December 2013: Xmas in London

The weeks leading up to Xmas in London are an odd mixture of joy and madness,The lights and trees go up, the scent of mulled wine is wafting down the streets, the pubs are full of merry people drinking by open fires.On one hand, things are winding down at work and people are looking forward to getting out of town.On the other hand, the lack of planning and the massive sales that have been running since black Friday are mixing into a shopping tornado of madness. Then on Xmas day everyone has gone out to see family or gone on holiday, it's like a scene from a movie, collect supplies and evacuate.
While there isn't much to say about Xmas day 2013 except that the food and company were wonderful, I did manage to get in a morning bike ride into London central and try and get some snaps of London after the storm had passed.

 

October 2013: good times in Paris

We jumped on the Eurostar and popped up on the other side of the channel for a four day stay in Paris.

We were staying in an airbnb studio apartment in Le Marais, near the Canal St. Martin. Overlooking a beautiful church and near to a lot of nice cafes and restaurants, it was nice to stay in a less touristy area of the city. To get in the spirit of things we started our trip with an apéritif of delicious red wine and Comté, bought for a bargain at the local supermarket.

That evening we went for a wander down to the canal itself, which was very picturesque. After much trip advisor consultation, walking around, and negotiation, we finally settled on a place for dinner full of French classics. We enjoyed foie gras, crème brûlée, duck, and snails.

To fuel up for the day of touristing, we visited the Richard Lenoir market, also known as the Marché Bastille, which was full of foodie delights.

Keeping with the market theme, we spent a good half a day visiting the nooks and crannies of the vast flea market Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen, apparently the biggest flea market in the world.

Heading up to visit the Sacré Cœur and explore the Montmartre area a fierce storm lashed us with rain and wind, breaking an umbrella and thoroughly drenching us. I still own the tacky purple ‘I love Paris’ umbrella we had to buy as a replacement.

In search of a good photo spot, we trekked across to Montparnasse Tower, a tall office building with a roof terrace open to the public which offers fantastic views across the city.

Although I had been to Paris a couple of times before I had sadly never quite had the time or stamina to visit the vast and daunting Louvre. Although I feel like we only skimmed the surface of all there is to see at the Louvre, what we did see we really enjoyed.

Exhausted, we took refuge in the neighbouring Tuileries gardens. Plonking ourselves on a nearby bench we enjoyed watching local children set model yachts afloat in the water fountains.

Taking advantage of the fine weather, a stroll along the Seine led us to the Notre Dame cathedral. Although I’ve seen it quite a number of times now I still find it impressive.

We queued for a couple of hours to visit the Paris catacombs. Admittedly the idea of the catacombs doesn’t sound particularly appealing, but the extent of the warren-like tunnels, the quantity of bones and the history of the site made for a really interesting visit. The city’s graveyards were proving a risk to public health, and the catacombs were built below the city streets, in former quarries, to provide a practical place to store these bones and corpses.

Before bidding ‘à la prochaine’ to Paris, we were sure to squeeze in another few French culinary classics, like these sumptuous macaroons, and a pistachio and chocolate swirl to enjoy beside the canal.

August 2013: camping in Kent: marshmallows, cornfields, and near-death experiences – part 2

The next day we fuelled up on coffee and baked beans, in preparation for our renewed mission to find a shop. While washing the dishes, the sunshine was suddenly disappeared, and out came an intense downpour of huge hailstones. Poor Paul was caught in this and had to hurriedly rush for shelter, much to our amusement. The weather continued in this unpredictable manner for the rest of the day.

Armed with sunblock and raincoats, off we headed optimistically in search of the next village along. Data on our phones was pretty much non-existent, and the only map we had to work from was severely lacking in detail, so we relied on this and rough directions given to us at the pub. Keen to avoid a repeat of yesterday’s hair-raising walks along busy roads, we were pleased to find several ‘public walkways’ signposted.

These public walkways however were often not particularly helpful however, with no idea of where the walkway led, we often discovered ourselves in the opposite direction to what we intended. We also ended up crunching our way through a farmer’s cornfields, gaining a few cuts and scratches in the process.

What we were promised was a mere half an hour’s stroll from the first village soon turned into a few hours. We were getting increasingly hungry and fed up with our ridiculous situation. Finally we found our way to civilisation and were keen to have a hearty lunch, which ended up being in yet another pub.

We asked the waiter about the village shop, explaining that we needed some groceries. Perhaps by the word ‘groceries’ meant something grander to him as he said that there was only a very small shop and he didn’t think it would have what we needed. He explained that there was a bus which left from just down the road every hour or so and could take us into the metropolis of Tunbridge Wells where we could get everything we needed.

Suitably sated, we rolled our eyes and headed off to wait for the bus. Finally off we rolled. Two minutes later we saw the infamous shop, which looked like it would have had everything we needed to feed ourselves for the next few meals.

Nevertheless, we found ourselves in Tunbridge Wells and walked around a cute little centre before finding the huge Morrisons. We started stocking up, and then realised that we still had to figure out how to make our way back to camp. By this time we had had plenty enough of trekking our way through paddocks, cornfields, over stiles, and turning ourselves around in circles, and so we decided we would taxi back to the campsite. Fearing an outrageous sum, we enquired with a driver as to the estimated fare, and he guessed a mere £10. Not having to worry about lugging our supplies back over countless miles, we added some cold beers into the trolley.

Our chatty taxi driver was amused by our story, and keen to check out what the camping area was like, drove us all the way to our tent. 

The journey was only twenty minutes.

August 2013: Camping in Kent: marshmallows, cornfields, and near-death experiences – part 1

In August four of us ventured out into the lush countryside of Kent for a spot of relaxing camping, but what in actual fact ended up being a comedy of errors. We took a train south to Ashurst, laden with newly purchased tents of varying quality, one pot, a bag of marshmallows, instant coffee and some tins of baked beans.

After finding our bearings, off we plodded in the direction of the campsite, only to realise that the country roads were bordered right to the very edge with thick hedgerows. Meanwhile the roads themselves were full of rather large cars and trucks hurtling past at breakneck speed, and honking their horns at us fools who clearly shouldn’t have been there. A sweaty and stressful trek later, we arrived at the campsite.

To say we were underprepared would be an understatement. We claimed our patch of grass and pitched our tents. It soon transpired that the advertised on-site farm shop which we had been counting on for dinner that night and beyond was only open on Saturdays. It was a Thursday.

We were assured there was a shop in the next village, a short walk away. Using the unreliable maps on our phones, we eventually navigated our way to said village, by way of some slightly quieter roads. Once we arrived however, we were informed the shop was closed.

We were left with no other option than dinner in the pub – about as far from camping as you could get. Asking about the shop for tomorrow’s expedition, we were told that we would need to go to the next village again. We sighed and headed back to camp to comfort ourselves with toasted marshmallows.

A lack of foam mats, mattresses, or any form of cushioning and being unaccustomed to sleeping on the ground meant a long and relatively sleepless night for us city slickers.

A Sicilian adventure, July 2013: food, sunshine and friends, part 2

After a few days in Palermo, we jumped on a bus and then a ferry to Favignana island where we 'glamped' for a few days. This is really camping as it should be.

Waking up in the morning, we strolled to the campsite's restaurant where we enjoyed delicious pastries and cappuccinos, including Genovese - a delicious pastry which looks like a ravioli, filled with a custard-like pastry cream, although a little rich for breakfast for me.

We would then hop on our bicycles and cycle to one of many different beaches, or to the town centre. It's a truly stunning place - the colour of the water is just incomparable. It's a popular holiday spot for Sicilians, and it didn't feel like there were that many international tourists, which is often a bonus.

We had a lot of really tasty food on Favignana. Delicious foccacia, gelato, pizza, and the ubiquitous Birra Moretti. We would buy one big bottle at a time, and share amongst plastic cups, ensuring the beer was always cold.

What little we saw of Sicily we loved. We would love to come back one day soon and visit other parts of this gorgeous island, hopefully again with the fantastic company of our ever-stylish, diminutive guide.

Sadly though our time in Sicily had to come to an end, and we had to bid it, and Ester alla prossimo.