Things to do in Durham

If you follow me on Instagram, you will have noticed the mid-week pictures from Durham. Over the last few months, I've been working on a wee project in Durham which meant that I've been exploring the city after work (when the weather isn't rubbish or when my workload isn't exploding). Durham is compact but beautiful city. Its actually more like a tiny town! That said, it has a rich history and enough going on within in to make it an attractive visitor destination. Whilst I'm no expert on the city, I decided to take the camera out to play one evening and draw up a list of my favourite things to do in Durham. 

Firstly, you can take a selfie in Durham! As fashion is a key part of my blog, I decided to snap a selfie or two to document my outfit for the day before I went out to capture the sights around town. Considering I didn't have my photographer husband around, I don't think I did a bad job?

The reality is, you can do the centre of Durham as an easy day trip because it is tiny. However, its true charm is found whilst exploring its quaint cobbled streets, beautiful architecture, independent cafes, pubs and restaurants , and in chatting with the locals.

Durham Cathedral and Castle are World Heritage Sites dating back to the 11th century. Durham Cathedral is dedicated to St. Cuthbert and contains his relics along with the remains of Ostwald of Northumbria and St. Bede. Durham castle is a magnificent Norman castle which is now home to university students. When the students are away on vacation, you can actually book to stay here at bargain prices!

My favourite late evening 'thing' in Durham is to go for a walk around the castle and cathedral before heading to The Cellar Door for a meal adventure. You can find all my foodie pictures from the restaurant on my Instagram here. In the early days, I had a colleague for company and we did explore a few different restaurants around town. Eventually, I found the choice at The Cellar Door much more appealing and so it became my regular haunt. The restaurant I never got to check out (as yet, as it was a bit more of a trek from my hotel) is DH1 and it looks very interesting.

I can't say I've explored night life in Durham properly but colleagues say that it has a good choice of pubs for a night out.  The pubs always looked welcoming but I'm not much of a drinker and so I preferred a meal and a walk.

Other things worth trying around Durham include a boat cruise or hire a little rowing boat near Elvet's bridge and checking out the local museums such as the Oriental Museum on Elvet's Hill. There are other places such as the kid-friendly Beamish Museum ( which Ed loved as a child) , for example, which are further afield. Also, I can't say I'd come down to Durham for a shopping trip but it does have some unique independent fashion stores as well as good charity shops that are worth checking out

Wearing: Isabel Marant inspired Zara blouse, American Apparel Disco Pants, Ash Suede Spiral Ankle boots and Coccinelle clutch (which usually stays in my handbag carrying random 'stuff')

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.

Anniversary Meal at Angels and Bagpipes

This month is a bit special for Ed and I; it's our five year wedding anniversary! It seems like such a long time ago....and it makes me feel a bit...old!!  We would have loved to celebrate with a summer holiday but we can't! Instead, we've got to pack and move house again as our lovely (not) landlords have decided to sell up and be completely unhelpful in the process. They simply didn't care that we'd only just moved in or that we'd need to find a new home right in the middle of festival season...a very difficult task when everyone that has a vacant place is minting it on festival lets!! Anyway, moving on, we decided to celebrate with a nice meal and a day trip instead. We were hoping to get a table at the famous Tom Kitchin restaurant in Edinburgh for our anniversary night but it was booked up for months on end. Ed eventually found Angels and Bagpipes which looked like a nice little place that serve beautiful food. 

Obviously, I wore some of favourite pieces for the evening. Starting from the bottom, I'm wearing vintage Roger Viviers with the most amazing heels sourced from a Stockbridge charity shop!! My dress is Alice Temperley from an online flash sale and 80% off RRP! I'm carrying my beloved Lulu Guinnes mettlic lips clutch, a bargain from a TK Maxx flash sale. And finally, my jacket is Isabel Marant from the Net-a-porter sale...clearly not as ridiculous a bargain as the other bits but I see it as an investment piece.

Angels and Bagpipes has a rather modern setting compared to its neighbours. It felt like a nice place to celebrate whilst being completely unpretentious. The service was impeccable and we were greeted with complimentary bubbly as they'd twigged that it was our anniversary!

The food was beautiful and tasty. However, my soup had a very salty bit of duck in it and my main course was also very salty...even though it was very tasty! Ed was luckier with his course but the salt completely killed my appetite which meant I simply could not face dessert. To be fair, the lades serving us seemed genuinely upset that I hadn't finished my meal and offered to replace it. My appetite however had already gone on holiday. So as to not make her feel too bad, I ordered some tea for afters, even though I didn't want it. I must be becoming more English by the day!

All that said, I definitely recommend the restaurant, more than anything else because  of the impeccable service. I'll love you  and leave you with....a photo of my dear husband...!!  Ann x

Wearing: Isabel Marant Daisy Jacket, Alice Temperley Dress, Lulu Guinness Metallic Lips clutch and vintage Roger Vivier shoes.

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.

Edinburgh's Old Town

I've realised that in all my ramblings about Edinburgh, I've never once 'properly' shared snapshots from our walks around the city. I use 'properly' to qualify all those photos I share on my Instagram page that never seem to make it to the blog....Walking into Old Town has become a favourite after work activity in recent months. The summer days in Scotland are exceptionally long and you could wander into Old Town after 8PM and it would still be wonderfully bright (when its not raining that is....). Anyway, I finally managed to capture a few photos from our recent wander in to Old Town (on an incredibly busy Saturday afternoon) and you will hopefully begin to understand why I love this city so much!

Our usual 'thing' is to wander up Waverley steps up into Old Town, wander around exploring new streets and alleyways, stopping by a cafe or pub, exploring a few local ( non-touristy) shops, often stopping by Armstrong's vintage, before heading back home. This visit was a bit different as we had mother-in-law along and we wanted to explore Mary King's Close. However, when we finally got there, it felt a bit too steep and claustrophobic for mother-in-law and so we decided to give it a miss and go 'free close' spotting instead.

The weather was a bit hit and miss and when it eventually started chucking it down, we sought refuge first in a whiskey shop ( with Ed and MIL sampling and me snapping pictures) and then at the Edinburgh Festival Centre. The latter seemed like a good opportunity for a couple of quick outfit shots.  Don't ask me what my 'look' was; I throw on whatever I feel inspired to wear every morning and that day it was this random oversized top over maxi dress look.

When it stopped raining furiously, we continued our wandering, stopping by to watch various performances around town before finally heading to one of our favourite places, Mezbaan,  for a 'dosa and chutney' dinner.

Have you been to Edinburgh recently? If not, I hope my posts inspire you to visit my lovely city sometime! Ann x 

  
Wearing: Cos oversized top, Next maxi dress, Cambridge Satchel, Zara pumps and Dior shades. 
To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.

Orchids at Edinburgh Botanic Gardens

 

Following our last visit to the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens, I read on BBC News about an orchid exhibition at the gardens. As I've mentioned previously, the gardens are really old and the exhibition was (is) to mark the 150th anniversary of the first orchid to arrive at the gardens all the way from Taiwan! The Herbarium which currently holds the gardens' orchid collection is also marking a relatively youngish 50th anniversary. As I love gardens and flowers, wandering down to the gardens for a few hours seemed like a no-brainer.

 

We had mother-in-law staying over that weekend and we were meant to catch-up with some friends who have two little ones. Congregating at the gardens seemed like a good way to keep mother-in-law and the kids entertained whilst also catching up with our mates. The weather was mostly perfect, just a tad bit nippy. We started our orchid exploration at the main entrance on West Gate. Over 2500 varieties of orchids were apparently on display ; I couldn't count all day but I trust the BBC.

 

It seemed like a good excuse to take some close-up of the delicate flowers before heading to the Herbarium. They were all so exquisite!

We didn't see too many orchids at the Herbarium ( and hence the goofy photo above) but BBC tells me that it holds an archive of three million preserved specimens!!

Anyway, the exhibition is on till the 20th of July (and its free) so I'd definitely recommend a visit! Ann x
  
Wearing: Zara cropped shirt, Gap Always Skinny distressed jeans, Denim and Supply for Ralph Lauren blazer clutch, Cambridge Satchel, Alexander McQueen McQ studded pumps and Dior shades. 

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.

London to Paris with Tour De France

Given how much I love Londontown, I thought it was only fitting I gave my readers a quick shout out about the 2014 Tour De France coming to London. This is the biggest annual sporting event in the world with its history dating back to 1903! I went to see the Tour a few years ago and I remember being captivated by the buzz of the place. The weather was glorious and after we cheered the cyclists on, we wandered on to Green Park to continue watching the race on giant telly. This year, the Grand Depart starts from Leeds moving to Harrogate, con tuning then from York to Sheffield  and finally from Cambridge to London.

To commemorate the race, the folks at Yorkshire Building Society have organised a rather exciting photo competition. All you need to do is to take a Tour De France related picture and upload it to Twitter or Instagram with #tdfybs to be entered into a prize draw. The winner will receive a pair of hospitality tickets, including two nights bed and breakfast, for the Tour De France finish at Champs Elysses in Paris!! I'm sending one of my cycling piccies off, I think you should too! Ann x

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter or Facebook.

Portobello Beach and Space Hoppers

The other weekend, our friends suggested an impromptu trip to Portobello aka Porty beach. Portobello is a few miles east of Edinburgh and has its own unique character. Back in the Victorian times, it was the beach resort of choice for the people of Edinburgh and nearby. Whilst it has lost a lot of its old glory, it still retains a quaint, and slightly bohemian, charm.

We wandered along the beach promenade, taking in the beautiful, almost French style, gardens filled with roses, peonies and cottage flowers, before quickly finding an indoor cafe to sit down for a drink and bite (as it wasn't the warmest of days).

The Beach House was our cafe of choice as it looked nice, had some nice cakes to choose from and a mouthwatering array of ice-creams. It may have been nippy outside but even freezing cold doesn't deter me from a good ice-cream! The blueberry version I chose was scrumptious!

Before I ramble on about other Porty discoveries, let me explain the slightly dopey picture above. I had just bought this lovely lemon clutch in the ASOS sale and ( as you can see) I was totally smitten. Technically, it wasn't a proper sale as I actually used a voucher code but same difference.

Anyway, moving on, after we'd had our fill of drink and dessert, we went for another wee wander further up the promenade. That is when I noticed what may be Porty's new transport of choice, spacehoppers! It looked like hard work and personally, I'd rather stick to push scooters.

Given that it wasn't the warmest of days, we headed back to the city after our walk. However, we will be going back there on a bright sunny day with picnic gear in tow.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend! Ann x

Wearing: FabIndia blouse, Gap Always Skinny distressed jeans, Monki lemon clutch and Michael Kors trench coat.

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.