lambing life

Whilst at home for the last week I have spent approximately most of my time reading and running. I've entered a 10k on Easter Monday in Regents Park- that was a good laugh when I signed up for it a month ago, a real big lol. Now I'm slightly regretting it as I look like a nutter running around my village in luminous kit whilst my dad cheers on as though I'm Mo Farrah about to smash my first marathon. But it's only 10k- a mere walk (run, jog..crawl?) in the park, no biggie. I'll remind myself of that when I'm about to have a coronary (which, coincidentally, my mother is genuinely concerned is going to happen...). 

                   

Yes I really do have a headband. It makes me go faster. Obviously. 

If I'm not pounding the worn country roads round me then I'm reading. A simple pleasure and pure bliss. Also, a rarity to enjoy whilst working at a school. It's taken me an embarrassingly long time to read 'Eat Pray Love' because every time I settle down a girl asks me a question about Latin, or how to spell aristocrat. But hurrah! I've finally finished it. FYI, the film is shoddy at best, the book, on the otherhand, is somewhat calming and I really do feel like I've made a friend in Liz. 

So having finally put the book to bed, I thought I should probably head down to the farm and see all the million lambs we have everywhere. Because they really are everywhere (not the oven yet, but almost). 

On the way back from an afternoon in the Cotswolds, my friend Sophie and I headed out to the fields to have a little skip with the lambies. But first we stopped off at the kennels to visit some very handsome chappies.

                  

                 

                  

After a hop skip and a jump over the farmer's fence, we snuck into the field with the lambies.

  

 

  

Sophie had a Julie Andrews moment in the field...

                 

                 

   

I was determined to sneak up on the lambs, so did my best ninja impression. I think they cottoned on, even in the diguise of my shearling jacket...

   

   

   

That was as close as I was getting... Clearly not as svelte as I once thought. Hmmm.

   

   

The new borns down the farm are a lot more approachable (they're just a bit dopey really) and so I took the opportunity to give them a little photo shoot. 

   

The mummies stamped their feet a little but I think they were soon charmed by me...

   

   

   

   

   

Soon these little ones will be out in the fields once they're a bit stronger. Until then, I'm going to take advantage of their proximity to the house!

L. 

parc güell

It was just our luck to be leaving Barcelona at the beginning of a week long stretch of glorious sun and warmth, however we were not to be defeated. Parc Güell was on our to do list and whilst the sun was shining and the temperature rising, we decided to spend our last morning here. It's located to the north of the city and is basically Mecca for all things Guadi. Barca really do live off the back of this guy- you can't seem to escape from him anywhere. We had already spotted this little (it's huge...) house of his on Passeig de Gracia the night before:

                 

                  

Parc Güell can safely boast the best views in the city. Because it's located on top of the hills it looks down onto main Barca and out across to the sea. And we chosen the best day to take this beauty in. But first we had to take the escalator to the top of the park...

                 

Here come the money pictures. 

                 

                 

   

   

                

Because we came in at the very top we were able to take the rambling walk down the hill side down to the bottom of the park. This is just beautiful and you'll want to get super snap happy and take photos the whole time. Just like we did...

   

Even of my little Spanish guitar playing friend. 

                   

   

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

The little houses dotted around are now Guadi Museums and visitor centers. Possibly the prettiest I've ever seen. 

                 

                 

We both agreed we made a wonderful couple. We even compliment each other with our blue and pink trousers. Destiny. 

                 

   

You'll find this broken ceramic jigsaw everywhere in Barcelona. Perhaps more so than the Catalan flag, and lets face it, they are everywhere. 

Now I have to confess, we didn't actually go into the park area. The queue was huge and we had a flight to board so we took a few more photos and made a speedy getaway through downtown Barca. 

               

   

                

                

                

                

Barcelona is definitely a place to visit at any age but I think it's a particularly good place to visit in your twenties. It's genuinely ram packed with things to do, see, eat and drink. Bizarrely the whole city has wifi (I know, my mind blew too), everyone is very kind (some a little more than others) and you're about 90% guaranteed to have better weather than back here at home. Whether you do it on a shoestring or pull out all the stops, I can assure you you'll have a blast and always want to come back for more (and maybe if you eat as much as us, you'll be a little fatter too...). 

   

Until the next time Barcelona! 

L. 

paellaaaaa arriba arriba!

This is going to be all about food seeing as we did a lot of eating and I'll whisper this part... a fair amount of sipping on G&Ts too. Sshhhhh.

We figured we were on holiday and we were walking miles each day so the healthy, and only wise, decision was to eat whatever we liked and in vast, vast quantities. Christina and I really do deserve to be the size of houses by the amount we consumed. Hurrah for being young I say!

Wednesday night was perhaps our biggest fill of the trip. After our busy day cycling round, Christina was craving, like a mad woman, paella. My friend Steph had recommend we headed to Placa Reial for the best bars and restaurants. She struck gold with this one. 

   

   

   

After a slightly nervy walk down La Rambla (watch out girlies, pickpockets swarm everywhere, at one point we got sandwiched between three guys- luckily we had our wise owl disguises on and avoided them), we turned down Carrer Colom and were greeted by the beautifully lit square, suited out with its own fountain and palm trees hugging the various bars and eateries. 

The only big decision we had to make tonight was where we were going to be eating and what was going to be in our mouths in the next half hour. Choosing the restaurant was a bit like being presented with a conveyer belt of shiny things. Everywhere was so tempting and the smells didn't help either! As soon as one restauranteur saw you speaking to another, he would come over and tempt you with an even better offer. I love this kind of culture in Europe, it would never happen in London! Having settled with our seats we grabbed the menus. But first, drinks. 

                 

                 

We chose one big plate of paella with extra treasures from the sea and a whole host of tapas dishes. 

   

   

This was chilli fried octopus. It was unbelievably good- melt in the mouth with a good kick of spice. Ignore the tentacles and dive in.

  

Sweet roasted peppers with cracked sea salt. The added salt gave these babies a really great tang. I think we ate these almost everyday. 

  

We also got aubergine, chorizo, breads and a big 'ole salad, just for good measure. 

  

   

I just love the idea of picking and choosing lots of little dishes and sharing them amongst friends. It breaks the ice and hey, it's always amusing to watch someone de-prawnify a prawn. Also it means you can order loads because you can secretly blame your other friends for eating so much. Sneaky. 

                  

                  

                  

                  

Sorry C, just had to! 

Our food filled evening took a slippery nosedive once we got back to the bar. Next thing we knew, it was 5.30am and we had made friends with various Europeans. Food and drink clearly is a winning combination for a night like this; lots of laughter, dancing until the early hours and back in bed ready to start the next day. 

Oh Barcelona, you beauty! 

L.