I woke up at 3.30am in the morning on Monday to prep for the trip that D has planned for me. I had no idea I was going, although I might have caught some accidental hints dropped by his friends. It’s pretty exciting actually, knowing and not knowing all at the same time. I was psyched!

We got to Glasgow and I thought that the trip would be exploring Glasgow as it’s both our first time there. However, the surprise didn’t stop when we got there, he actually got a car rented to drive us somewhere else! We hung around the city center for a bit and grabbed lunch before he whizzed me off in the car to somewhere else I was clueless about.

As curious and tempted I was to peek at the destination on his phone’s GPS, I tried not to as I didn’t want to ruin the surprise. It took us about 2 hours on the road to get to the destination. The drive was pretty scenic the moment we got out of the city. Although it wasn’t super bright and sunny, it was alright with the slight drizzle. You can’t imagine how excited I was to reach wherever we were headed to!

He turned the car into this place called “Loch Tay Highland Lodges“, and the first thing that caught my eye were wigwams. I knew then we were gonna be glamping! What I didn’t expect was the geo domes that were tucked away next to the carpark. When I was told that we would be staying in the geo domes, I was freaking thrilled. I’ve been seeing these online for awhile now, and have always wanted to experience living in one, and lo and behold, D planned the trip with that in mind. We got allocated to the corner dome, and it was perfect.

He unzipped the entrance and when I stepped in, I’m pretty sure I felt my heart flutter. It was the perfect setting; Beanbags and a little wooden table right placed right by the window where it gave us a beautiful view of the lake and mountain. The dome comes with a fireplace for us to start our own fire to heat up the interior at night when it gets cold.

After putting our stuff down, we took a quick drive out to the nearest mart to get some food and to have a barbecue! I mean, it’s the perfect opportunity to have a barbecue. The nearest mart was about a 10 minute drive away from the place, so it’s pretty convenient I’d say. We came back with sufficient food and immediately got down to prepping! D was in charge of starting the fire, and I helped with buttering the buns and marinating the patties for our burger.

After eating, we took a quick shower and headed back into the dome to call it a night. By night, I meant 7.30pm. We were really tired because we woke up way too early just to catch the bus. But I was pumped for the next day to come as I imagined waking up to a beautiful view and the sun rising would be amazing.

The second day’s plan was to explore the area. We also hopped around in the car to a couple of lakes within the vicinity. The weather wasn’t super great as it was rather gloomy, but no complains. I honestly think that Scotland’s scenery is pretty dope. During the car ride, while D was really focused on driving, I was just on the passenger seat going “ooooh, ahhhhh, so pretty!!!!”

The place we were staying is pretty huge. We took a stroll from the dome to the marina, and they had a couple of lodges that looked like it could fit a party of 10 people. They were exactly how those dreamy forest homes would look like. I totally wouldn’t mind living in something like that long term and just be one with mother nature. They also had activities like archery, boat rides etc. We got to the edge of the lake and we were greeted by a breathtaking view of mountains surrounding the lake. Everything was just, calm. The feeling’s surreal, being able to appreciate things like that just makes the trip even more worthwhile. It definitely is one of those things you would always remember.

The next day, we took a drive out to Glen Coe. We were told by a guy from a food truck by the lake that Glen Coe wasn’t too far away and it’s a must see, so we thought, why not?

As expected, the drive was amazing. Mountains and valleys, surrounded by low lying clouds with little wooden homes on some of the lands. It started to get cloudier and gloomier the closer we got to Glen Coe. By the time we got to the visitor center, it started drizzling. We hopped on the chairlift and off we went!

It’s a pity that it was drizzling and we couldn’t fully enjoy and take in the view. I was busy trying to hide my camera from the rain, while making sure that my fingers don’t get too frozen from the cold. Of course, me being me, I wasn’t in weather appropriate clothing again. Cladded only in a dungaree and a parka so thin, it should be called a poncho instead. Thankfully D had a better parka, and I kept my hands warm in his pockets instead.

We made a reservation at the Bistro over at the marina for dinner. Sadly, they didn’t have mussels or fish that day. But, I think the food wasn’t too bad. We had scallops with black pudding as a starter and I was pleasantly surprised at how black pudding actually tasted. It was my first time having it, and I think I’m now a fan. It went really well with the scallops. ? We also order pizza and a chicken with haggis dish. Not too bad!

We finished up with our dinner and headed back to shower. We were pretty much just looking forward to chilling by the fireplace after freshening up. The dome warmed up in time when we were back from our bath and we poured ourselves a glass of wine and pretty much sat in front of the fireplace the entire night having conversations. I think it’s one of my favorite moments. I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. The ambience was quiet and we were surrounded by the sounds of birds chirping outside. It was nice.

I didn’t want the trip to end at all. It was really special, and it made me feel really happy. I loved how simple it was, and how we spent the time in each other’s company. What’s great was that we were cut off from the network, and we didn’t have the need to constantly be on our phones. Without our phones as distractions, I felt like we were more into the moments. We spent a total of 4 days in Scotland, and it was an amazing adventure filled with moments and memories I’d always keep dear to my heart.

Lastly, I’d just like to say a huge huge thank you to D, thank you for planning this surprise birthday trip for me. Thank you for remembering the little things I say all the time. I’m contented. It’s an awesome gift and I for sure haven’t done enough to deserve all of these, but, I’m thankful for it all. Looking forward to more adventures and discovering new places with you!