I arrived in Bergen at 3am not out of choice but because, as a general rule, planes do not work properly when I am on them. Bits fall off, flaps malfunction, things start to smoke…. that kinda thing. Today it was the windscreen that shattered on aircraft number one and the de-icer that called it quits on aircraft number two. Amongst other things. Here’s a full account of … Continue reading Bergen + Oslo
In my last post, I explored how and why a rational individual might travel to the other side of the planet for a long weekend, using my recent trip from Scotland to Singapore as the case in point. I deviated somewhat from my regular travel-journal-with-pics style post, but don’t you worry, I’ve done that too. Here is what you can actually get up to with your 5000 minutes in … Continue reading 5000 Minutes in Singapore
The inside cover of my guide book seemed to have a tough time finding a pleasant way to sell São Paulo to the common tourist. The opening paragraph was full of words like “polluted” and “ungainly”, “concrete” and “sprawling”. If I hadn’t booked the flights before doing the reading, I might have had second thoughts about spending the second part of my Brazilian trip here. … Continue reading São Paulo is a City
Every now and then a person finds themselves roaming through southern Spain on a cloudless December day, doing nothing other than casually searching for their next Rioja and tapas fix, when they accidentally make eye contact with the horizon, which means they have to go to Africa. Accordingly, we boarded the boat in Tarifa, the small historic town in which we were doing our tapas-hunting, and a bumpy 57 minutes … Continue reading The Spontaneous Voyager’s Guide to Tangier
I’m in South Carolina, the sun is shining, and I have absolutely no commitments or plans of any kind. After a spot of musing over a nice hotel breakfast, I have come to the conclusion that today I quite fancy going to the beach. The interwebs tell me that there is a very pleasant beach at Sullivan’s Island not too far from my hotel, and this sounds to … Continue reading Road to Sullivan’s Island
New Orleans Day 3: I am never drinking again. I spent the morning reading Faulkner on my balcony and chugging coffee, because it was noon before my hangover finally dissipated sufficiently (fyi, here’s what I got up to last night) that I was able to venture out into the 30 degree heat and do some more exploring. I couldn’t start the day’s adventuring without some more classic … Continue reading NoLa SoLo
I didn’t cry at O’Hare. This airport can drive people to tears at the best of times, so you’d forgive a girl for shedding one or two as she says a final farewell to the city she’s called home for the last 55 weeks. But, as the two main men in my life dropped me at departures, I somehow managed to maintain some sort of facial … Continue reading Banter in the Big Easy
Our handy map has told us that not far from Vienna lies another European capital city just waiting to be explored. Bratislava, Slovakia lies just 50 miles east of here, which sounds to me like perfect day-trip material. Plus we get to go on an Austrian train, which I hear are quite efficient. Yaay! Disembarking at Bratislava Hlavná Stanica, the main train station, it was a short and scenic … Continue reading Let’s Go To Bratislava
I’ve been working in Chicago for almost two months, and I just had the pleasure of attending my first fancy conference. Go me. Let’s set the scene. I actually don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet, but I work for this super feisty non-profit called the Lake Tanganyika Floating Health Clinic (LTFHC). Like the name would suggest, they are, in fact, building a floating hospital on … Continue reading To the Summit
First set of MSc exams FINISHED! I won’t say they were easy, but I’m pretty confident I didn’t do too dreadfully. Naturally, the whole MPP cohort celebrated with a massive piss-up at the Highlander bar where we drank them out of both gin and tequila. It’s a lovely, crisp, sunny October day, and I’m feeling surprisingly non-hungover considering last night’s antics. Just as well, really, … Continue reading Parental Visitation
the lost scot 