Why do we love to travel?
For me, travelling is a way to reconnect with myself, to soak up new experiences, sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and to escape the buysiness and frenzy of everyday life.
Even though travelling can be very tiring physically it always leaves me feeling refreshed mentally. A couple of days in different surroundings and I feel my creativity stirring, ideas popping into my head, senses sharpening.
That’s why I like to take a few days off now and then, visiting friends who live elsewhere or just escaping for an extended weekend by the sea. I had long been meaning to visit my friend K again who lives in Chesham, London, with her british husband and their small son. Two weeks ago J and I set out bright and early on Monday morning to catch the ferry to Dover. I love 5am starts – no, really! At 5am I am wide awake and excited to be going on an adventure (I then proceed to drop dead by 9pm every evening).
Once arrived we spent the days wandering Chesham, discovering nearby parks and estates and enjoying an english spring (bluebell season!).
One of many advantages of staying with locals is that they know the best places to eat or order take-out. We had thai and indian cuisine for the first time and it was sooo good. Anyone know a great recipe for Naan bread?
We lucked out with the weather and strolled through Ashridge and Cliveden in bright, ‘warming-the-soul-after-winter’ sunshine.
For our last night in England we headed down to Eastbourne, wanting to see the cliffs and lighthouse at Beachy Head and just to enjoy a whiff of sea air on the pier. We walked around the cliff top for hours, had a great dinner at Old Dave’s and dropped into bed exhausted at the fantastic Bay Tree Guesthouse (highly recommended, the place and owners are lovely).
On the way back to Dover we took our sweet time and visited Scotney Castle which is actually a manor house plus a medieval castle plus a gorgeous garden – fantastic stop for a cloudy day!
The real Downton Abbey?
A magical garden landscape and a real feast for the eyes. No wonder I felt refreshed and bursting with creativity after strolling through this! I have a strange relationship with travel – afterwards I always need a couple of quiet days to rest and let my mind work through the experiences and at the same time it leaves me feeling energised.
Does it feel the same for you? Does travel energise or exhaust you, make you feel excited or uncomfortable?
little home by hand 
Hi. We love naan. They sell it prepackaged here in a pack of two. I can tell you how to make Roti, which is a similar Indian bread, in fact a staple too over there, but a flat bread. I would have to pursue Pinterest to find a good Naan recipe.
Love the pics! Glad you got out and about. The castle looks absolutely inviting to get lost in for weeks to explore, write, and photograph in too. Very inspiring!
Have a good one!
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We had Roti too and I’d love a recipe if you have one, thanks 🙂
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This page here explains step by step the process on how to cook it and exactly what you need. It would be very hard to for me to explain over this how to make it. http://www.journeykitchen.com/2014/01/how-to-make-everyday-indian-flatbread.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+journeykitchen/DXNu+(Journey+Kitchen)
You should be able to find the wheat flour in your grocery store and I highly recommend using oil over butter.
Enjoy! 🙂
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Thank you, that’s a great tutorial! Will have to try soon 🙂
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I have the same urge to go somewhere for a couple days once in a while. And I also love early departures – there is something in the air at 4-5 a.m. that feels adventurous and promises great experience that is waiting ahead. I feel exactly the same when I came back – filled, tired and craving for quiet hours to knit at home. Thank you for sharing these magical photos!
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Yes, exactly, those early morning hours have a special sort of energy too them! Glad I am not the only one who feels that way 🙂
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Beautiful :0) mari
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Thank you 🙂
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What a fantastic adventure you’ve had! Thanks so much for sharing your trip through your beautiful photography, it looks so magical. I can image that you return all refreshed and tingling with creativity and ideas. I love travelling too. It’s the only way to fully be somewhere else, physically of course but also mentally. I usually turn off my phone too when on holiday abroad. I’m particulary drawn to travelling with not much planning. I’ve done it a few times the past year and although I’m a person that gets stressed during the year because of a lack of structure, I totally don’t need that while travelling.
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Absolutely! Staying home can be wonderfully relaxing too but your mind stays home too and it’s much harder to let go of everyday stresses. I keep my phone on but only look at it at night when I have wifi in the place I am staying. I’d love to go somewhere without planning ahead, just drifting around. I have a boyfriend who would absolutely hate that though and be very uncomfortable with it so we compromise – I usually research a few things to see and experience where we go and then we decide spontaneously each day what of those we will actually do.
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Always traveling energizes me! Looks like it was a wonderful trip.
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It was, thank you Erika 🙂
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So many beautiful captures Kristina. Thanks so much for sharing your adventures; I’m vicariously enjoying those cities through you.
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I’m very passionate about traveling. I always long to go away, to see new places, make new experiences, meet new friends, push myself out of my comfort zone and rise to the challenges that come my way. I think that being uncomfortable is an important part of traveling – if everything was just as it is at home you wouldn’t have to go away. The challenge is to figure out how to become comfortable. For me, traveling is life and development. Traveling makes me feel alive and even if I have a routine in my new life abroad, I never tire of it like I oftentimes do here at home. I prefer trips longer than a couple of days though – 6 months, a year … That’s when I can feel it, the overwhelming sensation of being on the road …
Oh, and I’d love the naan-bread recipe if you get one that’s good and easy! Indian is one of my favourite cuisines!
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Beautiful photos! Just as I expected it from you 🙂
And I share your love for naan…
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Sounds and looks like a great trip, something I would love too! You describe the feelings of and reasons for travel perfectly!
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