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
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
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
Everyone loves a good bridge, right? Majestic, strong and really quite useful, the right bridge in the right place can become more than just a piece of infrastructure, it can become an icon. Of course, the most iconic bridge in New York City has to be the Brooklyn Bridge, a Hollywood favourite and one of the oldest suspension bridges in the US, but all good … Continue reading A Tale of Three Bridges
“… determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind. To reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from … Continue reading We the Peoples of the United Nations…
New York City: The final destination of this three-week mad-dash around the North East US. It’s quite pleasant knowing that I’ll be staying put for the next three nights and that it’s just me, free to run around and do whatever I want to, in this huge metropolis. Of course, I’ve run around this metropolis before… My parents are very good tour guides, and the fact that … Continue reading To and From Roosevelt Island
Hangover pretty much gone after a morning of idyllic lounging at the house (And more pancakes. Pancakes can sort out anything) , it was time to head out down to the Yacht Club where Colleen’s dad keeps his boat. I’m pretty excited. You know (If you’ve read my other posts) how much I love good boat! We did all of the pre-trip checks (I don’t … Continue reading A Spot of Boating
the lost scot 