HTMW Recaps – January 2017
I normally add a quote to the beginning of each post that sums up or enhances my writing. However, I’m going to use my monthly recaps as an opportunity to sum up the month – be it the mood, the weather, my feelings… Anything really! This month has been crazy on a global level (I can’t even begin…), and I posted the picture at the beginning of this post on Instagram the day after Trump’s inauguration with the following quote:
‘Together we can face any challenges as deep as the ocean and as high as the sky.’ – Sonia Gandhi.
Why Monthly Recaps?
I’ve decided that I am going to start monthly recaps on this blog in 2017. My reason for this is threefold:
1) it will help you, my readers, gain an insight into my every day life
2) it will serve as a sort of diary for me. I’ll be able to look back at my year and see what went down and when
3) I want to, and this is my blog, so what I say goes…
So, going forward, at the end of each month, I’ll now be writing a post outlining the main events of the month, the highlights, the low points and what I blogged about. I’ll be including a favourite album, song, book or movie from each month. I also want to post the top three images from my Instagram account from each month and tell the story from behind the image.
So, without further ado, let’s delve into January and start the monthly recaps!
Main Events
January has been super busy. During my first week back in work, I had something on every single evening of the week. I’ve been staying up late, getting up early and burning the candle at both ends. It’s been lots of fun though. I’ve had some lovely evenings out, a great trip to kick off the new year and some quality time with friends and family.
For starters, I spent three nights in Bruges and celebrated my birthday with one of my oldest friends, A. We had a great time exploring this very pretty city and tasting the local beer! When I got back to London, I had a big birthday night out in Brixton with my friends. All of them helped to make it a great night out.
Since then, I’ve been thrown back into work. I’ve also partied hard two Friday nights in a row and I took a brief twenty-four hour trip to Cardiff for a friend’s 30th. Additionally, I’ve been on a writing workshop with National Geographic Travel and to the ballet. It’s been full on!
I also managed to fit in a spa day that went wrong and an evening at the Winter Lights Festival at Canary Wharf. There was also an afternoon wandering around Camden and Regent’s Park and a great Sunday brunch in Brixton with my sister. Phew!
The Highlights
Seeing in the New Year London-style and our take on New Year’s Day Part II.
The real New Year’s Day was a write-off. I was majorly hungover and the weather was awful. However, the 2nd of January dawned bright and fair. Being hangover free, P and I made the most of it by taking a boat to Greenwich and exploring one of my favourite corners of London. We ate great chip shop chips and wandered around the village and park. Afterwards, we headed back into the city for some drinks with J and K. New Years Day Part II – always better than the real thing!
Spending my birthday in Bruges.
A helped to make it a really special day. I couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend it than seeing the sights, drinking beer and eating my body weight in cheese and other delicious food! We climbed the Belfry in the main square and had a great Belgian brunch. Afterwards, we took a brewery tour and chilled out in the evening.
A birthday night out in Brixton.
I’ve never really been one for celebrating my birthday. I felt a bit apprehensive about the pressure of having a lot of my friends gather together just for me. However, my worries were completely unfounded. Everyone got on really well and as far as I’m aware, everyone had a great evening. I definitely did, if the hangover was anything to go by!
Going to the ballet.
We bought our tickets for The Nutcracker months ago, and it was totally worth it. Everything was stunning – the dancing, the costumes, the stage designs – and I enjoyed every minute.
Attending the National Geographic Travel writing workshop.
This was insightful, interesting and really useful for me. I’d love to be a published writer one day. It was great to meet the editors on the magazine and hear their stories and learn from their experiences. I’d recommend it to anyone who has even the slightest interest in travel writing!
Catching up with friends and family.
I hadn’t seen some of my friends from home for years, so it was lovely to see them in Cardiff. It was also great having all of my friends gather together for my birthday and to see them all get on so well. I’ve had some lovely evenings out with friends this month too. I’ve also spent some quality time with new friends and spent a lovely day with my flatmates in Kensington… Even if the spa did go wrong!
Low Points
A massive train delay on our way home from Bruges.
The train in front of us caught fire and we were held up for hours. Thankfully, everyone on the other train was fine and nobody was hurt. Everyone on our train was nice and no-one got pissed off, but it was a huge inconvenience to arrive back in London six hours after our intended arrival time. Both A and I had made plans for the afternoon and we both had to cancel them.
A much anticipated spa day went wrong!
My housemates and I decided to go for massages and a relax at the Imagine Spa in Kensington. We were all looking forward to it, even going so far as to take the last two slots of the day for treatments. Doing that meant getting up super early to make it on time for my appointment at 9.15am.
You can imagine our disappointment upon arrival to find that the facilities were completely overrun with children having swimming lessons. It made it impossible to relax and unwind as we had planned. My massage was lovely, but the Jacuzzi was the smallest I’ve ever seen. There was no waywe could chill by the pool because of the swimming lessons. Finally, when I took a sauna, I was constantly interrupted by kids yelling ‘hello’ at me and running past.
We end up cutting our time there short, and my housemates got their money back. Instead, we went for coffee and walked home from Kensington to Kennington. It was beautifully sunny! Much nicer!
Posts This Month
Album of the Month
The xx – I see you.
This album is literally blissful, beautifully put together and so tight. It just works on so many levels. I’ve had it on repeat pretty much the entire month. Go listen – NOW!
Instagram Pictures of the Month
Bicycle in Bruges.
This photo got 70 likes. I took it on our second day in Bruges, as we wandered the city getting a feel for the place. Both A and I loved the architecture in Bruges. The whole city felt like it should be put on the cover of a biscuit tin or chocolate box. There are a lot of canals too. I feel like this photo really encapsulates the feel of Bruges. Quaint, cute, small-town, beautiful. I’ll do a full post about Bruges soon, but needless to say, it is a great city. It’s definitely worth a visit if you have a few spare days and need some inspiration on a travel destination!
The Main Square, Bruges.
This photo got 67 likes and I’m not surprised! This was perhaps the most colourful square I’ve come across in my European travels so far. It was so bright and vibrant! There were horses pulling carriages but nowhere near as many as in Krakow. As it was January, it wasn’t ever too crowded.
Those restaurants you see were super expensive (rip off!) and the wine wasn’t great. We found a lovely wine bar on the second evening which served NZ Sauvignon’s. That made me happy!
The main point to see in this picture though are the people. When I posted this, someone commented that they could see themselves! See the guy with the bright orange jacket? To the right, there’s a group of three women all wearing black coats. They were the people who commented on my photo. It made me absurdly happy that some random person in the crowd had seen my picture and recognised themselves in it. I can’t be the only person to ever wonder how many random photos I’m in the background of?!
Roundel Reflection
I decided to walk back from Victoria to Kennington to get some fresh air and stretch my legs. It had been raining. The pavements and roads were slick with water. One of my favourite things in London is finding quirky reflections and different angles to make photos more interesting.
This photo of the Underground roundel sign at Pimlico tube amassed 67 likes. It is a slightly different take on something that Londoners see every single day! This is the only one of this month’s three photos that I took on my iPhone, the other two are DSLR.
