Scotland Day 2

SCOTLAND   22 August 2012 - 26 August 2012

DAY 2 : Inverness ~ John O' Groats 

Had a good rest in the hotel, thanks to Tong Hang for providing such a good hotel to us. 
Woke up, had a deep breath, I am so in love with the fresh air in Scotland ♥ 

We were told that we were going to John O' Groats today.
Before that, we stopped by a place for about 20 mins but I forgot the name of the place. 
I am so sorry :(

It is a beautiful beach !!!
Blue sky, blue ocean, fine sand = perfect ! ♥ 

20 mins was just enough for us to snap pictures ! *Snap snap snap*

The beach 

♥

Flat 44 girls !
I miss them so much :(

Group picture !

Then, we headed to John O' Groats , the most northerly settlement on the island of Great Britain ! 
The traditional distance by road from Land's End (the extreme southwestward of Great Britain) to John O' Groats is 874 miles (1407km) ...
Hence, this is what we usually called in Chinese - 天涯海角 ♥

The tour leaders guided us to walk through a pathway and cliff in order to see the Stacks of Duncansby. 
Beware when you are walking around there, because there are a lot of sheep stool !!!
Yes ! If you are not careful enough, you might step on them and they are all freshly made ! haha 

The Stacks of Duncansby are some of the most impressive in the British Isles. The Great Stack is over 60m high and rises above the summit of the adjacent cliff. 
The scenery is breath taking ! I am amazed by the scenery in front of my eyes ! 
Read more about Duncasby Stacks here 

Stacks of Duncansby
Photographer : K

National flower of Scotland - the Thistle

Patterns !

More patterns ! :D

Me & K 

The girls

We had to climb up the cliff in order to get different view of the Stacks of Duncansby !
The guys ran up, left the girls behind ! 
Blame my poor stamina, I nearly gave up in climbing up ...
However, Li Sin was there to encourage me ! haha *sounds like an old lady in need of encouragement*

When we finally reached there, it was time for us to leave already ! Bah ~ 

Spot me ?
Working hard to climb up that cliff !

K !

Before we board the John O' Groats ferry, we had our lunch at the ferry pier. 

We would have the chance to shop at the "First & Last Souvenir Shop" there ! There is a tremendous selection of crafts and souvenirs in the shop.

There is a postbox inside the souvenir shop too !
Remember to send a postcard back to your home as the John O' Groats stamp is unique :)

This could be your life time memories too !

We even send a postcard to each other by writing down our first impression towards the receiver. 

First & Last Souvenir Shop

Long queue to get our lunch !

After lunch, we join the Wildlife Cruises ! 
It really is a great thrill to get this close to Wildlife in their natural environment !

The route of the cruise depends on the tide and the weather. 
I enjoyed the cruise so much ! 
Enjoying the sea breeze and all the beautiful scenery in front of me !

We had a close up view of the famous Duncansby Stacks too ! Amazing !
The captain's driving skill is great as he could "squeeze" the ferry into the cave so that we could have a closer view of the cave ! WOW ~

Clear water !

Gay Titanic ?

Pattern Jack , pattern again ! haha

Two much-photographed signposts indicate the traditional distance at each end. The famous "Journey's End" signposts are privately own, with a fee payable for having pictures taken next to the signpost. 

me with happy face ! 

I ♥ John O' Groats ! 
It is so beautiful :)
Too bad, I didn't go to Land's End... If not, I have already conquer 天涯海角!

Scotland Day 1

SCOTLAND   22 August 2012 - 26 August 2012

"Hey readers ! I am backed !!!!! Still having jet lag :(
Woke up from the wonderful dream :) The 3 months in Sheffield, then Europe tour were so amazing ! It was like a dream and I know that it is time to wake up :)

I am gonna blog about my trips ! Stay tune !"

First of all, I am gonna blog about my trip to Scotland :)

Scotland, is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It constitutes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides. 

The scenery in Scotland is awesome ! It is so beautiful where you could see the grass, mountains, waterfall, sheeps, highland cows and etc :)

This is a place where we can stay nearer to the nature. 

DAY 1 : Edinburgh ~ Inverness 

At first, we planned to tour Scotland on our own but thank god, we made the right decision to follow the tour agent (Tong Hang) ! 

If we tour Scotland on our own by renting a car, we might ended up so sick of driving and visit lesser places...

Glad that we follow Tong Hang as we were well taken care by the tour leaders, Zen Kam and Ellen Ng ! Thanks :)

We enjoyed the trip so much !

Edinburgh ! Our first destination !

Edinburgh, the country's capital and it is the second largest city.

Slept in the bus the night before and when we woke up, we were in Edinburgh already :)

*Remember to bring neck rest for your comfort in the coach*

I could remember that when we got down from the coach, we were shivering ! 

It was so so so so cold ! So remember to bring thicker jacket or coat to keep yourself warm ! 

The tour leaders brought us to the nearest train station to allow us to brush our teeth and get our breakfasts ! 

I had my hot chocolate from Costa and one local bread ? I have no idea what it called already but it is so yummy ! lol

The tour leaders would distribute the map and explained the MUST VISIT places in Edinburgh to each and everyone of us ! They would tell us what to buy for souvenirs, what to eat and so on :) 

The trip was well organized and what we did was, ENJOY the trip :)

And to be honest, I forgot the detail itinerary of the trip already ..... *opps*

My yummy breakfast !

After breakfast, we went to a higher place to view the scenery of whole Edinburgh. 
We could see the old site of Edinburgh and even new site of it :)
*Sorry, I really forgot the name of the place... Just enjoy the pictures kay?*
However, we need to climb up "few" staircases in order to enjoy such wonderful scenery !

Tired !
Blame my poor stamina 

Breathtaking scenery up there ! 

We were so lucky to see the rainbow !

My girls :)
Miss them so much now !

One and only big group picture taken by our tour leader !
Spot me ?

♥ AMA ♥

Oppa Gangnam Style ! haha

The people who left a wonderful memories in my life !

Love this so much ! ♥
Perfect angle !
Credit to photographer : Jason 

K ♥
Showing off his newly bought MU jersey ! 

After that, we followed the tour leaders and walked around.
The brought us to few places then we would have our own time to discover Edinburgh :)

A palace behind me :)

Grand Scottish Parliament

A museum 

Ohhh~~~ Jack, you're so adorable ! haha

Group picture :)

Then, it was our free time to explore Edinburgh on our own :)
And, it was time for lunch too !
The tour leaders told us that Haggis is the authentic recipe from Scotland, so it is a must try when you visit Scotland !  

My friends wanted to try it so much but when I found out the ingredients of Haggis......
I was not brave enough to try it. Just had a small small bite of it !
Umm.. couldn't describe how it taste.. 
All of us not really like it...
However, some of my friends said that other restaurants serve better haggis and they like it ! It depends on you :)
Just try it out when you go Scotland. If you want to know more about Haggis, read here

After lunch, we visited the Museum of Childhood. 
Visitors to the museum can see optical and construction toys, cars from Dinky miniatures to child-size pedal cars, toy soldiers, puppets and dolls' houses. 
We could see the familiar toys which we used to play when we were small.
Unlike the children now, their toys are iPhone or iPad ! lol

A bit scary, right? 

Edinburgh city is so crowded ! 
With all the beautiful old buildings and shoplots !
Visited few places and then it is time for shopping :)

K bought a cashmere skirt for his niece.
We bought shortbread and also not to forget, the smallest bottles of whisky in the World Guinness Book of Records !!!! 
You can find them at any whisky shops but the price varies... 

Visited the cashmere factory

Me with Bobby !

Read more about Greyfriars Bobby here

We were in National Museum of Scotland 

Great picture taken by Jason !

That was the end of day one !
Definitely a great one ! 
We spent our night at Inverness. It is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland !
We had our dinner there and overnight in Travelodge :)

Our whisky :D

Peek a boo ~