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The end of an era

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There’s been a distinct lack of posts on here lately and for that I’ll apologise: life got very busy, very quickly and I’m no longer living in London! My ‘big OE’ is almost over but fortunately there are plenty more travel adventures to be had before I’ll anchor myself on New Zealand’s shores once more.

While leaving London was always on the cards, Russ and I left London in what felt like a bit of a hurry. So it’s been several turbulent months of wonderfulness, craziness, love, laughter, exhaustion and tears. I suspect I’ll mostly remember the good bits – but that’s not to downplay the stress involved with finishing up at work, moving out of our flat, shipping stuff home and booking a few flights through Europe and Asia before we resurface in Aotearoa in a few weeks.

Which is what’s happening right now: we’re in the Europe leg of our long journey homewards, and I’m writing this post on a train from Gdansk to Krakow. We’re 2 hours into a 9-hour train ride so now’s as good a time as any to catch up on things. So that’s pretty exciting. I’m loving the freedom of travelling. Although it hasn’t sunk in yet that I’m unemployed and that this is it for the next few weeks…right now everything just feels like a holiday. And although I know we won’t be going back to London, part of me calls that place home and can’t quite believe that we won’t be back there anytime soon.

The good thing is that before we left London, Russ and I managed to cram in some amazing ‘bucket list’ type experiences that I’m going to blog about retrospectively, whenever we have a free moment in our travels. These experiences were way too fun not to share – but as I’m talking about things that happened back in June, July and August, the timing of the next few posts might feel a wee bit out of whack.

So the blogging is back on – and if you also want to follow our worldly adventures over the next couple of weeks, Russ and I have made a joint travel blog (awww, ain’t nerd love so cute?) which you can check out here: home2.nz. I’ll keep posting my personal ramblings here, as the travel blog isn’t that well suited to my introspective essay-length posts 😉
But I’ll share links to anything fun we post from our adventures.

And in the meantime you should totally check out my girl Claire’s amazing article for thewireless.co.nz, where she reflects on what it’s like coming home after the Big OE. I read this story intently a) because she’s one of my dearest friends and she was my rock for the first 2 years of London living and b) because the girl can fucking write and she deserves massive kudos for this article! It made me happy and sad at the same time, which I suspect is how it’ll feel adjusting to the Kiwi pace of life. Transitioning into London-living wasn’t easy so I expect transitioning back the other way will be a struggle too – but one I’m finally ready for.

More posts to come…

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The girl’s guide to glamping in Essex

If you’re reading this, you’re obviously reem. Because what’s more amaze than glamping in Essex, TOWIE styles??!

After a stressful few months, the girls and I decided we needed to escape London and head out to the countryside for a weekend. We didn’t want to go far, because a long drive would reduce the amount of wine drinking relaxing we could fit into two days. We agreed that ‘glamping’ was a more affordable option than staying in a hotel or motel, and suddenly Essex was the obvious choice: it’s pretty, it’s nearby, and everyone would be well jel. Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

So here’s my guide on how to have an amazing girlie glamping trip, Essex styles:

1) Book the CargoPod at Lee Wick Farm, St Osyth: Who wouldn’t want to stay in a converted shipping container? It’s new, clean, dry, compact, affordable and oh-so-cute. Plus it has a massive deck (watch how you say that with a Kiwi accent) with a coal BBQ and a fire-pit, perfect for toasting marshmallows on. We squeed with delight on arrival and were still raving about how lovely it was when we left. And if you can’t hire the CargoPod, they’ve got 3 other Glamping Pods which looked super-cute too. Price: between £50/75 night, each pod sleeps 4

2) Road-trip it: Originally we’d planned to get the train to Essex, but I’m so glad we hired a car. It meant we could have all sorts of adventures on a whim. On the Saturday we explored Mersea Island and goddamn, it was adorable. We drove towards East Mersea, stopped off at the Farm Shop, patted the alpacas and bought some preserves. We headed to West Mersea with the intention of a nice long beach walk, but were poorly dressed for the wind so migrated indoors for a delicious late breakfast fry-up at The Art Cafe – bliss! Word of caution though: we made it out before the tide submerged the bridge, but you could potentially get stranded on Mersea if you’re not careful. There are worse places to be stranded though 🙂 Then on the Sunday we meandered through St Osyth (such a beautiful village) and drove to Clacton-On-Sea for a quick nosey before heading back to London.

3) Bring accessories and amusements: Whatever floats your boat, but for us this meant gin, prosecco, pink sparkly paper tiaras and a packet of cards. When you’re out of cellphone range, these things are important. Lounging on the deck sipping endless cups of tea has its own appeal, but accessories and games keep it entertaining at 3am when it’s too cold to go outside, even in your sleeping bag.

4) Harness your cavewoman skills: Our fire-building skills were shite at first. It had been awhile, and by the time we thought to light the fire-pit we were 2 bottles of prosecco down and our efforts extended as far as ‘tipping some coals in the pit and chucking a match on top of them.’ Needless to say, the fire didn’t catch. But we were lucky – much later in the evening one of the girls peered out the window and noticed the fire pit was glowing away happily, so we got there eventually (either that or the Fire Fairies helped us out) and we were able to toast marshmallows – winning! The following evening we allowed extra time for the coals to catch and were able to BBQ some sausies and veggie skewers for dinner #nomnomnom

5) Eat yourself happy: The weekend was pretty much one long meal, and I’m not even ashamed of it. I’m talking obligatory ‘car snacks’ on the drive to Essex, a curryhouse dinner when we got to St Osyth, 3am toasted marshmallows, cake and tea for breakfast on the Saturday (obvs), a second breakfast at the Art Cafe, a ‘lunch’ of chips and dip and cupcakes, pre-pre-dinner pistachios, a pre-dinner cheese board,  BBQ actual dinner, marshmallows and a second go at the cheese board around midnight. All this supplemented by many, many cups of tea and a healthy serving of vino. BLISS.

And that’s it – the 5 steps to hosting a girl’s glamping weekend in Essex! I might see you there… I’m already planning my next trip…

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The land of ice and snow

Oh, Reykjavik. You’re unlike anywhere I’ve ever been. A year ago this week, a group of us flew into Keflavik, Iceland’s largest airport in the midst of a mid-February Arctic storm. Rugged up against the elements, we battled the 500m from the terminal to the Geysir rental car office, leaning heavily into the wind to avoid being flung onto the highway as we walked. The stinging sleet burned my cheeks and my backpack attempted to soar off my shoulders, taking me with it, as a particularly strong gust knocked us for six. But we got there in the end.

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A dramatic entrance to a dramatic country. Then more drama when we discovered not only was our rental car gigantic, we had to drive it on the right-hand-side-of-the-road for the first time ever. During a hellish storm in an unknown land famous for wreaking havoc on travellers. Fortunately we made our way safely to the Hotel Grand Reykjavik (oh-so-lovely) and the rest of our team stayed at the Hotel Cabin, only a ten minute walk away. I have to mention right now that our friends had bought this very package deal through Iceland Air and the Hotel Cabin was chosen for them. We purchased our flights & accom separately and while it was a bit more expensive, I think it was the wiser choice…

DAY ONE: This was never going to be a relaxing group holiday, so we got up at crack-o-dawn and drove our rental cars in the direction of the Golden Circle, one of Iceland’s most famous national parks. It was an incredible day out. We walked the rim of the Kerið volcano crater, got a steamy facial beside Strokkur geyser, and stared in awe at the chillingly beautiful semi-frozen Gullfoss waterfall. We walked along the fault line in Thingvellir National Park rift valley.

Our first dinner in Reykavik was at Cafe Paris, a venue chosen mostly due to the pressing need to feed 8 hangry people. For a place chosen on a whim, we were all happy with our orders. My traditional beef stew was melt-in-your-mouth goooooooood. We followed it off by cocktails at B5, just up the road and highly recommendable.

 

DAY TWO: More exploring in the cars. This time we just drove and drove, following our noses. We found an amazing beach to frolic on. Got lost in some mountainous bypass in the middle of a snowstorm. Found a strange icy tundra with big blobs of porous moss, that you could bounce on like trampolines (yes, I did). Went offroading in some farmland during a hailstorm (I mean, we never did that, Mr Rental Car dude). Chatted to some cute chilly horses, just hanging out by a barn. And ate a buttload of pylsas, Iceland’s finest street food. Mmm hotdogs. Then we relaxed in the nearby Laugardalslaug hot pool: rather than meet at the pub after work like the English do, Icelandic folk meet and relax in a local hot pool for the equivalent of about £5 per person.

DAY THREE: Another early start but this time for the sole purpose of relaxing. We was going to the Blue Lagoon geothermal spas, baby. I can honestly say this was of the best days of my life so far. The azure-blue outdoor pools are unbelievably beautiful and there was just something magical about spending an entire day drifting lazily through the steamy pools with your favourite people by your side. The spa is cashless so to order snacks or drinks from the poolside bar, you tap your wristband on a special reader and pay your tab at the end. Dangerous. My favourite part of the experience was swimming from the cosy, warm indoor pool to the outdoor area via a giant ‘catflap’ thing, just so you didn’t have to walk around in the cold. Brilliant.

To top off an already incredible day four of us went for an amazing dinner at Grillmarkadurin. We were feeling a bit adventurous and shared the whale, puffin and lobster mini-burgers to start (oh yes we di-id). I never thought I’d say this but whale is freaking delicious. For a main I nommed enthusiastically on the grilled redfish (holy shit it was good) while my boyfriend braved the horse burger. It was delicious, god knows what that Tesco scandal was about 😉

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS TOUR: In the words of Swedish House Mafia, this was what we were waiting for. Rather than attempt this ourselves we put our faith in the Reykjavik Excursions bus tour and it was worth it: if you miss the lights they will take you back several nights in a row (it took us 2 attempts). I love words but I can’t really think of how to describe the Northern Lights. What I can say is that if you have the extreme privilege of this ever being an option in your life, do it. It’s an eery, humbling experience. And it really goes without saying, but remember to dress warm for the love of God if you go out on the tour. Reykjavik during February was a balmy 0-5 degrees but when you’re out on the tundra at night, waiting for the light show, we’re talking a wind chill of -20 degrees Celsius. Brr.

RELATED READING: For tips and inspiration, check out this blog post we read before setting out on our self-driven tour. I also read Burial Rites by Hannah Kent after visiting Iceland and really wished I’d read it before we went… She captures the bleak beauty of the place perfectly and I got chills down my spine knowing some of the book’s true events occurred in the very places we stood taking stupid selfies…

*All photos are my own originals, don’t go using them without permission*

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A love letter to Christchurch

It’s been a busy few weeks. Since my last post there has been a whirlwind European bus tour, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and some very long flights from London to China to New Zealand and back again. So there’s a lot to catch up on. Phew.

First and foremost though, I want to talk about Christchurch, one of New Zealand’s largest cities. In February 2011 the city was devastated by a large earthquake which took 185 lives and caused mass destruction. We visited Christchurch nearly three years after the quake and it was a moving experience to see the city’s slow recovery. Some areas have been repaired or rebuilt but huge areas of the city, particularly in the red zone, have been replaced by grey rubble. These fenced-off areas could look like a war zone but the people of Christchurch have turned their city into somewhere really special. They’ve brought colour, life, creativity and spirit to their city. It’s inspiring to see.

Where there were office buildings and shops there are now art installations, street murals, pop-up businesses and a shopping mall built entirely of colourful shipping containers stacked on top of each other. In the city’s nooks, crannies and open spaces you will find delightful surprises such as the coin-operated ‘dance-o-mat’, a space for people to play music and dance as they please. You’ll find oversized outdoor furniture, giant chess boards, life-sized snakes and ladders, rainbow-coloured benches to rest your weary feet, 1960’s inspired psychedelic flowers painted on the footpath and many more surprises.

The food and drink! Oh, the food and drink

Many of Christchurch’s beloved cafes have reinvented themselves following the quake. I highly recommend visiting C4 coffee shop and C1 espresso. The fresh juice stall within Cashel St’s Re:START mall made me a mouth-wateringly good carrot, apple and ginger juice.

I enjoyed some of the best food I’ve had in years during our visit to Christchurch. I had been reliably informed that the garlic naans at Riccarton’s Arjee Bhajee were ‘off the hook’ – and they were. So much, in fact, that we ate there twice. Once in the evening (the venison and portobello mushroom curry is amazing, as is the lamb saag) and once on their fixed-price weekday lunch menu (get the lamb bhutuwa, you won’t regret it). Average cost: $10 per person for lunch, $30-35 per person for dinner including naan and beer.

Dinner that evening was at Spice Paragon, a new-build Thai restaurant in Riccarton. Four of us shared the melting beef cheek, the tempura fish with mango salad and the mussaman lamb curry. Add scallop starters, creme-brulee desserts and a bottle of the Mt Difficulty riesling to the mix and I was in food heaven. Bliss. Average cost: $50 per person for a heavenly three-course feed.

And the beer! We had a great time sampling beers at new pop-up speakeasy Volstead, before heading to Harlequin Public House, an amazing new restaurant and cocktail bar/speakeasy in Ironside House, opposite Victoria St’s Diamond Jubilee Clock Tower. The clock tower is an eery memorial to the 2011 quake: it is half the height it used to be and its hands are stopped at 12:52, the time of the quake.

Street art

Wandering around Christchurch you’ll spot many a painted mural – many of them with evocative messaging or memorials to the quake. It feels very East-London-meets-Berlin which meant, of course, that I LOVED IT as those are two of my favourite places in the world.

I first visited Christchurch as a small child in 1991, then again as a boozy student in 2005. I spent a few days in the backpacker’s hostel just opposite the now-ruined cathedral and this trip gave me chills to see what the quake had done to that building. This was my third visit and I have to say: I always loved Christchurch. Now I love it even more fiercely, and differently: there’s respect, sorrow and inspiration in the mix now. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Check out Christchurch, chur

A guide to the city’s thriving pop-ups

A guide to the ‘gap filler’ art installations and other fun surprises

The Re:START mall

Neat Places, a great guide to what’s new and fun in Christchurch

 

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36 hours in Prague

Imagine a Gothic Disney-style castle with dark towering spires. Overlooking a cobbled square with copper statues, horse carts, hog roasts and crepe vendors. Add craft beer and strip bars to the mix and you’ve got Prague, a city of sleaze-and-beauty, rather than Sleeping Beauty. It was my first trip to the Czech Republic and my fellow travellers were Prague-virgins too.

  • The digs Our crew rented a six-bed apartment in the Downtown Apartments complex, a five-minute walk from the Old Town central square. The apartment was spacious and warm, with a wee kitchenette for much-needed morning fry-ups. It worked out to £37.50 per person – bargain much?
  • The airline  We flew Easyjet from Gatwick. It was shithouse actually – our flight was delayed by five hours. But on the plus side it turns out Easyjet pay each passenger €250 compensation when this happens. Who knew? Effectively our flights were free with spare change on top 🙂

Prague in a day-and-a-half
So here’s the deal: you’ve made it to Prague, finally, but you’re dishevelled and harassed from the previously-mentioned flight dramas. Here’s what you should do to perk right up again.

1. Eat at Bakeshop Because you’ll want an awesome feed for the day ahead. You’ll have to fight for a window table but it’ll be worth it. I sampled the pumpkin and feta tart, side salad and some of the ham & cheese quiche. The lattes are decent enough, bit on the giant side. This ain’t a cheap place, I spent 500 koruna (roughly £15) to feed two of us. But the rest of the city is so cheap you won’t care. Bakeshop: Kozí 918/1.

2. Explore the square. The buildings in the Old Town Square are amazing and there are crazy gargoyles everywhere. See the famous clock if you must (it puts on a little show every hour on the hour) but it was pretty underwhelming. Hell, I’d even say it’s shit and don’t bother – but you probably will, coz someone said the same thing to me and I went anyway. The food stalls in the square are delish, especially the hog roast.

3. Beer stop! It’s tough work being on holiday. You’re lucky there’s an amazing hidden bar underneath the square. Opposite the clock is an unassuming alleyway that takes you past a Starbucks. Go just past the Starbucks and you’ll see the signs for U Zlate Konvice, an underground haven of delicious beer and taxidermied animals. Very Gothic. As far as Prague goes the beers are pricey at 98 koruna each (roughly £3), compared to 30-ish at other places (£1). U Zlate Konvice: Melantrichova 477/20.

4. Shop at the junk markets behind the square. Buy shit you don’t need. Someone in our crew bought a Russian doll toy that was painted to look like members of the All Blacks rugby team, complete with a teeny tiny Piri Weepu in the middle of it. As you do, Prague. As you do.

5. Another beer stop! Since the first one didn’t quite hit the spot, you need another beer, obvs. Our second stop was for an outdoor beer at Lavka Club, overlooking the famous Old Town Bridge. The beers were cold, the blankets were snuggly and the sun was starting to set. Nice. Lavka Club: Novotného lávka 201/1.

6. Photos on the famous ‘statue bridge’ as the sun sets. The Old Town Bridge is one of the prime landmarks and is also an ace spot for photobombing other people’s pictures…

7.  Yet another beer stop! With chips! It was getting cold, so we needed even more beer. A friend had recommended we try The Pub, where you can order casks for your table, but it turns out you need a reservation to get a seat on a Saturday so we couldn’t get in. Just around the corner from The Pub we stumbled across Kozlovna and I am Glad That We Did. The beers were cheap and plentiful and the staff were hilarious. My memory gets a bit hazy here but I am pretty sure two rounds of large beers, plus chips and some shots of the local nut liquer, set us back about £20 equivalent. Tops. Kozlovna: Křížovnická 4

8. It’s probably time you eat something. Yes, that’s a good idea. I can’t quite recall how we chose our dinner location. Or what it was called. Or where it was. What I do know is that I ate goulash with potato dumplings. At a really nice place that was stumbling distance from Kozlovna. Sorry I can’t be of more help.

Day Two

1. Get your hungover ass out of bed and eat something. You won’t want to but you’ll thank me later. Grab a coffee and a snack from one of the plentiful bakeries (but don’t get one of the star-shaped fruit pastries you’ll see everywhere, because gross).

2. Get thee to the Strahov Monastery. The views are great. The monks brew good beer. They make damn tasty goulash-in-a-bun. And it’s pretty. Strahov Monastery Strahovské nádvoří 1/132

3. Check out the castle. Take some photos, the view is great. We didn’t go inside. It was too much. Prague Castle: Pražský hrad, 119 08 Praha 1

4. Have another beer, on a boat. A floating restaurant is still a boat. We sat here as the sun set and it was a beautiful way to end a rowdy, lovely weekend. The swans floated by as we sipped our ice teas and eventually felt brave enough for a beer. Marina Grosetto Ristorante: Alšovo nábřeží, 110 00 Praha 1

 

Listening to: Spacing by Shihad (yes, old school)