3 days in the Lake District

Lake district is apparently the most visited national park in the UK, and I finally got closer to it after 4 years living here.

It was a last minute planning but everything worked well: a couple of phone calls and we managed to book a hotel just one week before leaving. How lucky we were considering it was a summer bank holiday weekend! Another phone call for the car rental and I negotiated a small discount with an upgrade! I really started thinking if my usual Internet booking approach was the most efficient way even in this modern world!

The only downside was the not-too-optimistic weather forecast! Oh well, it's England and we learn to ignore the weather forecast anyway, do we?

3 days are obviously not enough to visit the whole lake district, but we've learnt recently the travelling is not about seeing everything, it's to focus: focus on the highlights, the things you'll remember.

So here're the highlights of our 3-day trip:

Day 1- Lost in Buttermere

We would probably never visit here if we haven't lost our way to another famous spot. Buttermere lake is such a tiny lake compared to other ones in the region and the location also makes it not the most convenient one to reach. But its versatile landscape impressed us immediately even without a blue sky: beautiful hills, calm lake, zigzag road leading to the surprise, lazy sheep laying just next to the road.

We regret not making a stop there and walking around to enjoy more its wonder. We are always caught by the so called goal and ignore the existence of the journey.

Day 2-Climbing the 4th highest mountain-Skiddaw.
Highlight happens when it's not planned.

Well, I didn't plan to climb a mountain at all, let alone the 4th highest mountain in England under a raining windy day carrying a baby all the time (luckily it was not me who carried our 2 years old son). I thought we came to lake district to see lakes, why climb a mountain? But we did. 2 hours up, 1 hour down, most of the time under the rain. I even don't have the picture on the top as we can't see anything up there. I nearly gave up when we were half way through.

But the reward came later with bright sunshine waiting for us down the car parking, followed by a sunny afternoon sitting in the boat watching my brave man bathing in the lake and a cosy meal in the evening. I don't know if I want to climb Skiddaw again one day, probably not until I have done enough exercises, but this experience won't be forgotten.

Day 3-Dog friendly pub-Dog &Gun
How can we travel around England without commenting a pub?

An old styled pub, small, often too crowded but not missing any charm. It's so dog friendly that you will think its a dog owner meeting point and you can just sit down and enjoy the spectacle. People order dog food (for their dogs) while waiting for their pint. All types of dogs meet here, talking or shouting to each other, yet it's still a cosy and enjoyable place to be even you don't come with a dog.

The food was simply great with a reasonable price. Hungary Goulash is a must try, but only order the half portion even you are very hungry! It's a shame they didn't have olives: I had such an olive craving that day but was told off by my man that this type of pub doesn't serve this too sophisticated food! Really?Is it a middle class food then? I have to do more research in the future...

I'm eating: Rigatoni ai carciofi

I’m not crazy about artichokes, but it’s nice to try something new every now and then. I found this recipe on foodrepublic but this is my personal version. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 tablespoon salted butter
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped (I only had dry one)
½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted, drained and halved
6 artichokes hearts in oil, drained and quartered
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon dry white wine
finely grated zest of ½ Orange (I only had a Lemon, but I don’t think it worked as well)
7 cups (18 ounces) rigatoni
salt & pepper to taste


Directions
1. In a large skillet melt the butter with the oil.
2. Once hot, add the garlic, rosemary, olives, and artichokes and saute’ over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.

3. Pou in the wine and cook for an additional 2 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate.
4. Add the orange zest, season with salt and pepper, and mix everything together. Set aside.

5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and add to the pan with the artichokes mixture.
6. Return the pan to high heat and mix everything together for 30 second to allow the sauce to coat the pasta evenly and serve immediately.

Very interesting flavors! I added a sausage, which made it tastier, but I think I didn’t season it enough. I will definitely try it again!

Any new recipe you want to share?

The sense of smell

According to Wikipedia, “perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent".

But your favourite perfume can be so much more than just “a pleasant scent”. It can bring you back to the 50s, make you think of sunny days or of the beach, give you that little ‘humpf’ you might need on a Monday morning, or make you feel a mysterious, dangerous and sophisticated woman.

In the words of our bloggers, our favourite scents and why.

1. Chanel Coco Mademoiselle

MAP: It’s a classic. And it reminds of the 50s, when women’s beauty routine would consist solely of talcum powder and perhaps a dusting of light perfume; so clean, pure and womanly.

2. Chanel Chance

B: It has a light fresh tone to it, but with a 'humpf'. I discovered it with a sample while buying a lipstick, and I use it since. It makes me so sophisticated and grown up when I wear it!

3. Dior J’adore

XX: I like its name, the shape of the bottle, the voice in the commercial, and its mature and long lasting scent.

4. Dior Poison

XX: My favourite! But only for special occasion: it’s sexy, charming, enchanting, flirty and naughty, yet it would suit all ages. I haven’t been naughty that often so a miniature bottle is perfect!

5. Chopard Happy Spirits

T: I like it because it’s sweet, unexpected and kind of exclusive.

6. Guerlain Kiwi

XX: This is my everyday scent. Fruity but not too sweet and very light, just the way I like it. It’s a surprise for the man kissing your neck, perfect for the summer time, but equally great in horrible weather as its freshness will make you smile.

7. Lacome Miracle

XX: I like it purely because it’s my first perfume! Like your first love, you don’t need a reason to like it, and you probably can’t even remember why you liked it after so many years!

8. Marc Jacobs Daisy

H: I really love Daisy, and men seem to really like it too. I find it a sexy yet innocent fragrance, which fits perfectly my lifestyle here in Sydney: a beach-sun-fun type of fragrance yet still womanly and graceful.

9. Jo Malone Vanilla & Anise Cologne

C: I find the fragrance very grown up, but sweet at the same time. It’s perfect when I want to feel like a graceful woman, wearing something complex but classy. By the way, the Vitamine E Nourishing Hand Treatment is incredible!

What is your favourite perfume?

In my reading list

It’s rare for me to find a book I really love, so to be reading 2 books I can’t wait to get back to is quite unexpected.

I have lived in an English speaking country for the last 10 years, so sometimes I find myself missing my own language, in need every now and then to pick up a book in Italian by an Italian author.
Andrea Camilleri and the Montalbano series had been on my radar for quite sometimes, but I always felt overwhelmed by the number of novels out there. Being the obsessive/compulsive I am, I could not stand just picking one up, I had to start from the “beginning”, which I finally found on my last trip to Italy with La prima indagine di Mondalbano (The first case of Montalbano).

I got totally hooked despite the peculiarity of the language used, a mix of Italian and the Sicilian dialect, which bothered me at first, but soon won me over, so much that I wish I could use some of those expressions in my everyday life!
And the plots are wonderful, pure investigative stories set in a small town on the Sicilian Southwest coast, elaborate enough to keep you reading, but completely realistic. Camilleri is really our own modern Agatha Christie if you want.

As I said, I’m hooked: I just bought (from Amazon.it mind you) Storie di Montalbano (Stories of Montalbano), which collects the first six novels Camilleri wrote and a number of shorter stories. 

I just started it, and at the first sign of Montalbano’s signature grumpy/pissed off mood I was already smiling. I just love Montalbano!

Most of the novels have been translated in English (you can find a list on Wikipedia) and I am really curious to know how the mixed language was translated, so, if you are short of ideas for a good book, pick one up (you really don’t need to start from the beginning) and let me know!

My subway reading choice (Storie di Montalbano is just too heavy to carry around) is Over-dressed, by Elizabeth L. Cline, a book I am also really liking.

B. picked this one up for me, and considering that the subtitle reads “The shockingly high cost of cheap fashion”, I wasn’t sure whether he was trying to send me a subtle message and what that message was - yes he does think I overdress a lot of the time, but does he think I like cheap fashion? Does he think I should buy more expensive stuff?
It turns out he just thought I might be interested in reading it. Go figure!

In a nutshell, the book tackles how consumers’ perceptions of good quality/fair priced clothing has changed over the last few decades, and what that has done to our economy and environment.
It does not say go buy a Chanel bag instead (although I almost wish it did), but rather also questions the reasons of the incredibly high tags on luxury goods. I don’t know the answers yet as I just got there, but I have an idea or two. In any case, I can’t wait to find out more.

Fascinating and really informative, it’s a good read even if you are not in/from the USA.

Let me know if you decide to go for any of these books - would love to know how you liked them.

xx
C

You know the one about the short guy, who enters a bar...

Firstly, I want to extend my apologies to my dear Beril. It was her birthday earlier this month and in the flurry of Finnish/Husky revolving excitement, it slipped my mind. I'm very sorry and want her to know I love her, miss her and will make it up to her.

Now I wanted to tell you a story. But then I realised it's more like a joke, than anything else. So here goes...

A girl and guy meet online. Their interlude begins with friendly overtones of "I really like Vanessa Paradis", "I'm a big fan of French cinema", "I love photography", "like you, I also want to move to New York". It's a whirlwind affair, albeit online.

Then one day, the guy emails the girl. "I think I saw you in London today." He then exclaims how his bewilderment has led him to forsake sanity and he begins to question everything. Finally, he stops, pauses if you will, and then begins to tell the girl how he has started to date someone else. He begs the girl for forgiveness. He asks her what he should do. Should he stay with his girlfriend, even though he's infatuated with this fair haired stranger?

The girl thinks. She asks around to her friends what she should do. It's not every day that such a romance blossoms. She decides to tell him to stay with his girlfriend, leave her be even. He obliges.

Months pass. The girl has stopped thinking about the guy. An incessant meowing in her ears deafens her of the Frenchman. She celebrates New Years in Paris. She forgets to wish her dear friend a Happy Birthday. And then....

An email. Simple, to the point. He writes, "I have broken up with my girlfriend. My decision. I just didn't feel the connection with her anymore. I'd love to meet you finally."

The girl is not stupid. Far from it. But something tells her this is going to be an interesting tale. And she can't let down her readers. So she decides it's time.

They meet at Prince Regent, a lovely little bar in London. He's nice, although not nearly as nice as his pictures. But he has a sweet smile and seems very kind. They sit. The bar is noisy. She feels as if she may fall of her chair, leaning in far too much to hear his timid, shy voice. "Speak up" she thinks.

Ten minutes in. He's nice. He's obsessed, lets be honest. Her clothes, her hair, he couldn't say a bad word. But finally a bit of banter makes its debut. Glorious.

"Are you wearing heels?" the boy asks

"Yeah, I am." says the girl

"Well you are tall anyway."

Now it's at this point that I may add that on first impression, the guy was short. 5" 9" his profile read. My ass. More like 5" where the heck are you". So the girl begins to let loose on her carnal instinct to lay on a little banter on the line and ridicule, but only in jest for fear of hurting his feelings.

"Well you are short."

Had John F Kennedy just returned from the dead and entered the room? That look on his face could only be brought on by something so shocking. Perhaps Vanessa Paradis herself had just walked past and perhaps flashed him in the process. No. No signs of the Paradis. Just simple words lingering like fog. His brow furrowed. Were there sweat beads trickling down his face? He couldn't concentrate. He made a smile, one that was clearly filled with anger. He kept shaking his head. And then, simply put, he got up and walked out.

Yes, after 20 minutes into a date, the poor gent left this girl alone in a bar. It wasn't a strong, solemn stroll either. More like an old quack muttering to himself as he shuffled off. "I'm sorry, I can't do this. I just broke up with my girlfriend. Blah blah blah".

My father used to talk about short man syndrome. I'd never seen it myself, knowing many great short men with nothing reminiscent of a "syndrome". But alas, I'd just been witness to one afflicted so bad that he couldn't possibly handle the words "you" and "short" in the same sentence.

So there's my "joke". Called a guy short and he left me alone in a bar. You've been warned. Short men will leave you in a bar, sitting there by yourself wondering whether you'd imagined him up. Actually to be honest, I used to watch those Leprechaun movies when I was a kid. I think they affected me...

Map

Hater of short men, apparently.

I want to be young forever

Happy New Year to you all my special girls! I hope this year is a great one and brings each of us lots of happy moments, life-long memories and everything you all wish for!

I have just had a really great few weeks traveling through one of my most favourite parts of the world - South East Asia. The place is always so buzzy and surrounded by lots of smiley people. I always feel great there! And it was a pleasure to revisit some of my favourite hangouts in Bangkok, going to back to Siem Riep and discovering new places in Southern Laos that I have never been to before. Just shame that the time went so quickly. Too quickly to savour it enough.

This trip also reminded me again of how lucky we are and how much we have compared to such a big part of the world. The world we live in is safe, we have everything we need, the means to anything we want and still we find ourselves complaining for silly things.... (me being first to admit that)... yet there are still kids dying out there just because they have no clean food or water, dying of simple diseases, dying because the transport to the nearest hospital is too expensive for their families... dying because there are no hospitals anywhere near. And what do I do with my life? I work in market research on consumer goods products that are not even slightly going to benefit anyone. Ok... I am probably being a bit pessimistic or harsh... but these are the thoughts in my head at the moment.

Anyway, I had an amazing time, ate lots of good food, met nice people, had an intense romance with a  young Mexican, shopped at markets, swam in rivers, cycled thru rice paddies, walked thru ancient ruins, laughed with funny locals, loved loved loved my time there.

As you know I also celebrated my 29th birthday (thank you all for the lovely messages and wishes!!!). I must admit I have not been taking this very lightly. It has really been scaring me. I am not ready to finish my 20s. I am not ready to enter my 30s. I am not ready to be a grown up. I am not ready to stop moving, exploring and being free and careless and not sensible. It is literally freaking me out. And since being back I have been thinking to do another move this year. To travel for an extended time again. So let's see what this year has to offer. But I guess I need to make some decisions. Things don't just happen by itself.
One thing is for sure though, come May and the end of my 18 month at my work here... I will be ready to go. I have given and spent enough energy in a job I really do not like. I think it is time to think of other options. But I foresee this not being an easy decision to make...

Ok, I feel I have been very philosophical today. So I should really stop writing and post some pics from my trip...

Breakfast time....

The magical Angkor Wat...

The always smiley and playful kids....

Out of this world colours....

And a bit of party time....

There's so much more I want to write and tell you... but it is already 1am and I have agreed to go on a coastal hike and then some beach time with my friends tomorrow - meetup time is 9am in the city which means I have to be out of bed by 7 latest! On a saturday morning!

Keep on writing girls, I really love reading your news! Cle, I really enjoyed reading your post and seeing all the photos, it makes me feel I am still part of your lives despite the distance by seeing pics and hearing your life stories.

I will write again soon with everything else I want to tell you... but for now I really need some sleep so will sign off here and post what I have written so far.

Night night busy girls xxx
H

It's 2012

And I don't think our dream to go to the Olympic games while pregnant will come true...all the same, I think this is going to be a GREAT year :) so....

Happy New Year!!! 

to all my Busy Girls :)

Before I give you an update on my life:

Happy Birthday Tas and Helena!! 
Hope you both had AMAZING celebrations and wish you a wonderful wonderful time ahead :)

....can't wait to read some updates...and more about some Mexican flirt....

Bella, I was so excited to read your post, I think I read it at least three times :) Beril, XX and MAP, get typing ;)

I know, I know, I haven't been that good myself either. But here I am!

I am so glad that (I guess) all of you got my special Christmas card! With all the travelling, this year I had a very limited budget for Christmas gifts, so I thought that would be a nice idea. I just forgot to print one for myself...

I just realized that my last post is from before Thanksgiving and St John! So, here is a quick update:

1. Thanksgiving - OMG I ate so much, and I actually never stopped, until now at least, and I am going on a diet now, especially after the trip to New Orleans! Anyway, Thanksgiving was nice, we went to Bernard's sister's place, she really cooked some amazing food, and everyone was very nice and friendly.

2. St John was so cool!! It was soooo nice, I never want to get back when I'm there!

Paradise

Trying to get tanned....

Hello beach!

Ouch...who gets sunburned there????

aaaaahhhhh.....

and us!

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!!! You wait so long for Christmas, and then it goes by soooooo quickly!

We spent a few days at Bernard's parents' house, eating, eating and yes, some more eating. I also had the opportunity to meet a lot of his relatives, which was nice, although tiring: smile, smile, smile to everyone! Really, I was glad it was over in the end :)

Christmas lights in New York

The Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Plaza

Bernard's gift was indeed a watch! I knew it :) 

At granpa' and granma' house...wow so many gifts!!

Bernard's nephew: isn't he cute!

hmm...

Before Christmas though I had a rather shocking news: Lara has resigned and will leave sometime in February, going back to London and to TNS Tech!!!

Not a massive surprise, because I really don't think she really liked here. She wants to get back with her ex-boyfriend, which I think is number one reason. On top of that, the job wasn't what she expected it to be. So, she is going back.
I guess it makes sense for her, but I don't think she timed it that well professionally. 2012 could be a great year for us, and she's going to miss all of that to go back to TNS as an upper level Managing Consultant!

Anyway, it's very strange to think she's not going to be here in the office anymore...like the end of an era. And I am also a little worried about what's going to happen to me.
I have started talking to Paul and his boss about what will happen to me and the team...I will know more next week and then I will update you!

As Claire (my roommate) always says, it is what it is!
And, as I always say, we have to wait and see!

Now, the last part of my update: New Year's Eve!

New Orleans was GREAT, or I should say, Louisiana was GREAT!

We drove around, saw some old plantations...

were the only guests at an old bed & breakfast...

 ate A LOT of food....

and more food....

...I have sooooo many pictures of food it's ridiculous!!

(OK, enough with the food!)

had a blast in New Orleans on NYE....

and although we probably drank a little too much...

at the beginning of the night.... 

sometime towards the end of the night

we survived drinking, dancing, walking around the city in heels and even a quick visit to one of the many strip clubs in town! Yey! 

You all know I am not a big drinker, and I was concerned about how the night might evolve...Bernard kept saying to our friends: "let's make sure she actually gets to 2012!

So I think I did pretty well....and the next day my hangover wasn't even THAT bad ;)

Y'all take care (trying a bit of a Southern accent there...)

& hope to read your posts soon!

Love

xx

C