Holland Park

I can't help but feel that those who think of Instagram as some sort of evil have either used it or seen it used in the wrong way. While some people may indeed be there for the competition of likes and followers, others like myself use it as a wonderful platform for sharing and discovering. Much of my summer To Do list has come from places I've seen in other people's Instagram pictures because, believe it or not, there are lots of people out there who seek beauty too!

Today I've been a little deeper into Notting Hill than before. A favourite place of mine when the sun is shining, turns out it has plenty to offer even when it's not.

I think Holland Park is the furthest West I've ever been on the Central Line (I know, my life is terribly exciting)! I can initially thank Paddington Bear's Guide to London (a surprisingly fantastic book for adults, not just children) for making me aware of the park's existence. As soon as I saw it had peacocks, I knew I had to go! My interest was then furthered by another recent book purchase, Quiet London by Siobhan Wall (which alongside Instagram has also formed much of my To Do list) as it told me of the Kyoto Garden within the park; a peaceful haven with Koi. Totally sold!

Having only seen photographs in each book showing small parts of the park, I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting but needless to say, it was far beyond my expectation!

Initially met by glorious exotic plants in the 'Sun Trap Garden', I wandered up steps and into woodland before stumbling upon a rather more formal English garden full to the brim with Marigolds and Sunflowers. It was here I encountered my first peacock as I sat on a bench reading my book (huge deal; the New Year's resolution has not been going well). Unfortunately the poor peacock was being terrorised by a small child but until this point I had been absolutely revelling in the peace (all except for the sound of bird calls vs. passing sirens; you're always quickly reminded of where you are in London, even when you do find these surreal spots) of the garden.

A Hippo Banquet - Mary Kingsley (one of Penguin's Little Black Books)

When the gentle breeze started to get a bit cool, I wandered on to see what else there was to discover. In my true fashion, I 'discovered' the café where I popped in for a mint tea. This time it was to take away and it kept my fingers warm until I finally found the Kyoto Garden. 

Despite being more aware of what to expect here, it was still a shock as I stepped up to its entrance. I think it was just on a much bigger scale than I thought it would be! I sat on another bench half way around the central pond to drink my tea, giggle with a mother and daughter enjoying a picnic with a hoard of pigeons and squirrels and even a peacock with a penchant for nuts, and to marvel at the hairdos that yuppie parents had subjected their yuppie children to. 

When my tea was finished, I continued around the pond, stopping for a while at the bridge over the water, transfixed by the fish. Somehow I then found my way out of the park the way I had come in and continued my wanderings on to St Luke's Mews somewhere off Portobello Road.

The prettiest row of houses I have ever seen in London, I simply stood agog, trying my hardest not to feel deep envy towards the people (or even the cat who came to make friends) living inside.

As I walked back to Notting Hill Gate and the tube, Portobello Road looked almost unrecognisable without the rows of antique stalls. Of course, I stopped off at Gelato Mio where I treated myself to an illy coffee and some writing time.

Another beautiful day and so much inner peace and stillness. Now writing this up in the garden. This is what happiness feels like.

Bought a Boston Fern

Finally it has stopped raining (at least for now) so I have found motivation to explore and so to write!

This summer, rather than trying to summarise a huge number of events into a couple of long, rambly posts, I have decided to provide snippets here and there when anything of interest crops up. With no plans to go away, I am spending my 6 weeks here in London (with, I'm sure, a smattering of Norfolk in between) armed with a hearty 'To Do' list which realistically is far more likely to take me an entire year from now to cover than the month and a bit I have. But I can try...

Five days into my holiday, I'm not entirely sure whether or not I've really started to make the most of it, or in fact even realised it's happening. Like a rusty, cobweb-covered lawnmower from the Victorian period hidden at the back of my Grandfather's shed, my being in 'holiday mode' always takes a while to start up.

So far a few rainy days have been well spent cleaning and organising both at home and at work and I've even managed to catch up with a couple of friends! Already, I've managed a London escape for a day of outlet shopping and boat watching in Portsmouth but until today, my list has remained untouched.

What began today as one of the days I was spending at work has actually turned out rather well indeed!

Craving mint tea on my home I stumbled upon a café/bar/restaurant (hard to tell in the daytime) called Hackney Bureau (on Mare Street), serving fresh mint tea and playing jazz. Although I was only planning on  a takeaway tea, I was lured in by the atmosphere; the perfect place for creativity! When I arrived there was lone gentleman who looked to have a similar agenda to me and a young couple partaking in brunch or lunch (I suppose it all depends when one wakes up). Shortly after they were gone and I was alone and feeling incredibly intent. Holiday mode must have officially revved into gear! 

It was then my intention once tea and writing were done to walk along Regent's Canal to Haggerston where I could then hop on a bus home for a bite to eat before drinks, games and gossip with good friends this evening. Having had really rainy days of late, I have decided that every dry one (sunshine or no sunshine) must be relished! 

Popcorn graffiti along the canal

Before I'd reached the café/bar/restaurant, I paid a visit to Grace & Thorn on Hackney Road, a sweet florist offering a plethora of house plants. Having followed them on Instagram for some time, I had neglected to realise that the shop was actually one I had passed and peeked into on many occasions but today upon making the connection, I went in!

Lots of cash has been splashed on all things garden related lately, so I thought I'd better be good and just look. However, when I happened upon £10 on the pavement on my journey there, I took it as a sign and returned home with a beautiful Boston Fern in a pretty pot for the bathroom.

Meet Mr Fern!

So today, one list item has been checked off and one added for a food stop. Today is a good day; happy summer!

It's beginning to feel a lot like summer

This weekend marked the first time I've ever had an overnight stay in Cambridge! As a teen I made regular visits for shopping and am still often drawn for Christmas shopping as the centre always looks so twinkly and pretty during the festive season! With so many green spaces and the river, I do also love Cambridge in the summertime as I hark back to days spent picnicking and punting.

Having usually had to make a dash for the last train (or at least one later than the hoards of commuters), I've seen very little of Cambridge in the evenings beyond gigs at Cambridge Junction. I must confess I was therefore a little worried we'd get bored with two full days and an evening to fill, but I'm glad to say I was wrong.

On Friday evening we managed to jump on an earlier train than planned. Usually running late or arriving literally at the last second, I think we'd both decided to be a little more organised and found ourselves being a lot more organised. We don't do things by halves... There just in time for said earlier train, we did unfortunately miss out on a seat. However, when the train split at Royston (seriously, since when was this a thing?), we managed to find somewhere to sit down and tuck into leftovers from Wednesday night's feast at the Big Easy Lobstershack in Covent Garden. Lobster Mac 'n' Cheese and brisket that even when cold melted in the mouth; yum!

The length of the Cambridge journey always takes me by surprise and before we knew it, we'd arrived! We then had the shortest walk to our hotel where we dropped our bags before venturing out to locate a supermarket for nibbles and drinks to tide us over for our stay.

Our venture was quick but took us back over the train tracks which is a bit novel for me who usually treads the same route to, between and back from the shops to the station and home. It's always interesting to see a slightly different part of a place that seems so familiar!

Following a quiet night in at the hotel, we were up bright and early to make the most of the day of sunshine!

Now our hotel was fine, providing the basic comforts, but it was certainly no more than basic. Thus, breakfast was more than entertaining... in true tea-snob style I requested an Earl Grey (after all, a 'selection' of teas and coffees with breakfast had been promised) but was told they had none. 1☆ rating from me. Next, the gentleman next to us asked for Marmite with his toast but instead was presented with syrup as that was the only alternative to jam they had. 1☆ rating from him. A moment later another lady wondered whether they have gluten free bread but of course they do not. 1☆ rating from her. Then last but not least, a couple order Full English without various bits and bobs (per their request). When it comes out, to the lady's horror it is lacking in mushrooms, which she did not request to be omitted from her plate. Upon asking where they are she is told that they... have none. -1☆ rating from her.

Tummies tickled, we were off! Decided it was a good idea to go punting first thing to a) avoid the heat of the day and b) to make the most of our empty hands before they were potentially filled with shopping bags.

My rule, if the touter's wearing a 'proper' punting hat, they have my custom. So we booked a ride with a totally authentic looking punter that was leaving in a matter of minutes; perfect timing!

It is my personal opinion that boat tours give the best perspective! It's so relaxing to bob along water in the sunshine whilst zoning in and out to someone telling you amusing anecdotes. If that said someone telling you anecdotes happens to be topless, tanned & tattooed then it's probably a blessing if you're facing away to allow full focus. Anyway, swiftly moving on, punting was, as always, lots of fun! I could quite happily spend an eternity on a boat.

Half 11 and it was obviously time for our first pub stop. We sat on the riverfront with tequila and ginger beer, observing the art of punting; dog passengers, falls into the river and even the 'professionals' losing their sticks (?) to the reeds below. Tummies rumbled and we knew it was time for lunch.

When in Cambridge, have a picnic! Still home to a large M&S foodhall, we went in and gathered tasty treats to eat on Jesus Green. Like everyone else, we searched for a tree providing mottled shade. Finally finding one (they were in high demand), we settled down to enjoy our food and a rest; heat is hard work!

I think we could have stayed there, drifting in and out of consciousness forever, but we knew we fancied a bit of shopping and we weren't in London where everywhere would be open until 10pm, so we tore ourselves away from our comfy spot!

In Cambridge, it's hard to simply shop. Beautiful buildings forming the centre make for huge distraction, so I may have stopped for a million photos as we ambled along. The other distraction came in the form of a more than comprehensive list of pubs to visit as we had a whole weekend, so of course we had to pop in and out of those as we found them.

Despite distraction, I do love the easy-to-choose nature of smaller shops. London (and Oxford Street in particular) almost offers too much and you never know where to begin! However, it has to be said, that a Cambridge shop is a successful shop! So we returned to the hotel laden with bags and very ready for another nap!

Incredibly fortunately, a friend of mine was staying in Cambridge over the same weekend and as she had gone to university in the city (jealous? Me?), she knew all the best pubs for good food, beers, board games and atmosphere! So on Saturday evening, we ventured to one close by our hotel. Just like the Fat Cat (Norwich reference), it provided a real good old man feel, excellent pork scratchings and a lovely outdoor area for sitting in the summer.

The following morning, check-out was at 11 o'clock, so we decided to have a lie-in to balance out our early start the previous morning! Disappointed by breakfast the day before, we hoped to find somewhere alternative on our way into the city for a final wander and shop.

Feeling a little under-dressed in my flip-flops and sleeveless top for the rain that had decided to make an appearance, I was pleased when we soon found a popular little French café serving a whole host of tasty breakfast treats! Stomachs more than satisfied by Eggs Benedict and a Bratwurst Baguette washed down with proper tea, we were ready for the day!

Laden with just a few more bags than we'd arrived with, we headed back to the station at a relaxed pace to get whatever train we co-ordinated with. Unfortunately, the train going through to Kings Cross was weaving all round the houses, but it turned out that was of no consequence as I spent pretty much the entire journey asleep!

I know I've been living in London for almost two years now, but I still don't often get a proper sense of it as home. However, this time when returning from Cambridge I was really looking forward to being home! It was a brief stop though, just time for a cup of tea and to say hello to the cats before we then headed straight back out to Barbican for a very wonderful concert featuring one of my own little ones; SO proud (and super jealous as his performance was conducted by none other than Sir Simon Rattle)!

A hugely summery weekend! Only one full week left before we break up for the holiday (I'm not counting the three extra days plonked on the end) and I can already tell that despite having next to no plans, it's going to be a good one!

Amsterdam

Now I haven't fully committed to writing this post so I'm not entirely sure how it's going to go... whenever I go away I always go bearing my notebook and usually put a little time aside each day to write. Apparently Amsterdam doesn't lend itself particularly well to such behaviour, and instead this time was spent napping. As a result, I have only a list of events to go by and as two weeks have now passed (although I can hardly believe it; madness!) my memory is one hundred percent hazy. Let's see what I can do!

So I've been wanting to visit Amsterdam for some time. Every time I see photos I'm always intrigued, and actually I even remember way back when to a friend visiting in primary school and bringing clogs home and how desperately I wanted my own pair (perhaps something I should have kept to myself?)... Anyway, the overall view is that I'm very glad I've been, but I won't be rushing back. 'Been there, done that, bought 'traditional' souvenirs from the Christmas Shop'!?

We flew from Southend Airport and it was blissful! Such a simple process, so quiet, so calm, so unlike an airport. We were so relaxed we sat down to have breakfast... only to be called for an early boarding!? Totally unheard of, surely? The flight was the shortest flight I have ever experienced. Literally, no sooner had the seatbelt signs switched off and the tea trolley had made its way to the front two rows of passengers, it was back on again and we were making our descent. Absolutely blew my mind.

From the easiest airport experience to the quickest flight, we then arrived at Central Station, Amsterdam. Purchased a 3-day travel card (with attached map; London needs those!!) and made our way to the trams to reach our hotel. We somehow managed to figure the map out pretty easily to decipher where we were getting off. Our only concern was how we'd then find the exact location... until we a-spied our hotel from the tram!? We were there a good two hours before check-in but we hoped that they'd at least let us drop our bags. But they did more than that! Our room was ready! Too much good fortune?

Once we'd freshened up and settled in, it was time to find breakfast (which having been rushed on to the plane we had not yet had)! We were a short walk from a street lined with takeaway places which we'd identified as having potential for hangover curing but we figured there must be somewhere a little more civilised in the meantime. Having wandered around in the most ENORMOUS circle, we found ourselves in Burger King, back on afore mentioned street. Well, at least we knew what we were getting?

After what should really be called brunch by this point, we set off for another wander, this time with a better sense of direction (and a map). The hotel conceirge had circled various points of interest for us and with only three days, we decided we needed to cover as much ground as possible!

First impressions, good!

One place we'd been told to see was the flower market and with Amsterdam's tulip reputation, we felt it was probably something we should see. Turned out that just like everything else, it was right at the end of the road, a five minute walk from our hotel! It wasn't at all what I was expecting as obviously I associate 'flower market' with the likes of Columbia Road. Much more like a glorified garden centre, it was nevertheless pretty impressive with bulbs in clogs as far as the eye could see! Around we wandered until something that struck us with a sense of both amazement and disgust caught our attention. Something I have only ever encountered in tales of other people's travels, there it was. A Christmas shop. In May. Well of course we had to go in...

Out we skipped, me still singing carols (it's amazing what a bit of Christmas can do for your mood, no matter what the time of year) and on we ventured to our next destination.

Turns out canals make navigation incredibly difficult. As someone who prides themselves on a good (nay, excellent!) sense of direction, I could not get my bearings! Anyway, before we knew it we'd stumbled into a rather sleepy Redlight District where we tried to ascertain where life would be when the sun went down and counted Bulldog Cafés.

As we came back on ourselves to the Flower Market, we decided it was time to hop on a tram and go further afield. So we headed for the museum area (or 'Museumplein'). One thing we wanted to tick off was a photo with the 'I amsterdam' sign but we had the feeling it was a little way out of the city and would require a minor mission to find it. So when we stumbled upon it we were pleasantly surprised (although not so by the expected hoards of people photobombing)! Suddenly a sign advertising a sculpture trail caught my eye and in a bid to move away from the crowds, we followed it!...

Claiming that the walk was 10 minutes, at 20 we began to worry we'd missed it. However our feet led us on, so we followed. If nothing else, it was really interesting to see a very different side to Amsterdam. Away from the terraced towers lining the canals, the suburbs were rather Americanised with unusual but relatively uniform architecture; big cars, big doors, big houses! I will say too that Amsterdam (in the centre as well) is incredibly green!

I liked the windows...

We wandered around at least half of the sculptures (there were 70 in total) before heading again towards a tram to take us back to civilisation.

I rather began to enjoy the habit of napping each evening. Still trying to find some way of incorporating it into my working life... a nap and a hot hot shower after a day of endless walking put us in good stead for the evening's entertainment and another tick on the list, the Ice Bar.

I think we all worried the Ice Bar had the potential to be a let down, but we were definitely pleasantly surprised! The warmer bar beforehand was very cosy indeed and offered tasty free cocktails (well, included in our ticket). I think they probably kept it so warm that the ice would then not be such a shock to the system! As we sat there we were surrounded by people who obviously knew exactly what to expect, dressed in hats, big coats and gloves; the anticipation was real. A bell rang, a short film was shown to get us into the spirit of it all and then it was our turn. Adorned in enormous coats, we made our way into a tiny icy room where we drank from glasses made of ice, got accosted by a lairy Northern 'lass', witnessed men stripping (not included in the ticket) and where the hen took a shot from a ram's horn. Normal.

Having succumbed to a nap before our Ice Bar experience, when we got out we needed something to eat! Having had a few beverages by this point it was totally acceptable to grace the street of junk food with our presence. We found pizza. Tasty pizza, too. And for only £5 (for a whole one)!

Pizza consumed, we headed back to the hotel to change into something a little less comfortable before losing ourselves in what was possibly a gay bar where we were searched for 'lady weapons' by a man who then led us to lots of free drinks and a pretty great selection of music!

Day 2 brought with it beautiful sunshine! Before it disappeared again we decided to book tickets for a canal tour and a visit to the House of Bols in the afternoon and then Redlight tickets for the evening. Our canal tour wasn't until after lunch and we'd actually managed to get up and out pretty early considering the night before, so after a hearty breakfast of Wagamamas, we did some more wandering to pass the time.

The canal tour was the most relaxing event of our few days. I would quite happily return to Amsterdam if I could spend the entire time on the canals. On a small boat we were taking through tiny connecting tunnels past enormous homes with enormous windows, canal 'crossroads' and a multi-storey bikepark containing I think the 'captain' said ten thousand bikes!?

After our tour of the canals, we headed again to the Museum area. This time we actually ventured into a museum; the House of Bols. Possibly the most entertaining museum I've ever visited (I'm not usually a fan of museums unless they have specific exhibitions on), we got to sniff, taste and drink various ingredients then the cocktails themselves (which were yum by the way! I had a Golden Aztek which was chocolately and mm and then had a shot of Amore Parfait (or something along those lines) which tasted like a mix between roses and violet). Also had a go at bartending... I won't give up the day job.

Wanting to make the most of the sunshine, we walked back to our hotel from the station, armed with fries smothered in 'sautèsaus' from Mannequin Pis; SO yum!

This is where I stopped writing things down so excuse me if two weeks later my memory fails me...

Fuelled by what claimed to be the best fries in Amsterdam (to be fair they were pretty darn good and just what we needed at the time!) and refreshed by another nap, we were ready to venture into the Redlight District. I don't really think it's possible to describe the surreality that ensued. All I can say is that it just did not feel real. Like Barbies in lit-up boxes. Or wandering through a film set or a human zoo. It was odd. And our visit to the Museum of Prostitution did not make us feel better about it all. Anyway, I'm glad to have been. It was certainly an experience!

Our final day was fortunately a full day but we were still sad to be heading home (especially me, as at this point my shower at home was still out of action after more than 6 weeks and the hotel shower was hot)!

After some souvenir shopping, armed with the map we set off to find what appeared to be the only windmill in Amsterdam; when in Holland... it was on the very edge of said map and we had horrible premonitions that it would be tiny and a disappointment, but when we arrived we were completely overwhelmed despite the fact that it was residential and we couldn't go inside. When one is used to itsy bitsy windmills in Norfolk, this one was pretty impressive!

Via the longest stretch of market I have ever seen, we headed for a tram to take us back to civilisation. Once at the Central Station we decided that sitting in the sunshine in the museum area would be a nice way to spend the remainder of our day. Got a bit confused by trams this time (blame the two-day hangover) and ended up in the wrong direction but it was pretty interesting to see yet another part of the city that we wouldn't have otherwise seen!

The rest of our time was wiled away in glorious sunshine with ice cream, crisps and wedding talk.

Sad to leave but by this time also looking forward to bed, the 'weekend' (that was actually Mon-Weds but felt like a weekend) came to an end. So glad to have finally been to Amsterdam after wanting to visit for so long! We had so much fun and it is such a beautiful place!

Hens in a clog. As you do!

Now, onto the wedding. So. Much. Excitement!

London detours

Before yet another weekend in Norwich steals the limelight, I thought I'd better catch up on a few recent excursions (one of which came out of buying a new notebook for my writing, so I really have no excuse)!

I finally found Barbican Conservatory! And, oh my goodness, what a magical place! A tropical plant paradise where vines and endless greenery creeps across pipes and spills over balconies, completely transforming the already beautiful concrete jungle. I could have stayed forever (and I'll definitely be back)! I still cannot get over the fact that such a treasure is completely free (cynic in me says it won't be forever)!

Bank Holiday Monday in general was a beautiful day! I realised that to avoid the masses in London (and this is going to seem obvious), head in the opposite direction! To be fair, I started off at the Tower of London for the 62-round gun salute to mark the royal birth, but that was a good sort of busy! From there I then walked to Barbican through deserted streets; bliss! Very few people are aware of the Conservatory. Certainly no one I've spoken to had heard of it (alas, now I've given the game away...) so once I reached it, I was glad to find stillness and peace!

From a relaxing Bank Holiday weekend to an equally lovely weekend just gone. On Friday night I ventured into Putney where we found a very sweet, Norwich-esque bar-restaurant. Great food, Earl Grey gin (!) and a sign stating 'no hipsters allowed', I was in love! I hope to return to Putney to explore a little more on sunny days and warm evenings!

A leisurely dog walk on Saturday morning, then I took myself on a slight (huge) detour on the way home...

In need of a new notebook (my previous two have been wasted on 'To Do' lists which I've decided is sacrilege and will not happen again!), I stopped off at Muji at Sloane Square. Having perused stationery and random bits for the bathroom, I suddenly had an urge to take photos so I headed off to find London's answer to the Flatiron building which I'd once passed but been unable to catch a good angle of. Turns out it wasn't anywhere near Sloane Square so I wandered for more than a while...

On my way I did pass some beautiful buildings though, so I was more than content, especially as the sun was shining!

Found it!

Sunday morning, this happened... say no more. (Well, I probably should say though that I ran with fellow teachers and children from our school in the School's Challenge so I didn't actually do the whole race, despite what the medal says!)

It did actually instil in me a much greater respect for runners, I admit.

Now the weather is improving I am finally venturing out lots more again and falling back in love with the city! Half term has arrived then it's just 7 and a half weeks until a summer of nothingness; bring it on!