Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer.

So, I survived my first ever BlaBlaCar experience!  After an eight hour car ride, with four French men, all of whom did not speak English, I managed to make it to Limoges, with all my money & dignity in tact.  To think of the times our mothers told us not to talk to strangers & there I was, in a car with four of them, being trusting enough to have a doze in the back seat.  Oh how things change.

My favourite friend Kate & her husband Cheese, came to collect me from Limoges train station, dogs in tow.  I was so happy to see them.  Traveling is a wonderful thing, never let that be denied, but darn is it tiring, especially when you're on your lonesome.  Having the opportunity to just chill for a while & spend some time with friends is something I really appreciate nowadays.

For two whole weeks, that sadly sped right by, we baked our way through Google, watched every new release film we could find online, took daily dog walks through the countryside & snuggled up in front of the log fire, chatting & bursting into tears of laughter, usually over some ridiculous meme, that predominantly seemed to involve cats.

One evening, we decided to attempt to make quinoa vegan meatballs.  Unfortunately, I was in charge of cooking the quinoa & it turns out I lack portion control.  Having a lifetime supply of cooked quinoa on our hands, we took to Googling recipes, in an attempt to use it up.  This resulted in; Quinoa Apple Spice Cake, Quinoa Pancakes & Quinoa Chili, among other things.  Let's just say, I'm now an encyclopaedia of quinoa recipes.

We also took to baking something sweet & delicious everyday & it had to be everyday, because we would make something so yummy, that we would devour it all in one night.  Scones, brownies, chocolate fudge cake...My purist healthy eating regime took a bit of a detour, it has to be said.  I'd gone from cutting out sugar almost completely, to wolfing down numerous cupcakes, smothered in chocolate buttercream icing on the reg!  Damn you sugar & your deliciousness!

One weekend, Kate & I took a mini break to her friend's house in Angoulême & we all went out in the evening to the local cinema, to watch 12 Years A Slave.  Having not been to the movies since Christmas, it was a really nice treat to go.  Handy that they had it in Version Originale too.  Upon our return, with the weather being cold, wet & miserable, we took to watching copious amounts of films online.  American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, The Wolf of Wall Street & five others.  I do love a movie night!

Everyday, we'd take the dogs out for their stroll around town.  Most days were wet & cold & both the dogs & my Hunter wellingtons tended to come back muddy.  My new pink coat from Zara, took a beating too & is now in dire need of a dry clean.  (Perhaps I was too optimistic in busting out the pastels.)  We did have a couple of relatively warm & sunny days though.  I honestly cannot wait for Spring!  The feeling of warmth on my skin & the sight of bright blue skies!  Oh when will it come!?

All in all, I had a lovely time with my friends & I was genuinely sad to leave them.  I shall deeply miss throwing on my 'stretchy pants' & snuggling up on the sofa, bowl of crisps to hand & watching a movie with Kate & SamIAm the cat, curled up on my lap.  I'll miss chowing down on Cheese's fresh baked bread, toasted in the mornings, with lashings of honey & smothered in margarine with our lunchtime soup, & I'll especially miss the dogs, & their overexcited morning greeting.

Just in case they start to forget me, I left them with Nigel the nectarine tree, who will hopefully do me proud & provide them with plenty of fruit in the summer…in time for my return.

Sometimes, love really is all you need.

Leaving Italy was filled with such sweet sorrow.  Gazing out of the window on the plane ride back to England, tears had formed & hovered at the roots of my lashes, not quite committing to the fall.  As much as I was excited to be heading home for Christmas, I knew I would miss Italy & a part of me worried that I'd made the wrong decision.  Had I been too hasty & not thought through the consequences of my return.  Especially as finally, after four months of traveling, had started to feel settled in my new environment.

My first morning back in England had felt surreal, as though my time away had been all but a dream.  Had I not been in Rome just a few hours ago?  It all seemed so close & yet so far away.  Of course it was comforting to see Mère & to be back with Mr Pig, but I couldn't help feeling solum & regretful of my return.  In some ways, I felt like a failure.  I'd only been gone for four months & there I was, back again.  I wouldn't let this be the end.  Christmas, I thought.  I'm only here for Christmas.

A few days in & cracks, in my new found inner peace, really started to show.  Although I was back in England, I wasn't in my own home.  That was gone & all that had filled it had gone with it too.  Staying with Mère & her new partner, I was having to adjust to a whole new setup.  I had taken a break from traveling, only to realise, that without roots anywhere, I was merely a guest & in essence still on my travels.  The sudden realisation that I was truly homeless, made me crumble into a sobbing mess.  Was I always going to feel like this?  Awash with the tide.

In a bid to stop myself from drowning in my own self-pity, I decided to make the most of my time in England & reconnect with my friends.  At the beginning of my travels, I had made a point of sending my closest friends postcards.  One from every place I traveled to.  Which, by the way, is far harder & more costly that you'd think.  Then once a month, when I'd start to feel a little down & homesick, I would Skype mere & Charlotte & it would really lift my spirits.  It's surprising how, just seeing a friendly face, or hearing a familiar voice, can really comfort you & stop you from feeling alone, when you're far away in an unfamiliar environment.

As the months had rolled on & I started to stay in places for longer periods of time, my postcard deliveries slowly dwindled to nothing & in turn, the Skype sessions ceased, despite my requests & I started to hear less & less from my friends.  At first I wasn't too concerned, because, by this point, I had settled in Italy & had a nice group of friends around me, however, after a while I started to feel like I'd been forgotten.  Was it a case of out of sight, out of mind?

Once back in England, although I made no big announcement of my return, I was disappointed at first, when my friends didn't fall over themselves in a bid to see me & instead, seemed to be perpetually busy.  I started to doubt some of my friendships & this, combined with my already glum disposition, really started to affect me & bring me further down.

Then, just as I was about to melt into a pool of my own tears, my friend Ben came over to see me.  We went out to my local village pub, The Black Horse, & caught up over a drink.  We hadn't seen each other for an entire year & yet, it was as though I had only seen him the day before.  He filled me in on his job & his girlfriend & I told him about my return to veganism & all the big ideas I'd thought up, inspired by my travels.  Waiting for his eyes to roll, I was surprised at how encouraging & supportive he was.  But wait, wasn't that what friends were supposed to be, why was I so surprised.

Soon after, in typical fashion, friend after friend, contacted me, wanting to meet.  I spent a lot of my time over Christmas, popping over to friend's houses & going out for lunch.  I almost didn't realise how much I'd missed them until we were back in each other's company.  Each friend was so keen to hear of my travels & so excited about my future plans.  It really touched me, especially at a time, when honestly, I was starting to feel lost, despite all that I'd experienced away.

My time away traveling & my brief time back in England, has really made me see the true meaning of friendship.  It's the people that make time for you, the ones that are always encouraging & supporting you, making you feel heard, making you feel loved, regardless of how much you see or speak to each other.  Those are real friends & ultimately, whatever else falls away, no matter how little you seem to have, if you have just one friend that truly cares, you have everything you need.

A little week spent in Chabanais, France.

At the beginning of the month, I popped over to Chabanais in France, to visit my very good friend, Kate & her hubby Colin.

My week consisted of strolls in the country with Bruno, their Golden Retriever, sunbathing in the thirty degree heat & eating a lot of delicious food, all made by Kate herself.

You may have noticed I have a mild obsession with photographing flowers...

Chabanais is a small beautiful town, with roses bursting out from everywhere.  It's very quiet & peaceful & I was really sad to leave.

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Berlin - The photos.

Berlin seems so long ago now, but just to hold onto those memories a little longer, here are some of the pictures that didn't make it into the previous posts.

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Berlin - Day Three

On our last day in Berlin, it was finally warm enough to bust out, my much loved, denim dungarees.  Throwing them on with, my equally much loved, baby blue toile blouse, we packed up our bags & said a sad farewell to Hüttenpalast.

Taking a final look around, I thought how much I would miss its eccentricity.  The globes, the books, the collection of walking sticks & the pastel pink waffle dispenser, which actually worked & was free!  People mock me for my obsessional reading of the Mail Online, but I actually found Hüttenpalast, after reading an article about the place on their website!  So it just goes to show...

To end our trip as it began, Charlotte & I headed to Dunkin' Donuts, for a sweet breakfast treat.

Filled up with sugar, we headed for the Bauhaus Archiv Museum, for an afternoon of cultured entertainment.

We once again tried to pull the student card, in a bid to save pennies, but alas, they were having none of it without an actual student card.  So we ended up paying the €6 entry fee, instead of the €3 reduced fee.  Which, once I'd looked around, I heavily begrudged paying, considering the size of the museum.  One large room.  That was it & there weren't even other exhibitions on offer!

Feeling grumbly & disappointed, Charlotte & I headed off in search of bockwurst.  Unfortunately, this seemed to be the only thing we couldn't find!  Getting grumpy & hungry, we stopped for some much needed frozen yoghurt.

Refueled by out sweet treat, we continued our search for sausage & much to our delight, a few streets later we found some!  I can't tell you how obsessional we had become & how relieved & elated we were to find some bockwurst.  So ridiculous!

Finally full, Charlotte & I continued our day & headed off in search of R.S.V.P.. A tiny minimalist, store, selling, what can only be described as, luxury stationary.  Everything from washi tape, to cards, to notebooks, all displayed in neat piles on bare shelves.  Charlotte & I couldn't resist buying a few items to bring back.

After stopping for a much needed Afri Cola, we headed back to our favourite district, Kreuzberg, to seek out the Museum Der Dinge.  A small museum, hidden up, what felt like, a million flights of stairs, that housed an eclectic collection of, well, everything.

Phones, toys, kitchen equipment, even food, still in its original packaging, all from every era, 

grouped together in glass fronted cabinets.  There was so much to look at, I could hardly take it all in!

An adult price ticket is usually €5 & reduced is €3.  As the museum was holding an event, all tickets that day were charged at the reduced price.  Which obviously went down well with us.

Leaving the organised chaos of Der Dinge, Charlotte & I headed out for dinner.  We'd read about a Korean fried chicken place, in Charlotte's cool Berlin map, so we figured, as it had been so right about Burgermeister, we should give it a go.

On our way there, we stopped off for a few farewell cocktails, at a bar across the road.  We sat in the sun, sipping our fruity concoctions & reminisced about the past few days.  We were sad to be leaving.

Angry Chicken was like an upmarket KFC.  There were different levels of spice & the chicken came, simple, fried & in a basket.  The sweet potato fries were a let down, as they were essentially crisps & Charlotte wasn't so keen on the whole affair.  Perhaps one to go to in aid of a snack, rather than for dinner.

After our chicken, we headed back to Hüttenpalast to collect our bags.  I picked up some last minute cake & then we were off to the U-Bahn.  We took the train to Rudow, where we then took a bus, straight to the airport.  Then that was it, we were through security, after a grope down, running to our gate, as usual & on a plane home.

Quite possibly the best few days spent abroad.  I don't think either of us can wait to head back to Berlin!

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