Places
Bukchon Hanok Village is an old residential neighbourhood in Seoul. Bukchon means "northern village" and hanok are traditional Korean houses with tiled roofs. The area is a hilly maze of narrow streets and alleys, with homes, shops, museums and places of cultural interest. I didn't discover
Places
I considered gently easing you into my Seoul trip. Then I changed my mind and decided to give you my first experience of the city... Gwangjang Market (광장시장). A traditional street market in Jongno-gu, crammed full of food vendors. I'd been awake for almost 30 hours by the
Places
February was a month of bright but cold sun, late piles of Christmas trees on pavements, the return of outdoor fika, thick ice, long shadows, people on sledges, birds chirping for the first time in weeks, pastel sunsets, and faces peeping out of hoods and jackets once again. Cold shadows
Places
January was a month of julstjärna disappearing from windows, big coats, blue light in the mornings, people ice skating, sun breaking over the horizon, Semla in bakery windows and an ongoing wave of violence across the city. Varje °C räknas ads started appearing around the city — it means every °C
Life
January was dark but also the last month of deep hibernation. I'm not someone who struggles to get through Winter, however, I do reach this point in the year unusually enthusiastic about the prospect of sunbathing in a few months. Feeling warmth evenly over my whole body, not
Hiking
Our first hike of the year coincided with fresh snowfall. Thick cloud cast an eerie blue-grey light and the air was bitterly cold. I don't mind going out in the cold though, it makes me feel alive and refreshed. The snow clung to every single branch and plant.
Places
We went rogue for Christmas this year and booked a mini break on Gotland. It was quite a last minute decision but we fancied getting away for a few days after being cooped up at home with Covid for so long. Plus it's somewhere we always come away
Places
Having travelled to Gotland the day before, we set off on a coastal walk with a bag of snacks and our Trangia stove. The temperature was -7°C without windchill so we layered up well. You may be wondering why we didn't just hunker down indoors away from
Places
December was a month of pig shaped sweet treats, ice, coats like sleeping bags, the smell of wood smoke, amaryllis and people carrying large Christmas trees. Darkness was one of the most notable traits; the days seemed even darker than the same month last year. The Gävlebocken survived December!! Not
Life
I hadn't realised how jam-packed December was until I sat down to write this post! We started the month ridiculously tired post Covid but also desperate to do something after laying on the sofa for two weeks. While we managed to be more active, we needed lots of
Life
It has been several months since I've written a life post. They've always been centered around home/personal life and when the pandemic eased, we were more focused on getting out and doing things again. That was great but I missed documenting the small details of
Places
November was a month of candles in cemeteries (alla helgons dag), fading sun, hyacinth bulbs, Christmas chocolate in the supermarket, leafy clementines, cosy windows, saffron, paper julstjärna and the first snow of the year! Bakers started getting liberal with the saffron. Lussebullar, saffransbullar, saffranskakor, solbullar and saffron donuts, to name
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