Hello there,
I’m a bit further south than normal this month. We’re trying out this semi-nomadic experiment and find ourselves in the UK. It’s lush and green and only now showing signs of Autumn.
We started this journey at the end of September, leaving home, the Åland Islands, for Sweden then flying to Amsterdam to stay with friends (and see Nick Cave in concert), to Dublin overnight (so the fella could drink Guinness on his birthday—which wasn’t the real reason but it coincided), then Cardiff, and country Wales. All this took 5 days.
It sounds quite a bit and it kind of was but in all the best ways. There was laughter, tears, dogs, walks, beers, the most moving music (Nick Cave is a wizard), bamboo sheets, a loft bed, a birthday night in Dublin (the fella’s), and a few trains. Once we reached Wales we landed for a week and after so many transitions I needed it. I am realising that it’s the transitions I find most taxing and I need to prepare myself for them.
Travelling and staying in different places and spaces requires a different sort of energy, and balancing work and travel like we are doing requires careful planning. I know that if I have a day of travel, I won’t have the energy or space in my head to be able to do work so I then have to plan the days where I do have that space. I guess this is all part of the experiment!
We’ve planned travel days around our peak work times (I’m more flexible than my partner) and have had two lengthy stays (Wales and Bath—where I’m writing from today) where we can relax and settle in. This is possible thanks to Home Exchange, a program we joined this year where you swap homes with others, either directly or through a points system. People stayed in our apartment during our tent-life phase in the countryside. I can tell you now that the washing and cleaning between guests was worth it to be able to live in other places for an extended period.
Wales
We’ve spent quite a bit of time in Cornwall but have only peered over the water towards Wales. First impressions: green, lush, calm. We were in South Wales, which I understand is quite different to the north where it’s more mountainous, and the greenness and lovely pebble and sand coastline (with impressive cliffs) is breathtaking.
Bath
Our home for two weeks, and where I’m writing from right now, Bath is a wonderful city. Clean, orderly and interesting, its narrow streets and intense hills (I live in a flat place!) are wonderful to explore. We’ve had every weather (except snow) and the view from where we’re staying is spectacular, changing as the weather changes.
We love the pubs of the UK and Bath has many! We’ve visited a few and have some favourites we have been back to. The Pultney Bridge in the picture above is only one of four bridges like it in the world—with shops along the sides so you don’t even know you’re on a bridge walking along it.
So, enough of the travel pictures and contemplation, I’m off to enjoy some sun after a few days of rain!
Stay Well,
Lisa x
Notes + Comments from October
Today I saw a rabbit. It was sitting on the lush green lawn mown by a guy a few days ago.
I wonder if those mounds of dirt are made by moles. I wish I could see one.
I just saw a bird that looked like it should have arms! I can’t describe it any other way. It had a light brown-reddish body, with longish tail feathers that were light underneath. Its beak was small and hopped about like it had lost its arms.
A squirrel! Oh, hello you! Aren’t you pretty?
I feel like I’m in a postcard.
Ooohh! It’s foggy today. Look at that!
I think it’s raining. But it hasn’t rained much.
Gee, we really are flat-country people, aren’t we?
I feel a bit chilly.
Goddess! I’m dripping with sweat!
Wow! It’s really pelting down, isn’t it?!
Lovely places, Lisa! I hope you've been managing the transitions well. So, South Wales vs. New South Wales... the same? Oh, and I just saw Nick Cave too. What a concert! We are so lucky, aren't we?
Gorgeous photos! And have a Sally Lunn bun for me! 🥮