UK/Spain 2024 Part 1: Let's get to Scotland

HELLO FRIENDS!

I have been over the seas! And now I am back. I had three glorious weeks in Scotland, London, and Barcelona (including some Singapore stop overs both ways). And I know you want to know what I ate!

This first post is going to take us from Brisbane to almost Scotland. Three days worth of travel! Eight hours Brisbane to Singapore, a night in Singapore, then 14 hours Singapore to London, a night in London, and then a one hour and 20 minute flight from London to Edinburgh.

We had a morning flight out of Brisbane to go to Singpore, and we were flying Business Class! Fancy! Access to airport lounges! I had of course eaten something very early in the morning (before saying a tearful goodbye to the cat) before we went to the airport. But once we were in the Sinapore Airlines lounge, there were a few vegan options in their breakfast buffet. Hash browns! Roasted tomatoes! Fruit salad! There was also some beans and some chia pudding, that I didn't try.



I had requested a vegan meal on the flights, but I wasn't sure exactly what that would entail being in Business Class. I did pack many a snack for myself as well, of course. The main meal on the flight to Singapore was lunch. I was given a fancy little quinoa and tomato salad with a lovely avocado dressing to start with. Next up was some stir-fried noodles and, what I was afraid of, spicy! I could only request vegan, I couldn't not specify anything else. I did eat as much as I could, just because it was there. And it would have been very nice if it hadn't been spicy. Thankfully afterwards there was a fruit plate of cooling melons!







Not long before we landed in Singapore, we were given a snack. Mine were vegetable pasties, with a very capsicum heavy sauce that I left on the side.



Once we landed in Singapore, it was time for a rest as we were spending the night there to break up the very long trip. There was very little other than literal fruits and vegetables on the room service menu for vegans, so I headed out looking for dinner. I really dropped the ball here, and figured I could just walk around and find something easily. There was a huge shopping center called Jewel right next to the hotel that was full of food places. It also had a beautiful central waterfall and forest feature.



Anyway, I didn't have any wifi or data at Jewel, so I was going in blind. Happy Cow didn't show me any places nearby (more about that later on in the trip). I walked around for ages and I couldn't see anything obviously vegan until I found a Subway outlet but even though it was open, there was no one working behind the counter. So I ended up back at the airport, hungry, feeling like a vegan in 2002, until I finally found a place that did salads and bowls. I made a bowl of quinoa, teriyaki tempeh, charred broccoli, cucumber, lettuce, and lemon dressing. Also some inari, and a grapefruit pomelo bubble tea.(Don't worry, my return trip through Singapore was much more successful).



The next morning I had a Cliff Bar in my hotel room so that I could take my morning pain killers, then it was back to check in for our very long flight! This meant another visit to the Singapore Airlines lounge, this time in Changi airport. This was harder, as nothing had 'vegan' written on it, I had to go based off allergen and contains symbols. The hashbrowns had egg and dairy in them! Tragedy! But I did get some noodles, dumplings, and rice cakes.



This was the LONG flight. It left Singpore at 9am and got into London at 5pm with timezones, but that was 14 hours in the air. Oh, did I mention that Singapore Airlines Business Class has lie flat seats?? Fantastic! Revelation! Incredible! We got breakfast again on the flight. I had fruit, soy milk, and WAFFLES!





After a nap and a movie or two later, as well as talking to some friends (FREE WIFI!), it was time for the next meal. A felafel salad followed by Pad Thai (that was for some reason even spicier than the previous day's noodles) and a little fruit jelly for dessert.







I was travelling with my mum, but when we finally landed in Heathrow we went our separate ways for a while. She was off to do a family history tour through England for the week. I was staying in an airport hotel before flying off to Scotland the next day! The hotel did have some vegan options on the menu, but I instead elected to go to a Marks & Spencer at the airport to go look for fun vegan food! And oh did I find some! I had a bed picnic dinner of a Vegan Hoisin Duck Wrap, a New York Style Salt-Beef roll (with cheese and pickles) on a Pretzel Bun, a sweet potato and tenderstem broccoli salad, and some apple and peanut butter (that I saved for the next morning). The best part was the New York Style Roll! Highly recommend. I also got one of the best ginger kombuchas I've ever enjoyed, as well as some snack bars. So far I've only had the almond rasberry bar, which was nice! Unfortunately I couldn't find any of the nice M&S vegan desserts that they sometimes apparently have, but I had more than enough food.







In the morning it was off to Scotland! I was flying Business Class again, this time with British Airways, so that I had a consistent baggage allowance across the trip. But instead of going to the lounge, I went to Wagamama's in the airport and got a green juice and their Vegan Bacon and Mushroom Breakfast Bao (hold the sriracha mayo). I also realised I could have specified a vegan meal on the plane, but I forgot and I didn't really need to eat on such a short flight after breakfast, so that was fine.



Next stop, Edinburgh! I have so much to share with you all.

Let's address to COVID of it all. Travelling in a COVID world is a lot of risk analysis. I wore my N95 mask when I was on the plane or indoors, but I did have to take it off to eat. And I did eat at indoor places many times. I had my COVID booster a few weeks before I left, and I was constantly squirting my FLO Travel nasal spray when I took my mask off and before putting it back on, as well as in the mornings, when I got back to the hotel, and before I went to bed. It wasn't possible to be as vigilant as I normally am back home, but I did the very best that I could.

But now, cats!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Last photo I took of Eloise before I left, and it was her trying to eat my breakfast. Typical! I love her.