If Cities Could Speak

  La Cabrera, Madrid After six months of lockdown life in our cosy East London flat, the thought of leaving the city, let alone the country, seemed inconceivable. But somehow, our bags were packed, the fridge was emptied, and Jorge and I were heading off to Spain for the month. Most of our time was spent in La Cabrera, a small town surrounded by mountains in the Sierra Norte de Madrid, with more fresh air than our lungs could handle after the traffic fumes of London. Being so close to the brown, bouldery mountains meant we were met with beautiful views upon opening the curtains each morning. It also meant we spent a lot of time in nature, hiking, walking and scrambling up rocks until our legs were sore.  We were staying close to the Pico de la Miel hiking trail, which gets its poetic name from the honey pot shaped peak. The climb up is steep but beautiful, and the views at the top are worth the exertion. We tackled the hike three days into our trip, which was a bold move consi...

The sun always shines in Margate.  Ok, this isn’t strictly true.  But the sun has shone every time I’ve visited this glorious seaside town, reflecting its beams off the sea and making everything golden. And even if the sun isn’t there to warm your face and light the cobbled streets, it’s well worth getting yourself down to Margate anyway. If you need convincing, here are 3 reasons to visit. 1) The beach Many of Britain’s beaches are pebbly affairs. Yes, they’re majestic in all their grey glory, but sometimes you need to feel the sand between your toes. Margate’s beach consists of a beautiful, butter yellow stretch of sand with easy access to the sea for all your swimming and ankle wading needs. My last visit to Margate fell fortuitously during a hot spell, which meant I could spend the whole day stretched out on my towel, interspersing my reading session with invigorating dips in the sea. I even bought a parasol from one of the little beach shops.  I’m not the only one dr...

Photo by Markus Clemens on Unsplash One of the best bits of holidays is reading. The decadence of getting stuck into a book in the middle of the day with the sun on your face. The way the pages get peppered with grains of sand at the beach. Those holiday home bookshelves that groan with the weight of paperback thrillers and spy novels left by tourist predecessors.  I’m yet to buy a kindle (it’s just not the same!) so I’ve resigned myself to carrying the excess bulk of books squashed into my rucksack each time I travel.  Although travelling has been off the table recently, I’ve been reading at a rate that’s normally reserved for my holidays thanks to an endless supply of free evenings. And not having to do the usual rucksack book squeeze has been a bonus.  Here are some of the books I’ve been reading during lockdown. They’d be best enjoyed in the sun, on a beach or in a cosy café with a pastry in hand. But in the meantime, they provide a little slice of mu...

Photo by  Mitchell Henderson  on  Unsplash Let’s start with a story. Upon leaving university and finding myself one year into an administrative job that was cushy but not exactly my calling, I was feeling stuck. I longed for a challenge and realised that I missed studying; I wasn’t ready to give it up yet for the world of grey skirts and glass-doored offices. I got a place at Queen Mary to study marketing and had a gloriously long summer stretching ahead of me in between leaving my admin job and starting my degree. Giddy from my newly acquired freedom from office life and in the mood to learn, I booked a spot on a French course in Lyon. I knew absolutely nothing about Lyon and my French wasn’t so hot either, but I was fired up by the feeling that I could go anywhere and be anyone.  I landed in Lyon and made my way to the rustic pink stone student accommodation, feeling pleased as punch that I’d made it this far (to put things into context, I was a fairly shelt...

Photo by  Umesh Gopinath  on  Unsplash I’ve always said I’d like to have a holiday at home, frittering away my precious annual leave on a week of curling up on the sofa with a good book, pottering around the house and repotting my overgrown aloe.  In what should have been the run up to my trip to Morocco, I debated whether to cut my losses and cancel my days off or to finally take that trip of a lifetime to my living room.  I opted for the latter. 10 glorious days of uninterrupted peace in my East London flat.  If you’re faced with an impromptu staycation too, perhaps you’ll find some ideas here. And if nothing else, another two minutes of lockdown will be over by the time you finish reading. Food Eating is usually a huge part of my holidays – hunting down the nearest bakery in the vicinity for my morning pastries, overindulging in pretty much any local treat (usually cheese), and getting that familiar warm feeling from the first sip of...

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash Perhaps you’re coming to London for the second time, having already strolled through Hyde Park, battled hordes of shoppers in Covent Garden, and taken the obligatory selfie with Big Ben. Now you want to see how and where the locals live. This is no mean feat, given that this vast city sprawls across a total area of 1,583 square kilometres (put into context, you could comfortably fit five Maltas into London). With this in mind, you might want to home in on a particular area. And if vegan breakfasts, vintage clothes, quirky culture and proper pubs are your jam, get yourself over to East London. Whenever I have the pleasure of showing out-of-towner friends around my city, I always do a variation of the following.  Brunch Set yourself up for the day at Mother , a peaceful café on the canal bank in Hackney Wick where you’ll find banana laden toast slathered with peanut butter, crunchy granola bowls and smashed avo sourdough (an East London stap...

Photo by Håkon Sataøen on Unsplash Take two lifelong friends and one vague plan for a weekend away and what do you get? A wonderful, friendship-affirming adventure in Berlin several months later.  Berlin had been on my bucket list for some time. Artistic and achingly cool, Germany’s capital didn’t disappoint. But there’s so much more to this city than its hip credentials. Berlin carries the weight of a dark and troubled history, which it addresses in its many museums.  With only two days and two nights to play with, we had to make every minute count. By Sunday evening, we flew back to London feeling sleepy and satisfied that we’d done Berlin justice (and knowing that we’d have plenty more to do whenever we return). Where to stay We stayed in a suitably cool and sparsely furnished Airbnb in Mitte, Berlin’s most central borough. Berlin is huge, so you’ll never be within walking distance of everything. But Mitte is about as convenient as it gets, and the neighbourhoo...