Tag Archive: summer

September 7, 2022

Travelling corner: summer 2022 in family-friendly Bristol

It’s September. Welcome back! I wrote about some of my favourite places we kept visiting this summer for you. They’re family-friendly places, but can be visited by adults too.

Miniature Railway in Ashton Court

We had such a fun time! Me (and my family) enjoyed all the miniature railway rides so much that we returned to this place many times over the summer. I learned about this place from my friend, and she also learned about it by word of mouth. As one of the team members said, it’s one of the best kept secrets of Bristol 😉 So worth a visit!

Tyntesfield

Many of my friends recommended this place, but somehow we never visited it. Until this year! What a beautiful space, and so much fun for the children. My friend said it’s her new ‘happy place’ and I called it my new ‘secret garden’. It definitely brought lots of joy to our lives this summer.

The zoo

This is more a tribute to this place, as the zoo is now permanently closed, and will be moved to the Wild Place Project. I first visited the zoo when I was still a uni student, and later returned to it regularly with our children. I understand the logic that animals will have more space in the Wild Place Project, but I will miss this cosy zoo in the centre of Clifton.

What have you discovered this summer in Bristol? Please let me know in the comments below.

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September 9, 2020

Travelling corner: My summer travels 2020

I think for many of us our plans for summer holidays / travels changed this year. We had planned to go to Portugal but, due to travel restrictions, we cancelled the trip. However, that wasn’t the only reason why we decided to cancel it. We also felt that we so wanted to see our family and friends in Poland this summer, so we booked our flight tickets to travel to Poland. Then those flights were cancelled, too, just two weeks before! Fortunately, a different airline had tickets still available, so we booked our flights with them. Phew! I think travelling became more challenging this year, but I’m grateful that we still could travel, even in this much limited capacity, don’t you agree?!

We loved our stay in Poland. The weather was beautiful. Most days: sunny, warm, cloudless. We went to see our family in Silesia, our friends in the mountains, then we travelled to the seaside to visit some other friends and spend some time splashing in the water and building sand castles. We went away for three whole weeks (omg how long?!) In the past, we would usually go away for maximum of 10 days, but this year we needed to be away longer, to properly re-charge our batteries after a very intensive and stressful spring. And to be honest with you, we really enjoyed this longer time away. We managed to use this time to the fullest, but also managed to get bored and look forward to coming back home.

In Poland, we spent most of our days in nature: by the lake, in the forest (picking up wild blueberries) and on the beach (oh, the pleasure of walking barefoot on the soft sand…). We also found a wild beach, searched for white sands and explored dunes in the forest. I’m preparing more travel stories for you, so do expect more posts on our summer travels in Poland.

Lazy and slow, this is how I’d describe our summer in Poland.

Let me know in the comments below how was your summer 2020?!

Kinga Macalla

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July 29, 2020

Travelling corner: What are your travel plans for summer 2020?

What to do with travelling in the current global situation? My summer travel plans have already changed three times and there were many emotions involved with each of the changes. I felt frustrated, angry, disappointed. But one thing made me think that whatever we decide to do and are able to do (!!!), let’s enjoy this time, let’s be fully present in the moment, let’s make this time beautiful and unforgettable, shall we? 🙂

Below, I put together some inspiration for travelling in England, including Cornwall (of course!):

Isles of Scilly: it’s a dreamy place for a summer holiday

Jurassic peninsula: for the best beaches and quietness

South Cornwall: getting close to nature

South Devon: family-friendly beaches

Exmoor: wilderness & undiscovered walking paths

Where have you decided to travel to this summer? Please let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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June 3, 2020

Book review: The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

It was a particularly good evening to begin a book. Tove Jansson

At first, when I started reading The Summer Book, I didn’t like it very much. However, after a few chapters my appetite started to grow and then I couldn’t stop reading and thinking about it. What caught my attention most when I read the first few pages was the realism and authenticity of the language, landscape, everydayness, emotions and relationships. It was raw and authentic to the core and somehow it made me uncomfortable. Then after some time, I realised how much I’m used to the superficial softness and sweetness of the language and relationships in my daily life; where consumerism is the main tool / power, and social media rules my thinking. It made me stop to think about my life. Do I have enough place in my everyday life for different emotions; from fear, sadness, annoyance to happiness and pure joy?!

The book is written by Tove Jansson, the famous author of the Moomin stories. The Summer Book is a series of short stories about an elderly artist and her 6-year-old granddaughter, Sophia, who spent their summer on a tiny island in the gulf of Finland. Even though the island is very small and their adventures rather ordinary, the stories are so lively, interesting and full of suspense and humour. It only shows that everydayness and nature are never boring nor lack anything, quite the opposite, our daily life can be as fascinating as we want it to be.

For some inspiration, see the video.

Have you read any of Tove Jansson’s books? Please let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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