Amsterdam Birthday Trip

It's been nearly a week since I returned from my birthday trip to Amsterdam so thought it was about time I actually put the photos up!  I'm going to be honest and say that it wasn't the best birthday trip I've ever had but it had some great moments and definitely turned out alright in the end. 

It was a long day driving and by the time we arrived my temper was fraying somewhat. I kind of felt like I'd pretty much spent my entire birthday in a car (and the landscape was pretty boring and samey the whole way) so wasn't feeling that chipper. I loved chatting with my friend, but if someone ever says "hey, do you fancy driving to Holland?" say "hell no, let's get the plane"!

I'd been to Amsterdam once before when I was around 29 and we did a lot of the touristy things then (Red Light District, Flower Market etc) and the place is quite pretty to look at. My friend had never been but has travelled all over the world and is very easy to get along with. I'm not sure many people would have been able to stand me for 3 days actually so I was very lucky to be with her. I'm very picky and particular (read a total pain in the arse)

The ferry trip over was great as I love being on boats and it was a beautiful sunny day. It was  a very long trip and the Air BnB place was really sweet when we arrived. It was small but had everything we needed as well as a Nespresso machine (I'd never had one). It was in a great part of town and was very cosy. We then went out for some food, drank some birthday Prosecco then went to bed.

The first day was a mixed bag - It was freezing and I'd forgotten my gloves and hat, it was raining, the food everywhere was awful but we did find an ace little bar with grapefruit G&T's, my friend lent me her gloves, the cafe on the corner from us was just lovely and we went to the Van Gogh Museum.

There were bikes everywhere and it was really hard not to get hit by a car, a tram or a bike - especially as they drive on the right so you're always looking the wrong way! I loved these kiddie trough bikes.

And these large red clogs...

Saturday (our last day) was 100% better and we went on a fantastic little boat trip around the canals and out into the port. It was fascinating and great fun.

The guide told us that all the houses have these hooks above them to lift furniture up into the house as they're so narrow (they're narrow as they used to be taxed on floor space) and that some of the houses were built leaning forward to counteract the weight. If you look at the photo below you can actually see a couple of the houses sticking out at the top.

At the end of the day we met up with two friends of hers who lived there. They were appalled that we had eaten such shitty food during our trip (Holland is not known for its cuisine) and took us to a fantastic little place around the corner from our flat where I had one of the best meals ever. It was a really nice way to end to the trip and I liked her friends immensely. 

I don't think I'll be going back to Amsterdam again, but overall the trip was 'an experience'. I loved spending time with my friend and am eternally grateful for her patience (I would have killed me). I definitely won't be spending any more birthdays in a car or eating any more calamari in Holland though. You never know what you're going to get when you go away, but the experience is what matters. 

Back on Form (And 10 Reasons I'm Lucky)

Thank you so much for your kind comments. Even thought the whole thing was a bit of a shambles, I've bounced back and feel happily back to my usual self. I also have some amazing things to feel grateful for:

1) On the 6th November (my birthday) Star Trek Girl and I are driving to Amsterdam to spend three days drinking good coffee and wine, eating nice food, wandering the canal-sides, looking at art and admiring clogs. 

I usually go to Italy but my friend has never been to Amsterdam, is half French so used to driving on the other side of the road, speaks six languages, and I haven't been since I went for a boyfriend's birthday around 15 years ago. We've booked a lovely little apartment through Air BnB that comes with two bicycles and is right near the museum district. It's going to be great!

2) My American client has just renewed the contract on my flat so I have at least another year being able to live by myself in my gorgeous, bright, happy little home.

3) I've just had a bumper month work-wise. I'm making around £300 per month in passive income through download sales which I aim to take up to £1000 within a year. I have lots of interesting, satisfying work and I'm still able to work completely virtually.

4) The last time I took my little cat Treacle to the vets for a check up, they said her heart murmur was a lot less severe than they had initially thought and that it might've just sounded louder because she was stressed. So she's pretty much fine.

5) Two books of beautiful poetry arrived through my door today. Winter is coming and it always makes me want to read poetry and ghost stories for some reason. A Scottish friend often posts poems up on Facebook and, after a particularly gorgeous poem the other day (Infinity by Giacomo Leopardi) I asked him to recommended some books and I ended up buying The Bees and Love Poems by the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. 

6) I'm dating someone new. I decided to go back on the dating site for a month and have been on four dates with a guy called Peter. I wasn't sure if he was 'romantically interested' so I asked him on our fourth date last night if he was (we're all busy here pal) and he said he was interested but that he was a bit shy when it came to these things. He also finished a five year relationship at the end of last year and I think he's a bit out of practice!

I don't feel any urgency, but dating has certainly cheered me up and restored my knocked confidence - which was the point.

7) I've been planning another trip away. I've mentioned this before, but I'd really love to go on a  three-day winter break on the island of Sark. It's a Dark Skies island and I want to take a good book, go on some brisk clifftop walks, then cosy up with a brandy and read in front of an open fire. How lovely does that sound?

8) A friend is coming up from Cornwall today, another friend from London is joining us and we're going out for sangria and dinner at a Spanish tapas bar before heading to a Mogwai gig in town. My Cornish friend is doing some work for them so we're all on the guest list. 

9) I went to my first Star Trek Convention the other week. It was brilliant to be around other nerds, to see people just wandering around in Starfleet uniforms and to not feel awkward discussing the common ancestry of Vulcans and Romulins! I loved it.

10) After I got dumped by email and had a horrendous eye infection that left me taking a five-day, four-a-day course of hardcore antibiotics, a friend sent me a lovely card from Devon saying how wonderful I was, my best friend came through as she always does and was an incredible source of support, another friend came over with paleo cherry and chocolate scones, my cousin called me to see if I was ok and another two friends came over to cheer me up.

So actually I have a pretty good life, things are pretty peachy and I did not let that bloody loser get me down! 

Verona - The Food

I didn't have any of these but don't they look AMAZING??!!

Baci means kisses, so 'kisses of Juliet & Romeo'

This was the window of the tiny local shop opposite our flat. It was just a general store kinda place

I LOVE these - they're candied chestnuts and they were YUM!

We had one of these for lunch one day. They were the equivalent of £2 each

These are kind of ice cream bombs on sticks

I ate 2 of these for quality control purposes and they passed rigorous testing

I had the coffee one (bottom right) they're like semifreddo mousses and they were gorgeous

Little tiny pastries that they charge by the weight for. I had around 7 I think!

Colourful and at least one of your '5 a day' I reckon

These are like pick n mix. The reason Woolworths went under in my opinion

Little bites of scrummy. I like the piggy faces

Brown paper bags stuffed full of truffles

Truffles can be stacked too!

Fair Verona

I got back from Verona last Friday and thought you might like to see some pictures. I only went for four days but I have a loads of photos so I'm going to do a general post now and another one on food later! The food in Italy is absolutely lovely and their pastries make ours look like dog shit in comparison frankly. 

View away from Verona from Castel San Pietro

It was my 42nd birthday while I was away. I always go away for my birthday which takes the edge off getting older - something I'm not keen on even though it's inevitable of course. I highly recommend it. We went for a really great meal in the evening and had a table overlooking the Ponte Pietra and Adige river. The wine list was PAGES long and went right up to 350 euros a bottle! We didn't have one of those.

The weather was really good. It rained the first day but every other day was sunny and warm with dusky, hazy sunshine which made sitting outside café's on the piazza's really pleasant. We did quite a bit of that and had some lush coffees too which often came with free biscuits and wine which came with a bowl of complimentary salted crisps!

The highlight for me was the Arena. I do like an Amphitheatre and this is the third largest one in Italy. They host opera performances earlier in the year which look incredible. It was the one thing I really wanted to see and it was free to get in with the 'Verona Pass'. The pass costs 10 euros for a day or 15 euros for two days and got you into loads of places for free or provided a discount for some others. Most sights were six euros so it was definitely worth buying.

 I decided two things whilst I was away: 

1) This was the third time I've noticed that four days is a day too long when visiting a European city. So I should now start to act on this and stop going away for four days when three is enough! Three full days seems to be enough time to take in the main attractions and sights and to also chill out and just get a feel for a place by people watching and wandering.

2) I think I'm going to travel alone a lot more from now on. My friend was fine but, perhaps because she's 10 years younger than me, she's very preoccupied with her appearance, men and calories which I find quite dull. On the last day we were going to get the train to Venice and I decided I just fancied a day by myself so we did out own thing. And I loved that day! 

Being alone gave me a real one-to-one personal experience which 'cemented' Verona for me. I had woken up feeling a bit narky but as soon as we decided to spend the day apart, I felt fine. So I think from now on I may just travel by myself. You don't have the whole 'are you hungry, shall we eat now?', 'what do you want to do today?', 'shall we eat here or somewhere else?', 'are you ready to go now?' type of questions when you're by yourself - you can just do whatever takes your fancy and I like doing that more than I like having company.

Three days is definitely long enough to see Verona. It wasn't as picturesque as other Italian cities I've visited but it was still absolutely lovely and other Italian places spoil you with their attractiveness I think! My friend hadn't ever been to Italy and she thought it was beautiful. It's also very centralised and really easy to get your bearings, so after a day you kinda knew where things were and what direction to head in.

We went up the Torre Dei Lombardi which is a massive tower in the centre. There are 289 steps up to the top and I felt every one. There is a lift but we though we'd walk off our morning croissant with Nutella (Nutella is BIG in Italy!). The view was well worth the pain as you can see. 

Verona is of course famous for Romeo and Juliet and they do milk it somewhat. Funnily enough it was the only disappointing part of the trip - tourists go to Juliet's house (even though she wasn't real) and people (mainly men) queue up to cop a grope of the left boob of her statue "for luck" it's a tradition apparently. The house was just full of Romeo & Juliet images in literature and film but I was more interested in the origins of the 13th century house they'd acquired for the purpose. Neither me or my friend took one photo inside the house actually.

Nice pics huh? I know you can see them in my Instagram photo stream in the sidebar, but it's better to see them in their full glory I reckon. My next post will be some scrummy food ones - get ready for the dolci people!

(Sings) Hooray, Hooray, I've Booked My Holiholiday!

Every year in November I go away for a few days over my birthday and this year is no exception. In the past I've been to Jordan, Sorrento, and Rome and this year I'm going to continue my love affair with Italy by going to Verona for five days.

Verona is famous for being at the centre of two of Shakespeare's plays: Romeo and Juliet, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. In fact you can visit 'Juliet's balcony' (obviously not real as it's a work of fiction but very cute) and there was even a film called 'Letters to Juliet' based around the habit of lovestruck women leaving notes for Juliet (or her secretaries) to answer - although quite an odd thing to do as Juliet didn't do too well out of her relationship if I recall. 

I was originally going with the guy I was seeing but because I dumped him for being irritating and boring, one of my friends said she'd like to go instead. I didn't actually mind going away on my own but it will be nice to take the trip with her. She does go on about food and diets a lot and I will be stuffing my face in Italy because I'll be on holiday and the food is better than any other country on the planet. I'm going to tell her that what I eat is not up for comment before I go though. She can eat salads if she likes but I want wine, pasta and cake!

We're staying in a little one-bed flat through Air BnB - the flat we've rented is really near to the centre and only costing £215 between us for four nights. It'll be great to have a private base to go back to rather than a hotel, and it even comes with an espresso machine apparently! 

The flat we've booked

Being part of Europe means that it's really quick and cheap to get from the UK to Italy. Flights to Rome are only around £40 return and the flights to Verona were £70 return which is still pretty good. Verona was founded in the first century BC and it even has an amphitheatre - I love historical places and am particularly partial to an amphitheatre. It's also a World Heritage Site which means they try to preserve it as much as they can.

I have to say that I'm pretty excited about going. I adore Italy and could go at least once a year - in fact I suppose I do! Both my friend and I run our own businesses so I'll be taking my tablet to reply to emails each day and I think she'll be doing the same. Although we're on holiday we do need to keep an eye on our businesses - plus I've taken on some work to help coordinate a big global event and I'll be spending two weeks at the event next year... in Austin, Texas no less!!

What a jet setter.

Blogging Challenge Day 17: A Favourite Photo Of Yourself And Why

Ah, this is a tricky one as I don't want anyone to know who I am on here. However, coincidentally, this actually IS one of my favourite photos of myself and not simply because I have my back to the camera!

This photo was taken in Sorrento at the beginning of November 2007. I'd gone back for the second time with Star Trek Girl (the first was just for a day or 2) and we were having coffee on the swanky terrace of a hotel we weren't staying at. I'm looking out over the bay of Naples and it must have been a day or so before or after my 36th birthday. I see my birthday as the beginning of a new year instead of January 1st so always go on holiday to celebrate and to have a bit of a life audit.

I'm 2 stone lighter in this photo and my hair is now way past my shoulders having been kept short for 20 or so years. But I don't love this photo because I'm thinner, I love it because it's a sunny day, the sky and sea are the colour of sapphires, I'd enjoyed a few gorgeous Italian coffees under the flowering Amalfi vines, I was with a good friend, and we had no place to go and were in no hurry to get there.

Man I adore Italy - I so wish I was there today!

How Nice It Was To Go To Nice

I completely forgot to write up the trip to France that I took a few weeks ago. As you recall I was in desperate need of a break and decided to go and visit a friend of mine who lives in a tiny place in France. Where he lives isn't even big enough to be described as a village so I guess you'd call it a Hamlet.

I flew out of freezing cold England on Saturday afternoon and arrived an hour and a half later in Nice. My friend collected me and we went to have dinner at his friends house in a very beautiful picturesque medieval town called Tourettes-Sur-Loup (I kid you not). Although it was dark when we arrived I could tell that the place was stunning. Luckily we visited again on my way back to the airport as I really wanted to take some photos.

We had a lovely evening at his friends house. I was greeted with the strongest gin and tonic I've ever had and we sat outside on the rooftop terrace and ate little biscuits while the Goan fish curry did its thing on the stove. There were 2 other people there and the conversation flowed in a mixture of English and French - we discussed nuances of language and tried to convince the 2 French visitors that is was indeed called the English Channel!

Where my friend lives - view from his house!

Then unfortunately our lightweight host then had to go and lie down with a whitey. They'd been smoking quite a lot and he had imbibed a lot of gin and champagne. The curry was turned off and we occupied ourselves for the next hour or so until we realised that it was getting really late so we should sort dinner out for ourselves! By the time we left for the hour and a half drive to my friends house it was gone midnight - and I had been up since 7am.

My friends little gite is heated by a wood burning stove so you can imagine how heavenly that smells, he chucked some wood in and we turned in for the night (separately may I add - he is actually just a friend not a love interest!). After a toasty night I threw open the wooden shutters (one of the best things about European houses in my opinion) the next morning to be greeted by a bright and sunny Provence morning so we decided to go out for coffee to a village where his (extraordinarily handsome but married) neighbour had a beautiful shop.

The neighbours gorgeous little shop

And this is pretty much how I spent the next 3 days. No laptop, no phone, just me and my Kindle sitting outside (often with a hot water bottle, the wind coming off the snow-covered nearby mountains was a little chilly) reading a biography on the inimitable Martha Gellhorn. I ate a lot of French bread with pate and goats cheese and drank milky coffee all day. Then when I got a bit cold I would go back inside and warm myself by the stove. In the evenings I read at the table in front of the stove in his toasty little kitchen and we would chat until late. It was great.

On my last day we decided to leave his place late morning and spend the whole day meandering back down to Nice where my flight was leaving at 8pm. We had coffee and croissants in Bargemon then went to Fayence where it was market day. I bought some cured meat and the most wonderful Comte cheese and we wandered up to the ancient battlement and viewed the valley bathed in sunlight spreading out below us. It was gorgeous. I later found out that while I was basking in the sun that afternoon, Brighton was experiencing a blizzard!

Medieval Village of Tourettes

After Fayence we drove back down to Tourettes which must be one of the most beautiful places in France. It's known as the City of Violets which has to be one of my favourite smells. The village was enchanting and so photogenic I'm amazed my friend didn't just start to drag me along! After taking a billion photos there we then drove to Cagnes-sur-Mer to see the old castle at the top of the hill.

Getting out of that teeny village proved to be a different matter. The one-way 'street' that my friend had to squeeze down was so tight that I had my hands over my eyes most of the time. He actually managed to rip the wing mirror off the car on the side of a house and how we got out of there was a miracle. These places were built before cars and there was no way we could turn around so we just had to keep on inching forward while praying for the best.

Then it was a nice smooth ride back down to Nice where I caught my plane home. In the queue to board the plane there was a woman behind me who had joined from the side - she was definitely trying to push in which is like a red flag to the British. I was having none of it and kept blocking her every snidey move. Then guess who I was sitting next to on the plane? Yup, the pusher-in hag. 

Once on board this shameless harridan (I meant it, queue jumping is despicable to us) she then raised her game by composing a long email with the irritating button sound on, painted her nails with a nasty shade of Chanel coral polish which stank to high heaven, then she sat back to have a sleep and gave a sniff every 6 seconds until I wanted to punch her in the face. But apart from that the journey was fine!

It was brilliant to see my friend and the break was exactly what I needed. It was a Goldilocks kind of holiday - not too short, not too long, not too active, not too quiet, not too hot, not too cold, and with just enough food and conversation. It was perfect.

One Week Until Digital Detox (Kindle Excluded)

This time next week I'll be cooling my boots in France and I can't bloody wait. I've got a friend that lives about one and a half hours drive north of Nice and I'm flying out to see him Saturday evening and staying there until Tuesday night. I cannot tell you how much I need this break.

I've been once before as he part-rents the place with my friend La Tarzane who's currently living and working in Oman. She paid for me to fly out and stay with her there about 6 years ago after I landed my dream job a few weeks before. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere with hills and trees all around the place. I think you can see some mountains as well if I recall.

All I want to do is to read my Kindle, drink coffee and wine and eat some nice food. I'm not taking my laptop, I'm turning my phone off and I just want to wrap up and sit outside with my hot water bottle and read. I'm happy to hang out with my friend of course, but otherwise I just want to be left alone. I really need a digital detox and to just relax. I need a break like you won't believe.

My friend has asked me to bring some pork and apple sausages, some tea, and some cheese. Yes, the man who lives in the land of cheese wants me to bring over some flippin Cheddar! I'm assuming I can get these things through customs; although they might be a bit offended that I'm bringing British cheese into France. 

Last time I went there I got stopped at customs. They'd spotted my hot water bottle and were baffled as to what it could be. La Tarzane came back through and started explaining what it was (she is half French) and they still didn't get it. Then she said something else to them, they all laughed, then they waved me through. She never told me what she said but I'm guessing it wasn't complimentary. Well it get's cold in England alright?! 

I'll try and take some photos so you can see what it's like there, but I simply cannot wait to relax and do nothing except eat and read all day. I'm even taking another day off after I get back - I'm going to put my out of office on and be unobtainable for a change. and I CAN'T WAIT!

Amalfi Coast Birthday Trip - Pompeii

Pompeii Tavern

As promised here are the Pompeii photos from my November birthday trip to the Amalfi Coast. 

Bodies in the Garden of the Fugitives

I've actually been to Pompeii twice before. I'd wanted to go ever since I was young and read a book on the place. The book had lots of photos of bodies immortalised in cast as they tried to flee the eruption, so I expected the site to be covered in them, but this is not actually how it is when you get there of course.

Beware of the Dog Mosaic

Most of the 'bodies' are actually in museums and they're casts taken from the hollows left by their decayed forms after they were buried under 5 metres of ash. In fact, they made a few casts of some of the people so you can see the same woman at Pompeii exhibitions all over the world. There's around 1044 casts according to Wikipedia. There are some at Pompeii still but you do feel a bit intrusive looking at them.

Gladiator Training Ground

Vesuvius didn't suddenly go BOOM! and explode all over them within minutes however, the eruption took place over 2 days so a lot of people had fled by the time the pyroclastic flow engulfed the city in 79AD but they still think that around 16000 people from Pompeii and Herculaneum died in the eruption. Herculaneum was buried under 23 metres of debris but was better preserved that Pompeii. I went there last time I visited the area but didn't go this time.

Bakery

Pompeii is an absolutely fascinating place and if you ever get the chance to go then you really should. The site is quite large so the first time I went we actually missed out a whole section by accident - plus your feet are killing you after a while! Go out of season if you can as it can get quite hot and there are a lot of tourists as well.

Cart ruts and stepping stones

The ground is very uneven and someone like my Mum wouldn't be able to handle it. The sides of the streets are very high and you kind of clamber around the place - it's not for anyone who is unsteady or slow on their feet.

The city itself was in flux at the time of the eruption like most cities are. They were still rebuilding some of it from damage incurred from an earthquake 17 years before, and elections were taking place so lots of the houses and shops were covered in hand written election posters promoting different candidates. 

Detail on the wall of the public baths

The second time I visited (again with Star Trek Girl - aka La Tarzane) we tried to see the bit that we'd missed the first time only to discover it was closed off as it was being excavated further. She speaks fluent Italian (along with 5 other languages) and tried to explain to one of the excavators that we had flown many miles just to see this part, but to no avail. But as we turned to slowly leave, he called us back. His boss had just left and with hushed tones he said to follow him and he would show us what they were working on.

So we stood in awe as he showed us the underfloor heating system they had just uncovered. Pipes that had lay hidden for 2000 years were seeing the light of day again and we were there to see it. How amazing. We were so lucky to be able to see something like that.

Prostitute room with stray dog crashed out

I don't remember ever seeing any graffiti in Pompeii but they did find a lot and some of it is really bawdy and rude! We went to the brothel of course which you can find because of the hordes of people gathered outside it. It was pretty small and I bet it smelled. There was a toilet right by the prostitute rooms which were tiny stone cells really. Not very nice...

Theatre

I've got a tonne of photos as you can imagine, but these are the ones that I thought summed up Pompeii the most. It's an amazing city - lost and refound after being destroyed 2000 years ago; you can go inside their houses, stand in their amphitheatre (the oldest and most complete one ever found) wander through their bath houses, walk their streets, and even see their faces. It's a wondrous place.