Travel

In my last post I spoke of a lack of enthusiasm for blogging/overall ‘mweh’ mood’. What better to battle these sort of feelings than a well-deserved (or even undeserved) break?

Fortunately this was exactly what happened to lucky old me. My dear grandparents took me (and the rest of the clan) for a family holiday in Dubai and Oman. Why these dusty desert destinations? Well, I have relatives living in the former so a visit to their new home turf was in order. Furthermore, Oman and Dubai are two of those places where one can get some dearly needed sun exposure in February without spending 22 hours on a plan or being so jetlagged you spend the whole week sleeping at inappropriate times.

Oman pleasantly surprised me with its beautiful rocky coast that made the water of the gulf seem even bluer. We didn’t exactly have the most cultural of itineraries for our days there, spending a lot of time in front of that blue water on sun chairs reading, consuming G&T’s and eating spoonfuls of hummus, which was absolutely fine by me. This sun induced surge in my vitamin D levels definitely did me good and got rid of the majority of my mid-winter slump, as did the time away from any type of screen. (The fact that the hotel bed was about twice the size of our not-quite-double London bed was a nice novelty as well.)

We did leave our hotel (we’re not that bad at being tourists) to visit some of Oman’s natural beauty, Wadi Al Shab, which is a series of natural pools in an impressive canyon. We walked for about an hour in the mid-afternoon heat, so when we finally could go for a swim in the last one, we felt like we’d earned it. We had to climb over slippery rocks in between bits of the pool and at the end we had to swim through a narrow hole between the rocks to get into a sort of cave with a waterfall. It was all quite hilarious, but none of us had a GoPro or something similarly waterproof, so no photographic memories, alas!

On our first day in Dubai we had more water related fun in Atlantis Aquaventure, a waterpark on the manmade palm peninsula. (A waterpark on a fake island in the desert sums up how artificial Dubai feels pretty well by the way.) There was a lot of laughing and screaming and one of the rides was probably one of the scariest things I’ve ever done in my life. Only me and the boys went on it so I felt like a pretty #toughchick afterwards, which (kind of, but not really) made up for the mortal fear experienced.

Because of the dust/sandstorm that was going on for the rest of our stay outdoors activities weren’t the most pleasant option, but the food in the hotel in Dubai was unreal, so for the rest of our time there we mostly ate and had food coma naps. I also had a little swim in our giant hotel bathtub (again: quite the upgrade from our London infrastructure).

This trip really couldn’t have come at a better time. The thought of sitting down at my laptop and writing something is now something exciting to look forward instead of another item to tick off on the to-do list. Sometimes you really just need a break.

This morning I woke up to a clear blue sky and that beautiful low winter sunlight that gives even the grey blocks of concrete filled with even greyer suits that make up the view I wake up to every day a golden hue. Since it was my day off I decided to go on a little adventure to take in some of those rays and a little fresh albeit polluted London air.

My favourite place to waste a few hours on such a not very typically English day is Greenwich. Greenwich to me is a small town within the city, therefore perfect if you want to get away from the hustle, bustle and smog of central London.

Greenwich Park is the perfect place for a winter walk, or dare I say it, a run, so I came prepared wearing trainers and my best attempt at a sporty-chic outfit. Going for a run there was amazing, although very hilly and therefore sweaty. A tip from me to you: once you are up on the biggest part of the park which is up on the plateau, do NOT go down until your running app tells you you’re done for the day. To the sporty mummy pushing a pram who overtook me whilst I was panting my way to the top of the hill: I salute you.

Apart from the rich reds and greens that currently make the park an aesthetical pleasure, the squirrels that rummage around add some comedy value. They are fed by people all the time, so have become a bit too bold and unafraid of humans for their own good. It was all fun and games taking pictures of them getting very close to me until one of them crawled up onto my running leggings. I decided squirrels look a lot like rats.

Although the main attraction in the park is probably the Royal Observatory and the Meridian Line, I think it should be this:

The best view of London that doesn’t involve paying to go up high buildings in my opinion.

If you get tired of all that nature, peace and tranquillity you can head over to the slightly more hectic (especially on Sundays) market and spend a few pounds at one of the food stalls or on some unique jewellery, clothes or second hand books. And you will be supporting a small business while doing so, doesn’t that just set your heart on fire?

Another beautiful place to spend your money is Meet Bernard, a little shop filled with beauties from Sessun, Ganni, Paul Smith etc. etc. I haven’t actually made a purchase there because: pricey and: rent, but just browsing makes my mouth water.