christinewesten

I stayed at the Hub by Premier Inn near Haymarket Station. I chose this hotel due to the inexpensive price and mostly good reviews. It also seemed to be close enough to everything I wanted to see. I did know ahead of time the rooms were compact and my room may not have a window. Fortunately I did have a window and everything I needed in a room. For one person, this room was plenty. I had a double bed and a bathroom which included a large shower. Due to the size of the room the tea/coffee facilities were in the lobby, accessible 24/7. I am not sure if there were larger rooms if traveling as a couple. I would think the room too small for two people plus luggage, but if you don’t mind close ... read more

Started the day off with a hearty breakfast and then headed for the train station. Today’s destinations, Stirling and Linlithgow. The trains here are super easy to navigate. You can buy a ticket through the app, using one of the machines in the stations or by visiting one of the helpful information folks. I went the in-person route as I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing. Tickets can be one way or return and allow you to get on and off at any station in between the origin and destination. The ticket can also be used at any time during the day, which is super helpful when you do not know your return time! The trip from Haymarket to Stirling is about 50 minutes and the train I took made a few ... read more

Crossing another country off my bucket list! Technically I have been to the UK before when I was one and a half but I have never been to Scotland. Castle ruins, abbey ruins, amazing scenery and the Scottish accent are the reasons I have long wanted to visit. SAS had a great sale where I was actually able to fly into Edinburgh for not a lot of money. I booked the flight back in August and finally the day arrived to leave! Original flight plan was O'Hare to Stockholm, 11 hour layover which would allow me to get out and explore a little bit and then on to Edinburgh. However SAS changed the itinerary and here is how my travel day went. I worked until 2, did some last minute stuff at the house and then ... read more

For my last full day in Merida I wanted to do some shopping to pick up souvenirs for people, sit in a park and not really do anything else specific. It was a really warm, sunny day and also ended up being the one we did the most walking. The first walk was to breakfast that I thought was good. I had fried eggs on rice with avocado and fried plantains and fresh orange juice. Once we were done eating we walked to the main square and went in the Museo Casa Montejo. This front of this building is the oldest house in Merida. Inside is a free museum offering decorated rooms in the home as well as revolving exhibitions. Climbing to the second floor gives you a nice view out onto the square. From here ... read more

This morning we had another early start breakfast of Cheerios. Our destination for the day was the Hacienda Mucuyche. This is one of many haciendas that were built during the henequen boom of the late 1880s to the 1920s. Henequen is a member of the agave family and the fibers are super strong. It was used to make ropes and bags to store grain as well as hats, handbags and more. The invention of nylon saw the end of the wealth for henequen plantations as nylon was cheaper and easier to produce. Today henequen is still used for hats and bags available for sale in many of the local markets. The other attraction here is the two cenotes, Carlota and Mayan Blue. Mucuyche has been left in its abandoned state and is hauntingly beautiful. The front ... read more