My brothers Kyle (21) and Ryan (20) visited me for about a week! They stayed with me in my student house in Brighton and let me be their tour guide most days, but made their own way on days I had to work.
Monday, 21 May: After work and a bit of last minute cleaning, I met my brothers at a train station near my house after they travelled on the red eye flight from home. To keep them awake so they wouldn’t be jet lagged, we did a few things in Brighton: i360 and the pier. After a little while, they were knackered, so I let them sleep.
Tuesday, 22 May: The next day, the three of us headed to London for a full day. We hit Buckingham Palace, Sky Garden (which was so worth the wait after months of trying to get tickets), Camden market, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and Picadilly Circus. We then went to the critically acclaimed Dishoom before seeing Les Miserables, both of which were my favorite part of the day!
Wednesday, 23 May: The day after, they went to Bath without me and had a nice time.
Thursday, 24 May: We went to Seven Sisters, a local country park. It was amazing… until we got rained on. But it was still beautiful! They went to see the new Star Wars movie while I worked and Diego and I met them at one of my new favorite pubs: World’s End. Kyle and Ryan did virtual reality simulator and the lot of us raced mini cars and played Monopoly. I could spend ages in there as long as I have a drink in my hand!
Friday, 25 May: The boys went back to London to do Tower of London, London Eye and Tower Bridge.
Saturday, 26 May: The next morning, they got a tour of my university (Sussex) campus. They headed to explore more of Brighton, including the marina, while I worked and we met up (with Diego) in town later for dinner and to go to the pub to watch the Champion’s League game. It was an exciting game… I mean, for football. I just can’t seem to get into it but I’m glad Diego is so happy Madrid won.
Sunday, 27 May: The next day, we set off for Edinburgh… but not before one more half day in London on our way there. We had lunch in Convent Garden, walked the Millennium Bridge and strolled through Hyde Park before catching a train to Edinburgh, arriving late. We stayed at Kick Ass Hostels, which is one of my all-time favorites, I can’t recommend it enough.
Monday, 28 May: The next morning we took a guided walking tour led by the exceptional Greg. I remember some bits and pieces from my trip to Edinburgh two years ago, but there’s always more to learn in a country with such a rich and interesting history. After the tour, we visited Calton Hill and then hopped on another walking tour of the “dark side” of Edinburgh with two other Americans we met at the hostel: Matt and Bill.
Tuesday, 29 May: We departed early for a day tour of the highlands and Loch Ness. Both ways, we stopped at various scenic spots including Glencoe. Once we arrived in Loch Ness, we took a short boat tour, highlighting the geography and biology of the lake as well as the mysterious Nessie. Personally, I’m not convinced there is still currently a monster in the lake, but I suppose anything is possible. Also, we were lucky enough to be blessed with amazing weather throughout the trip!
This morning, we took a train from Edinburgh to London, where Kyle and Ryan went on their way to Heathrow and I went back to Brighton. It was great to see them again and I hope they had fun with everything we did!
