The word is a very exciting place

 March was a month where the weather seemed to be improving, and it was no longer bitterly cold all day. Or so I felt. I'm someone who is just hot all the time, so probably everyone else was still freezing!  Me and my friend Mel went to a wine tasting evening at Quob Park Winery. It was so interesting, we had a tasting talk with Karen, one of the guides there, who was so knowledgeable about all the different wines, the cheese pairings and how different foods can change the taste of wines. Me and Mel had such a laugh, right from the start to finish. We got to try loads of different wines, and I discovered a new favourite, the Reisling. Oh my, the Germans really do know how to make a good wine!

I had a weekend off in March, and we decided to go away for the night. We'd not been to Bristol for a while, so decided to pop and spend the day there. There's this interesting ruined church in the city centre, with a community garden to the side of it. It was closed off the last time we were here, and is still locked. I would have thought it was be easy enough to make safe and create a nice little area for people to sit and unwind, particularly as although it's near the city centre, it feels very quiet there.

After having a fantastic holiday in Israel, the rest of the month seemed to be rather quiet! Work was quiet after the christmas rush and the return to normality. Life was generally peaceful and quiet. So nothing to complain about!   We did have a work event where we went bowling. I'd not been bowling in years, not because I don't enjoy it but because the bowling shoes they make you wear never fitted me! I'm a size 13-14, and so I struggle to find shoes to fit. However this bowling place in Millbrook called Tenpin Bowling let you wear your own shoes, and it was nice to be included! That is, until I came third overall! Maybe I needed to brush up on my bowling skills for the next night out!

 The Romans knew a feat of engineering when they saw one. And they would have a field day now if they came and saw what we take for granted now. They would see underground trains, skyscrapers, mobile phones, water coolers - their minds would be blown.  So it's no surprise that things flow the other way. We went back to Caesarea to see the aquaduct, and our minds were blown bit. A large potion of it is still standing, running along the beach and heading out into the desert, and naturally, I wanted to see it. Getting there again was a bit of a faff, going from the main bus station in Tel Aviv with it's many floors, before catching the bus to Or Akiva interchange, and then walking a fair distance to the beach to see it. Wonderfully, it's free to visit, and if you've hired a car, there's a handy car park just next to it. 

Just before you read this post, I just wanted to post another thankyou message. I woke up to find the blog has surpassed 35,000 views! I can't tell you how amazed I am that people continue to read my blog and hear about my life & travels! In two months I had gained over 5,000 views which is mind blowing! Thankyou so much to you all for visiting! We got up early and headed up to the port area of Tel-Aviv, for a little wander around and to visit the little food market there. The weather was deteriorating again, the wind was picking up and the sea was getting rougher, it was managing to splash us through the boardwalk as I tried to take a photo of the tourist honeypot that is your destinations name. I swear they have these in every city, but nobody else was there, so we had most of the port to ourselves. Although we were about to find out why!

 Possibly the most interesting place we visited in Israel, and one of the reasons we went, was the ruins of the city of Caesarea Maritima. If you've read this blog from a couple of years ago, you'll know that when I was travelling I would search out every ruined ancient city I could find and visit it. I just love the feeling of walking in amongst the ruins, feeling the history through my feet as I walked down Roman pavements that would have been a hive of activity two thousand years ago. You can't get closer to history than that!

Tel Aviv has this fantastic walkable quality to it. We walked from roughly the midpoint on the beach down to Jaffa (old Yafo), and it was wonderful. The sand on the beach was soft and it was beautifully clean, plus we were one of the first ones there, so we could be the first to put our footprints down for the day! The view across the beach, with only the wave lines and shells present. What a gorgeous way to start the day!

Before you read this post, I just want to make a statement about the current conflict between Israel and Palestine. We visited in February 2023 before the October 7th attacks on Israel by Hamas. I want to make it clear, that I condemn violence on any sides, and against anyone. The attacks on Israel by Hamas, as well as the killings & kidnappings of Israeli citizens is deplorable, and despicable. At the same time, Israel's resulting invasion and destruction of Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians is just as atrocious and unnecessary. Children in particular are suffering, with thousands of Palestinian children killed and injured. No child ever deserves to see a warzone, no matter where they live or are born. I hope for a peaceful resolution for both sides, and for people to come together and create a peaceful conversation where both sides are heard and supported. But I also believe that Israel has been too aggressive & destructive, for which there is no ne...

 Hi everyone. This was actually a rather unplanned post. I figured with there being 52 weeks in a year, and with the posting on Sundays & Wednesday's, I would need 104 posts for 2025. Hilariously, I realised only two weeks before the end of 2025 that I was a post short, as I had already planned & written most of the posts for 2026, and got them all lined up in sequence and date order, ready to go. That's what happens where you're too organised, there's no wiggle room.  So I thought why not create a recap post for the year? But then that became confusing, as you know, I've not yet written or posted about 2025, so how could I recap it and spoil the surprise? So why no recap the year through the posts I had written about? 

 Possibly the UK's best known & visited cat cafe is in London, Lady Dinah's cat cafe is located in Bethnal Green. We had been before, but couldn't resist a visit to make some new friends! Who doesn't love making new feline friends?