From Barcelona With Love (AKA Tales from my Holibobs: Part Two)

This morning Facebook informed me that today is the first day of summer and although the sun has put in an appear over the last hour or so, today has mainly been dark and gloomy and rainy. I'm not going to moan as it means I got to go for a walk with my gorgeous daisy umbrella and if you give it a couple more weeks they'll probably be announcing a hosepipe ban anyway!

With 53 days to go until my next holiday I realised I am probably better off cherishing the sunnier moments from my holiday back in May and I thought I'd share them with you today. (Better late than never seems to be my most used line, but it's true.) Back in April I wrote about how Barcelona became one of my favourite places to visit and on Monday 9 May I boarded a plane from Gatwick to go back there for the fifth time. 

When I booked the holiday towards the end of last year I was so excited, but in the run up to it I have to admit I was feeling less than enthusiastic. I was feeling a little down about my lack of gusto for the trip and wondered whether I should have just cancelled it when I moved back home with Mum. The fact that thunderstorms were forecast for most of the week probably didn't help either.

Despite the forecast apparently being true as we landed in torrential rain, my mood lifted as we walked out of Barcelona-El Prat and made our way to the bus stop. That tingling anticipation of being in my favourite place in the world had returned.

Later I spoke to Mum about how I had been feeling and we decided that we had probably both been concentrating so much on getting through the Isle of Wight and saying goodbye to Nan and Granddad that we hadn't given ourselves the chance to actually look forward to going to Barcelona. Now we were here, we were determined to make the most of it, whatever the weather!

In a change from my usual choice of hotel when staying in Barcelona, we treated ourselves to one that is right on La Rambla and just a minute's walk from Plaça de Catalunya. I am always nervous about speaking Spanish as I know I'm not very good, but the gentleman on reception was so happy and encouraging that I enjoyed practising with him. As our flight landed early evening, we were quite hungry by the time we got to the hotel. 

We decided to have dinner at my favourite place to eat in the city - Flaherty's Irish Pub. Most people see it as a cop out to go to an Irish pub while in Spain, but it is right opposite the university I went to while on placement and I have very fond (though sometimes hazy) memories as I went there most days be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, a drink between lectures, cocktails or just to watch the football (yes, I used to enjoy watching football).

On Tuesday morning we walked the short way to Plaça de Catalunya and enjoyed a spot of people watching over breakfast. We then went to the bus stop and bought a two-day pass for the Barcelona Bus Turístic. I swear I have used this every time I've gone to Barcelona. There are three different routes that take you around the main tourist hotspots. I love it because you can hop on and off as many times as you want and you can get to see the city instead of sitting on the Metro. It's worth every penny, particularly as it comes with a discount booklet for lots of different tourist attractions and fast food outlets.

The destination for the first full day of our holiday was Mount Tibidabo. It's something that I had never done on any of my previous visits so I was quite excited. We took the Funicular del Tibidabo up to the summit on what was looking to be a glorious day. Once you get up to the summit there isn't actually much up there apart from the Amusement Park, the Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor and a pretty awesome view of the city. I'd also heard about a geocache in amongst all the love locks that can be found at one of the viewpoints, but we weren't able to find it. 

Once we had taken lots of photos we took the funicular back down the mountain and then strolled down to the bus stop so we could get the bus back to La Rambla. We had lunch at a lovely little pizzeria and decided that we'd go back to the hotel for a rest before going back out. Shortly after we got to our room we heard the rain start to fall. It rained and rained and rained. That evening we ended up dashing to the supermarket for some snacks and went back to our room via the ice cream parlour and watched NCIS dubbed in either Spanish or Italian.

Wednesday was the last day that we had our bus ticket so we decided to make the most of it. Mum was sure that she hadn't been to Montjuïc so we decided to go while the weather was good in case it took a turn for the worse again. We took the funicular up the hill using the discount from our tourist bus booklet, but the walk up the hill is also very pleasant. Once we were up there we had a leisurely stroll around the castle ruins. In the past I've run around the city like a loon trying to fit everything in as I've usually gone with someone who hasn't been before. This time it was wonderful to just enjoy being in a place that I love and not having to rush.

Once we'd had enough of walking we got the bus to Port Olímpic and had lunch at another one of my favourite places to eat - Crêperie Bretonne Annaíck. Apart from the fact that I love a crepe, savoury or sweet, the kitchen is a silver double decker bus. I love it!

After lunch we took yet another stroll along the beach. Despite the weather the previous two days it was actually quite warm and if we'd thought about putting our swimsuits on under our clothes, we could have had a little dip. As it was we just enjoyed the feel of the sun on our face as we walked back to La Rambla.

Thursday was our last full day in the city and we decided to just have a shopping day so we wandered mainly around the Barri Gòtic. It was another beautiful day apart from one quick shower. We ended our holiday with another meal at the Irish Pub mainly because we wanted to celebrate the holiday with a few cocktails. I'm sure by the time you're in your 30s its OK to be a bit tipsy in the presence of your mum, especially when she is too, right...?

I had a lovely weekend away and it was just what I needed. I can't wait to go back to Barcelona, hopefully in the not too distant future and go full on tourist again. Until then, goodbye you crazy, beautiful city.

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DofE Diamond Challenge Update

Back in February I wrote a post about the DofE Diamond Challenge which you can read here. I thought I'd give you all a little update particularly since I made the decision a while back to change my personal challenge. 

Last summer I got a Fitbit Charge for my birthday which really pushed me to walk the three miles to work every day so that I could reach my 10,000 step goal. As the weeks went on I started walking longer routes to work and starting doing walks on Sunday mornings as well as parkrun (or parkwalk as Mum and I like to call it) on a Saturday morning. By September I was feeling so much fitter and I really enjoyed the time I had to myself listening to music or audio books or just time to clear my head ready for the day ahead.

At the end of September that all changed when I got a new job in Tonbridge and had to start driving to work. My weekly average went down from around 85,000 steps to just 35,000 (to be honest that's probably being generous) and as the weather got worse I even stopped doing my weekend walks. I used the dark mornings and bad weather as my excuse and my motivation just dissipated.

I decided to change my challenge back in April when I was planning our holiday to Barcelona. I knew that our trip would be an excellent opportunity for lots of walking and with spring well and truly in the air I really wanted to start walking regularly again. I am awake early most morning anyway so since the beginning of May I have been getting to work between an hour and a half and two hours early and just going for a walk before work. 

I've really enjoyed getting to know the area where I work and will hopefully one day live. I love just looking on Google Maps and deciding where I am going to go the next day. I've found several routes now that I like to rotate so that I don't get bored and most of them can be made slightly shorter or longer and I use mapmywalk to record the distance and time it takes to complete the route so that I have something to refer to. 

It has also helped me to start regaining the fitness that I had worked so hard to build up last summer. This leads me on to my challenge. It is recommended that everyone walks 10,000 steps a day and while I do try to do this, there are obviously some days where I just want to have a duvet day and watch Harry Potter until my mum begs me to put something else on. 

So I decided that my personal challenge would be to walk 600,000 steps over 60 consecutive days. While that does work out at 10,000 steps a day I didn't want to commit to that in case the weather was absolutely atrocious or I had an injury or something. However I am pleased to so that today is day 43 of 60 and not only have I managed to walk at least 10,000 steps every day, but I am also 100,000 up on my target so far.

Once the challenge is over I am determined to keep walking regularly and hopefully by autumn I can find a few exercises classes near me to keep me going until the weather is dry enough to walk again.

Just a reminder that you can donate to The Duke of Edinburgh's Award using the JustGiving link to the right or text TGDC60 followed by the amount you would like to donate (£1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10) to 70070. If you want to create your own personal challenge and raise money for this fantastic cause you can do so here.

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Saying Goodbye (AKA Tales from my Holibobs: Part One)

I am so overdue in doing this seeing as it's now a whole month since I got back from my holidays, but better later than never as they say. I've had a weird week and my next holiday seems so far away still so I thought instead I would reminisce about my last one. Let me take you back to Friday 6th May when me, my mum, my uncle and my cousins descended upon Portsmouth & Southsea...

The reason for our visit was perhaps not the most joyous of occasions as we had planned a day trip to the Isle of Wight to scatter the ashes of my nan and granddad. Despite the reason for our visit I was excited to see upon our arrival that the hotel was right on the seafront and next to the amusements and funfair. The air was full of the smell of fish & chips and fresh, hot donuts. We, OK, I had an early night ready for the next morning when we had a lovely walk along the seafront to the ferry. I even found a sign at Gunwharf Quays that made the Potterhead in me leap for joy. Of course, I had to take a photo.

The ferry trip was quick and calm and once we got to Ryde we found a lovely cafe to have some breakfast before walking back to the pier to get a bus to Ventnor. We always used to go there for our holidays during May Half Term and then when I left school, they started to go in September instead. I have very fond memories of those holidays. My best friend from school Sarah used to come with us and my granddad always used to give us a pound's worth of two-pence pieces to use at the amusements. I had planned to change a pound up for old time's sake so imagine my disappointment as we walked along the Esplanade and saw that they were all boarded up. Sorry Granddad, maybe next time.

We stopped at The Spyglass Inn for a quick drink before making our way to their final resting place. It was one of the pubs which my granddad would frequent. He'd start off at one end of the Esplanade and work his way down to the other where we'd often find him sitting on the bench chatting to anyone and everyone who passed him.

Once we were all refreshed from the heat (the weather was beautiful as promised) we walked up the path where my mum used to walk our dog Ben and found a quiet spot. The ongoing joke of the weekend had been to check the wind direction before setting them free and luckily it was working in our favour. Once it was done we all had a quiet moment with our thoughts before heading back into town. While I have no doubt in my mind that my nan and granddad loved each other, they argued like crazy. It made me chuckle to think that if you listened very closely to the wind, you might just be able to hear the sound of them bickering.

The rest of the day was spent visiting some of our favourite places on the island. The morning had gone much quicker than we expected so in the end we only had time to visit Godshill and Shanklin (with an ice cream at the latter), but it was lovely to revisit them after 13 or so years. I am sure my cousins would have liked longer there as they had never been before. 

We made our way back to Ryde and got the ferry back to the mainland where we enjoyed a scrummy family meal together. For me the best thing about the weekend was all of us being together for the amount of time we were. Even if my mum and I have a weekend up in Norfolk we might only see my cousins of an hour or two here and there so I cherished every moment.

After dinner the kids went to explore the amusements and Mum and I went to try and find a geocache aptly named 'Never Forgotten'. Unfortunately we're couldn't find it, but on the way back to the hotel we did find another. (We also attempted to find one in the other direction on Sunday morning, but the less said about that the better.) The sea air led me to another peaceful night's sleep and only one day left before my proper holiday.

To be continued...

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Normal Service Will Be Resumed Shortly

It's just dawned on me that it's the last day of May and I haven't written a post this month. Well, I say I haven't written a post, but I have three drafts that are all part written - one about my holibobs, one about the decorating chaos that has descended upon my home and an update on my DofE Diamond Challenge. You have all of these wondrous(ly boring) posts to come, but right now I don't have time to finish them as I'm totally engrossed in Giovanna Fletcher's new book Always With Love. It's not due out until Thursday, which is the same day that I'll be going to a Q&A with her, but due to Waterstones being so awesome with their pre-orders, I already have it. Anyway, must dash. Still got about 150 pages to go.

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My Dream Home

The other day I started to write a post about my dream home. As I was writing I realised I kept changing things because I didn’t feel they would ever be realistic for me, but then I thought, “No, this is my dream home. It doesn’t matter whether it’s or not realistic. It’s what I want. And if I have it all written down somewhere, then it will give me something to work towards.” So here it is, my dream home…

First of all it has to be three miles or less from work. Last summer I walked the three miles to work nearly every day. If the weather was particularly agreeable I walked home too. I didn’t always enjoy the walk, but I always felt better for it. It also gave me the time to listen to a lot more music and audio books. So that is my first wish. To live close enough to work that I can walk instead of drive. It’d save me about £20 a week in petrol (that’s £1,040 a year before you start to say I’m cheap!) and I’d get fitter in the process.

The next thing may surprise anyone who knows me well as I want quite a big garden. I know I don’t have green fingers and I tend to kill plants just by looking at them, but I’d keep it quite simple. My main reason for wanting a garden of a substantial size is because I want lots of space for socialising. And a mahoosive sheshed. Don’t forget about the mahoosive sheshed.

The shed, hereafter known as the workshop of dreams would take pride of place at the end of the garden. It would be painted pretty colours, have curtains up at the window and bunting pretty much everywhere! Oh and there’d be a rocking chair on the veranda. Yes, the workshop of dreams has a veranda. Inside would be a crafter’s paradise and would be where I escape to do my book folding and make bunting to my heart’s content. I may even be able to learn how to do paper cutting once I have this little place of tranquillity.

Anyway, back to the rest of the garden. I know it’s the Guide Leader in me, but I’ve always wanted to have a fire pit. Despite the fact I’ve been guiding since I was 11, I don’t particularly enjoy camping, but in my mind there’s nothing better than sitting round a campfire, toasting marshmallows to make s’mores and chatting about anything and everything. Imagine if you could do that in your own garden on a summer’s evening sitting around on giant beanbags playing Uno with your friends. Actually, maybe not the Uno bit. Not with my friends anyway. Tends to get a bit violent.

I would want the garden to be a place that I could really relax in during the summer months so of course my hammock would have pride of place and there would be a swing seat too. There would be some plants, but they’d have to be easy to look after otherwise it would spoil the whole effect. I nearly stopped myself from writing this, but it is my dream home so it’s also got to have a tree house for my niece and nephews to play in (OK, for me too!)

Let’s move into the house shall we? Starting at the top, my room would be in the attic with an en-suite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe. There would be skylights with motorised blinds on a timer (seriously, anyone would think I still worked at Tropical Blinds) so that in spring and summer the daylight could wake me up each morning, but not until I wanted it to. The bed would be a Super King Size just for the hell of it and I’d have a cosy armchair in the corner for reading of an evening. I wouldn’t want too much else in there. Definitely no television! There might be a Bluetooth speaker as I like to have a sing and a dance when I’m getting ready, but that’s about it technology wise.

The middle floor would have two bedrooms and the main bathroom. I say it would have two bedrooms, but really it would be one as the other would be my office. My office would have bookcases on nearly every wall and they would be filled to the brim with my favourite books and those pesky language textbooks that are still hanging around from my university days. My love of big bookcases stems from when I used to have French lessons with a tutor and her study had a wall full of books that I just wanted to pick up and read each time I was there. I’m reminded of it when I watch Giovanna Fletcher’s vlogs and see her bookcases. My office would be nice and roomy. The desk would be big and spacious so that when I am planning training sessions I could have all my resources spread out around me and still type away at the computer easily. It’d also be good to have a sofa of couple of armchairs in there so that if a few of us wanted to have a planning meeting, we could have everything to hand and still be comfortable.

There’s not much to say about the spare bedroom except that it would always be ready for guests to stay. It would be tastefully decorated and I wouldn’t inflict my obsession of all things pink on anyone who came to visit. I quite understand that it’s not to everyone’s taste. I wouldn’t have as many sets of towels as Monica does in Friends, but my guests would probably end up with fluffier ones than me!

Continuing with the social theme, the kitchen, dining room and living room would all be open plan. I like the idea that if you have friends round for dinner, you can still chat to them while you are preparing the meal instead of deserting them in another room. It also means I would be able to keep the same colour scheme throughout that floor. In my case it would be black, white and red (apart from the pink NutriBullet – should have gone for red!). There is an amazing pottery shop not too far from my parents’ villa in Spain and they have a beautiful range in these colours. Every time I go out there, I plan to buy something else and set it aside for when I get my own place. They do all sorts and the fact that everything would match would be bliss.

Wherever you are in the house, there would be something on the wall. Whether it’s photos of family and friends, artwork (most likely by family or friends – I might be biased, but they are fricking awesome!) or decals, I just couldn’t have blank walls. And in case there was any doubt, you wouldn’t have to go far to find something Harry Potter or Disney related! I love a fairy tale so you’d also find lots of twinkling fairy lights and candles everywhere to make the place feel a little magical. I’m also big on comfort so there’d be loads of giant floor cushions for people to sit on.

Well that’s the tour of my dream house finished. I hope you liked it and I hope one day it will be more than a dream.

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Feeling a Little Nostalgic

While I stand by my last post that Spring is most definitely in the air (the daylight is sneaking in through the gaps in my curtains to greet me each morning and I get to drive home from work while it’s still light), I have to say I am a little disappointed that my plans to sit by the castle during my lunch break are not yet a reality.

I forgot about those pesky April showers you see. Yesterday I was positively teased with beautiful sunshine until about 11:50am when all of a sudden dark clouds started to creep across the sky threatening rain. For the rest of the afternoon the weather alternated between brilliant sunshine and light showers leaving me stuck at my desk until 5:30pm when I dashed to the car.  

I don’t actually mind the rain. I find the sound of it so relaxing, almost as if it’s washing away all the crap ready to start afresh. Of course it is nice to have a bit of sunshine too. On the odd days this year when the sun has made an appearance, the feeling of it’s warmth on my face has filled me with joy and hope. That’s why I’m counting down the days (33 in case you wanted to know) until Mum and I fly out to Barcelona for our holibobs.

Barcelona has a special place in my heart as it was my first placement abroad while I was studying languages at university. Leaving home to go to university wasn’t that big a deal. I went with four friends from school so while it was new and exciting, it wasn’t scary or lonely. This placement was six months in a country that I’d never been to before and with a language where I could barely string a sentence together. I went there with one girl from my course, but she came out a bit later than me so when my parents left me in my grotty apartment in floods of tears, I was starting to think that my choice of course had been a huge mistake.

After a little while I decided that I couldn’t sit on my thin, uncomfortable, single bed crying all day so I grabbed my bag, found my way to the metro station and went into the city centre to explore. Now this was 12 years ago and my memory isn’t as great as it used to be, but to this day my parents still remind me of their shock when they received a cheerful text from me saying that I’d been to the city, had a little wander and got some shopping.

Those first few days when I was there alone started a big change in me. I was experiencing true independence for the first time. I had to rely on myself and it was bloody empowering even if it felt terrifying at the time. Even simple things like buying a bunch of flowers to brighten my room or getting a SIM card for my phone felt like huge achievements and gave me the confidence to carry on. A few months later when my friend’s bag was stolen, we went to the police station to report it so we could get her a new passport. Doing something like that would kick start my anxiety here in the UK, let alone in a country where I couldn’t speak the language.

Whenever I start to feel like my degree was a waste of time and money, or I get annoyed that I can’t remember the subjunctive in French or how to ask for a beer in Spanish (ha, like I’d ever forget how to do that!), I remind myself of those first few weeks on that first placement abroad and I realise that it was all worth it for that alone.

The weeks and months that followed are all a blur in my mind now, but every now and then a random memory will make me smile. It could be something like sitting in the computer room writing one of my long emails to everyone back home, or sitting on the beach sunbathing before my next lecture, but they all remind me of one of the happiest times of my life.

I’ve been back to Barcelona several times since. This will be my fourth time and I’m hoping to do some things I haven’t done before. I’ve done Gaudi to death and it’s getting so expensive now so I have no plans to revisit any of those tourist hotspots. Instead I am looking forward to a week of wandering around the city and finding some of its more hidden treasure. I’ve always wanted to visit Mount Tibidabo (and not because of Joey’s story in Friends) as I’ve heard that it has one of the best views of Barcelona at sunrise. That would mean a 5:30am start though which I don’t think my mum would be too keen on.

And when I get back I won’t have the post holiday blues for too long because yesterday Mum and I booked to go down to the villa for a week in August. I need a break apparently. Not going to argue, especially if I get to go to the pottery shop and pick out a few bits for my future house (even if they do have to go into storage when I get back!)

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Spring is in the Air

There is a definite spring-like feeling in the air today. The sun is shining and the sky is bright blue. I know I say this every year, but I really don’t know where this year is going. How is it March already?! My manager has a theory that it’s because we work in quarters so our year is being split into four chunks instead of twelve. I, on the other hand, think Hermione has been messing about with her time-turner again!

For me this year hasn’t got off to the best of starts and it has seen goals that I had for the coming months fly out the window probably never to be seen again. In their place though are new dreams that I always hoped would come true, but never truly believed could.

I’ve actually started saving for a deposit on my own place. There is a very long road ahead and I’m going to be walking it not driving, but whether it is in five, ten or even 15 years time, I will buy a house and make it a home of my own. The fact that I already have a box that I’ve started putting things into for my place is a reminder for me to keep going even when it seems impossible.

Other things that I’ve wanted to do, but never make the time for suddenly seem possible too. Learning to sew with the help of my mum. Attempting to crochet over tea and cake. Taking singing lessons (don’t tell my dad – he’ll want me to join the band). Actually finishing the books that I’m suppose to be reading for the book club that I started!

Some goals I’m amending slightly. At the beginning of the year I made the decision to take a break from guiding. I was going to be moving out of the area and it made sense to do it then. Now that’s not happening I don’t feel justified in deserting my girls. Instead I’m taking a step back. My friend is willing to take over the accounts for our unit which has never been my favourite task and will reduce a lot of stress for me. I’m also so unbelievably close to completing my Leadership Qualification, but I just need to get that mischievous evidence together so it can be signed off. Once that is done, it will be a huge weight lifted. Then no more qualifications for a while!

Then there are the goals that I didn’t even bother to write down because I didn’t think I’d stick to them. Earlier this week I decided to deactivate my Facebook account. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but something has always held me back. ”Oh, but my brothers are always posting photos of my niece and nephews and I won’t see them.” “Oh, but I’ll miss seeing everyone’s book folds in the groups I belong to.” “Oh, but I buy so many gifts from people who have shops on Facebook.” All excuses! So I just decided to go for it. I’m only planning on doing it for a month or so to start with, but maybe it’ll become a more permanent thing in the future. As soon as I clicked deactivate I knew I’d done the right thing. I just felt free of everyone else’s gossip and drama which is something I need at the moment especially when I’m still getting my head around my own.

20 minutes later I realised that I’d been using Messenger to chat with a friend I’d recently got back in touch with and we don’t have each other’s numbers. Did I log back in so I could drop her a quick note? Did I heck! I’m going to sit down this weekend and write her a nice long letter including some ideas for the plans we started discussing when we met up last week. Sometimes the traditional ways are better.

Finally something that I never intended to be a goal, but I think I might make it one. Take myself on a date once a month. It might sound really stupid, but just once a month I’m going to do something that I want to do by myself. I took myself off to the cinema to see Deadpool on Valentine’s Day and I really enjoyed not worrying whether the person I was with was enjoying themselves. So, yeah, dates for me. That’s a thing now!

Oh and one last quick thing. When I met one of my favourite authors and McWife Giovanna Fletcher back in December I gave her a book fold which she loved and she promised it would be in all her videos. I waited and waited and then a little while ago I thought I saw it on her shelf, but it wasn’t quite in shot. Then the other day, her husband Tom filmed a video in her office and there it was. My book fold. On her shelf. I don’t care if I never see it in another video. I know it’s there!

EDIT: Oh and I just remembered I've forgotten to tell you about a sponsored bike ride that I am doing for Wheels for Wellbeing on Saturday 26th March. Anyone who knows me will know that I can't ride a bike to save my life so I'll be grabbing the trike as soon as I get there, but it's for a good cause so if you would like to sponsor me, you can do so here. 

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