A Cup of Tea in Eastcote House Gardens

Flitting about London is a bona fide passion for me - I love any excuse to discover a new suburb,  turn a new corner or a unveil a new story, so a few weeks ago when I was meeting someone near Pinner - a suburb of North West London - instead of going into a S*******s or C***a, I quickly Googled for somewhere a little more interesting and discovered 'the Gardeners Cafe' at Eastcote House and Gardens.

Eastcote House Gardens is a beautifully tranquil award-winning green space, with Grade II listed buildings, including a historic Walled Garden, wildflower meadows, a Topiary garden and a newly planted Jubilee Orchard, linked by a footbridge over the River Pinn to Long Meadow, an ancient water meadow.

Getting Lost in Ghent, Belgium

From my hotel window, I can hear the sliding scales of a bluesy jazz saxophonist, children softly singing a nursery rhyme and the occasional tinkle of coffee cups from a nearby cafe.

I should be parading around the town, hunting out all of the medieval gems with the keenness of a panther, but instead, as it's a Saturday morning, I've simply snuggled in further into the covers (more like a house cat in truth). There is a soft breeze floating through the ajar windows, I have a hot cup of tea cradled in my hand and no concrete plans for the morning.

Disclaimer: I was a press guest of VisitFlanders in Ghent, 

but all planning, mischief and thoughts are entirely mine.

This is what I call a blissful city break.

How To *Not* Explore Manchester {Warning May Contain Cats}

Most antipodeans come to the UK lured by quick, amazing jaunts to Europe, and can often miss some of the best cities in the British Isles. Goodness knows I was guilty of that for the first few 'temporary' years that I lived here - bar a week exploring Bath, Salisbury and a quick wander around Stonehenge.

Having been here so much longer, I have loved exploring more of the country - from ancient estate houses to walking through the hills hugging The Lake district.

Unfortunately, we had never made quite it to Manchester despite having family living there, and um, I'm not sure that with Emily and I's visit there a little while ago that we've actually explored it properly still. I blame the cats.

9 Places To Explore In Greenwich

Greenwich. It is the home of time, possesses a myriad of historic royal ties and panoramic views of London. What more could you ask for in a borough?

I keep meaning to do these area round-ups as a series, but always seem to be distracted. So far I've managed to sneak in an ode to Marylebone, a gastronomic guide to Kings Cross and a literal meander through the mossy pathways of Richmond Park.

An afternoon at the polo and exploring the Cowdray Estate.

Boarding the train at Waterloo Station armed with morning cups of tea in hand, we chatted the whole way through our 50 minute journey to Haslemere, watching the skyline change from forests of steel to boughs of ancient leaves.

We were bound for an afternoon at the Polo, to watch the pinpoint trained ponies and riders duke it out for the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup, a match played to honour one of the riders.

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of Cowdray Estate, 

but my swooning prose is very much original and unaffected.

After a quick 20 minute cab ride through the country lanes lined with stone built cottages, many with yellow framed windows* - we dismounted for a tour and lunch at Cowdray Manor House. What used to be the family home of Lord and Lady Cowdray, is now an exclusive residence that can be hired out for special occasions, wellness retreats or for private use.

How to travel in-between "travelling"

Alas, our lives aren't always a constant flurry of airport lounges and glamorous glasses of champagne poured at 30,000 feet. Mine certainly hasn't been - for the last 5 years I've been balancing a full-time job with running a blog, trying to sneak travel in as much as I can, and lately freelancing for clients.

This has meant that I have had to become creative when trying to slake my wanderlust around a 9 to 5 desk job. Luckily, I live on one of the best islands in the world. People often worry about becoming a travel blogger, thinking that they don't jet off to all corners of the world every weekend and they won't have enough content. Well, to that I say phooey.

72 hours in Chester

Chester is the first holiday I've ever booked through the power of Instagram alone. We had been looking for somewhere as a long weekend break (well, I say we, but I had actually been put on a travel ban which Mr Kiwi now mostly denies, his baby blues all innocent) when I spotted that a friend of mine had day tripped up to Chester. It was beautiful.

So firing up the laptop, I booked us a cheeky little Cheshire staycation.

Relaxing on the doorstep of Richmond Park: A staycation hotel review

To say this was the laziest most relaxed adventure yet would be an understatement. 

At the beginning of this year, my one and only Mr Kiwi put me on a travel ban. After a 6 week period that included a surprise birthday trip to Gothenburg, a myriad of business travel, a weekend staycation and two awesome weeks roadtripping around Texas and Louisiana at the end of last year, he felt like he had had enough.

So in order to assuage the flame of wanderlust that has my soul (one day it may waver so I'm making the most of it whilst I can) I had to get crafty. I mean, compromise. Yes, compromise. *shifty eyes*

My perfect day in Paris: slipping solo across the Channel for lunch

There are many bloggers who are getting flack about sharing their love of travelling solo. It isn't for everyone - but then neither are berets. It shouldn't be a rite of passage shoved down the throats of unwilling accessories (see what I did there?), but simply another tool in the wanderlust arsenal.

I have to say that as much as I adore my cheeky husband, I also love the chance to revel in sheer unadulterated 'me' time. Wandering through art galleries for hours, indulging in freshly baked patisserie and taking. as. many. photos. as. I. want. (For the record, in a 10 hour window I took about 800, ridiculous I know.)

10 of the best unique UK daytrips (when you've done all the usual ones)

We've all been there. The chat around the office water cooler is of exotic European jaunts, talk in the tea point is of tropical destinations and patter in the pub is all glamourous stays in luxurious hotels and spa pamper sessions. And there is nothing in your diary.

It's bank holiday season again.

Cornwall Roadtripping: St Michael's Mount #travellinkup

inspiration

ɪnspɪˈreɪʃ(ə)n/

Middle English (in the sense ‘divine guidance’):
via Old French from late Latin inspiratio(n-), from the verb inspirare
 

1.The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

2. A sudden brilliant or timely idea.

3. The drawing in of breath; inhalation.

Our recent long weekend in Cornwall provided all three of these definitions of inspiration - quite literally. A small but mighty peninsula to the southwest of England, Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon over the River Tamar, Cornwall has human history dating back to the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods.

Pocahontas and her connection with Gravesend, Kent

Sometimes I feel that this country isn't real, that Britain is actually a storybook tome, disguised with trees and chimneys to fool the reader into thinking that we are living on a rock. In actuality perhaps if we prodded it a little bit harder and peered a little bit closer that we would see the seams between worlds. (That got a little bit Matrix in style, sorry!)

But seriously, it sometimes seems as if each corner has a knight on pure white steed about to charge (Temple Church), damsels defending their land (Queen Boudicea in Epping Forest), incredible feats of daring (Bletchley Park) or wizards ready to enspell the world (Stonehenge) and the tales are such a rich tapestry of fascination - especially for an expat like myself.

Finding the Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall

Playing with loaded weather dice, also known as booking a UK mini-break in early March, my favourite Australian and I left London behind for a long Cornwall weekend roadtripping through the old haunts of Pirates and smugglers.

 

We had both eyed up the beautiful scenery, cozy thatched cottages and wild beaches of the Cornish coast often enough to each have a wishlist - and at the top of mine was visiting amazing sculpture of a sleeping goddess entitled ‘Mud Maid’, nestled amongst the boughs of The Lost Gardens of Heligan.

Harewood House, West Yorkshire - March Travel Linkup

Many moons ago, I tripped Up North to spend a weekend with my favourite purple-hued American and her sweet boy (look, not all my friends are bloggers but the best ones definitely are or were, there's something about scribing on the internet that makes for interesting people) and feeding our dual-obsession for all things English history, we packed the car for a road trip to one of her favorite spots.

Before you roll your eyes and click off yet another post about a gorgeous stately home that features heavily in dream home pinterest boards, let me just say: Humbolt penguins, a man carrying a lion on his shoulder, flamingos and pygmy goats.

(Psssst scroll to the bottom of the post for the travel linkup widget!)

There we go. That got your attention didn't it?

My top 10 travel moments of 2016

Wrapped up in blanket and suffering with a dose of the Christmas flu seems like a good moment to look back on the year that was. It wasn't a pretty year from a global standard so ruminating on a few of our travel highlights of 2016 seems appropriate in an effort to dispell some of the bad.

We began the year by wrapping up a family Christmas and wedding in New Zealand, seeing the New Year in on Auckland's harbour front, before making our way to the UAE on a whistlestop tour to see friends. This kicked off a fantastic year of adventuring and traveling both in the UK and around the world which meant that picking only 10 of my favourite moments was decidedly difficult.

A visit to the Roald Dahl Museum, Great Missenden

Even though I'm always chafing at the bit to get overseas (recently being accused of going away "too much" which is impossible in my estimation) I've consciously tried to explore my adoptive home island as much as possible.

A friend coined the term 'permatourism' which is bang on the money - being a permanent tourist, even when in our home countries. Seaside trips, highland vacations, day trips to quirky museums, even London staycations where we explore a different neighborhood of this sprawling city.

The 10 best castles in the world (IMHO)

My inner princess never thought this was possible. My own country has a history of around 150 settled human years, so the magic of walking through thousands of years of history never quite loses the unique frisson of delight.

Suits of armour that tell tales of bravery and hardship, kitchen hearths that fed hundreds of (in)famous dignatories and hard working servants, windows that saw enemy arches living up their longbows and sighing maidens dreaming of their loves, moats that were filled with all sorts of exotic contents and drafty castles walls that witnessed history that changed the lives of nations.

Yeah, I've got the castle wandering bug bad. If there is a castle or palace near where we are (and by near I mean within 2 hours train ride) you can guarantee that I'll be making my way there, scheming how to get closer or researching ways to sleep there (Prince Harry, watch out).

Our seaside summer day trip to Whitstable: in search of oysters and sunshine

We watched the weather report with the fanaticism of the British and the stiff upper lips of antipodeans in need of summer Vitamin D. When it dawned clear and bright, we hauled ourselves onto the train armed with coffee, chatter and a swift touch of Google research past Canterbury towards the Kent coast.

Our mission was simple, to try the world--famous oysters whilst the ocean lapped nearby. This is what late summer days are made of.

8 reasons why I adore Brighton

Brighton is one of those cities where the pulse thrums with music, the taste of fun is in the air and streets are filled with more than a glimmer of mischief. We've visited a few times - firstly as a brand new visitor to England, later for hijinks with friends and often as a seaside day trip from London - but haven't revisited for years.

The culture is a little offbeat, the locals are friendly and the coffee is AMAZING. Neighbouring Hove is a little more reticent and refined, but Brighton is where the fun starts - and when the train companies behave it's only an hour or so away from London.

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of Ibis Brighton but all of my very, very many thoughts are only ever my own...

So when a tribe of bloggers along with our plus ones (the lovely Leigh, Lisa, Leanne and I were invited and corralled by my pink-haired beauty Erica) were invited to a night of open air cinema and to snooze a Friday evening away, how could we resist another taste of the city?

A 2 Michelin star lunch at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons

Last year we went to the Shangri-La restaurant and hotel in the Shard for an amazing 3 course lunch, and because I'm a bad blogger I simply enjoyed the meal. Phone away, camera encased and social media turned off. It was all due to an Australian friend of mine who I found stood quietly (very unsually for him) at the window, overlooking the London skyline and his quietly insightful "well, it's a moment to cherish as I may never find myself here again. I'm off again travelling, and who knows where it could take me." (If you want to revel in another Shard fail though, try this Shard-centric post from 2013...)

Funnily enough a year later - almost to the day - we both found ourselves soaking in the sunshine between rain showers and learning how to play croquet on the perfectly manicured lawns of Raymond Blanc's 2 Michelin starred Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons.

Life has a funny way of taking us down paths we don't quite expect, sometimes quite literally.