Girl In The Pretty Dress

I've been dreaming of visiting the Smoky Mountains ever since I first heard Dolly sing "In my Tennessee mountain home..." but none of the songs really do justice to their scale or beauty. We picked up our rental car and wound our way into the mountains. We headed to the highest point: Clingman's Dome It felt a little like standing on top of the world. When I could finally tear myself away from that view, we headed back down the mountain and made our way to the edge of the Smokies - to Maggie Valley and Cataloochee Ranch. When we arrived at the ranch, our lovely hosts fed us enough to put us into a food coma.  We awoke the next day to this beautiful view. After another feast for breakfast, we decide to spend the morning exploring Mingo Falls. I have been lucky enough to visit some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world on my travels, and while these didn't quite match the scale of others, they were by f...

There was so much to see in Vienna that it would be impossible to fit it all into one post so let me start with showing you guys The Spanish Riding School and the Hofburg Palace . The Spanish Riding School was #1 on my list of things to see in Vienna. We were lucky enough to book tickets to one of the last shows before the stallions have their annual summer break. It's a place steeped in tradition and it completely lived up to all my expectations. The Museum's quarter in Vienna was formerly the imperial stables, but the horses are now stabled across from the Spanish Riding School. There is so much to see and do in Vienna, but with the weather being so glorious we spent most of our time outdoors taking in all the beautiful sights. (I have every intention of going back one winter to explore  inside  the many museums and palaces.) The Spanish Riding School was pretty much the only time we spent indoors - as well as the show we also booked onto the Behind the Scenes Tour...

Today is my birthday - so naturally I took the whole week off to celebrate. What better way to spend it than a trip to one of my favourite places? The west coast of Scotland boasts some truly spectacular scenery. I've been a few times now and I can never get tired of it. Links to all the places we visited are below (I whole-heartedly recommend a visit to all of them) but this post is going to be quite picture heavy so I'll shut up now and let the images do the talking. Where we stayed: The Galley of Lorne Inn in Ardfern Day 1: Where we ate: Brambles (Inveraray) & The Galley of Lorne Inn The Castle: Inveraray Castle (One of the locations used in Downton Abbey) Day 2: Where we ate:   The Lord of the Isles (Craobh Haven) We went riding with:  Lunga Stables  (Craobh Haven) Where we explored: Craignish Point & Ardfern Marina Day 3: Where we ate: The Oban Chocolate Company  (Oban) Boat trip (not pictured): Sealife Adventures  (Seil Island)...