A good friend turned 21 last week and to celebrate, she planned a weekend trip to the west coast of Scotland.

 Without too much thought as to where we were going exactly (never mind how to get there), I hoped in the rental car with my newly acquainted German driver - her first time in Scotland - and hit the road. 

A four hour drive isn't that long, nor really that far. I think just the perfect distance.

Silence, clear water, and a big rolling sky. 

Fresh air never felt so fresh... I think, just what is needed to clear the mind and set that ticker back to 0.

It's getting super cold, and to celebrate this, my sister and I decided to have a day out on the coast, complete with ice creams (yolo). 

It's been nearly a couple of weeks since I last updated my posts which is terrible! However I feel I can justify this due to my current back and forth lifestyle + additional dose of freshers flu :(. Having decided to stay in Fife with the parents for term time, (save save save mentality) I am now your regular sofa-surfing train traveling wifi hunter, commuting to Edinburgh whenever I have class, which (typically) now appears to be more or less every day. We'll see how this one pans out... 

In other news, I want to say a massive congrats to Stylonylon on winning the Free People Guest UK Blogger competition! If you haven't already, check out her blog posts on the Free People site here. It was super fun taking part and definitely has inspired me to blog more, and by doing so, learn more. Tonight I'm going to a photography club in Edinburgh to pick up some photo tips and meet some more photo lovers- I'm really excited!! 

I've been so ill with the cold that today was the first time in what feels like agesss that I ventured outside (ahh fresh air). Coughing and wheezing all the way down to the braes in my village I took my camera to try capture a bit of this awesome autumn-y day. Leaves gathering at the curb of the pathway, First Aid Kit on shuffle, trees thinning out to reveal the ice blue water of the Tay behind them.. I'm getting very excited for my favourite season!!!

I met a friend in Edinburgh on my day off this week, and was planning to take a load of pictures of the festival, maybe see a few free shows, but we were chatting for so long that I realised I only had half an hour for my train, so only managed to take a few pics and missed out on seeing any shows. Typical, but ack well there's always next year.. Here is a flash of what it's like

walking up and down the Royal Mile during the festival:

Definitely the best time to visit - <3 the Fringe

It's hard to pick a favourite hot-spot in a city like Edinburgh... there are just too many! Even after three years of living here I'm still discovering cute cafes, amazing vintage stores and cool bars tucked away along its winding cobbled streets. More than anything I love how old this place is. It's SO old (The castle dates back to the 12th century) and I can't help but think it's a bit magical. I hate to admit there really is truth behind the city council's marketing team slogan 'Incredinburgh!' (ughh...).

You just need to take a walk down the Royal Mile to see/hear/taste and really feel the soul of the city. Every few steps you’ll pass a busking musician, street actor, story teller or even Elaine, the world’s most pierced woman! The Edinburgh festival has just begun and the city is swamped with performers from all over the world, there really is no better time to visit than right now in August.

To make it easier to pick my hot spots for Free People, I spent a day in town with my camera; here is where I went and what I did…

Elephant House Café

This is one of my favourite places for coffee in Edinburgh. And I can’t deny that one of the reasons is the fact Harry Potter was pretty much born here (not literally). JK Rowling used to write in this café at the back table, and look at her now! I’m secretly hoping there’s something in the croissants.

The bathrooms are covered in HP themed graffiti, mostly people from all over the world coming to share their appreciation (where would we be without Harry, after all?)

Scottish Modern Art Gallery

After a Latte and a cheeky wee bit of shortbread, I caught a free (!) bus up to the Scottish Modern Art Gallery. It’s really great for a day out as there are two huge galleries to look through (Modern 1 & Modern 2). I especially like the illuminated sign by Martin Creed, hanging at the entrance saying ‘Everything is going to be alright’, it’s just quite nice to know really.

Armstrong's Vintage Emporium 

After the gallery, I went to my favourite vintage store, Armstrong’s. There are three stores around Edinburgh but it’s the Grassmarket one that’s my favourite, just because it’s bigger, so more crazy dresses to browse through. Inside it’s like a massive wardrobe bomb has gone off. Beautiful dresses hang from every spot in the room, and a quirky mix of statues/mannequins and eclectic objects fill any remaining spaces.  Definitely a great place to kill an hour or two.

I could go on and on and on about this town, it really is amazing. Like nowhere else it continues to surprise, inspire and captivate. No matter where I go, I’ll never forget this crazy city…

Get Away Don't Jet Away

   I haven’t written in a while due to the massive amount of course work I’ve had from uni, it’s all been a bit non-stop really. And it hasn’t quite stopped just yet, however I can justify this study break/ blog sesh due to the fact my box of chocolate figures has just ran out.

Apart from constant filmmaking, essay writing and exam revision I somehow managed to squeeze in a visit to the Isle of Mull and Iona with my boyfriend a couple of weeks ago. I guess it was a pretty random destination but I’m so glad we went and to be honest, I was totally amazed at how far away from Edinburgh it felt, when in actual fact we were just a three hour car journey away.

We were there for just two nights, staying in Tobermory (constantly keeping an eye out for any Balamory celebs, sadly saw none), in a really sweet B&B that overlooked the harbour. On our arrival we went to explore the village and got some pub grub. Upon entering the pub a man smashed my drink out of my hand by accident, this was swiftly followed by a large woman face-planting the floor where my drink had been split and an awkward silence fell upon the room, all eyes on me... Charlotte had arrived on the island.

On our second day we decided to go to Iona, looking at the map we worked out it would take us just over an hour to get to Fionnphort by car, little did we know this would in fact take us ALL DAY. The winding roads and constant sheep hold-ups were mostly responsible for our delay, that and the fact David wanted to shoot his home-made bow and arrow at every flat out space of land we passed. We did make it eventually and managed to spend a glorious half an hour on the Isle of Iona, it really was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been; I couldn’t help but keep comparing it to the scenery out of a Studio Ghibli film.

 Still from Spirited Away

Being a life-long veggie, the small amount of sea food restaurants to choose from in Tobermory admittedly filled me with horror (especially because I love food), but bizarrely, I actually managed to have a super delicious meal in Cafe Fish, a fish restaurant (duh). I’ll upload a picture of it soon, basically it was all yummy vegetables on sticks with grilled mozzarella with a lemony coriandery sauce, and omg it was yum. I’m planning on recreating it once I get my exams out the way.

 The next day we drove back to Edinburgh, ‘back to reality’, I was sad to leave. Before we caught the ferry we drove up to an old castle and ran around, David shot more arrows, I sat in the peace and warmth and looked out over the sea, it was so lovely. The drive home I fell asleep most the way and as soon as we arrived back home was hit by a longing to go back. I cannot wait to get my exams out the way so I can plan more short trips, just shows you, living in Scotland isn’t all bad!