27 April 2012

36. Visit Cardiff

A nice simple one for a Friday afternoon! This has been on my list for some time as being in Bath, Cardiff is a mere hour away and I hear lots of lovely things about it!

So I am off to see Spymonkey at the Millennium centre and have a nose around Cardiff :)











XXX

23 April 2012

Lets Get Inspired...



One of the things I really like about the blogging community is the inspiration that can be taken from a wealth of fantastic Blogs:

The ever amazing 'One Twenty Five' Suggests what if I were to tell you that a year from now, a year from this very moment, me and you had done it? I love this idea, and like all good ideas, I'm going to pilfer the essence of it and make it my own. Today: St Georges day (by happy coincidence) One year from today I WILL be in a job I am proud to tell people about and that fulfils me, to be a weight I am happy with, and to be free of regret and jealousy (I'll comment on this jealous streak I've developed in another post).

In this post Her Library Adventures looks at the little things that change our worlds, I was inspired to create my own list.

Things that changed my world

Places
University of Bath: Where I got my degree and the experience was truly the making of me

Boston - Living there was simultaneous the hardest, and most wonderful thing I have done to date: I gave up everything to be there, but I wouldn't change it.
Fictional characters (Like WWJD, but with glamorous women...)
Vesper Lynd – Casino Royal
Paula Debevoise (Marilyn Monroe) – How to Marry a millionaire
Albums
The Holy Bible - The Manic Street Preachers - The soundtrack of My Teens
Vehicles and Animals – Athlete - The soundtrack to my freshers year
The Sunset Tree- The Mountain Goats - The soundtrack to my year in Boston

Shops
Rossiters: for every dream I have for my own home one day


Herein I shall find my inspiration and draw a little hope, I've done great things so far in my life, it shoudn't stop now!

XXX



12 April 2012

Petite Paris Diary

Monday April 2nd:
Arrive in Paris by Eurostar! :) such a lovely way to travel, met up with Emma and Nat at St. Pancras (they travelled down from Manchester, I travelled up from Bath) and we checked in with our bags. The whole process was infinitely easier and quicker than at an airport. We spent the 2 hour journey time assembling our lists of what to do in Paris, to include: Go up the Eiffal Tower, on a boat cruise on the Seine, go to 'le Petite Zinc' restaurant, see the Notre Dame cathedral, Louvre and generally all the sights, and of course eat lots of delicious pastries/cakes/sweets.

We arrive at our hotel in and ditch our bags and seek out food, on exiting our little hotel I am delighted to see that we are steps away from the Folie Bergiere music hall, what an icon! Its looking quite run down these days but still nice to have this lovely dancing lady to greet us in Paris:



(The Folies Bergère established in 1869 in Paris, France, is a music hall which was at the height of its fame and popularity from the 1890s through the 1920s - past performers include Ella Fitzgerald, Edith Piaf and Ginger Rogers)

We find some delicious dinner in a  little cafe, I have duck and the girls have steak, and none of us can resist some apple tart for dessert :) and head home to bed



Tuesday:
Oh what a lovely day! sunny and hot, the perfect day to wear my new 'palazzo pants that I'm not quite sure about but my mum bought them for me so I should give them at least one outing' we had some trouble finding that perfect french patisserie but hit the jackpot in Saint Germain - the artsy area of Paris and by the Luxembourg gardens which is where we feasted on cakes and bread. Tres Bon!



Staying in St Germain for the evening, we went to 'Le Petite Zinc' restaurant which was recommended to us.What a gem! like being on a divine art nouveau ship. The food was excellent and we were treated to a parisian jazz trio seranading the restuarant, dreamy!




Wednesday:
We visited the Sacre Couer, Notre Dame and the Musee Carnavalet: a large Parisian house chock full of things from Paris of days gone by :)



Thursday: Had bowls of coffee and Delicious pastries in a place called Le Pain Quotidien, Apparently there is one in London too. I want to find it and live there! absolutely perfect to set us up for the rest of the day (although the waiter thought we were all incredibly greedy for having two pastries each, clearly the Parisians are far more self controlled! :P)


To round off our Thursday and last full day in Paris, we cruised along the Seine in a boat tour taking in some lovely views of the Notre Dame, and went to the very top of the Eiffel tower (terrifying and windy!)

Friday:
After a Bomb scare at the Gar du Nord, We travel home to blighty on our good friend the Eurostar, Thankyou Paris, its been lovely!








XXX