Brighton, England

    

  

Though we were only in Brighton for one day, I seriously could have stayed there for a lot longer than that.  Though I love the traditional English feeling of Cambridge, Brighton offers a totally different feeling.  While Cambridge is prim, proper, and picturesque, Brighton is colourful, hip, and bohemian.  If I could define them as people, Cambridge would be a studious scholar (though they do enjoy kicking back in a good old English pub), and Brighton would be the charismatic art student who goes along in life to a slightly different rhythm than the rest of the crowd.  

Arriving at the Brighton train station, we could already hear the seagulls down at the waterfront.  The sun was shining and I couldn't wait to get down to the seafront and take it all in.  Something about the sound of the waves, even in cold and windy January, makes me feel happy.  The city itself is just as happy.  Buildings are painted in bright colours, art seems to be oozing from the walls of small shops and cafes, and the local vibe throughout the Brighton lanes offers a feeling of adventure and creativity.  Some highlights and recommendations I have of our one (but full) day in Brighton are:

Cambridge in Textures and Patterns

                   

Guess what everybody! I am taking photography classes!  This means you can expect a series of blog posts within the next few months dedicated to photography.  It's been something that I've wanted to pursue for a little while now, so I thought, why not!  I'd love to improve my knowledge on the technical side of things and also get some feedback on the photos I am taking.  To me, travelling and photography fit hand in hand and I'd love to keep improving the photos that I take.  

My "homework" after my first class was to capture textures and patterns.  No, this does not mean just taking a photo of the pattern on your curtain... it means opening your eyes to what is around you and finding textures and patterns in a natural form.  I went out on a little photo adventure one afternoon and found that Cambridge was oozing with textures and patterns of all different sorts!  I barely made it out of my neighbourhood! haha.  Anyways, I'd like to share with you some textures and patterns I found that afternoon.  I hope you enjoy, and if you have any feedback, let me know!

Palma de Mallorca, Spain

 

I'd go back to Mallorca any day.  Wait, let me rephrase that: I'd love to go back to Mallorca when the temperatures are just a bit warmer.  Now, hold on-  before you go on thinking how much of a travel snob I must be to only enjoy a vacation if it's prime beach weather, let me explain.  Perhaps it's because we're Canadians and we just assume Spain = hot and sunny!  But what's that? Spain has winter too? 

Haha, the weather really wasn't that bad.  Just a bit colder than we'd expected.  For some reason, even though we fully knew that temperatures would be roughly around 10 degrees celsius, we packed sandals (just in case!), and bathings suits (just in case!), and sun tan lotion (just in case! Although, it got confiscated at the airport because it was in our carry on.  I can just picture the Airport worker laughing to himself when he saw the lotion.  He was probably thinking, "Oh, those naive Canadians...").  How were we supposed to know that we'd be wearing our wool socks all week and getting hailed on while huddling together under a palm tree (that really did happen! Though the hail did pass fairly quickly).

Now when I look back at our 6 days spent with my parents in Palma de Mallorca, I can't help but smile and chuckle to myself.  We had such a fun time, despite some minor surprises that caused slight changes in our plans.  In the end, those "surprises" are what made the trip memorable, and to be able to laugh about it later is all part of travelling.

A Delightful Vist from Home: Mom and Dad visit England!

No, we don't own that adorable Volkswagen camper van you see in the photo.  I know, I wish it was ours too.  And no, my parents didn't come visit us in a Volkswagen camper van (though that would have been pretty cool!).  So why am I pictured here with my Mom beside this happy little vehicle?  First of all, my parents did come to visit us in Cambridge!  And second of all, why wouldn't we want to take a photo here?  I think this photo captures the essence of our time in England with my parents.  Joyful, fun, special, and memorable.

It had been six months since seeing any family from home.  So, you can imagine just how excited we were to welcome my Mom and Dad here from Canada!  Zack finished work on December 19th for two weeks of holidays, and I was lucky to get the time off as well.  So, on the afternoon of Friday the 19th of December, I paced anxiously around our apartment until the time came to meet my mom and dad at the Cambridge train station!  After a long, tight squeeze from my mom and a big bear hug from my dad, we were chatting as if no time had passed at all.  I'm lucky to have the relationship with my parents that I do and was excited show them what life in England really looks like for us.

30 before 30

I feel like when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, there are two types of people. Those that love them and those that hate them. I (Zack) definitely fall into the former category. Over the past few years I have enjoyed looking at my previous year’s goals to help create new goals. This year I was away from my laptop which I had them saved on so I was unable to do this tradition. By the time by birthday rolled around (only 1 day later on January 2nd) I had still not thought of any resolutions. Over a pint of good English Stout, Sarah pointed out how I was now closer to 30 then 20.  This was a scary thought!  There are so many things I want to do and accomplish while I'm still young, hip and 20-something (because obviously there will be so many more "adult responsibilities" thrown my way when I turn 30, right?).  I better start living it up.  With that I decided to combine my new year’s resolutions and birthday goals and make a 30 before 30 list.  This list would be things I want to accomplish before I turn 30. They would be things that would enrich my life and bring happiness to those around me.  Sarah and I spent some time dreaming and chatting, and this is what we came up with: