THE SECRET LIES IN DETAILS || Bye Christmas, bye 2014!

Last night of the year, and last post of the year! I didn't want to say bye to 2014 without sharing my last pictures of Christmas from Birminghan and London. I really wanted to post some pictures of my Spanish Christmas too but, as you can imagine, these Christmas holidays have been very busy. 

So, nothing else to say, just enjoy this last post of the year! And see you in the new year!

Happy 2015 to everyone!

xx

LONDON, UK || Winter Wonderland

One never gets bored of London, right? Specially on Christmas! As you can guess I am a big fan of this time of the year (there will be probably more post on Christmas coming soon!) Two weeks ago I showed what Birmingham looks like on Christmas thanks to its amazing Frankfurt Market. And today, I will show another impressive market, this time in London! 

Welcome to Winter Wonderland!

This Christmas market is situated in Hyde Park, and it covers almost the whole park. As you can imagine, it is huge! You can find lots of stands to buy presents or food (German food or sweets such as waffles, crepes etc) and lots of attrations for children and not so children! 

It was a really wonderful place to visit in December to feel that Christmas feeling in all its glory. It was a mixture of a Spanish 'summer fair' (¡la Feria de atracciones de toda la vida!) and what you can find in the Birmingham Christmas Market. There was just a difference, all the attractions were winter oriented; ice, snow and Father Christmas everywhere. 

Now, I will show some pictures of the market and I will also show you what I ate and drank (and, yes, I included the picture of food in the other post, but the mulled wine is not the same as you will see)

For more information click here and don't forget to vist the market anytime in your life if you have the opportunity.

Enjoy!

xx

LONDON, UK || Postcards

You know how difficult it is to take an atypical picture in London. Everything has been inmortalised millions of times, absolutely everything (even by myself, who always take the same pictures of London from the same angles!)

This time though, I've tried to compile the most 'atypical' pictures I have in my computer from my visits to London throughout the years.

Hope they are atypical enough! Well, they are, at least those that were made by my poor quality mobile camera and those made by my old camera.

Enjoy

xx

LONDON, UK || At First Sight

London is probably the city that almost everybody has visited in the British Isles and it is probably the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of England. 

London is the county city of Greater London, in the South East of the UK. London is the most populated city of Europe, with 8,000.000 people. It is the capital city of England. and one of the most multicultural cities in the UK. London is extremely well connected with other importnat cities in the UK such as Bristol, Birmingham, Oxford or Cambridge. And, it is needless to say that you can fly from almost everywhere in Europe and you can fly to anywhere from Lomdon too. Unfortunately, we all know how expensive life is in London, both for tourists and inhabitants. But still, there are no excuses for not visiting this incredibly beautiful city. 

Historicaly speaking, London was founded by the Romans and then invaded by the Anglo-Saxons, and the Vikings. By the 15th and 17th the Tudors had the power over the city and expanded the city. What's more, Shakespeare played an important role for the history of the city with his plays and its theatre, The Globe. In the 17th century some adverse events took place in London: the Civil War, the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London. However, in the 19th century some good events took place, the influence of Queen Victoria and the creation the first underground system ever. 

As you can see, my pictures from London (in this post and upcoming ones) differ a lot, some of them are sunny, others are grey, some have more quality than others. Well, this is due to a technical problem in my last trip to the city (I ran out of batery too soon in the day...ups) So I rescued my old pictures of London from years ago (and yes, back then it was sunny and my camera was terrible!)

Fortunately, London was the same, is the same and will be the same.

Enjoy

xx

OXFORD, UK || Postcards

The secret lies in details, so let's discover Oxford's secret!

xx

OXFORD, UK || At First Sight

Everyone knows Oxford. Famous for its university (Univesrsity of Oxford), famous for Harry Potter, famous for the stationary brand (Oxford), famous for the publishing company (Oxford Univesrity Press). And famous for being a must-see place in Engand.

Oxford is located in southern England, in the county of Oxfordshire. It is strategically situated between London and Birmingham what makes it really easy to get there, for example by train. Oxford is a small city however it has the oldest university in England and probably the best one nowadays. 

Oxford was founded by the Saxons in AD I, it was destroyed in the Norman Invation in the 11th century. However, this event didn't prevent Oxford from being a big source of knowledge since that century. In fact, the first records of Oxford University date from the 11th century. Multiple well-know personalities were related to Oxford since then: Geofrey of Monmouth, Lewis Carroll,  J R R Tolkien or Oscar Wilde among others. During the Great War, Oxford wasn't bombarded so its old colleges remain undamanged nowadys. 

After this  introduction to this fascinating city it's time to see some pictures of what you will find at first sight.

Enjoy!

xx

BIRMINGHAM, UK || Frankfurt Christmas Market

'It's the most wonderful time of the year'

This well-known song keeps playing in my head everytime I realise that Christmas is here. For me, this time of the year is not about spending money, is about watching Christmas films, listening to Villancicos and Christmas songs, decorating the house, gathering with family, eating special food and getting dressed as it is the end of the world! As you can see, I follow my traditions religiously every year and I am the happiest woman in the world.

So, being a traditional Christmas person I was very excited about the famous Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market. The market is so different to what I was used to (you know, madrileños, la plaza mayor con sus millones de figuritas para el belén y los gorros de brillantina!) in Spain. This is so European!!! (see the 'Frankfurt' word on its name)

The Frankfurt Christmas & Craft Market is the largest Christmas Market in Britain thanks to its 180 stalls. In Victoria Square you can enjoy live music (mainly Christmas songs) and a carrousel for children. You can also enjoy its 180 stalls, including the Craft Market and all its mostly German food stalls (sausages,  mulled wine and cider, hot chocolate, crepes, wafles and preztels) And you can have a good time in the wheel and the ice skating rink. The whole market is situated along central Birmingham from the Symphony Hall to the Bullring. It is a big attraction for both Brumies and people around Britain so if you have the opportunity to visit the market be prepared for large agglomerations of people eating sausages and wearing Christmas jumpers. 

For more information, visit its web page here

And its facebook page here

For pictures of the market.....keep on reading the post!

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

xx

KENT, UK || Westerham & Chiddingstone

Today I want to do an especial post. So far, apart from gardens, I have only shown well-known cities, Manchester, Birmingham, and Worcester. It is really amazing to visit all those big cities, but it is also amazing to visit not-so known but traditional British villages. I strongly believe that the South East of England is one of the prettiest and more charming places in the UK. We saw some examples of nice places in some of my latest posts and we will see more soon. 

This is why today I'm presenting two little villages in Kent. Traditional pubs, traditinal buildings and really nice churches (and old cemeteries, my favorites!)

If you want to discover more about this two charming villages, continue reading!

xx

KENT, UK || Emmetts Garden

Last week, I wrote about the National Trust and I shared some pictures of one of their protected places: Scotney Castle. So, today, I want you to see another place you can visit with National Trust in Kent too. This is Emmetts Garden (Ide Hill, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN14 6BA)A green paradise of flowers and colours. There are no houses no castles, just green grass, and colourful trees. A great choice if you want to spend the day taking a gentle walk through a peaceful garden.

Enjoy the walk!

xx