Amsterdam

Europe is so spoiled with its air travel and it makes me jealous! Everything is close by and there is a multitude of airlines offering cheap flights to various places. This is great for travellers like me who want to take advantage of their cheap offers! I flew out of Birmingham to Amsterdam via BMI Baby for about £75. I can't even get a 30 minute flight for that price at home! The added bonus was that it was only 1 hour to fly to Amsterdam.

I had a great time in Holland. I have some family there so I did a little visiting; catching up with Aunts, Uncles and cousins mainly and then spent a day wandering the streets of Amsterdam.

I visited Rembrandt's house; it's one of my favourite sights in Amsterdam. It's not gigantic like some of the art galleries and it never seems to be as busy as some of the other attractions either.

I really enjoy viewing some of Rembrandt's works in the house where they were originally painted. It just gives a more realistic feel to the circumstances of the artist and the painting. Rembrandt's collection of artifacts is also still in the house; this is one of my favourite parts of this museum. Rembrandt collected all sorts of things: seashells, fossils, coins, gemstones, stuffed lizards, whale vertebrae, tortoise shells...all sorts of quirky things!

if you have never visited Amsterdam, it is definitely worth visiting at least once just to see it's old canals, cobblestone streets, and bicycles everywhere! Just don't walk on the orange-coloured pavement or you will get run over... by a bicycle!

The floating flower market

Hike up Pen-y-Fan

Myself and two of my friends visited Brecon Beacons national park which is a mountainous park in south Wales. We hiked up to the top of one mountain, called Pen-y-Fan. It is the middle peak sandwiched between the peaks of Corn ddu and Fan-y-Big.

The weather was VERY wet and windy, but made the challenge just that much more fun. I've included a photo of myself from the top of the peak. When that photo was taken, I had my eyes shut because the rain was driving in sideways! We should have brought goggles!

Time to the top: 45 min

Height: 886 meters

St Fagan's National History Museum

This afternoon, I went with a friend to the National Welsh History Museum in St Fagan's. Despite having lived in Wales for 4 years, I had never gone to the museum and I'd have to say it was worth the trip! It was free to view the grounds and a lovely way to spend the afternoon. 

We started off looking at an old stone house with a thatched roof. The house had been painted red (supposedly to ward off evil spirits), but the barn, which was attached to the house, remained white. I was surprised at how large the rooms were in the house. There was a staircase as well and large rooms upstairs. It was also surprisingly dark inside- the furnishings were dark and the walls had not been painted white. It must have been quite a "rich" house in its time though.

There was also a Celtic area to wander around in. There were replica round houses here; one of them had a fire going inside and you could see how smoky they were to live in. It's crazy to think that people once lived in houses like these with their thatched (and spidery!) roofs and smoke-filled insides. I imagine that they didn't spend as much time inside as we do now.

We eventually ended up in a village-type area where we perused the goods in the general store; I bought a jar of lemon curd (YUM!) and then we snacked on scones. There was also a cute little post office in this area. How typical, with it's little red phone box. I thought it was a cute little building.

Trip to the Craft (Super) Store

I just came back with a whole bag of crafting goodies *evil grin*. My friend and I went to a Hobbycraft store; a store that I love even more than Michaels! We were there for a few hours and found lots of great things. 

I love shopping at craft stores in different countries. Sometimes there are new items to check out that haven't become available in North America yet.  Quite often certain types of crafts are more popular too; for example decoupage is very popular in Europe but I only know one person in Alberta who does it.

I was amazed at the wall of stamps in the craft store. It was HUGE! I couldn't resist two of the Beatrix Potter- themed stamps (along with some others). There were so many nice stamps I'm impressed at how well I resisted the urge to buy more!

I've started working on my Christmas cards already so I was on the lookout for inspiring things for the upcoming season. I found some really cute background papers and Christmas brads with such cute little animals on them; I can't wait to get started on these! 

Down South

I am now in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Cardiff is in the far south of the country located at the mouth of the Severn estuary (where the Severn river meets the Atlantic ocean). 

I lived in Cardiff for four years while I was doing my music degree. It was a great city to live in. It was easy to get around, has a fantastic central park, a wonderful arts & culture community and dozens of great places to eat at too! 

For now, I will just say that lots of things have changed since I was here last. The biggest change has been the addition of a new St David's shopping centre. My friend picked me up from the train station and I felt a little bit like a fish out of water because I didn't recognize anything! The new centre is massive though, and I am planning to explore it a little bit further in the next few days  (ie SHOPPING TRIP!). I can't wait to visit the new and improved versions of all my favourite shops!

Locks and Narrow Boats

Today, I had the pleasure of wandering down one of the many canals that can be found in Britain. They snake their way all over the country; you can get from one major city to another via narrow boat. It will take some time though- they only travel at 4 mph!

The narrow boats are like long house boats with motors. Spending time on a narrow-boat is a popular mode of vacation travel for many people. Even some tourists try it out too! Today we met some people from Holland who were vacationing through the UK on a narrow boat.

The locks that I visited were at New Marton. It was a hive of activity! The locks only take one boat at a time so there was a queue of boats on either side - each waiting their turn. It was neat to watch: one boat enters, the back gates close and the front gates open. The water level rises and eventually the boat exits and a new one takes its place. Then the whole process is reversed so that the new occupants can travel downstream. One by one, they all make their way up or down the canal.

The mentality of vacationing on a narrow boat is very laid back. There is no way to force the water in and out of the locks any faster so while you're waiting your turn, you might as well have a cup of tea, go for a walk along the canal or peruse the little 'shop on the wall' at the lock. You might find a good book to read, pint glass for your drinks, or some fresh produce from the lock-house owner's garden.

Lovely Garden

Today I am in the Shropshire countryside- in a town called Ellesmere - which is just a few miles east of the (North) Wales border with England. It is close to the towns of Oswestry and Wrexham and about an hour away by car from Shrewsbury.

I've only been in the UK for about a day and I'm being spoiled already! Not only is the countryside beautiful, but I've been fed homemade cake and pizza too! Today, I had the luxury of a lovely summer day to explore the back garden from my hosts. I also had a little helper, by the name of Celyn, assist me in my explorations! (if you look closely, the freckles on the top of his nose spell the word "Yo")



Typical of British gardening style, none of the plants (apart from the tomotoes) have been planted in rows. Things have been lovingly plunked into the ground or into pots and are growing- happy as can be!

I really like the little robin garden ornament that they have. Isn't it cute? I also found some very pretty shamrocks (oxalis) with pink flowers and some gorgeous lillies - nearly as big as my hand!



One thing that I see commonly in the UK but not in Alberta, are things called "grow bags". They are basically bags of soil with small amounts of fertiziler, that you cut holes into and then either pot plants into them or simply put the plants right into the bag. I've seen them mostly with tomoatoes in them - like the ones in their garden. I think it's a neat way to keep the root systems of heat-loving plants warm. As you can see, the tomatoes here are doing quite well!

In the evening, some friends and I took the dog for a walk around the Mere (small lake or pond) where we saw some swans. Did you know that killing a swan is considered illegal treason? Apparently all swans are considered property of the Queen! I can understand why; they are very regal looking with their tall, slender necks!