A new adventure

The older I get and the more I travel, the worse I suffer from post holiday blues.

I mean really, I'm miserable when I get home! It used to last a few days, maybe a week, but the more I see of the world, the hungrier I am to see more and the longer that feeling lasts. This every day life of mine seems to have no lustre, no excitement. I want the adventure, the adrenaline of being in a strange place, surrounded by people who don't know me and don't speak my language.

The only way I've found to ease that feeling is to plan the next trip. Each one more exciting than the last. Each one, more of a challenge to my body and my mind. A cultural explosion. A shock to the senses. A memory to last a life time.

So, for my next trip I have chosen to go to Nepal... to trek to Everest Base Camp... with four men!

Why four men? Well, it would be unfair to expect one man to carry my bags wouldn't it? This way they can take it in turns.

It's going to take a lot of planning and a heck of a lot of training but when I get to that 17,500 ft point and breathe in the thin air, my lungs almost at the point of collapse, I will know that I can do anything! There is a lot of things we need to get right - the bag, the footwear, the clothes, the route... any one of these things could ruin our trip if we choose wrong.

We will need to practice hill walking, in all weather.

And so I started this weekend, with a trip to Mam Tor. Barely a mountain, described as a hill on Wikipedia... it felt like a bloody mountain to me! It's 1,696ft high (not a fraction of Everest, and without the altitude sickness!) and right in the heart of Derbyshire.

The views from bottom to top were amazing. It was a perfect day for walking - warm and sunny with a cool breeze to keep you dry and comfortable.

My new boots kept my feet blister free and without sprained ankles. I am impressed. I should be, the price I paid!

The heather in the distance topped the hills with a lovely purple glow and seemed even to reflect its hue into the clouds above.

Even Maddie enjoyed the view!

I will document all of my planning, walks and all, right here so keep watching - Travelling Kat is back in business!

Fluttering by

Today was a scorcher so we went for a swim at one of the local lakes. I'm not one for swimming really so after baking in the sun and hiding in the shade for a few hours, I went on a wildlife photography expedition around the lake.




I spotted a few grass hoppers but they wouldn't sit still long enough for me to snap one. I nearly got one between the teeth though.

This strange creature turned out to be a white praying mantis and seemed to be quite happy to have his photo taken...




...he even tried a couple of catalogue poses for me!





After crawling around in the muck photographing him for a while, I moved onto the meadow plants to try and spot some butterflies.




There were plenty to choose from. The grass was a buzz with lots of varieties, flitting from flower to flower and leaf to leaf, in and out of the reeds and frolicking together just above the water.




I spotted this blue butterfly fluttering about in the grass. When you see him with his wings shut, he looks like a completely different butterfly. A lovely pale gold with just a tiny hint of the blue you'll see on the inside just by his body.



And then when he opens his wings, the almost purple shade of bright blue on his inner wing outlined by the faintest black border is a real surprise. There were loads of these flying around but they don't stay still for long so there was some real stealth photography and Indiana Jones style rolling around in the grass to be done here!




And the most beautiful creature of all? Well, it's sleeping beauty of course!

Location:St Clair, South of France

High in the sky

There was a break in the storm clouds today, the sun came out and the temperature finally exceeded 18 degrees!




We took the opportunity to drive up to one of my favourite places; Cordes Sur Ciel (Cordes in the sky). A mountain top medieval looking village which is often surrounded by a sea of clouds, making it look like it's a floating island in the sky. Not today though, the sky was blue!




It was another steep walk to the top, with breather stops at various photo vantage points and quaint little arts and crafts shops all the way up.




At the top, there are lovely cobbled alleyways and a covered square displaying textile banners depicting different medieval scenes.




There are a lot of crafts people living there so it's not unusual to see unusual things hanging outside people's shops and houses.




After Cordes, we stopped at another of my favourite towns, St Antonin. The walk into the town is by far the best bit - a lovely bridge over the river dripping with flowers and framing the view of the gingerbread town on the other side.




I love the little river gardens and sunken boats, the faded blue shutters and red and brown speckled roofs.




The stone used in the houses has an ever-warm glow, no matter what the weather. The town always looks like it's inviting you in and is very popular with tourists and ex pats alike.




It's certainly popular with me.

Location:St Antonin, Cordes Sur Ciel

To the castle!!!

I took one look up at this;




And one look down at these;




And thought I'd never make it. But I did.




And the views from above were well worth the effort.




Rolling fields of yellow and unusually lush green for this time of year, topped by the palest turquoise sky and fluffy puffs of grey and white cloud. This is the South of France at it's most picturesque.




Normally in mid July, it would be about 40 degrees C here and the sun could fry an egg on the patio! This year, it's maxed at 20c (that's if we're lucky) and it's rained every day! My bikini is gathering dust in the bedroom while I wear holes in the only cardigan I brought with me! The weather hasn't stopped us getting out though, Grandad is enjoying playing tour guide and driving us all over the region to my favourite towns and villages.

I went to Auvillar on the first day to visit a little shop I love that sells all kinds of handmade soap and perfumes as well as lovely old perfume bottles and metal plaques with old French food and soap adverts on. It's very 1950's and I love it.

We visited Nerac for a walk along the river in the rain and came across a falconry show where we stood, sheltered by the trees, and watched for half an hour.




I've had lots of cuddles and long walks along the canal to Moissac, the nearest town, with this sleepy boy:




The weather has been so bad my camera has barely seen the light of day so I don't have much to share with you. I did see a couple of butterflies mating in a puddle by the canal though - every cloud... or something?

Location:Mont Segur, South of France

On the road again... In British Columbia

After getting up at 4.30am yesterday we drove across the moors, still in pitch darkness with the hills glimmering under a silver dew. It was quite a beautiful sight and one I've never been up early enough to see before. The flight from Manchester to Vancouver was LONG! Fourteen hours. We finally arrived in Canada after what seemed like days with just about enough life left in us to go and get some food before collapsing into bed at 7pm.

With our body clocks completely screwed, we woke up at 5am, got up and went pretty much straight out.

We headed straight for Stanley Park, a 45 minute walk from the hotel, and picked up a couple of bikes for the morning. There is a lot of area to cover in Stanley Park so cycling is a really easy way to do it.



We spent some time watching the sea planes coming into land over the harbour with the city skyline as a backdrop against a moody grey and yellow sky.



The totem poles were our next stop. The intricately carved and brightly painted poles stand proudly against a forest setting, attracting tourists from all over the world.



We then followed the path all the way around, stopping often to take photos. We went up to the lighthouse where we read that whales and seals were a really common sighting before they were scared off by local fishing traffic and now sightings are extremely rare. However, just as we climbed back down the steps and got back on our bikes, a seal popped her head out of the water, looked at us for a minute and then went under again. We were so surprised that we didn't even have chance to get the camera out.



We came across this strange little island, broken away from the mainland with a single isolated tree on top of it. It made for quite an unusual photo.



After lunch, we went to the aquarium. It was quite expensive to get in, but it was well worth the money. It was amazing! We saw everything you could imagine living under the sea and a lot of things you couldn't! There were all kinds of anemones, coral, rays, sharks, dolphins, beluga whales, seals, sea otters as well as amphibians, reptiles and butterflies.





My favourite was the jelly fish which glowed orange or white in the bright blue water, puffing open and closed with their tentacles gracefully floating behind them like streamers on a kite. They were absolutely mesmerising.





I also liked this little guy who was really enjoying an obviously excellent head massage and belly scratch which soon sent him into a deep, meditative sleep.





By the time we got back to the hotel I could barely walk another step! Oh but that wasn't it for the day! Then we went out to the pub to watch the first Canucks ice hockey qualifier of the season.

Now I will sleep until home time.

Location:Vancouver