Pictures: Aix and Monaco September 2023 Thursday 31st August - Tuesday 5th September 2023 Five nights away in the South of France and Monaco, resuming our old annual tradition of visiting the Cote d’Azur just before Erika’s birthday.
Quantock Hills Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th August 2023 A one night stay in the beautiful Quantock Hills. Suffolk August 2023 Wednesday 16th - Friday 18th August 2023 A short midweek trip to Suffolk on a bit of a whim. Taking in Ufford, Orford, Bury St Edmunds and Grantchester on the way back. Tried our hand at “glamping” one night, and stayed the other night in a golf resort, oddly enough. London August 2023 August 2023 Pictures from London in August 2023. Devon July 2023 Friday 28th - Monday 31st July 2023 A long weekend in Devon to visit Dad and attend Bec and Dave’s wedding.
[Monday 4th September 2023]
I woke ridiculously early and went down to the hotel beach to watch the sunrise. When I got back the girls were still fast asleep so I went out again, for a morning stroll around Monaco, to see if I could find a spot with a nice view of the principality.
Then breakfast at the hotel, after which I dragged the girls out for another walk, to the market, our favourite lunch spot, by way of the Japanese gardens and the casino square.
Back to the hotel after that for more swimming and lounging around on the beach, then dinner ended up being back at the same restaurant as the previous evening.
[Sunday 3rd September 2023]
In the daytime we took the (budget version of) the TGV from Aix to Nice, then on from there to Monaco, arriving at our hotel around 3pm. Spent most of the rest of the afternoon at the hotel's beach / pool. Then later on out for dinner at our old favourite restaurant on the beach, before heading back to the hotel for post-dinner cocktails (also on the beach).
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[Saturday 2nd September 2023]
Quite a foody sort of a day in Aix en Provence today. Started with pain au chocolats at a patisserie, then went for a stroll around the market and more snacking.
Later in the afternoon Chie and Erika went for a swim in the pool at our friend's apartment complex, while I did more food shopping for dinner. I cooked my interpretation of Provencal classic "Petits Farcis" and while it was baking we had a quick outing to see the Terrain des Peintres, where Cezanne used to go and paint views of a nearby mountain.
[Friday 1st September 2023]
We spent the daytime at a little cove / beach called Port d'Alon which our friends who live in Aix had discovered. In the evening back to Aix for dinner at a Lebanese restaurant.
[Thursday 31st August 2023]
Travelled by train from London to Aix en Provence today. Eurostar to Paris, then 1st class on the TGV from there to Aix. Arrived in Aix in time for a late al fresco dinner in a lively square in town.
[Wednesday 30th August 2023]
Quite a mixed bag of a day. I spent a bit of time in the afternoon making a video about Covent Garden pubs. Erika joined me for the tail end of that, and then we went for tea and cake in Somerset House. After that, dinner with work friends who were visiting from the US.
[Sunday 27th August 2023]
Went for Korean food today for lunch on a whim, although to be honest it was a bit disappointing. Later on I randomly made a gin and tonic in my billy can.
[Thursday 24th August 2023]
Woke up in the Quantock Hills, had a simple breakfast on a hilltop watching the sunrise, then walked from there to Watchet where I had a second breakfast. Then got the bus to Taunton, and the train back to London.
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[Wednesday 23rd August 2023]
I got the train down to Taunton, for a one night stay in the Quantock Hills. I seemed to hit it at a perfect time of year, with the heather in bloom, and on a day with good weather, and the colours were utterly glorious. A beautiful part of England, I don't know why I had never been before!
[Friday 18th August 2023]
Breakfast and a morning / early afternoon stroll around Bury St Edmunds, then later on stopped off in Grantchester for a late lunch / afternoon tea on the way back to London.
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[Thursday 17th August 2023]
Did a round of crazy golf at the golf course hotel in the morning. Then motored on to Orford, where we had lunch and spent some of the afternoon. From there, we then proceded to our glamping site near Bury St Edmunds, where we'd be staying the night in a "pod" in the woods.
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[Wednesday 16th August 2023]
Drove to Suffolk, where we had somewhat randomly chosen to stay the first night of our trip in what was essentially a golf hotel, because it had a swimming pool and was close to the part of Suffolk we wanted to visit.
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[Friday 11th August 2023]
After 16.5 years, today was my final day of employment with the company. The girls came to the office with me to help me pick things up from my desk.
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[Thursday 10th August 2023]
Got the train down to Hassocks to spend the evening cooking and drinking wine while watching the sunset on the South Downs. Whilst doing so was attacked by a swarm of flying ants.
[Tuesday 8th August 2023]
Started off going for some early evening Burgundy in a ditch on Hampstead Heath, but then received an invitation from Al to head into the centre of town for dinner.
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[Sunday 6th August 2023]
I headed to an old stomping ground in the daytime for a walk along the Thames Path and to revisit some old favourite pubs. Mostly took video, not many photos.
[Saturday 5th August 2023]
Went to Sainsbury's, so we could buy ingredients for homemade pizza - Erika had got an idea for making a sort of face shaped pizza.
[Monday 31st July 2023]
The girls went to IKEA today, while Dad and I did a mini pub tour or Topsham - the wonderful Bridge Inn, followed by the ferry to the Turf, then we walked back from there. Didn't take a lot of photos though as I was mainly focusing on video.
[Thursday 27th July 2023]
Second day of my week off deciding whether to quit my job. Chie went out for the day and Erika and I had a nice day out together: a mix of book shops, dim sum and mocktails.
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[Wednesday 26th July 2023]
First day of my week off work while I decided my future. Lunch at the Pineapple, then did a tour of Southwark pubs for a video. Then in the evening pizza with local friends.
[Tuesday 25th July 2023]
Actually quite a momentous day - I told my boss I was considering quitting, and was going to take a week off to think about it. To help clear my head I went and sat down at Bankside, with a bottle of Gusbourne's Pinot Noir, and eventually there met Andew and an eccentric guy who wander around London feeding the geese, who it turned out had originally also worked for big Silicon Valley tech companies. Quite a surreal evening.
[Tuesday 11th July 2023]
Erika's sports day in the morning. Ate out at our local Italian restaurant for dinner. In the evening Morris Dancing outside the Pineapple.
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[Sunday 2nd July 2023]
Erika went off to a birthday party in the daytime (a very busy weekend of socialising for her!), and as Martin and Lucy were still in London we went out for lunch with them.
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[Wednesday 21st June 2023]
I had booked the day off work, not knowing how much sleep I'd get at Avebury, so did some video editing in the mornng, then went out for lunch. Tried a new vegan restaurant in Camden where I had (vegan) curried goat (!).
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[Sunday 18th June 2023]
As I'd grown up with parents who thought Mother's Day and Father's Day were just marketing gimmicks I've never expected Erika to observe it either, but regardless she gave me a rather sweet card, and also agreed to come for a walk on the heath with me later on. In-between we had Japanese / Korean food for lunch.
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[Friday 16th June 2023]
For some reason (perhaps the hot weather?) both Chie and I wanted to have Middle Eastern food for dinner. Erika wasn't keen but begrudgingly agreed to come along to a Turkish restaurant near us. To be honest I found it overpriced and underwhelming and I wish we had listened to Erika's protestations.
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[Saturday 10th June 2023]
Went for a walk in the South Downs from Chichester to Petersfield, which went a bit awry towards the end. I couldn't find a good place to camp, decided to give up and go home, but that proved to be impossible because all the trains were cancelled. So I ended up having to sleep rough after all.
[Friday 9th June 2023]
Chie and I went for lunch at the Pineapple, and managed to be the first people to sit at the new tables out the front.
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[Thursday 8th June 2023]
Finally got round to going for a long overdue hygiene appointment at the dentist. To "celebrate" had lunch at Oliveto afterwards, and Chie was able to join me there.
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[Monday 5th June 2023]
Once again we broke up our journey back home, had afternoon tea (for lunch) at Burford in the Cotswolds, then the girls went to visit friends near Abingdon and I went for a walk to Wittenham Clumps.
[Sunday 4th June 2023]
Headed down to Chepstow to see Louise, Bec, Dave and Jessica. Had a very pleasant picnic in the grounds of the castle. Later on back to Hay for one final night at the tower.
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[Saturday 3rd June 2023]
Spent the morning wandering around Hay on Wye, then drove down to meet Robin and Robert for a pub lunch, followed by a guided tour of nearby Tretower.
Back to our lodgings in the evening for dinner and more tower antics.
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[Friday 2nd June 2023]
We had quite a pleasant journey to Herefordshire, with lots of stops along the way, including Oxford Services, the tearoom at Bringsty and Weobley.
We arrived at the tower towards the end of the afternoon and spent the remainder of the day exploring around there.
[Thursday 1st June 2023]
Erika was off school this week for half term. Today she and Chie went to meet some old friends Chie used to work with 20 years ago, and I joined them all for lunch.
[Sunday 28th May 2023]
We took advantage of the specially closed off roads (this happens once a year now) and cycled around central London this afternoon. Erika was on her new bike - the first proper outing of it really - and Chie and I hired Boris Bikes.
[Saturday 27th May 2023]
Lunch at the Pineapple with Erika, then later on the girls were out for a bit so I headed to the heath for some Nyetimber and sausage rolls.
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[Sunday 21st May 2023]
Rather a busy day, spent the morning with Mum, had a lasagne at home for lunch, then waved her off in the afternoon.
As a birthday outing for one of Erika's friends we went to the Crystal Maze Experience towards the end of the afternoon, and after that dinner at the Ivy Soho.
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[Friday 19th May 2023]
Mum came to London for the weekend - for the first time since 2019! We went out for fish and chips for dinner this evening.
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[Monday 8th May 2023]
Another bank holiday today (for the coronation, even though that was on Saturday). I took Erika to the zoo today. I didn't take many photos but between the two of us we did record some video.
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[Sunday 7th May 2023]
Belatedly making a birthday cake (actually a set of birthday cupcakes) for Chie's birthday, to Erika's specifications, which seemed to occupy most of the daytime.
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