Off the Couch and On the Road

I had a few days in London, and this time knew my way around so well it felt kind of like home. With the money running out faster than office workers on a friday afternoon, I focused on the free museums, parks, shopping centres and exhibitions and enjoyed the sunny, warm weather that London had bestowed upon me to make up for all the rain in Scotland.

It was onto Africa next, and I was both nervous and excited at the chance to join another group tour and not have to worry about the daily concerns of transport, accomodation and itineraries. They could figure it all out (that is the ‘excited’ bit), and I could sit back and try not to get mauled by wild animals in my tent (that is the ‘nervous’ bit). 

Joking! Kind of…

-Sarah

After three months of searching online for the best accomodation deals, I had become quite the expert, so much so that I ended up in a self-catered apartment in the Glasgow School of Art college for the same price as a crowded dorm room with no privacy. Pure luxury – especially considering my next destination (after another London stopover) involved camping in Africa for a month.

Glasgow is a big city – I had no choice but to grab buses instead of walking, though I chose a two-day pass on one of the tourist buses so someone else could tell me actual facts about the places I was going to, rather than me just looking at something and thinking ‘wow, that is really amazing because, um, it looks really old’. As it turns out, I can’t remember most of the information anyway. But Glasgow was wonderful, because there was great shopping, and some really amazing buildings that, um, looked really old.

(The photos are better than the blog, I promise, which says a lot about my blog, because let’s face it, the photos are pretty shit)

-Sarah

You probably think I am obsessed with Harry Potter by now, having seen the movie and bought the book on the days they were released (a dead giveaway, normally), and been so excited at seeing where they filmed the corridoors, classrooms, The Great Hall and Hogwarts Castle.

In fact, a roomate in London was going to a Harry Potter conference for a week, showing me all the materials and paperwork she had been required to bring – ‘Ah, looks like fun,’ I said hesitatingly, hoping she wouldn’t try and convince me to join her – which clearly proves I am not obsessed. I didn’t even know they had Harry Potter conferences.

Convinced? Right O.

So, clearly not being an obsessed fan, I also didn’t know until I arrived that the Jacobite Steam Train and one of the most famous rail journeys of the world also doubled as the Hogwarts Express – travelling daily from Fort William to Mallaig and back over the 21 Arch Glennfinnan Viaduct (which, ah, featuresinharrypotterbutIwasn’tthatexcitedIswear).

I had, by now, travelled through the mountains back and forth quite a bit, the Scottish highlands being quite narrow geographically, but the beauty was never lost on me, so the train ride was fitting as a final goodbye to the the highlands before I left for the big city of Glasgow.

The four hour return journey placed me in the company of a Kansas girl, who also professed a love for the moutains, as well as shooting game, driving pick-ups and dating rednecks (and obviously talking non-stop), but she was lovely and the day was a nice way to travel without being stuck in the rain, for once.

Unfortunately I had to leave the highlands the next day, which I really didn’t want to do. I really didn’t. In fact, you’d better just add ‘And I never wanted to leave,’ after every sentence mentioning Scotland in this entire blog, ok?

-Sarah