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Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Isle of Wight







It was a bit tricky getting six people to agree on a place for a bank holiday weekend away; the seaside, a farm house in the middle of nowhere, a city break somewhere far?
We decided on the Isle of Wight, a place none of us had been, close enough to home but somewhat of an adventure. We stayed on the north side of the Isle, it was quiet, though all agreed the west/south sides is more favorable. The island is small (30 minutes here to there) and so it didn't really matter where you are if you have a car because it is easy to get around. We stayed at Regatta Cottage:
Regatta Cottage
perfect for six and with an ever important BBQ.
We couldn't ask for better weather, it was so bright and sunny Saturday and Sunday. In classic British form it rained the bank holiday, Monday, but quickly dissipated to warm overcastness. Saturday day we spent traveling on the ferry, exploring the village of Cowes, and drinking mojitos waiting for the coals to burn in our BBQ.

Sunday we woke late, had a huge breakfast out in the sunshine, went to 'the Needles' famous for its jetting rocks and coloured sand. We took a chair lift down (see photo) to the beach where a boat awaited us. It was nice being out with the boats, the water off the coast of England continues to surprise me, blue as blue can be. We drove south to look for drift wood on the beach. I was feeling a bit sick so hung back on a cliff while the others walked on the beach and found 'dinosaur' prints.

Monday we got up early and went to find a Lavender farm. There wasn't much Lavender, but the countryside was beautiful. We then went to a local winery. I had low expectations about the quality of the wine and they proved right, it was a beautiful area all the same. We ended up at a Spanish restaurant which was an interesting experience as our waitress was a newbie and trying to tell us about the dishes. What was funny was the fact that of our party three were from Spain and the other two, myself and Roger, the husband of one of our Spanish friends knew what we were ordering. The waitress didn't really get it and kept saying, 'yes it's spanish'. I found myself enjoying our diversity; Roger was from Australia, Dav another friend from England but truly Punjabi, and myself from America and the three Spanish woman, all from such different parts of the country, had such different personalities and experiences, but all so fun! After lunch we walked on the beach, had an ice cream and then made our way back from the ferry (we made it by five minutes).

Roger dropped us off in a chaotic crowded London which was a mighty contrast from the quietness of the Isle of Wight.

The next British adventure, camping with the girls up in the lake district!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Culture: Elegy and other bits


I had a sheepish night a week ago with a friend or two at home. Not expecting much from a movie I knew nothing about that I received from Lovefilm (the London equivilant to Netflix) I was blown away by Elegy. With Ben Kingley (always solid) and Penelope Cruz (who constantly suprises me) this movie is a love/life story. It left me thinking for days, the issues between a man and a woman and a friend and a friend. It was a quite explanation of life...but as a prefice, it's not for the prudish as there's some nakedness (I think by now Penelope should have some sort of nudity clause, right).

My thoughts of the movie were lost when I picked up the book The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafron. Based in Barcelona it follows a young boy living his life surrounded by books who reads one that changes his life and sends him on a quest for the author. The mysteries uncovered are better and better with each turn of the page and it's four hundred pages breezed by. Buy it! Buy it now!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Miceala and Chris' wedding photos!


Miceala's photographer, Jennifer Longaway was wonderful! Not only was she really friendly, but her pictures are fab.
The above photo is us and the bride, well our feet anyway. I am third from the right with the obscenely high heel.

She also did her engagement photos, take a peak of their engagement photos on her blog at
Longawaypix


You can book through her site at: http://longawaypix.com/

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Wales



My friend was generous enough to lend me her ride for a weekend trip to Wales. The weather was meant to be nice and once I picked up the car, I was very excited to hit the road. Getting out of London was a mission as roundabouts aren't my forte, but after a quick three hours, we entered Breacon National Park. The villages were quaint, the rolling hills a plenty and the sheep overwhelmingly outnumbered the people. It was amazing to go down a country road, on either side a view wide and green as the next, with not one car passing you for miles. We set up camp in a beautiful organic campsite (see link above) next to a river with chickens roaming free. We made a fire (our first) and cooked dinner with a bit of difficulty (our veggie sausages fell into the fire).
The next morning we woke up and explored the park, hiking up to its many waterfalls and devouring its lovely cakes at the local pub.
The following day was a bit gray so we packed up to take the long way home, through Cardiff where I thought; oh poor people of Cardiff, your weather is rubbish! With a luxury of a car I sneakily came upon an ikea and so spent the last of the three day weekend running crazily around it.

I would definitely recommend Wales.

Bu 'n fawr! (It was great, in Welsh)


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