These days, my friends from Sussex live all over the place. One of my best school friends, Will, has to be the farthest away in Hong Kong. But ridiculous luck would have it that we were both here this weekend and both had a couple of free hours this afternoon. So I joined him and his …
Read MoreCategory / Travel
September 1, 2013
…danced at a music festival in Sussex
Summer is music festival season but I’ve not had one lined up for years. So when I heard there was one happening in my home county of West Sussex, I thought it was worth a weekend trip across the Atlantic. Especially because this one was very close to home: It was in my parents’ back …
Read MoreAugust 30, 2013
…had afternoon tea at a manor house
I’ve made it safely back to the UK and nothing says home quite like a good cuppa and a cream scone. So a few hours after landing, I headed to Gravetye Manor for some afternoon tea. Yes, once again I’ve left New York – but today was another example of finally appreciating things right on …
Read MoreAugust 18, 2013
…climbed the Montauk lighthouse
I know many of the visitors in Montauk are here for the beaches and bars, but thankfully there are still plenty of places to check out for geeky tourists like me. So while Meghan and Rachel were snoozing off their hangovers at the beach, I headed for the very tip of the island to have a …
Read MoreAugust 17, 2013
…swam in the Atlantic Ocean
This morning, I was trying to remember if I had swam in the Atlantic Ocean before, and – can you believe it – but I haven’t. Definitely not from this side of it, anyway. About five years ago, I roadtripped throughout the East Coast of the U.S. and although it was summer, the weather was …
Read MoreAugust 16, 2013
…drank cocktails in Montauk
Sorry for the delay on the blog posts this weekend – I’ve been on a Girls’ Trip. On Friday after work, Rachel, Meghan and I jumped on a train to the quintessential New York City vacation destination: Montauk. While I’ve never been before, I’ve been hearing about the Hamptons and nearby Montauk ever since I moved …
Read MoreAugust 14, 2013
…rode Macy’s wooden escalators
Tonight I headed to Herald Square to visit Macy’s – not only my first time in this mammoth store, but also my first ever spin on its historic wooden escalators. Macy’s at 34th Street is the largest department store in the city, taking up an entire block and stretching across ten floors. In 1902, it also …
Read MoreAugust 4, 2013
…went back in time on Long Island
Today Ryan and I drove an hour from the city to Centerport on Long Island, where he grew up. After passing gorgeous houses lining green streets and boats dotting the Long Island Sound, we reached the Vanderbilt Mansion. I’ve been to a mansion built by this obscenely wealthy American family (who owned most of the …
Read MoreJuly 21, 2013
…took a (2am) dip in Lake Michigan
After Bree and Brad’s beautiful wedding ceremony last night, Lizzie, Paul, Ricardo and I decided to keep the party going – and they decided to give me a hand with today’s new experience in the early hours of this morning. We walked west to the beach for a dip in Lake Michigan – a freshwater lake …
Read MoreJuly 20, 2013
…saw Chicago from the water
When I’ve asked both Chicago natives and Chicago fans what’s the one thing I should do when I’m in the city, they’ve unanimously said the Architecture River Cruise. So today I took their advice. The open-topped boat tour leaves from the Magnificent Mile and, for 90 minutes, travels along the Y shape of the Chicago River. A …
Read MoreJuly 19, 2013
…saw Chicago from the sky
Today I popped to Chicago, where Bree is getting married tomorrow. After a delicious rehearsal dinner at Viand, I dodged the rain and skipped to the John Hancock Center to give the city a good look. I’ve only been to Chicago once before – for 4th July about five years ago – but I always include …
Read MoreJuly 14, 2013
…cooked with homegrown produce
I feel like I’ve had a truly rural visit to England this time around – taking in the Sussex hills while chugging along in a steam engine and visiting a vintage tractor show – and today I concluded the trip with another countryside classic: Picking and cooking with homegrown produce. I’ve been in New York …
Read MoreJuly 13, 2013
…rode a vintage tractor
Yesterday’s trip to the Bluebell Railway clearly didn’t satisfy our need for old-fashioned Britain. Today Dyl, Mel and I headed to the South of England Showground in Ardingly for a Vintage Vehicle Show. This is another example of me finally making the most of the things on my doorstep. I went to high school in …
Read MoreJuly 12, 2013
…travelled by steam engine
I’ve nipped back to England for a long weekend to surprise my sister, who’s visiting from New Zealand. One look at the rolling hills of West Sussex and New York feels a million miles a way. My family lives in a rural Sussex village called Kingscote. ‘Village’ is a bit of a stretch; all it …
Read MoreJuly 1, 2013
…ate poutine for Canada Day
Today is Canada Day. But trying to find a Canadian-themed place in New York is like trying to find a Welsh bar in London. For a city that has restaurants and supermarkets for every nation possible, it’s bizarre that New York seems to have entirely ignored its nearest neighbour. I could hardly track anything down …
Read MoreJune 22, 2013
…visited Madison, New Jersey
Everyone in New York seems to have a talent for something. Even more unfairly is how my friend Maddy has talents for two things. For months now, I’ve heard her sing beautifully – and today I went to see her act. I jumped on a train from Penn Station with Lindsay and an hour and 15 …
Read MoreJune 4, 2013
…cycled to work on a Citi Bike
Every morning I have a 23 minute walk to work. Okay so I know that’s quite a luxury but seeing as I start at 7am, I’m happy to do anything that’ll shear off 10 minutes. Well, finally, it’s here! The Citi Bike. The clunky blue bikes have been up and running (rolling?) for a week now, …
Read MoreMay 25, 2013
…had lunch in Jersey City
Today was crammed with lots of activities – walking across the Williamsburg Bridge, a brilliant movie, terrible karaoke – and thankfully I was ready for it all after a delicious lunch in Jersey City. I go to Brooklyn a couple of times a week, but I’ve not ventured in the other direction – heading east across the …
Read MoreMay 17, 2013
…sailed around the tip of Manhattan
I’ve been on some good adventures since starting this blog – flying over Manhattan in a helicopter, climbing volcanoes, battling a mechanical bull for a whole 40 seconds – but today’s new thing just might have topped them all. Tonight, Noah and I boarded the Shearwater – a rustic 82-foot schooner – and sailed around the southern …
Read MoreApril 29, 2013
…went to the hotel where Stephen King wrote The Shining
Last night, as we recuperated from our day of exertion, we popped on The Shining. I don’t know if any of us actually made it through the entire movie (blame the two-hour time difference) but we were inspired enough to visit the hotel where Stephen King wrote the novel. The Stanley Hotel was near our …
Read MoreApril 28, 2013
…hiked a Colorado mountain (and saw elk)
After awaking to hangovers and piles of dishes from last night’s feast, we decided a bit of exercise might not be a bad idea. So we headed to a hiking trail at Estes Park that would take us to Gem Lake. On the way there, we saw these beauties on the side of the road: …
Read MoreApril 27, 2013
…toured a winery (and got very merry)
Because the 12 bottles of wine we bought for the cabin yesterday just weren’t enough, we spent the afternoon sampling the local alcohol. I’ve never had Colorado wine before. And now I can understand why. First up, we went to Valley of the Wind Winery in Estes Park, where we selected five wines each for …
Read MoreApril 26, 2013
…travelled to my 33rd state
I’ve done a fair bit of traveling throughout the U.S., but I’ve largely stuck to the coasts and avoided the middle. Today I went to one state so far out that such little attention was paid during its inception and it was sketched as a square: Colorado. It brings my number of states visited to …
Read MoreApril 19, 2013
…visited Roosevelt Island
Today I spent a couple of hours on Roosevelt Island – a two-mile-long strip of land in the East River between Manhattan and Queens – and I don’t get it. Embarrassingly, I didn’t even know it existed until about two months ago, when I met a guy at a party who worked as a teacher on …
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