Staycation

My sister and I keep procreating at the same time. Wonderful for us and our offspring but slightly chaotic and OTT for everyone else involved (especially my poor mother who spends the majority of her time on the M3). Since my father died we have gone on our summer holidays to France at the end of August and beginning of September. Initially to drink bucketloads of rose, smoke Vogue cigarettes and dance around whilst drunk to Tom Petty. Then whilst vast (me not Jess, Jess is one of those people who looks like themselves with a reasonable bump on the front) and ungainly. And then again with cheery 9 month olds who slept through the night and were reasonably happy in a 'baby cage' constructed by their dad's out of plastic fencing (they were fine).

See they love the baby cage

This time we weren't so clever. After a few false starts that would have fitted perfectly with out French holiday ambitions we have now managed to have one arrive in June and one due at the end of August. Yes I may have braved the Eurostar with a 2.5 year old and 6 week old but my sister shouldn't really be out of the country on her due date, even I can see that. So this year we are going to our cottage in Norfolk.

Yes Norfolk. Where the sea is at it's warmest in October and mind-numbingly freezing at all other times and there is usually at least three days at a time of teeth rattling wind a week. And I've managed to book work right on the middle weekend which will involve me, a newborn and my long suffering mother driving to Wiltshire and back...

There are many things that I'm quite looking forward too. It's three hours door to door (traffic permitting). You can take your own car. Shopping for a baby is easy. But I'm going to miss the heat, the swimming pool and the rose. One thing that will be amazing about going to Norfolk, however is the food.

Yes I know that Norfolk isn't necessarily famed for it's food, though samphire and lobster should probably get a mention here, but whilst pregnant I didn't eat any shellfish (prawns are the only thing that I've had terrible food poisoning from) so I am planning on eating my body weight in potted shrimp and seeing if I can get hold of some mussels though I think it's not the right time for them. There are some lovely (ridiculously priced) deli's near us where they sell cheeses that walk home by themselves which again, I haven't eaten for over a year. The fish platter at the local pub is incredible and something Joe and I share when we have a (rare) date night. All of this will hopefully make up for any dubious weather, probable sobriety and average croissants.

New York Baby!

So, a very good friend of Joe's is getting married in Washington D.C. in October and we've decided that we are going to go to New York for a weeks holiday beforehand. Not only will we be taking Mr Ned, one week before his first birthday, but we're also taking my Mumma. I cannot wait but where to stay what must we see? I need your help - suggestions please.

Greenway and Dartmouth

Everyone keeps asking if we're having a 'babymoon'... technically no because we are too poor and disorganised. We are going on a family holiday to the South of France in September which will be lovely and a babymoon of sorts but just not romantically just the two of us. I have however, just had the most lovely couple of days away with my mother in Dartmouth and now I really want to recommend to every pregnant lady TAKE SOME TIME OFF. Yes, yes there's lots to do before the baby comes etc but my god it was nice to ignore everything for a couple of days, hang out with my Mumma, eat nice food, gaze out at boats and see somewhere new.

Our reason for going to Dartmouth was that I am obsessed with Agatha Christie and have banged on about her, and her amazing house Greenway and my wish to see it, so much that my Mum organised to stay in a friends flat for a couple of nights and finally take me there. We often do 'culture days' together where we go and see some nice National Trust house or, one time we drove round Poole and Bournemouth just being nosey really (have you seen the houses!!). We haven't done one for ages and although I can imagine her offering to babysit while Joe and I go away for a long weekend I think next time we have a 'culture day' I'll have the little Grub strapped to my front so really me and my Mumma just had our very own babymoon.

First of all I was really surprised about how beautiful and picturesque Dartmouth is. This trip had been in the diary for ages but comes in the middle of a rather hectic time work wise so I hadn't even looked at any details of where we were staying or what we were going to do. It is just gorgeous. We arrived at lunchtime on Tuesday - sat outside our little flat in a disused pottery and had lunch and then walked round the corner to the castle (we didn't go in) which is right on the river mouth and has a beautiful church next to it that felt loved and used. There are boats everywhere from little dinghy's to full on gin palaces and yachts and amazing houses perched right on the sides of the hills either side of the river (another great place to visit if you like having a good nosey at other people's houses!).

On Wednesday, in pouring weather, we walked into Dartmouth and booked ourselves on the Christie Bell, the ferry up the river to Greenway. It started to pour whilst we were on the boat and my pac-a-mac I'd taken to fit over the bump turned out not to be waterproof so I looked rather sodden when we arrived. Nothing could damp the excitement of the first sight of the Greenway boat house which has been used in a couple of Agatha Christie's books and is iconic to any geeky fans. I was so overexcited I forgot to take any photos of it... rather annoyingly.

There's quite a steep walk up a hill to the house with incredible views down to the river and beautiful flowers and then all of a sudden you see the house itself.

The first view of the house when walking up from the ferry

 It must be the most heavenly place on a sunny day - it was gorgeous as it was (although my mum and I were desperate to do it up... with think the Chrisite's/Hicks' weren't big on interior decorating). It is the perfect house - the right sized rooms and beautiful views, pool and croquet lawn. The gardens too are famous for their beauty but I have to say we didn't venture that far in the rain. You can see why she found it so inspiring and you can pick out little links to her books throughout the house - her homeopathic phials are on the hall table as you walk in, neatly labelled showing the interests of a woman who knew more about poisons than most crime writers.

I'm desperate to go back in May to see the garden in it's full glory - I feel I could visit here again and again. An incredibly house in a beautiful setting.

An African Villa

There are so many places to stay in Cape Town it's actually quite hard to know where to start and a little nerve wracking to know whether you've picked somewhere good or not. If you want somewhere relaxed, romantic and pretty special then An African Villa is a really good choice.

The rooms are gorgeous - all really thought out when it comes to the decoration and some with a view of Table Mountain. The breakfasts are to die for and the honesty fridge is a fantastic solution to having a fridge in every room.

The plunge pool is lovely to sit and relax in and the courtyard is a real sun-trap. I love a full length swimming pool but actually the majority of the time I want somewhere to sit in the pool where I can read my book and their pool is perfect for that.

A really short taxi ride from the waterfront and Table Mountain and with incredibly friendly owners who will help you book trips, advise you where to eat, even post your postcards for you this is just a fantastic place to stay. I would definitely go again - very highly recommended.

South Africa - Day 4

We're at the Hulehulwe-Imfaleze game park... It is amazeballs

South Africa - day two

After torrential rain yesterday we're having the first braai of the holiday

Holiday

Hurrah - I'm on going on holiday to South Africa so this blog may be a bit quiet for the next couple of weeks. I am going to try and blog on here from my home but it's hard to know whether that will work. There will be posts appearing on my other blog here though so check it out. Otherwise I'll hopefully be putting pictures etc up from our trip!

Norfolk

There were many reasons why I decided that marrying Joe would be bearable. One of them is his cottage on the north Norfolk coast which is just far enough away from London to feel like a holiday and close enough that you can dash up after work on a Friday and be able to have a good weekend there. In all the years I've been going there I've never seen the sea look as shining and clear as it did last weekend... the photos don't really do it justice... although my sister is fairly decorative.