Why is a raven like a writing desk? More photos from my weekend away in picturesque Bath, Somerset. It’s so pretty there, I couldn’t stop taking photos.
Farmhouse breakfast at Monkton Farleigh. I was so sleepy I poured coffee into a juice goblet…
Below is a photo of the Bertinet Kitchen, high on the hill above Bath. This is the home of aforementioned best pain au chocolat EVER. It’s not just a bakery – it’s also a kitchenware shop and they host some classes that sound amazing. For instance: a four day course on baking, pastry and patisserie, and recently Anna Hansen, of Modern Pantry fame, taught there.
We asked our taxi driver He dropped us off by the canal, a few miles out-of-town. From there we walked back into the centre. I loved the sign written names of the canal boats. Crispy Duck!
And to finish… a touristy shot of the girls and I outside Bath Abbey, grimacing at the cold and the encroaching rain! If Bath is this nice in the middle of winter, it must be glorious in summer.
Some bonus photos from November. Things I learned: East London can be a vampire. Brussels is naught as boring as people say. But you need to wrap up warm.
November felt like a really busy, stressful month, but compared to December so far, it was a doddle.
Photos from a weekend away in picturesque Bath, Somerset. I got up ridiculously early in the morning, and jumped on a train to meet my pals Ali, Wayde and Shona. The first thing we did, and one of the highlights of our trip – was visit the Roman Baths.
There we walked around the remains of an ancient temple – constructed in 60-70 AD; and bathing areas, which were developed over the next 300 years. Over time the complex has grown, with other buildings built above street level in the early 19th century.
And this was just the first few hours of our visit! The architecture of Bath is gorgeous. More coming soon – including details of the place where I had the best pain au chocolat of my life…
My new happy place is Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. It’s an architectural dreamscape, where Austrian clichés meet Christmas kitsch. Amusements include mulled wine, blizzards of fake snow, roasted chestnuts, animatronic moose heads, the carousel bar, reindeer races, fairy floss, pretzels, talking trees, ice-skating, krugs of beer, fun fair tokens, and of course, a visit to Santa.
It’s absolute madness and I love it.
Last Saturday I was a tourist in my own city. Which is quite easy to do in London. While I am beginning to know the East End well, the West is a whole ‘nother story. So I decided to get myself lost! I caught the tube to Kensington, then spent a few hours at the Victoria & Albert Museum, gazing at all the art. After a few inspiring hours, I walked through Hyde Park, around the Serpentine, making friends with a few birds.
Yep, I has wonderful time wandering in London; just people watching, stretching my legs, and admiring nature. Best of all, it was FREE. I spent about a quid on my whole adventure. (I really like saying the word quid in private, but not actually to anyone.) Which to brings to mind a saying I like (source unknown) that rather inspired my move here: “If you’re going to be poor, you may as well be poor in one of the greatest cities on Earth”.
Belgium has a great mix of cultures – half Flemish, half French. Brussels in particular captures this spirit – it’s in the Flemish side of the country, but the majority of inhabitants are native French-speakers. It’s a lovely place to explore. You’ll probably notice a common themes running through these photographs; Brussels is famous for waffles, chocolate, frites, comics (it’s the home of Tintin), and the Manneken Pis.
Tintin and Snowy! Spotted from the train rolling into Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid station.
An example of the two languages living side by side. Also, Brussels has really nice trash cans.
(Is that an odd thing to notice?)
The Grote Markt (or Grand Place) was a square of breathtaking buildings. Gold, ornate, and utterly gorgeous.
Brussels has lots of cool street art/comics painted around town. There’s also a museum dedicated to comics!
The finest Belgian chocolate – in owl form.
A true polyglot, Brussels melds old and new architecture.
Putting the Pis in “piss-take” – there are tributes to Brussels’s favourite son, the Manneken Pis, everywhere.
Then after a night out and some excellent French food, it was back to London. I think we’ll be back to visit very soon – Belgium is only 1 hour 50 minutes away from London by Eurostar. It’s amazing to someone who has spent their entire life living on an island!
This week Thom and I zapped off on the Eurostar to Belgium for our first city break since moving to England. Being greedy ambitious adventurers, we figured we had enough time to see the sights of both Antwerp and Brussels. After getting up way too early in the morning for my liking, we caught a breezy train to Antwerp – one of Belgium’s Flemish cities.
The beautiful cathedral in the heart of the old quarter. We stayed in a quaint little hotel right behind it.
It seems like you can get waffles everywhere in Belgium – even from train station vending machines.
We stopped for coffee & lunch to escape the chill. Despite my mittens, I wasn’t prepared for how cold it was!
There are dual language editions of this daily newspaper, in two different colours (green for French).
Antwerp’s retro-winkels, AKA vintage stores were great. Best find: a set of antique chocolate moulds for €20.
We spent most of out time just wandering the streets, ducking into interesting shops, and taking photos. One evening we went spent a few hours in a tiny bar, making friends with some locals, and then later, the Frites man. It amused him no end to explain all the different chip and mayo options to two enthusiastic tourists…
Next stop: Brussels!
October.
The changing leaves.
Finding the perfect snood.
Expired film.
Drinking wine with Hemi and Thom.
Carving my mini pumpkin.
Exploring my neighbourhood. (Discovering Vietnamese food!)
Cask ales and candlelight.
Bike rides on crisp mornings.
I have always wondered why some people are utterly in love with Autumn but it all makes sense in a colder climate.
As far back as 1014, and probably much earlier, London Bridge attracted traders selling grain, fish, vegetables and livestock. In the 13th century traders were relocated to what is now Borough High Street and a market has existed there ever since.
![sweet[s] stall](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6031/6288416178_15eab01271_z.jpg)
The other day we went to Borough Market. Alongside cheese, breads, cakes and all those good things, it has the widest choice of fruit and vegetables that I have ever seen.
The atmosphere was incredible too; imagine crowds of happy people trading, supping on aromatic mulled wine, popping truffles in their mouths, pressing juices, ordering coffee, carrying armfuls of bread, commiserating on the weather… All the while trains rumbled across the viaducts overhead. I want to go back again and again.
London – September/October 2011. Roll number 3 with the Diana Mini captured the last of the summer light. I love shooting film, but I’m not sure how committed I am to the Diana Mini. It might be time to pull out the Canon AE-1, and get a sturdier satchel (I have my eye on a Cambridge batchel) to carry all my crapola round with me.
A majestic building in Bloomsbury.
An alternate view of Marble Arch. (I always get the sublime Jeff Buckley in my head when I hear those words.)
A flat white at Flat White, Soho. Good coffee is hard to come by in this city (country?). All the best places are run by Aussies & Kiwis, which is not that surprising.
A day trip to Oxford feat. The Queen.
I adore Hyde Park’s deck chairs in the summer… But goodbye to all of that for now!
East London, walking to the DLR train in the morning. Every day it’s getting darker and colder. To beat the gloom I’ve planned my first mini jaunt to the continent. 2 nights in Brussels, in a couple of weeks. I’m looking forward to the famous chocolate and beer!
London – August/September 2011. My second roll of film shot with the Diana yielded significantly better results! This time the camera was turned to East London. I really love Brick Lane (haha, in case you hadn’t picked that up yet). The diversity and noise reminds me of my beloved K Road; but the markets are way better, and the vintage is pricier!
Glorious Shoreditch wisdom by ESPO.
August, 2011. Images of a black and white Paris, shakily shot through my Diana Mini.
As you can see, I didn’t do a very good job of exposure or winding the film on – but I like the ghostly quality of all these images. Roll 1 down, many more to go.
So, the very next day – after all the sunshine, the pink cheeks and the hours of plaiting grass – the heavens opened up and London enjoyed a big wet. We were planning to go to the Brick Lane markets (a mere 10 minutes walk from my new house), but it was soggy and all the stall holders were throwing tarpaulins over their wares. East London’s newest fashion trend: the plastic bag turban, to keep your follicles dry.
