Escaping to the city

Living in a small town, surrounded by moorland and sea, and isolated from major urban areas is an absolute pleasure at times. But increasingly I am itching to get back to big city life. So off I went for a weekend in the biggest of the UK's big cities, el capital itself.
I visited Sarah, one of my closest course friends from university. Having seen her for an all too brief breakfast date on my way home from Amsterdam I knew I had to go and spend some more time with her. In final year we spent a lot of time in the vicinity of each other, alternating hard work with great conversation. I think it would be fair to say we were a good team.
My first evening was spent chatting, catching up on recent occurrences in both of our lives, and like the organised ladies that we are, planning the weekend. As Dr Lahiri very wisely points out in The Mindy Project, 'You have to have an itinerary. It's how you maximise fun per hour.'

Portobello Road Market and a wander around Kensington and Chelsea.

One thing I always love to see is coloured buildings, especially in gorgeous pastel shades, clashing and complementary at once. I think in a way it reminds me of being in Italy (streets such as the penultimate photo in this post) or Europe in general. And I especially loved the colour of this door - to walk home to this would make me smile every day. 

A luxurious lunch at Dock Kitchen, at Portobello docks. 

The owner and head chef at the restaurant co-presented Spice Trip, a short series focussing on spices in six countries around the world. I had seen it when it aired on tv at the end of last year, and was completely inspired to travel, to cook and to eat, and so to go for lunch at his place was somewhat a gastronomical dream come true.

To start with, I ate pea and ricotta ravioli, and Sarah had an ajo blanco with melon, then we shared an incredible lamb biryani with tandoori bread, pomegranate seeds, cashew nuts and coriander. And yes, that is gold leaf on my tandoori bread. It was truly one of the best meals I have ever had, in a wonderful setting, all washed down with a bottle of delicious French Vermentino wine and a cheeky espresso.

From the moment I mentioned heading down to London, Sarah insisted we go to the V&A museum. Having browsed the gallery titles on the website, I was hooked. I'm open to going into any gallery, especially when it comes with such good recommendations, whether it be classical art or modern, but I was especially excited to see the ceramics collection here. The two of us spent a good while in just one room of ceramics, mostly fawning over the intricate and beautiful patterns and vivid colours of the Islamic and Middle Eastern bowls, pots, plates and tiles. Unfortunately photography was not permitted in one of the rooms and I was too busy looking to really take any pictures. 

As luck would have it, another university friend was having a birthday party on the Saturday night, so an impromptu reunion occurred. Unexpected but delightful. 

Sunday morning was gloriously sunny as we made our way eastwards to the Columbia Road Flower Market, by way of Highbury Fields. It was lovely being in such a vibrant atmosphere of viewing, buying, selling, bustling activity. Sarah and I both loved the little antique, arts and homeware shops along the side of the street, allowing us plenty of dreaming about our future abodes. 

All in all, a wonderful couple of days. And testament to a true friendship that I returned home feeling revived and relaxed - I never thought a city break in London would have that effect...I think I'll be returning in the not too distant future. 

Procrastination or Planning?

Procrastination is something I'm pretty good at, having had four years of a degree to work at it. One of my favourite methods of procrastinating is to look at flights. Rather than open a new tab from the journal I was reading and type 'face...' I'd often find myself heading towards budget airline sites.

Knowing that the possibility of booking a flight to somewhere exotic is in reach, literally at my fingertips, is something I absolutely love. That thought came in especially handy when the pressures of uni work were getting me down, and it still lifts my mood a little.

(Cagliari, Sardinia)

Of course, some of these dream travel searches are just that, a dream. But every now and again, the stars align and something becomes viable, a friend gets on board, and suddenly, I'm jetting off somewhere in a matter of weeks. 

(Scooters in La Spezia, Italy)

Then I end up then delving into guide books and web reviews of the best places to visit in a town or city, what not to miss, and how best to fill my days. Sometimes, as in the case of Amsterdam, this works perfectly. But other times the guidebooks get left in the hostel, only the map makes it out for the day and seeing what happens is a lot more fun. 
I found this especially when Interrailing with my friend Lydia for 3 weeks at the end of my Erasmus year. Walking tours were our staple source of history, geography and random facts about the town or city. I think one of the best ways to discover smaller places is to simply wander, read plaques, talk to people, and read any free leaflets or information that you come across. 

(Preko, Croatia)

This kind of exploring resulted in stumbling across some great little cafes, streets, and shops, and seeing places that we otherwise wouldn't have found, and maybe would have had even less chance finding if we'd stuck to general guidance for tourists.

(Looking out over the border between Italy and Slovenia)

Having said all that, every trip is different, and I think the control freak in me can't bear the idea of visiting somewhere and not see some of its most famous landmarks, learning something about what it's known for and doing or eating something truly local. Perhaps I find researching travel so exciting and enjoyable because I'll feel that I'll have minimised the chances of missing out on something, and therefore got the most out of my trip. 

As with everything, a big part of whether a trip is enjoyable or 'successful' is often down to who you share it with...but that doesn't stop me getting that giddy excitement when I see that email 'Confirmation of your flight...'

I'm interested to know how others go about planning their trips and travels...any top tips?

Amsterdam

Thanks to budget airline prices and conveniently timed Easter holidays, I recently took a five day trip to Amsterdam.

Since returning I've been trying to think of a way to sum up Amsterdam and all that we saw and did, but continue to fail miserably. But I'll begin with first impressions. 
Tall and beautiful. The buildings, the people, the beers. They're all tall and beautiful. Tall buildings mean the stairs are squeezed into a space that really doesn't feel big enough, so even my small feet don't fit on the stairs, and I think I'd get a crick in my neck if I spent much more time with Dutch people. Despite these two things, I would recommend Amsterdam to anyone and everyone, and although sex and drugs are a big part of the culture and tourism, this little city has so much more to offer along its canals and pretty streets.
Here's some of the things we did, and some photographs:

Thursday
Evening arrival and one of the easiest and quickest journeys I've ever had from an airport into the city. A quick chat with our hostess, Annemarie, amazement at our beautiful apartment, a little wander round, then some delicious tapas and red wine at Pilsvogel. 

(clockwise from left) 
Entering De Pijp - Jess, Stephi and I - Red wine and hot chocolate to accompany our tapas

Friday
A day of wandering, exploring, and venturing into little shops. We met up with Jamie, a friend from university who's living in the Netherlands at the moment (see here for sporadic updates on his life as an erasmus student), and ate muffins and drank tea. And then the real fun began...Jess spotted a Cheese Museum and there was no stopping her. We didn't go into the actual museum itself, just hung around in the shop area, coincidentally where there were a dozen or so cheeses cut up for free sampling. A personal favourite was the smoked goat's cheese, and one with pesto added was pretty good too, despite its slightly off-putting shade of green. We were treated to a gorgeous sunset, good enough to warrant removing hands from mittens to take photos, and dinner ended up being at one of the many, many Argentinian steak houses in Amsterdam, followed by a brisk walk home to escape the chill. 

(clockwise from top left)
Sunset over the Amstel River - Houses - Joy at the Cheese Shop, Bikes, Jamie, Jess

Saturday
And finally, the sun came out. First thing on our list was bike hire. Annemarie had told us we'd get a good deal from Stelios, the hilarious and slightly eccentric Greek hire shop owner. Thanks to the fact that Stephi is also Greek, we got an even better price than expected, plus a recital of some of his poetry, in Greek, for free. What a deal! Cycling round Vondelpark and stopping for a quick drink in the sun, by the river, was glorious. Next stop was the mega crowded IAmsterdam sign behind the Rijksmuseum for some typically touristic photo opportunities! Jumping in and getting a picture without anyone else in your shot takes a keen eye and some good camera skills, that's for sure! Unfortunately we couldn't go into the Rijksmuseum; we were just a few days early for its reopening after a ten year refurbishment. The day just got better when we walked into Bazar, a Middle-Eastern style restaurant in a former Dutch Reformed Church. And it just got even better when the food arrived. So scrumptious and so plentiful! Narrowly avoiding a post-dinner nap, the Red Light District was our final destination. I still find that whole experience really hard to describe; it was like a show, an utter spectacle, and so thought-provoking.

(clockwise from top left)
Posing in the IAmsterdam sign - Cycling in Vondelpark - Fresh mint tea in the sun - Lantern lights at Bazar - Amazing food - Outside the front of the Rijksmuseum - Sat in the sun at Sarphatipark

Sunday
Thankfully the sun stayed out for our ride out of the city, to windmills and countryside. First stop was Brouwerij t'Ij, whose fine beverages we'd sampled the night before. Riding south along the Amstel river, we came across boathouse upon boathouse, from the swanky and modern to the rustic and traditional, followed by Amstelpark, complete with oddly place highland cows...in the lowlands...and took a long lunch at Klein Kalfje (the Little Calf). Back in the city, the Heineken Experience was the next tourist spot to check off the list. Although €18 might feel like a lot, most recommend spending a good couple of hours in there, and two and a half beers are included in the price. Well worth it, in my opinion. And the perfect warm up for a gig; Stornoway were playing at Bitterzoet. Great music, friendly people. There's nothing like music to make you feel good. 
(clockwise from top left)
Outside the Brouwerij 'tIj windmill - Highland cows in Amstelpark - A windmill near Amstelpark - Stornoway gig at Bitterzoet - Photo with the band - Jess and I in the Heineken Museum - The Heineken Experience 

Monday
I think this was the day I really appreciated that we were in Amsterdam for longer than the typical weekend break, and therefore had time to visit Begijnhof and the public library. The former was a kind of convent, and is still home to 95 women, who live in private dwellings around a peaceful, green courtyard and a small but pretty chapel. Despite being only a building's depth away from a busy square in the city centre, it is so quiet inside; it's hidden gems like this that I'd been hoping to find. I would definitely recommend a visit to the public library too, even if you're not a book lover, as it's like an art exhibition in itself. The design and facilities made me want to return to studying; I could spend hours in there. Taking a ferry across the water behind the Central Station and towards the EYE Film Institute, we found the second IAmsterdam sign, almost completely tourist-free!

(clockwise from top left)
More canals and bikes - Tower of the Royal Palace, Dam Square - Stephi at the narrowest alleyway - In the clog - Attempting to climb - Settling for a group shot at the second IAmsterdam sign - Bookcases in the public library

Tuesday
Departure day. Even fifteen minutes before it opened at 9am there was a queue of about 25 people outside the Anne Frank Huis. Luckily we'd brought breakfast with us, and the queue was most definitely worth it. Straight opposite Anne Frank's house and museum sits Westerkerk, and, complete with 'climb guide' we trekked up the tower to some incredible views. Any time I go somewhere new, I long to be able to get up high somewhere and see all the places I've circled on a map in relation to each other. As luck would have it, our last day was also Ben&Jerry's 'Free Cone Day', but due to apparent 'dangerous queueing' i.e. people wanting ice-cream so badly that they wouldn't stop queueing over the tram line, the Dutch Police shut down the shop for the day. A quick stroll through a Tulip Market and one last stop for drinks at a cafe that houses some marvellous cake decorations were the very last things on our list, and then we had to say goodbye Amsterdam!

(clockwise from top left)
View from the Westerkerk Tower - The three of us at the top of the tower - Tulip Market - Last hot chocolate in Holland

A morning in London

Spent with a friend that I haven't seen since last summer, and who I miss greatly.

Chatting, laughing, reminiscing. All good for the soul. Along with a great brunch courtesy of The Breakfast Club, and a berry smoothie and some decor that I adore at Maison d'etre. 

I hope it's not another nine months before this happens again. 

Paris

One February Monday morning at work (I work in a high school) the head of the Arts departments called me into her office. The momentary panic of 'oh gosh what have I forgotten to do?!' was replaced by excitement as she asked whether I had a passport and if I was free the coming weekend. As my answer was 'yes, and yes', three days later I found myself on a coach to Paris with four other staff and forty three students! 

The city was beautiful as always, the weather was on our side, and it was so nice just to be somewhere different to home. I returned after a tiring four days feeling surprisingly refreshed and renewed. 

Whilst there, time was of the essence, so our itinerary consisted of mainly the major tourist sights and a few galleries. I did get to meet up with a friend from university too, an unexpected but lovely little reunion!
Despite having done almost exactly the same trip when I was a student at the school, and having spent a couple of days in Paris in the summer of 2011, on this visit I realised that I think I could go back to Paris dozens of times and always enjoy it. I saw the city through new eyes, in a different light. One no less wonderful of course.

Snapshots:
(clockwise from left) A view from Montmartre,
Sacre Coeur,
A view from the Montparnasse Tower,
Jardin des Tuileries.

(clockwise from top left) Eiffel Tower,
Streets as seen from the Eiffel Tower,
Art in the Orangerie,
Salvador Dali Museum,
Lunch with James,
The Moulin Rouge,
Artwork in the Pompidou Centre.

A bientot!