For the first morning of this trip, I overslept. To be fair, I thought I had set my alarm for 6:30 in the morning. Turns out I set it for 6:30 in the evening, not particularly useful. So I awoke to Mum knocking on my door at 7:15 wondering if I'd fallen into a hole, or some alternate universe.
Some fast scrambling later, I made it downstairs to discover Dad had already ordered me breakfast and it arrived just as I was getting myself coffee. If Mum and Dad hadn't picked up the slack, we would likely still be in Orkney.
Everything else was smooth: the checkout, the cab arriving on time, getting to the airport with time to spare so we managed to avoid a serious anxiety attack, that otherwise would've happened with the inauspicious start to the day. I wonder where I inherited all that worry from. Oh yeah, Dad.
Instead of Mum holding us up at security (Mum has a terrible habit of being the randomly pulled-aside traveler wherever she goes) Dad was the one setting off the alarms. We have no idea why as it wasn't reacting to his left hip, which would make sense given the replacement and everything, no, it was the right knee. What on earth could Dad be smuggling behind his right knee? It's a mystery.
Our flight did what is the rarest thing in aviation: took off early. Turns out that with the excellent assistance at Kirkwall Airport, and all the passengers arriving on time, we managed to get into the air five minutes before our scheduled take off.
After what was definitely the shortest flight I've ever taken (35 minutes) we landed at Sumburgh Airport to be greeted by our host, Mandy, and we hit our first hiccup. The baggage carousel kept choking on baggage. It was sort of funny watching the airport guys yelling back and forth through a hole in the wall about where luggage was stuck. I have to say, they dealt with it with humour (one guy pretending to auction off bags when they did come through) and professionalism, of what could've devolved into a mess was just a humourous side note.
Now let me tell you about the flat we're staying in. It's gorgeous! Both bedrooms are huge and the sitting room is very comfortable. Sure it's about a 4 minute walk further downtown than where we stayed last year, but we're happy to trade the time for a ground floor and space.
Take a look at the view just outside:
Once we got all the instructions about everything from Mandy, Mum and I went on the world's fastest grocery shop. We were in and out of Tesco in 25 minutes flat, and that's shopping for pretty much the full 11 days we're in Lerwick. Interestingly, the cabbie who took us to Tesco was the same one that took us to the airport last year when we left Shetland.
I would like to add that I tried really hard to sign of for Tesco delivery but they wouldn't let me register because I don't have a UK phone number. Anyone want to loan me the use of their number while I'm here in case we need anything else? I'd also like to add I did not appreciate seeing the Tesco delivery truck delivering to another flat right outside my window this evening. Curse you Tesco registration!
With the groceries put away, Mum and I left Dad at the flat and made a pilgrimage downtown to the Blyde Welcome, which is our favourite coffee shop. For those of you that remember, we found it last year due to the extreme convenience of it being directly below the flat we stayed in.
The door on the left is where we entered last year's flat.
Coffee, tea, and a chai tea latte, as well as some sweets were acquired and we headed back to our new flat. We took in some of the scenery along the way.
I did not get a picture of Jimmy Perez's house because as we were walking by someone came out of it. I think it would be a bit rude to be all "Get out of the way, we only want the house." I have 11 more days to get the Lodberries anyway, so I don't feel like I missed my opportunity.
I should mention that my phone sent me an alert while I was out.
Stop judging me, phone. Dad was perfectly safe in the flat probably having a nap. (Do I have an airtag on Dad? I'm not telling.)
Our arrival back at the flat heralded the start of one of Dad's favourite traditions last year, the eating of the millionaire's cupcake. Blyde Welcome makes them and as said, it was just as good as he remembered.
How many fully-functioning adults does it take to use a microwave? If you've ever pondered this question, the answer is three. It took all three of us to figure out how to use it and no, we're not proud of ourselves we got it to do what we wanted to do. No, we're stupidly proud of ourselves.
In the midst of the microwave debacle there was a knock on our door. Mum and Dad's dear friend, Elizabeth Angus, knowing we were now in Lerwick, dropped by to greet us. There were hugs. Apparently, Elizabeth, who lives just a couple of blocks up the road from where we are, scoped out where we were staying this morning, so she'd know how to get here. Smart woman.
Much chatting ensued but Elizabeth left us so we could eat, but that's okay, we're seeing her on Sunday for breakfast at Fjara!
This is the latest I've posted a blog on this trip so I must sign off, but first, the stats.
Shetland ponies: 11
Sheep: 100000
Cattle: 500
Dogs: 5
Cats wandering the neighbourhood: 2
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