Traveling – Love From Amy

Bath England Travel Diary

The last few weeks I’ve been recapping my big trip to England this past October. The previous posts were about Falmouth in Cornwall and can be read here and here. The next portion of the trip was to Bath, England–the land of Jane Austen! This post is a long one, so get comfy!

I am a huge fan of Jane Austen and her work. I’ve grown up with Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Emma, Mansfield Park, etc., and they each have a special place in my heart.

As soon as we got off the train in Bath, it felt like we stepped into a new era. The people and their dress were completely different than those in Falmouth and it felt like a new experience. It also felt a little bit like Harry Potter-land because there were school children running around in their “Hogwarts” uniforms.

“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.”

–Jane Austen

Once we got to our Airbnb, we rested for a bit and dropped off our luggage. Then we began our walk back into town for dinner. I really wanted to plan for our lodging to be close to the train station and most of the places we would be eating.

Cosy Club

Dinner was at Cosy Club–which was a very unique restaurant. The interior was modern, eclectic, yet also had historical components that felt like you were in another time period. We ordered a pot of tea (because, England) a salad, and gluten-free fish and chips (because, why not?). The food was so good and just what we needed after a long day of traveling. Cosy Club was also a great option for finding gluten-free meals.

After dinner, we walked back to our small renovated boathouse, watched Persuasion, and then went to bed. The next morning we slept in a little bit and then got ready for the day.

The Whole Bagel

We had breakfast at The Whole Bagel and ordered coffees and hot bacon sandwiches. If you’ve never had a hot bacon sandwich, you’re missing out. The morning was chilly and drizzly, so we took our time drinking our hot coffee and planning our day. The Whole Bagel had so many sandwiches and bagel options, and each was also served on gluten-free bread. The staff was very knowledgable about Celiac Disease and helped us decide what to order.

After we ate breakfast, we walked around the city and began exploring. The Royal Crescent and the Circus were two landmarks that we wanted to visit. They are both historical rows of terraced houses and are seen/mentioned in many of Jane Austen’s writings.

“Oh! Who can ever be tired of Bath?”

–Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

Next, we went to the Jane Austen Centre for tea and a guided tour. The tea service before the tour was very reasonably priced and they had delicious gluten-free scones. The tour was very enlightening about Jane’s life, work, and time in Bath. I learned that Bath was not always a happy place for Jane and in fact, it was a place of a lot of pain and suffering–and her writings depict many of those feelings. But the city was still beautiful, historical, and quiet.

We walked around the city some more and visited places like the Bath Abbey, The Pump Room, and looked around shops.

By then, we started to get very tired and felt the day catching up with us. We stopped by a local Pret A Manger and grabbed some gluten-free soup and drinks. Pret is a great option for fresh, on-the-go food and there are so many options for different dietary needs. After we ate, we went back to our Airbnb boathouse, watched Northanger Abbey, and then went to bed.

Stay tuned for the upcoming travel post all about London!

Falmouth Cornwall: A Special Little Harbor Pt. 2

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you part 1 of my trip to Falmouth, Cornwall in England. Today I’m sharing part 2 and will tell you all about the things that I did during my visit. If you would like to read the first post–click here.

Our first morning there, we got up early and walked down to the high street. High streets are the primary business or city streets in England. It was so quiet in the morning and no one seemed in a rush to get anywhere. The leisurely pace of life is something I definitely wanted to bring back with me to the states. After walking through the high street, we walked down to the harbor. Being near the water, watching the boats rock, and hearing the dinging of bells were definitely highlights of the morning.

After leaving the harbor, we walked through other areas of the town and observed everyday life. The people in this town were so kind and welcoming–and even suggested things we should see in the town.

After we explored the town, we hiked up to Pendennis Castle (a fort constructed by Henry VIII). The views were breathtaking and worth the trek. It did cost to be able to enter the grounds, but I think it would have been a shame to pass up the opportunity.

On our hike back down from the castle, we stopped at a beach cafe and had a hot cup of PG Tips tea. Sitting on the beach, drinking tea with my mom, and looking out to the sea was my favorite part of Falmouth. This special little harbor town left such an impression on my heart and I’ll remember that trip with such fondness.

February 5, 2019February 4, 2019

Love from Amy10 Comments

Falmouth Cornwall: A Special Little Harbor Pt. 1

Happy January and New Year to you! I hope 2019 is treating you well so far!

A couple of months ago, my mother and I took a trip across the pond to England. We had been talking about taking this trip for years and the timing and arrangements just worked out perfectly. I have a few blog posts to recap our trip because we did and saw a lot. I hope you enjoy these posts and learning about the places that we traveled to! Some of these posts will be lengthy and might be split into multiple parts. This is one of those posts! Part 1 will consist of all the culinary aspects of Falmouth, and part 2 will be everything else that we did.

After arriving in London and spending a day in Southampton with my sweet friend Maggie–we took a train to Falmouth in Cornwall! (PS–Maggie has a super cute Etsy shop that you should check out here) We decided to travel by train this trip, as I was not particularly keen on driving as much as we would be traveling. If you can find decent flights and save your pennies for rail passes–I highly recommend this mode of transportation!

We’re both huge fans of Poldark and seeing areas of Cornwall on the show made us want to travel there. Upon research, Falmouth in Cornwall was a harbor town that had a lot of history, breathtaking views, and amazing food.

We arrived in Falmouth mid-afternoon and walked from the train station to our Airbnb. We booked our house for two nights, and I’m so glad we did because we were able to get more rest than if we went to a different place each night. Once we checked into our house and dropped off our luggage, we made our way down to the high street and walked to dinner. I did A LOT of food research for this trip and so we knew exactly where we would be eating each day.

Zizzi Italian Restaurants Falmouth

We were so hungry that I didn’t even remember to take food-pics but, trust me, the food was so good! We shared gluten-free garlic rolls and then had seafood kinds of pastas. If you need to eat gluten-free–there are so many options at Zizzi! We both said that as long as we were in a coastal town, we were definitely going to eat as much coastal food as we could, haha!

Courtyard Deli & Kitchen

The next morning we went to The Courtyard Deli & Kitchen for a coffee and gluten-free rolls. To me, there is no better way to celebrate traveling than with a cup of coffee. The rolls were served with butter, jam, and marmalade and were the perfect meal for beginning a busy day. The staff was so friendly and the atmosphere was really cozy. The deli was tucked away behind some buildings on the high street, so the deli felt really quiet and relaxing.

Oggi Oggy The Pasty Company

Around lunchtime, we were getting cold, tired, and jet-lag had majorly kicked in. Our Airbnb hostess recommended that we go to Oggy Oggy for Cornish Pasties (pronounced past-ies, not paste-ys). We made our way back to the high street and found the emerald green eatery. The staff was, again, so friendly and made us fresh gluten-free pasties. It took about 30 minutes for our food to be ready, but it was warm and gave us a chance to rest while we ate. I had a cheese and potato pasty and my mom had a steak and potato pasty. I definitely recommend you try Oggy Oggy for pasties, even if you can eat glutinous ones, haha!

Rick Stein’s Fish

This is the meal that I was most excited about while we were in Falmouth. We made a reservation to eat gluten-free fish and chips at Rick Stein, and the night we went there was also a special that included a glass of Prosecco. BEST FISH AND CHIPS EVER. The serving sizes were giant, but don’t worry–we managed to eat it all. The fish was fresh and the breading was crispy, crunchy, and best of all, gluten-free. The chips (or fries as we call in the states) were delicious and were also served with sweet green peas. Mashed peas are a staple with fish and chips, but we were unable to eat the mashed version due to it not being gluten-free. For the price that we paid for dinner, we could not believe the incredible quality. The restaurant was also very family-friendly as there were many families with small children the night we were there.

More on Falmouth will be coming in part 2. I can’t wait to share it because of how much I loved Falmouth and I wish we could have stayed longer.

January 22, 2019January 20, 2019

Love from Amy9 Comments

Preparing to Come Home from Traveling

I get so excited when it’s time to travel and I build it up so much for myself that it can be really hard returning to reality. Haven’t we all be there though? As much as I love my travel routines and things that I do to prepare for a trip–I also have a routine for coming home. A day or two before I come home, there are some questions that I begin to ask myself to help prepare for “post trip letdown/depression” and getting back into my normal routine. There are also a few things that I like to do when re-packing and then as soon as I get home.

QUESTIONS I ASK MYSELF BEFORE RETURNING HOME

What have I learned from this trip? I think it’s important to always be evaluating yourself for things that you can learn or that you have learned. I think that trips can also be more meaningful for you personally if you have this mind-set.
What am I dreading the most about going home? Face your fears and stressors head on! Yes–there will be responsibilities waiting for you, yes–there will be laundry, yes– there will be work to return to, and yes to so many other things that you will have to resume. However, I think it’s important to work through these feelings and concerns so that you can prepare strategies for dealing with these issues.
When can I next look forward to time off? Something I have learned about myself, over the years, is that my work and focus tend to be better when I know that I’m working towards something or some time off. I think that it’s healthy to regularly plan time off so that you don’t become overly attached to work and forget to take care of yourself. I have tried to plan time off every few months, or as the opportunity arises, and it’s a great motivator for helping me return to everyday life and stay motivated with my responsibilities.

THINGS I DO BEFORE AND WHEN I GET HOME

Put dirty laundry in a drawstring bag or separate tote bag. I think that this routine helps so much when unpacking because all of my dirty clothes are in one place and I can easily start laundry when I get home.
Put away suitcase as soon as possible. About a week before a trip, I’ll pull out my suitcase so that I have something to look at that lets me know time off is coming. However, I like to put my suitcase away soon after I get home so that I don’t keep looking at it and wishing I was still on vacation. I really like to do this routine, even if this means that I literally dump out my suitcase into a pile and put it away–it helps me so much.

I hope these tips have been helpful for you! Do you have any routines for coming home from traveling?

March 16, 2018March 16, 2018

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Airport Outfit Go-Tos

People watching is one of my favorite things to do at the airport because you get to hear where people are coming from/going to, hear different accents, and observe a variety of airport clothing styles. I’ve seen some looks that I will remember, for sure! When it comes to traveling, making sure I’m comfortable in the clothes I’m wearing is a must. I tend to wear the same things on travel days so there’s not a whole lot of variety (or color for that matter, haha!) but here are some of my go-to looks for travel days. I haven’t linked these items in this post because some of them are old or I’ve already mentioned them–but these pieces can be found in so many similar brands that it should be super easy to duplicate these looks.

OUTFIT DETAILS

LEATHER JACKET|Stitch Fix SWEATER| GAP LEISURE PANTS| Athleta SHOES| Target

If you’ve known me for a while then you know I just really like to wear black. No, I don’t have a dark soul but I do think that black is classy and can go with pretty much anything. Also, I occasionally spill things during flights and so it’s nice to wear things that don’t show stains, haha! I think that an all black outfit is really easy to throw on if you’re rushing around. A printed sneaker is also really cute with an all black outfit!

OUTFIT DETAILS

JACKET| Amazon SWEATER| Philosophy LEISURE PANTS| Athleta SHOES| Steve Madden

I really like this olive jacket because it’s still a neutral color and can go with so many things, while still adding in a little bit of color. This sweater has also been so many places with me and I love how it’s oversized and soft. Throw these two things on with a pair of jeans or skinny pants and it’s a great go-to outfit. I also like these shoes because they are so easy to put on and off, especially for going through security.

OUTFIT DETAILS

ZIP HOODIE| TJMaxx TSHIRT| Walmart LEGGINGS| TJMaxx SHOES| Target

Leggings are the best for traveling because they are so soft and comfortable. I also think you can get away with wearing them as long as you have a long shirt or jacket to go with them. I think that a hoodie, a grey t-shirt, and leggings are a great combination for so many types of travel.