Where did 2020 go?

Well folks it’s been a long time since my last blog, what can I say life happens. But hey, what a crazy year it has been for this planet! Covid-19 has stolen 2020 from us. It has been hard for everyone and I can’t help but feel a close connection to everybody because we all have something in common, now. There have been many positives and negatives with this predicament, but I am going to skip the negatives as we hear enough of that on the news. During the lock down, one of the wonderful things I noticed was families spending quality time together because they were forced to slow down and offered the opportunity to live in the present. Some who hardly left their house now discovered the great outdoors through shear boredom and spent a lot of time in nature contemplating their lives. Even the environment had time to heal from human activity as people noticed more animals appearing and less air pollution.

​Anyway, as lock down began to ease around August we managed to take a road trip to Scotland, one of my favourite places in the UK. This time we explored more of the west coast. Well what can I say we started our trip with a bang on a zip wire at Laggan outdoor activity centre. The jeep ride that took us to the top of the hill was the cherry on top. Basically, I have never ever experienced such a rough ride in my life. What a blast, but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world despite having acrophobia (just google it 😉). Zipping over fields with my legs wide open and trying hard not to behead the cows below me was a once in a lifetime experience. 

​We stayed at Glasgow then travelled up north to Inveraray Castle where we encountered one of the most majestic places I have ever visited. A sublime place, so serene, where you can easily lose yourself. Our next destination was Fort William where we had a little light lunch. From there we went across to the Isle of Skye hoping to see some fairies, but no luck. We took the ferry to a beautiful fishing village called Mallaig. We watched the glorious sunset from a restaurant next to the sea. The following day we travelled to the famous Glenfinnan viaduct, or for you and me the famous Harry Potter Bridge.

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​What can I say, the midges mistook us for food and attacked us so fiercely that we could not stay there for more than a few minutes.  Our next destination was Inverness, the capital of the Highlands, a quaint city, but unfortunately Nessy did not want to make an appearance.  From there we decided to go to John O’ Groats, just to say we had been there. Finally, we finished our road trip in Edinburgh. This is where I celebrated my birthday in style at Dishoom an Indian restaurant, with my family. A perfect ending to a perfect holiday. 

​So, all in all this trip made my year. I suppose this year has had its ups too, Covid gave us some respite during its takeover of our lives. On the bright side, I have spent a lot of time outside, in the garden, enjoying the beautiful warm weather playing scrabble so much that I was dreaming up words in my sleep.

Take care and stay safe. Much love…
Samira 😊

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