Perhaps another trip is needed: Paris

I'd never seriously thought about going to Paris but then living in London & only being 2 hours away on the train it seems silly not to venture over at some point. 

After being in Amsterdam the city felt huge & difficult to get my head around. We spent our time doing super touristy things this time 'round (The Eiffel Tower, Versailles, The Louvre, Notre Dame etc) and I'm glad we did. All good experiences but I don't know if I'd head back to them all again given the chance! Although I would definitely go to Versailles again. Next time I'd skip going into the main palace (oh-so-crowded) & spend all our time wandering around the amazing grounds and hopefully make it to the Petite Trianon which we didn't have time for, even though we spent a whole day there! 

I enjoyed being in Paris but I still feel fairly ambivalent about it.

It would be nice to go back one day, there's a lot left to see/do and I know lots of people that love it, maybe it's a slow burning kinda thing...Also, it was crazy hot the whole time we were in Paris so perhaps the heat wasn't helping!

Tuileries Garden: A lovely spot for lunch after the crazy hectic Louvre

Seriously crazy: The Louvre (guess what they're all not looking at properly!)

It's all in the detail for me

Versailles. It is incredible that the French Monarchy survived as long as it did... I'd be pissed too.

Do you love Paris? Am I missing something? Help me understand! 

Xx

I'm Sorry I Grumbled About You Amsterdam. You're Lovely.

I must admit, I didn't like Amsterdam very much at first. I have a tendency to dislike new places for no apparent reason, it is completely irrational & thankfully wears off pretty quickly! The city definitely grew on me... being able to walk everywhere, beautiful canals, interesting museums, good food - how could I have mumbled about not enjoying it for the first day & a half?! 

We rambled about the place & did a few touristy things (The Anne Frank House, Van Gough Museum) as well as spending time drinking in the sunshine along the canal, eating cheese, exploring markets, searching for delicious apple pie (which we definitely found!) missing out on eating pancakes (next time!) and frequenting good beer venues. I hope that we'll get a chance to go back to Amsterdam sometime soon so I can appreciate it without having the awful 'grumpy traveller' phase!

Of course

Much nicer than Regent's Canal!

Apple Pie at Winkel 43. Yum.

Managing to get a table outside next to the canal made our lazy Sunday afternoon totally blissful!

Some of my favourite places we visited in Amsterdam:

Koffie Salon - recommended by a friend & luckily just around the corner from our funny little hotel. Great coffee & a beautiful building - I can't believe I didn't take any photographs of this place! Must have been concentrating too intently on getting my morning coffee fix.

Winkel 43 - we stumbled upon this place late on a Sunday afternoon on the hunt for Apple Pie. I am so glad we did. Not only was the pie delicious (see above) & the setting lovely, we also had drinks accompanied by deep fried cheese sticks (don't judge us). We left feeling rather tipsy and full of goodly delicious Apple Pie. 

Noordermarkt - Strolling through this market in Jordaan was lovely (before the skies opened up & we had to run for cover in a nearby pub, what a shame!). I really enjoyed exploring Jordaan, interesting streets, cute shops, good food/drinks - a nice cruise-y way to spend some time in Amsterdam.

The Anne Frank House - Heavy going but excellently laid out - the museum was definitely worth a visit & the wait in line (we had failed to book online in advance, which I very much recommend doing!). The worst part of the day was being asked (while standing in the line, nay, having stood in the line in front of this person for 20 mins already) 'So, who was Anne Frank?' That was a frustratingly bizarre conversation. 

Van Gough Museum - It panned out that we only had time to visit one other museum on our trip & this was it. It was really well put together (as you would expect for a museum dedicated to one artist) and is worth a look even if you're not the biggest fan of his work. My advice to you is (as always) Go early! Obviously booking online ahead of time (for the more organised of you) is the best way to go but getting there early meant we managed to avoid the queue, which was massive when we left, and enjoy the museum without too many people about. 

There's a lot of Amsterdam left to explore & we are hoping to be back there in a month or so to do just that! If anyone has any favourite places let us know & we will put them on the to do list!

Xx

The tale of Grefriars Bobby makes me sob every time: Edinburgh (again)

Edinburgh was amazing (again) & the train trip from London provided some beautiful scenery, even without the copious amounts of daffodils that graced the hills on our last trip. 

Travelling with my family had a weird impact on the photographs I took while we were away - obviously with just the two of us usually there aren't many photographs involving people, so that was a bit different but having access to a smartphone (I have a crappy, but very reliable & never-needs-charging samsung flip phone, no camera, definitely no internet access!) changed the photographs I chose to take with my DSLR. Usually it's glued to my face the whole time we are travelling (with a proper amount of just 'taking-it-all-in' hopefully). Yes, I'm the embarrassing person that pulls out a giant camera no matter where we are. This time I noticed myself taking more photographs on the phone because it was just...easier. The quality is different but so are the photographs themselves - being able to quickly take a picture without hauling out a huge camera was definitely something I enjoyed. I don't think that having constant access to a smartphone would make me shelve the DSLR but it would definitely allow me to take quick snaps of nice everyday things. 

So, the next few blog posts from our trip will have some weirdly square phone pics thrown in (I now have an Instagram account, which for obvious reasons can't be updated very often - although Ben has a fancy phone I can get my hands on every now & then!)

Okay. That's enough ranting about phones/cameras - here are a few pictures from our foggy/rainy/perfectly Scottish week in Edinburgh...

Greyfriars Kirkyard

Coffee at Brew Lab every day

The little flat we stayed in - I do love Airbnb!

We spent our time generally wandering through the city & went to a few of my favourite Edinburgh places, including another trip to Craigmillar Castle where we were greeted with perfect sunshine for the only part of our stay!

Xx

Part IV

We ended up being at Dartmoor National Park on the same day as the Widecombe-in-the-Moor Fair. Our original plan was to head there for the morning, go to the fair then head off for a walk & picnic lunch. The roads to Widecombe were closed off & we didn't have enough time to park & wait for the shuttle so we decided to go to another Dartmoor town instead.

After some harrowing driving we finally made it to the village of Chagford. It was lovely, we had ice cream & bought a chocolate cake from an honesty box (it was possibly the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten, although I don't think I'd make the crazy drive into Chagford again for it!) as well as having coffee at a cute little cafe that doubled as a whole-food store.  

Dartmoor was beautiful. It would take a lot of dedicated time to get around and see everything but we managed to get to a village & then head off to climb the hill (it felt more like a mountain) to Haytor & have a very cold and windy picnic lunch. 

Dartmoor (It's a bit creepy really...)

Church cemetery in Chagford

We spent the next few days driving around Devon and even made it down to Plymouth. It was a miserable rainy day but fun all the same! We had afternoon tea at the River Cottage Plymouth Canteen & Deli where I promptly fell asleep after all the driving I'd been doing. 

South Devon Chili Farm

Plymouth Sound (with bonus rainbow to make up for the bad weather)

Devon Cream Tea is one of my favourite things but if I see clotted cream any time soon It will be too much for me to handle. We had a few too many of these indulgent afternoon teas...

I made Ben eat the rest of my scones this time. I just couldn't continue. I think they gave us a whole tub of clotted cream... 

All in all we had a really lovely time away - Ben went to a Cheese-making course at River Cottage on the Thursday while I spent my time at a yarn shop in Bridport before taking myself to Lyme Regis for a wander & lunch by the seaside.

On the way home we drove past Stonehenge but didn't stop. It was a fleeting visit.

It's back to city living for now & for once I am glad to be back on public transport!

Xx 

Part III

While we were away we stayed in a cottage on a farm in a small village called Musbury. It was about 10mins away from River Cottage HQ & Axminster. It was really lovely and best of all... the shower was AWESOME. It wasn't the best shower I've ever used, but after living with one that resembles a leaky tap for the past 6 months it was so so good. 

Anyway, enough about the shower. Here are some photos from around the place & our day in Somerset. 

Our cottage for the week

The view from the kitchen window. This guy really spent a lot of time contemplating his Equine Life whilst staring into the distance... 

Since we had a car we decided that driving through Somerset for a day might be a nice idea. It was.

Wandering through Apple Orchards in Somerset

We came back with a LOT of cider

This little guy was so lovely. 

We came back from Somerset with a haul of cider, cheese & other good things. Mulled cider on one evening took care of a bunch of it but there is still a lot left to drink! 

Xx

River Cottage & a week away (Part I)

Last week we left London behind and headed off to spend some time in the English countryside. We hired a car & after a lot of swearing finally made it out of the city traffic and into greener pastures.  

We had tickets to the River Cottage Autumn Fair for Sunday but after we arrived, bleary eyed & hungry on Saturday night we made our way from our cottage in Musbury to Axminster to have dinner at the River Cottage Canteen & Deli. We'd been looking forward to it for a long time and it didn't disappoint... 

Speltotto - I don't remember exactly what was in it but damn was it good!

Mmm, side potatoes

Apart from Nutella, I don't think Ben has ever enjoyed Hazelnuts more...

Dessert!

Blackberry Eton Mess. So good I had it again the next time we were there for dinner. Yes, that's right - in one week we managed to eat at various River Cottage places 5 times. Not all dinner, but all delicious. 

After this we were definitely ready to head to the Autumn Fair the next day!

Xx

The Horrors of Hedgerow Driving

One part of our trip that I enjoyed & yet also hated was the driving. I'm the only one with a license that is still valid in the UK so I did all the driving on our trip away which was great because I realised that I can drive long distances without falling asleep (always a good quality to have) and I have a new found appreciation for regular sized roads.

This was filmed in Dartmoor - the speed limit is 60mph (almost 100km) and the road is only just the width of a single car. I don't think I ever got up to 60mph but other people do and the corners are all blind so you are basically just hoping you see the other car in time. If you look closely at the end of the video you can see one headed right towards us. This road was pretty good because it had a few more lay-aways you could reverse into when another car was on the same road. That was the worst bit, having to reverse!

Xx

Back in town & embroidery stop motion

Back in the city after a week away exploring the English countryside, driving along two way roads almost less than the width of a single car & drinking all the cider in Somerset. River Cottage, Devon, Dorset & Somerset did not disappoint. 

The holiday isn't over yet - we're heading to the farmers market & then to Renegade Craft Fair this afternoon, hopefully with a trip down to Brighton for a lazy Sunday of cider & hanging out before it's back to work. I have a change of job (career?) coming up soon so at least my commuting days are numbered! More on that & lots of photographs from our time away soon. 

Check out this amazing embroidery stop motion music video... so good. 

Happy weekend everyone!
Xx