Wayne ☂️
Wordless Wednesday – Brollies
Doors of WordPress V64
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of wonderful doors. I have only three doors to show case today but I feel they are very much worth showing. These colourful doors were spotted in Glenarm, a little coastal village on the Causeway Coastal route that takes you from Belfast to the North of the country.
As always, please let me know if you have a favourite this week.
My favourite this week is number 3 and that’s simply because I love the colour of the door against the grey backdrop. I can’t decide if the colour of the door reminds me of red wine or a beetroot! What do you think?
Wayne ✌🏽
Wordless Wednesday – Strength
Wayne 💪🏼
Just keep walking.
How often do you walk or run?
Every single day. I walk ALL the time and I love it. Walking is one of my favourite things to do, although it does depend on the weather and environment you’re walking in. After work, I will try and walk for at least 45 minutes and here is why I like to do that –
1 – I find it relaxing.
2 – Walking clears my mind, I can switch off and forget that I have been working all day.
3 – It’s a great form of exercise and I always feel better after exercise, both physically and mentally.
4 – It’s a great way to have personal time and space or if walking with someone, it’s the perfect way to catch up without any distractions.
5 – Fresh air (obviously this depends on the environment). I have a forest park that I walk around daily and I always feel so refreshed after. Apparently even seeing trees and / or water can make you feel really good and has many health benefits.
6 – Walking is good for your body and heart health.
7 – It’s free!!! I love if I can walk somewhere and not have to rely on public transport / driving.
Besides from walking after work, I will walk pretty much all the time. I walk from the car park to work and as a nurse, I am on my feet all the time. Even in the hospitals, I will take the stairs as often as I can and avoid taking lifts. Also on my days off, I love to find new places to walk and explore.
Ok I think it’s obvious to everyone now that I love walking! I’m just grateful that I have the ability to walk, not everyone has that luxury.
As for running, I’m not such a fan. Don’t get me wrong, I have run in the past and do occasionally run. I always enjoy it and feel really alive afterwards. The only thing for me is that I will lose too much weight if I run too much and that is not something I need to be doing!
What about you? How often do you walk or run??
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V63
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of fantastic doors. This week, as the rain returns to Northern Ireland and the summer draws to a close, I thought it would be appropriate to show case some of my most recent green coloured doors. As much as I dislike the rain, I do appreciate that it is a necessity and the reason why Ireland is so green. As always, please let me know if you have a favourite door this week.
I have to admit, I absolutely love number four from Dijon, however, talking about Ireland, I feel that I should pick an Irish door! Number three from Portrush is my choice this week. I love it’s rustic and rundown appearance, the stained glass transom, the arch around the door and even the fancy door hinge at the top of the door. The door has real Robin Hood vibes for me, something you would see in Sherwood Forest 😜. Can you see what I mean?
All the best,
Wayne ✌🏽
Guest post: Finn Lough – Elements Trail and Spa
Thank you Tanja of The red phone box travels very much for featuring me as a guest writer on your blog! I am delighted to share this magical place with everyone.
Finn Lough spa Finn Lough – Elements Trail and Spa Set in Fermanagh, a county in the west of Northern Ireland, you will find a beautiful and tranquil…
Guest post: Finn Lough – Elements Trail and Spa
Doors of WordPress V62
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another wonderful week of doors. This week in Northern Ireland the sun is out in full force. We are having the long overdue heatwave, promised to us a couple of months ago. As usual, it has happened just as the kids have returned to school (sad for them). However, never fear, our heatwaves only last for a few days before the cold and wet weather makes a return. As the weather has been lifting everyone’s spirits here, I felt compelled to show some colourful doors this week to fit in with the Irish weather. As always, please let me know, if you have a favourite this week.
My absolute favourite has to be number 4. I really loved this door from Dijon and was probably my favourite door from my whole trip there. I don’t think I have ever seen a door this colour before and it looks very rustic and quaint to me. I also love the design of where the window used to be, very chic. What do you think?
Thanks for reading everyone,
Wayne ✌🏽
Wordless Wednesday – Flight path
Wayne ✌🏽
Porridge anyone?
What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?
For the past couple of years I have been eating oats for breakfast, normally up to five days per week. I love how they taste, they’re super healthy, easy to make and relatively cheap. I feel that they will improve my quality of life due to the many health benefits that they have been linked to, for example, lowering blood glucose levels, they’re rich in antioxidants and can lower cholesterol levels.
I often refer to Healthline to research anything to do with health. According to this website, oats have nine health benefits, feel free to check them out here. I always love to know the good things that food can do for our bodies
I have recently become obsessed with a brand called White’s and was delighted to discover that they are made in my hometown of Tandragee. I always knew we made oats where I am from but never thought I would end up eating them, never mind loving them!
Do you like oats? Do you prefer quick or overnight oats?
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V61
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of wonderful doors. Following on from my Beaune blog post, I thought it would be appropriate to show case my remaining doors from my trip to Beaune. As always, please let me know if you have a favourite this week.
I really like doors 1 and 5, however, personally I saved the best to last. Number 6 has a real unique and quite a regal appearance. The deep wood of the door and it’s wonderful design. I love the transom window and also the arch that surrounds the door. I’m not sure if there is a name for that? Also the greenery surrounding the door really makes it stand out. What do you think?
Wayne ✌🏽
Beaune 🇫🇷
When we travelled to Dijon for my birthday, we had it on our itinerary to check out the nearby town of Beaune, specifically for its vineyards and wine culture. We wanted to carry out a couple of wine tastings there so we took the train from Dijon that took about 1.5 hours and was pretty easy to navigate.
Although Dijon is the capital of Burgundy, Beaune is the wine capital. It’s famous for its chardonnay and pinot noir, both of which I really enjoy (depending on where they are grown). Beaune is also notorious for its architecture and art, whilst also being an historical town with its famous hospital, Hospices de Beaune founded in 1443.
I would like to show you the two wine tastings that we experienced and a little about the famous hospital. I also really loved the buildings and doors found in Beaune, the latter of which you can see in my Doors of WordPress posts.
The first wine tasting on our list took place at Joseph Drouhin and booked this directly with their office in Beaune. Luckily for me, my partner knows a lot about wines and picked this one for its central location in Beaune and the fact that it is one of the oldest and respected wine producers (not growers) in Burgundy. I loved how this company still belongs to the Drouhin family, with the great-grandchildren owning and operating the company today. It was fascinating to learn how the wines were made in the past and how these traditional methods are still used today, especially to mark special events or anniversaries. Seeing the cellars where the kegs and bottles are stored was fascinating, it felt like we were in an episode of Game of Thrones, meandering through the dark caves (oldest caves in Beaune) with bottles of wine literally found at every nook and cranny. I really enjoyed learning about cru (a term in France that distinguishes a high quality vineyard) and tasting the difference between the regional wines, village wines, premier cru and grand cru (the highest quality). It was only with the wine tastings that I could really learn and appreciate the differences between these wines. The regional wines were delicious but when you taste the premier and grand cru, my goodness, they are absolutely stunning! Nevertheless, they will be forever out of my price range. We thoroughly enjoyed our time here for our tasting and the staff were fantastic, very welcoming, friendly and knowledgeable, without making you feel silly if you don’t know much about the wines.
Our second wine tasting was with a smaller company, therefore offering a more intimate experience. This offered an experience to travel out and see the vineyards and villages of Burgundy, with a highlight being Meursault. The tour was called Cote de Beaune, lasted approximately two hours and offered one family-run winery with one wine tasting (around six wines). Our tour guide was fantastic, extremely passionate for the region, its culture and wine history. He provided information on the famous villages such as Pommard, Volnay, Puligny-Montrachet and provided the opportunity to stop at Mersault to take some photos of this historic town. Mersault is absolutely beautiful and you can tell it is extremely wealthy, however, I could not see myself living here as it is so quiet with not much to do. It’s waaaaay out of my price range so I need not worry!
Our tour guide took us to the family run vineyard of Maison Charles Pere and Fille, Grands vins de Bourgogne in Nantoux, basically in the cellar of the family home. In the garden was a plum tree with plums all over the ground. Our guide recommended these to eat as they are delicious and you would pay big money for these in the supermarkets. He advised to wipe any debris off, break the plum into halves and check for any worms! Once clear you could go ahead and eat. Unreal. We must have had a good few…and for free.
Once in the home we were given an introduction to the family and the history of how the estate has been passed down to Francois’s son and granddaughter. There were only three of us on the tour so it was really lovely to ask questions and learn in a relaxed environment. Our guide provided us with some fine wines, both white and red from villages to premier cru and explained what we were looking for with regards to aromas. I liked how he said there is no wrong way to taste wines and that everyone’s pallet will be different. It can be a little overwhelming with all the wine lingo but he made us feel very at ease and I definitely walked away with a little more knowledge than when I had arrived. We booked this tour through Safari Tours and I would highly recommend, whether you are new to wines, middle of the road (like me!) or a connoisseur.
I wholeheartedly loved both of these tours and was very happy that I was able to try some of the famous Burgundy wines. I also love how you can meet new people and learn from their experiences too. We had a couple of Americans on the first tour and it was fascinating to hear how some Burgundy grapes are now being grown in Oregon, USA.
Hospices de Beaune
I wanted to check out this hospital as I had heard it is a ‘must see’ when in Beaune, plus being a nurse, I was intrigued to see how this operated as a hospital in the 15th century. The building was initially opened as a hospital for the poor by the chancellor of Burgundy, Nicolas Rolin. The architecture here is exquisite and inside the building is equally impressive as you can see where the patients were treated, how their beds appeared and the utensils that would have been used. You can’t help but be moved when thinking how people were cared for here or even passed away. This hospital was in use until the 1970s, when a more modern hospital was erected and this building was transformed into a museum. For twelve euros you can carry out your own self guided audio tour, perfect for seeing the museum at your own pace and you can choose to spend longer or less time at each point. This was very interesting and a great way to learn more about Beaune’s history.
To conclude, Beaune is a fantastic town filled with history, culture and wine! We were only here for two days and mainly for the wine tasting but I would highly recommend checking this place out if and when in Burgundy.
Thank you all for reading.
Wayne
Anyone watch 80s cartoons?
What TV shows did you watch as a kid?
I read here that someone had written about this prompt and stated that what we watched as a child could inform others of what era we were born in. This could not be further from the truth for me as the tv shows I watched as a kid were very much from the eighties, some of which have now been brought forward into the modern age by having been reintroduced.
The shows I loved were mainly cartoons. Some of them created by Disney and others more like live action, with the use of puppets. I will list a few that I can remember below and please let me know if you have seen or heard of any of these. Are there any people here from the eighties who can recall these shows?
- The Gummi Bears
- Rescue Rangers
- Duck Tales
- Thunder cats
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Super Ted
- Banana Man
- Mysterious Cities of Gold
- The Racoons
- Galaxy High
- Jumbo and the Jet Set
- Around the World in 80 days
- The Muppets
- Fraggle Rock
- Dogtanian and the 3 Muskehounds
- Inspector Gadget
- Thomas the Tank Engine
- Fireman Sam
- The Dreamstone
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
- Danger Mouse
- Woof
Ok so there are quite a lot of shows here and these are only the ones I can remember off the top of my head. I watched a lot of tv as a child. I used to love waking up early and running to watch “the funnies” in the living room, especially at my Granddads house as he had sky tv in the late eighties. This was a game changer as there were so many new channels with all the cartoons on show.
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V60
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to my 60th blog post of doors!!! This week I would like to show you some of my favourite doors from my trip to Beaune a couple of weeks ago. We visited here whilst on a trip to Dijon and I will compile a blog post for Beaune very soon but for now, let’s enjoy some of its amazing doors. Like always, please let me know if you have a favourite this week.
This is a tough one for me as I really like all the doors featured. However, if I have to choose one, I will pick number 6. It has so much character and charm that it really stands out to me. I love the design and it has quite a Mexican feel for me, I’m not sure why, maybe the colour of the door as it reminds of the day of the dead celebrations when people dress in white paint 🤷🏼♂️. Can you see what I mean?!
Enjoy your day everyone.
Wayne ✌🏽
Wordless Wednesday – Cruffin
Wayne ✌🏽
Living in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland
What do you love about where you live?
Good morning everyone and happy Sunday. When I woke up and saw this morning’s daily prompt, I just had to answer as I love where I currently live. Most of you know I am living in Hillsborough, a small village in Northern Ireland, close to Belfast, the capital of the country. I have only been living here for about six months and although I had heard of this village and visited once or twice before, I have a whole new love and appreciation for this place now. I have ten bullet points below to show you all why I love where I live.
1 – Its location and proximity to Belfast / other towns of interest for shopping, travelling etc. Yet Hillsborough is a small village and pretty quiet, almost like its own bubble, it is located right beside the motorway, making it easily accessible to travel around Northern Ireland.
2 – The quaintness. This village has a real old school charm with some great stone architecture, lots of flowers, quirky shops and a homely feel.
3 – The doors. There are some really amazing and colourful doors here which is a great for me with my passion for doors.
4 – The bars and restaurants. Not only does Hillsborough have one fantastic bar but it has three! This is amazing for a village to have three excellent bars / restaurants, all within walking distance. A fourth one has also opened this month and we will be trying there today for lunch.
5 – Coffee shops. We have soooooo many coffee shops in this village and we have still to try some. If you love the coffee culture, then this village is the place to be. No Starbucks or chain coffee places but lots of local independent cafes with fantastic coffee.
6 – The forest park. We have our own forest park to walk around and get lost in nature. We walk this park pretty much every day and I feel super lucky to have this on our doorstep.
7 – Hillsborough Castle. This village has its own castle, steeped in history and used as the Royal residence for when when the royal family come to stay in Northern Ireland. You can have a tour or walk around its beautiful gardens.
8 – The cars. You will see some really fantastic old classic cars or some newer and expensive models driving through the village or parked on the streets. This may not impress many but I am always in awe when I see a cool car (I am not car savvy by any means).
9 – There is an abundance of wildlife with ducks, geese and swans. These can be seen in the forest park or the castle gardens. I am used to being wakened in the mornings by birds, especially when I lived in Sydney but it’s so refreshing to be wakened by the sound of ducks quacking in the morning.
10 – The people. They are extremely friendly here, much like most people in Northern Ireland to be honest.
I may be biased but I love this place and am very happy and thankful to live here at present. It’s definitely a place you would want to visit.
Enjoy your day everyone.
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V59
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of wonderful doors. This week I am delighted to share with you some doors from my trip to Dijon, France. For me, the doors appear very majestic with an old, rustic charm, blending in well with the architecture that has stood there for centuries. Please do let me know if you have a favourite this week.
I think my favourite has to be number 2. It just has such an enigma about it, the colour and intrinsic detail on the door really make it stand out. My only qualm is the face above the door that looks absolutely terrifying!
Thanks for having a look at my doors this week, roll on the weekend.
Wayne ✌🏽
Dijon 🇫🇷
We have just returned from a fantastic trip away to Dijon, just an hour and a half from Paris. We headed here to celebrate my fortieth birthday (eek), to explore a new city and to sample some of the famous wines on offer here. Dijon, the capital of Burgundy is renowned for its superb wines that are celebrated and appreciated all over the globe. I couldn’t wait to try some of the wines from this region and experience some of the wine tastings on offer, however, I was completely blown away with how much Dijon has to offer, in addition to the wines. When I hear Burgundy, I always think of the famous wines and when I hear Dijon, I had always thought of Dijon mustard. I have never been a mustard fan so I didn’t come here for the mustards, nevertheless, I was interested to try the mustards and open my mind (and tastebuds) a little.
Below I have created a list of the main things that I loved about Dijon and / or what I wanted to experience within my few days there. I have narrowed the list to eleven in total but the list could go on and on. Please let me know if you have ever travelled to Dijon or the region of Burgundy. Have you ever tried any of their wines?
1. Eat a croissant & have café au lait – now this could be anywhere in France really but it was something I was really looking forward to. The coffee and croissants are unbelievably good in Dijon and I cannot even count how many we had over the few days, keep them coming!
2. Mustard tasting at Moutarde Maille – this amazing store, on the main shopping street, stocks all the Dijon mustard you could possibly imagine with different flavours and ingredients. They will offer you a mustard tasting right there and then for free with some information on their creations. I was pleasantly surprised how delicious they were and my love for mustard has been restored (I had only ever tried English mustard and it was too overpowering for me). I loved the Chardonnay mustard and the honey mustard, ils étaient délicieux!
3. Beef bourguignon – One of Burgundy’s most famous dishes. This was the first meal that we had been dying to try and it certainly lived up to our expectations. It was absolutely delicious. I have had this dish many times on my travels and even here in Ireland, however, none have tasted as good as this dish in its home town.
4. Les Halles Markets – these markets are one of the best in France apparently, open Tuesday, Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays. The best place to see and taste all the foods on offer in Dijon. We took a walk around and spotted many people just relaxing and sampling the food and drink, which of course we had to partake in also. We decided on cheese, bread and bubbles (blanc de blanc). Sadly I couldn’t find any crackers (my number one choice) and the bread stalls had closed for the day so I had to nip out to the local boulangerie to purchase bread of some description. Funnily enough I had been watching others enjoy their oysters and meats when one woman came to me and asked where I had bought my bread as it looked so delicious.
5. Escargots – I really wanted to try these (when in Rome so to speak). I had tried frogs legs on my last trip to France so this was the time to taste some snails. I loved using the snail tong and fork to remove the snails, it’s quite the art. They tasted amazing, quite meaty and extremely garlicky (maybe to hide the taste). The main thing for me was trying not to scoot the snails off my plate!
6. Kir aperitif – This pre dinner drink is very popular in France and you will find it on most restaurant menus. Kir is simply a French cocktail made from white wine from Burgundy and crème de cassis. Most people will have it before dinner, hence being an aperitif. We have made these at home a few times but they have never tasted as good as here in Dijon. I couldn’t wait to try these and they certainly delivered, the perfect pre drink, very refreshing.
7. Owl Tour – If you want to see around Dijon by foot, then this is the absolute best way. It’s basically a free walking tour around the city that you can follow by keeping your eyes on the little owls dotted all over the city. You can pick up a map from the tourist office for about €4 and it will highlight the main attractions of Dijon and number them according to the various nearby owls. This was a very fun way to explore Dijon and it’s a great idea for showcasing the whole city, as it takes you around streets that you normally wouldn’t even have known about.
8. Architecture – the buildings here out of this world. Being Romanesque Burgundian, they take you back to medieval times and have been beautifully preserved. You really feel like you’re stepping back in time and walking through history. If you love stunning craftsmanship and architecture, then you will appreciate what Dijon has to offer here. I found many interesting doors here also, as you would expect and I CANNOT wait to share them with you all very soon.
9. Jardin de l’arquebuse – I was delighted to discover that Dijon has a botanical garden, with a variety of flowers, plants and even grapes. It’s a gorgeous setting that takes you out of city life and enables you to feel like you’re in the vineyards, way out in the countryside. The different grape varieties allows you to discover the diversity of wine growing all over the world.
10. Notre Dame – (Church of our lady) set in the old part of the city. This chapel was constructed in the 13th century and showcases the gothic style of those times. Even if you’re not religious, it’s wonderful to have a look inside and out and to really appreciate its design, history and magnificent stained glass windows.
11. Wine tasting in Beaune – wine capital of Burgundy – We headed to Beaune, about thirty minutes away by train from Dijon, to carry out a couple of special wine tastings. This area is famous for its superb wines, however, the small town is also a fantastic place to relish in it’s history and architecture also. I will create another blog post to showcase the amazing wine tastings and more about Beaune but believe me for now, they are most definitely worth a visit.
Thank you all very much for reading my favourite activities to do in Dijon. We were there for a long weekend but we could have easily stayed longer. An absolutely beautiful city with plenty of history, charm and culture. I cannot recommend this city enough. Exceptionnel!
Wayne ✌🏽
Media storage full 😱
Hi everyone. I have a quick question to ask and I know this is a good place to find the answer. My media storage of 6g has now reached full capacity. Do you know if we can purchase more storage rather than deleting from my media library? I don’t want to delete my images and affect my previous blog posts. I also don’t have the time or patience to change all my old images to a smaller size. I have been reducing the size of my images for the past few months and that has really helped but I know my old posts take up a lot of memory.
What do you think? If it was cheap to purchase more storage, then I think I would prefer to do that. Or do you think I should simply delete old posts?
Many thanks in advance,
Wayne
Wordless Wednesday – 40
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V58
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. This week I only have one beautiful door to show you and it was actually not even my first priority when taking this photograph. This stunning and classic car massively caught my eye and luckily there just so happened to be a fantastic door in the background, presumably owned by the same person (what great taste).
Have any of you seen this car model before? It’s an MG Roadster from 1964! These cars were built as the soft top sports cars and were manufactured from 1962 until 1980 by the British Motor Corporation. I know very little about any car to be honest but I can certainly appreciate a cool car. I love the colour and style of this car and you can tell that it’s being looked after very well indeed.
The door in the background is a fantastic shape and colour, set perfectly in beautiful surroundings. I hope you enjoy the door this week and the car in the forefront. Please let me know if you have ever seen one of these cars or perhaps even owned one.
I am currently writing this post just before I head to the airport as we are off to France for a few days. Hopefully I will see some amazing doors on my travels and look forward to sharing them with you all. Take care and see you soon.
Wayne ✈️
Wordless Wednesday – Exhibition
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V57
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of fabulous doors. This week is from my current place of residence again and my favourite town, drum roll please…can we guess where it is haha…Hillsborough!
I initially took the photograph because of the really cool and unique car that was parked on the street. I have never seen a car so small and surprisingly the driver was able to fit in a large amount of groceries. It was only when I had taken the snap that I realised all the fantastic doors in the background. I’m pretty sure I have photographed a couple of them individually but I love them all collectively on this street.
How many doors can you see in this photograph? Do you have a favourite? Have you ever seen a car so small?? Please share your thoughts 😊
Wayne ✌🏽
People & Port
What do you think gets better with age?
Most people age well (depending on genetics, lifestyle and our environment). Of course we look older but that’s a good thing. It’s a blessing to get older and I think it’s good to grow old gracefully. No need for all these fillers and botox. Wrinkles are laughter lines, signs that we have lived our lives, through the good and bad times. They add character and warmth, at least that’s what I tell myself as my wrinkles continue to grow and grow.
Port definitely ages well, enhancing in flavour and quality, much like people, you could say. I love a port with a cheese board or coffee, may it be tawny, LBV or vintage.
Cheers!
FOTD – Common Foxglove
Happy Friday everyone! It’s been a while since I have showcased a flower of the day but today is particularly gloomy in Northern Ireland, so I thought this might brighten up the day!
I hope you’re all having a lovely start to the weekend. I’m just back from work and heading to work again tomorrow but hey ho, bills to pay 😝.
Wayne ✌🏽
STRANGFORD
Strangford is a small village in Northern Ireland just at the mouth of Strangford Lough. We managed to take a day trip here a few weeks ago on a rare sunny day and I really wanted to show you some photos to help show case this amazing place.
On the outskirts are some fantastic places of interest such as Scrabo Tower (that I have highlighted before) and Castle Ward (home of Winterfell, Game of Thrones), however, today I simply want to show you the village itself.
I have been here before on a normal cloudy day but I had never visited when the weather was actually good. Being in Strangford when the sun is beaming is just magical and you no longer feel that you are in Northern Ireland but transported to somewhere in the Mediterranean. As it’s a seaside town, you really do have those holiday feelings of pure joy and excitement. There is beautiful architecture, mixed with some old stone buildings, showing you how historical this village is, dating back to the 15th century. The area is also known for its conservation work and environmental significance, being the home to numerous bird and fish species, as well as seals and dolphins.
Across the Lough is another pretty village called Portaferry and you can take a boat across from Strangford for a small fee. The journey is short taking about fifteen to twenty minutes and you can even take your car on board. Many locals use this service to get to and from work. In our case, we headed over to have an ice cream by the harbour and were lucky to spot a couple of the local dolphins swimming past.
We finished our day trip with a stop at the Portaferry Windmill, built in 1771. I love old historical buildings and it fascinates me that they are still standing after all this time. If only we could see them in their heyday.
Thanks for checking out Strangford and our trip over to Portaferry. It really is a beautiful place to visit and I cannot wait to return one day. It would be lovely to spend a weekend here and see what else there is to see and do. I believe Strangford is a great place to wine and dine as the seafood is famous here for being outstandingly delicious.
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V56
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of spectacular doors. This week features doors from my local neighbourhood in Hillsborough and although this village has been featured many, many times, Hillsborough still manages to provide more doors that have not yet been displayed. I feel very fortunate to have so many amazing doors to see on my doorstep.
As always, please let me know if you have a favourite of the week.
This is a really tough one for me this week but I am going to be brutal and choose number four. Although not the clearest of photos, in reality this door is absolutely stunning. I love the colour, the transom window, the sidelights and the stone archway. The architecture of the whole building is just fabulous and I couldn’t help but dream of living in a place like this (except that it would be far too big for me!).
Have a great weekend everyone,
Wayne ✌🏽
The highs & lows of blogging 😅
This week I celebrated SIX YEARS of blogging with WordPress, hard to believe it has been that long. I thought this would be a good time to reflect on the highs and lows of blogging, specifically with using WordPress as my blogging platform. Please feel free to let me know if you can relate to any of my points.
My Highs :
– sharing my world, in particular, my travel experiences with my readers.
– connecting with other bloggers.
– blogging is a great tool for self expression.
– it can be exciting when you find a new topic to blog about and you can’t wait to put ‘pen to paper’ so to speak.
– reading other people’s work and learning about different cultures / experiences / destinations from all over the globe.
– learning from other bloggers about the tools available here on WordPress.
– being inspired by other bloggers and sharing ideas about blogging topics.
My Lows :
– I personally find WordPress quite pricey as I have to pay for my domain registration and my personal subscription annually. I guess over a year it’s maybe not too much money but the years come around quickly.
– Pressure on myself to continue to blog often. Now this is something that I know is not important and shouldn’t be pressure but it’s funny how your brain just niggles at you to blog if you haven’t created a post for some time. More so, if I have just travelled and feel I should be blogging as it’s fresh in my mind. I believe I have to blog about it instantly and almost feel guilty if I don’t. I know this is silly but it’s difficult to shake off sometimes.
– I know the basics of WordPress but I am not tech savvy at all and find it difficult to understand all the features available on WordPress, especially the themes.
That’s it for me. As you can see, my highs massively outweigh my lows and even my lows are not too bad in all seriousness. I REALLY enjoy blogging and just have to remind myself not to stress too much about how often to blog etc. It’s your blog and you can blog about whatever you want, whenever you want. HAPPY BLOGGING EVERYONE 😊
Wayne ✌🏽
Wordless Wednesday – 12th July
Wayne ✌🏽
Amalfi Coast 🇮🇹
Describe your most memorable vacation.
My most memorable vacation will have to be our trip to the Amalfi Coast, Italy in 2014, before it blew up on Instagram and became an insanely popular tourist destination.
We were looking for a holiday destination that could guarantee some beautiful sunshine but that could offer lots to see and do. I’m not a huge fan of lying by a pool all day, rather I like to pack in my days with sightseeing and exploring different cultures.
We picked a few spots to visit beforehand and then used public transport to navigate to the different locations, finishing in Amalfi and Ravello. The trains in Italy were fantastic, very easy to use and although we spoke little to no Italian, the locals were happy if you at least tried to speak the language. They were extremely friendly and helpful, no matter where we were travelling.
I think what made this trip SO memorable was just being away as a couple and enjoying each other’s company, whilst exploring some really beautiful scenery. The colours, the architecture, the food, the limoncello, the coast and the weather all made this trip absolutely stunning and I would wholeheartedly love to return to this area one day again. It is just pure magic and a real feast for the senses.
I have highlighted below the places that we managed to see on our way to the Amalfi Coast, travelling from Naples. We actually never even stayed in Naples, we flew in and caught the train out straight away. We used Sorrento as a base for the first few days before travelling on towards the Amalfi Coast.
A holiday never to be forgotten. Thank goodness for photographs to help capture the good times. It’s funny to see how cameras have greatly improved over the years as I thought these photos were great at the time but now I feel that I need to return to take better quality photos. Please let me know if you have ever travelled to Amalfi or any other parts of Italy. I would be interested to hear your thoughts also or even what is your most memorable vacation?
Thank you for reading.
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V55 : Mussenden Temple
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors or in my case today, simply one door. I had visited Mussenden Temple last weekend (for the second time) when staying at the north coast of Northern Ireland and wanted to share this amazing building and it’s fantastic door with you all.
This temple is one of the most photographed buildings in Ireland and sits perched on a cliff’s edge, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It was built around 1783 for the Earl Bishop and was originally used as a library. For more information you can check out the link here. It certainly has an interesting history but I really love this building for its architecture and it’s intricate detail. The location is just stunning, situated between the home of the Earl Bishop and the coastline. I’m pretty certain the door would not be an original but nonetheless, it still appears to be pretty grand and sturdy.
Thanks for taking a look at this amazing temple. Please let me know if you have ever visited here or if you have ever seen a temple like this one on your travels.
All the best,
Wayne ✌🏽
Wordless Wednesday – Cygnets
Wayne 🦢
Calton Hill, Edinburgh
Two weeks ago we had the best weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland and I thought I would show you all a special place that we managed to visit. I have been to Edinburgh a couple of times before but never with the amazing weather that we have just had. I have to say, I have always loved Edinburgh but like anywhere else in the world I’m sure, with good weather, it really just POPPED with the glorious sunshine. The atmosphere was electric with a real buzz in the city and the architecture was out of this world.
Calton Hill is close to all the tourist attractions and is very easy to find from Princes Street in the city centre. You have to climb some steep steps to reach the top but it is totally worth it for the views all over Edinburgh. I was expecting the great view from the top but had no idea there would be so many amazing historical monuments situated here.
That’s it for now. Thanks for taking a look around Calton Hill with me and please let me know if you have ever visited here yourself. I have never seen so many impressive monuments all in one small location!
I hope you have all had a lovely weekend and not developing the Sunday night fear that I am currently pushing to the back of my mind 😅.
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V54 🏴
Happy Friday everyone and welcome to the weekend. I’m a day later than normal this week, it’s been a hectic work week but better late than never. This week I’m showing a few more of my doors taken from my trip to Edinburgh two weeks ago. Please let me know if you have a favourite this week.
I really like the first door and this was located in one of the hidden streets just off the Royal Mile. However, the final door is my favourite this week. I love the wood that has been used, the colour / design and the fact that it’s tucked away into the walled building. A real classic!
Have a great weekend everyone, whatever you’re doing.
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V53 🏴
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. My doors for this week were spotted last weekend when we were in Edinburgh, Scotland for a wedding.
They sure have some beautiful doors there in the centre of Edinburgh and the challenge for me was to try taking some photos without people photobombing as it is a tourist hotspot. As always, please let me know if you have a favourite this week.
For me, I saved the best to last. I love the other doors, especially with the floral decorations, however, this blue one just hits the mark. These houses are below street level so you have to look down to spot these hidden gems.
I hope you’re all having a great week. Take care.
Wayne ✌🏽
My country wish list
What countries do you want to visit?
Where do I even start? I have visited a good few countries in my lifetime but the world is a big old place and there are so, so many left to see. Not that I wish to see them all but there are heaps on my wish list.
When we lived in Australia we had planned to travel the countries nearby but with covid and our never ending lockdown, it just wasn’t possible. I also want to see a good few in Europe, however, I simply don’t have the funds at present.
As I have numerous countries on my list, I will simply show you my top ten at this present time, excluding any country that I have previously travelled.
1 – Iceland 🇮🇸
2 – Sweden 🇸🇪
3 – Austria 🇦🇹
4 – Croatia 🇭🇷
5 – Japan 🇯🇵
6 – The Philippines 🇵🇭
7 – Malta 🇲🇹
8 – Greece 🇬🇷
9 – Wales 🏴
10 – Samoa 🇼🇸
Wayne ✌🏽
Wordless Wednesday – Homeward Bound
Wayne ✌🏽
Wordless Wednesday – Leafy
Wayne 🍃
Doors of WordPress V52
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of amazing doors from Northern Ireland. This week we had the most fantastic weather, enabling us to carry out some local travelling. On Monday we visited the picturesque seaside town of Strangford. I am looking forward to showing you this town very soon but for now, you can check out some really cool doors that I was able to spot there. As always, please let me know if you have a favourite this week.
My favourite this week is number five, the red door. I love the bright colour, it really pops out and I love how regal the door looks. Also you can’t help but love the frame and brick work, absolutely stunning!
Enjoy the rest of your week everyone and take care.
Wayne ✌🏽
Wordless Wednesday – Home
Wayne ✌🏽
Northern Ireland’s hidden village!
A local radio presenter had recently highlighted a hidden village as a place of interest to visit in Northern Ireland amongst other locations. This was a hidden village dating back to the mid 20th century. I am from Northern Ireland and have seen many of the tourist attractions here, however, I had never even heard of this place. This was extremely exciting to hear of a new place to visit, more so, as not many people have visited here as it’s off the beaten track. Today was the day to visit this fantastic location!
Known as Galboly, this little village along the Antrim coast was inhabited from the 1800s to the 1960s by people who made a living from the land and the sea. It was once home to about 60 people but by 1950 only a few people remained. By 2013 only one man still remained in the village, a monk who lived there until his death. I found the information from this site here very helpful.
Reading this piece made me want to visit the village even more! Thankfully this article provides very good directions and with the help of google maps and a couple of locals at the coffee shop, we found our way there.
After parking the car on the side of the road, we walked through the gate and ascended the steep track up into the mountains. This is what you imagine rural Ireland to be all about. It has a very ‘Star Wars meets Game of Thrones’ feel, which coincidentally, was a filming location for some Game of Thrones scenes.
Take a look at my photos below and please let me know your thoughts? Have you ever visited a hidden village before? This was definitely a first for me and it was absolutely magical!!!
We bumped into a local farmer on our descent who still owns the land. I asked him if it bothered him that tourists were now visiting frequently. For him, it was a mix of emotions. On the one hand, he and his family were glad to see people, as they had never really had much interaction with others before and on the other hand, they do not want too much activity on their land. I can completely understand this and I really hope that people do not tarnish the area or its wildlife. It is SUCH a special place that deserves to be respected.
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V51
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of wonderful doors. It’s been a warm week here in Northern Ireland and I am certainly not complaining. We love to see the sunshine here as it doesn’t happen too often.
I took a walk along the Lisburn Road, Belfast a few days ago to get some fresh air and enjoy the sunshine. This road is famous for being a student area and having lots of rented accommodation for those studying nearby, myself included. As you head up the Lisburn Road, it becomes a more affluent area with trendy cafes, bars and boutique stores. I lived on this road for over a decade before moving to Australia, so it was a real delight to be walking along here again. On my stroll I came across a row of stunning terrace houses with fantastic doors and I wanted to share them with you. There was a few but I only managed to take pictures of my favourite three. Please let me know your thoughts on them.
I LOVE the brick work of the houses, the bright colours of the doors, the arch frame and just their general quaintness. Absolutely stunning doors!
Have a great weekend everyone.
Wayne ✌🏽
Pre internet times 🛜
Do you remember life before the internet?
I feel very fortunate to be able to say that, yes, I do very much remember life before the internet. I remember the first time I was exposed to the internet. I was 15 or 16 years old and in school we had weekly computer lessons. We were taught about the internet and how to type in a web address to search for a specific topic. Typing in www. for the first time was very surreal and I couldn’t believe we could look up anything at all on the World Wide Web and find information on that subject . It wasn’t until a year or 2 later that we had dial up internet installed in our family home. We would hear the internet dialling up every time someone wanted to go online and you would have to ensure no one else at home was using the phone. The amount of times I heard my parents say “get off the phone” when they were trying to connect to the internet!
What do I remember before the internet?
– Having to use a map and asking people for directions if I needed to go somewhere. There was no google maps in my growing up.
– Playing outdoors until the sun went down.
– Using pay phones to contact your friends or family when you were out and to make arrangements about where and when to meet up.
– Reading all the time. I was obsessed with books growing up, not so much anymore sadly.
– Visiting the local library, a lot!
– Having to visit a travel agent to book a holiday. Hard to believe as it is so convenient now to just book a quick flight online.
– Looking at cook books for cooking inspiration.
– Attending the bank in person to lodge money with my lodgement book.
– Making photo albums with real photos and in real albums.
– Writing to pen pals from countries near and far.
– Using a typewriter, this was such a novelty for me to type and then I progressed to the next level…
– My Commodore 64. My first computer where you could paint, play games and type in different fonts, even before the internet had entered my life.
Ok that’s my lot for tonight. That’s plenty but I’m sure there are many more things to remember. How about you? Do you remember life before the internet? It’s quite sad that the new generations will not know life before the internet.
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V50
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to my FIFTIETH edition of doors!!! I can’t believe I have had fifty posts showcasing doors, never mind finding so many doors to display. Thank you all so much for taking an interest, for your continued support, likes and comments. My doors posts are my favourite to compose and I really enjoy everyones thoughts when picking a favourite for the week, allowing us to connect and also enabling us to see things from different perspectives.
This week I have picked a few of my favourite doors over the last year that have not yet been featured. As always, please let me know if you have a favourite.
I love all these doors but I have saved my favourite for last. I love the stained glass windows and double doors. I also love the little cart and would love to have had a peep inside. I could imagine having holidays in this little mobile home, towed along by my car all over the country. Ah to dream!
Thank you all again and have a fantastic weekend everyone.
Wayne ✌🏽
Brr it’s cold in here!
How do you feel about cold weather?
I STRONGLY dislike cold weather and here are my reasons why –
1 – I don’t like the sensation of feeling cold, I find it extremely uncomfortable. Have you ever washed your hands in freezing cold weather and it’s been painful?!
2 – I feel like I can’t think straight, which is actually a biological trait for when you are really cold, your cognitive function slows down or becomes sluggish.
3 – It affects my mood. I don’t necessarily feel down about the cold weather, I just know that when I’m warm I feel much better in myself and everyone seems to be in a better mood around me too. It’s been proven that people are happier in warmer climates.
4 – Goosebumps. I just don’t like them, even though I know they’re just trying to do their job and keep me warm.
5 – Clothing. I prefer not having to wear more clothing in the colder weather, i.e. coat, hat, scarf, gloves. Plus it’s more expensive! Furthermore, I have been scarred from having to wear woolly jumpers as a child, the itching would drive me insane.
6 – The price of oil and gas. I love having a warm home but it is so expensive to keep your place warm, more so recently with the ever increasing prices. Many people are having to live in cold homes due to the inability to afford fuel.
7 – Dangerous. Snow, sleet and ice can cause a lot of issues, especially when you have to drive.
As you can clearly see, I am not a huge fan of cold weather. However, I can appreciate that it’s not the worst thing if you are prepared and it can be very pretty to look at. I was recently in New Zealand at winter time and it was absolutely stunning! I can also appreciate winter fashion, especially when I’ve been wearing shorts and T-shirts for the past few years, however, I will always pick that over winter clothing.
What are your thoughts on cold weather?
Wayne ✌🏽
FOTD – Florist’s Cineraria
Happy Friday everyone and welcome to the weekend. Today’s flower was discovered at the Balmoral Show that I attended last weekend. With their vibrant, eye-popping colours, I was instantly drawn to take a picture of these stunning flowers. This was my first time hearing of these, has anyone heard of these before? Apparently they’re hard maintenance and grow best in high humidity countries, not sure why they’re in Northern Ireland, too funny!
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V49
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of fantastic doors. This week I took a look in my archive from doors taken in Northern Ireland a few years ago, just before I left for Australia. It’s funny to look back at my old photos and realise I have loved doors for many years now without even realising it. Please let me know if you have a favourite this week.
My favourite this week is number four. It’s extremely quaint and I do appreciate a red door! Can you believe next week will be my 50th post showcasing my favourite weekly doors? I need to create something special for next week 😅, so stay tuned!
Wayne ✌🏽
Wordless Wednesday – Countryside
Wayne ✌🏽
Balmoral Show
The Balmoral Show is a four day extravaganza that happens every year in Northern Ireland (with a break during covid times). It is the official agricultural event in the country and also the oldest, with the first show having been held in 1872. It offers the chance for people all over the country to come together and be involved in farming exhibitions, competitions, championships , sample local cuisine and check out the farming fashion.
As a child and teenager, I had been to this show many times. As part of the school curriculum, our classes of pupils were taken here yearly for a day out. We all loved it, the chance to roam free (from teachers) through all the stalls on offer, see the variety of animals on show, marvel at the sheer amount of tractors, see what it is like to a part of the farming world, try the different food stalls and collect as many freebies as we could, mostly pens!! (we would see who could obtain the most).
I had always wanted to return as an adult and see if the magic was still alive and to my delight, it really was! The event was previously held in the King’s Hall but is now held outside Lisburn at the Eikon Exhibition Centre at Balmoral Park. Luckily for us we could walk to the venue and I was super grateful as the traffic was pretty busy and you had to pay for parking (crazy considering the ticket prices were £25 each). On display were numerous stalls with local food, gifts, clothing etc. We were able to watch some sheep competitions, dressage, horse jumping and quad bike jumping. There was so much more on offer and with your map (given on entry), you can plan your day with what you want to see and do.
Have a look at my highlights below from spending the day at the Balmoral Show and please let me know if you have anything like this where you are from or would something like this be of interest to you. I would love to know!
Thank you all for taking the time to read my post, I was delighted to be able to attend the show this year and thrilled to share a little of my day with you all. Have a great week everyone.
Wayne ✌🏽
Doors of WordPress V48
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of local doors. My entries for this week are from a town called Newry in Co.Down, Northern Ireland, close to the border with Ireland. I have been here a lot over the past few weeks and have enjoyed coming across some new and beautiful doors. I hope you like them as much as I do and let me know if you have a favourite this week.
For me this week, I kept the best for last. I love number 6 for its colour and regal appearance. The archway, pillars on either side and transom window really make the door pop! What do you think?
Wayne ✌🏽
Wordless Wednesday – Line of Duty
Wayne ✌🏽
Sunday sunset – Hillsborough Lake
Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and enjoyed the coronation if you watched it. Tonight’s sunset was taken a few evenings ago at Hillsborough Lake. I am obsessed with this place and walk around this lake almost every day. The sunsets here are just fantastic.
Wayne ✌🏽
Murlough National Nature Reserve
As most you already know, on my days off work, I like to get out and about to see some scenery, explore new places and appreciate the nature around us. I have actually been to this reserve before and really loved it, however, it was a cloudy day (surprise surprise) so I really wanted to return one day when the weather was better. Fortunately, we had a couple of days last month where the sun was splitting the trees and we took the opportunity to return to the Murlough National Nature Reserve. This place is really something else and I cannot wait to share it with you all.
Murlough National Nature Reserve is a delicate and impressive 6000 year old sand dune structure owned by the National Trust and has been cared for as Ireland’s first Nature Reserve since 1967. It is an outstanding area for walking, bird watching and taking in the sights due to its sensational location at the edge of Dundrum Bay and the Mourne Mountains (Tourism Northern Ireland, 2023). This is an extremely special location where you can enjoy breathtaking ocean views, with beaches, sand dunes and mountains all in one place.
Before we headed out for a walk, we had to eat. I was pretty hungry as we arrived around lunch time. We parked the car and headed towards Murlough House, just situated five minutes away. Thanks to Google, I discovered there was a cafe there and even better, they had outside dining. Luckily for us, the weather was beautiful so it was the perfect spot to sit out and enjoy the sunshine.
From here we ended up back to the carpark just before Murlough House. All in all, this was a three hour round trip journey with a half hour pit stop for lunch. I highly recommend you check this place out if in Northern Ireland and have some time to see some stunning scenery.
Thanks for taking a look.
Wayne ✌🏽
WrookieSchU 