Recap of 2015 in photos

Ive been looking back at 2015, all the things I was lucky enough to see, do, experience. And when I see all these photos, it is really easy to see what a wonderful year it has been. Then again, its highly unlikely that a year, which starts out with furry purrers, to turn out badly right? ;)

*Warning: This is going to be a long post!! Grab a coffee or popcorn!

January started with my first visit to Lady Dinah's Cat cafe where I fell in love with the teddy bear of a cat called Petra followed by a massive bloggers afternoon tea at the Browns Hotel.

February was a quieter month with a quick escape to Cambridge, one of my favourite day trips from London.

March took me to Spain to see Valencia's Las Fallas festival. I was stunned and amazed by the often towering paper mache sculptures and the level of detail and care put into them. It was wonderful to see all the festivities accompanying the sculptures such as the Falleras parading down the streets, the music, street food stalls, street lights, daytime fireworks, Flower Offering, all culminating in the Crema - the burning of the sculptures.

In April I discovered a time portal in London, checked out the awesome stage adaptation of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime', made another trip to the cat cafe and sampled delightful macrons while discovering London's beautiful Mews.

May was a bit of a busy month. It threw me down Alice in Wonderlands rabbit hole where I became part of the Red Queens guard with the lovely Emma. I also managed to squeeze in a trip to Amman, Jordan and a jaunt to Margate and the mysterious shell cottage. Such a busy month demanded coffee and both a brunch at Beany Green and the London Coffee festival were happy to provide the requisite caffeine. I also voted in a UK election for the first time!

June was time for more theatre; A night at Shakespeare's Globe to see a Comedy of Errors, and the immersive kind, thanks to Punchdrunk's collaboration with The Maritime Museum.

July saw my dressing up in blue for my friends wedding in  Dole, France. It was brilliant to be part of such a special occasion and I fell in love with rural France. Back in London, I found my way to a cute little park with a memorial for everyday heroes and joined a tour of hidden treats in Piccadilly.

August was like May, but hopped up on caffeine. There was an abundance of good food, from finger licking slow cooked ribs to the zing of a Peruvian brunch, even Sushi Samba saw a repeat visit. I dodged Enigma Escapes Killer thanks to some quick thinking from my team and did a taster session at the Heartbreak Hotel. Bloggers were out in force too, with two trips to amazing sites, Eltham Place and the original home of Downton Abbey - Highclere Castle.

Crab Churros - Pachamama

 

Sushi Samba

Eltham Palace

Highclere Castle

The same day as Highclere Castle saw me make a mad dash back to London and the airport to fly to Dublin. I spent that long weekend checking out Ireland's Cliffs of Moher, Galway, driving along the Wild Atlantic way, traipsing back to the UKs Northern Ireland for a Black Cab tour of a troubled Belfast, walking in a giants footsteps at the Giant's Causeway and crossing a rope bridge to the site of the Iron Islands from Game of Thrones. Ireland's natural beauty is breathtaking, I'd love to hire a car and drive around at my own pace one day. And Dublin, what a fun city, live music, friendly people, and of course the bookworm paradise of Trinity College library, I'm still mega bummed that it was so touristy that they shuffled you around the ground floor and you couldn't reach the books or the upper level :( boooo!

Cliffs of Moher

Dublin - Temple Bar

Dublin - Trinity Collage Library

Diner en blanc launched for the first time in London in September. Thanks to the lovely Emma, I joined 1200 other guests in a sea of white for the most elegant picnic I've ever been to! Absolutely stunning. Later on I tried another cool cafe with decent coffee in Shoreditch and discovered London's second kitty cafe! September brings with it London Open House weekend and I was lucky enough to get a freebie ticket to see INSIDE the St Pancras Apartments - the clock tower one to be exact! I also managed to finally book myself in to the backstage tour run by the Theatre Royal and then walk across to see 'Heartbeat' by Charles Pétillon consisting of 100,000 white balloons floating above Covent Garden. The totally sweet Mandy invited me to join her at a private viewing of the Science Museums 'Cosmonauts' which was brilliant, really fascinating and I have been so remiss in not blogging about it yet, especially as we were given the privilege of taking photos inside! Lastly, for a change of pace, I did a bit of bird and otter spotting at London's Wetland Centre - it was so odd to see such a place in the middle of London!

Diner en Blanc in London

October involved brunching and exploring Exmouth Market, trying 101 Thai kitchen (the most authentic Thai restaurant I have come across so far in London) and my first work trip to Wroclaw, Poland where I got to see a real Lamplighter! Some very organised bloggers arranged a charming country outing filled with Autumn colours, fallen leaves, noisy ducks, a silk mill and idyllic countrysides vistas. I also finally got to see Austentatious, a brilliant improv theatre company, one that had me laughing weeks later.

I chose to escape to Seville in November for a few days to celebrate my birthday. It was great to walk around in warm 25 degree weather with crystal clear blue skies, dine al fresco and buy delicious biscuits from cloistered nuns. A lovely new brunch spot (Restaurant 34) was on the menu along with a repeat visit to 101 Thai Kitchen for a birthday dinner. Oh and Stomp, a West End percussion production high on buzzing energy - it really is amazing what you can do with the smallest items to make music.

December brought a whirlwind trip to Beirut, a beautiful lunch at Clos Maggiore, work xmas parties and all the festive decorations and atmosphere in London. It also was my first Chambers of Flavour experience, another one I have been remiss in blogging about. And lets not forget my trip home for the holidays :)

Quite the year! Part of me hopes 2016 will be bigger and better. Part of me wants to nap the whole way through to recuperate from 2015! Either way, it'll be another year in London and I'm sure, no matter what, I'll love it.