It’s a little nod to Wayne’s World, but instead of ‘party time, excellent’ (if you are aware of the cult nineties classic) I will be diving into one WORD each day. It could be something I learned, something bizarre that happened, a favourite word that I have rediscovered or just a thought that won’t leave me alone.
If you’re joining in on today’s word, feel free to use this tag to connect your post to the series: #WaynesWord
Today’s word is KNACKERED.
Do you ever get home, flop on the sofa and think, “I am absolutely knackered”? If so, you are in good company. In Northern Ireland, knackered is the go-to word when you are completely exhausted, physically, mentally or even both. It is one of those brilliant words that sounds exactly like what it means. For me, it can be shorthand for needing a sit down and a cup of tea. This is how I feel after competing in Hyrox on Friday. I felt fine yesterday and even worked a full shift but today my legs are tired and I am mentally drained.
However, it was a beautiful winter’s day here in the Shire and we wanted to make the most of it. We took the ferry to a favourite place of ours near the National Park, known as Bundeena. I have a previous post on this place here but it was just lovely to visit for a few hours this time. After walking from the ferry terminal, around the village, checking out the local markets, I am definitely ready now to sit down with a cup of tea. I hope you all have a lovely Sunday too. I can hear the thunder roaring here and a big storm is on its way so I won’t be leaving the house for the rest of the evening.
Tom Thumb 3rdLoved this friendly passenger Checking out the local art
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of wonderful doors. I thought this week I would go back to basics and show case a few doors from Northern Ireland / Ireland that are still yet to be featured, as it has been a while. Let me know if you have a favourite this week.
Ok, so for this week I will be picking number one as my favourite. It is highly unusual to spot a purple door and I love the design of the door as well as the surrounding archway. What about you?
Have a great day everyone and I look forward to seeing all your door entries over on Dan’s page.
It’s a little nod to Wayne’s World, but instead of ‘party time, excellent’ (if you are aware of the cult nineties classic) I will be diving into one WORD each day. It could be something I learned, something bizarre that happened, a favourite word that I have rediscovered or just a thought that won’t leave me alone.
If you’re joining in on today’s word, feel free to use this tag to connect your post to the series: #WaynesWord
Today’s word is IDENTITY
Something strange happened to me today. A stranger asked me what part of Ireland I am from as they had heard my accent. I said I was from the North. They looked at me strangely, so I said I’m from Belfast. The response was shocking. “Eww” they said. I looked blankly with confusion. “Eww you’re British”. I was honestly speechless and just walked away.
Now being from Northern Ireland, I know it’s tricky as we can be British and Irish yet neither the Irish or British believe this (some, not all). We’re born on the island of Ireland but the North is governed by Britain. Some people will identify as Irish and some British. I don’t particularly mind being either but the older I become, I find myself identifying more as Irish. I don’t find it insulting to be called either but the fact that they made a sound and facial expression like they were disgusted, truly surprised me, especially from a young Australian person. I felt attacked for no reason.
Speaking from experience, many Irish people don’t consider us Irish enough to be Irish and many Brits don’t even know we’re part of Britain. Therefore, we really struggle at times with our identity, or at least I do on occasions. Does anyone else have issues with their identity or experienced something similar?
I know being Irish or British doesn’t define me as a whole and to be honest, I’m happy to be included in both. I also primarily consider myself to be a proud Northern Irish man, yet that is just one aspect of me. Identity also includes qualities, beliefs, personality, and expressions that make a person, not just where you are from. What are your thoughts? Do you have similar issues with where you’re from? I am intrigued to hear other views.
Another year comes to end, hard to believe right?! I love looking back through the months and picking a highlight, sometimes there’s more than one and sometimes it’s just the little things in life that stood out that month.
This was a quieter year for us with no holidays as such as we had just moved back to Australia from Ireland. We had to start from scratch, finding a place to live, buying furniture again and purchasing a car. This year was about fitting back into Aussie life and trying to save some money, whilst working hard and enjoying life at the same time. Luckily, we were fortunate to be able to fly home to Ireland for a month which was really lovely as I always miss the kids in our family.
That being said, I was happy to look back through the months of this year and see that we actually have done more than I first thought and it makes me appreciate that 2024 was a pretty good year.
JANUARY – Back in Sydney at the height of summer. I have seen this view hundreds of times but it never gets old. It was good to be back in Oz, we just had to find somewhere to live, which wasn’t the easiest thing to do as there is a severe housing shortage in Sydney.FEBRUARY – we decided to move out of Sydney and look for a place in the Sutherland Shire, about 45 minutes south of Sydney. Luckily we found a place near the Royal National Park and a beautiful coastline. Cronulla beach is a 10 minute drive from us and perfect for beach walks and ocean swims. MARCH – We visited our good friends in the Southern Highlands, an area that I have mentioned many times. We love this place for weekend getaways, lots of wineries, bush walks and cosy pubs. APRIL – We tried our first ever puppy yoga! I wanted to do something different for Brian’s birthday and he loves dogs so this was the perfect fit. You practise yoga for 30 minutes and then the instructors release the puppies to run amongst you all. Needless to say, not much yoga happens thereafter. It’s also a great initiative for you to adopt a puppy as these are all rescue dogs looking a new home. MAY – Good friends of ours from the Shire here just happen to own a barge and love to take trips along the Port Hacking River. We were delighted to be asked to come along, not once but twice on this idyllic river cruise. We dock at a local cafe for breakfast and then sail along the river, meandering through the different suburbs of the Shire. Very tranquil and great for wildlife watching. JUNE – One of my favourite ever sunsets in Bundeena, a quick ferry ride over from Cronulla. I was excited to show friends this area and we were treated to this absolute spectacle. We used to come here for weekend breaks, now we live close by and can call over any time. JULY – Home! It was great to be able to come home again for a few weeks. Belfast, when it gets the sun, is one of my favourite places to be. AUGUST – This is the Grand Opera House Belfast. I worked here for a few years as a student and it was like my second home. I met Brian here also, so it holds many positive memories for me. For my birthday, I really wanted to see a show here and luckily for me, there was a Simon & Garfunkel story being told with all their music being performed. Right up my street! The Opera House had a major refurbishment lately so it was really enjoyable to see for myself, 20 years after I first started working there. I was always really impressed by the amazing architecture of this building, designed by Frank Matcham. SEPTEMBER – Back in the Sutherland Shire and exploring the area even further. There are so many great suburbs here. This one is Oatley and the home to Oatley Castle. Not as grand as the castles we have in the UK and Ireland but still worth a visit. OCTOBER – Our friends finished building their new home in the Southern Highlands. We were thrilled to be invited down to stay for the weekend. Just look at the view they have from their balcony with unbelievable sunsets. NOVEMBER – We were fortunate to be invited to the hospital ball where I work. I had never been to a Christmas ball before so this was a big deal. All expenses paid and really fun to get dressed up for once. Best of all, the venue was 10 minutes from my home. Usually for us living in the Shire, everything is miles away, especially as many things tend to happen in the city. DECEMBER – Attending the Christmas markets in Sydney at central station. This was a lovely day with friends where we had lunch, wine at a little wine bar on the side of the street, followed by the Christmas markets. They had stalls, food, drinks, Christmas music and snow!!!! This truly felt Christmassy and magical. I don’t often feel like it’s Christmas here in Australia as it’s so warm, so this was lovely to feel the joy of Christmas, at least for a few hours.
Thank you all for reading this post and all your support again through 2024. I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Enjoy the time with those nearest and dearest and I will see you in 2025 where I’m sure I will be partaking in Bloganuary once again.
Happy Friday everyone. I am a day late with my doors as I was really hoping to find some festive doors yesterday when I was out and about. Sadly I didn’t find any and decided to go to the beach instead.
My festive door is part of Dan’s holiday doors theme and it was taken from two years ago when we lived in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland. It’s a fantastic door and the little decorations certainly give it that Christmassy feel. I absolutely love the brick work of this building and the design of the panel windows and transom window, almost looks like a spider’s web.
I look forward to seeing all your holiday doors over the weekend.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another magnificent week of doors. Today is my 100th edition of doors of WordPress and I wanted to create something a little different to mark the milestone.
I couldn’t think of how to choose my most favourite doors and it was very hard to narrow down my collection, so I thought a video might be a quick way to show some of my favourites. I managed to narrow it down to my top 250 doors!!!
I am so grateful that I have found a community that love doors as much as I do and a big thank you to Dan for creating this great space on our blogging platform. I have met lots of blogging friends through the Thursday Doors club and I love how we support each other by checking in and interacting through our appreciation for a good door.
I created a video to a song that I love by the Cranberries and shared to my Instagram account. It’s called Dreams and I’m sure many of you will know it. Sadly I cannot download my video with the song, I’m guessing due to copyright reasons so I have posted the video below mine in case you want to listen to it.
My top 250 doors to celebrate my 100th doors post. I hope you all enjoy!
Thank you all for your interest and continued support of my doors and everyone else’s too. Long may the love of doors continue.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another fantastic week of stunning doors. This week I am showing a few doors from Northern Ireland. I seem to have a never ending supply from when I visited home two months ago. As always, please let me know if you have a favourite this week.
1 – Portrush2 – South Belfast3 – Belfast City Centre4 – Belfast Cathedral Quarter5 – Armagh
I love all these doors for various reasons. The first door was taken in a thrift shop with lots of antiques and bric-a-brac. I spotted this door at the back and was very interested to see what was behind it but I didn’t have the courage to look as I think it was meant for staff. I love door number three simply for the absolutely stunning building that it is part of. It used to be a department store but has now been transformed into a fine dining restaurant from the Ivy group (best known for its sister restaurant in London). However, I LOVE door number five in Armagh for its really unique design and fantastic colour. It looks like something you would see belonging to Scrooge McDuck, with lots of gold coins being kept behind this door. If you’re an eighties child, you will know what I mean.
Have a great week everyone and I look forward to creating my next doors of WordPress post as it will be my 100th edition!!
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of wonderful doors. I’ve realised that my weekly doors posts are the only things that are keeping me blogging at the moment, thank goodness for doors and to Dan for having the weekly door challenge.
With work being so busy, I just haven’t been able to travel much but hopefully that will change in the coming weeks. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to be busy at work and grateful for the opportunities here in Australia.
This week I am showcasing a few doors from Huntington in England where my sister lives. I have visited many times, with the most recent trip being last month when I visited home. I was looking back through my doors and couldn’t believe that I actually haven’t posted many doors from Huntington as yet. Surprisingly to me as the doors there are exquisite.
As always, please do let me know if you have a favourite or if one simply stands out more.
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I absolutely adore number five for the quaintness of the door, the glass panels, the wreath in situ and the exterior. I love everything about this cottage, including the thatched roof, the lantern on the wall and even the dog on top of the roof, apparently in remembrance of their previous pet pooch. What are your thoughts?
Hi everyone and a very happy Thursday to you all. This week’s doors are from Hillsborough, a little village in Northern Ireland. Some of you may remember that we lived here for nearly a year when we temporarily moved back to Northern Ireland last year. During our trip home last month we just had to return and spend a couple of days here as we had loved living there so much.
Please let me know if you have a favourite door this week.
12 – this little house was on the main street and we actually stayed here for 3 days. If I could buy this place, I absolutely would!!. It was so big inside which is quite misleading from the front. 3 – one of my favourite pubs in the village, The Plough. There are 3 pubs in this village, all very good actually. 45
Ok so number 5 technically has a few doors here but I’m thinking more of the black door behind the mini. To be honest this has to be my favourite, not only for the fantastic door, surrounding arch and transom window but I also love the brickwork of the building. It’s also one of my favourite images and really gives you a feel for the village of Hillsborough. The flowers, the bunting and even the mini parked outside all add to the visual.
Anyway, thanks for taking a look at my doors this week and have a fantastic weekend everyone.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. I have returned after a two week hiatus and feeling good for the break. I have been exceptionally busy with work but also I have found a new obsession, commencing my family tree on ancestry.com. I will have to write a blog post about that but for now I will showcase some doors from my trip to England last month.
We visited an amazing place called Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire and not for the first time. We had previously visited in late 2023 when we took my niece and nephew to a light installation show. However, this time we visited to appreciate the grounds and scenery during the day and with some lovely warm weather.
Managed by the National Trust, Wimpole Estate includes a grand mansion, extensive gardens, a working farm and parkland. The estate dates back many centuries, with its development influenced by various owners who made significant changes to both the house and the landscape.
It’s a very popular destination for tourists, nature lovers, and history enthusiasts, offering walks, seasonal events, and educational activities. It is also used for filming and cultural events due to its scenic beauty and historical significance. However, for me, I just couldn’t help but appreciate the venue for all the fantastic doors it had to showcase. As always, let me know if you have a favourite one this week.
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I absolutely love the door on the church from picture number 9 but I really love the simplicity of door number 1. Those doors that are split in two halves are really cool and always remind me of old country and western movies. I think the tractor also adds to the shot.
Thank you all for having a look and I hope you’re all having a great September thus far.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of spectacular doors. This week I am showcasing just one door that I found within the grounds Antrim Castle, located in the Platinum Clockwork Garden. I have wanted to visit this garden since it opened in 2022 and it did not disappoint. The door itself is quite simple, a beautiful green door set within a stunning tower made of bricks.
The Platinum Jubilee Clockwork Garden at Antrim Castle is a unique and enchanting installation that captures the spirit of both history and creativity. It was designed to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, however, it is not just a tribute to her 70 years of service but also a testament to the power of innovation in art and horticulture.
Interestingly, there isn’t an actual clock in the Platinum Jubilee Clockwork Garden. The “clockwork” theme refers more to the garden’s artistic design rather than to the presence of a functioning clock. The installation uses mechanical elements and sculptures that create the idea of clockwork, symbolizing the passage of time and celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign.
The Platinum Jubilee Clockwork Garden
If you ever find yourself in Northern Ireland, a visit to the Platinum Jubilee Clockwork Garden at Antrim Castle would be recommended. It’s a place where history, nature, and art come together to create a truly magical experience.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of wonderful doors. As you may be aware, I’m currently visiting home in Northern Ireland and have just over a week left of my trip. Fortunately, I have seen an abundance of fantastic doors, something that has been lacking for me in Australia of late.
We visited a place called Armagh last week, the county where I am from. We simply took a stroll around the city and breathed in all the amazing history and architecture which I will have to show you all later at some point. In addition, I also stumbled upon some amazing and very colourful doors. I thought, seeing as it’s Pride month here in Northern Ireland, where people come together to stand for LGBTQA+ rights, it would be a fitting time to show case these colourful doors. Apparently the pride flag colours represent the diversity of the LGBTQA+ community and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. Personally, I just love the colours and they make me feel happy when I see them.
As always please let me know if you have a favourite this week and I hope you’re all keeping well in the blogosphere.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of wonderful doors. I was rummaging through my collection and realised I still have a few doors from my trip to Dijon, France from almost a year ago now. I love how each door conveys a certain rustic and historic charm…if only doors could talk, I’m sure they could tell a tale or two.
As always, please let me know if you have a favourite.
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Personally, I love numbers four and five but my winner this week is the last door at number five, a door leading to under the stairs. Could there be a French Harry Potter living in there?
Thank you for the reminder WordPress that I have been blogging for the past seven years. I actually always remember this myself anyway, as I started this blog when I emigrated to Australia seven years ago.
I find it insane that I have actually lasted this long as I never imagined it to be a long term project. My aim was to show case places that I was visiting in Australia and maybe inspire others to visit them. This has continued but I would say that my journey has changed throughout the past few years, meandering my way throughout the blogging world, always on the hunt for tips and advice, learning new things and meeting new people along the way. It’s a journey that I thoroughly enjoy, however, my only wish would be to have more time to invest in blogging. Also more time to travel would be lovely but alas, one still has to work and bills to pay 😜.
When Covid hit, I thought I had nothing left to blog about as we could no longer travel. However, I soon learned that you don’t have to stick to what you normally blog about. The blogging community taught me that it’s my blog and I can write about whatever suits ME and whenever suits me. I participated in many writing challenges throughout the covid lockdowns and beyond, with some of them now firmly in my psyche, for example, being a member of the Thursday Doors club hosted by the amazing Dan!
I have found the blogging community to be strong, supportive and for the most part, inclusive. Thank you all for having me in your blogging space and I really hope to still be around for the next seven years. I will continue my doors posts and hopefully share some new travel experiences now that I have moved back to Australia. Next week I am heading home to Northern Ireland to visit my family which I am extremely excited for. It’s only been seven months since I have last seen them but I really do miss my family, especially as I have a new niece to meet!! I will keep you all posted on what we get up to.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. I am pulling out a few of my favourite random doors from my collection as I am really struggling to find some interesting doors where I live. These doors were taken in different countries and many even before I realised I had a love for doors. Please do let me know if you have a favourite this week.
Hello everyone and happy Thursday. I have had a couple of weeks off from blogging which has been so lovely but now I am ready to share my second edition of doors with an emphasis on cars. I really, really LOVE doors but I also can appreciate a really good looking car and as they have doors (often more than one!) I thought it would be fun to feature some more of my favourite cars over the past year.
As always, please let me know if you have a favourite image this week. I am displaying 10 images taken by moi, probably because it’s my 80th edition of Doors of WordPress so I figure it should be marked in some way.
I hope you have all been well and I look forward to seeing all your door entries this week for those participating in Dan’s Thursday Doors. Sadly, I am not a car expert so I can’t even name many of the cars, hence the reason they are simply numbered. Personally, when I look at cars, I look more at the shape, colour and its overall appearance / character.
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I have many favourites from this collection for all the reasons mentioned above but my absolute favourite has to be number 8. The colour is stunning and the model is fantastic. I think of its history, the nostalgia, the history and James Bond haha. I can just imagine driving this around the Amalfi Coast, with no traffic of course!
I hope you all have a lovely Easter holiday period and you are able to spend some quality time relaxing or visiting family.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. As I am running low on new doors I thought I would show a few of my favourite cars (I figured they have doors too right?!). These are classic cars that were pictured in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland, just before we left for Australia.
There are a lot of wealthy people living in Hillsborough, therefore, classic cars is a big thing there. They are a real pride and joy for some folk and they really love to show them off in the village.
Let me know if you have a favourite this week. I apologise that I know nothing about cars and can’t even tell you what type of cars they are. However, I absolutely love seeing these classic cars and can really appreciate the time and effort it takes to keep these on the roads.
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I love all of these cars but I especially love number two. It’s the unusual and cheerful colour that really appeals to me and there’s something very “James Bond” like about its appearance. I could imagine driving this in the English countryside or the other extreme, driving along Route 66!
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another wonderful week of dreamy doors! This week I thought I would show case some of my favourite red doors from my expansive collection as I know many of you are partial to a red door.
My absolute favourite has to be number four from Edinburgh. I absolutely love a grand door and this was HUGE. I love the design, colour and it brings back great memories of our nephew’s wedding in this building, the Mansfield Traquair Centre (previously a Catholic Church). Fantastic!
I love showcasing just one photo per month to look back on the year we just had. It’s good to reflect, see how far we have come and look back with fondness on the memories we have made.
JANUARY – this was one of the many reasons I wanted to be home in Northern Ireland, to celebrate with my Dad on his 60th birthday ☺️ FEBRUARY – this was the first time I became covid positive. Not bad considering covid had been around for nearly 3 years by then. Luckily I only had a sniffle for a day. MARCH – we moved to our favourite little village, Hillsborough. An amazing place to live and we must have visited the forest park here at least once a day. Very therapeutic.APRIL – a beautiful wedding of my friend right in the centre of Ireland. We stayed in Athlone, a beautiful Irish town with lots of charm. MAY – we had a visit from our friend all the way from Texas. We were delighted to show him around Hillsborough and glad to say he really enjoyed seeing the sights (including the local pub). JUNE – we took a visit to Cambridgeshire to visit my sister and her kids. She booked an experience for us to try punting on the river which we absolutely loved. JULY – we tried to do lots of day trips while being home. Here we were at Mussenden Temple, one of our favourite spots to visit along the north coast of Ireland. AUGUST – we headed to Dijon, France to celebrate my 40th birthday and had a truly magical time. A beautiful place to visit with fantastic food and wines. SEPTEMBER – as always in this country, we received a couple of days of summer in September as the kids go back to school. We had to get out and about to make use of the limited sunshine, as it never lasts too long in Northern Ireland. OCTOBER – Another trip over to England to visit my sister. This was the best thing about being home, that you can spend a lot of time with your family and loved ones. This photo was from a stately home in Buckden that we visited. November – Our final visit to England to spend time with my niece and nephew. We took the kids to Wimpole Estate for the annual Christmas lights event. Lots of memories made ☺️DECEMBER – After a lot of thought, we made the hard decision to return to Australia. We had a bumpy ride at home so we thought we would return to Oz for a while and see where the wind takes us. I hope to share more from our lives here in Sydney and hopefully we will have the opportunity to travel more around the country.
I would just like to say thank you for all your encouragement throughout the year and I am very grateful for the connections we have all built in the blogging world. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas if you celebrate and a Happy New Year.
Hello everyone! I want to share with you a massive change in my life of late.
We have decided to return to Australia after having been home in Northern Ireland for the past 16 months. By no means was it an easy decision but our time at home just isn’t meant to be right now.
Who knows what the future will bring but for now we are excited to be back in Australia and look forward to the next chapter in our lives.
Life is short and you have to live it to the fullest, no regrets. I look forward to sharing more of my life / travels in Australia with a few doors thrown in along the way.
We are dog sitting at present until we find our own property and will be spending Christmas low key with the dog and the sunshine. There will be no snow here for Christmas!!
Meet Milo, our little 4 legged friend who will be spending Christmas with us.
I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and I hope you enjoy spending time with loved ones and making beautiful memories.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to a festive week of seasonal doors. I’m glad this week Dan’s Thursday door club is suggesting we show our favourite and / or festive doors. I have a few doors that I have collected over the past couple of weeks that I think really show some festive spirit in the lead up to Christmas. As always, please let me know if you have a favourite and I look forward to seeing all your doors also.
1 – Hillsborough 2 – St Stephen’s Green3 – Dublin4 – Dublin5 – Dublin6 – Hillsborough7 – The Joxer, Hillsborough8 – Belfast City Centre9 – Twigs & Twine, Hillsborough
Personally, I have saved the best until last. This shop is the local florist in Hillsborough and has the most amazing creations made from twigs and twine (funnily enough). They also have some fantastic pieces of art on sale and manage to create spectacular window displays depending on the occasion. I think they have succeeded with their Christmas decorations and it looks even more stunning at night time.
I hope you are all keeping well and enjoying the lead up to the festive season.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. This week I simply have one door to show you all but it’s a fantastic one so I’m happy for it to shine on its own.
Discovered in Ballynahinch, Northern Ireland when I was in the town last week for lunch.
I have been a little quieter on my blog of late for two reasons…1. Being extremely busy with life and 2. I am in the process of clearing my media library to free some space. I’m replacing my older photos on posts with smaller photos and it is working really well, however, is it quite time consuming (and can be frustrating too).
I look forward to seeing all your wonderful doors this week.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of wonderful doors. Here in Northern Ireland it is absolutely lashing with rain as we experience the wrath of storm Babet. It is dark, wet and gloomy here, therefore, I am showing you some of my remaining doors from Dijon, France so I can look back fondly to warmer times. As always, please do let me know if you have a favourite.
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Number five is my favourite this week due to its unique colour and I absolutely love the grills where the windows once were. I’m not sure why I even like them so much and I don’t know why they are there, I suppose maybe for security or ventilation. It also looks extremely rustic and quaint, my favourite qualities of a door!
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. Sadly I missed last week but I am back today with a bang! I am currently in England in the county of Cambridgeshire and am trying to see as many little towns as I can. Today we travelled to Godmanchester, a quaint little town about an hours walk from where we are staying. I’m happy to report that the town has some really lovely doors, amongst others things, including a beautiful park to walk along the river.
Please let me know if you have a favourite door this week.
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I really like all of these doors (I suppose I wouldn’t photograph them otherwise) but strangely I am drawn to number four. It’s more of an outside gate and it’s very weather beaten but I find it pretty fascinating and would love to see behind it into the garden. I tend to like the doors that look a little run down. What do you think? I also love the number three house with the thatched roof. These houses are really common here but they just look so inviting and cosy and remind me of Ireland.
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.
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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?
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?
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…
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?
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.
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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?
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!
Mersault
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.
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.
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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?!
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 spottedmany people just relaxingand 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!
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.
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 😊
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!
What an absolutely stunning flower! These are often found in forests and mountain grasslands, however, I was fortunate to spot this one in my sister’s garden. I love the tubular, purple flowers and so must many other people as these are often used as ornamental features.
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 😝.
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.
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.
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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!).
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 😊
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.
The doors were locked on our last visit but luckily for us, we were able to enter the temple on our previous trip here in 2017.Even more beautiful with blue skies. From inside you can see the Downhill Demense, previously the home to the Earl Bishop and the walkway to reach the temple. Imagine having to walk down this long walkway at night, simply to read in your library!
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.
WrookieSchU 