After an arduous week-long journey from Scotland via Ireland and England and Canada, I’ve been living in America, in my new city, Chicago, for a grand total of three days… and its now time to up and leave again on another trip. As coincidence would have it, two of my very good friends are getting married (to each other) in a town called Wausau in up-state Wisconsin … Continue reading Surviving Milwaukee
I realise I have failed to mention it thus far in this blog… but in addition to doing a spot of city-hopping and attending the wedding of two very good friends, this trip across the pond has another reason behind it. An ulterior motive, if you like. Through a rare coincidence of the most convenient type, I happened to secure employment for a year (in the form … Continue reading Moving to Chicago
Day 1: I finally arrived in Toronto after an unscheduled overnighter in London. My flight from Dublin to Heathrow was delayed and the Aer Lingus lady who checked me in failed to actually check me right through to Toronto, so I missed my connection. No worries though, I was put up in a lovely Heathrow-area Novotel and given vouchers for a 3-course dinner, buffet breakfast … Continue reading Maple Leaf Hunting
I spend a lot of money on air travel as it is, so when the time comes to book a flight, I like to minimise, as far as possible, the impact on my wallet. My final destination was Wausau, Wisconsin, where two of my favourite people will be tying the knot. Now, it turns out that flights from Edinburgh to Wausau are bloody expensive, and most involve at … Continue reading Flirting with Ireland
Prologue A series of odd circumstances converged this week, with the unexpected outcome that I’m spending the first ten days of 2014 in New York City! I’ve arranged to spend a few days with my good friends Holly and Syed at their apartment in Brooklyn, a few days with my good friend Tom DeGroot at his house in Wantagh, Long Island, and a couple of … Continue reading Race to Crown Heights
It was late July and the mercury had been pushing thirty all afternoon. I’m guessing this, of course, as I haven’t laid eyes on an actual thermometer all year… but my Blackberry was telling me that it was, in fact, a stonker of a summer’s day, and even if there’d been a technological blackout, the masses of people lounging semi-naked along the banks of the … Continue reading Girl on Top (of the city)
Back in the golden days of dirt-cheap budget air travel, when Ryanair wasn’t yet the dreaded last-resort carrier it is now, you could fly from Glasgow Prestwick to Milan Bergamo for around £30 return, including taxes, with no extra baggage fee, no check-in fee, no nothing. Those days are sadly long-gone, and with Prestwick Airport on the verge of bankruptcy – seemingly being kept afloat solely through … Continue reading 86 Hours in Milan
It seems like I had barely arrived back home from Maastricht when I was back at the airport again boarding another flight to another European airport. With another joyous layover at Heathrow Terminal 5. My parents have rented an apartment in Nice for the festive season and we’re all going over to see if the French are any good at doing Christmas. I have high hopes. Even though I moved … Continue reading A Riviera Christmas
It’s my last full day in New York City and I don’t have any grand plans with which to fill it. There are, however, a few things I’d still like to see. Some of them I’ve seen already, but I’d like to see again (probably because I failed to appreciate them when I was a moody 16 year old trailing after my parents), and some … Continue reading NYC: 9 of the Rest
The Beach is divine… Yep, it’s time to go to the seaside! I don’t have a bucket or spade, or a bikini, or anybody to be frivolous with… and truth be told, I’m going less for the sand and the sea and more for the sake of “going to Coney Island” like they do in the movies… but I’m still fairly excited about the ice … Continue reading Sometimes I go to Coney Island
the lost scot 