Munich madness

I sometimes think I'm a right boring miserable cow. I do stuff all the time, but I rarely go out and drink til 4am these days. I think it's fair to say Munich made up for this. Herein lies the tale...................

I was invited to Octoberfest while I was relaxing on little corn island in the Caribbean. Other than getting a job on my return to England I didn't really have any cares. Yes I thought, it's lovely to be invited, I love meeting new people and it will be fun. Admittedly I'm not really known for my beer drinking abilities but hey.... details.

What a difference 5 months can make, the night before I fly I had the day from hell at work ( new job turned out to be not quite as relaxing as spending every day on a beach looking at hot boys, coconuts and turquoise sea. Funny that) - spending 4 days drinking wasn't quite so appealing.

Day 1: One Lufthansa flight later, I've arrived. I head to the hostel, and head down to Octoberfest to meet the girls. Hels comes to pick me up - this place was not what I expected - we were in a massive beer hall, everyone was dancing on the tables, beer everywhere, incoherent people. I was going to need a Stein - and pretty bloody quickly. Two men from Switzerland hoist me up onto the table. I fix a grin to my face, and drink the equivalent of 4 pints in the space of an hour. The boys from Switzerland start to look ever so nice ;-)

Day 2 : I think it's fair to say I'm over mixed dorms, so along with listening to snoring I also spent the night grinning to myself at my good fortune re: kissing a lovely man from Geneva. Day 1 went pretty bloomin well. I was liking this Octoberfest thing. 6.30am start - not so much.
I get into my 'outfit' - a vintage eBay procured Drindl, apron and whistles blouse. All the girls looked pretty damn hot. We get in the queue for our chosen beer hall and wait for the doors to open. When our first beer finally comes ( at 10.30am) it has the added bonus of being served by the rather lovely waiter Sven. We liked Sven. Beer flows, pretzels are eaten, party tricks shared. This was ace. Cut to next scene, most of the boys have passed out/ gone walkabout. Mr Geneva has left his friends and is waiting outside our hall to be let in. Us girls have an amazing night - dancing on a table, merry drunk with the hot Swiss at my side - why the hell haven't I been to Munich before?

Day 3: 6.30am proves too much for me - I meet everyone there today - the group gets split and I spend the morning with the biggest group of Italian lightweights. At the risk of sounding like a hard core drinker - they were clearly gonna leave before 12 - the gang can get back together. Another fun day - lots of table dancing, beautiful roast chicken and laughing.

Day 4: that's it I am officially broken - a day of water, art museums and fresh air for me.

Can't wait til next year......Prost

X

We're gonna need to upgrade

Happy times my annual camping weekend with the lovely Paul and Tina had arrived, I was between jobs and I had a physical challenge in store.

A severe weather forecast meant nothing to me - this weekend in the Lake District was going to be ace. Tina had reminded me that the reason the Lake District had lakes was because it rained a lot - so I felt prepared. Waterproof trousers had been purchased. I was feeling outdoorsy.

Not quite sure I was ready to be airlifted to safety like those camping in Wales were that weekend but you know that was a different country.

Off we go - Ruby was ready, music was on, sweets were opened. 6 hours later we arrive at the ridiculously beautiful Wasdale Head campsite. P&T got the awning up in the rain, we waterproofed up and settled in.

We went to sleep with the sound of torrential rain outside. Paul had drips every so often land on his nose ( this made me giggle like the little sister i am) Morning comes and the weather looks set in for the day - so we go exploring - off to an owl sanctuary and a local castle. More rain. I do what i do best in situations like these - throw money at it and upgrade. One pod secured for the night - party for Hartley. BBQ plans are cancelled- but then a miracle it eases up, Paul gets the burgers on. Scott, Anna and Becky get involved in bananagrams. We spend a lovely evening in the yurt.

Next day dawns, beautiful sunshine, we head up Scafell Pike. Eating Tina's packed lunch at the top admiring the view is pretty damn special. We couldn't have picked a better day for it. Well bloody done us.

England pulls it out of the bag when it wants to......

X

We stayed:
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/holidays/camping/camping-in-the-lake-district/wasdale/

We played:
http://www.bananagrams.com/

I upgraded in:
http://www.thepod.info/

Yurt me up

While we were in Central America we bet two cracking girls - Rachael and Helen. London lovers we met up for beer, Belize stories and burgers from time to time. After my successful Lake District trip earlier in the year I was keen to show my new friends this little slice of heaven.

So trains were booked to Oxenholme and a suitably cosy camping option sorted. Late September we find ourselves heading north.

Our venue was to be Low Wray campsite, and we'd booked a large yurt through a company called Wild in Style.

I love a bit of trip organising, so out comes the homemade brownies, stove lit we sit around and congratulate ourselves on our good fortune. I smugly reveal my wellies and down jacket. Rach sorts out some tough but beautiful walks.

The next 4 days were made up of beautiful sunny walks ( The old man of consiston was particularly beautiful), admiring views ( tarn hows is a delight) and lighting the wood burning stove.

Sometimes you just need to go back to basics. Burritos never tasted so good.

X

We camped at: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/holidays/camping/camping-in-the-lake-district/low-wray/

We glamped in: http://www.wildinstyle.co.uk/

We drank and want to drink again at:
http://kirkstile.com/

We walked: http://www.walkingenglishman.com/lakes11.htm

Wonderful Whitstable

So the Olympics were over - how to fill one's time..................

If in doubt revert to organising trips - which is how we found ourselves on a train from Victoria heading to the seaside town of Whitstable. The sun was out, bikini's were packed, throats were ready for pimms. Let's give this English seaside thing a go.

Turns out Whitstable is a delight - lots of lovely food stalls running all along the coastline. I got involved with the Oysters. We all got involved with fish and chips, and cheap white wine. As luck would have it we picked England's hottest day - so in typical English style I went for a dip. My lovely Greek friend thought I was crazy. I floated reminiscing about doing the very same thing only months earlier in the Caribbean. I found myself thinking that England wasn't so bad after all. Then a crisp packet floated past me ......

A summer like no other

So we're back, and months have flown by. I've started a new job ( bad), London had the Olympics ( really rather good) and the queen had lots of parties ( a damn sight better than I thought they would be) . I think it's fair to say London was the place to be during 2012 so I've been tickled pink to be a part of it.

I could spend hours talking about the Olympics - so lets give you a mini summary.

* the kick arse opening ceremony was celebrated with English champagne, tears and a love for Danny Boyle
* the lack lustre closing ceremony was commiserated with English champagne, groans and even more love for Danny Boyle
* My Dad spent one of the best days of his life with four of my girlfriends- super Saturday indeed
* I became sports obsessed and spent every waking minute either inside the Olympic park, grinning during the gold rush or obsessively following balding and linekar's commentary
* I was completely astonished by how incredible the paraolympians are
* we celebrated the opening and closing ceremonies for the Paralympics actually there in the stadium. There are no words, but there sure we're tears

The most shocking thing for me about the period was for about 5 minutes I found myself warming towards Boris Johnson. I had a word with myself - it must have been the Olympic fever.

X