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A roadtrip to St Albans

January 20, 2017January 20, 2017 sohelena2 Comments

One of my aims this year is to discover new places in the UK. There really are so many places within driving distance that I have never seen. So this week my boyfriend picked a place and I got in the car not knowing where we were going to end up. An hour and a bit later (after I had made him sing a long to many disney songs!) we ended up in the quaint and pretty town of St Albans.

First stop, as always with us, was food! We had a wander around and ended up in the ‘Tudors restaurant’ which is part of the White Hart Hotel. It was a quiet and cosy pub restaurant and the food was delicious.

With full bellies we wrapped up warm again and walked to the cathedral which was just opposite the restaurant. It was huge and absolutely stunning inside and out. It is actually the oldest cathedral in Britain that is still regularly in use. There is something so peaceful to walking around a cathedral. Suddenly the world seems so much slower and it’s so nice to take that time to reflect.

Next we headed to the Verulamium Park which is 100 acres of greenery and wildlife. If we had left it up to my boyfriend Martyn we definitely would have got lost but I managed to find a map which lead us there after a slight unplanned detour.

Inside the park was a beautiful ornamental lake which was home to many ducks, swans and herons. I would love to see the park come alive in the summer.

The city centre was very quintessentially British. It had all the great well known shops mixed in with original independent stores. I couldn’t resist a visit to Lush to pick up some new bath bombs though!

I absolutely adore living in London. I love the energy and the buzz of the city yet as I visit more of these quieter towns I can definitely see the appeal. The sense of calm is something I love to relish in when I visit as it is such a contrast to the hustle and bustle (and stress!) of a capital city. Maybe one day I will take the leap to move out the city and will find myself in a similar town to St Albans. But for now I love discovering new places like it and paying a visit.

What are some of your favourite towns or cities? I need some more to add to my every growing travel list!

xxx

life

A Long Weekend in Bath….(part one)

November 29, 2016December 16, 2016 sohelena1 Comment

So I recently took a much needed long weekend off work and spent it in a country lodge in the City of Bath with my boyfriend. Bath had always been on my bucket list of places to visit and after watching the Michalak’s vlog ‘Lets Move to Bath’ (watch here – http://tinyurl.com/je2avwf ) it was all the convincing I needed to get my butt into gear and actually book it.

We stayed in the cutest country lodge just outside the city called ‘Bath Mill Lodge’. We had previously fallen in love with these lodges last year after staying in a similar one in Guildford. It’s private and cosy allowing you to feel like you’re in the secluded countryside yet easily in reach of the City and also the onsite facilities such as a gym, bar and restaurant. It definitely has that all important ‘hygee’ factor too!

We arrived on a Friday evening after a three hour drive from London (we definitely made the mistake of listening to the sat nav which took us through a VERY busy Fulham…) So after quite a long drive the first thing we did was find the local to pick up some bits and bobs for the lodge. The first thing I noticed as I stepped out of the car was how fresh the air felt. As soon as you step out of the crazy wonderful but busy (and extremely polluted…) bubble of London, it suddenly becomes so much easier just to simply breathe. I instantly felt a wave of calm as I took some long breaths. Even though Martyn initially laughed at my pure excitement of fresh air he also agreed. Anyway, after I got over the concept of breathing we decided to finish the evening with dinner at the onsite restaurant. We were greeted with complimentary champagne and a glorious meal as we planned what to explore over the weekend.

Up bright and early..(ish) Saturday morning we started with a tour of the city of Bath using the podcast ‘World Heritage Site Audio Tour’. We discovered this podcast from the website visitbath.co.uk and it was free to download from ITunes onto your mobile. It was the perfect companion to have with you as it pointed out and explained parts of this beautiful city we may had initially just walked past. It takes you through the whole city with a total of 12 stops and the best thing being it is TOTALLY FREE!

The whole city is just so historic. You feel as though you have stepped back in time as you wander over the cobbled streets and look up at the amazing architecture. Of course there is a Primark and a few Costa Coffees that bring you back to the 21st century but apart from that you feel as though you have stepped into a Victorian novel.

One of the stops was the beautiful Bath Abbey.

One of the most famous sights of Bath is the Royal Crescent. It’s a magificent row of ultimate house goals, maybe one day eh!!

After the Michalak’s recommendation and also the suggestions on VisitBath a place I was extremely excited to visit was ‘Sully Luns Buns’.

Luckily we didn’t have to wait too long for a table for two but I did see at times that the queue would be out the door! And now I know why! MY GOSH! These buns are delicious. We both opted for the famous Bun and Jam with Sally Lunn Bunn’s own tea. Definitely will be returning here next time to sample more from the menu….

Although I didn’t plan this it happened to be Guy Fawkes night that Saturday. I have never been one for big fireworks displays but I have to say watching the display from the famous Pulteney Bridge over this magical city was a moment I will never forget.

Part two will be up soon, with pictures of when we explored the Roman Baths.

Let me know of your favourite cities to visit, definitely want to explore more cities in the near future!

xxxxx

life

Birthday in Brighton

August 29, 2016November 21, 2016 sohelenaLeave a comment

On August 16th I turned the ultimate ‘quarter life crisis’ age of 26. Now if you were to round my age up to the nearest ten it would be 30. Erm, when did THAT happen? Even more scary is that if I were to audition for the X factor I would be in the ‘overs’ category…. wait, that surely can’t be right can it?! But all this aside, luckily enough, I had the most wonderful day to celebrate.

I woke up to breakfast in bed being crept in by my boyfriend, Martyn, and after all gifts and cards had been opened he told me to get ready so we can catch a train. I had been dropping enough hints and luckily enough they paid off as we headed to the land of sea, fish and chips, dinky doughnuts and hungry seagulls. Good old Brighton! Just a little over an hour train ride away from London, the sea side town of Brighton is one of my happy places. We made our way through the hoards of tourists and hyper children (I had forgotten is was the middle of the school holidays!) till we reached the glistening sea surrounded by a never ending bright clear sky of blue.

After taking in the sea air to clear out our London air filled lungs, and of course capturing a few scenic shots ( cough*selfies*cough), we had built up quite an appetite so we headed to one of our favourite lunch time spots, Bills. The Bills in Brighton is one of my favourites with its converted warehouse theme with high ceilings and laid back atmosphere.

Peach bellinis and lunch devoured we headed to the famous Lanes to continue exploring. You can’t help but wonder if JK Rowling had been inspired by these streets when creating the twists and turns of Diagon Alley. I could spend hours exploring the jewellery and ‘nick nack’ shops leading off from the cobbled streets. As we were so full from lunch we managed to resist a hot chocolate from the famous ‘ChoccyWoccyDooDah’, but they did look DELICIOUS.

Doesn’t it look like something you would find at the Mad Hatters Tea Party!

What we couldn’t resist however, was dinky doughnuts once we had reached the pier. I mean, the smell just overwhelms you and you really can’t say no. One thing that Martyn however did say no to was the crane like ‘Booster’ ride which I must admit looked pretty terrifying. Flying out on a crane-like contraption over the bottomless sea… well, watching it was enough to make my dinky doughnut filled tummy turn! So we opted for the fairground classic (and closer to the ground), Waltzer.

Although it did put us in a permanent state of giggles as we whizzed around and around. The pier arcade was next to fill me with overwhelming nostalgia as I re-lived my dance mat days stomping my feet to the beat of ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ and beating Martyn ‘7-4’ at ice hockey. He claims this was only because it was my birthday, but I think you and I both know that wasn’t the case!

As the sun started to set across the stretches of pebbled beach, what better way to end the day than with a pint and a Pimms on the beach.

And of course, watching these hungry fellas try to nab a few fish and chips from unsuspecting tourists……

Thank you Brighton, for a lovely way to bring in my 26th year. Here’s to a year of adventures, taking chances and who knows? That’s the fun of it all I guess!

xxx