Capturing Cape Town

In March this year, Hamish and I took a two week trip back to my home country, South Africa. You can read more about it on past posts here, here and here. I have been trying to sit down and write this post on Cape Town for approximately 3 months now. While it was a great few days, for various reasons it was also a sad and sometimes difficult few days. It ended up being a bittersweet ending to a crazy, eye-opening, but still wonderful holiday.  The strangest thing happens when you move away from home, it changes. The scenery stays the same, but the people change and their lives carry on without you and sometimes, home  feels like where you will be returning to, rather than where you set out to visit (does that make any sense?! It does in my head). The pictures-turned-movie below capture it all. There may be some blotchy faces, some blurry backgrounds and some random shots, but throughout them all, the beauty of Cape Town shines through. Which really, is all I wanted to share and be able to look back on one day, the beauty and the bright sunshiny days.   I love Cape Town, I always have and I always will - it really is one of the greatest cities in the world and I hope all of you reading this (hi mom!) are able to visit many times in your life.

**This video has music...a great song that adequately describes this part of the holiday. 

Sunday Stories

Doing:  Everything.  Seriously, every single thing has been done this week.  We: cleaned, tidied, fetched parents (Hamish's) from airports, turned living rooms into bedrooms, cooked dinners, walked in parks at sunset, went up the Shard, went down the Shard,  walked along the Thames at sunset, went to work, came home from work (multiple times I might add), drove for 5 hours to get somewhere which is only 2.5 hours away, toured the un-stately National Trust  Calke Abbey, visited three churches, saw two weddings, took photos of all the things, chiselled concrete and paved concrete, walked one dog, shopped at one country village market,  ate roast meals, pub meals, home cooked meals, picnic meals,  Indian meals, coffee meals, ice cream meals and all things edible. I am sure I have forgotten half of the stuff we did. There was also a fair amount of Porcupine Ridge wine consumed. It was delightful.

Exercising: Aside from being one of the busiest people in the England  the world, I managed to make one spinning class and one Body Pump class.  I have to say the post- Body Pump death was slightly better this week, even though I was unable to move my arms, walking was a breeze - maybe after next weeks class both my arms AND legs will function normally, imagine that?! I think I can probably add concrete chiselling to the exercise list - it was hardcore.

Eating: All I can say on this is.... TOO MUCH. Seriously,  we spent the weekend up at my moms in the Midlands (in fact, I am still here, in the Midlands that is...probably about to eat something else soon) and she went all out on the catering. I will need to up the exercise this next week.

Reading: Still reading the Goldfinch, over half way through and still addicted...the storyline just got REAL (don't worry, I won't post spoilers here). I think I will likely finish it on the train back to London tonight :(

Wanting: To redo this weekend, but perhaps only eat half the amount of food.

Capturing: See Doing above for a more comprehensive list. Below are a few of these moments:

From top left to right and then down: Sunset along the Thames, I think I went to work on a ghost train - never have I ever seen a South West train carriage empty at 7:15am on  a weekday, another sunset shot, this little lady entered the world - well done Jen and Paul she is a beauty and I can't wait to meet her, my little rat-dog Sophie (she is much prettier when she has long hair), our new deck furniture for the summah!, paving project complete, paving project in progress with Hamish chiselling away - good work!

 

Sunday Stories

Doing:  This week has been pretty jam packed! Highlights included our monthly girls night in Clapham Junction, four of us have been getting together once a month for the past 8 or 9 months now and it's always good to have a lil catch up with a lot of wine.  I also loved babysitting the sweetest little girl, Poppy, for most of yesterday - seriously, I love spending time with this little cherub - she always makes me smile AND she was a big help spring cleaning the kitchen cupboards (even if I had to wash everything after she tried to eat just about every single Tupperware and lid).  We ended off the weekend today by preparing for Hamish's parents arrival this week and then had a lovely dinner at Giraffe on the Southbank before heading over to Aldwych to watch the amazing Rock the Ballet show with some friends - go watch these guys sweat if you get the chance, totally worth it!

Exercising: Two words - Body.Pump.   ----> This KILLED me on Wednesday, so I spent the rest of the week recovering and learning how to walk again. No joke. Thankfully, I managed to fit in a spinning class on Tuesday, so all was not lost. Here's hoping I recover quicker next time.

Eating: My new recipe of the week was homemade chicken noodle soup. I doubled the portion thinking the quantities sounded too small. Now we will be eating chicken soup for the rest of the month - good thing it was tasty!

Reading: The Goldfinch - I am really enjoying this book, nearly half way through and absolutely addicted. Starting to feel the "nearly-finished-sadness" creeping up on me. Nothing worse than finishing a good book and feeling like you have lost dear friends.

Wanting: To find out HOW I CASH IN MY WINNING LOTTERY TICKET! I won the lottery this week, really, I did. A whole £8.90. However, the lottery system clearly hates me and my winnings and will not allow me to cash it in. I have been to two separate shops and both have told me their machines won't read my ticket and kicked me out  - well, they may have been nicer than that, but still, it hurt. To make it worse, after the second rejection, in my frustration  I accidentally tore off a corner with the bar code on. I don't see this one working out for me. Oh well, next time.

Capturing: Food, flowers, sleeping babies and the loveliness that is London evenings in the Summertime.

Left to right: Poppy sleeping (I had to walk for 1hr30 to keep her asleep);  Poppy was eager to take my bike for a spin, safety first- always; London this evening after the show; tourists in our own town; Wimbledon Park last night at 9:30pm; Chicken Noodle Soup; and again; flowers in bloom in Wimbledon Park

World Cup Fever - Brazil, Florianópolis {Throwback Thursday}

In light of it being the 2014 FIFA World Cup Opening ceremony and match tonight, I thought it would only be fair for me to share a bit more about our UUH-MAY-ZING holiday to Brazil back in 2012.  I have already touched on Rio here, so today's post will be all about possibly one of the best little beach cities I have ever been to: Florianópolis.  

This is actually the home town of the two Brazilian friends  we went on holiday with and they certainly showed us what a great place it is, Hamish and I loved it! We stayed with their families, which was a refreshing change from the hotels and backpackers we generally stay in when on holiday and it was great getting to know their parents and families..AND their pet animals!! I may have fallen in love with a little cat called "Yellow Cat" and the cutest Lab you ever did see "Kimmi" who just so happened to be the very best of friends.

Our Wonderful hosts on the left and Kimmi and Yello Cat on the right

Florianopolis, or “Floripa”, as the locals call it is a massive beach destination which is not surprising considering it has around FORTY TWO beaches, yup 42….not too shabby for an ol’ beach lover like me!  The number of magnificent beaches is largely due to the fact that Floripa is actually an island and is connected to the mainland via a bridge, which means it is literally surrounded by beautiful white sand and turquoise water on all sides – take me back please?!

Due to the different currents and winds on the different sides of the island, the beaches can be totally different depending on where you go – but I promise you, they ALL have something to offer.  We enjoyed a week on this little piece of paradise. We toured the island, visiting what our hosts recommended as the “best beaches” and sampling all the local and delicious foods. We ventured out to the most beautiful little part of the city called Santo Antônio de Lisboa for lunch one day. Sadly, I am not a seafood eater, but the rest of the group said the seafood was to-die-for, and my Portuguese style chicken was pretty good too! What I liked most about this part of the city was the feel of it – the little fishing boats dotting the shoreline and lazily pulled up onto the beach, the multi-coloured houses lining the streets, the lack of tourists which made you feel like you were onto something special, the beautiful old church and of course, the great shops full of bright colourful goods.  

In addition to being beach bums we also took a pirate ship out to the Santa Cruz de Anhatomiri fort. This beautiful old fort was built between 1739 and 1744 and was built to serve as a defence station – sadly, it didn’t fare too well in the Spanish Invasion of 1977, but that’s a whole other story. Aside from the interesting history, this is an absolute must-see simply because of the stunning views you are treated too.   I highly recommend the touristy pirate ship, not only because, hello,  its a pirate ship, but because on the way back you get to walk the plank and go for a swim in the clear blue water.  If you are lucky, which we were, you also get a private little Capoeira show  - seriously impressive how these guys just bounce around like they are on a trampoline. 

I loved our holiday to South America (Argentina coming up soon) and I really cannot wait to go back to that magical continent and visit more of its countries and famous destinations.  Although I love writing these blog posts and I know for certain that in 40 years’ time, I will more than appreciate having them to read and cherish, the one big downside is that they really make me miss the places I write about and the people we travel with. I guess it is better to have happy memories of things I have done than sad regrets of those I have not.  As Hans Christian Anderson famously said “To travel is to live” - I do believe I best carry on living then!

Sunday Stories

In a bid to try and blog more frequently and keep this space present and a bit more real, I have decided to introduce a weekly post - Sunday Stories. This will be different from my usual travel posts and will look at some of the happenings of the week that has just past.  Hope you enjoy :)

Doing: This has been the best week of mostly relaxing. Aside from meeting up with some friends during week and helping Elly move into her new apartment yesterday, I have done pretty much sweet nothing. Sometimes I love nothing more than relaxing on the couch, browsing the interwebs and catching up on all my blog reading. I am currently obsessed with the Canadian TV show, Heartland and I am devouring the episodes on Netflix in any spare time - I want a horse and I REALLY want to visit  Canada again and travel to the stunning places this show is filmed, seriously impressive scenery shots!

Exercising:  I finally got back into my running groove after completing my first 10km race this year last weekend. I managed to get in two 8km runs this week and while my heart is happy about that, the same can't be said for my feet which are now sprouting some painful blisters. Oh well, this phase passes soon enough!  I also managed to sneak in a lunch time spin class during the week - no better way to break up a long day in the office.

Eating: I tried out a delicious recipe for Toad in the Hole last night. I LOVE Yorkshire pudding so this definitely goes down as a winner in my books. Although, I think maybe it could have done with 5 or 10 more minutes in the oven to crisp it up a bit.  Oh and today, after my 8km run, I made pancakes for Hamish and I for breakfast - totally balances it all out.

Reading: It really hurts me to say this as I am a massive book worm, but I haven't read a single book this week. I blame it on the fact that my kindle battery is dead and I am out of new books anyway. Anyone have any good book recommendations for the summer?

Wanting: For this months budget to be over so I can buy some new running shoes. Also, wishing there was a summer work week where we automatically got three day weekends every single weekend during the summer months. I think I need to speak to Boris/David about this one, maybe they can sort something out for London/England.

Capturing: Mostly food this week, my toad in the hole, Ben n Jerry's peanut butter cup ice cream and the view outside one lovely morning this week.

Throwback Thursdays: Slovenia for the win

Way back when, in 2012, right before Hamish and I jetted off to the colourful Carnival in Rio De Janeiro and fell in love with Brazil and Argentina (more posts on this coming soon, promise!), some special friends suggested a weekend group trip to “somewhere in Europe”. Well obviously Hamish and I were in. The big question was, where would we go that none of the eight of us going had been before?! It may not sound difficult, but when London is literally on the doorstep of Europe, this actually poses a real (albeit first world) problem.  Upon some research, the discovery was made that one of the only countries in Europe to not require a Schengen visa was Slovenia, and since one of our group was limited by that Visa, the decision was made and our destination was set.

To be completely honest, Slovenia was never on my radar. When we booked our flights to Ljubljana,  the first thought that crossed my mind was:  “Li-jub-what-what”.   My expectations were non existent and with the excitement of our upcoming holiday to Brazil, I quickly pushed the weekend to the back of my mind and barely thought twice about it.

Turns out I was mistaken in my ignorance and I am SO glad we decided to go to Ljubljana (thanks Amanda and Pete for choosing!), not only did it turn out to be the quaintest little European city which led us to the beautiful hidden gem of Lake Bled but it also cured our Brazil post-holiday blues - which, after returning from sunshine and sand to the grey English winter, was no easy feat. Ljubljana for the win!  

Image via

Overall we had a great time exploring this Central European jewel. Lake Bled was definitely the highlight of the weekend for me. Only an hour by bus from Ljubljana lies this serene, peaceful and  breathtakingly beautiful lake and lakeside town. It is a magical little place which makes you feel like you have stepped onto the pages of a Disney fairytale. Needless to say, I would return in a heartbeat. We spent the day cycling around the circumference of the lake, rowing out to the picturesque island in the middle of the lake which was home to  the prettiest little church, goofing around on said island, and pretty much just wandering the streets and exploring all Bled had to offer.  A perfect day all round.

Returning to Ljubljana later in the night we enjoyed a scrumptious traditional Slovenian meal and did what most Londoners do abroad – we experienced the night life. Like most other European cities, it did not disappoint.  Quite a few of the popular bars and cafés in Ljubljana are situated on the Ljubljanica River, which made for a beautiful backdrop while we sampled the delicious local beverages.  We spent Sunday moseying around Ljubljana castle and feasting on the deliciousness that is soup served IN a bread roll bowl, yes you heard me. It is amaaaazing – you can even eat the “bowl” – which I may have done (but really, who wouldn’t?). All in all it was a great weekend. I truly believe that it’s the things which hold the least expectations that turn out to be some of the best memories. 

* A pint of Beer in Slovenia costs: EUR 1.94