The best time to visit Edinburgh

Edinburgh itself is an absolutely beautiful city and I would suggest everyone visit it at least once in their life. I don’t suggest you visit at just any time of year though, there’s a few times that are best to visit Edinburgh and right now is one of them!
The month of August in Edinburgh isn’t like any other, for the month of August brings music, theatre and comedy to every inch of the city through the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

With so much to do and see at this festival you’ll discover some amazingly weird and wonderful things. 

I happened to find myself travelling through from Glasgow for the day. With less than  £4 on the bus and the promise of a car journey home thanks to my friend I was more than happy to go.

We planned to do so much but when it came to it, we done very little. My one major piece of advice would be if you have certain things you want to see? Work our where they are beforehand. We missed 2 shows we wanted to see because of poor planning on our part. But we still managed to make it to our two main ones.

The first of which was the Big Value Comedy Show. £10 for 2 hours worth of comedy from 3 comedians and a host? Where could you go wrong and honestly there was very little to fault. We went to the early showing at half 7 and I’m not going to lie, I’ve completely forgotten the comedians names unfortunately but 2/3 were amazing. We started with the host coming out and he was seriously so so funny, really warmed you up from the start for hours of laughter ahead. He introduced the first act, a woman who used to be a school teacher, she was really really funny. We thought if she’s the starting act we definitely have high hopes for the rest! 
There was a short break in between all the acts, so after her set and the break the next comedian appeared. And well, praise da lord he didn’t open because no-one would have come back for the rest of the acts. Now I’m one of those people who have a seriously good sense of humour, even if you’re the least funniest person on the planet if you’re around me you’ll feel like a world famous comedian because all I do is laugh! In saying this, I didn’t laugh once at this guy, not once and neither did any of my friends. From his voice to his stage presence to his jokes it was terrible unfortunately. Somehow some people found him funny at the back but most people were left unimpressed. Needless to say after the break from him some people didn’t come back again!
We then had the last act who was American and he again was so incredibly funny. I doubt I stopped laughing for even a second during his whole set he was fantastic. (I’ll actually need to find out the comedians names and shall update this when I do because they deserve the appreciation).

First show done, we were then off to our main act of the night. 10pm, Daniel Sloss. Now, Daniel is a Scottish comedian who has been on the circuit for about 8 years I believe and he is incredible. I’ve seen him on a few shows before on TV and always found myself laughing away so when I seen he was at the fringe I knew he had to be seen. His ticket was £13 and he was on stage a little over an hour.

Now I highly highly highly recommend anyone and everyone to look Daniel up or go see him if you can. He’s such a talented, young comedian with so much potential and it upsets me that he’s not bigger than he is because he’s seriously that good!

Everywhere you go in Edinburgh when the fringe is on there is something. There’s hundreds upon hundreds of free and ticketed shows, many of which are so incredibly good. I loved the fringe that much, even though I didn’t fully experience everything I wanted to that I’m going back next weekend!

Please visit Edinburgh. Please visit the fringe. You will not regret it one bit! If you go, or if you have been leave me a comment below and tell me what you seen/are going to see! Thanks!

First trip being 23

If you read my previous post you’ll know that yesterday was my birthday and I turned 23. Well today I’m off on my first trip being 23 and also of this year (out of Scotland at least).

Currently sat on a megabus heading towards Paris from London, having already travelled from Glasgow to London earlier on today. I’m really excited as I haven’t been to Paris since 2009 and even then that was a trip with my school so I didn’t get to fully experience it.

I’m only heading there for the day but I can’t wait to jam pack it with lots of sightseeing, wandering, eating and whatever else there is to discover.

A few of you gave me some great ideas on what to get up to in Paris on a previous post of mine and I’m thankful for the advice on where in Paris I should visit.

If you have any other advice of places I must go/see, little places to eat/drink etc then let me know!

Perth, in pictures.

Even a cloudy, scattered with showers day finds it hard to make Perth look anything but the beautifully pretty place that it is.

Perth Museum and Art Gallery – Glass sheep

What does Perth and Kinross mean to you? Our reply.

River Tay

Statue along the trail

This is possibly my most favourite thing ever.

On the train home. Goodybye Perth.

Well, this is pretty much our time in Perth summed up in pictures. From tourist duties to eating the best macarons we have ever tasted (but I’ll tell you about them soon).

Perth, it was a pleasure. Until next time!

A day in Perth

I recently posted about how my friends and I spontaneously decided to take a day trip to Perth in Central Scotland.

For just under £16 we bought our return tickets from Glasgow Queen Street train station to Perth train station. We didn’t know what to expect when we got to Perth, none of us knew what there was to do or see so it was time to do a bit of discovering and roaming about to see what we could find.
We did end up deciding to visit the tourist centre (when we eventually found it) just to see if they could give us any good ideas of what to do. We had passed the Perth Museum and Art Gallery on our way there so decided to head back there first.

We had so much fun inside the Museum and Art Gallery. It’s a lot smaller than I would have thought (I think it’s more because I’m used to Kelvingrovw Art Gallery in Glasgow), but it was great. We had so much fun inside between face swapping with statues and paintings thanks snapchat to dressing up in the Iron Age section and colouring in at the children’s section. We were like little kids again and it was great, there’s nothing better than discovering your inner child.

Wandering through Perth Museum and Art Gallery

We were then suggested to take a walk across the River Tay (the Tay is the longest river in Scotland) as there is a path with many statues that leads alongside the River Tay, through some lovely gardens towards the railway bridge which we then walked across before heading to The Fergusson Gallery.

The Fergusson Gallery is dedicated to the Scottish artist and sculptor John Duncan (J.D) Fergusson.

I’m someone who is completely engrossed with art. For as long as I can remember, going right back to primary school I wanted to be an artist before deciding in secondary school that it probably wasn’t something I’d make much from and then realising I wanted to be an architect before completely fucking my life up but that’s another story. Needless to say although the gallery was extremely small and wasn’t filled with a lot of material it was lovely to visit and see the work of someone that is considered such a great Scottish artist.

That pretty much consisted of our tourist duties of Perth. We definitely had a lot of fun on our spontaneous day trip to Perth.

Have you been to Perth before, if so what did you get up to? Feel free to comment and link me to your posts.

Discovering Scotland : Perth.

A day off work + 3 friends = the perfect day to encourage our sense of spontaneity and well, discover some more of Scotland.

Today has been one of those days where we woke up, decided to head somewhere and somehow stumbled upon the idea to venture out of Glasgow. The next decision was, where exactly do we go? It didn’t take us too long to decide on somewhere, in fact it pretty much consisted of one suggesting Perth and the other 2 of us agreeing. I think honestly we were all up for going anywhere but a not too long train journey to Perth sounded like a great idea.

So here we are. Currently on our train to Perth (wishing it was the other Perth Australia but hey we can’t be fussy. We certainly wouldn’t get there and back in a day).

I have no idea at all what we’ll find in Perth. Honestly, it’s one place I’ve never really looked into much so it’s exciting thinking of what we might discover.

Have you been to Perth in Scotland before? Maybe you’re from there? Feel free to leave me a comment below and let us know of anything interesting to see or do. Give us some inspiration of how to make the most of our day.

Travel starts at home

Travel.

When you think of travel, what comes to mind? Jetting off on a plane to some far away land is how most people would answer this, but not me.

Travel, to me, starts in your own town/city/country. There’s so much around about you to do and see, most of which you’ll probably have heard of or maybe been to once before and never had a second thought about going to again. There’s also so much you’ll never have discovered before, and all on your own doorstep. I don’t know about you but I can’t always afford to jump on a plane, train or anything else to somewhere at every opportunity. Sometimes you just need to take a break and discover where you’re from.

Get out there.
Take a walk, maybe it’s somewhere you’ve walked a thousand times before so switch it up. Take a right down one Street you’ve never been down before instead of taking the left to your usual destination.
Every place no matter how small has something for you to explore or discover, whether it be a church, a museum, a book shop. Explore these places.
Find a book on where you’re from or Google it. I always search through tags on here, mostly just the travel one, and I 100% always read ones associated with Scotland. What I’ve noticed is that other people discover things I never knew were there. I read posts on Glasgow and it amazes me at the things I didn’t know were right around the corner from me.

Maybe you want to venture out slightly further a field? Get a bus or train to the next town or city and start exploring there.

Over the next few weeks I have a lot of spare time as I’m on holiday from work so I’m definitely making it my mission to see more of Glasgow. I may venture out further, leaving Glasgow and seeing somewhere else but that won’t be my main priority.

Have you discovered things in your own place you didn’t know were there? Maybe you’re from or have visited Glasgow and have ideas of where I should go? Leave me a comment and let me know.

The Bonnie Banks ‘o Loch Lomand

  
“By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes, where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomand.” – lyrics from The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomand. 

Throwback post to one of my favourite weekends of 2015.

Scotland, what a truly beautiful country. There’s nothing I love more than seeing as much of Scotland as I can, pair that with a laughter and booze filled weekend camping with friends and what more can I ask for? 

Pitching our tents off the shores of Loch Lomand at Inverbeg, where we had been up a few nights previous making a fire pit and leaving some wood to get our fire started we were looking forward to our weekend.

 

Squad Goals

 
With 14 of us, 5 tents, 1 fire pit, 1 guitar and enough drink to fill a swimming pool (I wish I was kidding but when 3 of you have loads of drink plus share 12 litres worth of venom; vodka, southern comfort, blue wkd and orange juice) we were definitely set for our weekend.

With head chef Clare on the case we had a belter of a BBQ for dinner and then the real drinking began. There’s something so peaceful about being by the Loch at night. The water was still, the sky was clear, the fire roaring away and the banter flowing which quickly led to the guitar being brought out and drunken sing-a-longs.

But true to form, typical Scotland gave us a weekend of not so great weather in the end; lots of wind, a little sunshine and plenty of rain.

With that many only lasted the first night and found themselves driving home late into our second day with just the best of us left (we were down to 5). 

  
  
This just meant more marshmallows over the fire for us, well it would have if the rain stayed off for more than 2 seconds. We ended up confined to our tent playing card and drinking games, much to our delight.
As much as the weekend ended up a fail, it was still a great weekend and even the weather couldn’t put a dampener on (the 5 of us that we’re lefts) spirits.

Scotland, no matter what you throw at me I love you, I love you, I love you.

Until our next camping trip..
Yasmin x

Looking back at 2015

My 2015 wasn’t filled with too much travelling, in fact the travelling I done was very few and far between but I made of it what I could. 

I visited 2 places within Europe I had always wanted to: Berlin, Germany and Amsterdam, Netherlands; along with camping in Scotland and a booze filled weekend in Newcastle I did have a great 2015.
 

Brandenburg gate, Berlin and scenic canal views just outside the red light district in Amsterdam

 

I visited Berlin in March (we went to see Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds) but I also got to spend my 22nd there, which turned out to be not too great of an experience so we’ll forget about that for now.. I feel like I didn’t properly get to enjoy Berlin and would love to go back (although the fine I got on the train might stop that). 
 

Amsterdam was great. It was one of the most relaxing times away I’ve ever had (and I don’t think that was just because of the weed)! Amsterdam wasn’t what I had expected of it, in a good way. I think we all assumed it would be a rather seedy place especially along the red light district but even that wasn’t what we expected. 

 

The Angel Of The North

 
Ah Newcastle! Venturing across the border into England we found ourselves in Newcastle for a weekend. Apart from the Angel of the North I don’t think we seen much more than the inside of a club, a booze filled glass and much more of each other than we originally wanted to (that’s a story for another time). Newcastle definitely became a favourite of mine very quickly.

   
   
Truthfully though, no matter how much I love getting on a plane and seeing the world. Sometimes it’s the places closest to home that are the best.

For me this includes a weekend camping with my best friends up Inverbeg. What more could we want than to pitch our tents beside the shores of Loch Lomand, make a fire pit and have a weekend full of laughter and fun (plus more alcohol than you should consume in your life).
Sometimes it’s the simple trips not far from home that can be the best.

I’m hoping my 2016 is filled with so many more adventures (I already know it will be), both with friends and by myself. I can’t wait to see what this year holds for me!

Yasmin x

Cycle Scotland

 

Scotland flag in front of beautiful Scottish scenery.

Today my morning and afternoon were spent with one of my best friends travelling along the Forth and Clyde Canal, Scotland. This is a canal that was opened in 1790 and runs 35 miles from the River Carron, Grangemouth to the River Clyde, Bowling.

My friend and I obviously only cycled a small part of this (something I used to do a lot when I was younger and honestly I forgot just how lovely a route it is). We cycled from our houses in Glasgow along the canal towards Bowling Basin Sea Lock. What an effort it was! For two 22 year olds that haven’t cycled since we were both very young, probably about 10 years, I think we were slightly too ambitious. A 50 minute cycle from our house seems like nothing, but add the same back when your bum is killing you and your thighs have been burning since the first 2 minutes on the bike; I definitely think we should have been a little less ambitious.

This is exactly what I love about Glasgow, within a half an hour cycle you’re out of the hustle and bustle of the city; surrounded by water and hills (which today looked beautiful with a slight layer of white covering mostly all of them). Scotland is such a beautiful, picturesque country.

 

 

 

 

It’s always so lovely getting out of the city and up towards the part of Scotland I love most. We didn’t have the best of days for it, it was dry – at first, but that’s about it. It was cold and grey to start with and after we got to Bowling Basin Sea Lock, had our little packed lunches (we’re so cute) and started to head home it wasn’t long until the rain started. With just little outbursts of spitting rain it was tollerable, but it certainly did make it colder and the wind definitely did not help (I was basically crying the whole way because of the wind). 

 

Rain or shine, it is a route I would suggest if you are keen to get on a bike and see somewhere just outside the outskirts of city life, this is for you.

 

Yasmin x

Travel Goals

When it comes to new year I’m not really a fan of resolutions, mainly because half way through the year I find I’ve given up. This year I’m not making resolutions as such, I’ve decided on a few goals which don’t necessarily last the year. Of these goals a few are travel related and that’s why I’m sharing them with you all.

Goals:

• Go on at least one weekend away myself.

I’ve decided I will find the money and time. Just to take five minutes rest from my life and the hassle of everything and go on an adventure. Nothing is set in stone but I’m hoping to at least try and visit Barcelona and Paris (mainly because they’re super close to the UK and I know there would be loads for me to do).

• Go on a trip with my friends.

So obviously not including my American road trip with my friends, as that’s completely set in stone and 100% happening (plus not all my friends are going). I’m hoping we all have another weekend away together somewhere else in Europe, last year we had Amsterdam I wonder where we will find ourselves this year? 

Amsterdam

• See more of Scotland.

I love my country so much and I love exploring it, going to places I’ve never been before but it’s something I feel I don’t do enough of. Hopefully this year that changes. Whether I jump on a bus (driving is out the window as I share a car with my mum and we’ve had a bit of a falling out unfortunately) and even just explore a part of Glasgow I’ve never seen before. Or get the train through to Edinburgh for a bit of exploring in our capital, or venturing further out to places which are unknown to me, any will make me happy. 
  

Driving to the Cairngorms in Scotland

Anyway, those are my travel plans for 2016 so far. Do you have any plans? Let me know.

Yasmin x