Confetti

It would appear that life has taken hold again and kept me from blogging, not that I regret not writing. My new day job has kept the creative side of my brain busy for the last few months, and sometimes it is nice to experience new things and embark on new adventures without knowing they have to be captured digitally. Nonetheless, this is a very belated post on my friend Chris' marriage to his childhood sweetheart Laura.

Set in the heart of Lancashire, The Gibbon Bridge hotel is as picturesque as you might imagine. Lush greens, stunning mountainous surroundings, and a charming bandstand where the ceremony took place. We arrived in the afternoon, just in time for the rain to clear and the sun to shine and after a few glasses of wine, settled outside to watch the ceremony unfold. From a delicious meal to heart-warming speeches, a quirky photo booth, a few too many glasses of champagne and a fantastic band - it was a beautiful wedding. The best part is that I was reunited with my best friends for the first time in around four years - my friend Rachel and her boyfriend Amir even travelled from Singapore to take part in the celebrations. A truly unforgettable day and evening. Congratulations Chris and Laura.

Winchester Wanderings

I love surprises. So when I was handed a train ticket to take me to Clapham Junction and instructions to pack for the weekend, I was pretty excited. Liam had constructed a special surprise weekend away, just because - providing us both with the perfect excuse to kick back and chill out. I met up with him in Clapham on Friday night after work, and after a fairly harrowing train journey we finally arrived at our final destination- Winchester! 

He'd booked a lovely little hotel in the grounds of the Cathedral, which was sufficiently peaceful for the two nights that we spent there. After arriving exhausted, we tucked into a hearty fish and chip supper before a leisurely stroll around the city's cobbled streets and then retiring to bed.

Saturday bought with it plenty of sunshine and Winchester looked fantastic. After a delicious breakfast, we headed straight to Wolvesey Castle to check out the ruins of the old palace. Both of us are slightly geeky about anything regarding history, and we spent a good hour exploring the remnants of the architecture. After a quick break, we took a long walk from the castle and down to the start of the viaduct trail. 

With spectacular scenery and the sun shining on the waterside, it was a really pleasant walk down to Hockley viaduct. Following the path at the side of the canal, we made our way through lush greenery and well-worn paths before arriving at the site of the old viaduct. As well as a beautiful panorama from the top, there are etchings of dandelions painted on the pathways, with poems engraved on to the wood of the nearby seats that are nestled in the corners of the bridge - a really lovely touch for anyone walking in that direction.

After our long walk, we treated ourselves to a well-deserved (and delicious) afternoon tea in Maison Blanc back in the main part of town. Made up of delicious finger sandwiches, delicate pastries and a large pot of lemongrass and ginger tea for me and Earl Grey for him. After wandering the shops and discovering the food stalls and markets that frequent the streets, we head back to the hotel. Saturday evening was spent eating delicious Thai food at the Bangkok Brasserie (easily the tastiest food I've eaten in a long time) and sharing a few bottles of wine before a long sleep.

We had a fairly lazy Sunday morning of breakfast in bed and walking around the city. After ducking our head into the Cathedral, we decided it was just too busy to have a proper look and made our way around the quaint farmers market in the main part of town before climbing aboard our train home. A beautifully diverse and enchanting city, I'm sure I'll return one day!

Travel bucket list

I've never been one for wanderlust. I love visiting new places but the idea of travelling around the globe over a matter of months scares me a little. I love my home comforts and also love the variety and stability that regular trips brings. Rather than putting down my life's savings on a once in a lifetime trip, I love city breaks to new places and week long holidays in the sunshine exploring the cultures of another country. I have a long list of places to visit in my lifetime and I've been lucky enough to already visit some of those. There are still plenty to explore, though! Here is my list of places to go and things to do, in no particular order. I'm sure it'll be ever growing, so watch this space...

Visit New York and drink Starbucks whilst gazing at the cityscape.

Visit Rome and put mine and Liam's initials on the Love Lock bridge.

Drink mulled wine at Berlin's Christmas markets.

Spend a long lazy weekend viewing Barcelona's architecture.

Experience a husky ride in Lapland.

See the parade and fireworks at Disneyland Paris.

Visit the Guinness factory in Dublin and indulge in a pint of the black stuff.

Visit Alcatraz in San Francisco.

Drink Dark n' Stormy cocktails in New Orleans.

Climb to the top of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh.

Go and see the castle from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in Bulgaria.

Buy (and consume) delicious chocolates in Bruges.

Ride a gondola along the canal in Venice.

Visit the French Alps.

Take a picnic in the park below the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Enjoy the view on the Amafi Coast.

Take the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg.
Bathe in the volcanic mud bath of La Soufriere, St Lucia.

                                   

Highland Fling

Last weekend, we took a trip to Edinburgh. Having never travelled up to Scotland, I was excited to discover somewhere new as well as sampling their famous shortbread. We stayed in a wonderful little apartment on the Royal Mile, tucked away in the midst of busy streets and old-fashioned taverns. 

Whilst this trip was for the purpose of relaxing, we managed to fit a few things in. A main aim of mine was to climb up to Arthur's Seat. For anyone who is a fan of David Nicholl's One Day, this is the hill that is climbed at the beginning and end of the novel. Although it was admittedly tougher than we anticipated, it was worth it for the beautiful views from the top. We celebrated with a trip to a small tea-room covered in chintzy prints and old knick-knacks and an old lady with purple hair who made fantastic homemade jam.

We visited Edinburgh's famous castle and learnt about the many uses it has had over the decades. We also visited the Whiskey distillery next door- home to a collection of thousands of bottles. Alongside eating and drinking too much, we took a moment to explore this beautiful cathedral. Despite not being particularly religious, I love to visit beautiful churches on holiday and this one was lovely. We also took in a ghost tour, part of which was held in Greyfriars cemetery and spent the next night drinking spiced rum in an old pub whilst listening to Scottish folk music. Definitely a city to fall in love with. 

                    

London Zoo

A few weeks ago, I took a Monday off work and we took a trip to London Zoo. The older I get, the more I love attractions like this- anywhere I can walk around with my camera whilst learning new things makes me happy. The location of the zoo itself is something I love, too. In the heart of Camden, it is next to a beautiful canal frequented by dog walkers, joggers and old-fashioned canal boats. Proof that the city of London is much greener than you think. 

We were lucky enough to visit on the hottest day of the year. The weather was glorious and although it was a week day, the attraction was full of children on school outings. Watching the penguins swim around in the sunshine was one of the highlights and they attracted quite a crowd at feeding time. The zoo takes almost a full day to get around. We selected our favourite bits- namely the penguins, tigers, giraffes and monkeys, and spent longer in these sections. The gorillas will always be my favourite- their human-like interaction is wonderful to watch. The butterfly house is somewhere I like to visit, too. There is something quite relaxing about being somewhere that butterflies are fluttering around you.  

After leaving the zoo, we decided to get the tube down to the South Bank and take a Thames Clipper up to London Bridge. The boat ride is surprisingly cheap and gives you a great view of the city. We followed this with a walk across London Bridge before getting the train back to our small town.

Because We Can- Bon Jovi plays Manchester

June is setting itself up to be a busy month for gigs. Perhaps it has something to do with last year's rainy Isle Of Wight festival, but this year we have decided to attend individual gigs that just happened to be all in the same month!

Last weekend's cracker was to see Bon Jovi at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. Liam has been a fan since he can remember whilst I've only been introduced in the last few years. Still, I can never pass up an opportunity for decent live music and so we decided to make a wonderful weekend of it in Manchester.

 The train to Manchester from London is just over 2 hours. I know, I sound like an advert for Network Rail but I was truly impressed at just how easy it was to get from the middle of Sussex to the big bad northern city in just a few hours. We stayed at a Novotel on Dickinson street, about ten minutes walk from Picadilly station and a few minutes walk from St Peter's Square tram stop. We obviously have a bit of a thing for the Novotel chain- we've stayed in the Times Square in New York as well as the Docklands in London, but they never fail to impress. Lovely rooms, superb breakfast in bed, well situated and even letting us take a sneaky McDonalds back at 12.30am- Novotel, we love you.


The ride to the Etihad was an easy one, although a little packed. Apparently the busiest weekend we could have rocked up to Manchester, as well as the Bon Jovi gig there was a Rod Stewart concert at the MEN and Parklife festival in Heaton Park. This explains not only the crowds, but also the extreme amount of double denim and bum cheeks poking out of hot pants that we witnessed.

The Etihad itself is an impressive stadium. We were fortunate enough to actually have some sunshine on the Saturday evening which meant that it didn't begin to get cold until the late hours of the night. Nothing matches listening to excellent live music in the open air.

Bon Jovi were fantastic, also. I wouldn't have described myself as a Bon Jovi fan prior to the gig, but seeing them live has left me with a new-found respect for them. Anyone over the age of thirty five who can still sing like is worthy of my praise. They completed a set that ran just under three hours, pausing momentarily just so Jon could change his jacket and wipe the sweat off his face. The best songs of the night in my opinion was 80's classic Bad Medicine as well as the wonderful rendition of Robbie Williams Let Me Entertain You- a brave choice, but a good one.





Actually, I forgot just how much I love Manchester. Somehow, I think we'll be purchasing more train tickets to the North in the future. Watch out, Novotel, we're coming to get you.

New York, New York

Central Park.

The Mall in Central Park.

A view from Belvedere Castle.

Times Square.

Last week, I was lucky enough to find myself in New York for four days. One of the most beautiful cities in the world, the skyscrapers were dizzying and with our hotel room on the 31st floor, I never tired of the overwhelming view of the Manhattan skyline. It was also absolutely freezing. Still, the Big Apple in January was an amazing experience.

We flew out to JFK on the Wednesday and took the subway through to 50th street where we would be staying in a hotel opposite Times Square. A large pizza delivered to our room accompanied by the experience of American television was all we could manage before falling asleep.

The next day was mostly spent in Central Park, taking in the sights and climbing our way up the spiral staircase at Belvedere castle to see the views. Possibly my favourite thing in NYC, the contrast of the cityscape behind the trees was the only sign that we were in the midst of a busy city. In the heart of Central Park, there is a peacefulness that cannot be matched anywhere else in the city. Strawberry Fields, a memorial garden for John Lennon, really is one of the most tranquil places I have ever visited and reading the memorial plaques on the benches was eerie yet lovely.

That night, we had a quick burger and head off to nearby Broadway where we were lucky enough to see the musical of Once. Featuring the music of Glen Hansard and a cast of wonderful musicians, the production was brilliant to see on Broadway and is a wonderfully simple but feel-good story of love.

After another long sleep, we ended up the next day at the MOMA. Visiting here had been one of the main things I wanted to do in the city and I wasn't disappointed. The building itself was very impressive and had a wonderful collection of artwork and photography. My favourite part was being introduced to more of Munch's work. I  remember studying The Scream at school but there were some brilliantly haunting paintings that I had never seen before.




We also spent part of the day making our way around Grand Central Station. Having never set foot in there, it was very impressive and a lot bigger than expected. We were also lucky enough to see it on the day of it's centenary celebrations, crammed full with people. That night we decided to venture up the Empire State Building. Arriving around 7pm, there were no queues and we were shown straight up to the lifts and swiftly to the top. The view was breathtaking- at night, the city skyline just becomes a mass of lights. The heights were dizzying and although it was beautiful, I was happy when eventually back on the ground.

The following day, we had a delicious breakfast at a little place on 71st street called Alice's Teacup. A lovely little cafe, it had murals of Alice in Wonderland on the wall and sold homebaked cupcakes as well as every flavour tea you could imagine. As it was early on a Saturday morning, Liam chose eggs benedict and I went for the famous granola. I was served a large helping, topped with fresh berries and cinnamon. We then spent a morning wandering around The Met and The Gugenheim and taking in all the art followed by a brisk walk through the cold to see the Rockerfeller Centre. The tour guide was brilliant and showed us a lot of the art deco architecture that was created when the centre was first built, giving us a history of each piece. After a quick Starbucks, we also made our way up to the top of the rockerfeller to see the city from a birdseye view. It was good to see the skyline in the daytime as well as seeing the Empire State Building.

The next day was our last day and was spent hanging around the Museum of Natural History as well as having a long walk through the city. We also had a peek in some of the big department stores. The evening was the day of the Superbowl and we experienced it in an all-American restaurant eating fried chicken, drinking homemade lemonade and taking up the challenge of a delicious peanut butter pie. We fit so much into four days that our feet hardly touched the ground, but it was so worth it to be in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

The Lakes

I'm all too aware that there has been somewhat of a hiatus on blogging lately. The last few months have flown by and unfortunately, life has very much got in the way of posting anything. The week before last, however, I was pleased to be able to head to the Lakes with Liam for a while. I have always had a bit of a soft spot for the lake district, even since I was taken there for my twentieth birthday. Staying in a pleasant little hotel with chintzy curtains and delicious breakfasts, we spent that weekend basking in the sunshine and journeying across the lakes on paddle steamers. This time, we decided to stay in a little guest house in Hill top, which was equally as lovely (and had the welcome treat of a bathroom with a view- perfect for relaxing in after a chilly walk through the country!) We had a packed few days- spending time walking around picturesque Grizedale forest, taking a trip on the Haverthwaite steam railway and having a peek at Beatrix Potter's house to name just a few activities.

Prior to arriving at Hilltop, we also had a brief stop in our old university city of Lancaster. Visiting made us realise how much we missed it, although I'm assuming that this is the case for anyone revisiting the place they spent three wonderful years. We ended up in The Borough- one of the first places Liam ever took me, sharing a bottle of wine and reminiscing about student life. The week was fantastic and made me realise how much I missed cobbled streets, cheap drinks and northern vowels.

Isle of Wight Festival

This is very much overdue, as the Isle of Wight festival was nearly a month ago now. Still, we had an amazing time and I wanted to post these captured moments from instagram as well as my thoughts on our first festival. We started our journey at the local train station, loaded up with double sleeping bag, bright yellow tent and various bits and pieces. After a slightly disorganised but fun journey to Portsmouth Harbour, we hopped on the ferry and made our way over to the Isle of Wight. As we were there mainly for the festival, we didn't see too much of the Isle of Wight itself- although the glimpses we got through the window panes of a packed bus were lovely- hopefully we'll make it there again someday.

On reaching the festival site, we were greeted with a lot of mud. Thankfully, we'd put our wellies on because by the time we had pitched our tent, we were already knee-deep in the stuff. After a quick rest in our (surprisingly warm) sleeping bag and cracking open the malted milk biscuits, we trekked our way to the main stage just in time to watch Noah and the Whale as the sun peeked through the clouds. Later, we watched Elbow- my personal favourite-and grabbed some cheeseburgers and a coffee before  wrapping up and settling in to watch Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and their nearly three hour set.

The next day, the weather greatly improved- and although neither of us had much sleep, we were looking forward to a day of good bands and great atmosphere. We even managed to discard our hoodies that afternoon and whilst watching Madness, even got burnt! The afternoon was brilliant, but after a long day, it started to rain heavily and we made our way back to the tent where we spent the remainder of the night talking over cups of tea and biscuits. However, the rain continued to hammer on the roof of the tent- and by the time it got to 3am, the water was starting to seep through. Tired, covered in mud and slightly defeated, we decided to return home a day early so that I could have a shower and Liam could watch England in the football. 

Despite the rain, it was an amazing weekend, and it was nice to get away as a couple and have some careless fun again. The top festival moment for me was definitely Tom Petty singing 'Handle with care' as well as being able to get a Costa caramel latte in the middle of a field! <3

(L-R- IOW, The ultimate festival kit, blue skies, main stage, caramel latte, festival faces, our tent, leopard print wellies, wristband.)