Travel

36 Hours in York

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6 weeks ago I had the unexpected pleasure of some time off, with my other half. We decided to make sure it was quality time together and to get away from the humdrum of home for a bit.

We stayed at the rather lovely Principal York Hotel which, despite it’s elegant appearance, was not quite as smoothly run as I’d have hoped, but it all got sorted in the end!

After checking in, we headed out to explore.

I think I must have a Christmas-sensor embedded in me because I can sniff it out anywhere and was quickly drawn into this store.

Our next stop was to The York Museum.

By the time I’d been dragged out of Christmas-land, time was ticking on a bit… The very kind attendants at the museum reassured us that we would have time to do one wing and helpfully, gave us a pass so that we could return the next day for the other half of the museum.

The museum was formerly a Prison and we spent our first day in the Women’s Wing – which housed a number of historical exhibits and (most impressively) a full scale replica of a Victorian Street, complete with back alleys and stores for you to wander in and out of.

After all that time-travel we were feeling a bit peckish so headed to Betty’s (a Yorkshire institution!)

Dinner was a little disappointing so I’ll skip over that and move on to Day 2…

We returned to the Museum bright and early, ready to tackle the next wing. This holds an eclectic mix of modern day history (1960s – Present Day) and a centuries-old history of the prison.

Once back outside we headed for the Shambles. (Perhaps the most instagrammed street in York.)

A few people have assumed it influenced the Harry Potter stories or was used in the film (there’s actually very little to link the two) and as a consequence Potter-mania has invaded the street.

By far the best of these shops is The Shop That Must Not Be Named.
People quite literally queue up to shop here…

After all that horcrux-hunting I was hungry again.

York is famous for it’s history with Chocolate (and with fruit pastilles – but as I’m a chocaholic that’s of little interest to me.)

Monk Bar is just the sort of shop to fulfil any craving you might have. But I can particularly recommend the liquid chocolate shot in a chocolate cup!

Our visit to York was choc-a-block and I will be back again soon!

Scotland, Lochgoilhead & Dunoon

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I look forward to going to Scotland every winter. Sadly this year I spent the entire holiday feeling very poorly indeed. Back home, whenever someone asked me how the holiday was I replied with “Well the medical centre was excellent, and the three pharmacies I visited were lovely.”

That being said, staying indoors wasn’t too bad, with these views to admire…

We rented the most charming and secluded cottage. If I won the lottery I would buy it (I liked it that much!)

When I was feeling up to it, I didn’t have to venture too far to see more of the scenery. The cottage is surrounded on all sides by secret pathways and spectacular views.

The most spectacular part was perhaps the three waterfalls, which you surrounded the house and could be heard everywhere you went.

The village of Lochgoilhead doesn’t offer much more than a medical centre and a post office, but the one benefit of having to make multiple trips to the pharmacy, is that you get to see more of surrounding areas.

Fortunately all of the pharmacies I needed could be found in one place: the charming town of Dunoon. My grandad came from Dunoon (which perhaps explains why I’ve always prefer the west coast of Scotland) but this was my first visit to his hometown.

Sadly I couldn’t linger for as long as I’d have liked, but I’ll be sure to return. When everywhere looks as pretty as this, how can you stay away? 

Charleston’s Charm

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I am just going to say it… I think Charleston is possibly the prettiest city I have ever visited. Not to mention the most warm and welcoming. It really showed us some amazing southern hospitality.

We only stayed a couple of nights, but I could easily live here. 

On our first evening we arrived starving after a long, long drive. I had heard wonderful things about Magnolias but sadly they couldn’t squeeze us in. So here is my hot tip: head next door to it’s sister restaurant Blossom. Which is every bit as good and much less crowded. 

For shopping; you can’t beat King Street, but the market hall was fun to wander through and we also found a fun farmers market on the square (held once a month).

Mostly though, I spent my time in Charleston drooling over dream houses and other pretty places.

Oh, and if you want to splash out on a fancy dinner – try this place. I celebrated my birthday with a Bison steak which I am still talking about now.

Sights and Sounds of Nashville

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When I was eleven, I discovered Leanne Rimes (thanks to Coyote Ugly) and Country Music became my guilty pleasure. (Believe me, for a teenager in the UK it was not cool, but I fell in love with it anyway.)

I love almost all genres of music, but Country is the clear favourite.

There isn’t much of a country music scene in the UK, so visiting Nashville has been on my bucket list for a very, very long time… and if you can’t do something special for your 30th birthday when can you?? 

We rose bright an early on our fist morning in Nashville (very early in fact – thanks jet lag!) and didn’t waist any time heading Downtown. I have been following Kelsey Montague‘s art on Instagram for ages, and literally stumbled into her famous wings not long after we left the hotel. 

I think this picture accurately sums up my feelings about being in Nashville for the first time…

Why can’t every city have bike stands in the shape of music notes?

After the obligatory walk down Broadway and a spot of boot-browsing, we decided to head for a lunch time treat with live music. 

Yes, it may be a little gimmicky but BB King is a musical legend so how could we not eat here?

We walked off lunch by heading up the hill to look at the State Capitol building.

Which had a great view past the war memorials and across the city.

Not long after this the top end of a hurricane hit Nashville and our afternoon activities were rained off. We retreated to our hotel where the jet lag caught up with us. After a quick snooze, we were refreshed (as was the city) so we headed out to The Station Inn. If you are ever in Nashville and want to hear some of the best live bluegrass go there – the Sunday Night Jam was brilliant. I’m not going to say more than that as it’s really the sort of place you have to experience for yourself.

Day Two dawned almost as bright and early as the first so we headed out to explore some more. 

As the weather had perked up a bit we headed to Centennial Park, which is a beautiful oasis of green in the middle of a very concrete-and-glass city. It also happens to be the home of a full-size and to-scale replica of the Parthenon from Ancient Greece…

For reasons that I still can’t wrap my head around, just over 100 years ago the state of Tennessee decided to spend lots of money it didn’t have, building this in the hopes of attracting visitors and boosting the local economy. It now houses an art gallery which sadly was closed on Mondays.

I’ll be completely honest though, Nashville was a bit of a let down during the day. If you aren’t day-drinking on a bachelorette party and/or don’t like country-music-themed-museums you might be a bit stuck for activities. We spent most of our 2nd day wandering aimlessly and doing a little shopping in 12-South.

Another way to pass time in Nashville is by queuing to get in to this famous place:

The concierge at our hotel warned us that people had been known to queue for up to 7 hours for a show at the Bluebird, but we didn’t want to spend all day sat on a wall so we took a chance and arrived just under 3 hours before the first show. Luckily we timed it just right and made it into the singer-songwriter showcase that evening. (Side note – since mu visit, the Bluebird has now started to allow online booking for some shows to eliminate the queues. More info here.)

So that’s another item I can cross off my bucket list!

Pembrokeshire

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Last month we took a little time out and headed to Pembrokeshire for a few days R&R.

Driving south we took the scenic route through Snowdonia and along the Pembrokeshire Coast before arriving at our destination: Slebech Park

Slebech really is a haven away from the rest of the world (no mobile signal). The building itself isn’t much to look at, but the converted stable-block rooms are a modern twist on country comfort.

The main thing I loved about Pembrokeshire was that virtually everywhere was dog-friendly and Cali was positively encouraged into every restaurant and shop with us. (It’s a good job the rest of the world isn’t like this or I fear she’d have a terrible shopping habit and I’d have an empty bank account!)

We visited Pembroke Castle on our first day and enjoyed a free guided tour. Followed by a look around the town (and in Cali’s case, a chance to scoff all the yummy biscuits people offered her) and an afternoon on Tenby beach. We ate at the South Beach Bar and Grill while the sun set over the sea outside.

The second day was spent tiring Cali out walking around the Slebech Park estate and later exploring Picton Castle and Gardens. The gardens were the real star there – I’m aware I’ve probable middle-aged myself by saying so, but they were very special.

On our way home we stopped off in the Pembrokeshire National Park and spent a happy couple of hours exploring it on horseback. Later we ate dinner in Aberaeron before heading home.

The Scottish Borders

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Two months ago Cali and I took some time out and spent it with family in the Scottish Borders.

We stayed in this house, which is what I would call ‘unusual’ and ‘unique’. It’s extremely spacious which makes it excellent value for money – but (I’ll be honest) not quite to my taste.

The house is not too far from Kelso which is a perfect town for a touristy day out shopping for knick-knacks. It’s also only an hour and a half from the coast. We visited Eyemouth – which has a small but perfectly formed beach and a great coastal walk (past the smugglers bay!)

If you do get chance to visit Eyemouth, I would also recommend this lovely pub.

But the main draw of this house is that it’s very much off the beaten track and the best of the Scottish Borders is right outside your front door – waiting to be explored.

On another note… this post is, as usual, a little late. I’ve been getting into bad blogging habits over the past year and you may have noticed that the number of posts has dwindled a little. I have all the best intentions of remedying that but all is not so simple as it would seem! I’m going to share a little more about my journey over the past year soon, but for now, let’s enjoy Scotland…

TBT: Venice

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Lately, every time I open Instagram, someone I follow is posting pictures from Venice. It’s easy to understand why, as Venice is full of hidden treasures and quirks. I’m exceptionally jealous of anyone visiting for the first time. (I’ve been lucky enough to visit on 2 occasions and I wouldn’t say no to a third trip there!)

The best time to see Venice is early morning – if I could give you one recommendation it’s to get up just after the sun does and go a-wandering.

I’d also tell you to travel via water wherever possible and to make the short trip to the nearby island of Burano – where you will find some of the most beautiful hand-crafted lace you ever laid eyes on.

These insta-adventures have got me reminiscing so I thought I’d share a few pictures from my travels…

Something for the Weekend: Yanks Weekend

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I grew up in a part of England that’s constantly coming alive with quirky traditions. Yanks Weekend is one such tradition. I’m not sure it can be explained all that succinctly but I’ll try…

In 1979 Richard Gere made a movie called ‘Yanks’. It was about a group of American soldiers stationed in Britain and was set in the English countryside. The little villages (where I grew up) played a starring role in the film and for the last 16 years this fact has been marked with a 2-day celebration. For one weekend a year we step back in time to the 1940s. There are fairs, aerial displays and parades through the streets. A lot of people get into the spirit of things by dressing up vintage style – and there’s an awful lot of swing dancing.

Last year was one of the best and busiest yet – and the first time I’ve been able to experience it for quite a while so I thought I’d give you all a little taste. You can find out more about this brilliant and bizarre event here and if you’re interested in seeing it for yourself it’ll be taking place on 6th and 7th August in Saddleworth.

December in Scotland

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Last month we had a short family trip up to Scotland – back to my favourite area on the west coast. We’d decided to travel with 3 dogs in tow so were limited on options for where to stay but struck it lucky with a beautiful rented cottage on the Ardmaddy Estate.

We weren’t quite so lucky with the weather (having arrived in the lead up to ‘Storm Desmond’) but we made the most of the few moments that the sunshine managed to break through the clouds. The Ardmaddy estate is only a few miles from the Isle of Seil – which gave us the perfect opportunity to explore this ruggedly beautiful island.

Alghero, Sardinia – Part II

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This is the last post in my Sardinia series. I may have only spent a week there but there was so much to see and do – when I got home and started wading through all the photos I realised how much we’d packed in. If I could do it all again I would go for longer so that I could take a little more time to soak it all up. It really is a little gem of an island.

On my last night on the island, I was really craving Pizza so, on a recommendation, we headed of to ‘Casablanca’ – which must be the cosiest little bistro in the Winter months as the restaurant has gorgeous vaulted ceilings. It was so warm though, that we opted to sit out on the street under the night sky and take in the atmosphere of the Old Town.

Dress: Grace & Mila (similar here)
Sandals: F&F