on tour | A Crafty Chai

Tag: on tour

23
Sep
2014

Tuesday Treat – Train Adventures

I don’t know about you, but I don’t go on the train very often. When I do, it’s like a little adventure and I love every second of it. I’ve recently gone on the train quite a bit (actually, I wrote this on the train!) I love it when you get a seat and room to stretch out. Wifi and a plug are a bonus and headphones are essential, but either way you get to see something different, no matter where you’re going to or from. Holiday makers, business people, families, friends, all going and doing something different. Love it!

While trains have their faults, from being over crowded to over priced, I can remember going on the train as a kid with my friends. We’d go to Tenby on a real bone shaker! I loved it then and I love it now. Watching the world flash by, seeing bits of the country that you don’t see from the road, whether it’s someone walking their dog round a field, a small holding or businesses randomly in the middle of the countryside, it’s like you’re peeking into someone else’s life. Throw in the amazing people watching and eavesdropping you can do and it’s like watching a soap opera! That plus the fact that you get on the train in one place and when you got off, you’re somewhere else, makes it a real adventure for me! Hey, if we don’t take pleasure in these little things, then wwe’rein trouble!

28
Nov
2013

#BEDN ~ The Great Outdoors

categories: Blog Everyday in November

I really enjoy walking around in the countryside or on the beach. One of the reasons we wanted to get a dog was to make us do this more. We’re very lucky that Poppy will walk as much or as little as we want! She was a real trooper on our recent holiday to Cornwall. While we were there, I got a bit video happy! Here are a few videos of our Cornish escapades!

We stumbled across this pebble beach on one of our walks out of Cadgwith. I was being all ‘experimental’ videoing the water while Poppy was getting bold with the sea. She’s not a massive fan of going in the sea (neither am I to be honest) so this was quite an adventurous step for her.

This was at the Lizard Point and if you watch it long enough, you’ll hear the fog horn that went off while we were there and aged us all by about 10 years! When we arrived at the Point, it was a pretty nice day. Slightly overcast, but nothing too bad. We watched the bad weather roll in off the sea and before long, the fog horn was blowing! Time to head home.

Being by the sea is my favourite, though I love being in the countryside and feel very lucky that living in Oxfordshire means you’re never far away from a country walk and pub!

22
Nov
2013

#BEDN ~ Leaving on a Jet Plane

categories: Blog Everyday in November

I love everything about going abroad. From spending time at the airport and watching films on the plane, to exploring new places and going on adventures! Having not had much money of late, trips abroad have been few & far between, so here are a few of my favourite foreign adventures.

Iceland

We went to Iceland for Christmas quite a few years ago now. It was an amazing experience and I’d go there again right now if someone asked me! We stayed in Reykjavik and walked all over the city. We headed out to see a few geysers, Gullfoss waterfall & the Blue Lagoon, which was my favourite part of the whole trip! As we were in the lagoon, which was about 30° while the air temperature was 0°, it started hailing! Yep, I was outside in my swimming costume in the hail! Amazing! The city shuts down for a few days over the festive period so we had a great opportunity to explore the city and with only a few hours of daylight, it was a great excuse to sit indoors drinking plenty of hot chocolate & wine when we were done! Being vegetarian was tricky there, as historically, they haven’t been able to grow many things due to the fact that it’s quite a new volcanic island. They do grow vegetables there now, in polytunnels, but previous to this, everything like that was imported. The main delicacy was rotted shark meat, Puffin or Reindeer. Not really my cup of tea, so I ate a lot of pizza!

Rome

We went to Rome during October so the weather during the day was gorgeous (perfect for gelato!) while the evening was a bit chilly (perfect for pizza!). We walked so, so much while we were there. Unlike Reykjavik, which is quite a small city, and Paris that has the Metro, Rome is fairly big and we wanted to see the main sights, as we’d never been before. Plus, whenever we go somewhere new, we always like to eat where the locals are eating. One night, we found this little restaurant that looked like something straight out of the Godfather! There were waiters everywhere & they were great. Everything about the place was excellent. I loved it there.

Paris

We also had a great holiday in Paris, but I can’t seem to find any pictures & my OH’s laptop has taken a holiday of it’s own! Again, we went in October, though it was much colder than Rome. I’ll never forget how cold it was being on the Eiffel Tower at night – even the thought of it is making me cold! I’d been to Paris before, but I’d only gone for the weekend, so we had much more time to explore. I always get a crepe with nutella as soon as I can when I get there. There’s nothing quite like it! My favourite memories from our trip are visiting the catacombs, as they were hilarious & macabre, eating pancakes & drinking endless cups of Joe at Breakfast in America and asking to buy croissants in French! Delicious!