AMtravels

A reasonable night's rest and a mediocre breakfast (although can't complain for the price) and I was ready for my Waddenzee adventure. Turned out to be a calm one but as I'm winding down my holiday, that seemed like a good idea. Bought a ticket that included both train and boat and made my way past the cows to the coast. Took the lunchtime fast boat from Harlingen and sat next to a guy who quickly realised he was on his way to the wrong island. Luckily, you can island-hop here so he wasn't too stranded. As I only had a few hours on Terschelling, I went to the tourist office to ask what they recommended. They told me about the nearby beach, which I wanted to see anyway. And I was so blown away that ... read more

I had ordered breakfast at the inn and I was very impressed to see that they had taken my message about being a vegan seriously and bought some soya milk. So I had a lovely full English vegan breakfast. The staff were very friendly and I had a quick chat with the lady about Sweden and travelling before I left in my taxi. So the Shoes in Durham is a good place to stay if you're ever in the area. The short train ride to Newcastle (about 20 mins) took me past Antony Gormley's sculpture The Angel of the North, which you can see clearly from the train when passing Gateshead. I was supposed to be taking it very easy due to still feeling ill but I just had to go down to the riverside to ... read more

Still not feeling physically great, all this travelling is doubtless taking its toll. But the main aim for my day at Rebellion Festival was to see favourites The Outfit. Anything else would be a bonus. Woke up pretty early as usual and took it easy in the morning until it was time for breakfast. Found a Vegas-themed restaurant on the promenade and ordered their avocado on sourdough. The avocado was rock-hard so I sent it back. No point paying for something you can't even cut into. And it turned out they did have soft avocado in the kitchen, which makes me wonder why they thought they could fob me off with a hard one like that. Not good, but the banana smoothie was some compensation. Shame because it's a nice-looking American-style diner. I then got in ... read more

Spent the morning yesterday chilling and then my friend's partner and I headed out to the Sound on the southernmost tip of the island for a cuppa and a look at the Calf of Man, another small island. Saw a few seals basking in the sun. Man is surprisingly hilly in the southern part of the island. Then we had a walk along the seafront at Port Erin, where I tried in vain to find vegan sorbet. Beautiful sunny day. Today, my friend had the day off so we drove through the pouring rain to Ramsey, the largest town in the north of the island. Had lunch at a cafe and pottered around an art exhibition in the church where we got to vote on our favourite piece. Bit of a mixed bag in terms of ... read more

After an interesting sleep (for some reason we had a double rather than twin room and my friend is clearly a wriggler), we had breakfast at the hotel, which had plenty of vegan options including the all-important beans on toast. Then off to South Kensington to the V&A. We had fun attempting to try on corsets and crinolines and getting told off for taking photos of the jewellery. A spot of lunch in the museum and a trip to the shop later, we wandered over to Waitrose at Gloucester Road so my friend could buy some English delicacies. Then, after a quick stroll around the outskirts of one of London's many private gardens and being staggered by apartment prices in the area (all over a million pounds), it was time to say our goodbyes. I then ... read more