One-woman diplomatic tour - Dublin

Gosh, this summer has just been MAD with barely a night or weekend off to blog or just do things like a load of washing.

One of things I've been busy doing is visiting Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland for work. I've been to Wales a fair bit as it's just over the bridge from Bristol but I'd never been to Ireland before so I took my husband and took a bit of a holiday too.

We flew into Dublin on Friday night when it proceeded to pour with rain all weekend - simply pounding down at times! Still, we had some good times inside scarfing down some good food. One of our best finds was an amazing bakery/cafe which gave us farls for breakfast.

What is a farl? We didn't know either, but it turns out they're like scones or American biscuits made with potato as well as flour. They were delicious warm with melted cheese, grilled mushrooms, black pudding and white pudding. In case you don't know, black and white puddings are like sausages - they're made with blood, but if you can get over that, they're tasty.

 We took a wee tour of Dublin castle (although most of it is more like a palace from the 1700s). Dublin Castle was the seat of British rule in Ireland and is now used for state visits and swearing in the President. The tour guide showed us some of the original stonework from the 13th Century and gave us some insights into the troubled history of Ireland and its journey to independence.

 This picture shows the only remaining old tower with two different styles of newer building attached to it.

 Inside the 'castle' looked like plush 17th Century state rooms, which is basically what it is. This beautiful chandelier has shamrocks, roses and thistles to represent Ireland, England and Scotland (Wales wasn't considered important enough to get a daffodil on there).

Dublin museum isn't fabulous (I think Copenhagen has spoiled us for Viking artifacts) but it does have a great collection of Celtic gold including lots of huge torques.  We weren't allow to take any pictures of the gold, but trust me, it was huge and old and fragile and amazing. I was interested to discover how much of an influence waves of Viking invaders/ settlers were in Ireland. And it was inside i.e. out of the rain, so that's something.

An awesome bit of Dublin was the Anglican cathedral. We went to the service on Sunday which had beautiful music produced by (what I found out later) was only four singers. Normally at churches like that there is a choir of at least 15 or 20 but these four were very skilled and made a beautiful sound.

The preacher had a massive grey beard and looked like he'd be really conservative, but he delivered a storming sermon condemning war and promoting peace, especially regarding Israel and Palestine at the moment. I felt like standing up and cheering at the end!

Also, in the basement afterwards, we saw some costumes from one of my favourite TV series - The Tudors and some other interesting bits of history from the cathedral including a realistically modelled dove made of silver for storing oil and a mummified cat who got stuck chasing a (now mummified) rat.

On Sunday afternoon we drove up to Belfast, taking the scenic coastal route. I'll tell you all about Northern Ireland in my next post...

Have you been to Ireland? What was your favourite bit?

Autumn treats

"The crickets sang in the grasses. They sang the song of summer’s ending, a sad, monotonous song. “Summer is over and gone,” they sang. “Over and gone, over and gone. Summer is dying, dying.”

The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last forever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year — the days when summer is changing into fall the crickets spread the rumor of sadness and change." Charlotte's Web, E. B. White

This is a beautiful piece of writing from a lovely book, but actually, I tend to find Autumn the most invigorating time of the year. Summer this year has been very hot and very, very busy. I've found the heat making me lethargic.

Now they're baling up the hay, the blackberries are ripening, the nights are drawing in and I'm starting to need a cardigan or trench coat. I'm starting to feel a bit of a spring in my step!

I think it's well known that autumn is the most exciting season for fashion, but other treats of the season include moving back to red wine and being able to snuggle up at home in slippers and a comfy hoodie.

Tonight I made a crumble of blackberries picked from wild bushes and proper English Bramley cooking apples. My lovely husband popped out and got Madagascar vanilla cream from ASDA (a supermarket). Yummo!

Can you tell I've fallen off the diet wagon? I did go for a walk at lunchtime, so that's something.

Anyway, what's your favourite treat of the Autumn season? Later on I'll be enthusing about ankle boots and wool coats but right now, picking blackberries is enough for me.

Do you treat your body worse than you treat your car?

I'm related to a mechanic* and he often rolled his eyes at how badly I treated my car. No oil, no services, not checking the tyres... I even ran out of petrol once or twice. I've gotten slightly better with age and more money. I do get regular services and get nagging issues checked out but I'm still not brilliant at keeping up with the basics.

Still, I was thinking the other day that I'm probably even worse at looking after my body than I am at looking after my car.

I have a theory that people tend to focus on one or two aspects of their lives to the exclusion of the others.

There are lots of different ways you can slice and dice the concept of wellbeing but the main division I see is between body and mind. I know lots of people (myself included) who are prone to treat their bodies worse than they treat their cars - not giving them proper fuel, regular maintance, grinding their gears (okay, the metaphor is getting laboured here...). 

Still, why do we do this? Why do we focus on our careers and sedentary things using our minds while our bodies seize up and rust away (metaphorically speaking...).     

                                                                      

I've put on about eight pounds (or four kilos) in the last year. It's gradually crept up with more indulgence in 'treats', more takeaways or pre-prepared food and less movement. I bit the bullet (another metaphor... I'll stop commenting on this now) last week did an assessment at the gym. Owch! The results were not good.

So, the worm has turned and so far I've had a good week on My Fitness Pal with diet and exercise. I need to keep doing this for a couple of months at least to get back to where I was a year ago. Then see how I go from there. 

I need to remember that I am a whole person: body, mind and spirit. I need to make sure I take time and energy to look after all three. I'm committed to making a change - let's see if I can actually learn this lesson this time!

What about you - how are you doing with your car and/ or your body?

* The picture is not my relative!

Eats, laughs and reads...

Sorry for the long radio silence - I've had a nasty cold/ cough thing that's taken about ten days to shift. So, what's the news?

Twitter gets me food!

While I was sick, I was on Twitter a fair bit. I saw a local independent cafe (BearPit Social) tweeting about their juices and joked about them delivering as I was sick in bed. A bit of banter later and they actually send someone over on a bike with a delicious green juice and a vegan salad. I didn't have enough cash for both but they bought them anyway and said I could pay them back. Awesome customer service!  

 The Bear Pit is a massively ill-conceived underpass area surrounded by traffic. It has been the type of place colonised by homeless people where you wouldn't walk after dark, but efforts are being made to bring it back to life. Good on the Bearpit Social Cafe - I wish them well!








New Author - Brandon Sanderson

Also while I was sick, I finished the first book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy 'The Final Empire'. I'm now about 3/4 of the way through the second book called 'The Well of Acension'. The Mistborn trilogy is in the high fantasy genre where quite a few novels are derivative drivel but these ones are pretty good.

They have a nice original premise, they're well written with some interesting (if not quite fully rounded) characters. I think Patrick Rothfuss and Lois McMaster Bujold are much better than Brandon Sanderson. George RR Martin comes second, but Sanderson comes in a respectable third along with authors like Robin Hobb.











Comedy gold

The Bristol Comedy Garden came around again and we had tickets to see Ardal O'Hanlon, Nina Conti and Stewart Francis with MC Craig Campbell. Ardal is best known for his role as Dougal in the brilliant BBC comedy show 'Father Ted' (if you haven't seen it, get hold of a box set and prepare for hours of fun!). His stand up is pretty similar to the endearing, bumbling character he played. Flawlessly confident and skilled, great timing and charm for days. Lovely stuff.

 
Craig Campbell was also a highlight - he's a Candian living in Devon. Very high energy, a bit crude and shouty but obviously good humoured. He was really funny and his rant about how we should value the NHS had the whole tent of several hundred people howling their approval.

Easy food for parties 

We had a really fun blind wine tasting do at a friend's house last night. We tried six carefully chosen wines and guessed at the variety, country, vintage etc. I'm proud that I got three of the varieties right.

Anyway, I got back from work about six and was due there at seven, so what to take for food? My easy-peasy canapes, that's what.

1. Slice a baguette (or French bread) into rounds. Lay on a baking tray and put in the oven for a few minutes. Watch them closely so they get toasted and just golden brown but not too dry.

2. Slather a generous helping of something gooey on them i.e. cream cheese, hummus, chutney, pesto etc.

3. Heap a generous helping of something toothsome on top i.e. salmon on the cream cheese, roasted pepper on the hummus, rare roast beef on the chutney, brie on the pesto.

3. Season and garnish - a little sprinkle of something on top makes all the difference - chives, parsley, a tiny lemon wedge, cracked pepper.

4. Devour! (preferably with little plates or at least nakins as they can be a bit crumby)

These are fine to prepare while early guests are arriving as you can easily give them something to do. I took the toasted bread and the rest of the ingredients with me and assembled at the venue because it was easier than trying to transport the finished product.

So, that's my news. Did you miss me? What have you been up to?

Six reasons to love Bristol

I love Bristol with a big love. I've been living here for around two years and it still makes me smile on a regular basis. The Bristol Culture site regularly has articles of semi-famous Bristol folks talking about their favourite bits - here are mine, in no particular order (plus a pretty picture of the harbour that I took one evening).

The Windmill Pub
I think these guys do the best roast in Bristol. Every bit of the meal is carefully prepared from the fresh crisp yorkies to the creamy leeks, spicy red cabbage and tender meat. Amazing. They have a laid back but comfy atmosphere in the pub and all the papers to read on a Sunday.

St Nicholas Market
Particularly the Moroccan stall and the Middle Eastern food stall down the end opposite the fabric stall. The Moroccan place does the most tender meat, beautifully spiced and melting in your mouth with delicious sauce and tasty rice or cous cous. The Middle Eastern place does fantastic meals with every part of the dish carefully spiced and prepared. Their freshly cooked flat-bread is an essential compliment to the meal. There is also a wide choice of other foods from Pieminster pies to local sausages, Jamaican, Indian, BBQ, Felafel wraps and more plus several pubs (including the excellent Rummer Hotel tucked away off All Saints Lane).

St Nicholas Market and Corn Street are historic (established in 1743) and picturesque with craft stalls inside. Along Corn Street are four brass 'nails' with the earliest from around 1560 and the Registry Office where you often see weddings taking place on a Saturday. We end up visiting here most weekends, especially as it's on the way to the shopping centre.

Ashton Court

Bristol is full of lovely parks and green spaces. Our local one is the gorgeous Ashton Court; a 16th Century house and deer park with 19th Century gardens and acres of rolling fields and woods. The property was gifted to Bristol and is a great asset to the city (but don't bother with the cafe, it's complete rubbish). There is a weekly farmer's market, a small golf course, horse riding, a mountain bike track and of course the massive annual hot air ballon festival (more about that later).

The Ferries

Even though it's quite a way from the coast, Bristol's heart is its harbour. The small locked harbour and rivers are criss-crossed with ferries. For 80p you can cross from the SS Great Britain to the other side of the harbour (I recommend checking out the Grain  Barge for a drink and a meal while you're there) or for a few pounds you can toddle gently up and down the harbour taking in the sights, admiring the passing swans and possibly getting somewhere useful like the railway station or near the shopping centre.

Festivals
Bristol has masses of different festivals (many of them free) throughout the year. Mayfest is probably my favourite - a condensed 10 days of theatre, dance, music and more with all sorts of top quality bizarre bits and pieces including award-winning shows from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Last year we loved a 1940s cabaret/ musical version of Beowulf by a hugely talented cast from America.

Police horses

There are police horses stationed fairly close to our house and they can often be seen in pairs around the city centre. They are huge and brave and beautiful and I love them. They're worth a follow on Twitter for the cute photos. If you're in Bristol and happen to see them going by you can generally pat them if you ask first.

I've got lots more things to say about this fabulous city, but that'll do for now.

Things to see in Auckland, New Zealand

I'm from Auckland and I left so I am bit biased about the place. However, on a recent visit I was reminded of some of the good things about Auckland. 

Food and drink

I spent the 8 days I was in Auckland eating and drinking as much as I could of my favourite local treats. In terms of food, I've already mentioned some things here but somehow I forget to mention feijoas. Thankfully it was early autumn while we were visiting so feijoas were in season. Most Auckland homes have at least one feijoa tree in the backyard. I chowed down about six or eight a day and also feijoa flavoured drink. I didn't manage to eat a piece of the feijoa tart, but I bet it was good 'cos it was at our favourite bakery where the chef is French.

Also, I forgot to mention the good old Kiwi flat white coffee. New Zealand is very good at independent cafes - a flat white and a delicious brunch is a treat that's hard to replicate in the UK. A full English breakfast and an Americano coffee is not so much to my taste.  

Rangitoto island seen from Milford Beach

Beaches and islands

Auckland being an isthmus means that it's surrounded in miles of beaches. There probably isn't anyone who lives more than an hour's drive from a beach. On the North Shore, lovely golden sand beaches are anything from a five minute walk to a 15 minute drive away.

Milford beach and Takapuna beach are popular and can be a bit crowded but they are old favourites of mine. The walk along the rocks between the two beaches makes for a good way to earn a sorbet or ice cream at the fancy cafe on Takapuna beach.

Muriwai beach

Muriwai on the west coast is quite different being a very long black sand surf beach. There is stunning scenery and an increasingly large gannet colony. This visit we saw lots of half grown chicks nesting with their parents.

Tititiri Matangi island

Auckland harbour is also full of islands, some of which are occupied and some are nature reserves. On our recent visit to Auckland, we took a day trip on the ferry to Tiritiri Matangi island and saw amazing native birds such as bell birds, saddlebacks and black robins which you would never see elsewhere. You can also take day trips to Rangitoto and Waiheke islands and a short ferry ride from Auckland city to the cute village of Devonport. Getting out on the water is a typically Auckland thing to do and it does show off the city at its best.


Hot pools
Hot pools are the main thing I miss about New Zealand. Much of New Zealand is set on old volcanoes so there is thermal hot water dotted about the country. I grew up close to thermal hot pools so was a regular visitor. In Auckland I recommend Parakai over Waiwera as Parakai is cheaper, less crowded and still has a more authentic 'small town' feel about it. The Palm Springs hot pools have evidently recently been redecorated so if you're not wanting hydroslides then these are the best in Auckland to my taste. You can also find motels and camping grounds with their own hot pools, including some with a private pool for each room, lovely!

Bush (or Forest to you foreigners)
Auckland is bracketed by the enormous Waitakere ranges regional park which has "more than 16,000 hectares of native rainforest and coastline. Its 250km of walking and tramping tracks provide access to beaches, breathtaking views, and spectacular rocky outcrops."

I'm afraid (typical of Auckland) the only way to get there is by car although there are some expensive coach tours that don't let you get a decent walk in. Still, it's well worth spending a day taking a bush walk as you'll see unique plants such as huge old kauri trees and beautiful birds like tui and fantails. Titirangi village close by has some great cafes for lunch - I recommend Stripe Cafe which is just down the road from the main shopping area. Delicious food in a relaxing setting.

Most people fly into and out of Auckland from international destinations and many of them immediately head off on road trips. There are some things worth seeing if you stay in Auckland for a few days - you just have to know where they are!

Visit Copenhagen? Maybe I'm getting jaded...

It was my lovely husband's birthday last weekend. He's fond of travel so I popped onto friend internet to see where we could go on a cheap flight. Copenhagen looked good. I booked flights and a few weeks later we hopped on a plane.

Pros:
* Delicious food with some new tastes - we ate a cake with a creamy topping made with sea buckthorn berries.

* The royal family lives right in the centre of town and there's quite a nice museum with lots of royal history right next to their house.

* The National Museum has lots of interesting Viking things with all captions in English (and it's warm inside!)

They threw lots of things in a bog as sacrifices - helpful for future generations to ogle!

* Magasin du Nord is an attractive (and warm!) department store with good food at the restaurant in the basement. We had fried fish, dark rye bread, salad and chunky skin-on chips for dinner. I got a couple of fine merino wool cardigans for 50% off the normal price.

Magasin du Nord

Yum dinner!

 * The free walking tour was a good way to orientate ourselves to the city and learn a bit of history. Two and a half hours outside in the wind was a bit much, though.

Brrr!

Nyhavn (New Harbour)

King Frederik's Church - he wanted somewhere posh to go on a Sunday so he built this.

* Everyone spoke English - helpful as we don't speak a word of Danish!

* Clean and safe - we felt perfectly safe walking around the city, in fact we were often the only pedestrians! There were a few people on bikes, but the city seemed reasonably empty of people (or maybe they were all huddling at home in the warm).

Cons:
* Cold! -4 with a -11 windchill and only a light dusting of snow on the second day to cheer us up (we like snow).

Icy river!

* Grey - Copenhagen seemed to a city made of grey pavements and squares, grey buildings and grey skies with hardly any trees or vegetation generally. There was a little more colour down by the harbour but where we were was a deserted grey plain with hardly even a pedestrian to break the monotony.

* Cost - we knew Copenhagen would be pretty expensive when it came to eating out, but it meant that I felt kind of hungry most of the time I was there as I didn't feel I could justify ordering enough food. We did manage to find a nice coffee chain called Baresso who did reasonably priced food and hot drinks. Coffee was definitely better in Copenhagen than in England - sorry England, you're just not great at coffee. On the plus side of the cost issue, our hotel was a good quality budget hotel for a very reasonable price.

* The Tivoli amusement park was closed for the winter. I'm not normally an amusement park kind of girl, but this one opened in 1843 and looked (from the outside) pretty amazing.

Dry fountain with Tivoli in the background

All in all, I guess I'd give Copenhagen a six out of 10. It's not quite as good a European city break as somewhere like Bruges in Belgium, but it would probably get a better score from me in spring or autumn when it's not so cooooold! 

Any suggestions on where we should go next?

Christmas biscuits - it's a miracle!

So, I'm really not a domestic goddess. I bake roughly around twice a year, Christmas being one of the times that I bestir myself to get out the mixing bowls and baking trays.

This weekend the magic will happen, but I'm missing my favourite Christmas biscuit recipe! My friend always used to make them and they're delicious! Made with lots of spices, orange zest and juice, they're soft yet crisp. They're lovely when drizzled with lemon icing... mmm... I'm hungry now!

I'll have to experiment with a new recipe and see how that works out. Anyone got any suggestions?

This Hairy Bikers biscuit recipe sounds good, but we're seeing people at Christmas who don't like candied peel, so maybe not.

This one looks nice and simple, but I'd definitely add a bit of nutmeg and ground cloves as well as the cinnamon and ginger. Spices = Christmas for me.

I like the sound of everything that Nigel Slater is recommending - especially the mulled pear cider! I like the cardamon in the biscuits but they sound like they'd be a bit too dry and crisp for me. I like my Christmas biscuits a little soft in the middle.

Well, I'll give one of them a try and see how I go - wish me luck!