August to December – where will the wind take us

The first half of 2014 has flown by, anyone following my project 365 efforts will know that I have managed a photo a day for 6 months, and I will do my utmost to keep it going through H2!  In the first half of the year we had a busy time with its ups and downs and Mr P and I managed to fit in some great fun weekends as well as jetting away to the UAE, Venice and Ireland for holiday down time!  Work hard, play hard.  A mantra that I was reminded of recently!  Making the most of the weekend is as rewarding and relaxing as luxuriant overseas travel, and if it involves a glass of fizz too, well – then so it must!

Hurst Castle spit after the valentines day storm

Incredibly timely VIP treatment from our friends at Clipper

And so to the 2nd half of the year, and what will it bring.  No doubt more long hours in the office, but lets not begrudge that as it makes the down time more deserved (and it pays for it!).

August is about the sailing for Mr P who is already looking forward to a week long regatta in Mount’s Bay which is our most favourite of sailing destinations – stunning backdrop and long rolling waves that even I enjoy sailing on!  It is the RS400 nationals (picture below of us and our much loved ‘Pondlife’) and he is crewing for a friend in a borrowed boat to ensure they don’t miss out on enjoying this awesome sailing venue!

Epic week of sailing at Mounts Bay

I’ll join him at the end of the week (just congratulating myself on booking at £28 train ticket to Penzance!!) for a weekend catching up with each other and our sailing friends before spending some time with family as well as seeing some of the bits of Cornwall that we love.  We’re going to camp for the first night…  I do enjoy camping (I completed my Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s award and so come to relish camping in comfort rather than carrying it all on my back) although perhaps now just occasionally and in short doses, so long as there is a loo and so long as Mr P brings me breakfast in bed.  It is actually quite good fun and at least since I’m joining him at the end of the event I won’t have to put the tent up, which is always what I like the least.  Once the lilo is up and the bedding is in, its as comfy as any hotel room.

The 2nd night that we are in Cornwall we have luckily secured one of the remaining rooms at The Old Coastguard in Mousehole.  We were due to stay here at New Year but I picked up a vile dose of flu, and so finally we will be staying.  We ate here before and really liked the view and the welcoming atmosphere so I’m really pleased that they had a room available for us on this occassion!

Lovely views across Mounts Bay from the Old Coastguard

Then in September we are heading to Sardinia.  This time we are both sailing.  It is the Swan World Cup – a sailing event that every sailor should do once if they get the chance.  We both previously sailed on Swan’s but never together, and happily this year we have had the opportunity to do this regatta together along with university friends.  Really looking forward to getting out on the water.  One of the days there is a long distance race and we should get stunning views of the coastline. The event is based in Porto Cervo and so I think this will give us many opportunities for people watching!  I suspect that I won’t be encouraged to go shopping in the boutiques!!

Overdue for a bit of yachting in the sunshine!

In October Mr P has finally twisted my arm and is taking me to see mainland Greece.  We bought our flights ages ago in a BA sale as it was rude not to take advantage of the business class flight prices.  Finally we are getting around to finalising our plans.  We’ll spend a night in Athens at one of the luxury collection spots, and then onto Monemvasia to stay at a hotel we have had our eyes on for quite some time.

November didn’t originally have a getaway included… However thankfully we will find ourselves in Anglesey visiting our friends.  Come rain or shine there is always something new to see whether it be on the little island or over in Snowdonia or on the Llyn peninsula.

Windy weekend on Anglesey

In December we are going underground, just for an hour or so, and popping out in Paris for a long weekend.  We visited Paris about 5 years ago and loved it, but we still have more to see.  This time we are going by Eurostar thanks to some left-over Virgin air miles that we have no other use for (and there is no tax to pay – hurrah)!  And early December seems like a great time to visit and I can only imagine how amazing the city looks at night dressed up for Christmas!  Potentially everyone is getting macaroons for Christmas this year!  Yet to decide where to stay, but plenty of time for that through the Autumn – I would be bored if I wasn’t planning something!

Apparently ‘Paris is always a good idea’

So incredibly we’ve ended up with a trip to look forward to in the remaining months of the year – as much as through luck as by planning, but definitely plenty to look forward too!  And as of this weekend, we might even manage to slot in a weekend in Vienna as well…  As well as hopefully a spot of yachting!

“There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats”