Raising our IQ in Cambridge

It's not often in the UK that we are blessed with temperatures in the high 20's.  At the end of May we were blessed with a whole weekend of, dare I say, perfect weather.  Eager not to waste what we knew would be fleeting sunshine, we headed to Cambridge (a mere 45 minutes away from London - how had we not visited earlier?!).

Cambridge is so charming.  We loved it's college vibe and it's quaint streets.

We couldn't resist a 'punt' down the river and instead of trying to do it ourselves we joined a boat with a guide who told us really interesting things about each of the colleges (like where Emma Thompson, Colin Firth and Prince Charles went to university).  We did enjoy watching complete novices loose their poles, run into the river beds and even fall into the river.

Randomly, we ran into two different sets of friends both visiting St John's Chapel (said to be the biggest chapel in the world). 

A lot of the colleges were closed for exams but with a teeny bit of confidence we strolled on through, pretending we were students.  Lucky we did because we got to sit along the river banks and strolled around the manicured grounds usually closed to the public.  I could not imagine what it would be like studying at Cambridge in some of the oldest, most beautiful buildings.  Sometimes, it had a very Harry Potter-esque feel to it with students walking around in robes (rumour has it that you must turn up to an exam in such attire).

We had a really lovely (long) day, eating ice cream, sitting in the sun having a drink with friends.  I hate to say it but I even got burnt and had a little bit of sun stroke - a very embarrassing fact for someone from Brisbane.

xoxo
E&S

Tennis Court Road - Best street name ever!

Bridge of Sighs - it's name comes from the fact that students have to walk over the bridge to get to their exam and sigh in the process (both going to the exam, and coming back)

Peak hour on the River Cam

Chelsea Flower Show

I adore flowers. Well actually, I love them beyond belief.  So this year I could not resist a visit to the popular Chelsea Flower Show.

Thousands of flowers all in one room - how could I not go.

The displays were stunning.  It is certainly one thing that the UK does right.  The flowers here are so colourful and vibrant.

Apart from being one of the hottest days we will probably have this year, Shane and I enjoyed a lovely afternoon strolling amongst the Grand Pavillion and the garden displays.

Check out my favourite flowers at the show below.

E&S
xoxox

Stockholm: so stylish it hurts

Whilst the hoards flocked to London to celebrate Her Maj's Diamond Jubilee, we headed to Stockholm for a Scandic Adventure.

What an absolutely fabulous place!  Not even the horrific weather the first day (3 degrees, gail force winds and rain in Summer) dampened our time.  Stockholm city is made up of 14 islands and part of an archipelago with some 20,000 other islands.  We loved strolling through Gamla Stan - the old town - weaving our way through tiny little lanes with terracotta buildings, hiding in cute little shops from the rain.

We went for a few coffees in uber cool Sodermalm and noticed how utterly stylish the Swedes were.  We also noticed a high number of 'pram pushing daddys' chilling out together.

Since it was raining on and off, we ducked into a few museums - The Noble Prize Museum and the Vasa Museum containing an entire salvaged ship from the 1600's which was utterly fascinating.

One of the days we caught a ferry over to the island of Djurgarden were we walked to Rosendals - a dreamy nursery with a cafe selling fresh food made from their own farms.  You can sit in the fields of lilac or in the glasshouses overflowing with flowers.

I had been dreaming about visiting a shop an English friend had told me about - Odd Molly - and was delighted to stumble across it in the poshest part of town.  The interior design shops absolutely killed me with their perfection - I adore Scandinavian design.

On our last day, we took a ferry to one of the islands further out in the archipelago called Vaxholm.  We absolutely adored this place.  So charming with perfect little red wooden cottages and miles and miles and miles of purple lilacs.  We stumbled across a house with a cafe and garden selling waffles and pancakes with fresh berries - my idea of perfection.

Stockholm reminded us a little bit of Brisbane - much smaller and more laid back.  It was ultra clean and the people were overly friendly.

I don't know if it's possible for a place to be both charming and uber stylish but Stockholm certainly carries the flag high.  We loved it and would highly recommend a visit.

xoxo
E&S

 Gamla Stan

 Stockholm city central

 Vasa

Rosendals

Beautiful Vaxholm 

Lilacs, lilacs and more lilacs

Chilling on the ferry

Guinness, Druids and 50 shades of green

I don't know where to begin with our recent trip to Ireland.  Words cannot explain how captivated we are with that tiny green emerald isle.

This was the pinnacle for S...a chance to go back to his Irish Mahoney roots (which we found were a clan that ruled the South West of County Cork).

We spent five days driving around the south and west of Ireland with our good friends Mark and Bridge and what we found was one of the most unique, beautiful and welcoming countries we have ever travelled to.

Because I could go on for days and days about everything we did and saw, I thought I would highlight a  few of our highlights:

• the stunning Cliffs of Moher that could bring a tear to your eye
• walking through acres of fields without seeing another human sole along the way
• the enchanting Burren with its limestone rocks that stretch as far as the eye can see
• the Galway Bay coastline
• the Ring of Kerry near the Kilarney Lakes and more specifically Ladies Lookout
• generally, the dramatic landscape with its fifty shades of green
• good old fashioned Irish hospitality at the pubs and b&b's (particularly that of Mary at the Atlantic View B&B on the Cliffs of Moher who even drove us to her husband's field in order to shortcut and avoid paying entrance fees at the Cliffs).  They Irish love to have a chat.
• seafood chowder in Dungarvan
• soda bread
• the brightly painted fishing town of Kinsale 
• kissing the blarney stone at Blarney Castle
• staying on a farm with baby lambies, goats, bunnies, horses, donkeys, deer, geese and chickens
• how can we forget.....real Guinness.

We covered a lot of ground from Kilkenny to Waterford to Cork to the Ring of Kerry and Kinsale, Kilarney, Waterville and Ennis, Liscanoor and the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, Galway Bay, Galway and Dublin.

It was a calming place - so fresh and lush.  A welcomed break from the bustle of London.  Its scenery was dramatic and mysterious - the type where you could imagine leprechauns and fairies to belong.  One thing that stands out in my mind is the abandoned/neglected stone cottages, monastery's and castle dotting the skyline and untouched by humans for what seems to be hundreds of years.  Moss covering their walls and trees growing inside, they probably haven't been used since Cromwell and his English forces ransacked the country centuries ago.

Before we leave you, I wanted to share just one of the towns with a very funny name.  Would you beleive there is a place called the Ringaskiddy (hehe).  As the Irish would say...best of luck to you (especially if you find yourself in Ringaskiddy).  Enjoy the photos below.

E&S
xoxo

 Blarney Castle

 The view from the top of Blarney Castle

 Somewhere down south on the Ring of Kerry

 A bah-bah on the wrong side of the fence

 Looking over the Lakes of Kilarney on the Ring of Kerry

Hey there Mr Poser - handsome little goat that liked the taste of Bridget's coat

Greetings from the cows while trudging through the fields

                                                              The mystical Cliffs of Moher

Bubba moo-moo

Cottage in Liscannor on the Cliffs of Moher

The wild wild Burren

In the Burren - Galway Bay Coast

Limestones of the Burren

Galway

Galway town

 Fresh Guinness