Happy Scotland Bank Holiday Weekend!

Here we are in Balloch yesterday.
A quick 40 minute train ride from our place.  You get off the train and volia!
We went on a boat cruise up Loch Lomand (FYI.. a Loch is a lake).  Loch Lomand is over 600 feet deep surrounded by mountains. Then we went for a hike around the Loch.  The northernmost point of Lock Lomand is also called the gateway to the Highlands.  We were prepared and packed lunch for the day so we stopped and rested when we needed to. So nice to have the countryside so close and accessible.  It was a beautiful day.

We've arrived! Week 3 in Glasgow.

We are on to week 3 in Glasgow however, I wanted to back track and show you some photos of our arrival including a trip to Edinburgh where we met up with my friends from London Claire and Mark.

Goodbye USA.

Hello Scotland!

A nice walk by our new apartment to discover our 'hood'.

Edinburgh Castle is quite a sight to see.

Look phone booths! You're lucky to find these now.

Beautiful clouds in Edinburgh.

We also visited the Museum of Scotland, viewed some 'Bagpipe Rock' and walked around until my feet said 'no'. 

Edinburgh is a 50 minute train ride from Glasgow and our new place is a 3 pound taxi to the train station therefore, no worries at all for another visit.  Glasgow is a great city full of life.  There is high end shopping, excellent transport and friendly people.  So far so good.

Welcome to our new apartment!

Here is our new apartment.  We've settled in very well. We have everything we need and LOVE all the space.

Office / Baby Room

Kitchen featuring... new stove, boiler and dishwasher. Woohoo!

Living Room with working fireplace and pull out sofa so come on over anytime!

Bathroom - behind the photo is a long hallway area featuring a sink
with loads of counterspace (good for washing a dirty baby). :-)

As you can see, we are located in the University of Glasgow district - and our backyard is a beautiful park.

View Larger Map

Go Tricia, it's your birthday!

Hurray! Last Wednesday was my birthday. I was in London for most of the week attending a digital marketing conference which consisted of many panels with professionals from Google, Dell, Facebook, Twitter, Nokia and others..

I stayed with my friend Elena who is pregnant as well.. she is expecting her first baby (a girl!) in early November.  She also clued me into a new policy on the London Underground for preggies to wear a special 'Baby on Board' pin to wear in order to enforce others to give up their seat.  Since, it's pretty obvious she has a baby on board and not so obvious for me, she lent me her pin.

That evening, we (Elena, her husband Alberto, my friends Teresa and Pablo) went out for a lovely dinner at a gastropub.  I walked around the city a bit beforehand with Pablo enjoying the weather and simply being in London (which all of you know, I just adore). In a strange way, it felt really nice to be in a bustling city again - even rush hour was enjoyable (am I crazy?).  Here we are in the famous Trafalgar Square (I must have at least 100 photos of Trafalgar Square but, who cares!?).

We also saw this funny art installation in the Square. It was pretty cool!

Then home to Glasgow. In a phone conversation with my dad, I actually said.. '.. when I go back home to New York'.. he corrected me and I found it pretty funny.  I came home to a surprise Birthday Cake and Balloons with Brent and flowers from my mom and dad. A real party!

Then out to a lovely dinner out with our new Glasgow friends (featuring ANOTHER cake! - which was so nice).

AND.. a real treat, a concert to see Delta Spirit at a music venue around the corner from our place (how cool is that? the little rock-n-roll club is 4 blocks away). It was rockin!  Click here for a video by them live from KEXP radio in Seattle. Highly recommended.  Here are some happy people jamming out.

Sunny Saturday and Farmers Market

It was such a sunny morning today!
I researched that there is a Saturday Farmers Market close to our place and the best part is that you need to simply walk through the park to get there which, today was so enjoyable.

The farmers market was interesting.  There were far more options for buying meat, veal, lamb, eggs, cheese, jams, fish, oysters, honey, wines, than vegetables so I got a good bunch of things (as you can see below - including lamb burgers, raspberries, blueberry juice, leeks, jam, eggs, tomatoes and sausages) and enjoyed a hot chocolate for my walk home.

Week 1 Glasgow completed!

We have arrived!
The first week has been such an experience for us. We directly moved into our lovely new 2 bedroom apartment in an absolutely wonderful area.  Two blocks from the subway, buses, loads of shops, cafes, coffee houses and an amazing PARK!  The weather has been sunny and a little breezy daily but not too much that I haven't been out running in Kelvingrove Park a few times.  Brent is getting adjusted to his new schedule at school which, last week wasn't much of a schedule but was more introductions.  He is hoping to really sink his teeth into things this week.
As for me, I had a promising job interview on Wednesday and am headed to London on Monday to see friends, celebrate my 33rd birthday (Wednesday) and head to a digital marketing conference.  We celebrated our 1st anniversary by taking a wonderful trip up North to the Scottish Highlands which was beautiful, rural and mountainous.  We also have had a local guide, friend of a friend, taking us around town which has been really lovely.
Last but not least, this week marks my 20th week of pregnancy (officially the 1/2 way point).  I have already met with my local doctor (which was simple process.. by the way - liking the NHS so far).  We had a chat about my prenatal care thus far, an examination and she then gave me the choice of which hospital to register to give birth - as there are two in this area.  From here, I wait to receive information on parenting classes, a hospital tour and an examination.  So far so good.  Baby is dancing around quite a bit; especially early in the mornings.  We can more hear it than I can feel it - which sounds like kicking a kickball - an empty 'pop' sound.
I PROMISE to post photos as soon as I can.  The evenings are such an exhausting time but we have loads to show you all.
Tomorrow off to Edinburgh to meet some friends in town from London and a few museums.

Changes pt.2

On the way back to Boston we stopped in Mystic Conn.

Enjoyed the view in Mystic.  Yes... that's me with a baby bump. No hiding now!

We took a couple hours to visit the Mystic Aquarium.  Beluga Whales!

We had a sandwich at a Fish Shack.

Now we're back in Boston enjoying some time in the backyard and getting our final things together before our Iceland Air flight to Glasgow via Iceland tomorrow. Our final days in NYC & Michigan were busy and fun.  Now off to Europe for a new adventure.