London Street Art

I couldn’t tell you about the great couple of days I had in London and not mention the incredible street art that I saw whilst I was there. Here are some of my favourites from Brick Lane:

 

Whilst shopping on Portobello Road, I also noticed these colourful murals by Fiona Hawthorne, a local artist who drew her inspiration from the Carnival.

I think my favourite is the street sweepers. It reminds me of clearing up after revellers when I worked at Glastonbury one year.

 

An abridged version of London

As I had to change buses in London Victoria on my return from Boulogne, it seemed silly to not stop there for a couple of nights and do some more exploring. I’ve visited London many times, and whenever I have some free time there I like to discover areas of the city that I haven’t been to before as well as visit some old favourites. The weather was lovely and sunny whilst I was there, so perfect for taking some photos.

Follow the Fish

One of the first things I noticed on my trip to Boulogne were these fish stencils painted on the pavements and pedestrian crossings. As well as providing an interesting talking point about the town, they also serve a purpose in directing tourists to the major attractions like the Old Town and the Castle.

On my last day, as I walked over to the port to wait for my coach back to the UK, I noticed that some creative local had taken artistic license on one of the fish (below). It certainly made me giggle.

Travel Theme: Flow

This week’s travel theme is Flow. Click here to see how others have approached the challenge.

I decided to use one of my photos of the mighty Colorado River as it cuts its way through the Grand Canyon. I apologise for the poor photography, but I was in a tiny helicopter, way above the river. It was very sobering to look down at this view. I have to say though, apart from one moment of turbulance that even surprised our lovely pilot Ryan, the flight was very smooth.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Curves

I’m venturing back home for this week’s photo challenge.

I was born on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire. In recent years, the promenade has undergone a huge facelift, and looks very different to when I lived there. A lot of the new architecture is based on curved shapes. It’s not just aesthetic, although the sea front does look very stylish now, it’s also practical. The curve shapes help the structures survive against the harsh force of the powerful Irish Sea.

Click here to see more entries in this week’s photo challenge.

Nausicaa

I couldn’t visit Boulogne without spending some time at the National Sealife Centre. Unfortunately, it’s not until I enter these places and encounter the ‘underwater viewing areas’ that I remember I have a phobia of fish. To make matters worse, this sealife centre is laid out in a very orderly fashion. You have to pass through each exhibit to reach the next one. Luckily, I didn’t encounter too many scary big fish.

Impressively, Nausicaa is home to 32,000 living creatures. 1000 different species are housed in 36 aquariums which are filled with 4.5 million litres of water. At €18.30 it is by far the most expensive attraction in Boulogne, but well worth setting aside a few hours to visit. Right from the moment you step through the front doors at Nausicaa, the clear message is that they want to help preserve the Earth’s seas and oceans and teach people how to live more sustainable lives. All of us are connected to the sea, and just like every other species on the planet, we need it to survive. I still find it sad to see the loggerhead turtles and sharks swimming back and forth endlessly in their little tanks, but I believe Nausicaa when they say they care about preserving sea life.

The main attraction at Nausicaa, a fairly new addition, are the sea lions.

Sea lions love nothing more than playing and frolicking around together in the water, so giving them an audience only encourages them more. If you want to see how talented these intelligent creatures really are, the trainers host demonstrations at set times during the day. This is where they really get to show off (the animals and the trainers). The sea lions are trained to jump, somersault, lay down, wave, blow a kiss and pick out shapes and letters. And all for their ultimate reward – fish.

There was also a smaller exhibition when I visited Nausicaa, which housed some penguins. Although these cute little creatures aren’t trained like the sea lions, they are still very entertaining to watch.

Whenever a penguin looks at me, I always think they look a bit impatient, like they’ve been waiting for me to do something. A bit like the penguin equivalent of a raised eyebrow.

Our history that almost was

Whilst exploring Boulogne, I learnt that much of the town’s legacy is based upon a plot by Napoleon to attack the British Isles that never actually happened. From the information I gathered, Napoleon used Boulogne as a military base to assemble thousands of soldiers and build ships with which he could attack his enemy (ie us). It took him so long to get his act together that the British army heard of his plans and attacked France first. When he tried to sail the new ships that his plan was based upon, they pretty much fell apart in the water. If Napoleon had been better organised, or known more than us about building boats, our history could have been very different.

Even though the plan essentially failed, there are nods to Napoleon all over Boulogne.

Even without Napoleon’s contribution, Boulogne has a heritage of seafaring activities. A short, but steep, walk up the cliffs above the beach brings you to the Gunpowder Magazine and the Seaman’s Calvary, a sanctuary dedicated to the memory of sailors lost at sea. Unfortunately the Calvary was closed whilst I was there. The chapel is adorned with commemorative plaques and buoys – coloured for the boats still at sea and black and white for the vessels that never came home.

Boulogne’s Castle and Old Town

Although a lot smaller than other walled cities that I have visited (400m x 300m), Boulogne’s old town still has that romantic aura about it. The first thing I liked about the old town was a small cafe I found that served good coffee. When I asked for a black decaf coffee, I actually got a black decaf coffee. Not a black coffee with a jug of cow’s milk next to it. As I’d been unable to secure self-catering accommodation in France, I decided that little cafe would be my first stop every day for my morning coffee fix.

The architecture in the old town is as quaint and photogenic as you would expect it to be. I found it to be like a ghost town until 10am, and then all of a sudden it seemed to come alive with people, both locals and tourists. Although there is a tourist presence, mainly British and French from what I could hear, there isn’t a huge amount of souvenir shops selling the usual tourist wares. Instead, the odd one is dotted amongst regular shops and restaurants. Interestingly, the Rue de Lille was filled with workshops making candles during the Middle Ages. These were then sold to pilgrims. The candles were probably the equivalent of today’s friendship bracelets and postcards.

Boulogne’s old town was built at the beginning of the 13th century by the Count of Boulogne on the foundations of the Gallo-Roman walls. The current walls, or ramparts, were built between 1227 and 1231 by Count Philippe Hurepel. There are four gates into the walled city, and a footpath runs around the top of the walls.

The jewel of the old town is the castle, which was constructed at the same time as the ramparts and was the first castle to be built without a keep in the history of military architecture. The museum which is attached to the castle is ecclectic to say the least. I was surprised to find that the artifacts within it had very little to do with the castle or Boulogne.

The museum was created in 1825 after Boulogne acquired the cabinet of curiosities created by the Viscount Isidore Leroy do Barde. It takes you on a journey through cultures from all over the world, from Alaskan fishing implements to ancient Greek pottery. It’s like the museum is one big cabinet of curiosities itself, and I really liked that idea. Probably my favourite exhibit from the whole collection was some Haida masks. I studied this culture as part of my Bachelors degree, and it was a pleasant surprise to find such fine examples in a small castle in France.

The museum also houses a temporary exhibition. Whilst I was there, it was Egyptian artifacts on show.

Out in the courtyard, there was a fascinating installation art piece. All I was able to find out is that it’s untitled and by an artist called Michel Dhalenne. If anyone knows anymore, please pass the info on.

The aesthetics of the piece blew me away, although I did wonder what problems they must encounter when it rains. Surely there is a danger they could end up with a huge, sticky mess of paper pulp?

Boulogne and my first journey through the Channel Tunnel

If it seems like I’ve been jumping all over the place for the past couple of weeks, it’s because I have been. My lovely employers (heavy sarcasm intended) informed me on 8th January that I HAD to take two consecutive weeks holiday this year, and I had to tell them by 14th January which two weeks I wanted. Needless to say, as I am clearly more organised than my managers, this sudden change in the rules completely messed up my plans for the year. Instead of being able to take lots of smaller trips throughout the year, I’ve instead had to cram as much as possible into sixteen days.

After returning from Anglesey and my stopover in Skrinkle Bay, I headed back towards Cardiff. I’d carried my bodyboard around with me for a week, and I was determined to find some waves. Or at the very least, exhaust all possibilities. In the end, I stopped off at Rest bay in Porthcawl for a couple of hours. Less than an hour’s drive from where I live, Rest Bay is my local surf beach that I visit most often. Although a little annoyed that I’d carted my board and wetsuit all the way around the country to end up almost back at home, I was just happy to be in the water.

The next part of my journey was a bit of a military maneuver. I had only 12 hours back at home before I had to head off again, and in that time I had to empty one lot of dirty laundry into the washing machine, pack a clean lot into my rucksack, catch up on my emails, prepare at least one blog post and grab my passport ready to go.

As I’ve learnt more about living plant-based, one of the subjects that has caught my attention is eco-travel. I love to travel, and I don’t want to stop, but I’m also aware that my passion increases my carbon footprint dramatically. In an ideal world, my goal would be to travel by land and sea only, and infact I think this would make travelling an even better experience. Unfortunately, though, the restraints of my modern lifestyle do not allow me the time to do this. I am under no illusion that I’m changing the world by avoiding one plane journey. I know that even if I lived carbon neutral for a whole year, all my efforts would be erased the second I stepped foot on a plane. And I know that I will be taking at least four flights this year. What I hope to do instead is try alternative modes of transport when I do have the time. This is just another one of those small steps that, when considered together, create a better future.

Megabus offer cheap coach travel between European cities. For only £25.50 one way, I was able to travel from Cardiff to Boulogne-sur-Mer in France. My other options with Megabus were Brussels or Paris. I didn’t fancy Brussels, and a friend advised against it. I would love to visit Paris and spend a few days wandering around all the galleries and museums, but unfortunately it just isn’t in my budget this year. I also liked the idea of spending some (more) time by the sea, so Boulogne it was.

As well as adding Boulogne to my list of new places, I also got to travel through the Channel Tunnel for the first time. Although I have crossed the Channel many times before, I have always used the ferries. I didn’t realise how fast the train is. Only 35 minutes! And boarding and disembarking is super quick and efficient as well. The longest period we had to wait was for immigration. (Why do you always get one person who insists on travelling without a passport? And they look genuinely annoyed that customs won’t just allow them through the border.)

Once we arrived on the French side, it was just a short drive to the drop-off at Boulogne and 3 days of exploring and relaxing for me.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting

One of the reasons I rarely take photos of humans or animals is because I’m just not quick enough to capture the best moments.

There have been one or two occasions in my life when I’ve caught that fleeting shot, though. I’d love to say it’s because of my photographic talents, but unfortunately it’s more like I take lots and lots of photos and eventually get lucky.

I took this shot at the Sea Life Centre in Boulogne on Wednesday. I was snapping away as the sea lions played and happily caught this little guy as he jumped out of the water.

This is my entry for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting. Click here to see what everyone else has come up with.