Weymouth

A couple of weekends ago we visited my parents down in Dorset and went to Weymouth for the day.  It was a bit of a muggy grey day but as long as it doesn't rain I'm happy.  We went for a walk along an old railway which led us to Weymouth harbour.

I love visiting harbours they are always peaceful, you can sit down and people watch as there is always so much going on.  The trouble is I always want a boat, I get pretty jealous of the people docking up to get some snacks and then sailing off to the next harbour.  When my parents said we were going to get a boat I was beside myself!  I thought perhaps they do boat hire what a treat?! Ha oh no we had a little ferry from one side of the harbour to the other, I was easily amused though.

Any boat will do!

It was a short walk from the other side of the harbour to the beach.  I took these pictures on my SLR and the film doesn't really love grey days so the beach doesn't look very enticing but it did look much better.  It summed up summer holidays there were kids everywhere with their buckets and spades and mums and dads with all the kit: tents, windbreaks, deckchair, the works! It look quite stressful but perhaps that will be us one day!

We sat on the beach for a short while while I picked up some more energy (I'm not quite up for long walks anymore!) before heading home.

Moving

Times are changing at home.  We're running out of space in our little one bedroom house and being held back for the things we want to do.  Our tiny kitchen and tiny bit of room at the front of the house for pots are stopping us from the cooking and gardening that we so want to do.

Our visit back to Hungerford pushed us to keep a look out for similar houses to where we lived before.  And so in just over a month we will be relocating 12 miles west to the village of Overton.  We thought we would enjoy the sunny weather we had last weekend (before it snowed!!) and see the village as it wakes up on a Saturday and at the same time use the last of my film in the Vivitar camera I blogged about in my last post.

  

Ah Salisbury, Mark and I lived there as children I wonder if we're slowly moving back there? We're also getting further away from London, bad in one sense but explains the cheaper price we're paying for this property!

Our new house will be the one with the white door, can't wait!

We had a little drive around the village and saw that Hardy's are right down the road.  This place provided last year's best plant prize at the Chelsea Flower Show!  I've got a lot of work to do in the garden before I'm ready to even think about plants but it's a nice place I'm sure to wonder around in the summer.

Dorset through plastic

Before the digital SLR entered our lives I was a bit obsessed with my Fisheye and Diana cameras and always on the lookout for cheap alternatives to play with.  We found a Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim and had only processed one film through it before.  These are recent photos from a second go and I quite like them.  The other half commented that the imperfections at least show that the camera is doing what it should be - bless, I like a glass half full take on it, I personally think I don't know what I'm doing!

Amsterdam

We had a great time in Amsterdam.  A lot of people raised their eyebrows at the thought of us choosing to go there without an army of stags but having gone there as a youngster and being charmed, I wanted to go there with adult eyes.  So yes, you can't miss the sweet smells in the narrow alleys around the red light district but it's worth a  quick walk through and then move on, there is so much more square metres to explore.

We went by train and not only was it reducing our carbon footprint but you get to see a bit more of the world and it's so much more relaxing than being rushed around an airport and waving goodbye to your belongings.  

We had glorious blue skies and sunshine the whole time we were there but it was very cold! We spent a lot of time walking up and down canals and jumping into cafes and pubs to warm up.  I so wish we had the bicycle culture in Britain like they have in the Netherlands.  When I decided to commute to university by bike  it didn't last long when I nearly got ran over by a car who shouted at me for getting in his way.  In Amsterdam we saw cyclists getting the right of way ringing their bell at the cars when this didn't happen!

I said it was cold!

We stumbled into some tourist attractions too; the flower market "Bloemenmarkt", Anne Frank's house, the aforementioned Red Light District, we went on a canal cruise and then what I imagine are some less touristy spots, the Albert Cuyp market and a small tulip museum.

Ok so it rained once...typical for us it was when we wanted clear windows!

I don't think we will go back again but only because the Netherlands has so much more to explore.  I must stress as well that this trip was only done because I then spent a day in Utrecht and another day in the Hague for work so figured this was a good opportunity to go as my transport was free!  Having spoken to my Dutch colleagues they have pointed out some nicer places to go and since we had a pleasant time in Amsterdam I look forward to what else there is to explore.  We're even thinking of going on a cycling holiday in the Netherlands in the summer.  So watch this space!