Carnival time in London

August 2016

It was with a heavy heart that I said my goodbyes to dad and Sophie, our trip finally over. I would never forget my time in the Greek islands with dad, something I had been wanting to do for many many years.
Soon we were travelling again, them to New Zealand, and me off to England, to spend a week with more family, this time Yannick and Necia! It was nice to just relax and stay in once place for a bit after all our constant travelling. Bbqing was now firmly part of our traditions, so we rather enjoyed having another one (with Prosecco of course!)

After doing some Googling on events in the area, I discovered the Notting Hill Carnival, London's biggest street party. Taking place on the last weekend of August, it's well worth wandering down to view at any time on the day. It's free, and street dancers and parade floats congregate on the streets creating a joyful chaos. 

Originally celebrating caribbean cultures and traditions, it's now one of the biggest street parties in Europe, and full of costumes and music from many different cultures. 

Feeling a nostalgic of our recent trip and with delicious Greek food still fresh in our minds, we replicated it at home. Not only did we make our own hummus, but also our own pita bread! We enjoyed this thoroughly, accompanied with feta, veggies and Necia's recipe for battered courgette like we had tried in Greece - it worked impressively well!

On the subject of food, a trip to London isn't complete without a meal at Pizza Pilgrim! As usual the pizza was delicious, but for me it was the drinks that were the highlight this time! First I discovered that at this glorious restaurant, they had soda water on tap! On tap! Out of the wall! Like magic! 

It was in this moment that I decided one day when I have a house, I am going to have a kitchen tap that only dispenses soda water. It will be amazing (I might have a slight addiction). 

I also split an Aperol Spritz with Yannick as he generously offered to get once since I had never tried it. The fashionable summer drink of Europe, this low-alcohol content drink is made with soda water (my favourite), aperol, prosecco and a slice of orange. It had a strange sort of taste, and wasn't all what I expected; sort of bitter, but also refreshing, I can see why it's popular, but don't really get why people rave about it. Still it was good to try! Now I'm up with the hip people and such, yo. 

My last culinary experience before exiting London was at a rather lovely market that only took place once a month and was well worth the trip (though if you want good market food, a trip to Camden Lock market is always worth it!) There was so much good looking food it was torturous to pick (how the donuts called to me!) I ended up trying pulled pork for the first time and realising I had been missing out all my life! Pulled pork is, as it turns out, disgustingly good.

With that foodie highlight to complete my whirlwind London trip, I headed off to see my best friend Joy and help her and her partner move house. It was stressful to say the least, trying to fit too much furniture into a smaller house was like tetris with armchairs and became a bit dire. However we managed in the end (even if it did take us three days to figure out how to turn on the oven!). Mission accomplished, I began to organise for my first house-sit; but more on that later.

Touring the north of France

I was excited that our next stop of note was Carnac, famous for its menhirs - or large neolithic standing stones (best known from the excellent comic Asterix and Obelix). With more than 10,000 of these standing stones, many of them are clustered very thickly within fields, making them an awesome sight to see. It was slightly disappointing that unless we paid for a tour, we couldn't actually get close to the stones themselves as the fields were cordoned off  - very different from dad's experiences with these ancient stones, where in his own childhood they were free to run amok and climb the stones at will. 

Josselin was our next stop, somewhere I had been before a few years before. A very pretty medieval village, with a river running past it and a fairy-tale castle, I highly recommend taking a day trip here and relaxing in one of the many restaurants for crepes and cider.

















After this brief foray inland, we followed the coast all the way up through Normandy and Brittany, enjoying the wild beaches and windswept vistas.

This coast is more harsh and rugged, less tame than the rest of France, and there is something very beautiful about it because of this. It reminded me in many ways of the shores of England, and I suppose they aren't seperated by all that much geographically.

















At times the beaches were desolate, at others, horrifically busy (we fled this one rather quickly).

















One of the highlights for me on this trip was our visit to Hardelot where my grandmother and grandfather had once had a house that I had visited on my first visit to France, before they sold it. As such, this seaside town already had fond memories for me, and it was with fond familiarity that I set eyes on that windy beach once more. The water was surprisingly warm, but the wind was such that we did little more than dip our feet in. Children were catching shrimps in rock pools, heedless of the wind, and we stopped to watch them for a bit.
 However hunger drove us on, and we wandered up to the town to try find some nosh. My aunt Caro had recommended us a restaurant for lunch and it was beyond my expectations; I had crevette croquettes and enjoyed them very much, followed by spectacular ice cream which was floating in alcohol. The raspberry sorbet in a bath of Eau de Vie was rather mind blowing, as was the ice cream floating in grand-marnier and brought to us on fire. Yum!

A tour of the Dordogne

After my disappointment in Spain, I returned to France early and therefore managed to tag back on to Dad's trip before it ended which was a saving grace for me. The highlights to this included a trip back to Carcassonne, and then on to the Dordogne, my favourite region of France!

A trip to the Dordogne wouldn't be complete without visiting Sarlat, so back we went and immersed ourselves in the market. We bought an excellent rosé here which came from Bergerac and was rather lovely. 

We stocked up on a number of fresh things from the market, including bread and fresh prawns which we would later cook on the barbecue and I would discover to my shock that I rather quite liked them!

Sarlat is a magnificent medieval town to walk through, and I never get bored wandering down cobblestone alleyways and past honey-coloured buildings. 

We had picked an airbnb in the Dordogne so we would have a few days to relax and explore the region from our base, and it was rather pretty too. Although quite dark and gloomy inside, it had a lovely outdoor area with a bbq - always a plus in my books!

The weather was rather stormy and rainy while we were there, luckily the bbq area was under shelter, and we passed a few evenings enjoying eating outside and cooking the fresh produce of the region (of which there is plenty!)

All too soon we were headed out of the region, making for the region of Brittany to slowly make our way back to Lille (with many stops on the way of course!) The Dordogne is such a beautiful region however that we made a few stops before leaving it behind. Passing through this gorgeous village was one such pause, though there was little to it aside from the ruined castle it was incredibly pretty.

To top it off as we exited the village we passed a gorgeous sunflower field! I decided I just had to get a photo in the field (although I unfortunately wasn't wearing the white dress I had always imagined wearing in a field of sunflowers - one can't plan for everything I suppose!)

Our next stop of note was Bergerac, a pretty town with a medieval centre and river flowing through it. The only thing I knew about Bergerac was the area produced good wines, so it was nice to learn more about it. 

The area began to produce wines in the 13th century which allowed for the growth and popularity of the town, however the wars of Religion led to a decline in population due to persecution and it wasn't until the 20th century that trade made Bergerac into a bustling town again. Nowadays a popular market town, cobblestone streets and half timbered houses mark its long history and make it pleasant to wander.

Our last stop before we headed for the coast was a town called Brantome, which was extremely pretty to wander, though not very big. It's main attraction (apart from getting lost in the little network of cobblestone streets) is the Abbey which is situated along the extremely pretty river running by the town. The Abbey was built in 769 by Charlemagne but was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times throughout history, most recently in 1480. 

A series of bridges across a small island allowed us to follow the river for a time across from the abbey, and made for very picturesque walking (the building below has been turned into a restaurant and must have stunning views).

It was here that we finished our whirlwind tour of some of the Dordognes prettiest towns, and headed for the coast. 

Popping into Paris and Digging in Spain

After picking Sophie up from the airport in Paris, we spent a day in the capital, and popped into the Louvre which is always worth a stop. Unfortunately it was unpleasantly hot within the museum, so after not as long as I would have otherwise liked, we ended up leaving (though not without a peek in this gloriously golden room).

After our sight-seeing in Paris, we headed for Lille to visit the family as we always do in France. Staying in a chambre d'hote meant we weren't able to cook our own meals, however our welcoming host Vincent was a rather spiffing cook, and we were fed extremely well for the duration of our stay. It was at this point that we parted ways as I had organised to go on an Archaeological dig in Spain, to try and get some experience in osteoarchaeology to see if it was perhaps a subject I would like to pursue for a career. 

Sanisera archaeology institute was the name of the organisation I went with on my archaeological field school, and I was unfortunately very disappointed. The list of reasons why is rather long, however I will keep it to my main points of contention.

 The location however, was one thing I couldn't complain about as it was set on the beautiful island of Menorca.

However pretty much everything else was a waste of time. Treated like unruly children, we had no cooking facilities, and no living room or area to hang out in, only dormitory style bedrooms (this in itself I have no problems with) meals were held in a separate building where the kitchen was padlocked and we weren't allowed in, and the food was to be honest, inedible. After the third day I stopped going to meal times and starting buying prepackaged sandwiches because they were slightly more tasty. I still cringe in horror at the prepacked lunches we were given out on the field (blended tomatoes mixed with water into a sort of sauce that was then put on bread rolls, turning them into total mush).  

Mornings were taken up by digging in the field before it got too hot - this part I have few complaints for (apart from how budget they were with tools, giving us extremely old brushes, bent knitting needles and teaspoons instead of proper equipment) the actual digging itself was as enjoyable as digging can be, and I was pleased that unlike my previous dig we weren't pulled away every time we found something slightly significant, instead allowed to carefully work on everything we excavated. However, we were given almost no explanation or teaching on methods or what we were actually looking at or how to excavate, instead simply being used as manual labour to dig out the bones from the graveyard. 

I was working in one of the complicated grave sites, which had a jumble of bodies within it, all mixed up. The thinking was that there was two adults and a child, though we couldn't be sure at that early stage. The most tiring thing about digging (except the heat which was an obvious factor) was the awkward position one had to lie in to get into the gravesite itself. Due to the depth of the gravesite, you had to lean half of your body into the pit causing you to constantly strain your muscles and blood rush into your head as it hung downwards, causing massive headaches and neck aches. However excavating the graves themselves was rather interesting, as working close-up with bones was something I had always wanted to do. 

I spent most of my mornings I was on the dig excavating the adult human skull which was near the surface, and I found this very interesting. The afternoons were meant to be taken up with lab-work, which was the main reason I signed up for this dig, as digging on--site was something I had done before and therefore in itself was not hugely useful to me beyond the first few days of excitement getting to work in a necropolis. The problem was even this became dull when we simply worked on getting bones out and weren't explained any context as we went. I was hoping for experience in the lab and learning about human osteoarchaeology, and in this, I was the most disappointed. 

Lab work turned out to me mainly washing pottery and bone, something I had done a lot of on my last dig, and required nothing more than using a toothbrush and some water, teaching me nothing at all. The tiny segments I did have of useful learning and not being used as free labour looked like it could be interesting, which made it worse that we only did this twice for about half an hour in the time I spent there - instead of every afternoon as promised. 

My first experience of doing something useful was learning to put a human skeleton together correctly and identify each bone and where they went. Having never taken biology at school, learning all the names for bones was quite a process for me. We were using real bones found on earlier digs at the necropolis, which was something I liked as it meant they weren't in perfect condition and were sometimes fragmentary. Additionally it added a sort of gravitas to the situation which I think is always important when dealing with human remains (though we do sometimes give them affectionate nicknames)

Unfortunately aside from this opportunity and a ten minute lecture on the basic differences in morphology on male and female skeletons (again very interesting and I would have loved more of this) we simply washed and dug. I understand the need for the boring work which needs manpower, but having paid for an informative field school, I was extremely disappointed. 

Woes aside, when we did have time off (which wasn't much as we finished in the evening and only had two days free for the entire dig, no weekends off) myself and a Canadian girl who I'd made friends with would go exploring when we could. Enjoying the sunshine and the small beach a ten minute walk from our dorms.

Menorca was a gorgeous island, and the small town of Ciutadella de Menorca where we were based was a pleasant port to explore. Although more touristy than I would have liked, it was a beautiful and historic town which made it fun to wander. Invaded by the Turks in the 1500s by a 150,000 strong army who enslaved the survivors of the siege, the town then flourished again in the 1700s, seeing many buildings built in an Italian style and giving the town a lovely feel.


My dorms were down a cute alleyway in the heart of the main city (and a pleasant two minute walk from all the bars serving cheap and ice cold beers! One must always look at the upside of the situation).


I ended up saying goodbye to this place rather earlier than expected after cutting the dig short upon realising I had learned the little I could from it - we were being taught nothing else useful, and treated simultaneously as basic manpower and untrustworthy children was something I had little patience for. I hope to one day to return to beautiful Menorca under better circumstances!

Greece goodbye, on to France

In the morning we headed off for Igoumenitsa to catch our ferry to Italy. It was a decently long drive, and we broke it up on the way with a spontaneous stop at some Roman thermae we stumbled across. It only cost two euro and was an enjoyable wander as we were the only ones (there except the lady selling the tickets and her tiny kitten that ran wild through the ruins and was adorably distracting).

Upon arriving in Igoumenitsa we didn't end up having time to stock up on sandwiches and so boarded the ferry foodless, knowing that the food on-board would be unpleasantly dire (we were correct). After a long night on board, we disembarked in Italy at Ancona and set about driving for France with as few stops as possible, aiming to hit France that night. The next few days were a haze of long driving and skipping past the horrendously expensive French Riviera, before arriving at our first destination of note, Carcassonne. I had heard a lot about the city but never been there, so I was rather excited to finally set eyes on it.

Although extremely busy (and due to this I recommend going early in the morning and before/after summer) Carcassone was an awesome city to explore. Inhabited since Neolithic times, its strategic importance saw its fortifications get bigger and more impressive throughout history. Although the city has been surrendered in warfare, it was never taken through conquest, and thus is still considered impregnable. Most notably, it failed to be taken during the hundred years war. 

The old city is not large, and really only requires an afternoon to wander around. However it's worth getting dinner at one of the many restaurants, as watching the sun sink behind the rampants is rather lovely. 

Not to mention their love of rugby! Carcassonne is great.

After our morning visit, we headed for the region of Dordogne, one of my favourite in France due to its numerous castles, medieval villages, honey-coloured stone architecture, long history and beautiful nature (think green hills and fields and rivers).

As it was getting late in the day by this point, we found some accomodation for the night online and booked it, driving through the narrow wooded roads as the sky darkened. Even so I couldn't help but take a photo of this gorgeous chateau as we passed it by.

The next morning we stopped in the nearby town of Sarlat, which has always been one of my favourite towns to visit, even if it is thoroughly on the tourist map. We were lucky enough to arrive on Market day, and wandered for a while taking in all the stalls and smells.

A stop in Sarlat would not be complete without going to the best Patisserie I've found to date, L'Atelier du Gourmand, by Bernard Decaix. This is a place I've been going for years on my occasional trips to France, and it's stayed ever popular. Every dessert is perfect, and mind blowingly tasty.

Rhodes town and Athens onwards

In the morning we headed off to explore Rhodes town, having plenty of time before we needed to catch our ferry back to Athens. The town was nothing like I had expected, and was easily the most spectacular ancient city we had come across this trip - and also therefore the most touristy. There were beggars on the street, people painting portraits of tourists, street sellers unenthusiastically trying to sell selfie sticks (there was more than one occasion of having the words 'selfie stick, selfie stick' muttered mournfully at me as we passed), it was a chaos of busyness until one got off the main streets.
However through it all, Rhodes town  maintained its magnificence. It was once a fortified citadel under the Knights Hospitallers, and was at one point the most fortified city in Christendom.
Once off the main walkway and into the narrow streets between walls, it reminded me slightly of the ruins of Pompeii for some reason, which I found interesting. (It was after all, under Roman rule for many years).

We had no set plan and simply wandered at will, taking in the sights. We lunched at random in a shaded courtyard, the food was somewhat mediocre unfortunately, aside from fried hummus balls which were quite interesting and apparently a speciality of Rhodes. My entertainment for the day was watching our restaurant and its rival restaurant next door engage. The waiters were placed strategically around the square waiting to nab passing tourists, and at our restaurants every success, the waiter of the restaurant next door was clearly getting more and more frustrated, angrily gesticulating at our waiter and swearing at an increasingly volume. 

All too soon it was time to board our ferry back to the mainland, where Yannick and Necia would be leaving us. I had to say my overall image of Rhodes (compared to the other Greek islands) was disappointing, as the entire island felt more like a tourist trap and had lost most of its charm. Of the Rhodes I had always dreamed of, framed by the giant colossus spanning across the harbour, there was no sign.
 Although we were taking an overnight ferry and therefore usually nightmarish, we had decided to get a cabin this time, and although it costs more, I cannot recommend it enough. Instead of sleeping on the concrete deck and waking up damp with seaspray, we passed a cosy night snugly sleeping in bunk beds. We arrived very early in the morning at about 6am, and sadly said our goodbyes - how fast the two weeks had gone! Yannick and Necia had a day ahead of them in Athens before heading back to London, whereas we had further adventures ahead of us, including a little of mainland Greece, too much driving in Italy, and further exploring in France.
First however, after saying our goodbyes dad and I headed for the acropolis as we decided it would be a shame to miss a glimpse of it, quiet at dawn.














We made our way around the back by mistake only to run into familiar faces soon after; there were Yannick and Necia trekking their way to the acropolis!





















We gave them a ride to the front of the ancient monument as we were all headed in that direction. Although the site wasn't yet open, it was beautiful from afar. I noticed that we weren't the only ones there either, as a few backpackers were fast asleep on nearby benches - whether to get there before the crowds or simply travelling Greece really cheaply, I couldn't say. After admiring the Acropolis through a sea of olive trees, we bid our second farewell to Yannick and Necia, before heading off again.

We quickly realised we had driven down a dead-end however, and had to turn around again, cheerily waving to Yannick and Necia as we passed them by! Giggling to ourselves, we headed off in the direction of Delphi (although we did have a quick stop in the backstreets of the acropolis when we followed our noses to a delicious bakery full of fresh bread. Yum!)
By driving non-stop we managed to get to Delphi before midday and were soon sweating our way across the site, the full noon-day sun beating down on us.

I was surprised by the marked difference in tourist numbers since my last visit here in 2014, when it had been bustling. Now only a few people wandered the ruins, and most of them were speaking French unlike the hordes of english speakers I remembered from the time before.

Delphi was of course as impressive as ever, and even more enjoyable without the many tourists spoiling the views. The rugged landscape made an incredible backdrop for the ampitheatre, and just helped remind me how incredibly wild and beautiful Greece really is. 

It was also interesting to see Delphi with my dad, as he had been about forty years before, and pointed out the many differences between then and now. 

Feeling ready for lunch, we headed for the nearby harbour town of Galaxidi. And what a lunch it was!! Right on the waterfront with a super friendly owner, Zygos restaurant was one of my best dining experiences in Greece. We started with the best tzatziki we have ever had (I wish I could put my finger on why) and lovely fresh sesame-seed bread, washed down with Kaiser tap beer! We followed that up by sharing a drunken ham hock which was slow cooked so the meat was falling apart and drowning in a mustard peppercorn sauce that was to die for, and a delicious kebab in a soft saffron flavoured pita bread. Fit to burst, we nibbled on the free dessert which was a strange sort of chia seed texture, with orange rind and cinnamon and some kind of orange liquor - delicious!
Feeling so full we might die, we checked into a little hotel back from the waterfront and relaxed for the afternoon, only venturing out for a swim at a little bay across from the harbour. It was an excellent last day in Greece.