Life lately

Where did the time go?  The last time I posted was in April and so much has happened since then, or at least a lot for my little, contained life....

• I went to Austin, Texas!  I have wanted to go there for years and years.  I liked it, but I didn't love it - it was hot.  Like hotter than the surface of the sun hot (hyperbole much?) but the SoCo area was cool and I experienced the most intense thunder storm in my life which I loved, obviously.
• I went to Denver, Colorado!  Flying into Denver airport took my breath away.  America does big nature and the Rockies in Denver were possibly the biggest nature I've seen for quite some time.  The backdrop to this lush city was utterly stunning and I'm so glad that my job took me to Denver, somewhere I wouldn't have thought to go had it not been a work trip.
• I celebrated my Birthday in France with my folks and MozzyMr.  It was so nice to relax and completely get away from our everyday lives, we caught up with my relatives and went to Futuroscope which was weird frankly and not somewhere I am likely to return to.
• I got a little promotion, I'm pretty chuffed with progress at work it has been SO difficult and so hectic but has been made so much better by having an amazing team of people around me.  
• I was asked to participate in an expert panel at the British Council Erasmus+ conference.  That was scary but awesome, I'm so glad I had the opportunity.
• We finally took over the whole plot at the allotment.  MoMa and I worked on it for two weeks in the summer and it looks great!  We have a pond in place with actual wildlife living in it and crops already growing ready for spring.
• Brexit happened, that was shit and hateful.  I'm still not over it and frankly cannot believe the sheer racist stupidity of the country we live in.
• I visited Liverpool for the first time, what an awesome city with so much to see.  I was there for a week on business so didn't see as much or it as I would have liked but did see a Francis Bacon exhibition at Tate Liverpool which was sleek.
• We said a sad farewell to a couple of relatives this year as well as a fond hello to the babies of lovely friends.
• I started painting again and attending the studio on a relatively regular basis
• I stopped going to the gym.  I have mixed feelings about this, I loved exercising but lost my love for the classes I was doing.  I haven't found the class or activity I really want to do yet, the netball club I used to attend in my hometown disbanded and the nearest one was just a bit too far away to make it a viable option but when I find that new thing I'll let you know.
• MozzyMr celebrated a significant birthday this year and our wonderful friends came to visit and celebrate with us, it was awesome.
• I volunteered at two charity events this year, both for Hospicare and I loved both events the enthusiasm people have for helping others is inspiring.
• I saw comedian Henning Wehn and the AWESOME Christmas Queens 2 in Cardiff with my sleek and amazing friend Mel.  

So I have one day left at work before the holidays and I cannot wait.  I'm going to hang out with Mewster and MozzyMr, work on the allotment, do some painting at the studio, get ourselves to Dartmoor for a trek across the moors, go to the beach and play computer games... all the computer games.

This is my town

I live in a town where you stumble across 'wee' and 'poo' graffiti, a town in the South West of England in the county of Devon.  

In my town salami can be found stuck to drainpipes...

My town is near the seaside which means you get AWESOME shop signs? Sculptures? Models? like this one...

My town has talented artists whose work isn't white washed over but encouraged...

My town has the right mix of nature and urban (the right mix for me at least!).  A short drive to the nearest beach, a short walk to the nearest blackberry treasure trove, a stone's throw from stunning Dartmoor...

My town can always improve of course, but to me it's pretty awesome as it is.

Spotlight on Pinterest: Seasons // summer

As it is the middle of summer I thought today's spotlight on Pinterest had to be my Seasons // summer board.  I've tried to fill it with quirky and colourful summer pictures but would love to fill it up with even more so do send me your suggestions!

Almost every picture on this board reminds me of the holiday Sam and I spent in San Diego, it was perfect we're both so desperate to get back to California to see those beaches and palm trees!

Follow Anna's board Seasons // summer on Pinterest.

Wayfaring the World

I won't wibble on too much longer about my time in New York, I'm having to resist the temptation to post every steak and milkshake photo I took whilst I was there (seriously good food at every turn).

Next on my New York list was Coney Island.....

Americana

I think I was looking forward to Coney Island the most out of the day trips we had planned, I anticipated lots of kitsch and man alive it delivered!

Check out the hamburger man and the Wonder Wheel!  I couldn't find a penny squasher machine (I started collecting them last year when we were in San Diego and now I'm obsessed with finding the machines!) which was disappointing but the tat shops were golden!

Whoa you're not getting me on THAT!

The spectacle of the place was amazing, so much colour and noise, my brother and I were snapping photos every second step but some of those rides were looking russssssssssty, there was no way you were going to get me on one of those especially following the very recent news of the rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers.  

Sad sharks

A short walk along the beach from Coney Island was the New York Aquarium so we thought we would pay a visit (plus Clare had visited a couple of days beforehand and told me there was a penny squasher there so I had to go).  Usually I love aquariums but this one didn't quite hit the mark, in fairness to them a lot of the exhibits were closed for refurbishment so there wasn't an awful lot to see but the sharks were in a murky looking tank making it tricky to see them, is it just me or does the shark in the photo below look kinda fed up?

Recommendations:

• Don't bother going to Coney Island if it's raining they won't open the rides and you just won't have the same experience
• Leave plenty of time to explore, it takes about an hour from Manhattan to get to Coney Island via subway (take the Aquarium stop rather than the Coney Island stop it's more straightforward to get to the park from the Aquarium station).  We didn't leave enough time. I would have liked a whole day to explore in full the Broadwalk and area surrounding Coney Island,
• The Aquarium was being refurbished when we went there so not a lot of it was open so I don't think we got the best impression of it.  That said it was very small and for the entry price is unlikely to keep the kids entertained for an afternoon.
• Visit the Brooklyn Beach Shop it has the BEST Coney Island stuff, really great clothing and gifts, not just tat either stuff you really want to buy for people (and yourself or course!)

Wayfaring the World

And playtime begins!

That glorious moment at the end of a conference when you've completed your last meeting, you're dead on your feet, you've been working long days and you have a week of holiday in New York ahead of you.  Yeeeeeeeah it's wine time!

I took the Amtrak from Boston down to New York where I met my brother for a week of theatre going, steak eating, cocktail drinking, sight-seeing goodness!  We stayed just off 8th Avenue near Madison Square gardens, a three block walk from Penn Station where the Amtrak came in so that was perfect!  The area was a little rough around the edges but still very touristy with loads of really great places to eat and a main shopping street just around the corner (perfect for me).

I've split my New York trip into a few posts as there is a lot to write about.  To start with?  Sleep No More, an immersive theatre experience by theatre company Punchdrunk, I wrote about their London based production The Drowned Man here on my old blog.  Anyone that knows me will know what a game changer The Drowned Man was for me so I was really excited to see Sleep No More which is based on Macbeth.  (By the way this post does not contain spoilers so you're safe to read on.)

Side note: Immersive theatre takes many different forms including free roaming theatre like Sleep No More where you can drift about the building and sets as you wish following actors and storylines or just having a look around the various sets.  Promenade theatre is where you are led around the action but it usually takes place over several different rooms, I'm sure there are many, many other variations as well but they're the two types I have experienced.

Gallow Green

Sleep No More is run by a separate company to Punchdrunk who originally set it up, they've made it a commercial enterprise by adding a rooftop bar - Gallow Green and a restaurant - The Heath to the same building as the play.  Needless to say each location was achingly cool, on Sunday we went to Gallow Green for brunch, the food was amazing and the location as you can see was stunning.  It was such a hot day but sitting up there with a breeze and a cocktail really took the edge off the jetlag for my brother and the post conference energy slump I was experiencing.

Gallow Green was accessed via an old wooden elevator past this display, up the steps to the roof, how perfect is that?  I love the rails and having greenery all around in the middle of the city.

Manderley Bar

You start and end your Sleep No More experience in the Manderley Bar.  The bar is all red velvet curtains, champagne and actors drifting about in stunning costume, at the end of the evening there would be a band playing it had a very speak-easy vibe to it.  On the first night we got caught in one of the most epic thunderstorms I have ever experienced we were soaked from head to toe so when I was offered a champagne cocktail in the Manderley Bar I readily handed over my money, grateful for the fizzy goodness.  

The play

I tried to avoid any spoiler groups before the show as I remembered how the unknown element of The Drowned Man had been one of the best parts.  My friend Charlotte had been to see Sleep No More a couple of weeks before me and she loved it, despite being soaked through following the thunderstorm and there being a pushy crowd it was a great show.  We went back three more times during the course of the week each show having a completely different atmosphere to the previous one, the crowd being the biggest influence on whether or not you had a good show.  During the show you are sometimes chosen for a one-to-one performance, over the course of the week I had three one-to-ones with different characters, my favourite being with the red witch (whose name I have been told on more than one occasion but I cant' remember!).

The Heath

So on our last night we headed to The Heath for dinner after the play.  Decked out in a similar fashion to the Manderley Bar there was a dark, smoky atmosphere with taxidermy crows hanging from the ceiling and a live band playing in the background.  One down side was we were put by the kitchen (obviously the comfy clothes that are required for running around a five floor building weren't quite up to scratch for the classiness of The Heath!) but the food and wine were really good and it was definitely the perfect way to round off our trip.

Recommendations

• If you have time see Sleep No More, if you have a little extra time see it more than once.  The action takes place all over the building and even the most athletic audience member will never be able to see everything.  By visit four I was still seeing new things and finding new rooms
• Go for brunch at Gallow Green, I believe it's only available on Sundays, we walked in and got a table but I think booking is recommended.  It is pricey but the location and atmosphere make it worth it, plus it's the perfect location to dress up a bit if you enjoy that kind of thing (I turned up in trainers and felt like a total loser!)
• During the play don't always go with the crowd, I frequently tried to get away from the hordes and found action taking place with few or no other audience members around.
• Don't be shy at the bar, I was typically British and expected to be served in order but the squeeky wheel gets the oil, make yourself known!

Wayfaring the world

M.I.A

Oh hey!  I haven't been around for a while because I've had the immense privilege of doing some travelling for work and pleasure over the last couple of weeks, my places of destination?  Boston and New York!  As you may have guessed this post covers Boston, we'll get to New York later in the week.

First impressions?

Boston architecture is something else, there is clearly a strong European influence but with American scale thrown in for good measure.  Red brick and intricate detail are the go-to architectural features, you spend a lot of your time with your neck craned looking up at the roofs, door and window edging, brickwork and elaborate window box displays.  

Boston common where the above swan boats can be found is a treat, to take a ride on one of these bad boys was only a couple of dollars and remarkably they are propelled by just one person pedalling... typically a teenage girl who looked as if she had never seen carbs let alone ever eaten any.  Impressive.

Uniquely Boston

Boston has a lot of energy to it, street performances bring a lot of colour and music to the atmosphere especially around Quincy Market, support for baseball team the Red Sox is clear which ever way you turn as every third person is wearing some item of clothing with their logo on it.  

The Christmas shop in Quincy Market was a find, from the outside it doesn't look like much but upstairs it goes on for miles around corner after corner.  Pictured above is the Cocoa Cola section (yes you read that right) my other favourites included the LGBT ornaments and the American snacks sections.  I ended buying a hotdog, packet of fries and gherkin ornaments for our tree I can't wait to have them take pride of place.

The Seaport District was an area I didn't have time to explore too much but I've heard the seafood restaurants are immense (I'm not a fan of seafood so you'll have to take my friend Clare's word for it), what I did love in the area was the turquoise colour of the water and the hundreds upon hundreds of jellyfish bobbing about.  If we hadn't had meetings to get to I would have stood there watching them for hours, they're not stingers apparently but I'm not sure I would want to get in the water with them.

Salem

We had to go to Salem, the prospect of witch related tourist tat was too great an opportunity for us to miss out on.  Following some Trip Advisor reviews we decided to take the ferry rather than the bus, the cost was an eye-watering $45 but it was a nice day so we thought we would give it a whirl.

Salem was a touch disappointing to be perfectly honest with you.  It was like a very low budget Totnes or Glastonbury without any good tat and a lot of completely vague, over-hyped museums.  As seems to be the way in America one of the dungeons that had actually held the accused witches got concreted over and an office block was built over the top of it so there are no remaining artefacts of the era of witch trials. I say that but we were invited to touch a 300 year old beam that had come from the dungeon.  300 year old beams don't have quite the same gravitas when you come from a city that has a Roman wall running through it but hey ho it was a good effort.

Good things about Salem?  The shop sign below was pretty good and we found a cafe called Life Alive which sold the best vegan food I have ever tasted, if I could eat there every day I would totally convert to veganism and I wouldn't look back.

Shopping

The thrift shopping was pretty good, I didn't but should have purchased the photo above, because lets be honest that is Sam and I in twenty or thirty years (perhaps not even that long...).

The tat shopping game was strong, with plenty of lobster themed items to buy.  My favourite would have to be this lobster claw oven glove, but the lobster claw pens I bought were also a highlight.  Clare was blown away by the sale on in the Yankee Candle shop, so much so she had to by another suitcase to accommodate her buys, airport security must have freaked out when they saw that bag go through the x-ray!

Recommendations

There is a lot to recommend about Boston and I realise this post has been rambling on for some time now so here is a summary:

• Visit Quincy Market to soak up the atmosphere, do some shopping and have a beer, you can also pick up the freedom trail here which takes you on a walking tour around the city.  I didn't get time to do this but if I ever go back it will be one of the first things I do
• Get a 7-day Charlie Ticket for the subway even if you're just there for a couple of days it will save you a lot of money
• Visit Harvard University, it's only a few stops away on the red line from the centre of Boston and it's quite nice to poke around where the world's brightest and best go to learn.  A word of warning however, there is a statue which tourists take their photo with touching the foot of it for good luck.  Don't touch that foot, students wee on it as a prank.
• On your way to Harvard University get off the subway at Central and grab food or a smoothie from Life Alive (not the chai one though, Clare got it to try and be healthy and it tasted rough, any of the others are fine though)
• Go to Salem but don't have high expectations, if budget is an issue get the bus with your Charlie ticket rather than shelling out for the ferry
• Go up the Prudential Tower (accessed via the Prudential Mall) to see views like the one below.  We watched a rain storm move towards us which was followed by an amazing sunset.

So that was my trip to Boston in a nutshell, it was my first visit to the East Coast of America and I liked it a lot.  I suspect I'm more of a West Coast girl but perhaps I should go back to California to double check...