This morning I checked out of my Edinburgh hostel and made one last café stop before heading out of the city. I grabbed a sandwich and, of course, a fancy-looking cappuccino because it’s basically a requirement at this point.

From there I made my way to the bus stop and hopped on a FlixBus to Glasgow. The ride was about an hour and a half and I loved getting to look out the window and see more of Scotland’s countryside along the way (lots of rolling hills, green pastures, and misty skies).

Once we arrived in Glasgow, I took a second bus straight to the airport because today was a very big day… it was backpack reunion day. 😬

Honestly my stomach was in knots the entire ride over. I kept trying to stay calm, but after being without my luggage since Helsinki, I was half-convinced it had vanished into some black hole of international transit forever.

I got to the airport, found the service desk, explained my situation, and gave them all the info I had. The staff member disappeared into a back room for what felt like forever, but after a few painfully suspenseful minutes… she came back holding my backpack!

I’m not even being dramatic when I say I almost burst into tears lol. I thanked her a million times and clutched that thing like it was made of gold. After ten days of rotating two outfits and carrying my life in an H&M paper bag, I finally had my stuff again!

In my mad excitement, I accidentally got on the wrong bus leaving the airport, but it worked out fine. I ended up back in the city center and figured I’d just kill some time walking around until my friend Conner got home.

…except I forgot how heavy my backpack is.

So there I was, wandering through Glasgow with my newly reclaimed backpack, my carry-on, and that tired old H&M paper bag (which had somehow survived multiple cities… until today). Right in the middle of the sidewalk, it ripped wide open and my stuff went flying everywhere. I scrambled to gather it all up off the pavement in the light drizzle, then hobbled under an awning to repack. It was very embarrassing, but backpacking is truly glamorously unglamorous haha!

After regrouping, I found an indoor mall nearby and sat in the food court with a snack and a much-needed break. I honestly didn’t realize how much I missed being able to set my bags down without worrying they’d explode.

Once I felt human again, I took a bus over to Conner’s house; yay the Katy Perry adventures have officially begun! 🥹💖

We ordered takeout, caught up for a bit, and then met up with his friend Emily to go see a movie at the cinema (gotta use the local lingo). After the movie, we were both absolutely wiped and decided to call it an early night.

Because tomorrow… is the first of 12 Katy Perry concerts I’ll be seeing in Europe. YES, TWELVE! I’m so excited to meet international Katycats and dance and sing like crazy together.

We’re off to Belfast in the morning! Concert era officially activated! 💅🎤🇮🇪