Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts

Saturday 3 January 2015

Running 2015. Building 2015. Owning 2015.

I haven't written anything on here for a really long time. Life has been busy, very very busy. Work has been crazy, we moved, we lost both our Grandmothers, my dad has been very, very unwell, and when I've not been busy, I've been playing BLOODY Candy Crush.

So...there's that. However, I've decided to abandon the Good Ship King at level 758, I've uninstalled it from my phone and tablet, and blocked it from my Facebook. Instead of playing, I am going to Get Shit Done this year. It's working already. The pile of stuff stacked in the window of our bedroom has been depleted since I've been sorting through it and decluttering the last couple of days.

I've also caught up with a couple of distant friends on the phone, and today I am going to an exhibition (Horst, V&A) and for burgers with my close friends. At the beginning of each year, I am usually resolving to do more, see more, enjoy London, but by the end of the year I am in full-on hibernation mode and it takes all my might just to go to the local shops. Time to amp it up again - Laurel and I are making a list of all the things we want to do in London (and out) this year, and making it happen (starting today). This will be the year we actually make it to Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, instead of just talking about it.

In 2015, I also turn 30. I am celebrating this by going to Poland. I'm calling it a pilgrimage since my beautiful Polish Nan passed away in July, while we were on honeymoon. We are going to Poznan and Warsaw, I've already identified some Airbnbs for us to stay in, we just need to get it booked in. I am looking forward to seeing the land that spawned my terrific Grandparents. See also: Pierogi.

I've also been running again. I have briefly dabbled in running before, to little effect, I half ran a 10k in 2011 but that was a half-arsed effort. This December, I completed a 10k, and I ran the whole way. It wasn't fast running, but it was most definitely running. I have also pledged to run 1000 miles in 2015 (#1000miles2015), and, in a moment of madness, I signed up to the Hampton Court Half Marathon in March so am currently training for that.

On a selfish note, this helps me firm up and get fit, in time for my March birthday so I can feel good as I come-of-age. On a less selfish (I hope) note, I am also doing the half marathon as part of my fundraising effort for ActionAid, because in May, I AM GOING TO MOZAMBIQUE!

I am going as part of a team of 20 colleagues from my company, and we are aiming to raise in excess of £30,000 collectively to build a library in Ngongonhane, an area where there is no library, and because of the expensive travel to reach one, many children end up dropping out of school. Can you imagine being a situation where you have to leave compulsory education because you don't have access to books?! Being a privileged Westerner, I can't, which is why I am taking part in this project. We are going to be donning steel-capped boots, digging foundations, bricklaying and doing metalwork over 5 days in the area. We, with some help from our company have paid for our own flights and accomodation, so every penny donated to ActionAid will go to this project, not to fund us having a "jolly". You can sponsor me here. Or if you like, you can sponsor me here. Or here. I think you get what I am trying to say.


After all this action, we also want to get round to settling down. We already decided to put off trying to start a family for a little longer, so that I can achieve the above, and so we can sort out our living situation. Currently we are living in my Grandparents' house, while probate happens and its future can be decided. If its future, once decided is that it's not worth very much, perhaps we can buy it. It's massively outdated, but certainly livable in for now and has huge potential. My grandparents bought it in 1963 and my mum grew up here, so the thought of being able to buy it and have our own family here is very exciting indeed.

Sunday 10 August 2014

Honeymooning: Coastal California

Following our stay in San Francisco, we picked up our Mustang and headed down the coast towards LA, via Monterey and Carmel.

Highlights:
  • Our first Airbnb with Mei in Marina, near Monterey. Mei had 2 double rooms with another couple staying in the other. We borrowed her Monterey Bay Aquarium passes at a discounted rate. Mei was friendly and helpful, and the Aquarium was awesome, an absolute must-see on your way down the coast
  • The Seventeen Mile Drive. Awe-dropping views. It took us hours because we kept having to stop to take more and more photos. 
  • Carmel is a gorgeous, artsy little town, Clint Eastwood was once the mayor. An expensive place to stay, but we threw caution to the wind and stayed at the Carmel Mission Inn in an awesome suite, and dined at r.g's Burgers (try the peanut butter and jelly milkshake).
  • Big Sur. Stunning. Just stunning. 
  • Pismo Beach Sea Lions lolling in the sun.
  • Solvang, a Danish village in California. Obviously.








































Sunday 3 August 2014

Honeymooning: San Francisco

We got back from our California honeymoon nearly 3 weeks ago, which is about the same amount of time we were there for. It was awesome, but it feels like the memories are fading quicker than they should already, so I'm writing about it whilst I can still recall it.

Our first stop was San Francisco where we stayed for 3 nights at the Argonaut Hotel at Fisherman's Wharf. It cost more than we would normally pay for a hotel but its nautical theme and prime location seemed to justify its cost, and it was our honeymoon, so if you can't go nuts on honeymoon when can you? There's a daily complimentary wine reception at the hotel but it' was at an awkward time of day and we were always out and about so we never made it but my cousin and his girlfriend stayed there a few years ago and loved it.

I loved San Francisco. I'm not going to give a blow-by-blow account, but some highlights for me included:
  • The architecture. The Spanish influenced tiled stair cases and candy-coloured houses are just too cool.
  • Alcatraz. So eery. It's a must-see, and you have to buy tickets in advance. The low cloud over San Francisco, along with its invasion by seagulls only add to the spookiness of the legendary prison. While we were there, we met a former inmate, Bill Baker who had written a book about his stay and signed a copy for us, and I am so looking forward to getting stuck into that.
  • The incredible food. Clam chowder in a huge sourdough breadbowl at Fisherman's Wharf, the biggest burrito in the world* at Taqueria Cancun, Mission, the amazing pastrami sandwich at Tommy's Joynt, and Japantown and Chinatown's Asian fare, happy happy me.
  • Walt Disney Family Museum. It's no Disneyland, but a classy homage to the legend of Walt Disney, telling the story of where he came from and who he came to be with classy relics, original drawings and awe-dropping early animations.
  • The Golden Gate Bridge. If you're going by car (which is essential for traversing California) you need to do it, just don't forget to prepay the toll! We took the bridge on the way back in to San Francisco on the last day of our trip.
  • The shopping is pretty sweet too. We spent more time than we'd have wanted to shopping for clothing when our bags  failed to arrive with us (husband's turned up 36 hours later, mine only arrived with me 3 days ago, back home, another story altogether) so Old Navy was one of our first stops, but we also found Japantown's Daiso and Kinokuniya where I could happily have spent all day.
*I made this up, but it was big























In total we had about 3 and a half days in San Francisco. I could have happily stayed for much longer. It's an enormous city, and we only scratched the surface. happily go back and spend a week there, maybe more.

Sunday 19 January 2014

Weekending in Sheffield

I've just returned from a weekend seeing my beau in Sheffield, and what a wonderful weekend it was! We kicked off Friday evening with a homemade chilli and Casino, a film we've owned for about 5 years and always been put off watching on the basis that it's 3 hours long, but this time we were ready for it.

A few nights before I went to visit, my mister uttered over Skype these words, "Darling....you know my suit we bought for the wedding? I think I want something different now...." before showing me this board he'd made on Pinterest. Up for a challenge we spent all of Saturday trawling Sheffield city centre charity, vintage and high street shops for a good alternative. We didn't find one this time but he did pick up a spectacularly bargain jacket at just £28.99 in M&S (one shade darker than this one, I can't find his on the website). Unfortunately there are no matching trousers, but the mister has a real thing for jackets so he'll be wearing it all the time in a non wedding capacity, in rotation with the fantastical tweed one I got him for Christmas (another charity shop find).

During my trawling of Sheffield charity shops, I came across this beautiful book for just £1, a stellar additional to my addiction to food books. It's a fantastic book highlighting the very best places for the very best foods in the UK.
source

I also picked up some Lanocreme Manuka Honey eye cream in TK Maxx for £5.99. I've just idly started looking for an eye cream to reduce the dark circles under my eyes, so thought I'd give this one a whirl, it's worth a punt at that price - let's banish those circles for good!

We took a drink in the Great Gatsby on Division Street after exploring all of the lovely shops - so many have popped up since I've moved away, and I always love a good poke around Within Reason especially.
Winter Gardens
Oozing Peanut Butter
We wandered through the Winter Gardens before heading on to Mudcrab. We'd been talking about going to Mudcrab for at least a week before my visit so this was hotly anticipated, I love it there. We shared cheesy garlic bread and fried chicken (amazing) then went on to our burger mains. I had the Geek USA burger which is a THREE patty burger with peanut butter and a fried egg. Astonishing. We couldn't even finish our chips, and I never leave food on my plate! The staff were all really friendly and attentive, and the bill came to only about £51 for two starters, two burgers and two cocktails each (it was happy hour til 7).

After a full day of fun, we walked back to the Boy's house, where I changed into his pyjamas, drank wine from a mug and we watched Inglourious Basterds again, because it's amazing.

This morning, we overdosed on coffee whilst booking our honeymoon flights - We are off to San Francisco 3 days after our wedding! We're planning to do a bit of a road trip, based on this little itinerary we pilfered from STA Travel. We booked our flights through Opodo, flying from Belfast as its £300 cheaper each than flying from London (even though we have to pass back through London!?). We'll marry on the Saturday, tidy up our venue and make our way home to London on the Sunday, make our way to Belfast on Monday and fly to California on Tuesday for 3 whole weeks. I'm collecting tips and tricks so if anyone has been on a similar adventure please feel free to share, we'd be very grateful.

Making my way home to London was boring, saying goodbye is always hard but after such a lovely weekend, I left with a smile on my face and the reminder that being apart isn't forever. Thank you Sheffield, and thank you Dave for another incredible weekend, I can't wait for more.
Bye bye Sheffield

Friday 1 November 2013

South London Sightseeing

I've been adventuring again with the new camera...I do so love it. Last weekend the Boy came to visit, and we decided to save some cash and stay close to home.

On Saturday, our adventures took us first to Crystal Palace Park, where we marvelled at the dinosaurs, lamented the fact that the Palace itself burnt down at the Museum, and got excited about the proposed redevelopment (from 2015).
Towards the city

Juxtaposed with you

Crystal Palce Park

RAWRRRR!




After a great big naughty lunch at The Capitol, the Wetherspoons in Forest Hill (I said we were being cheap, didn't I, and who can turn down an enormous hot dog, with onion rings, chips and a pint for just £5.89?), we headed up to the Horniman Museum and Gardens, where we took a look around the free exhibitions and a quick stroll around the gardens, taking in the delights of the Horniman Farmer's Market, on every weekend.

Crystal Palace Station

Horniman Museum Gardens

Horniman Museum Gardens

Horniman Museum Gardens
We stopped off at The Dolphin in Sydenham for another relaxed pint and then headed home laden with shopping bags of food from Lidl, where we watched the finale of Breaking Bad at last, and devoured umpteen Favorina biscuits.

On Sunday we went for a local stroll, which took us first to Wells Park, which is right on my doorstep and utterly beautiful, then around the outskirts of Crystal Palace Park again to Penge where we ogled the Almshouses, ate in another Wetherspoons and trawled the charity shops.

Wells Park


Wells Park

Wells Park

Tree Bark


Wetherspoons chilli con carne....mmmmm

Penge Almshouses

St Bartholomews

Jews Walk
I love living in South East London, there's so much to see, plenty of leafy places to walk, and so many beautiful and incredibly old buildings. A satisfyingly cheap and chilled weekend, made even better by a lie-in on Monday morning due to train delays from the storm, and the fact that as Boy's trains were cancelled altogether, I got to keep him for an extra night.