My Aberdeen Monday…on Tuesday...

WooHoo!

My favorite little cafe in Aberdeen has re-opened 

with new owners Sandy and Lara…

 and a new look.

You can now enjoy Food Story Cafe at its new address…

just around the corner at 15 Thistle Street…

where you will find the same yumminess…

and the same smiling face ready to welcome you.

See you there.

Happy Tuesday.

My Aberdeen Monday...

We found ourselves enjoying

 another gorgeous sunny day...

again...

in October...

in Aberdeen, Scotland...

and meandered our way to Buchanans Bistro out at Woodend Barn

in Banchory.

With the sounds of rugby players in the distance...

the tables filled quickly as others rushed to carpe diem.

Although, the view inside the bistro would be lovely...

regardless of weather on account of its coziness,

 its commitment to...

and ever-changing menu.

As the trees along Deeside begin to show off,

the drive out to Buchanans makes it doubly worth venturing outside of Aberdeen.

Happy Monday.

My Aberdeen Monday...

Last weeks jaunt to Kinkardine O'Neil required a stop for lunch at the Black Faced Sheep cafe...

 in nearby Aboyne.

Its attention to detail places this cafe in my fave category for many reasons.

Obviously, a fan of When Harry Met Sally,

you know the scene...

this cafe served my lovely smoked salmon salad with the amazing dressing on the side...

without prompting.

And later...

was placed in front of me.

Because I have had a few Europeans inform me that an Americano is merely a watered-down espresso, 

I was pleasantly surprised when the server provided the hot water on the side.

Brilliant!!!

Sally would have loved it.

I am already shopping for small pitchers to serve coffee this way at home.

Right off of North Deeside...

this makes a great destination cafe on account of the...

with many other shops filled with treasures around the corner...

waiting to be explored.

Happy Monday!

"Well the LastBus Cafe must have come down from the sky, cause I've never seen the likes of it before..." ~ Neil Hankin

A weekend without snow and welcomed bouts of sunshine 

screamed 'road trip' from the get go.

So, Ren Man and I headed out in search of a small vegetarian cafe out in the middle of nowhere, mentioned a few weeks back.

Now, of course, we could have done some research and gathered the exact location of this 'off the grid' spot,

but that is just not how we roll.

Sometimes the best part of a road trip is taking off, 

having nothing more than the general direction...

 and the proper equipment just in case.

Anywho, we pointed north towards New Pitsligo.

As usual, the drive through the countryside was a reminder of the beauty of Scotland.

A sight to behold for these 'sick of dark & winter' eyes.

Upon arriving in the small village of New Pitsligo 

with no sign of Old Pitsligo or The Lost Cafe anywhere,

before we knew it we had driven through the village 

and had not a clue where our next turn should be.

Neither of us wanted to cave and stop to ask directions 

because it is after all...

 elusive.

Meanwhile, we resorted to our useless cellular devices 

and decided to drive to a point where one of our phones 

showed some sign of life.

It was at this moment we both realized that the directions we had briefly looked at on our computer back at home required flash.

Something our phones fail miserably at.

Blogger to the rescue.

Back in the initial research mode, I remembered seeing a blogpost about this place and buried deep in the comments section was one very important tidbit of information...

"follow the sign for Craigmaud road".

We were off.

As we tentatively approached...

we could not help but be quite impressed at the major repurposing going on. 

This helped to explain the different names attached to our final destination.

The Last Bus Canteen...Cafe...

also known as The Lost Cafe...

is where the food and coffee can be had.

But the beauty of this place is everything they have going on.

There is live music some weekends...

arranged through the Northern Depot LastBus Company

and I can NOT encourage you enough to explore the website.

It is a treasure hunt itself.

If you are looking for a short roadtrip through the Scottish countryside and feel you can find your way with nothing more than the above directions, you will not be disappointed.

People are so fond of this enclave of coolness,

the secrecy will not last long.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.