Calton Hill │ Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh has many amazing sights, but my absolute favorite place was Calton Hill. When I first read about Calton Hill, I thought it would be far away from the city and a lengthy hike. I was completely wrong. It's only a 15 minute walk from the city. The views are absolutely breathtaking. On one side is the city and on the other is Arthur's Seat. We weren't able to hike up Arthur's Seat and it was our biggest regret. The chance to say we visited Camelot passed us by, but there's always next time!

There are some really wonderful monuments and lots of places to relax on Calton Hill. If we had more time, I'm sure we would've packed a lunch and spent hours lazing about. That's one thing that Florida lacks. The weather is always so hot and humid that it's hard to go out and have a picnic. It's possible, but if you want to be comfortable you can only do it for a short time. In Edinburgh, the weather was perfect. I hear such horrible things about the weather, but while we were there it only rained one night and every other day it was beautiful. It was cool and sunny and perfect for exploring. 

UK Tour 2012

Map image: mellowmint

Recently, Markus and I came back from a whirlwind trip through England and Scotland. It was a dream come true and I was finally able to experience Britain like a native. 

The first stop on our itinerary was Edinburgh in Scotland. I was completely blown away. When Markus and I went to London for our second honeymoon in 2006, I never thought I would love a city more. I was completely wrong. I've fallen in love with almost every city we've visited, but Edinburgh quickly became my favorite city in the UK. 

Edinburgh was not only beautiful but there was so much to do. We were only there for three days, so we didn't get to explore as much as I wanted, but it was enough to leave me wanting more. Markus and I are already planning to go back one day and spend our entire time in Scotland. 

After Scotland, we spent the rest of the trip traipsing about various cities in England. It was exciting to see other cities in England. Our friends, Ari and James, were very adamant about showing us the "real" England. They said that many people rarely venture away from Southern England much less London. They think that London is England, but there is so much more. It's like saying New York City is America, when we all know that every state is unique.

We went to Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Oxford, Lake District, Peak District and of course, London. After seeing other cities in England and then going back to London, I have to admit that I was a bit underwhelmed. London was the first international city I visited and I think I had a romantic view of that experience. Don't get me wrong, I still love it. It's an amazing place and if I could afford it, I would love to live there. Although, it's no longer my first choice. 

This trip to the UK was an eye opener. It showed me that even though you think you know a place, it can still surprise you. This is why I love about traveling. Cities are always changing and evolving. You can visit a place one year and then when you visit again, it's completely different. I love being surprised. You always think you know what you love, but there are other places and things that you didn't even know existed and you never knew a piece of you was missing until you go there.

Time to move on: moving from Tumblr to Blogger

Thanks for the memories Tumblr, 2010-2012

For the past two years, I've been actively blogging on Tumblr. While it's been quite good to me, I've begun to feel the limitations. I think that Tumblr is a great blogging website, but for a specific audience. I do feel that it can be limited in terms of blog design. I'm not keen on feeling like there are restraints on the look of my blog. I want to be able to spread out a bit more. 

I want to be able to write long blog posts and not be overlooked. I know that a lot of my followers read my longer posts, but I feel that the Tumblr crowd tends to lean more toward the visual. I am neither a photographer nor an illustrator, so I always felt a little lost in the mix.

I enjoy posting about all sorts of things. I like to write posts that are closer to articles. I love that Blogger is customizable and I can make it look exactly how I want and not have limitations. I'm free to do anything I want. I enjoy the freedom that Blogger provides. The possibilities are literally endless. So, I felt like it was time to move on to a platform that suited all my blogging needs. 

Now that I've switched over to Blogger, I'm excited to explore all the possibilities that I didn't have before. I've already spent heaps of time watching tutorials, re-learning Photoshop and HTML and creating this new version of Ganda-Ganda. Feel free to look around and see all the changes that I've made.  Also, I hope you join me on this new blogging adventure!

Thank you dear readers for sticking with me so far. I don't feel like I could do this if it weren't for you and I appreciate you so much. xoxo