Surfin' GB!

This is Croyde beach, where we went to enjoy the 13 degrees Celsius seawater, and catch some waves on a bodyboard.





















As you can imagine, the water is simply freezing, and though the waves are exhilerating, you can't stay in for more than a few minutes. So this time around we got some wetsuits second hand from a surf school, and while we were there, we signed up for our first ever lesson too... Cue major excitement from me!




















Croyde bay on the day of our lesson - a lovely British summer's day and nice big waves!

The lesson was brilliant and I enjoyed every minute. Learning the basic moves, struggling with the board, feeling the first rush of speed... And then I even managed to stand up and actually surf! Once! :D Amazing performace from such a sporting anti-talent as me!















































If you're visiting the Atlantic, I highly recommend both a wetsuit and a surf lesson, you will remember your trip to the sea for a lifetime!

Some practical tips from a total beginner, if you actually do so:

1. Trim your nails as short as possible when trying on wetsuits and planning on wearing them, as getting into the wetsuit is a workout in itself and requires all your fingertips!
2. Listen to the expert - whether you buy your wetsuit second hand or new, get it from a trusted place and ask for advice. There are different wetsuits for different seasons and the sizing is still a mystery to me.
3. If you go for a lesson, listen to the tutor - always share if you have any medical problems and make sure you're a strong enough swimmer.
4. If you feel unsure, go for a small group lesson or a one-on-one where the tutor has more time for making you comfortable.
5. Don't let the difficulty hold you back! If I did it, anyone can! :)
6. Wearing a wetsuit keeps you warm and it did wonders for my self confidence, as I could move, fall into the water and be clumsy whichever way I wanted without the possibility of revealing any indecent pieces of skin.
7. Enjoy the waves and the speed! :)

Bouncy Sacrilege

 Am I jumping around in a bouncy castle?





















Well, it's the bouncy castle version of Stonehenge, and a piece of brilliant art!






































"Sacrilege" is a life size inflatable heritage site created by Turner prize winning artist Jeremy Deller, which is currently on tour around Britain, as part of the London 2012 Festival.





















How lucky that we could take the train to Exeter and experience this joyous, witty piece of art that's only erected for a day at each stop of its tour! First of all it makes you happy even to just watch the smiling people jumping around in it, and then when you try it yourself, it's pure exhilarating joy!





















Jeremy Deller said: "A lot of my work deals with history, and Sacrilege is no exception, this is a way to get reacquainted with ancient Britain with your shoes off."





















A great way to make the familiar strange, to steal some humour into the seriousness of the Olympics and to bring history closer to many kids and grown ups.





















Here's the website of the project with some great videos on how it was created and the list of dates and places you can catch the bouncy Stonhenge next! http://sacrilege2012.co.uk/

Oh, and here are some more pictures by a pro photographer, with me on one of them! :)

Pictures of me by Marco, others by me. 

I'm not wearing anything special as I dressed for jumping 

- hence jeans and dress and no jewellery. :)

When It's Sunny, it's Divine

Ah, in the sun, Devon is at its best!





















What could be better than a cool day by the sea, with some cake and long walks, sometimes barefoot in the juicy-fresh grass?






































Nothing really!




















Also, some cool rock-climbers told me my outfit was "wicked", and the lady selling strawberries said "I love your colours, my dear!". Clearly I had to force Marco to take some pictures of me after such success! :D






































I could hug Devon...

Pics of me by Marco

Wearing: F&F skirt, thrifted tunic as top, Zara jacket, H&M scarf, 

Jack Purcell by Converse shoes, Primark belt, necklace and earrings made by me.

Aaaand... Rewind to Spring!

Oh, hello 16 degrees, tights and Docs, trenches and raincoats! I'm back in England! :)






































Compared to Budapest's 36 Celsius, this Devon weather is actually rather lovely. And it's not only the weather that makes me happy here... I just love Devon and being together with Marco (my boyfriend) again!






































Being near the sea is an absolute dream, and I still love running into the ice cold waves then warming up with a cup of hot chocolate...





















We actually ran into a music festival as well, which was fun! We realised something was going on when the bus we took to the beach started to fill up with teenagers wearing wellies. And I mean every single girl wore wellies. It was rather suspicious, so my boyfriend turned to this guy who got on with his (wellied) girlfriend, and proceeded to ask: "Why's everyone in wellies for?"
Which is a rather ridiculous sentence, if you think about it! :D

So that's how we ended up at a music fest!

    

Wearing: Dress from a Chinese shop, Calzedonia tights,

second hand watch, bracelet from a craft shop, Docs. 

Oh, and I gave Pinterest a try, and it really is addictive! Here's where you can find me, or leave me your Pinterest link in the comments so that I can find you! :)

Mrkgnao! the cat said loudly.

Happy Bloomsday everyone! June 16 - the day James Joyce's Ulysses is set, and the day Joyceans celebrate around the world.






















As you can see from the pictures, as a good Irish Studies student, my obsession with Joycean things started early - I won't even tell you how old some of these pictures are! The first statue is in Dublin, the second in Trieste. Sandycove is in Dublin again - a setting in Ulysses, and below, I meet James Joyce again in sunny Trieste a few years on...






































I have so many great memories of my travels connected to Joyce. Ireland, Dublin, Ennis, Pula, Trieste, Paris, Szombathely... Not to mention the Joycean crowd who are just lovely people simply. Starting with my boyfriend of course, without whom I wouldn't have gotten into appreciating Joyce and to these great places! So thank you, Marco! :)






















And again a few years pass, and I greet Joyce like old friends. :)






















A fun Joyce statue in Szombathely I'm discussing something with, in Hungary, where Bloom's father is from in the book.


























Yes, I spent 3 days in Paris, but of course I had to see the Shakespeare and Co. bookshop - another Joycean link!






















Their Joyce display...






















Here's to many more happy Bloomsdays! If you have a Guinness today, think of Joyce and one of the kindest heroes in literature ever, Leopold Bloom.
And if you're interested in Ulysses, there are dramatised bits all day through on BBC Radio 4 you can listen to online!

Trieste, My Love

Two more travel tips from the seaside: When you travel in the spring or autumn, take clothes that can be worn in changeable weather. For instance skirts that can be worn with and without tights or leggins, shoes that can be worn barefoot and with tights, tops that can be freely layered.






































And the jolly joker of travelling: scarves! They warm your neck or head if it's cold, or shade your shoulders when the sun is beating down. They also add colour and interest to a practical travelling outfit.






































Here's the logical reasoning behind the above pictures - and for photographing the same skirt again. It's proof for a working travelling wardrobe. :)





















Back to the travel diary! We made a detour to Trieste, one of our favourite cities, where we return year after year to enjoy a city that's open to the sea, has a rich multicultural background and amazing people.






































This is the Molo Audace, where the good inhabitants of Trieste take a stroll on balmy evenings, to chat, to meet up, to have an ice cream, to see and be seen!





















I've been to Trieste about 6 times before, but never visited the Lanterna baths - this time I had to have a look! What's special about it is that the beaches for men and women are separated. I took a quick picture from the entrance to the male section - ooh, daring! :)






































 The women's section is always full, but there only seem to be a few men milling around on the other side. Maybe they don't feel the need to suntan so much! :)





















Trieste is one of the cities I'd love to move to one day, so I could go on and on about its amazing and interesting sights and great places, but I'll leave that for another time! I'll need to revisit anyway...

But back to the usual blogging schedule from now on! Thank you for following my travel diary! :)

Wearing: that Promod skirt again with those Vagabond shoes, Zara top, H&M scarf 

and second hand 70s sunnies from an antiques market.

Sun in Medveja

Sometimes the sun came out and it was perfect! I even swam, about 5 minutes at a time though, as seawater 15 degrees Celsius is a bit difficult to get used to! :)






































Here's one tip for travelling: always take jewellery with you! For me the feeling of being able to pick and choose from a few necklaces in the morning makes all the difference - especially as I never take many clothes. I'm all for a light suitcase, as I don't drive, so being able to lift my luggage on and off trains and buses is quite important. :)





















By the way, I affectionately call this above piece the oxymoron necklace, as the bow should be textile and it's metal, and the chain should be metal and instead it's textile. So yeah, it's a solid bow with a soft chain, behold the oxymora!





















This gorgeous bay is Medveja, a few kilometres from Opatija. walking there among the pines heavy with the scent of summer and fig trees growing tiny little fruit was such a joy. A perfect day.

Wearing: Promod dress, Chinese shrug and leggings, Vagabond shoes, 

C&A necklace, clip-ons... can't remember.