Highlands

Mabuhay!

We recently celebrated our first year of marriage and as per tradition, we’ve decided to reward our ‘hard work’ with of course, travel!

The original plan was going to Copenhagen (scored really cheap tickets) but due to unforseeable circumstances a.k.a me losing Gelo’s BRP (UK visa) we just had to ditch the plan and just go local. So for plan B, I let my ever dependable husband (why am I rolling my eyes typing this? Lol) plan the whole trip for a change. He arranged everything – from itinerary to booking the hotel to driving us there.

From Essex, it was more or less 10 hours getting to the Highlands. Since it’s winter season and the sun basically sets at 3pm, we had to leave early to catch at least a bit of light. Out first stop- Hadrian’s Wall.

Technically the wall still lies within England however, having taken our life in the UK exam (had loads of history questions) fairly recently, we understood how it was associated to Scotland and we got curious how it still exists considering the x amount of years it has been there. Honestly though, it’s literally just a wall.

From the wall, we drove for 4-5 more hours passing by the city of Glasgow to get to one of their famous Lochs (Irish, Scotting gaelic term for Lake), Loch Lomond.

This lake is actually one of the largest in the whole Great Britain. During this trip, I have been obsessed with taking pictures by the jetty (dock) and luckily we found this sweet spot. The water was so still and it almost looked like it was an extension of the sky. So serene I love it!

After that long drive, we had an early rest in a small town called Garelochhead and stayed overnight in the Anchor Inn. The next morning (day of our anniversary) we had the chance to enjoy the sunrise over Loch Lomond.

From there, we drove for another 2 hours planning to get to the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct. On our journey I must say we had to stop multiple times (too often that I may have annoyed Gelo a bit haha) especially when we passed by the Glencoe Valley just to appreciate the breathtaking views. If any of you are planning to visit and capable of driving on your own instead taking tours, I strongly recommend you to do so.

From the original plan to get to the duct by 10, we arrived 2 hours late lol. For food, we actually packed Adobo + Rice and just ate at the parking lot (Tipid techniques).

I’m sure any Potterhead would be familiar of this view – The Glenfinnan Viaduct. On arrival, there is an actual visitors area where you can buy souvenirs, food and use the loo. They also have a carpark and charge £3 for the whole day. On the side, they have a trail leading to a viewpoint which is the view you see from the picture above. If you want a better and closer look (which I’m sure you would), from the visitor centre turn right, walk until you see the next entry to your right.

We had to do a bit of hike (around 10-15 minutes) which wasn’t too bad considering you get this view. Thank god it was sunny too!

For our sunset session, it took us another 3 hours to get to our next spot, Eilean Donan Castle. Normally, there is an admission fee of £7.50 but they just finished a wedding event so fortunately the gates were opened to public. As much as seeing the inside of the castle is a treat, I personally preferred this view:

I couldn’t think of a better way to end this special day. Scotland continues to capture our hearts. Super stunning!

On our last full day before heading home, we visited more castles starting with Urquhart which overlooks the ever so famous Loch Ness.

Admission to the castle costs £9 and an hour would probably be enough to see the ruins. The next castle was Dunrobin and it was so dreamy I felt like I was in a Cinderella movie.

They are actually closed for winter but for some reason, they gates to the gardens were open so we just took the opportunity to snap some pictures! Would be a nice setting for pictorials or even weddings.

Overall, I think our anniversary trip is a success. Of course the most important thing is that we spent quality time and just enjoyed hours and hours singing and talking about anything. I also enjoyed the fact that I took a back seat in terms of arranging all details for the trip. Will let him do all the planning the next time we leave for a holiday.

That’s all for now. Taaaaaaa!

PS. Here’s our video!

Acan’t Forget

Throwback Thursday: Fam Bam getaway

Morning after our wedding, we were (sort of) dragged out of our wits to go into a 6-hour roadtrip with the whole family. The thought that we’re all gonna bond is ecstatic but I’m not gonna lie, after all of the stress and exhaustion from planning to preparing to the actual big day, we were kind of in a zombie mode the whole day. But then again, we’ll be leaving again in the next 5 days so every moment counts.6 hours, 5 vehicles and threading through high terrain and one nasty landslide later, we arrived at my brother-in-law’s resort in Dinadiawan, Aurora.Ahhh, finally, the calm after a profoundly busy feat.

I’ve been craving for this kind of serene place for a while so instead of sleeping in the cottage, I decided to sleep outside and bask under the stars. Mama then decided to join and we just talked about random things till dawn… ❤️

Haaaay. I think I’m homesick but what’s not to miss? Also, it was such a pleasure getting to know and spend time with my new family. I am praying we could do this more often. I love you all! ❤️

Lamyerda Diaries

Hinga

Have you ever been overwhelmed with so much you wanted to just escape?

I am quite proud to tell everyone that I’m a tough cookie. Kung maikwekwento ko lang lahat ng mga pinagdaanan namin, pinagdaanan ko sa buhay, mahihiya ang Maalala mo kaya sakin. Char! So whenever something comes in my way, I always think “you’ve been through worst, keri mo to bakla!” and get on with it. Fortunately, nalalagpasan din naman. Pero minsan, I have this feeling na inaasar ako ni Lord. Just when I thought kaya ko na lahat, ayan nanaman siya bibigyan ako ng panibagong unos na may mas bonggang intensity! Iniisip ko nalang, he wouldn’t give me something I couldn’t handle. Keri ko to. Ako pa ba?

Times like these, kelangan huminga. Habit ko when I’m super stressed, either lalamyerda somewhere (depende sa budget lol) or mag aalay lakad lang ako. As in super lakad anywhere, everywhere. While walking, nagiisip, nagrereflect, nag iisip ng strategy, game plan at my best and worst case scenario. After a few hours, okay nako. Renewed person na ulit. This time, yung stress ko brought me (us, rather) to Newcastle. Eh stressed din si friendship, and he needed this as well so dito kame napadpad! Super random! We even left the house so late. The 5-hour drive was also therapeutic, yung nakadungaw ka lang sa bintana, emote emote habang nakaplay yung Never Enough sa background.

After 5 hours, we were lucky to have a bit of sun left so nasulit ang random gala. We were also lucky to be sheltered by old and new friends.

Day 1: Tynemouth Priory & Castle. £5.60 (entrance)

Day 2: Alnwick Gardens (4.60 on winter)

The castle was closed during the winter so sayang and we will most likely come back for that. As for the garden, avail naman siya. We’ve been wanting to visit the poison garden for the longest time so at least na tick na Namin siya sa list.