It started off hot, hot, hot then nothing but rain. Light rain anyways. The wind was the one you should watch out for. Most of the locals did not wear a beanie.
Part 1 - UK
Friday 01 May 2026
We arrived at the airport with no issues. The dropping off bag part was a bit delayed by technical issues. It was getting close to midday and so I got bro some fresh chicken nuggets from Grilled. Tasted really nice. The movies I watched on the aeroplane were Bugoni, What an unexpected ending. Now you see me. now you don’t (okay - reunion film), and Anaconda (Jack Black).
Saturday 02 May 2026
Upon arrival in Gatwick and bag dropped off at the hotel, we sussed out the small town Horley. The walk to the centre of town was nice. We saw horses. A narrow river. A war veteran grave and church. We passed by many guest houses (bed and breakfast types). No vacancies too. Typical Victorian cottages. Stained glass window. Overgrown ivy climbing walls and thistle bushes.
We stopped at a weird narrow walk way called “public footpath”. It literally says it on the stone marker. When we both laughed at it. Bro openly asked is it safe to walk in it, a local was walking by and said it was not. We all laughed so more. Also, there were short street signs. Private circuit housing.
Bro only wanted to see nearby the local shops and library, and no where else. Right. We headed to the train station up a steep hill, only to learn oyster card was sold there and not used in these parts of UK. Wow. We wandered back down to Waitrose to get bro drinks and snacks. Bro used the public library’s toilet.
We noticed a few of the take away shops have meal deal between 1-3pm. Bloody el cheap. So, we hung around until the time was close to food happy hour. When we walked around the apartments, one of the building had three dead trapped pigeons within the mesh netting around roof and gutter. They look tired and frustrated in their death. Poor things.
There were bins and benches on the main road. Mainly, around this big furniture store of all things. We found one bench with shade, we sat underneath it, and ate our £4.99 fried chicken and chips with a drink meal deal. It was spicy and yummy. I went and got basic grocery things for us. Then we went home. We slept like logs. Only my reminder woke me to wash my face before midnight.
Sunday 03 May 2026.
For the first time purchasing a standard class seat return fare for bro on Gatwick Express and when we got to the London Victoria Station. The ticket was gobbled up by the machine. The staff stated there were suppose to be two tickets when you purchased a return fare. Bro and I didn’t see it. Guess, we should have reported it. My bad. Meanwhile, I had oyster card, and all I had to do was top up my credit and tap off. Interesting. Note: they do not sell oyster card in Horley or at the international train station. Unlike Japan airport does for its local railway into the city.
No matter. I advised bro relax and have some Colombian coffee. While, I proceeded to suss out the location of Victoria Coach Station, and holy by golly, I was able to buy an oyster card for bro and top it up with credits. Yippee. We can happily proceed to early lunch at Borough market.
The train to Monument station was fine and we got seats. We were gonna walk across the London bridge, but the monument sculpture was bloody impressive. Bro said too bad we cannot go up to the tip. Yes indeed.
The London bridge was packed with tourists and buskers selling hop on/off bus tickets. We were not phased by it. Borough market was already bustling. We joined groups of people eating “deal of the day” fish and chips - pollock. Then went to eat Doreset oysters. By the way, we’re super large! We were full at that point. Lots of cheese and sweet treats. We will need to come back (and if, might be tempted by elsewhere). We went to Victoria bridge station to use the toilets. The station looks rather clean and there were many gates to go to many places. Many different bus brands.
A good break from food was much needed at this point. Off to the Natural museum of History. The building was beautiful. The garden around it was lush and educational. We had fun looking at the fossils engraved in the garden. Inside was multilayered. Routes for each segment and the dinosaur was the longest one. One giant escalator goes up and into a permanent display - volcano! I felt like I was within a rock. The toilets were next to stair wells. Probably, not the most accessible. Bro hobbled down to one.
The Pokemon pop up store was cool, but the merchandise did not appeal to Sis or Bro. I got myself a Tropius magnet and pin. The gift store has cool London and Royal themed item, I got Sis a Queen Victoria Wedgwood pin. Sadly, the outdoor cafe with mango matcha was closed early. So, we walked to a nearby Japanese cafe for a matcha drink and matcha cake. Yummo! Kova Patisserie. It was located in busy food district. Lots of restaurants and bars within this vicinity.
We walked around Chinatown before having bento box in a Japanese restaurant in SoHo. Walking back to Victoria station was a bad idea. Bro started to have poo poo issues and foot ache. We should have taken the underground, even though it was stuffy from the hot day.
Monday 04 May 2026
We took an early 4:45am Gatwick Hoppa shuttle bus to the north terminal at Gatwick Airport. Boy was the bus full. We made it with plenty of time to spare. The Flix bus got to Heathrow Airport terminal 5 early and took a break. However, it arrived at terminal 2 somewhat 5 minutes late. Costing us a bit of toilet break time. We made to the bag drop and gone through the security gate okay. No late arrival to boarding gate and all was smooth sailing. So tired at this point in time. The Aircoach dropped off in the city centre. We missed our stop Drumcondra. Oh wells. Rolled our suitcases back up the long hill. Once bags were dropped off we walked around the area to suss it out and got some snacks.
Then proceeded to Connolly train station to buy our Leap smarcard and top up with credits. There was a red tram line and green tram line. Bro didn’t want to take it. We walked towards the River Liffey to see what’s the fuss. In the busy shopping district near the River Liffey and Connelly Street, I found a chocolate shop called Butler’s Chocolate Cafe, and it sold dark hot chocolate with a complimentary chocolate bon bon. Yummo! Ever since I had have a drink when I come across the shop. Arnotts here was not a biscuit brand but a department store. Nice toilets. Lovely looking cafes upstairs. Dunnes offers cafeteria with seats within its supermarket. Hot food on the cheap! We picked up some snack food.
There were two more shopping malls and housed little shops that you can find back in Australia. Global branded stores really. We didn’t care too much for them. Bro tried to find a bench to rest but it was challenging as there were none. Many of the youth would hang around the old post office building and just chill. Also, no bench to be found in this area. We walked up the hill to catch bus number 44 back up the long hill to home. While waiting for a bus several homeless people walked up and down without shoes on and begging people for a cigarette.
Tuesday 05 May 2026
Tip: Bus 11 phoenix park goes to areas with deers. Sweet! The bus 90 goes the main section of the park, but you have to walk to the entrance to get on it. The deers were so cute! Not friendly though. Easily scared off. Pale in comparison to deers in Nara. Off to have some warm coco and home made scones in the tea house nearby. Proceeded to find bus 80 to take us into the city centre for my Book of Kells session at 11:30am. While waiting at the bus stop a man was chasing down a lawyer, who said he will look into the some sort of case. Odd thing to see.
The Book of Kells was definitely an experience. The detailed art work in religious text was very creative. The stories it told was deep and what an insight on gospel. The long room was a sight alright. Reminded me of the old days in our state library. The red pavilion (part 2 of the experience) offered a digital experience. The bust would come to life and discuss discovery, knowledge, and equality. The digital pages turning into glittering dust was transformative. The short films took history and future of the text and library to the next level of storytelling. A must do exhibit.
Not far from here was the National Gallery of Ireland. Free entry. Three floors of historical art and modern art. There were Irish artists work on display. Which was filled with sadness and really captures the landscape of pre and post occupation by the British. Bro leg was at its pain point. We went to Boots to look for insole and Dealz for a rubbing cream. His leg needed more rest than anything else. We had kebab at Chiya by Temple Bar area for dinner. It was delicious. Bro complained about size and texture was like Melbourne’s diner kebab. Well cost of living is a real thing here too.
The souvenir shops around the area had pretty expensive woollen jumpers. €100 for one was not worth it. I can find AUD20 online instead. I did find the whiskey to be of bargain. So many little bottles to choose from. Bro kept whinge out of fear, “that he might get drunk from whiskey tasting”, as if anyone would be give you a full cup. Just licks worth.
Wednesday 06 May 2026
People really do not listen to their bodies. Instead of nursing their wound. They indulge in screen time and continue with their vices. When the body aches, you have to address the source of the issue. But no, bro prefers to sleep on it. That never fixies anything. I’m thankful to my 10 years of playing PoGo has taught me endurance, tolerance, resilience to overcome physical pain. Above all, always treat the pain and nip it in the bud.
I went solo on the booked walking tour and learned a great about Dublin past and present. The history behind each renown pub was interesting, but of course, I won’t remember it all. A lot has happened in Temple Bar area from the sounds of it. A hot whiskey can warm your bones in this hinterland. Neat! A mix of cloves, lemon, honey, hot water, and whiskey. Bro so need that!
The district around Trinity College was busy full of visitors all in a hurry to go to some place. Oddly enough, wherever I went I heard French people talking to each other. A few young Italian and German men on the buses. A handful of British citizens too. Many of them were lost ofc. The city has many curvy streets and lane ways, not tough to navigate really.
I find myself gravitating to the dark hot chocolate drink at Butlers Chocolate Cafe. It comes with a free piece of chocolate. Gosh. I feel spoiled. Three times now. At Murphy’s ice cream I had a sample of the Irish bread, chocolate whiskey, Irish cream liqueur, and Dingle sea salt. Oh. I had to have a scoop of Irish bread (tastes like pop corn with roasted almonds) and Dingle sea salt. Yummo! Cornucopia had a variety of vegan offering. I went for a single serve of shepherd pie. Oh was it fulfilling. A charming spot in the busy tourist area. Self serve drinking station was available.
I bought a small pack of whiskey, honey, lemons and was ready to make that hot whiskey tonight. However, after three rounds of hot towels inoculation, we have discovered bro has plantar fasciitis-like issue. Oh dear. Not a sprang ankle - that one you can twist back the foot and it is fixed! A side foot issue.
Thursday 07 May 2026
Time to meet the tour group for the multi days trip in Ireland. We checked out from Dublin One Hotel - smooth. The staff was kind enough to arrange a taxi to drive us to the next hotel. Up another hill we went. The Bonnington Hotel (Drumcondra) was posh looking alright. We arrived somewhat early. The desk staff said the tour guide has not arrived as yet. Bro and I went to do some max battles then grab a light bite to eat for lunch at Centra. They had tables and chairs for us to dine in. A robin and a wasp flew into the shop as well. Both smacked walls, ceiling, and windows trying to get out. Freaked all of us out. I left bro at Centra while I went to do more max battles nearby Lidl grocery shop. Once done. I bought some chocolate croissant and apple juice. They had this hydration serum with sea moss and sea salt, and it was made in Ireland for €4.99. Grabbed one to buy and try. Loved it!
When I came back, bro was sleeping in the hotel’s lobby by the chairs. I offered bro half a mandarin. Some fresh fruit will do us good. The desk staff offered us an early check-in. So nice of them. The tour director did eventually show up before 3pm to take us on a complimentary city tour. Bro stayed back at hotel as his foot was still in pain. The city tour covered the same areas I have been to for the last two days with a wee bit more information. Which was good. They let off to roam St Patrick Church in Dublin for 45 minutes. I didn’t go in the church, just around the perimeter as late afternoon is not my thing. Also, I like to take my time when I pay for entry.
Majority have booked and paid €84 for the Guinness Storehouse tour. Four of us went back to the hotel to rest up for the night. Wedding guests started to descend into the hotel soon after. It stayed rowdy to 1am in the morning. We had a room facing the street which was where the noise originates from.
I gave bro my Leap smartcard with credits on it to hop on a bus and told him to get off after 3 bus stops. While I will dash to the third bus stop. For dinner we had ramen at Japanese-Chinese restaurant. Something hot for bro. Sandwiches won’t cut it. I told bro, he can catch the bus back, as my card still had credits. He preferred to walk up the mild hill. He saw some lots of old buildings turned in guest houses and saw the small garages.
Friday 08 May 2026
We were driven to the visitor centre for St Patrick Church in DownPatrick. The coach didn’t want to drop people off at the door steps of the church, which was on a hill. Those with bad legs did not get to see the church. Bro pushed himself to go up the slopes that had ramps. We made it. Once you have seen churches in Italy, all their churches pales in comparison in beauty and back story. Still it was a place of origin for St Patrick of Ireland.
Bro was not keen to visit the county museum due to timeframe concerns and it would take to muster to come back down to visitor centre. He can go down the stairs okay. He got tired though. Much of the Grove shopping centre was just empty stores with To Let sign. The car parks were full. The main street filled with back to back cars. Even the ambulance could not get through it. The shops were empty. only Lidl was packed with visitors. The coach reached the hotel and here the majority joined the paid tour of city and Titanic museum. Bro wanted to rest. The hotel rooms were not ready, also, the tour group was unwilling to unload the suitcases at the hotel at 1:30pm. We left our backpack in the coach.
Bro hobbled along Royal Avenue but St George Market was closing in 30 mins. We decided best we walk along the main shopping streets, nothing but global branded shops, until we reach the Cathedral and entered The MAC. There we were able to stay out of the wind and rest our feet, admire creative works of art. Felt like a mini NGV to me. Bro sat by cafe and smoked outdoors.
By the time we got back to the hotel. we learned only our large cases were dropped off with hotel staff by the touring company. Our backpacks were still on the coach were left behind. Nice touch. The hotel desk staff did their best to find our backpacks, and called the tour director’s room, as they were not given direct contact details, all the while checking in 30 bridal party guests. Golly gosh. At least, we ran into a few of our travelling companions and they were stressed for us, even they were not given contact details by the tour director. Odd. Anna came down later. Pat came out with keys to the coach. All is okay. Gold stars to hotel staff though.
The fact that some guests are not paying for all excursions does not mean they deserve to be treated with “discrimination”. Only those who attended the additional costing excursions were debriefed regarding the next day’s plans. My brother has a foot condition, so I only booked seated excursions (x3). I had to request information from the tour director twice now.
In the hotel room, bro focused on getting on the Internet than to put on rubbing cream and heat pack on his foot. Ugh. Then complaining the room was cold. I made hot whiskey for him and I went to bed. Too tired from all the drama.
Saturday 09 May 2026
We had an audio tour at the Giant Causeway. We took the shuttle bus (£2) down as bro foot hasn’t fully recovered. There was a rock in the form of a giant foot, a seat to look out to the North Atlantic ocean, rocks that looked like organs or a mouth of a lion. A brown bird flew close to us. That was lovely to see. The rocks has unusual hexagon formation about them. We didn’t get much time to go through the information centre or exhibition but that’s okay. We skimmed through it and the gift store.
Briefly stopped to take a photograph of Dunluce castle ruin. We drove through murals of deceased in trouble times. There was a small group protesters on hand near one of the murals. Guildhall (LondonDerry) was a pretty building, the organ in the third floor was highly decorated and we listened to a tune or two played by locals. We watched a 100 yo loom machine make tweed with complimentary Irish coffee in Triona shop in Donegal. We missed the performance by the marching band in the centre of the town though. There was not a whole heap of time to go through the gifts stores. We just window shopped and got back on the coach. Dinner at Silgo hotel. So-so. Micro meals.
Sunday 10 May 2026
Galway city town centre. It had a river canal system, lots of escape room, a Latin quarter, and some medieval walls such as the Spanish Arch. Drove through Burren mountain full of rocks. We snaked up and through the corkscrew hill.
Cliff of Moher. We didn’t see any puffin. We did take the buggy up and down the right side of the cliff. Bro’s foot was still not well to go to the left side. The O’Brien tower offered a nice view of the left and the right. In the visitor’s centre exhibition there was a 4D animated video of what could be seen here underneath the waters and on the sides of the cliffs. Which was nice. All seasons mixed into one though - not realistic.
Bunratty castle, We had dinner with a special guest on the table. Shannon from Pennsylvania USA was a contestant on the tv show The Floor. She majors in literature and some other subject. Funniest part of the night was when Heidi came out from the toilet and had birthday song sung to her by everyone in the dinning hall, but her name was not Susan. Lol. 🤣 Then the actual Susan came out from the toilet to the hall. We all sang again.
Monday 11 May 2026
Adare. Lovely small town. Some leather goods and wool items were sold in the heritage shop. It was a toilet stop really. I got Sis a toucan bird Guinness pin. Dingle. The fish n chip at Harrington was fulfilling. I love Dingle Sea Salt ice cream at Murphy’s ice cream. The cat Angel was super cute and the shop it stood next to was towards the church and up a hill. I found some pins for Sis and a whiskey from the West region of Ireland - €5 mini bottle. Inch Strand. Beach! People had their SUV parked on it. Nothing spectacular. Not a bad spot for people to come by with a car or RV for a vacation. Not reachable by public transport wise. Dinner at hotel.
Tuesday 12 May 2025
Falcon Inn. Nice but not picturesque enough for €10 printed photograph says bro. We did purchase plain latte and hot chocolate. I even purchased a trio of whiskey bottles (mini versions, ofc).
Scarf Inn. Claims to have the best of view in all of Ireland. Perched high on a cliff. It had tables over looking the bay and several islands. The Shepard pie was gluten free and came with salad. Nice. We didn’t get enough time to look through the gift shop. Another coach bus have just unloaded tourists from the Netherlands.
The Ring of Kerry has nature and views wrapped into one. Sadly, most of the mountains were bald-y yet filled with boulder and some green grass. To truly enjoy it is stay closer and go on rafts by the lakes or ride a bike to put your feet in the water. But they do have a cafe/pub that overlooks some more lakes. We saw Pat our driver walking across from a car park to it. lol. We did not stop for feet water dipping of any sort. Just quick pics on cliff tops.
Killarney National park. It some sort of lake views and trails. The jaunt car ride was so-so. The horse Susie was tired. We went through one section of the national park. We were told only 10 mins to go see the castle. Which was only enough to go through the ground floor. The rider then tooks it via normal streets outside of the national park altogether. Most bizarre. Nothing like the rides in Central Park. The Ross Castle would have been cool if we got more than 10 minutes to browse through it too. A few saw deers but we did not stop to pause. Some yellow wild orchid. Some pink flower weed. Some English ducks. Some boats for hire gathering dusts.
The gift store items were more expensive than the ones in Dingle for the same things. We had take away for dinner from Quincann seafood bar. I had fried squid n chips. Bro had 2 white haddock pieces with chips. Bro didn’t finish his food. I polished mine without a question. Bro was questioning the why the world was so focused on ripping him off. Yet he threw his food in the bin. €16.95 dude! What a waste of food. Don’t order food if you are scared of getting FAT!
At the Irish whiskey experience we shared one whiskey flight (paddle). The Single malt collection. Staff picks. Dingle single malt. Bushmills single malt. 16 yo. Teeling. Sure smells like bitter chocolate. The last one was called “The Celt V Peated Marsala Cask” and it tasted like smoked ham and smelled of raisins. What a way to finish the night with such an exclusive taste!
Wednesday 13 May 2026
Blarney. The Blarney castle had a long queue occupied by much of cruise coaches before ours. The majority of us mulled around the Blarney Woollen Mill. By the huge machine we got to touch the different patterns made into the Aran Sweaters. I purchased a tree of life patterned scarf and got my name inked onto the laundry label. We had a taste of the soft serve at Christy’s bar. There were mood rings version of the Claddagh ring - I’m sure Sis and mom would love them. I bought some more Irish whiskey fudge for my colleagues. Bro got some Bunratty mead. There was a small castle walk way, there we meant a young boy carrying a fishing rod, and bro ask him what’s there to catch, the boy said skinny fishes. That could be a variety of fish. Oh wells.
Waterford area. We spent most of our time at the Waterford Crystal factory. There was no free time or stops by the Viking or medieval aspects of the town.
Tramore. While playing Pokemon in front of a closed pizza shop, an old Arabic lady with head scarf took a photograph of me from across the street. The locals took a photograph of her taking a photograph of me. Then she proceeded to make a phone call on her smartphone and two men appeared at the bus stop across the street. The bus driver loudly asked these men if they plan on getting on bus. They refused two buses. I began to walk away to the fish and chip shops and entered ALDI with cameras at the entrance. They didn’t pursue me, but I didn’t feel safe. The tingles were strong. I waited and it rained. I waited and proceeded to head down to the amusement park gates to take snaps of the rides and the water. Then back to ALDI. No one followed me. I hustle through the rain in the car park back to my hotel and checking those men were not on my tail.
After a cuppa tea and an hour later the rainbow came out. I dashed out to take a photograph of it. Rare to see after this whole week of rain and none until now, this afternoon did it appear. With the clear sky Bro came for a short walk to the Japanese garden and we did a couple of pogo raids. I got a hundo. Omg! Pheromosa (a regional ultra beast only available in Europe). Ah. The luck of the Irish. 🍀
We had dinner in the Garden Room in The Majestic Hotel. The view of the beach and bay was so lovely.
Thursday 14 May 2026
Kilkenny. Rain beat us to it. After discovering the toilet behind Kilkenny gift shop. We proceeded to buy tickets to roam around the Kilkenny castle refurbished rooms for £8. The long room was the most extravagant one of all. As you follow the arrows you get to see pictures of the before and after works done. It lead us to the servant stairs and kitchen area. Where bro and I had hot chocolate before exit. By the fountain we saw a brown and white fur cat. I pat it as much as possible. Lol.
We took wet stroll through the market and stopped by Tess bakery and I had a raspberry scone and bro had an apple slice. Delicious food. Back to Dublin. They dropped off with 2hrs free time. We went to the National Museum of Ireland and it was fabulous. We saw the bog people. Mummies really. The medieval gold of those days long gone. Jewellery inspired by the Egyptians. The metal carved boxes and carved rocks were used to tell stories and they looked incredible. Free entry too.
Taylor’s Irish cabaret night. We had a blast. Great performances. Wonderful music. Bro and I were asked to get up on stage and join the performers playing spoon and drum. Bro was nervous. Only had to get up and dance twice. Most of the time I sat on the barrel playing the musical instruments. Bro said it hurts to play the metal spoons on his thigh. Practice makes perfect.
Friday 15 May 2026
The Bonnington Hotel. I slept well despite another wedding and rowdy crowd partied til late. We did not have to wake up early after 9 days of doing so. Brekkie at 9am. Said additional goodbye and well wishes to our travelling companions at breakfast. When we got back to our room, a staff member showed up and a new guest we saw at breakfast was in our room at 9:44am. What a shock. The staff lead the man to another room. We haven’t checked out as yet. Then at 10:07am housekeeping asked if we were still using our room. I replied I’ll check out at 10:45am. Note: check out officially was specifically at 11am.
We took a taxi and checked into another hotel. All was smooth.We walked to a laundry mat. All sorts of characters came through the door after us. The launderette was reasonable priced and quick easy to use. 10 minutes was not enough to dry our clothes. Bro had to buy additional tokens for a 30 minutes of the dryer. In total it took a whole hour.
The area near the stadium had flats housing really poor hygiene folks. Sad. We dropped off the laundry back at the hotel and we had lunch across the laundry place. Swara. I went to Lidl to buy more moisturisers with sea moss and juice then called it a day.
Saturday 16th May 2026
Howth has many shops selling seafood and fish and chips. Only after 12pm did the mussel stands open up in front of gift shops and warehouses. We had fried scampi n Guinness.
We went on a late morning boat ride to the uninhabited island. On the side of the cliff were various seabirds. Omg! It was so cool and to see such abundance of them was - so rare. We only saw one puffin paddling in the bay. On the wrong side of the ship. I couldn’t film it.
IMMA. The art work on display were varied. Some focused on sound from everyday objects. Some studied feminism and re-connecting with one’s mother. Political art was on Colombia. The most interesting section of IMMA was its underground cafe. Away from all the nose and natural weather elements. Great for a cosy cuppa.
Sunday 17th May 2026
I am getting weary and tired now. Day 16 (17/05/2026). We flew into #Edinburgh and dashed off to the Stockbridge market. We followed part of Water of Leith walkway to Newhaven. We saw ducks with unique patterns. I heard them say "oh" when food was thrown at them. Sussed craft beer taprooms in South Leith #Scotland
Monday 18th May 2026
Day 17 (18/05/2026). The Painted Rooster (cafe) had haggis, vegan haggis, black pudding (brekkie). Walking tour cancelled yet managed to find inspired “Tom Riddell” & “Moodie” in Greyfriars Cemetery b4 hoards unloaded. National Museum of Scotland - Mary, Queen of Scots (wow) and roof top view (wow). Bro had Wellington at Street Burger Gordon Ramsay. I sat w Paddington Bear in St Andrew Square Garden.
Tuesday 19 May 2026
We drove past the Stirling castle (in the distance). We drove through lots of lochs, glens, and bens in the West Highlands of Scotland. Several saw hikers going up the mountain here and there. The rain drizzled everywhere we went, but we got to see snow peaks on the mountain top in Glencoe. The Three Sisters of Glencoe. Plus, we saw feral goats on the side of the road between the trees. There was a road sign dedicated to them.
Fort William had a train station - neat. They have boat rides (only in summer). A good base station for day trips though, plenty of pubs, and hotels. Ben Nevis - what hikers come for in this location. We did notice
there were lots of mountains clothing shops on the main street. Eileen Donan Castle was beautiful. Lots of hidden stairways. Too bad the tide was out. water under bridge would look so cool.
Port tree was small yet it has many restaurants and B&B guest houses. We saw a medium size cruise ship stop by the bay. Which unloaded a handful of guests. We had dinner at The Royal Hotel. Bro had Cullen Skink (soup). I had Haggis bon bon. lol.
Day 18 (19/05/2026). Drove past Stirling Castle. Quickie pic in front of The Three Sisters of Glencoe. Pit stop at Fort Williams and saw Ben Nevis + adjacent Ben(s). Stopped at Eileen Donna Castle (tide out). Before landing in Portree for dinner. Haggis bon bon at The Royal Hotel. #Highland #Scotland
Wednesday 20 May 2026
The Dunvegan castle had a dungeon open for view. We didn’t have enough time for the seal boat trip as it would be cutting close to getting to the bus. 11:45am to 12:15, and 12:30pm is the time to be back on the bus. We did see two waterfalls in the garden. Which was lovely.
Quickly pulled over to see a fairy bridge. Legend has it fairies come through it when there is a fog. Castle Ewen was a relatively easy hike. A bit windy. Lots of sheep poo. Several look-a-like cave entrances. We had three ladies walking along the greens and beating their drums in prayer. In between the single narrow roads we saw sheep’s clogging traffic. Twice! So cute. What a family outing.
In Kilmuir, I went into the museum with recreated thatched huts. In gift store I learned about heather stems turning into jewellery pieces. Bloody sleuth! They look great. I got myself a highland cow brooch. Later on, Bro and I fed highland cows in the back of the cafe shop. Not only did Kilmuir cemetery have Flora McDonald, it had Lee Alexander McQueen (the fashion designer) tombstone. Wow.
Cuith-Raing was on top of a mountain looking down into the valley. It was said to be a place to find dinosaur bones. The wind can blow you over up here. Chaz drove to a cliff side in Staffin to listen to sounds made by fairies. Not far from the dinosaur museum. Fish n chips for dinner at The Chippy. Delicious.
Thursday 21 May 2026
Feeling very tired today. Day 20 (21/05/2026). Buh bye Portree. Pit stop - River Sligachan - submerge face 7s for beauty (+rain). Chocolates of Glenshiel for dark hot chocolate. More views of Glencoe on our way back. Pit stop - Laggan dam. Pat 1 highland cow at Taste of Perthshire. #Highland #Scotland
Friday 22 May 2026
Day 20 (22/05/2026). We went on a walking tour around #Glasgow. We learnt unicorn is Scotland’s national animal, Saint Mungo + his 3 miracles, a new mural, a mural replaced another mural, walls - ex-prison, 1 riddled w bullet holes, while another had round metals to lock prisoner’s ears.
Tip
The clock on salmon building has Saint Mungo sculpture and on every hour. The animatronic parts would spin and move.
Tip
Highland cows can be found in Glasgow Pollock gardens (park).
The Piper Bar has whiskey lounge on second floor.
Saturday 23 May 2026
Long weekend. May Bank Public Holiday apparently.
Leith market had okay food on offer. Not much hot food. Most ppl ordered coffee and a pastry.
Bus 35 was super quick going up hill.
The Johnny Walker rooftop experience was lovely. The sun was shining on us. We ordered the classic whiskey flight. Note: to get to the lift requires speaking to staff on the floor.
The Princes Park was lovely to stroll through. 1 fountain. Plenty of benches. Plenty of smokers too. There was a walk way to the car park.
The Scottish Parliament was very modern in style and facilities. Despite it is 25 yo. They have their own tartan pattern and whiskey bottles. You can buy their stuff online.
Opposite of the Scottish Parliament was the Kings Gallery, and nearby was the holiday house of the royals, Holyrood Palace. Bro couldn’t be bothered to check them out and insisted on going home to his Internet.
Sandwiches for dinner. I saw two cute tiny rabbits (white tail) in the garden.
Sunday 24 May 2026
As we arrived to the Edinburgh Waverley train station there was a marathon taking place, and so, we had to go through the train station, and oh boy was it busy. Good signage lead to market street with no fuss.
To the dungeon we go! The dungeon experience was riddled with characters and stories. Good storytelling at that too. Here and there were some nifty tricks. Quite interactive too. We were 4 floors underground without realising it.
Lunch at Oink. They put haggis stuffing on the bottom of your bun.
Walked through Rose Street. Plenty of bars.
Off to Portobello beach on bus 19. It past through lots of resident places.
There was an arcade at the beach, which had a slot machine section.
We came back to Rose Street for Mussel Inn to have half a pot of mussels and scallops with black pudding for dinner.
I saw two rabbits outside again. Plus, two seagulls.
Monday 25 May 2026
Another sunny day. We took a really slow bus (number 36) into town. It stopped at Queensferry Street. Walked to Rose Street Cafe for brunch. Quickly woof down our food. Then hopped on bus up the hill (number 3).
It was high noon and the Royal Mile was already flooded with tourist. We walked all the way to the security guard for assistance. I could not see my tour guide group. St Giles Cathedral was covered with buskers and tourists. She kindly informed us to skip first church and look for second one and to the left side of Royal Mile look for a group with a black umbrella. We managed to find them and got our basic castle entry tickets.
Bro wondered why we didn’t get an exclusive tour of castle. I answered because of his foot issue we had to forgo original booking and I waited for his foot to heal to re-book with a third party. There were no more tickets from the Edinburgh Castle website by that time. Let alone a guided tour to the inside exclusive areas. He was most displeased despite goes he did not want to fuck go up that hill in the first place.
Besides his woes and whinge. I learned the castle was still used by defense and for the whole of August it will be hosting Tattoon festival. Thank god, we did not come to Scotland in August. The crown, spetare, and sword was kept onsite for viewing. No photograph or video was allowed.
In one of the gift shop we got to taste a whiskey liqueur, which was really sweet.
The view of the city up here was okay. You can get it the same view for free from the National museum of Scotland.
Walking back down Royal Mile we went into St Giles Cathedral and viewed the decorated rooms (Thistle Chapel - closed).
Scottish Whiskey Exp shop had an interactive unit showing origin of brands. Just press on a button and it lights up location on the map. We smelled whiskey infused tea and candles. Played with bottle stoppers. Saw gob smacked priced bottles of whiskey.
For a light dinner we ate at St James Quarter basement, Wings and Fries, just 8 wings in Hawaiian and Hickory Smoked flavours.
Tuesday 26 May 2026
Day 24 (26/05/2026). Adieu #Scotland Thank you for the sweet memories, rain and sun. We learnt a great deal about the ancient past thru your fabulous storytelling. I enjoyed the walking trails and gems. Highland produce was delicious from whiskey to chocolates.
The tram was easy to get on and alight at the airport. I would not recommend elderly sitting opposite of the suitcase bay though. We push through to bag drop, security, and found there was not a whole lot of seating unless you sat inside a bar, restaurant, or cafe. Odd if you ask me. Gatwick south terminal has a 24 hour pub called The Beehive under the brand Weatherspoon. M&S food here has sandwiches and juices. Fab! You can never go hungry at this terminal. You can even get gluten free protein bars and immune boosting juice. Lovely! We stayed in hotel within the airport. Our room was small and squishy. The toilet gets wet after shower use. Ew! It does dry overnight.
Wednesday 27th May 2026
Bloody hot. There was heat wave in UK it seems. We were told it would be cold or cool 20 degrees. Not!
We took a train from Gatwick to London St Pancras International (£15) and then took Victoria line (underground £3) to Victoria station. It worked out cheaper than Gatwick Express (£24). It took longer to reach Victoria Coach Station, but definitely cheaper.
The Stonehenge is such a site to see and to hear what it takes to maintain it was an eye opener. Pulling such large stones would take many people and horse or bull power. We saw people without wrist band walk up to the wired fence to take a photograph. So, you can do it for free, just on the outskirts. Not bad. BYO transport, water, and loo. Quite dry out here.
The visitor centre has a cafe, shop, exhibition, replica huts, and a shuttle bus to drive you towards the Stonehenge. Still gotta get off and walk to it. You cannot get close, as there is rope, perimeter permitted for visitors to stand behind. So many people were coughing on the coach. Many people were ill ridden individuals. When we got back to London, Bro and I stopped by Angel underground station to have afternoon tea at Kistune 100 cafe. I had my matcha drink and matcha basque cheese cake. Very creamy indeed.
Later we went browsing thru a shopping centre, c-market, and the Grand Union Canal walkway to Coal Drops Yard. Along the way we saw people conducting business from their canal boat: a man selling ice cream, a woman conducting tarot card reading, and a group selling vinyls and CDs. At Coal Drops Yard the general public took part in a zumba dance. Kids playing with a water feature in the main square. Youth groups doing dance practice. A very active hub.
Then we walk to King Cross station and found the Harry Potter Shop. I found myself lining up in a queue for photo booklet. There was a professional photograph session to be taken with the replica platform 9 3/4 (outside the shop). The two African ladies before me did the best poses, especially the one on the floor and being dragged by the trolley. We were in stitches!
After much of the excitement, we went to Paddington to suss out the market hall next to the train station. It was so so. The sculptures of coppers around it were funny. We didn’t go up to the rooftop bar as we didn’t have a booking, as security was guarding the lifts very closely.
Then we took the Circle underground line at Paddington, it asked that we to go Edgare Road and transfer to another line to go to King Cross. From there we followed arrows for the national rail to go home. International Pancras waiting room looked just like it was in 2017. Posh!
Thursday 28 May 2026
Off to the beach via coach then train back. Preston park was huge! We stuck to the middle path and walked away to the rose garden. They were in season. How pretty! There was a tent for a ladyboy show and a tent for circus. There were major streets to get through before we can reach the sea side. We passed by a few churches and behind two churches were a mini summer entertainment with shows, rides, and food festival. They didn’t open until 12pm (noon). Bro didn’t wonder in. Too shy.
After meandering through more streets we reached the Royal Pavilion and Garden. The architecture resembled Indian famous buildings. We didn’t go in as Bro was sick at looking at interiors. I stopped by shop and looked at things. The postcards showed the pretty interior of the building. Quite the holiday home. We proceeded to dip in and out of lane ways and found the sea front. The beach was highly commercialised. Deck chairs on the pebble beach were for hire. Shops and amusement for children preoccupied a section of the walk way. Cafes, restaurants, and bars filled up the rest of the walk way.
Bro and I had fish n chips next to The Zip. I had mushy peas with mine. Yum. Tasted like beans. Heh. We took a short stroll past swimming pool called sea lanes and open sea gym. There was an electric train ride to the bottom end of the beach east bound. Bro didn’t want to get on it. So, we decided to walk along the track but only to the old building and garage that was built into the wall and then turned back. His feet was beginning to act up again.
The Brighton 360 viewing lift was a sight for sore eyes. I told bro I’d like to walk to it and have my photograph taken in front of it. It would be hard to take a nice photo from a curved glass window from above. Good for viewing, but we have plenty of beaches back home. Besides, I love Fremantle more.
We pushed forth and walked up the hill to the Brighton train station. It was HUGE! The rain begun to put down too. Lucky we got to here just in nick of time. Two Thamelink trains were cancelled during peak hour of 5pm -6pm. Apparently, someone was hit by a train. So sad. Also, they do not use oyster smart card out here. You have to buy a paper ticket. Wow. We had no choice but to catch the Gatwick Express back to the hotel. £13.70 pp.
We had dinner at the airport. Giraffe. Mix cuisine fusion restaurant. I had middle eastern salmon. Yum. Light on the belly.
Friday 29 May 2026
The transfer from south terminal to north terminal using the shuttle was excellent and we were on time. We made it to the counter to dropped off our bag. Phew! It pays to live close to the airport when Bro does not like to wake up early. They have Venchi chocolate shop in the north terminal past security. I had to get a choc hazelnut gelato and some chocolate bon bons. I had dark choc hazelnut and dark choc orange for moi, and a milk choc raspberry for bro. Yummo! Viva la dolce!
By 9.10am did they list which gate we had to proceed to and wait for our group number to be called. I watched a few more movies on the aeroplane such as Rental family (Brendon Fraser), The House Maid (US version), and Shelter (Jason Statham). Then to help me doze off, I listened to wellness music on slumber and classic piano music. I feel so much more calmer. I was more focused when it came to transfer at Singapore airport. Time to search for my transfer gate.
