I Love Camden Town…

I’ve finally ticked off another UK travel destination from my Summer 2019 places to visit list, and Camden certainly didn’t disappoint! I’d been wanting to go there for ages, and under gorgeous blue skies I got to see it in all it’s technicolour glory; and it was magnificent. There’s amazing artwork on buildings everywhere you look and if you love retro and vintage styles you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven.

Browsing the endless stalls; selling everything from antiques to vegan burgers, I couldn’t believe how much stuff could be crammed into one area, especially at the site of the old stables. The streets were predictably busy but I never felt rushed, and despite the sheer volume of people everywhere the vibe was decidedly chilled. Walking the same streets as so many cultural icons; artists, poets and musicians, was almost overwhelming at times, and standing next to the statue of Amy Winehouse was particularly moving.

I was even able to fully indulge my love of all things boaty by taking a leisurely canal boat cruise up to Little Venice and back, which was the perfect way to round off a beautiful summer evening. Camden, I love you!

Happy Hooper…

Not only is hula hooping fun, it’s also jolly good exercise, which is why I’m thrilled to be able to stand in my back garden, surrounded by flowers and butterflies, while swinging my weighted hoop around my torso like an excitable 5 year old again. The past three weeks, since I suffered a fall and hurt my thigh, have meant that my life has been completely hoop-free while I allowed my body time to heal, and I’ve really missed it, but today I finally picked it up again and cautiously gave it a whirl.

It’s surprising how quickly your posture, core strength and general energy levels can drop when you’re forced to temporarily abandon regular exercise, but hopefully in the next few days I can be back to my old self again; jiggling my hips and wiggling my backside while the neighbours choose to ignore the ‘batty old bird‘ in her t-shirt and yoga pants dancing around outside in the sunshine.

Funny how it’s often the simple things in life that can give you the most pleasure…

Girlie Getaway…

My old school chum and I had been trying to arrange a girlie getaway for ages, but simply couldn’t synch our busy schedules, however we finally managed to arrange a few days in Oxford so that we could spend some quality time together. As we live hundreds of miles from each other I caught a bus while she travelled via train, and by some miracle we’d timed it so that we arrived within minutes of each other!

After dropping off our cases at a nearby luggage hold; which amusingly turned out to be a cannabis cafe; we were able to begin exploring all manner of places; from the Bodleian Library to the covered market, before discovering a wonderful little restaurant where we dined al fresco on the tastiest pizzas I’ve ever eaten. Eventually we collected our belongings and took a taxi to our accommodation, which were superior rooms at a business school. Oh my word, we’d definitely got lucky as they were amazing!

The following morning we had a delicious cooked breakfast before getting a taxi to Blenheim Palace (as you do!) Oh wow – I’ve never seen such splendour in all my life; it was magnificent. We had a guided tour of the downstairs rooms, ate afternoon tea in The Orangery and gazed across at stunning landscapes. We finished off by taking a bus from Woodstock into the city before returning to our lovely B&B; chatting late into the night over chilled Pinot Grigio.

The final day we checked out after another yummy breakfast and headed back into the city centre where we dropped off our cases again so we could spend the last few hours catching up with even more shopping and sightseeing; including a visit to the famous Ashmolean Museum. All too soon it was time for goodbyes, and the long journeys back to our respective homes. We might not see each other as often as we’d like, but we make jolly sure we cram an awful lot into our getaways when we do manage it! I wonder where our next adventure will take us…?

On Tour…

When a friend invited me to join them on a UK day trip by coach, up the coast to Norfolk, I didn’t immediately jump at the chance I have to admit, but my intention for this summer break was to explore the UK, and I’ve never been to Cromer before, so this is what I did.

Despite travelling through a couple of rain showers en route, the weather was actually gorgeous all day long. The pier was breezy but that was to be expected and the views along the coastline were amazing. The lifeboat museum was informative and adequately filled my desire for boaty things, the coffee in the cafe overlooking the pier was delicious, as was the mint choc chip ice-cream I scoffed. There was bunting everywhere you looked, which added to the celebratory feel of the day.

Walking along the promenade taking in the sea air I was lovely until I fell over, but thankfully I managed to carry on once I regained my composure. The enormous church in the town centre was quite spectacular, with scented petunias all around the grave stones.

I must admit that I’d previously been a tad snobbish about UK coach trips, not really seeing the point in them, however this excursion has somewhat changed my opinion. It really is a very inexpensive way to visit all manner of places for the day, and with pick-up points just a 10 minute walk from my house it’s extremely convenient.
This has definitely taught me a valuable lesson in opening my mind to new ideas…!