A Winter Escape to the Beach :: Camber Sands

Seeking a last minute escape and a way of using some free train tickets, we sought out a beach escape on the South Coast. We had no real idea of where we wanted to go, simply that it should be walking distance to the beach and accept a dog - obviously!

As of Boxing Day we had not found anything, but at about 6pm we found 'The Warrens' - a lovely little beach themed house in the village of Camber, near Rye. We phoned the owners, who were thoroughly enjoying their Boxing Day meal - and explained we were looking for a last minute getaway. They were happy to let us have the whole four bedroom house for a very good deal starting the next morning. As you can see - it was a lovely little hideaway.

Camber Sands is a 2.5 mile long and half a mile wide (at low tide) sandy beach with a long stretch of dunes as well. It is quite a busy place in the summer, but the last week of December is pretty empty - mostly populated by just dog walkers and windsurfers.

The solitude was exactly what we wanted in order to have some good quality beach time with Guinness. Besides the extreme wind, which caused some serious ear flapping, he was extremely excited to run, swim and chase his toys on the beach.

He particularly enjoyed playing in the dunes - see video at the end of this post for some live action!

Even though we were only down in Camber for two days it was very peaceful and a lovely way to get away from it all.

Here are a few videos of our excursions on the beach and in the dunes, enjoy!

For more videos of Guinness check out our shared folder on dropbox - drop us an email if you didn't get the link

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

In 2003 we lived in a beautiful flat in Chicago that had a perfect little corner for a lovely Christmas tree.

In 2004 we moved to the UK and made the executive decision to leave all of our Christmas decorations at home as we just wouldn't have the storage space (albeit it was only two small boxes worth). We rightly guessed that we may be missing more than just storage space...

2004 came and went and our little flat in Chiswick didn't have a perfect little corner for a lovely Christmas tree.

2005 and 2006 came and went and our little cottage in Waterbeach didn't have a perfect little corner for a lovely Christmas tree, or any space for much at all for that matter...

2007, 2008 and 2009 came and went and our little cottage on Blacksmiths Lane didn't have a perfect little corner for a lovely Christmas tree, at least not one where a wagging tail wouldn't knock off all of the ornaments or perhaps even the tree itself.

(are you sensing a theme here yet?)

2010 came and went and our little cottage on Albert Street didn't seem to have a perfect little corner for a lovely Christmas tree.

2011 came.... and alas, we found a lovely little corner (or spot in the middle of the room) after all for a lovely little Christmas tree!

So after eight years of waiting for the opportunity to once again have a little tree with twinkly lights and dangling ornaments, we finally have one! It's a gorgeous little narrow 'European' tree with just enough density and scent to give the room a festive cheer.

Wishing you all the best in this festive time of year!

A City of Spires, Stars and Raspberries :: Krakow

Taking advantage of Cora having a work conference there, we fulfilled a long time wish to visit Krakow in September. Krakow is a very compact city that you can easily explore by foot. The weather was glorious, so as we discovered different parts of the city we also took advantage of the many outdoor cafes in the Polish sunshine.

Krakow’s historic centre is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Main Market Square, the castle on Wawel Hill and old Jewish district of Kazimierz are filled with little lanes and random, alluring sites. We settled into our little bed and breakfast near the centre, and were politely greeted in Polish. This ended up being a regular occurrence, as many saw our Polish/Ukrainian surname and assumed we were Polish.

Having had a really busy few weeks leading up to this short visit, we didn’t venture far off the beaten path and stuck to many of the main sites. We discovered the castle and its surroundings, some of the old synagogues and Jewish Cemetery and generally enjoyed the sights, sounds and food of Krakow.

We had a great time the first night with some of Cora’s colleagues from the conference as we found ourselves in a random little bar with Singer sewing machines dotted all over the place and deep red toned antique decorations. The place was packed but people were still dancing to the most eclectic mix of music we had ever heard. They played reggae and Spanish, pop and rock and some quite upbeat Gypsy music. At one point it even sounded like they were playing Fiddler on the Roof! It was close to 4am before we wandered home having had a great night out!

On one day we wandered across the river to the old industrial district and found the old Schindler Factory, which now houses a fabulous museum to Krakow during World War II. It features elements of Oscar Schindler’s story and how he saved close to 1,200 Jews by employing and shielding them from the concentration camps. But it also showed what everyday life was like and how the Poles, of all religions, coped with, and fought against the Nazi and then Soviet occupations. It was a wonderfully well put together museum that tried to show you through all your senses what life was like during that time, and we definitely recommend it to any future visitors.

If the weekend had a theme, it was probably best summed up by raspberries. Malina is the derivative for raspberries and there are lots of different foods, drinks and even a restaurant using malina in some way or the other. So we had delicious raspberry beer, raspberry biscuits and a raspberry honey sauce on the meat platter we shared at the Miod Malina restaurant. It was a really nice way to connect to an ancestral land and made us feel a little bit special each time we saw it on a label or menu.

A Trip to the Big Blue :: Lake Tahoe

After the fun, frivolity and excitement of Austin and Kay’s wedding in July, we hired a car and drove three hours east to Lake Tahoe. Both of us were craving mountains and some time surrounded by nature, and Tahoe came through in spades.

We found ourselves a quaint little studio flat over a couple’s garage and almost immediately headed down to their private dock to take in the full view of the lake. Being situated on the North Coast, we had spectacular views straight down the lake towards the Nevada-California state line. We were lucky enough to see snow capped peaks, as the Sierra Nevadas had encountered a very heavy winter, one that afforded the ski resorts to stay open until July 4th!

The scope of Lake Tahoe is quite incredible. About 22 miles long by 12 miles wide at its maximum points, it has a surface elevation of 6,225 feet making it the largest alpine lake in North America. It has an average depth of 1,000 feet, but the water is so clear and clean that you can routinely see to depths of 80 to 100 feet! Lake Tahoe holds enough water that if it were emptied out, it would cover the entire state of California to a depth of five feet. In short, Lake Tahoe is a big, deep, gorgeous clean body of water.

We spent the two full days we had driving from beauty spot to beauty spot listening to a CD that our hosts left for us by a local singer/songwriter/ski bum – Tahoe’s equivalent to Jimmy Buffet. The CD was a mixture of songs about Tahoe and spoken history, including stories of the white man’s discovery in 1844, the meaning of Washo (the original Native American name), and other local legends, myths, and tales of Lake Tahoe.

We took a couple of nice, short hikes into the peaks, including a lovely picnic lunch on a smaller lake that drains into Tahoe, as well as a sharp climb up to a great view over the entire lake – complete with our own little furry chipmunk friend. The highlight for both of us, besides maybe relaxing each evening in the hot tub overlooking the lake and rising full moon, was our kayaking trip.

After renting kayaks, we spent four hours paddling between the massive boulders and small coves on the Nevada side of the lake. Kayaking was definitely a great way to feel in tune with the lake and truly get a sense of the depth and clarity of the water. It was amazingly tranquil and was exactly what we were looking for. If we had had longer we definitely would have done it again on a different part of the lake.

We were hoping to see a bit more wildlife, but we settled with seeing a very friendly yellow lab (go figure), a curious chipmunk, a regal eagle (seen at a distance) and a ‘whale’ who you may find featuring in the slideshow below!

Experiencing Lake Tahoe was a great little getaway and we only wish we had had more time to enjoy the fantastic natural beauty of this beautiful blue giant!

Two Paths Diverge...

On the long Easter weekend we went for our first cycle ride of the year. Nothing serious, just a little jaunt with a picnic to enjoy the glorious weather. After our picnic we decided to take a random path instead of going back along the roads.

The path led through the woods to the entrance of Heartwood Forest, a mixture of existing ancient woodland and freshly planted baby trees. We cycled through the lovely wooded areas and were treated to absolute carpets of bluebells.

We didn’t have our cameras with us, so we decided to head back there the next day. So, on foot, with Guinness, we once again packed a picnic lunch and walked a 12 mile return trip up to the woods and back.

It is always nice to know that even after 4+ years of living here we can find new experiences on our doorstep. All it took was taking the path less travelled.

Recipe :: Somalian Curry

Another delicious recipe to share, from the Seven Continents Recipes Book compiled by Carol Fisher

Ingredients:

3 T oil
1/2 cup onion
3 T flour
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ginger1/4 tsp red pepper
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinammon2 tsp curry powder
Lemon, grated rind and juice
2 cups beef stock
2 cups ground beef

Instructions:

Brown onions in hot oil. Mix all dry spices and add to onions. Cook for three minutes over low heat to remove raw taste of spices, stirring constantly. Add rind and juice plus 2 cups stock. Simmer until thickens slightly. Add cooked meat. Serve with rice and garnish with fresh parsley.

Enjoy!