It's only 7:40 pm and I feel like I am about to crash and sleep!!  Today was super long - or at least it felt like that.

I had my niece and nephew for the evening part of today, so I had to find things to entertain them.... I didn't know where to begin ! On the schedule was Mini-golf, Carousel Park, Pizza & Ice-cream - in that order..... however, reaching to the mini golfing 1 & a half hours before they opened, we had to find stuff to do in between, so our first random stop was a garden nursery. Lol :) Surprisingly the kids enjoyed the grounds and flowers. After that I ended up taking them down to MovieTowne to play in the arcade. Who would have thought 20 coins would finish in less than 20 mins !

With time still on our hands, PIZZA came next. At the table, my niece accidentally threw her coke down and it spilled ALL OVER. I obviously expected something clumsy to happen because she is my sister's daughter... and well my sister is as clumsy as they get ! [Sorry Sims - Love you xx]

FINALLY THE HOUR ARRIVED ! MINI-GOLF TIME ! ** happy dance **

Well well well, I do believe this might be the first and last time I ever take those 2 mini-golfing. I know I said my niece was clumsy, but it apparently also runs in my nephew too. Those balls went everywhere except the hole.... EVERYWHERE !!! BALLS WERE FLYING ALL OVER !! There was an older gentleman with his children playing and he kept looking across, I just wanted to hide in embarrassment. But hey... at least no one got hurt. :D

Afterwards we headed to the Carousel Park !!! Oh yeah ! I was even excited !!! :) When I bought the tickets, I asked the guy at the ticket booth if adults can ride, he laughed, smiled and said Of course !

Oh I felt like such a child again, and you know what, it felt damn good ! :)

This Carousel Park is still fairly new but I was so disappointed to see a few of the horses were "out of order" and some of the grids at the top where the pole comes through were broken up. HOW? HOW? I just don't understand how do these things just get damaged? Is it just because of Trinidad and people just vandalize anything they get their hands on? Or are these rides just as unsafe as they are safe?

WE FINALLY REACHED OUR LAST DESTINATION FOR THE DAY - ICE CREAM !

I took them to Cravings Creamery & Cafe, which after munching down their ice cream, squealing how yummy it is, begged me for more and when I told them absolutely not, asked if I would take them there again.  I am glad that it left a great impression on them & their taste buds.

Once I brought them home thinking - finally time to relax !...... but nope they decided to play Hangman, or in their language "hangyman"  lol  That was also a little disaster as one of the words was "Ostrich" and when my niece wrote it, no wonder we didn't get it -  "O.S.T.R.I.J"  lol  I guess sometimes it is really how you pronounce a word that gets you confused on spelling.

WHAT A DAY ! I am so ready to have a nice long shower and sleep my saturday night away !

Bonne nuit :)

xx

Sometimes we just find hidden away places, other times it is by word of mouth (or these days facebook). This place I found through facebook, then finding out it was owned by someone I knew. Now, I am not a person who likes to know everyone's business, so this was truly a lovely surprise. As I entered Shambala I fell in love. The soothingly lit place, the aromas, the gemstones & buddas all gracefully lined the shelves. I started from the entrance and as I made my way to the last shelf, an arrangement of beautiful hand crafted rings were before me. I honestly must have tried on all. NO JOKE ! These rings are made by a man named Jonathan and you can find his other beautiful creations on his facebook page - UnEarthed Gems - GO FALL IN LOVE ! :)

These 2 were my chosen ones, and I wanted one as a midi ring & I think she looks adorable <3

Today I signed up for Nestle's Health Fair 5k. I am so excited !! I really never was one to run or do these 5k run/walk events because of my knee, so I'm counting my lucky stars !! :)  I know this route already as it is around the Savannah so it is nice and flat and I have ran it before. Still putting my knee brace on ! :D

Tonight I came across a lovely post a friend of mine Monsie wrote as she shared a very heart warming video. The video brought tears to my eyes, to only imagine what that man felt at that point in time really touched me.

After that, I thought I would watch some "What would you do" videos, and strange enough the first one that came up was about Homeless bashing. Ouch. I have never seen such violence on homeless people before, it literally ripped my heart open!  Please watch.

It is ridiculously crazy how fast Easter goes, especially Easter long weekends!!

My long weekend begun with a lovely dinner with 2 friends I was in school with. We meet monthly for get together meals and drinks. It is so great how we get lost in our daily lives but when we get together we just always pick up from where we left off. This month we went to a sushi restaurant and afterwards went out for drinks, which strangely was the hardest night finding somewhere to go. "The night before the holiday" you'd figure your options were endless, but truthfully, we just wanted to go somewhere different and we surely did ! lol

Saturday I spent the day making Stuffed Vegan Cabbage rolls with Rice, Lentils and Raisins, covered & baked it in a Tomato Sauce, and it came out just delicious ! How I miss cooking and baking. I had been a Vegan since 2004 and in 2012 I switched to Vegetarian due to travelling. So, although I fell off my Vegan wagon for about 2 years, I am back on it now... stronger than ever !  Back to cooking and making delicious Vegan yumyums. :)

Sunday it rained the entire morning, so what better way to spend a rainy day than on Netflix !  Weeeee. Love Netflix!! People constantly rant about there is nothing to watch on it... but... there's... so.. much !!!!  I came across a documentary called "One day on Earth". Wow, Wow, Wow !  It filled me with all sorts of emotions, from sadness to happiness to being appreciated. It was recordings from every part of the world on the 10.10.10. Little clips, of birth and illness and lack of water and marriages, just.... words cannot begin to explain the powerful pieces in that documentary.... just watch it ! :)

That night I went for a jog/walk in a beautiful pasture with my cousins.

RISE & SHINE !

Bright & Early the next morning myself and my cousins attended the Toyota Earth Run/Walk Day ! A 3.5k Run or walk, whichever you prefer, or could do. I went thinking it was completely flat until I reached the first uphill... then another, then another. Damn oh damn, but with beads of sweat glistening on the tip of my nose, and pouring down my back (bleh), I pushed and pushed. It is always a huge fulfillment and joy reaching the finish line and receiving a medal of completion. :)

Just after lunch I threw together an Easter Egg Hunt and Riddle Hunt for my Nieces and Nephew. Stuffing 67 eggs with chocolate & money, and hiding them from the garden to the kitchen. Seeing their faces beaming with smiles and laughter running throughout the house grabbing eggs made me so happy inside. I do think I deserve Aunty of the Year award. :)

Coming from such a small country, it gets really frustrating doing the same thing over & over again; eating at the same restaurants, going to the same bars, doing the  [ s a m e  t h i n g  ] o v e r  &  o v e r  &  o v e r !!!  It gets... frustrating ! Lol  :)

So, as I have came back from my UK trip, I find myself now searching for different things to do. Luckily so far, my weekend was super awesome. I spent the morning part of Sunday ziplining through the Macqueripe estate with my cousins, then after took a trip to the zoo, then did the Easter thing and watched George & George fly kites followed by the Run for Hope event up Lady Chancellor Hill with my cousin TM.  All in all, the day began at 9:30 am and ended shortly after 4:30 pm.

Although I have a few upcoming plans, it is always very nice to find new activities and hidden / unknown restaurants and finds.

Sometimes, even going out to the same places, I have decided to order - outside the box - , something different! I am starting to love the wonder of what will come to the table & what would dance along my taste buds. :)

   "But I love your feet only because they walked upon the earth and upon the wind and upon the waters, until they found me"

~ Pablo Neruda

My short adventures have opened my eyes, for now my anxiety is at bay, that my soul may be more open and free to wander this earth, falling into unknown opportunities, and learning of my travels and myself. Through what may come, my feet have crossed paths with pavement inscriptions, colourful flowers & children's play and I couldn't be more at peace within my being.

I have been so busy since I got back, trying to get my life back in order, in routine I should say. Here's a short update of my last week in the UK & I hope I made it up to you, my readers, with photographs. :)

Hertfortshire was absolutely amazing. We stayed on a farm with a huge lake with ducks and swans, a horse stable and a spring water stream flowing thoroughout & behind the cottages.

We spent the days there exploring antique stores, little villages and taking walks along the cobble stone streets in Hitchin, at nights we had home cooked meals and wine.

The time went too quickly and by the time we knew it we were running to catch the train back to London, literally running. Hehe

Filling in our remaining days with houses and museums, soaking in every minute that was left, such moments and memories cherished.

Perhaps I have gotten lost in too many adventures this week and have been too exhausted to write. So as I sit here in the back seat of a red hatchback Skoda on my way to another county, I find the opportunity to update. 

 My travels have been fulfilling thus far. We have walked the streets of London for the first few days, did the tourist thing at Buckingham palace and the London eye and had a wonderful dining experience at J Sheekey. 

A few days into our travel we caught the train to Rugby where we took a stroll through Offchurch and ambled alongside the Grand Union Canal. Lucky for us, a boat was passing by so we got to see the canal locks at work. 

 Most nights were spent by the fireplace watching late night British television with a cold glass of wine. 

 The following day the weather warmed up so we spent it wandering the grounds of Warwick Castle . It was truly incredible. The rooms were filled with history as armor displayed in the dining area along with swords and a gigantic porridge pot. Rooms dressed with paintings and other ancient belongings. 

Yesterday we found our way down to Stratford to visit Shakespares birthhouse and browse around the neighbourhood. I was at a loss for words as I got back that day to find that John Keats had once visited and signed the guest registry. John Keats ahhhh my absolute favourite poet alongside Pablo Neruda. I am equally excited to get back to London so I can visit Keats house. 

As we drive through the countryside arriving at our next destination, I ask, "what adventures do you have waiting for us Hertfordshire ?"