Argentina - Bariloche

Our first few days were spent in Bariloche. This is in the Patagonian Lake District. It is a beautiful town, very swiss in someways with Alpine architecture and St Bernard dogs in the main square. However the setting is stunning, between the Andes and the Esteppa (the flat bit in the middle of Argentina). We spent NY Eve in Bariloche, in a little restaurant called Naan, enjoying a set menu with of course beef for the main dish. And then at midnight we celebrated with bubbles and some paper lanterns which we released over the town. It was a pretty chilled out celebration but fun nonetheless.

The next day we went hiking with Max. To explain who Max is I need to explain how we organised the trip. Our entire trip (bar the transatlantic flights) was organised by Christie Pashby of the Patagonian Travel Co. Her husband is Max and he is a qualified guide. More on the trip organisation later.

Anyhow we went off out into the Esteppa. It was a grey day in Bariloche but out there it was bright sunshine and whipping wind! The hiking was great, seeing the landscape, the nature, being in the sunshine and enjoying being in a huge open space without anyone else there.

Photos are clockwise from top left, me on NY Eve, the Esteppa with the amazing wind whipped clouds, horses head in the Esteppa and the view back to Bariloche.

There's lots more to tell you about the days we spent in Bariloche so I shall wrap up this first post for the next one. Any questions let me know!

Thoughts on where to start...

Finally back on UK soil, and happy to be so. The holiday was great, amazing even and I have so many wonderful memories but I knew it had to end sometime and it seems now is a good time. I feel genuinely refreshed and being in London today I was made to remember why I love living here. Although in all honesty the cold is not such a nice homecoming!

Anyhow, I have lots to tell so am trying to work out the best way of doing it. I think to make it succinct, interesting and perhaps useful will be hard but perhaps feasible. (Fingers crossed!)

But I also have lots of other ideas floating around my head, I find I often write posts in my head and forget I never put finger to keyboard and then wonder why the post doesn't exist! So this year I shall aim to put those ideas into words.

And this weekend I shall start with some photos and stories, now to select which photos from the 900 or so we took when away! I promise I shan't bore you with them all.

An update from Buenos Aires

We're still in Argentina :) Which is a wonderful thing. Right now we're in a hotel room in Buenos Aires trying to avoid the heat outside, which is hot! I shan't complain, but suffice to say we need a little while for it to cool down for our English skin and blood.

For the last two days we've been out on an Estancia in the countryside, amazing apart from the mosquitos who have eaten me and are now causing me to issue all sorts of weird noises as I try not to itch my bites.

I can't believe our time here is almost over. We've got the next couple of days to explore BA and then it's back to London. This is the longest holiday I've ever had, and one of the most amazing in terms of experiences and sights. I have so much to share with you all I don't know where to begin and how not to bore you.

I'm sorry again for my crapness at commenting on your posts and being around posting here. I shall try and resume normal service as it were soon. Once I have recovered the shock of being back and the post-holiday sadness. Until then, take care one and all! Xx

One year ago...

I married J. I started the day nervous, excited, thrilled, hesitant and every other emotion possible running through me. Then I walked up the aisle with my father, towards J...

We said our vows, exchanged rings and were husband and wife.

And then we left the church, on a freezing January evening, to cheers, smiles and a feeling of elation.

Dinner, speeches, laughter and love followed.

Finished up with dancing, drinking and the final feeling of an overwhelming emotional journey.

It was an amazing day, I was so happy with everything, there are of course some things I would have rather done differently, with the knowledge I have now, but no chance to change them so better to be happy with all I had.

If you want to see more, check out my old blog London Bride. And of course if you are planning your wedding and have any questions let me know! Xx

Argentina - Patagonia 1

The above photo was taken from the top of a long climb, looking towards the Andes over the Patagonian Esteppa. We did this on New Years day, quite the way to get rid of any fuggyness you might have left over!

It's quite spectacular here, vast open landscapes, huge mountains, bright green trees, clear blue rivers and lots of nature. Hard to describe and even harder to capture in a photo.

Today we leave Bariloche, we've had lots of fun here, hiking, horseriding, boat trips and cycling. Plus lots of good dinners and great wines. We're heading further South, where it'll be colder. Not quite as cold as the UK at the moment but colder all the same. And also the days will be longer. One of those things we've been loving the most is the length of the days. It's odd to think that when we get back it'll get dark so early.

Anyhow, we'll be heading off for our flight soon so I shall keep this brief. Lots more to tell you about and lots more to do in the next few days we're still here!

Happy New Year!

To you all! Hope you're having great celebrations, bringing in the New Year in style. J and I will be dining at Naan in Bariloche. Hopefully it'll live up to the good recommendations it's had.

See you in 2010 :)

Marie Xx

And we're off!

Tonight J and I fly to Argentina. For a mere 16 hours we will be airbound heading across the Atlantic to a far away land. Hopefully there it'll be warm, sunny, exciting and relaxing.

The e-mails have been very quiet for the last few days and I have enjoyed feeling like I'm relaxing ready to go away. We had a mad dash to get the house in order and all the packing done and now when this is posted we shall (hopefully) be taking off above London. Here's also hoping that Heathrow wasn't too hideous to get through.

Hope everyone has been enjoying their time off and are looking forward to their New Years Eve celebrations! xx

Happy Christmas one and all!

Well here we are on Christmas Eve, and how time has flown. So I shall keep this short and sweet. To start a most lovely Mandarin Duck I found in St James park yesterday. I just love these ducks, so pretty and proud.

And to finish these winter leaves, no snow yesterday but it was cold! And the leaves had that lovely lovely frosting.

Anyhoo, all the best for your Christmas breaks. Enjoy, eat, drink and be merry! Xx