Category Archives: getaways

on travelling (and living) with anxiety

23 Thursday May 2019

Posted by in cancer, friends, getaways, health & happiness

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , ,

crossing bridges…

As I put together the posts for last week’s London Getaway (done after I got home) I realised I was almost enjoying the visit more in retrospect than when I was actually there. Don’t get me wrong – it was wonderful meeting up with my friends, and going to the Spanish Embassy party was an amazing experience. And Nicola’s apartment was lovely. But when I wasn’t with friends or otherwise occupied I felt quite stressed and anxious most of the time. In fact, this anxiety started about a week before I left, since I am actually terrified of flying. I was lucky that Peter agreed to stay over while I was gone to take care of the cats, as that was one less thing to worry about. But still, I was very nervous about my trip to London, even before I got there.

Continue reading →

andalusia – recipes from seville and beyond

21 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by in books, friends, getaways, london

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , ,

Got a surprise delivery today – my own SIGNED copy of José Pizarro’s new cookbook! I’m so excited. This was so unexpected but also just the sort of thing José would do. You may remember when he came to town last May with his team to do research for this book, and I took them around to some of my favourite traditional bars. I was thrilled to see at the Spanish Embassy party last week that not only was I given a mention in the acknowledgements, but there was also a photo of us from our day out. And now I have my own copy!

It’s a gorgeous book and I can’t wait to try out the recipes. Publishing date is May 30th but you can pre-order it here from Amazon. Happy cooking!

Andalusia – Recipes From Seville and Beyond

london getaway 2019 | day 6

18 Saturday May 2019

Posted by in friends, getaways, london

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

,

So…….. woke up with an eensy hangover after the excesses of my very full-on Friday. But after a shower, and some juice and yoghurt, I felt ready to once again get ON THE BUS and head over to meet Tim @biltawulf at José in Bermondsey. And then suddenly it was Sherry O’clock and we were off. The main plan for the afternoon was to (finally!) have lunch at 40 Maltby Street, but first we took a stroll through the Market. You may recall my first ever visit to Maltby Street Market, during which I fell in love with the place, meeting several of the vendors and spending an amazing afternoon chatting with everyone. A return visit a year later was less happy, as the market was over-crowded and felt less personal. So I wasn’t sure what to expect this time.

Continue reading →

london getaway 2019 | day 5

17 Friday May 2019

Posted by in friends, getaways, london

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

,

I had been looking forward to this ever since Thane @thaneprince got tickets for the Sorolla exhibit a few weeks ago. The first of its kind in London since 1908. So I got up extra early to be sure I was on my bus by 9.00 am, and I arrived at the National Gallery right on time. Phew! The exhibit was exquisite. And afterwards we had a treat in store as Thane had booked us for an early lunch at the fabulous Lao/Thai/Mekong pop up by JeoJeo at Sun and 13 Cantons in Soho.

Continue reading →