Yay!!!! I did it!!! Last Sunday I run my first half marathon! I completed the 21K run in just… 2 hours and 12 minutes!!!

When I arrived there were lots of people warming up. Chatting. Laughing. I was really nervous, feeling a bit lonely, and not sure about what I was just about to do. But then, I was given my number, and that was it. I was runner 52. I was ready. And I was determined to do it.

The run got delayed due to part of the route closed because of criminal investigation. Apparently the police found a dead body somewhere... That gave us something to chat about while the organisers rearranged everything.

Cauliflower, Pistachio and Wild Mushrooms Soup

Something I have always wanted to do is go camping. 

I never went on a camping trip when I was a child, and since then I have wanted to put that idea into fruition. This is why ages ago I gave a camping tent to my husband for his birthday. A camping tent we sold brand new when we left Spain, as we never used it. Failed present. Eek.

Since I live in the South West I have been giving the idea of camping more thought. But every time I proposed it, the never-ending list of stuff to buy and prepare ended up deflating us. Camping tent, sleeping bags and rugs, rucksacks, lanterns, air pump, water jugs, thermos, stove, matches, plates & bowls, folding table and chairs, compass, whistle, candles… the camping gear needed to survive out in the open is never ending. Not to mention all the hassle of packing up, setting up, dismantling and packing up again with 2 toddlers running around and rummaging in the other camper’s picnic baskets. Hey Yogi! Yes, Boo Boo? Just by imagining the picture I start to feel stressed.

Farmhouse Soup in a Bread Bowl

Every time I'm on holidays I try to visit the local market. For me, it is a perfect way to meet the people, the customs and the traditional foods of the area.

I can easily forget some of the things I see in the places I've visited, but I always remember the smell, the colour and the people of their markets.