Wanderings of Jess

We made the long-is drive to Pitlochry where we had lunch and got to mooch around the shops for a while. After lunch, we made our way to Kinloch Rannoch, which was the hill where Craigh na Dun was constructed for Outlander. We wandered around the hill, took in the surroundings and listened to Ross play the bagpipes. It is AMAZING getting to travel with our own piper. From the hill, we worked our way to Loch Ness where we stayed the night in Drumnadrochit (drum-nuh-draw-kit, for those who have no idea how to pronounce it, like me) at a hotel next door to Nessieland. So cheesy it was amazing. We had dinner in our hotel and turned in early-ish. I was going to try to go for a hike early in the morning, but there was no time. Two of us had been to Loch Ness before, so we opted to spend less time at the castle and walk to Urquhart Castle from the hotel instead of drive with the rest. I got to get to know one of the other people on the tour better and I got to go on a walk. ...

I FINALLY made it to the UK. The flight situation was an absolute nightmare. We were delayed 20 hours first due to a mechanical issue, then due to the fact that we no longer had a pilot who could fly for that long. It was stressful. I cried a number of times and had to be picked up and taken back home for another night. We finally got out of Salt Lake and the flight seemed to be okay, but then we learned that not all the entertainment systems worked. Because my screen didn't work the half of the flight, I didn't even have a reading light which was terrible. They got it working finally, but the whole flight situation was an absolute nightmare. I arrived in London where they have a new border system for certain passports. I just had to scan my passport and stand in front of a camera, which was super weird. I got through in record time, no passport stamp (which made me a bit sad) and headed into London to meet Lucy! We had breakfast, hung out at King's Cross, and met a lad...

Departure day: spent 7 hours in the airport only to be sent home to try to fly out again tomorrow. Keep all your fingers crossed. I am one unhappy traveler.

After leaving Brighton on Sunday, we made our way to London. We took the train, got a taxi from Victoria to the place where we were supposed to pick up the keys to our flat. We were early but we had arranged to drop our bags off while the cleaner was there. The place we were supposed get the keys was closed and the host couldn't get ahold of the guy. So we had to stand on the street, in the sun for like 45 minutes waiting for the cleaner to walk by and take us to the flat. It was one of the worst AirBnB check in experiences ever. After dropping our bags, we went and met with Tom to grab lunch and go to a London flea market! I didn't buy anything, but Tom and Teresa did, so I'd say it was a successful outing. After the flea market, we went to the Curve Garden, which is a garden/bar. We had drink and then we headed back to the flat to get settled in. Monday, we got ready and headed to Hyde Park to go paddle boating! I have been wanted to do t...