Channel Islands in August

Sometimes  special nature and leisure are much closer than you would expect.  Just off the Norman coast or half an hour flight from Southampton you’ll find the Channel Islands. Most of the time the weather is mild and friendly, small wonder that the old chic from England tends  to buy nice places there…  The pace of life is quite slow and that’s what we really enjoy in our holiday time.

Especially along the coastline of Jersey, Guernsey and Herm we discovered the most amazing thistles, algae, lichens and heathland species. And of course all sorts of seagulls and other impressive birds were also attracted to this rough seaside.  No wonder my biologist and I had a great time there!

Helsinki

In our quest to get the complete picture of the Scandinavian capitals, my daughter and I had some quality time in Helsinki last July. Being a bit spoiled in Stockholm last year, there was still a lot to be appreciated. 

We met with a clean and charming city decorated with Finnish art deco architecture, incomprehensible words, friendly people (all look-a-likes ;-), sculptures and design. Just outside town there appeared a lot of unsophisticated nature to be seen. 

In a time that summers tend to get warmer, Helsinki and its surroundings could very well become the place to be in the future!

Great Smokey Mountains

It's been a few weeks since my son and I met with quite a few adventures in the Great Smokies in North Carolina: driving on wet and winding dirt roads, meeting black bears and being sent away from a beautiful scrap yard. Apart from that, we found ourselves in a hotel in the Cherokee indian reservation, which meant no alcohol whatsoever! Good exercise, mother nature at her best and a lot of quality time :-)

Guadeloupe

In April we had the pleasure of visiting de very French and beautiful island of Guadeloupe. Baguettes and croissants in the morning, hardly any English spoken and presidential election posters on fences and walls. This was not especially what we were looking for ;-). 

Our hope was to spend a few days in the rainforest, meet some iguanas (http://youtu.be/HBU9IaCl8s0)!, eat delicious seafood and simply have a good time. 

It all worked out quite well. It was amazing to smell the forest after rainfall, enjoy the impressive coastlines, run into a special churchyard and watch the frigates and pelicans swallow their fishmeal. The bonus was the interesting minimal music the crickets made each and every night.

Really hope to be back one day. Enjoy!