DAY FIVE - EDINBURGH - 9/14/25

Edinburgh welcomed me with her pouring rain🌧😊 I arrived at Novotel Hotel at about 4:30 yesterday. Settled in and then met our Gate 1 Group for dinner, drinks and details from our guide, George. We are a big group with 18 couples and SIX SOLO TRAVELLING WOMEN. Three of us are Global Girl Gangstahs !!! and the other 3 women, who were travelling totally solo, have become our adopted Global sisters. We are having a blast😎

This morning took us on a City tour followed by a tour of Edinburgh Castle. Absolutely Gorgeous. We all fell in love with the Scottish Crown Jewels and the portraits of Mary Queen of Scots.

After a bit of souvenir shopping we began the Harry Potter Tour...but...unbeknownst to us, the City is currently celebrating 900 years of history with Great Britain, and thousands were gathered along the Royal Mile. Turns out some handsome young men in kilts were hosting a Kelae (a Scottish Dance) along the Royal Mile and wanted everyone to dance in the street. Needless to say, a few of us ditched Harry Potter. We knew that WE MUST DANCE💃😆 Susan and I and 2 others on our tour ran off to join in the fun...and it was so much fun to dance the jig of Kelae with over 200 people. This might be the highlight of my trip... so far.

Eventually we found the rest of our Solo Gang and had some delicious Fish & Chips...WITH MUSHY PEAS🫛 WE had heard that there was going to be a grand parade of horses and riders...so, of course, we all headed over to check it out. There must have been 500 horses in ceremonial gear participating in the Riding of the Marches. It's incredible to see!! Princess Ann was even there to speak. We didn't see her, but we heard her over the loud speakers. By now, the weather had turned chilly, and the rain had started up. We headed back to the hotel for the evening.

Suitcases must be out the door by 7am tomorrow morning we will be heading north to St. Andrew's and Aviemore.

Ta Ra for now❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
And Ta for reading 😎

Day Four - Newcastle to Edinburgh - 9/13/25

After lots of sleeping in a very cozy bed at the Inn, I found the nearby park and took a lovely morning walk before packing up to check out of the Dorset Arms. I found my way to Cote Brassiere where I met up with the "Newcastle Ladies who Lunch" for a traditional English breakfast of beans, tomatoes, poached eggs, mushrooms, bangers and bacon. What a treat it was to meet these local ladies. Sue, Lynda, Alyssa and Debra were so lively and friendly. Each of them is invited to stay at my place should they ever want to explore our California Bay Area. Sue walked with me to the train station and made sure I was heading in the right direction.

 I am now on the train heading to Inverness. Expected arrival in Edinburgh is in 2.5 hours. The landscapes so far are vast, green farms dotted with sheep and horses. I cannot wait to see me first shaggy coo🐮

MORE OF DAY THREE - NEWCASTLE - 9/12/25

This has been one special day. After breakfast, I took a nice long hour and a half nap. I went downstairs to call an uber when Stan spotted me and said he would drive me to my old house and school! Such a great host. We drove over to 11 Eastcliffe Avenue. I rang the bell and no one answered, but I took some pictures 😍 Then we drove around the corner to Wyndham Primary School. I loved seeing these places where I spent school days playing field hockey and days off playing clackers with neighborhood friends and going to Tea. I wanted to visit Fenwicks, which is one of the oldest department stores in England, Stan dropped me off in the area. After walking around the shops, I went in search of some authentic Newcastle lunch. I really lucked out! I ordered sausage and mash and it came with mushy peas and Yorkshire pudding. Dang it was so good.

After lunch I used GPS to find my way to Saint Andrew's church, where I met up with my Medieval tour guide, Karyan. She was great. She walked myself and my tour buddy, Maia, around the city center with vibrant stories of the Medieval history of the city. First Stop was the Cathedral...so Gorgeous! Our tour ended at The Newcastle Castle. I explored the Castle and the Tower....so Cool! And found the spot to see the famous Bridges....Amazing. 

Finally, I got an Uber back to my Room. This was a most Excellent day of reminiscing and history ❤️😍

DAY THREE - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE - 9/12/25

It's still early here. I went down for breakfast at 7, where Stan kept me company with stories of his Hotel. The Dorset Arms was once a local pub. Stan decided he would own it when he was 13 yrs old. He's run this place on his own for 30 years.

After a breakfast of kippers, eggs, crumpets, and some deliciously strong British tea, with milk and sugar, I walked around the neighborhood a bit. Such a lovely residential area.

Time for a short nap. Ta Ra for now.

                                                   STAN the Man

                                       A Knight of Templar

                                       Stan's Interior Decorating

                                             more interior decoration

                                                 Tea and Crumpets

                                                 Kippers and Eggs

DAY 2 CONT'D - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE - 9/11/25

I made it to my childhood town. I'm so freaking happy to be here. The memories of a sweet and innocent time are just flooding back. It's such a delight. The Newcastle people are so friendly and polite. 

I pre-ordered a car to pick up at the airport and my driver, Mamunur was right on time holding a sign with my name. During the 20-minute drive from the airport he told me stories of his school days in London. When I got to the Dorset Arms Inn it was quite dark. Mamunur walked me into the lobby to make sure I was ok.  What a nice Man!

I didn't see a reception area, so I walked into the dining room. Stan, the inn keeper, greeted me with smiles and a thick Geordie accent. He offered me coffee or tea. Well, I asked if he might have a beer instead? He told me "Aye, I don't sell beer, but I'll give you one from me stash." Best beer I've ever had!

I'm pinching myself right now because I can hardly believe I am here. 3 nights is not going to be enough time here!!!

Having the time of my Life. 

Cheerio Pets...💕💕💕💕

DAY TWO - 9/11/25 - LHR

Good Morning. It's almost 2 pm in England and I'm sitting at an airport coffee shop at Heathrow waiting for my flight to Newcastle ✈️😍 I just ate a delicious sausage roll! I wish I had taken a picture of it to show you, but I couldn't wait to eat it. The flight was actually good. I slept most of the way, so I'm not feeling jet lag too badly.

Heathrow was really easy to navigate. I wasn't sure how I was going to get from terminal three to terminal five, but they have a great system to move us over there quickly. I was going to try to sneak in a quick tour in London during this layover, but since it's two o'clock already and boarding is at five fifteen, I think I'll just go find my lounge, soon.

                                    Having a cigarette between flights.

DAY ONE - FIRST EVER GLOBAL GIRL GANG TRIP - SCOTLAND 2025

 DAY ONE - 9/10/25 - TRAVEL DAY

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA TO NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, UNITED KINGDOM

I awoke at 4 am PDT with excited anticipation of the day. Everything is ready to go. Just some last-minute packing items. I checked in to my flights this morning. It should be a long but easy travel day to London, where I have a ridiculously long layover, before heading to Newcastle.

I am a solo traveler who wants to travel with other solos, so I created this group called the Global Girl Gang. We are women over the age of 60 who travel solo, but together on group tours. This is our first trip together as a solo group travelling on a Gate 1 Tour. I will be traveling in Newcastle on my own, and I will be meeting up with Jane and Susan in Edinburgh on Saturday and then exploring London for a few days with Jane.

Jane and I have only met online, and I am looking forward to meeting her in person. All three of us have our own rooms.

It's now 8:15pm at Atlanta International Airport. I found my way to the International terminal and my gate with ease. Flight from Sacramento was uneventful. Hopefully, I'll sleep on this next one. Only 8-9 hours to London 😎✈️

Please join our Group and I would love to hear your comments and suggestions :) 

Check out Find Penguins

 Follow me and my travels on FindPenguins:

https://findpenguins.com/9rndpml9duosd

26.5 hours 'til take off

 

I've been weighing and redistributing things in my suitcase and my carry on. I have the suitcase down to 49.7 pounds. That's pretty close to the 50 lb limit😆 I made a last minute purchase of a rolling backpack and I'm so glad I did. My back will now be saved from torture. This afternoon I will take my granddaughter to Chess club and this evening Harry goes over to my daughter's house. My car to the airport will pick me up at 9 AM tomorrow.

Cor blimey I cannot wait🇬🇧✈️

The Lake House

Our wonderful friend invited a few of us to her beautiful Lake House at Lake Almanor, California, for a long weekend.  What a gorgeous home!  We were spoiled. Each of the 5 of us had our own rooms and we were right on the water’s edge. Look at this stunning sunrise taken from the porch.

On Day One, a Friday morning, after packing the Kia with food, a tent, an inflatable paddle board and a blow-up kayak, I hit the road at 8 am.  About 3 hours later I arrived at this beautiful home! 

We are a group of Women who have become friends through our association with Al-Anon.  Al-Anon is for families of Alcoholics to help us learn how to have better, happier lives, whether the Alcoholic in our lives is still drinking or not.  We have formed deep bonds of friendship and are able to rely on one another for love and support during extremely difficult times. The depth of honesty and non-judgment we share is unsurpassed. These women actually showed up at my house with trucks and cars and helped me move out of the home I was sharing with my ex-husband.  They are my Serenity Sisters for life🌹

We spent the first day driving around and checking out Lassen Volcanic National Park and the little town of Chester.  We looked at a couple of off grid cabins for sale, they are very tiny and very tempting to purchase because they are right in the Park! No Electricity but this one is priced at only $89K!

Chester is an adorable tiny town.  We made a stop at Jeff-Roes to pick up a pie and grab a smoothie before heading back to the Lake House to greet the new arrivals.

When pre-planning our trip, the group decided that we would each be responsible for a meal and a group activity.  This gave us a lot of fun things to do and amazing treats to eat.  What a pleasure it was to have someone cook for us.  Here was our delicious menu:

    Breakfasts:  Day One - French Toast Casserole and bacon

                          Day Two - Farm fresh scrambled eggs (from her own chickens,

                                             apple sausage and homemade potatoes.

    Lunches:     Grab and go - on our own

    Dinners:      Night One: Cheeseburgers, Baked Beans and Chips

                         Night Two:  Salmon, Wild Rice and Asparagus

                         Night Three:  Chili Relleno Casserole and Salad

                         We did not come close to starving 😀

Day Two was spent on the Pontoon Boat and the Paddle Boards.  What a blast we had.  One of the Girls is an Amazing Water skier, STILL!  (We are all in our 60s) Tubing was so much Fun!  We laughed our butts off 😂 and I am proud to have finally Stood up on that SUP. 

In the evening we played Charades one night.  It was Hilarious, and on the second night we made Vision Boards.  So much Fun.  Here's mine

In closing I just want to thank all the women who attended this special getaway and especially our lovely host.  Let's do it AGAIN!!! 

DINNER INVITATION FOR LOCALS AND ZOOM RECAP

 Good Evening Gang,

I enjoyed meeting our new members at our ZOOM get together, yesterday.  Welcome to the Gang  

If you are LOCAL Please Join us for Dinner and talk about OUR TRAVEL IDEAS, TIPS AND STORIES. Meet at the Restaurant.
Women Only 60+

When: Wed 6/11/25
Time: 5:30 pm
Place: China House, located at 513 Main Street, Vacaville
PLEASE RSVP BY 6/9/25

Everyone has such great travel ideas.  I absolutely love them all.  The Train Journeys, Niagara Falls, Canada, National Parks, Rafting, long term stays.

Lets Plan It!!

LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ANY OR THESE TRIPS.  They are not yet Booked.

Here's the link Christine requested about the Grand Canyon Raft trip with Western River Expeditions.  I might be able to do this in July 2026.

Grand Canyon Rafting Tour | 4 Day Rafting and Ranch

I found this link for the Zephyr Train

California Zephyr Train | Amtrak

Here's a Canada Rail Tour Site

Rockies Essentials: Eastbound | Rocky Mountaineer Train Route

One week in Porto Portugal - 4 bedroom apartment - 4 people, about $590/person!!!

N Apartments - Bolhão, Porto (updated prices 2025)

            See You at the Gate, 

                          Cindy