donan Castle

The Waterfall at the end of our hike.

We then ended up in Oban.. the home of some amazing seafood.. so I had to.. we went out for dinner and the scallops were Amazing!!! hehe!! Since this was our last night on tour... we had to do a little dancing and socialising.. so was a rather late night!

Day 5: Late Start (Thank Goodness!) We were heading back in the direction of Edinburgh, so we went to a gorgeous wee church called St Conan's Kirk within which Robert the Bruce is tombed. An Amazing wee place.. and one of my tourmates caught a ghost in a photo- but we didn't see this until we were back on the bus and driving on. And i don't belive in ghosts but you should have seen this photos.. it was creepy. We then stopped off at a castle called Kilchurn Castle whihc is really pretty.. we even had blue sky, so we threw the frisbee around for awhile and started the trek back to Edinburgh.

St Conan's Kirk

Kilchurn Castle

And that was my tour. On Saturday, i did the touristy thing i Edinburgh... saw the castle, Holyrood Palace.. and the inside of many an amazing sales. Whoops. And the Sunday saw me sitting on another coach for 10 hours, then the tube for about half an hour, and then the train for an hour, and then a 20 minute walk- with my suitcase. Hence why i was so exhausted when I got back!!

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh

Sorry for drooning on for hours and hours... but I had a really good time up there and I went a little crazy on the photo taking.. but they are the best souvenir!

xxoo

Anna officially hates Christmas.

Ok.... so I don't really hate Christmas, it just sucks being on the other side of the world and not having the usual family and week long build up to Xmas Day.. plus its winter here and so cold... its not supposed to be cold at Christmas!!!

The only good thing is that we are doing about 90 covers for Christmas Lunch and about 70 on Boxing day Lunch.. So I am not going to be bored. I am going to be busy... time is going to fly past, which will be good with the way I'm feeling at the moment.

Plus I have a whole week in Scotland to look forward to.. the 4th January is not far away.

Anyways.... for those who are still reading the world's most boring blog.....

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a lovely start to 2009..

Anna.

Well, it has officially turned freezing cold in this country. It is frosting as early as 8 o'clock so its is always bitterly cold. It is never windy though so we get nice clear days but oh my god, so so cold. This is what I woke up to the other day.... from outside my bedroom window..

I also managed to take some pics of my work.... they are taken at about 4 in the afternoon so it's getting quite dark but it makes them really pretty...

Oh my gosh... it is over a month since I've updated.. oops... So I am back in England, I have a job in Moulsford on Thames- which is the area in which they film Midsomer Murders for those interested. I'm working in a restaurant called the Beetle & Wedge Boathouse, and am living in a nearby village called Cholsey in staff accommodation.
The only bad bit at the moment is that it is winter!! Well, not officially but it might as well be, I haven't been so cold in such a long time. It was sleeting and pouring with rain this afternoon and it has been getting darker a lot earlier, at about 4 -4.30. it's crazy.

best be getting on with things now.... xxx

Alright, so I am having a lazy afternoon while in Madrid.. I am flying back to London tomorrow, applying for jobs left, right and centre! But I found some time to upload some photos... coz I have been super slack at doing it... So here goes... (and in no particular order, I can't be bothered sorting them!!)

Santorini... beautiful beautiful place. Pity though, it rained on our only full day there.

Paros... pretty beach, we did a boat cruise the next day around antiparos... so so much fun swimming in the sea.

Ahhh... an evening in roma.... the colloseum- took my breath away.

Rome again, the Panthenon.

Vatican City- I was being really lazy this day and didn't want ot face the enormously long lines to go inside, they were ridiculous... but was pretty on the outside.

Venice- this is me and some more Busabout people doing our gondola ride.. such a fun time... our driver was soo funny.

Venice some more... the view from the top of a tower, looking at the entrance to the Grand Canal.

Sunset over Venice.

Ios- by far my favourite Greek Island.. and I think this may be the best sunset I have seen... should I say that I also saw the sun rise the next morning?

Mykonos- this is Little Venice.. the brownish looking building you can see with Rhapsody on it is a cocktail bar we visited. So expensive.. I paid €9.00 for a daquiri- thats $18.00!!

So I have so many more photos but really can't be bothered putting them all on here!! But these are the pick of the bunch and I will try and put some more up soon.

Hello peoples...

So since I wrote on here last, I have been through Florence, Nice, Monaco and am now in Barcelona. Seems like a lot, but time has just flown by so very fast. I am flying back to the UK in 5 days! Which I think could not have come at a better time, the funds are running a little low.. Europe is expensive!

So Florence was very pretty... there isn´t a whole lot to do there except Museums and Art Galleries.. I lined up for half an hour, paid €10 and saw Michaelangelo´s David. I was slightly gob-smacked actually, he was a lot bigger and way more detailed than I thought he was going to be. That is about all I did in Florence.... was really tired from a few big days in Rome....

Then to Nice, France. In the French Rivieria, it is so beautiful... I can´t wait to put some photos up to make you all jealous! There isn´t much to do there except laze on the beach and shop.. so thats what I did. I did get to Monaco for most of a day... and as it turns out, there ain´t much to do there except go into the casino which i couldn´t afford. Even eating in Monaco is really expensive. If I was a godzillionnaire, I think I would really like it there but oh well. Saw some really nice cars.

Then Barcelona... I have only been here a day and I´ve been walking around all day, it has been really nice. Again, it seems like a big shopping city.. looking out the window of the hostel, and there is a Cartier and a Diesel shop.... if only! I am off to do a spanish cooking class tonight.. Sangria, Tapas, Paella and Gispacchio... going to be fun. Then tomorrow, Naomi is coming to meet me and we intend to see the nightlife in various depths. Should be fun!!

It seems I am becoming more and more slack at updating my blog. I am leading such a busy life you see!! Anyway I am currently in Rome.. having spent 4 days here already and still have another 3. I have yet to venture inside the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum because the lines are horrendous. I am going to try again tomorrow though. Apparently lunchtime is the prime time to go. I did get to the Colloseum and the Parthenon which was just as exciting. If ruins and ancient history are your thing, Rome would be heaven for you. Me... I'm not crazy about it. It is a gorgeous city but thats about where I get sleepy.

But.....I had the best time ever in the Greek Islands. I gotta say before I went, I was a little nervous- I'm not sure why but I was. First stop was Mykonos- gorgeous. Little Venice, the windmills, the beach, the cocktails. amazing. This is the island where the white buildings with blue roofs and window shutters are most obvious. Next was Paros- where we did a boat cruise around Antiparos... I thought I would get seasick, but I was absolutely fine. Could be to do with the copious amounts of Vino I consumed before noon.. but I did get to swim in the sea which was a lot more salty than I expected but so so warm.

Next up was Santorini, which sadly was raining, pretty much the whole time. But we still had fun, I managed to visit Kamari, one of the black beaches. Then we had a blast out dancing that night, along with some more cocktails... I think this was the most scenic island.

Then we went to Ios.... which was my favourite. We stayed right on the beach... there isn't much to do except laze on the beach all day- which was perfectly fine by me. Still managed to squeeze in some cocktails [see a theme here?] and a little dancing and partying. Lets just say I almost saw the sun rise about 3 nights in a row!!

This last 10 days has definitely been my favourite so far on my tour.. but i have more to go!!