York

Posted on September 27, 2023 by myeye1

I visited the city of York for the day. York is one of the oldest cities in the country and is known for it’s cathedral.

We looked around the shops and the markets in an area called The Shambles – one of the best-preserved medieval shopping streets in Europe. It has cobbled streets and was very busy. I came across the York Chocolate shop where a well known brand started up. And yes I did buy some.

We then visited the Cathedral. We didn’t go inside but the exterior was quite beautiful.

Next we decided to take a boat ride down the River Ouse. The weather was lovely and we took in the nature and the sights. The emblems on this bridge caught my notice.

After stopping for a quick lunch we finished the day with what I thought was my favourite part of York – the city wall walk. Walls were erected around a city to protect it and the ones that remain intact around York are longer than any other city in England. We found a set of steps and made our way along the wall.

Some wall sections ended quickly, others went on for much longer. It was quite interesting to see the old stone walls were right above modern day houses and gardens with some residents waving hello as we walked by.

We spent an hour or so walking and then made our way back to the car and home. The whole walk takes about 2 hours and I’d like to do it again in full one day
I enjoyed my visit to York but there’s lots more to do and explore and I hope I can come back one day to do just that.

Ladybower Reservoir

Posted on August 31, 2023 by myeye1

I spent a day at the Peak District National park at the weekend and decided to visit the Ladybower Reservoir. I specifically wanted to see the ‘plugholes’ that are part of it. These plugholes are spillways that allow overflow of water to drain away to the River Derwent.

There hasn’t been a lot of rain lately so the reservoir water levels were below the edge of the plugholes. It was still quit cool to have a look down them though.

I also spent a bit of time walking around the reservoir on what was a bright sunny day. The entire walk takes 2 hours so I just walked around part of it and back.

It was an interesting trip and great to see something different in a beautiful natural setting.

Giant bubbles

Posted on January 27, 2023 by myeye1

Giant bubbles have appeared outside one of London’s famous landmarks – the Leadenhall building, also known as The Cheesegrater. The bubbles are an art piece called ‘Evanescent’ by design studio Atelier Sisu. The idea behind them is to entice people back into the city after the last few years and appeal to our childlike wonder and universal playfulness.

These bubble installations have been spotted in other major cities around the world too and I thought they were a lovely idea and were a pleasure to see.

Istanbul – part 3

Posted on December 27, 2022 by myeye1

I did some shopping in Istanbul (of course), starting with a market in the area of Eminonu. It was a market that locals shop at so my sisters and I were hoping for some good bargains. We looked around and bought backlava, some oud in pretty colourful bottles and turkish delight.

There was lots to see, great smells and some lovely looking fresh produce. It took us a while to look around and finally make our way to the famous Grand Bazaar.

The Grand Bazaar was pretty touristy and really busy. We looked around but I didn’t find anything particularly appealing. There were lots of shops selling counterfeit designer bags and clothes and others selling jewellery and food. I only ended up buying some sweets for myself before heading for lunch at the famous Nusr-et.

After lunch we went to nearby Nuruosmaniye Mosque to pray. Afterwards we found a really steep narrow staircase to one side and putting in the effort and courage to climb the small uneven steps, we found ourselves on the top tier of the mosque. The view was beautiful and worth the effort.

I absolutely loved the beautifully detailed designs and colours of the tiles. And the mosque has high ceilings and was really spacious and light. We sat for a while taking in the view and soaking up the atmosphere.

At the end of our Istanbul trip we visited the Basilica Cistern, a place I was keen to see (even more since it was in the film Inferno). The cistern was built in the 6th century and the roof is supported by 336 marble columns. The space was lit up with atmospheric lighting and in modern time includes some art pieces too.

The walkways wound through the columns and artworks and it was cool and quiet. I really enjoyed seeing how well kept it all was and how the light created some stunning reflections.

We then decided to get something to eat and look at a few more shops. We were accompanied by one of the many cats we saw on the streets that are very tame and look well looked after.

I really enjoyed my trip to Istanbul, we saw lots but there was still so much to see that we didn’t have time for. The food was delicious, the people friendly and welcoming and the history unlike any other. I really hope that I can come back one day and continue to learn about this special city and experience more of what it has to offer.

Istanbul – part 2

Posted on December 26, 2022 by myeye1

On my visit to Istanbul I went to The Blue Mosque also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. It was being renovated so there was lots of scaffolding and parts covered up but you could still see how beautiful the visible parts were. It was really busy but I managed to take a few snaps.

We didn’t stay too long, and after praying and looking around I moved onto the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque which is opposite The Blue Mosque. Walking across the square the time for prayer came around and it was beautiful to hear the two mosques sounding the call to prayer in turn.

The Hagia Sophia was originally built as a Greek Orthodox church 1453. It served as a mosque until 1935 and then was converted into a a museum. In 2020, the Hagia Sophia became a mosque again.

Inside there were lots of circular chandeliers to brighten up the space and on the walls were plaques with Allah, Muhammed (PBUH) and the names of his closest companions written in Arabic. It was quite beautiful to take in the embellishment and architecture of the building.

Something I found interesting was that you could still see Christian embellishments in some parts like the walkway to the exit depicting what looked like Mary and Jesus and images of angles around the ceiling dome.

We stayed a while, soaking in the atmosphere and taking pictures. Again this mosque was very busy so we didn’t stay too long. It was really nice to have spent time in both The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. Both are quite beautiful and I hope to come back again one day.

London Christmas lights

Posted on December 29, 2021 by myeye1

London seems to have really upped it game in regards to Christmas lights this year. I really liked these baubles

Gratitude statues

Posted on December 12, 2021 by myeye1

There seems to be a lot of art exhibitions in London this year, and I’m always up to see people’s artistic expressions. I heard about the Gratitude trail and thought the idea of decorating statues to acknowledge key workers and pay tribute to the NHS was really nice and needed, especially after all the hard work they have put in over what has been a really tough year or so.

The statues were place in the courtyard of Southwark cathedral in aesthetically pleasing neat rows.

Here are some closer pictures of some of them. Most of them were really colourful. I thought the bubblegum machine and ballerina ones were fun.

I really liked this blue and white one. It reminds me of the pattern you find on traditional English china.

I had a look around, some were amusing, and others had a lot of detail on them.

I also liked this one with the head the shape of a bottle pump, something I’m sure we’ve all become more familiar with.

It didn’t take too long to have a look around. I really enjoyed the statues and how they were all creatively decorated, and for a great cause too.

Local Streetart

Posted on March 24, 2021 by myeye1

My local borough has been trying to create a cultural area that celebrates art. To kick things off they invited a couple of street artists to do some work.

This first piece is by @einsigns and is a word that has a lot of meaning due to the pandemic that has been with us for a year now. I love the font and colours against that black backdrop.

The second piece is by @dotmasters. I love the print on the background and the blue and white contrast. I like the playfulness of this piece too.

I think these pieces of streetart are great and a joy to look at. I hope that we get more talented artists showing us their work too.

Wintery Park Visit

Posted on January 27, 2021 by myeye1

The new year in the UK has been a slow one. There is another national lockdown to try and curb the ongoing pandemic and with the cold days it feels quite grim at times. I’ve been trying my best to keep positive though and nothing helps me more than being active. In light of this I decided to bundle up and visit one of our local parks. Valentines park was voted one of the 10 best in the country last year, so I always enjoy my visits as there’s always lots to see.

As I arrived at the park the lingering cold mist was clearing and the sun was beginning to break through the clouds. The huge boating lake at front of the park was starting to pick up colours of blue in the sky.

I walked to the far side of the park where there’s an old house called Valentines mansion, built in 1696 which still looks pretty grand. It’s now used for events but it’s a really elegant feature to the area. Nearby is a vegetable garden that is still in use, although there’s nothing growing now as it’s winter. There’s also plenty of cheeky squirrels around looking for food.

One of the things I really like about this park is just how varied the trees and wildlife is. There’s plenty of geese, ducks and smaller birds, and the trees seem to come in all shapes and sizes.

Having taken a few snaps as I walked around the park and starting to feel quite cold I headed home. I’m sure I’ll be back soon, as not only is this lockdown likely to last a while yet but the park is so vast there’s plenty still to see.

Scotland Trip – part 2

Posted on November 20, 2020 by myeye1

The fourth day into our trip we decided to spend seeing parts of what Scotland was well known for. We had a good plan for the day but as the day went on we ended up doing all sorts of other things instead.

We were up early to go to some local markets. We made our way to one nearby only to find that it was closed. We then had to circle round to another one we found further away. This market wasn’t great but it was good to look around and see what was on offer. I ended up buying a blue stone necklace for my little niece as it was her birthday. It caught her eye and I couldn’t say no.

After spending half an hour or so at the market we were still on schedule, so the next stop was going to the Kelingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

Walking up to the entrance we were told that due to the pandemic we had to pre-book and that they had no slots for walk ins! Helpfully though the staff told us that there was another museum nearby that we could go to that did have free slots. We booked our places online and made our way to the Royal College of Surgeons where the Hunterian Museum is based. It was a steep walk up but the building and the view from the top was stunning.

We also found this iconic view, I love the symmetry and elegance of the arches.

We located the entrance to the Hunterian Museum and made our way up the beautiful yellow staircase.

The museum itself was lovely, high ceilings and lots of light. I also really liked the exposed wood beams in the ceiling. Inside there was an array of beautiful and strange objects. I only took photos of artefacts that were attractive or interesting to me but there were lots of jars with eyeballs, and other odd animal parts in that I didn’t take to too well.

After walking around the museum we headed back to the car to drive into town to find something to eat. There was some cool street art around although I wasn’t able to have a proper look around for them.

As we had to find food that was suitable for a halal diet we found restaurants were closed either permanently or due to the pandemic, so it took a lot longer than expected. After finding our patience frayed we finally found a restaurant and then headed back to the hotel to freshen up.