I was in Split two days. Two gloriously wonderful days. Split is gorgeous. We camped on a peninsula, with these big great mountains on one side, and a super cute little harbour on the other. I was happiest here, I think. The weather was gorgeous, it was often too hot for clothes and I spent as much time as I could in the water, the gorgeous turquoise coloured water. It was clear, and warm, and amazing. Or sunbathing on the jetty. I enjoy nothing more than being gloriously warm, lying in the sun with not much to do.

I remember going for a swim as soon as camp was set up. Diving in off the jetty, marvelling in what it was like to swim in the sea again. It’s been a while, almost ridiculously long. The water wasn’t quite cold, but wasn’t far off. I remember swimming with Jimmy, and being wary to move away everytime he disappeared under the water, least my feet or legs get pinched.

I remember delving into the book I’d borrowed, well aware that I’d have to give it back soon. I got caught up in it’s plot. There was a lot of action and a battle was coming. I was sad when I finished it, anxious to pick up the next one. I was also delighted that I was able to sit in the sun and read. I used to sit in the garden back home, and I’d forgotten how very wonderful it was to pass the time that way.

I remember playing Circle of Death, and I got my first Fourth King. I don’t remember what we were drinking. Liquors, I think. I want to say it was some kind of berry schnappes. Needless to say it put me on my behind rather quickly.

I remember sneaking off into the dark with Jimmy. We argued, and laughed, and talked. We got told off for being too loud. We watched fish jump out of the estuary. We went on a bit of a mission, and I climbed over a fence in jandals and skirt. I somehow managed to mangle my ankle. I don’t quite know how, whether it was the climbing over the fence, or the climbing over the rocks to get to the fence, but I hurt it. I also had one of those ‘aha’ moments. Except that it came like a slap in the face, and I was upset and angsted. Still, it was an aha moment, even if it was painful one.

I remember waking up at 4 in the morning, the geometric pattern of the tent hurting my poor, still drunk eyes, and my brain working overtime on that ‘aha’ moment. I stole the sleeping bag and headed to the jetty. It was cold, and calm. Super quiet. At about 6 people started moving. A rowing team paddled back and forth past me, people went for early morning swims, and cars started down the motorway. A while past then, the sun came up over the mountains. And it was a glorious glorious sight. The rocks all turning pink and orange, the heat as the light hit me, how the whole sky brightened.

I remember that after a while I came to terms with that wretched ‘aha’ moment. I stretched, and lay out in the sun, having claimed the jetty. After a while Jimmy appeared, and we sat, and snoozed. There was book reading, and comfortable silence. He disappeared, and returned later with a hot chocolate and coffee. We went swimming. I swam in my underwear, because changing would have meant leaving the jetty and I didn’t want to. It was glorious, the swimming. Being in the water. I remember thinking that there wasn’t enough time here, that I wanted to spend more time in the sun, being warm and doing nothing. I soaked up as much of it as I could, hoarding it, revelling in it. I remember watching Jimmy jump from the conveniently supplied diving boards, laughing at his form. I remember watching the sprats swim in the warm waters nearest the rocks, and crabs scuttling from side to side.

I remember that when it got colder, when the wind picked up (cheers, convection) and we moved to the bar for pizza + drinks. Sitting in the sun, still wet from the swimming. After we wandered into Split.

Split is gorgeous, parts of the old palace (of the Roman Empire Dicletian) is still there, with it’s super worn (and slippery) cobblestones, gorgeous archways and awkwardly tiny little back alleys. The St. Duje Cathedral is still there too, with it’s old pillars and pretty bell tower. Mostly I remember eating gelato, because it was awfully warm that night.

We wandered down markets, and brought a silly amount of postcards. We wandered through the allyways hand in hand, getting lost in the old part of the city, coming across high st stores in impossibly small places. I remember sitting on the waterfront, with a foot in the water, a Jimmy at my back, talking of I don’t even remember what. We watched big giant boats all lit up with little lights leave the harbour. I remember walking by groups of elders, wanting to listen as they sang old Croatian songs. Past the jetty with all their little boats and nets and bouys awaiting the next day. Sitting at a high table with a drink, writing a bunch of postcards. It was a pretty lovely night. I was sad when it ended, and we went back to the campsite.

I left the next morning, bright + early. I was not happy about leaving, I really didn’t want to go. I felt that I hadn’t had enough time soaking up the sun, enough time swimming, or appreciating being so very close to the ocean. Needless to say I enjoyed Split most, I think. And I’ve got a soft spot for it. I’m going to go back, I think. Spend more time swimming, and sunbathing.

Still, I felt lucky to have been given a week to see a new part of the world. To see places and people and cultures I hadn’t seen before.

I will go back, though. One day, anyway.

We drove from Ljubljana in Slovenia, to Plitvice, in Croatia. It was a bit of a ridiculous trip, and we had issues crossing the border. I shan’t say more than that because it’s not really my story to tell. There was much waiting, and a little bit of stressing, but we eventually got through okay. It was a bit of an eye opener, though. Still, I think we were all very glad to get moving. There was a load of mountains between the border + Plitvice. We watched lightening strike the other side of the ranges as we wound our way through, which was bizarre. I think we were all glad to finally get to the bungalows that night.

That second day the boys disappeared for the day and me + S hung out. It was raining, which was unexpected and was a bit of a downer. We spent our time getting lost, watching movies, and hanging out at the restaurant. After lunch we freaked ourselves out by having lightening strike quite near us. There was a blinding flash that startled me, followed by the loudest crash of thunder of I’ve ever heard, it made my heart beat a million times a minute, scared the living shit out me, and made me run like a headless chicken away from where we were. We laughed hysterically, with fear. It was bizzarre, and neither of us could settle afterwards, the adrenline running through our veins was ridiculous. It meant that when the boys did get back, we were all very relieved. I think we were all very glad to back to a happy foursome, and we all hung out together, watching tv + napping. Had dinner.

After Jimmy + I went to Bosnia for dessert. A little town 40k away, across the border. It was novel, crossing the border for drinks. There was wandering around the centre of the tiny town we’d visited. It was bizarre that every bar we passed was blasting american pop songs as loud as they could. We had gelato, and picked a random bar and drank some ridiculous Croatian/Slovenian alcohol. We stayed for ages. Long enough for several rounds of whatever took our fancy. Rounds of chocolates + espressos. Vodka + Orange’s. Bosnian beer. Something that tasted like herbal jager. We made friends with the barmen, one of who spoke English, another who didn’t. I remember the currency being pretty random. We paid in Euros, and got Konvertibilna Marks back. I was amused no end, it’s one of the perks of travelling, I think, the many different currencies, the different weights and images and dimensions. I got a kick out of it, anyway.

The next day we hit up Plitvice Lakes. It’s a giant world heritage site, and is gorgeous. There are a dozen or so lakes that cascade one into the other, with very pretty waterfalls between each. The lakes are gorgeous, and are all super clear (you could see the bottom of each quite clearly, including the fish that lived in them) and were gorgeous colours. Turquoise, azure, green. It was all kinds of phenomenal. The lakes were surrounded by a pretty lush rainforest, clearly there was some kind of rich ecosystem goodness going on there.

When we went it was raining, and cold. I’d also done my ankle in, so the four hour hike was all kinds of fun for me. I used Jimmy as a crutch more often than not, which was fun for us both. We didn’t buy one of the maps, but the signs were easy enough to follow. There was a ferry ride (which was gorgeous, and freezing) and towards the end, a bus ride back to the information centre where we started. By this point I was positively shivering, and was glad to headed back to the campsite. Still, it was a gorgeous experience. I’ve never seen anything so pretty.

We left the next morning, and headed towards Split. I was all bundled up, and was wearing as many layers as I could. It was pretty brilliant driving down the mountains. The closer we got the coast, the warmer it was. I discarded layers as we descended, it was pretty random. I adored the heat, though. I love being warm. It was pretty interesting to see how the terrain changed the lower we got. The lush rainforest switched out with dusty scrub. It was bizzare watching the socio-economic level change, too. In Plitvice there were loads of well kept buildings. Out here in the scrub buildings were abandoned, and falling apart. There were giant holes in roofs, missing doors or fallen down walls.

Worse was getting pulled over by the policija. We hadn’t been going very fast (it was a 3 tonne red van, not exactly the speediest of vehicles) but we’d going well under what TomTom had told us what the speed limit was. Sadly, the policija said that the limit had changed, and we were well going over it.

We pulled over, as requested. It was hot, we were on the side of a completely deserted dusty road in the middle of nowhere. Not suss at all. Jimmy went over to talk (which, as they spoke little english, was mostly sign language, I think) to them, and came back, sure enough, to ask us how much cash we had on us. In Euros, not Croatian Kuna. We pooled what we had, and he went back, paid the fine, and off we went. Later he told us how ‘the paper’ cost €150, and ‘no paper’ cost €100. We’d effectively bribed the policija. Apparently this is not uncommon at all.

Soon after we hit the coast. The view was gorgeous, and there were all these little viewing platforms from which to admire them. The buildings looked fancier, and things in general looked like a civilisation I recognized. By this time it was well too hot to wear clothes, and I was well glad to be warm again. It seemed mind boggling to have started that morning fairly frozen and then to be standing a few hours later in a tropical climate.

I was glad to have left Plitvice, and looking at the gorgeous ocean views, I was very very glad to be in Split.

I flew into Slovenia mid afternoon. I was still under the (misguided) assumption that my ride wouldn’t show + I’d have to hitch down to Split to get my flight back to London. So when I walked out of the arrivals gate to find no one there, I wasn’t especially surprised. I sat down in the (gloriously warm) sun and had a wine to figure out what to do. Apparently waiting was a brilliant idea, because not five minutes later a big red van pulled up out front, ready for me to climb into.

It was awkward, at first. I wasn’t sure where I stood with the Jimmy who came to pick me up. But Jimmy was polite, and he was tanned (I was well jealous) and was full of stories about the adventures he’d been on since I last saw him. We picked up a few supplies, and I spent my first afternoon outside of London baking the sun. I think its important to mention the gorgeous, amazing phenomenon that is being warm in the sun. London doesn’t have that. London is predominantly grey + dreary. You wear layers at every opportunity. So, that I could be in shorts + a singlet AND warm? No jumper required? Colour me gobsmacked.

I don’t remember much of that first night, to be honest. I know I got well plastered on some ridiculous 40% Slovenian vodka. I know that I drank at least 1/2 of it myself, and I know that the bathroom of that poor little campsite bar is not going to be the same. How I made it into the tent, I don’t know. I do know that I felt horrid the next morning. That the pattern of the tent really did my head in. But the rest of the day? Phenomenally better.

We explored the river near the campsite. There was sun, and it was gorgeous. Little tiny fish (and slightly bigger fish) swam in the warm shallows. The river was pretty wide, and there was swift current moving through the middle of it. We went swimming, which was ridiculous, because the water was as good as frozen. Still, there’s something brilliant about standing mid-river with a human heater. Everything is quiet and amazing. I couldn’t believe I was there, really. Gorgeous open water, warm enough to be standing in bikini in a river. My mind was completely blown after the dreary greyness that was London.

I spent some time building little rock towers on the shore, and then we moved away and threw rocks at them, trying to bring them down. Jimmy tried to teach me to skip rocks, and was mildly successful (I got two skips). We built little rafts, and watched them drown. We walked down a track used by horses and men walking their dogs, and down an even smaller track where people had funny little garden allotments.

That night we hit up Ljubljana. Ljubljana is gorgeous, it’s filled with all this amazing art. Both sculptural masterpieces, and graffiti type pieces too. There’s the Triple Bridge (basically three bridges all connected together) which Jimmy took quite an interest in. We walked across all three. Mostly I enjoyed wandering about. There’s a canal which runs down the middle, and large willow trees hanging over the side. There were gorgeous little markets, and buskers and restaurants and cafes that sprawled out over the sidewalks.

There were bridges with locks of love and so many cute little sculptures everywhere. It was a really gorgeous town, and was filled with brilliant textures and buildings that had a ridiculous amount of character. Often the window sills would hold flower baskets with red and yellow flowers pouring over the sides. There were random pillars, and gorgeous paved walkways.

We climbed up to the Castle, which is this old medieval giant which sits on a hill above the town. It’s large, and fairly gorgeous. The ride up and way into the main square is not at all medieval, but this gorgeous carefully designed mix of industrial piping + tension ropes and old wood + gardens. There were these gorgeous grape vines heavy with fruit, and an abundance of fig, pear and apple trees. The view from the wall was gorgeous, and there were at least three weddings happening in the main square.

We had dinner later at one of the many little cafe’s spilling out onto the backstreets. Chicken Stew + Goulash. It got cold enough to wear a cardigan, but nothing more than that. I was impressed, and adored the heat. A few quiet drinks. Mostly we wandered throughout the town. Down little alleyways, past buskers on bridges and old, impressive buildings. Ljubljana was definitely one of the prettier places I’ve been.

On the way out the next morning, we packed up camp (slow, we took our sweet time. It’s what you do on holiday) and we hit up the Škocjan Caves. It’s one of the largest underground canyons in the world, apparently. There’s a river that flows through, the Reka River. It was pretty phenomenal, it was maybe a two hour walk through the caves. You start at a ridge + go down, low enough to see the river + then you start the hike back up again. It was filled with some amazing stalagmites (the ones that start from the floor) + stalactites (the ones that start from the ceiling). There were giant underground caverns, there were terraces, and there were bats.

Then there was a bit of a walk back to the carpark, through this super lush cavern where the ceiling had fallen in. Nature had taken it back, and it was pretty lush. It was a pretty pleasant way to to spend an afternoon, actually.

Soon after we were back in the van, headed towards Croatia. Another post to come!

Visited the Tate Modern. It kind of blew my mind.

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I’m pretty well known for having unexpectedly big nights out. I’m pretty sure it’s London’s fault, not mine. I don’t usually *plan* to have a big one, it just happens. Often. More than it should, probably. As a joke, my friend J attempted to make it a term. He even submitted it on urbandictionary.com

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Elly night: An unexpectedly big night when you’ve attempted to have a quiet one. Named after Elly of New Zealondon who can never have a quiet night, no matter how much she tries.

Example: “Dude, I totally had an Elly night last night. I was just walking home from work and didn’t make it back till 7:00am after some random person bought everyone on the street tequila shots. How do I get into these situations?! I don’t remember the rest. Are you missing a chicken? Oh man I’m hung over…”

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It didn’t make it through the review process (something which I’m slightly glad for!) but is a pretty accurate view of my nights out. I always start out with the best of intentions, of making the last tube home and having a fun but quiet night that won’t effect tomorrow. Needless to say that sometimes my best intentions don’t work out.

PS – Thanks, J. You make Elly nights much more fun. x

PPS – This isn’t me + J. This is me + my friend Lyle, on what turned out to be an Elly night. I started off drinking lemonade. Then there was an ice luge with skittle vodka + jager. I was powerless to stop it.

I’m not an art buff, and I don’t know much about art history, either. What I knew about Monet’s Water Lillies was that he painted many gorgeous oil paintings of a water lilly pond in his garden. I loved the idea of someone exploring the same subject over and over again, and these are meant to be amazing. I knew that in Paris the Musée de l’Orangerie has on display some of the larger murals of the series. I had planned to cross this off there, in Paris.

Instead I stumbled across one rather blindly at the Tate Modern here in London. My mind was quite blown, and I hadn’t quite realised how many of these there were. In the last thirty years of his life, Monet painted approximately 250 Water Lillies paintings. And they are on display in museums all over the place.

I was shocked to come across the one that I did, and I wasn’t quite sure I was seeing what I thought I was. The little placard on the side removed any ambiguity. I sat, and I admired for a good long while. Taking the time to look, and think. To wonder.

It was a pretty profound moment for me. Sometimes I put things on The List and hope that they will be great. That I’ll get what I want out of them, hope that they will in some way enrich my life, provide perspective, and growth. Make me a better person. A more interesting person. I wasn’t sure that seeing a painting would do that, except that it did. I can’t (and won’t try) to explain how, but it did.

Number 114 on The List, done.

In September every year there is The Mayor’s Thames Festival. It’s a giant outdoor arts festival that basically takes over Southbank – and more – down by the River Thames. I went with Morf, and oh it was a ridiculous amount of fun. There were all sorts of things going on, dances and comedy shows, boat races. There was a silly amount of food, and cute market stalls selling all sorts of crafty goodness. There were bands, and art installations and fireworks. It was brilliant. I had a marvelous time, and will no doubt go back again next year.

Fun times indeed!

I was having a down week. A week where I wasn’t sure what I was doing with myself, where I didn’t have a direction. It seemed that everything was falling apart and I didn’t know where to turn. There was the unnecessary return to high school drama, there was illness, there was insecurity and I just couldn’t pull myself out of it. I really couldn’t. I felt a bit pathetic, really.

So, I took a moment to think up a few things that rock right now, and they made the world seem a infinitely better place.

There is the late night deep and meaningfuls w/ my 2 BFFs, even though they are both a world + a ridiculous time zone away. Realising that I can opt out any time I want. Being introduced to ceroc and loving being twirled around and around again. There was Jack, and Frank for making my afternoons sweeter. There was the friends crowding down a long table in a dark pub, glasses raised in the air to celebrate one of their own finding employment. There was the walking about London in the dark, now that the city has taken on that crisp coolness that is fall. There is the friends that include you in their plans, and buy tickets on your behalf. Friends that sit down with you and listen to your (fairly frivolous) fears, and do so intently. And then pull on their romantic hat and tell you that the universe will take care of it, so not to worry. The flat mate who I sit down to dinner with most nights, who tried to explain the intricacies of tennis scoring, and who tries to make me watch X Factor. There’s the friend who gets horribly drunk with me, and will play my wingman even though she’s not in the game. And there is China Town’s roadside Steam Buns, and Peanut Butter Gelato from the Gelato place.

There are the guys who I run with, who push me to run further, but don’t admonish me when I lack the will power to keep going. There’s the boy sends me txts about shoe shopping and job hunting and all the other random things he’s up to. There’s people who will play hacky with me so I can get better, there’s the girl who is another one of the guys and was super glad to befriend me, there’s the sandwich place who knows my name and calls my order the ‘elly sandwich’, and there’s the satisfaction of a good run-around at netball, and the delight I get at the ‘swish’ of the net when it goes in from the outside.

That’s a pretty hefty list of things that amazing, and with that in mind, the week turned around. I was glad it did, so unbelievably glad.

What do you do to put yourself in a better frame of mind?