Summer Days In London

It's warm this week and I'm loving it. For the first time this year I had alfresco drinks after work in my neighbourhood. We passed summer solstice last month so the race is on to enjoy those long summer nights. 

The weekend starts with Latino Fusion class after work. I love dancing and I can honestly say it's changed my life since I started classes. This sounds cheesy but it's true, dancing is not a workout-it's an expression of my soul!

Although I was tempted to join a few festivals in London, I stayed in my area. The weather was warm and sunny. I did a bit of shopping and went to Dirty Burger in Kentish Town. Their burgers are the kind you can easily stuff your face with because they are fist sized. The buns are soft and glossy from being steamed under a cloche. 

On Sunday I impulsively decided it was time for cider at The Hollybush. It was the right weather for it! My girlfriend and I sat outside in the quaintest neighbourhood of Hampstead enjoying our drinks.

Is it me or even these ciders look happy? 

In the late afternoon, I took a nap in my garden under the trees. It was bliss!

Sunning It Up In Split

I love Croatia. It's wonderfully ancient in parts, the people are kindly and the weather is hot. As we flew into Split, I saw deep azure sea and crystal blue shorelines. I was so glad to be back!

Split is a city by the Adriatic and sun soaked mountains. Diocletian's Palace of the Romans is here and it's the gateway to the islands of Hvar. Around the palace are white stone buildings and pavements. I felt like we had stepped back in time when we arrived. The place is so old but so beautiful. 

Our flat is tucked away from the historical square and bell tower. We stayed above two lively bars which were open day and night.

The little barber shop outside our flat. I like how there are stools outside for catching a breeze and people watching. 

The footpaths are buffed from centuries of foot traffic. So shiny and smooth, I would walk barefoot on them.

The world's most complete remains of a Roman palace. Would the Romans have guessed their palace would be a tourist hotspot?

Bacvice beach is 15 mins walk from our flat. The water is shallow and warm for us to spontaneously swim in our clothes at night. At least after a few drinks! My friends went back to the beach in the day but there was a bit of portside pollution. (I had spent most that day sleeping with the air con.)

The next day I went to another beach 15 minutes bus ride away from the center. (Take the number 15 bus and get off when you see a beach side car park.) I tried googling for the name of this beach but there's no name on the map.

Music was pumping from the beach bars like in Ibiza and there are free sun loungers and umbrellas. Drinks are cheap and nothing beats sipping an ice cold Ožujsko while sunbathing. The water is so clear, I watched little fishies swimming around me.

The pebbles on the beach are uncomfortable. So grateful for the sun lounger! It was wildly painful walking out of the water.

Basking in hot skies and a cool breeze. Paradise!

I discovered the Croatian food of burek. It's a filo pastry filled with cheese or meat with caramelised onions. So tasty and flakey. I had one almost everyday from St Burek, a shop that sells the two kinds of burek and some small pastries. A serve of burek is 12 HRK, which is less than 1.40 GBP. Combined with a 15 HRK salad from a pizzeria it was a cheap but good meal! 

Of course Croatia is not without its amazing fresh seafood.

The promenade of Split. Tourists sit under the palm trees and watch the ferries. From here I took a long walk out to the nature reserve at the western peninsula of Split. 

It's hilly but the views of the city are worth it. I walked back to town, through a labyrinth of stone houses. I got to see how the Croatians live away from the tourists. I peeked over their walls to see gardens, restaurants and a bakery hidden amongst the houses. 

I did'nt have the chance to go to any of the islands as I ran out of time. Sadly I returned to London but vowed that it will not be too long before I'm back in Croatia.

The Ultra Music Festival - Split Croatia

The small city of Split is worthy of a tourist destination but with yatch week and the Ultra Music Festival, young travellers come rolling in droves. Like the migration of Glastonbury but instead of a field, tens of thousands arrive into Split, come plane, train or boat.

In the old town, you would be hard pressed to see a local person. Just about everyone has a backpack or a suitcase and a lost look on their faces.

There are all types of tourists. I even saw two scruffy guys holding a sign saying: "Couch surf please. For a big high five."

The Ultra Music festival is the first in Europe of atleast 60,000 attendees. I met people who had come from Miami and Mexico for the festival. Amongst the crowd were flags of many nations, lots from Australia.

We got in at 9pm and danced until 5am. The atmosphere was euphoric. Fireworks went off in Avicii's set and the sun rose by the closing of Nicky Romero.

The next night was even better. It helped that we didn't go in until closer to midnight. I was pretty tired from the previous nights of partying and planned to leave after Armin Van Burdin's 2 hour set. But when the following and closing set of Hardwell started, I couldn't. He was amazing! And again we danced until the sun rose.

What an amazing festival. Needless to say I got plenty of solid sleep after!

Going To The Polo

My only previous experience with polo was from the movie Pretty Woman. So you can imagine what I had to draw upon when planning for a day at the polo. I had visions divoting among the posh people.. 

The HAM Polo Club is close to Richmond and is the last surviving club in London. Matches are open to the public (for a £5 entry fee) so you don't have to be a member to enjoy a day at the polo.

We packed a picnic and watched these beautiful, immaculately presented horses race up and down the field. The mighty whacks of mallets, the thunderous rumble of horses' feet and the yelling from the players makes polo a great spectator sport. A few players fell off but no horses were injured, thank goodness. 

The club is beautiful and we had cracking good weather.

We brought so much delicious food. It felt like we were in the countryside even though we were only 8 miles out of the center of London.

At half time, spectators were invited onto the field to divot. That's the tradition of pushing the uplifted turf back into the holes in the ground. It's a socialising activity and we had fun doing it, meeting a few of the players and taking photos, of course. 

A great day for sport in London as the Henley Royal Regatta and Wimbledon was also on. What a fabulous Sunday!

Mayfair Lavender Farm Festival

I've whimsically dreamed of frolicking through fields of lavender. Having missed that chance, only getting as far as Avignon last year (near Aix En Provence), I went to a lavendar farm closer to home.

It was an opening festival to the season and the flowers are blooming after a late start. Mayfair Lavender farm is a bit of a trek if you don't have your own transport. We took a train to East Croydon and then a 40 min bus ride. 

It was my first real summery day of the year. The sky was clear and the temperature soared to 27 degrees. I wore a dress without bringing a cardigan with me. I even dusted off my sandals from the shoe rack (not joking here). The anticipation of hot weather had paid off! 

Going to a lavender farm was a perfect excuse to get out of the London grind. Our bus drove through tiny towns. We realised we had arrived when all we could see was purple. 

The air was scented from the moment we arrived.

Summer in the UK. It happened! 

The effects of lavender had us jumping for joy. (Photo care of my galpals, the Phua sisters!)

Lavender lemonade to cool down from photo taking in the field. I also ate lavender icecream and scones but the flavour was too subtle. 

Lots of lavender products and freshly picked bunches on sale.

Not Aix En Provence but just as pretty!

Summer Sunday: 24 Hours

Last night I went clubbing for a farewell and only stayed til 12.30pm. I missed the last tube and got stranded at Tottenham Court Road. 

Surrounded by drunks and rubbish at my feet, the only redeeming factor was the hypnotic aroma of fried onions from a hot dog cart. The smell wafted down the entrance of the tube. I caved and bought a hot dog as I waited for the night bus.

The street vendor addressed me by "luv" and wished me a wonderful night. Little did I know, there was a crippling traffic jam with whiplash false starts ahead. I felt sorry for the bus driver. 

Although I left the club early to salvage the next morning and to avoid drinking, I got home much later than expected. And felt a bit jaded for cutting my evening short.

The next morning we had brunch at Bea of Bloomsbury's Diner. It was a makeshift kitchen and dining area inside an arch of a railway bridge near Bermondsey. 

Brunch on benches. Retro music, random cutlery baskets and jam jar glasses. The buttermilk pancakes were good. It was uncrowded at 11am, perhaps too early for hipsters but great for us. (Grant is trying to stifle a cough here.)

It was a sun shiny day. I was looking forward to spending the afternoon with my girlfriend's at Winchmore Hill. We had lunch and went for a stroll around the park. It was hot and the mere sitting on a park bench in the shade was a joy.

I must be having a bad transit weekend. Getting back to the city meant taking a rail replacement bus. It was so hot inside the bus, my tongue was almost hanging out of my mouth!

It took an eternity to get to my next destination. I was tired but determined to stretch the day. A friend had a BBQ on his rooftop terrace and it was lovely to catch these sights of Barbican.

  

By 9pm it was time to go home. The sun was down and by then I was too shattered to function. I spent the rest of the night on the couch playing Candy Crush Saga (and as an addict, I'm not ashamed to admit it!)

A Night Stroll With Sunshine

I love the lead up to summer equinox. 

It was warm and wonderful after work so I walked around my neighbourhood. Just for the evening sun which is a rarity. It's like receiving an bonus extension to the day.

Cute yellow flowers and daisies.

London phone booth around the corner from my flat.

Sunset at 9.30pm. Amazing!