"the tenor of your life in bath"

One of the places I explored in more detail whilst in Bath, was No. 1 Royal Crescent. It is such a pretty example of Georgian architecture, and I do really enjoy learning more about the people who used to live in historical buildings and the way life was for them. (In other words: I like history. Which is understandable since that's what I studied at uni, and it's still a major component of my degree at the moment.) It is all just really interesting. I wish I had written about this at the time, because I learned a lot, and have now largely forgotten what I learned. But I do remember having a pleasant visit. Most of the staff was so hospitable and knowledgeable - especially the gentleman you can see outside in some of the pictures, with whom I had a cute wee chat. And I say most of the staff, because one of the people I spoke to was a tad condescending, for example saying they personally would not be taking photos of the odd things I seemed to be into (apothecary cabinets and embroidery, etc.). But; most of the staff was lovely, and that is one of my favourite things of visiting places such as this: hearing stories and tidbits from the people working there and who possibly know of things you wouldn't otherwise hear about. You could find out about this elsewhere as well, but did you know, for example, that most upper class people during the Georgian/Regency era would have a pineapple on their dinner table but it would rarely if ever be eaten, and was more for show, so that your guests would know you were well off and could offer them pineapple if you wanted to? It is so silly, and as a fact I love it. You could say that once you've seen one of these houses, you've seen all of them. But the details and backstories to the objects, the houses and their occupants are always different and interesting. So, I guess I would recommend seeing the Royal Crescent and the No. 1, if you're in Bath!

Fancy reading and seeing more of Bath? My posts from earlier this week are here and here.

"your head runs too much upon bath"

I'd assume the Bath Abbey is one of the must-see things for most people visiting the city, and it was so for me. It is beautiful. And I do love visiting and exploring churches, abbeys and other religious sites anyway. They've usually had so much money put into the building of them that it's hard for them not to be stunning. I've no pictures from inside, but the fan vaulting of the ceiling really is lovely. My favourite is the angels climbing up the ladders outside, though. I don't mean to dwell on not getting one job almost two years ago, because it's only something I've thought about now when looking at all the Bath photos and am actually happy I didn't get it as I wouldn't be where I am now if I had - funny how things usually work out. But my interview back then was for the Abbey and it's so strange to think that this could have been my workplace. But again, as much as the idea of working and living in Bath sounds like fun, I'm pretty happy to be doing what I'm doing with my life now as it is. Even at the time, I was happy to have had a good little weekend away and mostly only bummed about the amount of money I'd blown on train tickets!

If you haven't yet, you can catch my first Bath post here.

"for six weeks, i allow bath is pleasant enough"

I've had these (and more!) Bath photos sitting around for almost two years now, and finally decided I should post them before it's been a decade. I don't even know how I never posted them at the time because I still quite like them and I really liked Bath. The only way to know these are a bit dated is by checking my hair length and the way I've done my make-up. The dress also is still part of my wardrobe, although when these were taken it was new and meant to be my "interview attire".

That's the main reason for my past Bath visit; I had a job interview (shocking turn of events: I obviously didn't get it and never moved to Bath) and, of course, did some sightseeing and exploring while in the city. Although, I was not in Bath for six weeks, I can thoroughly join in saying that it was 'pleasant enough'. It is such a lovely city and I'd love to go back. For such a relatively small city there's also so much to see, especially history and literature wise, that a second trip would be more than welcomed. The architecture, the Roman influence, and all the other prettiness is just my favourite. The quote from Northanger Abbey continues: "but beyond that, it is the most tiresome place in the world." To me this doesn't ring true. I could easily see myself living in Bath - at least for some time.

pastel dreams

Coat&Shirt - 2nd hand

Scarf - Grandma's old

Jeans - H&M

Shoes - New look

Rucksack - Amazon

On my most recent trip to London with my friend Emma (who took all the photos of me in this post - tah!), we visited Notting Hill and Portobello. I'd never actually been (and neither had she); there's so much of London that I still need to explore! That is definitely one of my favourite things about the city - no matter how many times you visit, no matter how long you live there, there's always something new to see and experience. We weren't actually looking to buy anything but had a nice wander around the Portbello Road Market, and ate lots of crepes and other goodies. Even though this was back in January, it was such a pretty, sunny day that we did end up buying sunglasses (that I have now already managed to break and am on the hunt for a small screw to repair them even though they, of course, weren't expensive). Even if you only go to see them, the colourful and pastel houses are just so lovely. I like how blogger-like it is to take pictures in this area, but because our day and walk here wasn't too planned, neither were the photos. If I had planned to take photos in the pastel streets I'd most likely put together a different outfit. But now I like the contrast between pastels and my bolder colours. My original text for this post was merely:

"Pastels and Orwell. Such blogger. Very London. Wow."

And I feel like that is basically all I've really said and want to say. Hope you're all having a great week!

first impressions of lisboa and portugal

I've been in Portugal for well over a month already, and Lisbon was my first stop on arrival. Coming here from the coldness of Finland meant that I'd surely like the warmer weather. Now with the highs of good days being +20-25°C, it is more or less starting to feel like summer and that makes me very happy. But it has also been so rainy at times. For example, I've no pictures from my main day in Belém as I had to keep my camera safely tucked away from the rain, and was completely soaked after my wee adventures. Lisbon was lovely, though, and the fact that the rain prevented me from exploring as much as I'd wished only means that I have more the reason to go back! On this first trip I fully enjoyed wandering through the little cobbled streets (I don't think they're actually called cobbled streets, but calçada portuguesa, anyway) and colourful houses, the tram rides, some of the sights, meeting with a friend, and - most importantly - the pastéis de nata.

If you have any Lisbon or Portugal suggestions I'd love to hear them! So much to explore, so little time!