Half term catch up

 Hi there,

It's been a little while since my last confession and that was in the form of a bad poem!  The half term was enjoyable.

It involved a lovely trip to Maldon on  Valentines Day.  CBC and I went to lunch at Mrs Salisbury's tearoom where, to our delight, we met our friends Lara and her husband. We explored the town and then returned home.

Sunday, apart from a trip to church, where I was completely saturated by torrential rain, the day was spent sheltering inside.

Monday and Tuesday, CBC had 2 days of work experience for  Garden design company so I travelled over to Mum's for the morning and early afternoon. We had a tasty simple lunch, lots of chat and tea, a walk to the seafront and then I returned home via town where I had my hair cut into a short bob which I was very pleased with!  

*Updated with haircut photo for Ang! *

Later, after an achy and muddy CBC returned home, I went off to the station and went over to have a rehearsal with my lovely flute quartet.  This was especially lovely as I didn't have to rush home for school and we ate cake and had a pleasant time. It meant I got to chat with Lara on the car journey from the station.

Tuesday, I had a tidying morning and then headed to town for the market. I bought delicious olives and fresh fruit and vegetables.  In the evening, CBC and I travelled to the other side of Chelmsford to a friend's house for a pancake party! It was the first time we've seen her since her husband died which was sad but we cheered her up. I was touched that she gave me a lovely cashmere cardigan which had belonged to her Mum whose memorial I played flute for last year.

Wednesday, after packing, we drove to Sussex to Angmering where we were staying for 2 nights at the Angmering Manor Hotel.   

We went to eat some lunch in a nearby cafe Juna and then after relaxing in our room, we went to swim in the pool. There were only 4 of us in there and most of the time was just CBC and I. We tried the sauna but it was boiling!

After showers, we went to dinner in the hotel. Huge portions. The young staff were really nice there.

Back in the room, we read and had a game of Qwirkle Cubes (SOB, my proper travel version of Qwirkle is stuck in Northumberland STILL!).

The next morning, we enjoyed a very pleasant breakfast down in the beautiful restaurant and then drove to Bosham for a walk around the water and church.  The tide was in.

Later, after tea and cake, we drove to Chichester for an explore of the Cathedral gardens and a look about town.

Back at the hotel, we read and I went for another swim.  There was only myself in the pool most of the time!

For dinner, we headed to Ferring where we visited Andalucia, a family run Tapas of 39 years which was wonderful!

The next morning, after packing up, we drove to Petworth to see our music camp friends Ellie and Nick. 

Ellie, C and I drove to walk around a Neolithic circle and got extremely wet!  We had lunch at Ellie's and then C and I drove to Guildford where we got the train to London to meet CBC's French/Phillipino cousins for a lovely catch up. We went to a beautiful Art-deco restaurant, Zejel for dinner which had a live Jazz Band.  Back to Guildford to pick up the car back home.

The next morning, after some washing and tidying we mostly spent the day avoiding/doing some work and the same on Sunday, except I went to church late so I went to the sister church for the 11am service and walked the 2miles home which was pleasant.

It was a lovely half term.

The return to school has been exhausting but OK! I have been filling in a Grant application for some equipment for school till now so I am very tired! Tomorrow, Lara is coming to tune the pianos at school and then in the afternoon, she and I are going to give mini recitals to the whole school. We'll then have a natter in the car on the way home!

Madeira - Day 1-2

 On Saturday the 5th April, CBC and I set out for a mile trudge to our local station where we caught a train so we could then connect with the X30 bus to get to Stansted Airport to travel to Madeira. We travelled with Jet2 flights who were really good.  As I had made several bookings with Booking.com over the last 2 years, we qualified for a free private taxi to our hotel in Canico (which is good as public transport to there is a right pain, 1hour 40mins,  despite being only 7mins drive away) and arrived at our hotel, Sentido Galusol around 6.40pm. As we'd only booked 2 weeks before, there were limited choices left. 

We must have been upgraded as our hotel room seemed like a suite. It was enormous. Here was the main room. Behind me was more space with double wardrobes and then a separate entrance space with double wardrobes and console table, then a lounge with sofa, TV and coffee table as big as the bedroom, then a vast bathroom with double sinks, double shower and then a large balcony with sun loungers, table and 2 chairs with a view of the sea. 

As it was fairly late, we booked into our hotel's buffet dinner which was great. Lots of choices and tasty. I was tempted to go and use the hotel pool but decided that maybe half an hour to change, get in, get showered and dressed for dinner wasn't enough. It was a decision I'd regret... 

The next morning, we headed down for our breakfast buffet. Great choices again. Fresh fruit, breads, pastries, cooked choices, juices, cold meats and cheeses, salad, omelettes cooked to order etc. 

We decided to book a hire car as we would need it to access a lot of the walks we wanted to do. We arranged for one for Monday to Friday. As the day was Sunday, we decided we would get the bus to Funchal to explore there. The bus timetable was slightly ambiguous but suggested at least an hour wait so we decided to walk up the hill to Canico to explore. It was very hilly as all of Madeira is! 

We saw a vegetable market and people coming out of Church and then as he headed onwards, we saw a bus (more like a coach) the 2 headed to Funchal. It cost 5,50 euros for the pair of us, cash only. 

It was really quick. We arrived in Funchal and wandered around. There was some sort of Book fair on which we wandered around after a trip to the Tourist Office to pick up some walk guides and a map. 

After that, we bought an ice cream and wandered in this central park. It had beautiful plants and flowers and was teeming with tiny lizards on the warm rocks 

We decided to go and ride up the cable car to go and visit the Botanical Gardens. There was a brilliant Bohemian street where all the doors were uniquely painted

The Cable car was undeniably touristy with photos being taken of each gondola and its inhabitants but it serves a brilliant purpose of helping you to travel up high very quickly. Funchal is super steep so the walk would be simply hours. It was great to look out over houses, gardens, crevasses and all sorts. There are wild Nasturtiums growing absolutely everywhere! 

Arriving at the top, we paid to get into the Botanical gardens and were given a map. There was an art exhibition to see. 

We heard the distinct "Eeeowww!" of peacocks and soon came upon this fellow. 

The paths meandered up and down and we enjoyed all the greenery as well as flowers. 

There were several ornamental ponds. 

The gardens were divided into various zones.  We didn't explore the whole thing!

The scale of the place was amazing.

When we reached this pond, you could walk under the tunnels and walk around under the waterfalls- we got a little bit wet!

I've never seen Flamingos in real life before! It was astonishing how pink they are!

As well as this butterfly, I also saw a Swallowtail but didn't manage to photograph it!

After this, we stopped in a restaurant where CBC had a salad and beer and I had a cup of tea.   We took the cable car back down and decided we'd like to walk through Funchal to reach the seawater lido area where you can get nearer the water. We probably walked about 6 miles or so and then got a bus back

As we were walking, we'd spied a restaurant that said they served the traditional espetada skewers.  This was the food that we were most looking forward to as we used to have a wonderful Madeiran Skewer house in our local town which is much missed since it closed.  On our way back, we decided to go here for dinner.

We ordered a Bolo do Caco, the traditional yeasted flatbread made with sweet potato which was infused with garlic for Starter and then I ordered a Prawn Skewer and CBC ordered the Salmon skewer plus sides of buttery rice and garlicky fries and roasted veg.

When we had finished, we jumped on the bus back to the main area in Funchal.   Google did not have any up to date times when searching for bus times back to Canico and all the bus stops were very, very confusing.  We waited at one busstop and eventually a bus came which had been mentioned on Google. It didn't go near our hotel but went within a mile's walk so we got on. Curiously, all the bus drivers we met in Madeira sounded really British!

We got back to the hotel and had showers and went to bed ready for day 3, where we'd meet our hire car and then have some more adventures.

xx

Beernem and Bruges mini break Day 2: A day in Ghent

NO TARDIS Tuesday today as I wimped out of what I was going to wear in favour of slouchy jumper and cords.

We woke up on our second morning in Ghent. I am pleased to say I slept really well.

We ate another of Veronique's delicious breakfasts and then got ready to leave.  CBC drove me to Ghent and dropped me off on some random road just off the main road.  I had no idea where I was but at least I had a phone!  He continued onto his destination of Oudenhaarde where he was going to cycle from.

I had no particular idea what I was heading towards so, for want of a place to head for, I decided to search for Ghent's branch of Think Twice, vintage shop beloved of Ann!  To my delight, I discovered they had three stores.

I located one and walked towards it, getting a bit confused.  I have a terrible sense of direction and often struggle with this!

I popped into an Oxfam (household) store I saw on the way and picked up a small pack of fairtrade organic teabags plus a Shampoo bar as the tea in our room was only Lemon and Ginger and I really wanted some English Breakfast tea.

After this, I headed for my first T2 store on Nederkouter.

I forgot to mention that I had visited the T2 in Bruges the previous day and not found anything I liked.  I was really happy to realise that T2 were having the start of their sale days.  These always seem to fall when I am in Belgium.  Today was 30% off day, the first day of the sale.   

I have only ever been in there on the final days of the sale or the first day of a new collection so it was interesting to see the selection.  I was excited to see a whole rack of sheepskin and fluffy coats- I have been longing for a longer length real sheepskin coat for quite a while. I immediately found this brown one with a mongolian sheepskin collar and a shearling lining and picked it up as well as a black suede jacket  with a furry collar but no lining.

As I perused the store, I found one or two other items to try on.  There was a good selection.

The black coat was too big but the brown one fit perfectly. It was 75 euros so with 30% discount it was £52.50.  I walked round the store holding it but I wasn't 100% sure whether I should spend that much money on it.  I ended up picking up this black long length embroidered waistcoat that was 4,50 Euros with the discount.

After this, I headed to the next store on Brabrantdam.  This was quite a nice walk to take as I crossed various rivers and it was really pleasant to view the river from various quarters.

In this store, I tried a few items on including this checked dress, various black velvet jackets and a green cardigan but did not find anything I wanted to buy or that worked.

Next, I headed to the final store Ajunilei. This store was really big and had two floors.  I found a few things to try on in here including a really soft brown hooded coat and a black velvet jacket (I had identified this as an item I wanted for winter concerts to wear over a black dress or top and trousers/skirt.  I ummed and ahed over the items and decided to buy the black velvet jacket but was debating whether I really needed a black velvet skirt- in some ways, I wanted one that was longer although this one fit perfectly. The jacket was 12 Euros before discount as was the skirt.  I decided to leave the skirt.

At this point, I decided I should really get some lunch and plumped for Asian food. After only 1 whole day in Bruges, I was already in need of some spicy flavours!  I ended up on the same street as the original T2 and went to Miss Ramen, having their special Ramen just before closing time. It was delicious and the perfect size! Some Ramens are too big but this was just right with lots of bits and pieces in it.

Since I was close to that T2, I went to have another look at the brown jacket.  I looked at the labels and saw it was made of 100% pig skin leather but it seemed to suggest that the lining was synthetic.  Much as I liked it, this made my decision easier- I decided I didn't want to compromise on the lining and wanted a real shearling lining.  I was to regret that decision later.  Both Ann and Inez (Ann's friend who I follow on Insta) both said they would have bought it and I did keep thinking about it AND the black velvet skirt!

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At this point, I decided to walk over to the Old historic part of Ghent.  I followed my phone map and ended having an interesting walk to reach it, passing over the rivers again.

I decided to head for the covered market as I wasn't sure what I was heading for otherwise.

Just before I got there, I came past the imposing St Nicholas church on Korenmarkt (hmmm, does this mean covered market?). This church, constructed from Bluestone from Tournai, is considered one of the best examples of the  Scheldt Gothic style. It was established in the 13th century and would have been worshipped at my artisans and merchants.  It has a notable feature in the form of a Lantern tower which is located where the nave and the transepts cross, rather than at the entrance.  Inside you can see a variety of artworks from the numerous art guilds that had their own chapels/altars there.  

The main altar has a painting by Nicolas De Liemaecker. He was a painter from the 17th century who received positive acclaim from Rubens and tells the story of Nicholas, Bishop of Myra.

The organ has been recently restored.

Stained glass windows are by Capronnier and Herman Blondeel- a mix of older and more modern.

It was a welcome  calm space.

You may just see the rainbow colours of the modern stained glass and below, the aforementioned painting.

Some of the more historc stained glass.

I was interested to look at the organ.  It dates from 1856 and it is a Romantic era organ which was constructed by Aristide Cavaille-Coll.  The organ itself has been recently restored, as has the nave, and one can see the organ on its loft again to the western portal.

I decided to sit for a while in the church. For rest and a pray. 

At this moment, I noticed a man in the chancel area near the altar.  Was the verger?

In an extremely haphazard way, I saw him wielding this rather long pole with a dangling part which he was, rather unsuccessfully, attempting to light these extremely high candles.  The flames started licking down the fabric/string/whatever was hanging down and he had to bring it back to him and urgently blow it out and relight it several times before he was able to successfully light them. Surely, there is a better way to light these monumental candles?

I then watched with befuddlement as he then appear to clamber up onto the altar to light those candles.  Somehow, I did wonder if he was just a random person giving it a go!

At this point, I saw another man, the organist, climbing the spiral staircase to the organ loft and begin practising.  He pedestrianly plodded his way through some sort of fast Processional (which he needed to practice, definitely!)

At this point, I reluctantly, after several minutes of listening to the organ, decided to continue onwards.

I took a brief look in the Campanile tower but decided not to climb it as my bags were feeling rather unwieldy and heavy.

I decided to go into St Bavo's Cathedral.  At the door was a lady with a bowl so I gave her some change and went in.

Another beautiful place, it's the oldest parish church in Ghent.  Originally, it was a 10th century church as well as a 12th century Romanesque church. However, later on, during the middle ages, because Ghent was so powerful, it had the wealth to build much more opulent and vaster churches. o  The church was converted, in the 15th-16th century into a cathedral. The Romanesque structure was replaced with a Gothich church of greater proportions.

There are lots of  beautiful examples of art.

A Baroque high altar caarved from white, black and red flamed marble.

A Rococo pulpit and a Rubens as well as The Adoration of the  Mystic Lamb by the Van Eyck brothers.

I loved this particular stained glass window.

As I left, the golden hour was lighting the buildings  gloriously.

I decided I would like to have a hot chocolate or a cup of tea. I was waiting for CBC's call to say he was ready to meet me but wasn't sure how long he would be.

After a wander, trying to find somewhere quiet for a cup of tea, I ended up in a Wasbar. This is a restaurant which is also a laundry- they have washing machines perhaps so students can wait for their washing whilst enjoying a drink?!

I opted for a tea and found the lovely, nearly empty second floor table to sit and read my rather large and heavy book, The Shadow of the Wind. I had carried it around all day so I really wanted to make sure I read some!

After I'd been there for a while, CBC called to say he was finished and back to the car and perhaps would be with me within half an hour. To avoid him falling foul of the LEZ zone, I decided try and make my way back to where he had dropped me off.  Trouble was, with my ineffable sense of direction, I had NO idea where that was!

I set off, trying to plot a trail.  At one point, I seemed to pass a music college as I could hear a whole load of clarinets playing together and then 2 more clarinets playing something completely different from a nearby space/room.

CBC and I spent a tedious 25 minutes trying to find each other as 'Live Location' was not playing ball on maps so we couldn't pin each other.

Finally, we found each other and drove back to Het Soatewater.

I was very excited as we were to have a Tapas platter prepared by Veronique.

I could not believe the size of it.

Breads, crackers, cheeses, meats, fruits, nuts, jams and chutneys were in abundance:

CBC was exhausted by his epic cycle so only ate a bit before he conked out asleep on the bed. 

I managed to get him to have a shower later. It was a quiet evening.

xx

 

Beernem and Bruge mini break- Day 1

After the funeral refreshments, we suddenly realised it was quite late and we had to get to Dover to get our DFDS ferry to Calais.  It was a bit of a close thing but we managed to get there with 50minutes to spare before the ferry departed at 19.35.  You're supposed to be there 60mins before your departure time but we were around 45-50minutes!

It was pleasant getting a ferry and we found a big sofa and sat with a cup of tea and arrived in Calais around 21.55!  We then had a very easy drive from Calais to Beernem in Belgium although we had to stop for Petrol- it was pretty much a straight drive along the E40 motorway!  We were feeling very guilty about our host, Veronique at  Het Soetewater having to stay up for us.  We finally arrived around 23.25!  She showed us to our room (with much grovelling from me!) which was gorgeous! It is called the Caramel room. You may recognise the name of this B&B as it is where my lovely blog friend Ann (Polyester Princess) stays when she travels to Bruges!  We'd spent ages looking at accommodation (last minute!) in Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp and were finding it very expensive and not as lovely as you'd expect for the cost and then I SUDDENLY thought of this place, searched Ann's blog and discovered to my delight, that they had availability for 3 nights.  We got a package deal which included breakfast, a picnic for two, bike hire and 3nights which seemed great as everything else we looked at was more expensive with accommodation only.

We went to sleep. Annoyingly, I didn't sleep amazingly, such is the curse of me and new/strange beds! It had nothing to do with the sumptuous room.

Photo from Het Soatewater website.

The next morning, we got up around 8.55am and were ready for breakfast quite late.

We entered into Veronique's lovely breakfast room and were greeted by her and the guests who were in the Nougat room.

On our table was a 3-tiered stand a bit like the one below.  One layer had cheeses on, another with cured meats and the other with smoked salmon.   Both were  garnished with cucumber, tomatoes, spring onions, grapes and radishes.  There was a basket full of delicious rolls, breads and croissants.  Veronique came in and poured us a glass of homemade/homegrown rhubarb and apple juice and  to take our hot drink order plus orders for eggs.  We ordered scrambled egg style, plain without any meat or cheese.

The food was delicious and in addition, there were homemade jams and on the table, granolas, cakes and pastries.  It was all very welcome and the atmosphere was calm and peaceful.

Veronque came to talk to us about our package and when we would like our picnic and also the Tapas platter we had ordered.  We decided to get the picnic that day and we asked if we could borrow the bikes as we wanted to cycle to Bruges. 

After we had packed our bags, we went to get the bikes and took the very easy route to the canal/river to cycle the 12km to Bruges.

It was quite overcast but dry and the cycle was very pleasant and gentle.

We arrived in Bruges and found ourselves a place to park the bikes.  We went for a wander around and stopped for a Brownie (C) and Hot chocolate in a quiet cafe on a side street.  I LOVE going for Hot Chocolate in Bruges as you always get a bowl of the chocolate drops to stir into your hot milk as well as a chocolate on the side and sometimes a biscuit too. I saved half of my chocolate drops for a later snack.

After a scoot around, we decided to cycle along to see all the Windmills around the edge of the city which we enjoy doing and stopped for our picnic by one of them.  We took photos for several people of themselves in front of a Windmill.

After this,  as we had started quite late, we decided to head back to Beernem before it got dark

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CBC recorded this video of us (me) cycling.  Not sure how he can cycle AND film at the same time.

Back at the place, we relaxed and read and snoozed and then we headed out to find somewhere for dinner.  It involved a bit of a random drive around.

Sadly, I didn't recall the place we ate but the chef/waiter was very friendly and helpful.  C had fish stew and I had a pork cheek stew.

We were very happy to return back to our comfortable room to rest.

The plan for the next day was for CBC to cycle from a village near Ghent and I would spend the day exploring Ghent.

xx

HERE

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