I feel quite low and sad and I honestly think it’s just because I’m tired.
I’ve gone from literally having nothing in my life to being busier than a busy thing.
I don’t want anyone to think I’m complaining, I’m just trying to adjust to my new lifestyle.
I couldn’t face the blog last night at all.
I want to say here that I’m so happy with what’s happening with Her Travel Circle. I know I made myself busy but I also know that it’s all worth every minute.
I also said I’d always be honest on here and I know I need to take some time just to be.
Not to be sitting on my phone.
Just to relax.
That said, I ran this morning with the girls.
I was going to cancel but I knew I’d feel better after it and I did….. until just after lunch where I hit a wall again 😆😆
Anyway I’m fine. I just need to sleep.
Sorry for the moan.
I’ve got crochet tonight, hope the girls are ready for this little ray of sunshine 😆😘🫣
It came round so quickly. Time flies when you’re having fun.
We had a later night last night so stayed in the hotel until just before checkout . Our flight in any until 9pm.
We headed out looking for a Czech cafe for breakfast. The one we were looking for was closed, as it’s Sunday, so we wandered aimlessly and stumbled on the cutest place.
Baguettes and cakes and coffee… perfect. It was such a lovely place too.
Back out for a wander around.
And we find ourselves back at the river, there are so many birds which are great at dive bombing the photos!
Looking back down to the Charles Bridge, of course I made Craig walk all down that left hand river back so we could cross the bridge one last time!! 🫣😆
There were 3 of these…. I’ve called it “does my bum look big in this…. yes” 😆😆 there were 3 of them. I’ve looked it up and they are a sculpture by David Černý in Kampa Park. They have very ugly faces (hence I never took a photo!) which I’ve now read are barcodes, representing the dehumanisation of society. Hmmmm I think it hit the mark know that I know.
Back up on the Charles Bridge!
The artwork and graffiti under one of the arches.
It’s about -3°C today but still very dry which we’re so grateful for.
We watered passed Švejkova Kavárna and stopped in for lunch. I had goulash soup and Craig had fish and chips, which turned out to be crisps. That with 2 x Coke Zero turned into £35!
We’ve not found the food and drink to be cheap here. Everything in the city centre is pretty expensive and even without us having. 3 course meals. Today’s restaurants were off the beaten track and still expensive.
We are now sitting in The Brit Bar while Craig watches the Rangers game.
I was planning to go off out exploring but actually I’m enjoying sitting writing this and I’m going to make some reels.
We’ve had a lovely weekend.
We’ve walked a lot and we’d normally be getting in a wee nap about now 😆😆 I sound about 102!!! 🫣😆
Prague is such a beautiful city.
I highly recommend a trip here!
I’m going out this out early as I have my back to the football 😆😆😆
We land at 10.15 tonight and I’m back to work first thing!
We were up and out by 7.30am this morning. Check us!!!
The streets were quite empty and I wanted to see Charles Bridge without the crowds.
The faithful few waiting on the 8am astronomical clock to do its thing!
We did a lot of filming on Charles Bridge and I’ve not had time to look through it all yet.
We ended up in a Starbucks for breakfast this morning as it was the first place we could find open. Soooooo much nicer than ours in Scotland.
We headed up the hill to Prague Castle. This is the Saint Vitus Cathedral.
It’s stunning inside but once again I am left feeling sad about the level of decadence versus the amount of beggars in the street.
I mean how much did all this cost to build?!? we are lucky to be able to visit them but every cathedral and massive church is full of silver and gold and yet there is still so much poverty in the world. Anyway,,.. those are just my feels.
The door is just “too wee” for Craig.
Craig pointing out “another church”.
The Basilica.
I felt at peace inside here. No decency or opulence, or nowhere near as much.
We then went into Golden Lane. This is a stunning wee street. This was built in the 16th century to house castle guards and then become home to goldsmiths that lived there in 16th century. If was painted in bright colours in the 1950’s.
There is a massive collection of armour, weapons and torture implements!
The view from the castle.
Back down to the river and we took a Prague Boats 50 minute boat trip with came free with our hotel!
Here are Justin Beaver (not beaver) and his mate from yesterday!
I recorded lots of footage but was charging the phone at the same time so the sound didn’t record 🫣
This is a giant metronome on the hill, see the red pendulum arm. This replaced a huge Stalin statue. It’s a huge functioning metronome.
This is a hydro power station … a very powerful one.
The cathedral and castle on the hill.
We sat outside on the boat tour. We were absolutely frozen by the time we got off and really needed to heat up. It was so lovely to be outside but it chilled us to the bone.
We headed back to Husinec restaurant for a late lunch. I had grilled cheese and potatoes again and Craig had wings.
We then climbed the 3 huge flights back to the room and had a 3 hour nap!!!!
It was so good.
We booked dinner back in Vytopna the train restaurant for 8.30 as we’d loved it so much the other day and it’s local.
Can’t believe it’s our last night already. It’s flown by!!
So we had a lazy morning and headed out for breakfast about 9.30am.
We went to Paul for breakfast. I had the most amazing pistachio cream croissant and oat milk latte.
We set off for the Prague Castle only to realise the 50% discount card was back in the room, miles away…… we were both a bit gutted. What to do?!?!?
We decided on a day in the old town instead.
The weather isn’t what I usually like but it was dry all day and so atmospheric. I love this next shot.
First view of the famous Charles Bridge.
I could see lots of people down on the banks do the Vltava River…. Taking photos of the bridge, so we headed there.
Which is where we met this wee guy!!!
I felt truly blessed…. My first encounter with a beaver…. Or so I thought…. But check the tail 😱😱😱
This is a Nutria. Closer to a swamp rat than beaver.
I did not know that….. not at this time….. 🫣
And off he goes, I’m so grateful he didn’t bite me!!! Turns out they can be quite aggressive and are laden with disease….
He had big orange/yellow teeth…… 😱😱
I actually thought we missed the castle today deliberately so I could have this special moment 🫣😆😆😆😆 I literally missed the castle to be accosted by a hungry swamp rat!!!
We made our way to the John Lennon freedom wall. This has been graffiti for 45 years and is just written over and over again.
We’re now at the Charles Bridge. I’m still almost in emotional “wow” tears at my “beaver encounter” oh how we laughed once I learned the truth!
Rubbing the wee dog for good luck!
This shows the water level marking from when the river had flood. The one at the top was 2002!!!
It was devastating for Prague.
We walked into the square with 5 minutes to go until the astronomical clock struck 12. We were so lucky!!!! A synchronicity. It puts on a lovely wee show.
There were so many people waiting for it. They all disperse the minute it’s over.
2.30am I woke up….. Craig had a long lie until 2.45am. 😆
The trip to Glasgow was seamless and the flight took off bang on time.
My anxiety actually flared before take off and I ended up taking some anti anxiety meds that the doc had prescribed. I just took one and it calmed my racing heart. I was starting to panic about having a solo female traveller business and being too nervous to travel and how would that work.
Ridiculous I know but anxiety can hit when I feel out of control. I’ll always share that.
Cue a huge snow storm in Prague and we had to circle for a half hour before the runway was cleared to land. It’s snowed on and off all day.
We got an Uber to our hotel for £17. A bit decadent maybe but we were shattered. It was a 40 minute journey so a good price for that.
We’re staying at the Wenceslas Square Hotel.
It’s not on Wenceslas Sqaure and our room is on the 3rd floor of a listed building with no lift!!! We’re getting a workout but that’s half the fun.
We left our bags and took their recommendation for lunch….Husinec Restaurace… it was so lovely. The food looks so different to what we would eat at home, quite basic but lovely.
I had grilled cheese and it was amazing.
Then we went for a wander… headed for the old town square.
I really like this photo of us.
And then we headed back and had a 2 hour nap!
This is the view from the rooftop bar in our hotel.
Then we set off out for a drink, alcohol free for me of course.
A huge train set brings the beers and the food around the restaurant!
We only had some chips as lunch had been so huge. More out of greed than anything else. It’s such a cool place to visit. It did cost us just under £50 so not that cheap but very cool and not to be missed!
And a sparkly wander back to the hotel.
Turns out Good King Wenceslas wasn’t actually that good but his brother was so bad that it made Wenceslas look good! His brother killed him!! Who knew.
So off out exploring tomorrow. It’s nowhere near as cold this weekend, as was fprecast, so we’re not gonna be cold! We packed for -10°C!
Another very successful day, this time with a trip across to Edinburgh.
Edinburgh is about and hours drive from my home in Ayrshire. We parked at Hermiston Gait and got the tram into the centre of Edinburgh.
It was so lovely to see Kendall so happy about being in Edinburgh. It makes these kind of trips so worthwhile to see the raw emotion of someone seeing Edinburgh for the first time and I completely understand it. It still takes my breath away.
Despite the dreadful weather at home when we left, we had a completely dry day in Edinburgh.
We got off the tram at the bottom of the Mound and walked through Princes Street Gardens to the Walter Scott monument.
We then walked across Waverley Bridge and went down into Waverley train station to have a look at where the Avengers movie was filmed (Craig sent us there!)
This is the M&S store in Waverly… I thought this was so cool. Even their carrier bags are Scottish! 🏴
We then walked up Cockburn Street and may have popped into a vintage shop!
This says Craig is close but I thought we left him at home.
Past another Avengers filming location!
Then up onto the Royal Mile.
We walked down as far as John Knox’s house
Took this hits for Gayle at the little gift shop!
The Tron Kirk now has a lovely market inside it. It was just stunning.
This is the Heart of Midlothian. My home county.
The Mercat Cross and St Giles Cathedral. It was amazing to see Queen Elizabeth II’s death announced from the Mercat Cross just like the olden days.
The City Chambers.
Finally all the way up towards Edinburgh Castle.
We then walked down into the Grassmarket and up through Victoria Street.
When I lived in Edinburgh, Victoria Street was just a street….. now it’s an internet sensation. It’s strange for me to see people queuing to get into shops that have gone viral on the internet!
We went to the Wall in Cockburn Street for lunch.
Arty shot as there was a big mirror on the wall.
Back down to Princes Street.
We then drove to South Queensferry to the Forth Bridges. SQ is a gorgeous little old town.
The Forth Rail Bridge.
The two Forth Road Bridges.
We only got a bit of rain towards the end of our trip.
So what can I say? We have honestly had the best weekend. Kendall is such a lovely girl who has been so super appreciative of everything we have done when she’s here.
She’s fitted into our house so easily. It’s lovely to watch Craig chatting away to her. This Her Travel Circle thing is very good for Craig and I. It makes me so proud of us, so proud of our gorgeous pups and so proud of our home.
It also shows me how little I actually know about history of my country!! So many questions I don’t know the answer to!!!
Spending time with Kendall has been so good for me. She’s helped so much social media, advice, and support. What started as a host and traveller has become friends for life.
I’ll tell you a bit more about her business.
Kendall plans and books travel worldwide from rail journeys across Europe/UK to once in a lifetime trips like Antarctica. She especially loves crafting unforgettable adventures throughout Asia. If you’re looking for a concierge style travel experience with hands on support before, during, and after your trip, you can find her (and real client reviews) on Instagram and Facebook.
I highly recommend her dedication to her job. She’s been so passionate about it and Her Travel Circle and I can’t thank her enough.
My first hosting was a massive success.
Also thanks to Craig for a full Burns Supper tonight, Haggis, Neeps and tatties with Irn Bru AND chocolate haggis!! You don’t need to try it… it’s like deconstructed brownie that gets stuck in your mouth!!!
After lengthy discussion we decided last night to shorten our day trip today.
We decided to leave the house at 8:30 am and head straight up to Glencoe and drive back down. It’s still a six hour round-trip!
The weather was really kind to us. It wasn’t sunny but there were beautiful cloud formations and the sky was incredibly dramatic. It was misty at times which only added to the mood.
I’m usually devastated when Scotland doesn’t have blue sky but this was really lovely.
Spending time with Kendall is really good for me. She’s helping me out with social media and she’s encouraging me to be even more positive about life.
Our first stop was just past Cameron House on Loch Lomond.
Our second stop was Firkin Point on Loch Lomond.
No announcement needed!!
On our way up across Rannoch Moor the clouds were so dramatic. It was bitterly cold but stunning.
These iconic cottages are just at the foot of Glencoe ski centre. I’ve mever stopped here before!
And then finally, the stunning Glencoe. It takes my breath away every time.
There was not as much snow as I thought there might be. It was bitterly cold up there and we did some videos and ended up in hysterics because we were so cold we could hardly move her hands.
Then we drove down to the Three Sisters car park.
And then onto the next iconic Glencoe house!
Looking up to Aomach Ridge.
My hair showing just how windy it was!!
Then on to the famous Clachaig Inn for lunch.
We had soup and sandwiches which were so good but so filling I needed a nap!!
Finally on down to Ballachulish before we do a u turn and headed back.
Loch Lomond had some swell on the way back. It was pretty windy down on the water.
I got a lovely print for my Her Travel Circle bedroom from the Luss General Store.
I’d love for the travellers who stay with me to wake up and read this every morning!!
We’ve had a lovely day. Kendall is great company. She’s got such a great outlook on life, she’s done so much already and been to so many wonderful places in the world.
I really hope if you consider booking any luxury rail trips that you would give her a shout. This is her blog OurTravitude.
Don’t the smiles say it all?!?!?
Edinburgh tomorrow!!
Craig made us a lovely lasagne with added baking and black pudding which we came home to. It was honestly just the best.
If this is my life moving forward then I need to schedule in some more rest but I love it!!!
We’ve had a lovely relaxed day spent at home today.
I’m not gonna lie, I felt really exhausted this morning and once again my head was buzzing with noise.
The noise has been so loud for days. I’m not sleeping past 4am or 5am just now.
I have a lot going on and my mind is buzzing. I’m so overwhelmed thinking of getting the house ready, what my social media posts need to be, what videos I need to capture that I’d built it up into this huge noise.
We had a lovely breakfast as Kendall had brought homemade soda bread.
We then took the dogs for a walk up the hill and I jumped in the shower when I got back, as I had Reiki at 11.30am.
I so badly needed it. I had tears in my eyes when I went in to the Healing Hut.
It’s been a long time since I felt this overwhelmed, this busy, this out of alignment.
As soon as the session was over I felt so much better. The noise had gone. Completely gone.
We are coming towards the end of the year of the snake and we are shedding our skin heading for the year of the horse. We are affected by the solar energy and I’ve been wiped out but almost electrified.
This was the random card I chose at the end of the session.
Wow.
I felt like a different person heading home and Kendall had done a wonderful talking head reel for social media about Her Travel Circle. I only had to share it. it was wonderful!
We went to Mocha Jaks for lunch.
We spent the afternoon, in the house, working on promotional videos.
Now life is a funny thing. Kendall has her own amazing business but never puts her face in front of the camera…. And yet she is a natural. Getting her on camera today has been amazing. I’m so proud of her for working through her cringe…. As Donna Ashworth would say.
She interviewed me.
And we did some social media posts.
It was so much fun to work with her.
We then had cuddles with the pups and worked on our posts.
It’s honestly been such a lovely day. She’s so easy to talk to and we have so many life similarities except for the fact that she is 16 years my junior 🫣
We went to the Tawny for fish and chips tonight and told them it was Kendall’s first ever chippy!!
She looks tiny in this pic, I’m not sure why 🫣😆😆😆
So a very lovely day.
My mind is at peace.
All pressure is off.
I have relaxed again.
Massive road trip tomorrow so might not be a blog!
Kendall is here. She landed in Glasgow at 12pm and found herself a lovely cafe in Paisley, to work in. It’s Noe Coffee I’ll have to try it out!
I picked her up at 6pm, bless her. It was just the way it worked out.
We are talking and talking and talking and planning our few days trips.
Thinking local and Ayrshire tomorrow.
Huge road trip on Saturday…… Loch Lomond, Glencoe, maybe Glenfinnan…. Yes I know, that might be a stretch. Oban, Inverary and home.
Maybe…. I’m tired just writing that down.
On Sunday we will go to Edinburgh.
As part of Her Ttavel Circle, you don’t have to travel together but you know me, I’d never turn down a trip around Scotland!!
She is so lovely. You learn so much about people from other cultures, it’s fascinating to me, to hear about the life she has lived to get to this point. She’s travelled so far already.
Kendall writes a travel blog with her husband, Max Our Travitude and also plans Global Getaways for people, including solo travellers!
We have a lot to talk about!
Yes I look tired. I’m heading to bed now!!
Forgive if there’s not much in the blog the next few days. I say that and there always is but I might need a rest.
She was the cutest puppy and at times can be my nemesis but she’s such a clever girl.
She never leaves your side in the house at all. She’s the guardian.
This sums her up, butter wouldn’t melt. Oh but it does!
This also sums her up!!
She’s her daddy’s girl!
She used to sit with me like this when I was off sick…. She might be a maniac at times but she’s very empathetic!
Anyway. I’m still shattered, I woke at 4.30am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I ran with Lynsey but I was tired with heavy legs. I’m still really glad I did it.
I’ve been cleaning since I got home, the bedroom is all ready for my first real Her Travel Circle visitor coming to stay tomorrow!!
Exciting times!
The sink is back where it should be in the bathroom thanks to Graham from my work.
I’m planning on hoovering and mopping the floors before bed tonight.
I know I’m overdoing it. I know it doesn’t need done but I want to.
I’m running on fumes just now but I think everyone is feeling the same.
I’m looking forward to a bit of tour guiding at the weekend!
I slept like a log, all night and woke with the alarm.
I need more!!
There is a lot going on.
None of it is bad. It’s just a lot.
My social media posts have been bombing recently and it’s a lot of effort to put in for nothing.
As soon as I wrote that, my head said it’s not all for nothing, darling. My inner voice was actually kind to me just then.
Check me. 😆
I forgot to tell you about my trip to Asda last nights don’t the lesson learned.
Do not walk out of Asda with your paid for shopping, still in a basket.
You can push it out in a trolley.
You can take it out in shopping bags.
You can take it out in your arms.
Public service announcement…
You cannot take it out in a basket.
Who knew.
The security lady ran after me.
I told her a funny story about how I’d found something in my basket after I’d paid for my shopping and had to put it through separately.
Not such a funny story to her.
I was walking out with a basket.
She asked to see the receipt.
I stuffed them into her hand balancing everything she’d made me remove from the basket…..
“And now can I see the receipt for all your other items” she says.
“I gave you it already”….
Only once it was all checked line by line, was I let off the hook. There must be a better word than that… but you catch the drift.
I left feeling like a naughty child.
Won’t be doing that again. 😆
So yeah…. We have Graham from my work in tonight, to fix the bathroom sink, which has been leaking for a while and I think I’ll have dinner and maybe have an early night.
It’s been quite a nice day today. Chilly but sunny.
It was starting to get light as I drove to work which was very lovely.
There was lovely sky this morning about 8.10am. It must much redder to the naked eye.
The day passed really quickly…. I don’t remember much of it! The phone rang a lot this afternoon and we had customers in.
I hoovered and washed the car before I left so I’m praying there’s no overnight frost as my car will be frozen solid!!!
It feels so good to get it cleaned.
I then went to get a single duvet cover, fitted sheet, and mattress protector for our spare bed. The room has a single that folds out to a double but you get so much more space if you leave it as a single bed.
That’s my plan for my Her Travel Circle visitor this week.
Craig has made great progress painting!
It’s completely transformed our stairs.
I loved the dark graphite walls but they grown heavy after a while. The cream is so bright. I feel happy and dazzled as I walk up and down the stairs! I love it!!
In other news, Fiona Gas’s is the lady I last visited for Kinesiology. She messaged last night to say she has written a book Self Love Soul-ution
I’m sure it will be a great read!!
I’m just waiting on the new duvet cover washing to finish…. And then I’ll hang it and off to bed!
I’ve not left the house and am still in my jammies and I can’t think where the day has gone.
Of course I’ve done lots.
I’ve brought wood up from the bottom of the garden to fill our wood store in the sunroom.
I put washings on and put washing away…. Oh…. Clean bed for tonight!
I watched Her Travel Circle community chat start to buzz with chat!! It as so lovely to watch the women introducing themselves to each other. Some women who’ve been recently widowed arranging to meet up. A lovely space in Lisbon was listed today!!
It’s all so exciting but it is very time consuming. I’m not complaining at all but I need to try and find some balance where I’m not looking at my phone, she says typing her blog…. 😆😘
Then I did some HTC social media posts.
I spent a lot of the day stressing that I should be doing more.
I looked at single duvet covers for my HTC guest arriving this week.
Craig has actually decorated the stairs and back hallway!
I felt awful that I wasn’t helping but honestly, there was no way I had decorating in my tank this weekend. No way.
I finally made peace with the fact that I needed to sit.
I caught up with Donna Ashworth’s journal and other self help tools.
I took a deep breath.
I’m actually shattered and could sleep right now. That’s all it is.
We ran at 7.30am this morning and it was almost light by the time we finished.
It was a hard run today. I loved it but I had heavy legs and I’ve been so stiff all day!
I took the dogs straight out in my sweaty running gear.
They were good girls!
This was sunrise…. The sun tried on a dark and dingy morning!
They were all shattered when we got back.
I spent the rest of the morning scrubbing the house! I’ve cleaned kitchen cupboards, de-greased the kitchen extractor fan, hoovered and cleaned!
I then sat down and spent all afternoon on Her Travel Circle.
We now have 134 members and 23 hosts.
It’s so exciting to see people joining from all over Europe at the moment!! Hopefully that spreads further too.
We have members from Spain, Norway, Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Ireland. England, Scotland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Iceland, Germany. Switzerland, Jersey, Portugal, I think that’s everyone at the moment.
Very exciting times.
And flip flops weather is coming soon.
I’m doing ok, I’m a flat just now despite all the excitement. I’m tired. I’m eating too much junk. I know that’s not the end of the world.
Here’s to 2026 being all about travel and a lot less housework!
Today I was tackling parts of our house that I feel like I’ve cleaned about 3 times in 10 years…. The small bathroom that we use as a storage cupboard with a loo!
Look at the dirt at the top of these tiles.
The room has been gutted and frees it up as a usable bathroom for next week’s Her Travel Circle visit!!!
I used to be so house proud but then I had 3 dogs then 4 dogs and then back to 3 dogs. It’s so impossible to keep clean especially in the winter.
I think I adopt the opposite approach and clean none of it as I know it will just get dirty again.
That’s unfair as I do housework when I need to but not when I don’t.
It took me over 3 hours to do the wee bathroom, main bathroom and half of the spare room but I’ve made a big dent in it.
I took hoddit, doddit and ploddit for a walk in the rain.
Then back to work on Her Travel Circle.
We have a new home coming in Lisbon which I’m very excited about!!!
I’m off out to an empowerment workshop tonight so will see what I learn from that. It’s run by the lovely Fiona who does Reiki and Gayle and Lynsey have both done it before.
The Rambling Sloth 🦥 