Travel Diaries: Madrid, Spain

This post is months and months late but I really wanted to blog about this just to have the memory on here.Last July, I traveled to Madrid in Spain for 3 days with my friend Ava (formally known as Julina), this trip was a sweet birthday present from her.

Ava and I - Madrid, Day 1

I am going to keep this blog post, like the trip, short and sweet. It was a blessing to take time out and enjoy the company of my friend Ava, I especially enjoyed the hot weather, our sorbet heat breaks (hehe) and our trip to the National Archaeological Museum of Spain.

Museo Arqueológico Nacional

Whenever I travel I always ask the Lord to make the trip purposeful by teaching me something I wouldn’t have learnt in the UK.  Well that lesson came at the airport on our way home when I lost my older brother’s hat,  and before I knew it I almost had the whole of Madrid airport shut down in order to find this hat!It’s always annoying losing things, but I think the Lord had to show me how distressed and anxious I get when it comes to losing even the “little things”.  I often fell and act like it’s the end of the world. I think my brother’s reply to my text message really brought the lesson home. When I texted him to “bear the sad news”, he replied “Don’t worry Dais, it’s just a hat”.

All in all the trip was very good, and a blessing from the Lord. In some ways it has really impacted my life as since then I have been spending a lot of time evaluating how I deal with stressful situations, money and “things”, and let’s just say, I’m looking forward to doing my first car boot sale this summer J

Madrid, Day 2

I encourage everyone, where ever you go, ask the Lord to teach you something that you wouldn’t have learnt had you not gone there. 

Love, your girl forever,

♥ Miss Daisy ♥

Travel Diaries: Arkansas, USA

Ahhh this post is disgracefully late, especially since I traveled to Arkansas last September! Nevertheless I thought I would share some of the highlight from my trip J

1)  Flying solo

It’s been a while since I’ve been on a long haul flight that I actually forgot how much I enjoy flying alone. I absolutely love flying on my own, everything from checking in, finding my terminal, departure gate, boarding the plane and flying! I would actually love to go on a full blown lone holiday but I don’t think I’m brave enough for that yet!

Ready for take off

2) Making friends

The main reason I was in Arkansas was to attend an annual camp meeting/bible prophecy school. I met a lot of people at the camp meeting from all over America and I found it strangely interesting how it felt like I had known them for years, having only just met them a few days prior. We all got on so well, I honestly felt like I was around family. Making friends in Arkansas reinforced to me that in Christ, His children share such deep and meaningful commonalities and are bound together with cords that go beyond age, nationality, culture, distance, life circumstance etc

Blessed be the tides that bind...

3) Hot Springs

…or should I say boiling springs. I visited the Hot Springs National Park and thought I could put my whole arm into the water! Never again!!!! What I did was equivalent to putting my arm into a pot of boiling hot water on a stove…very silly, I know!  :-\ Other than that, I did enjoy the warmth of the water, the steam coming from the flowing streams and the beauty of the actual park.

Hot Springs National Park

4) The Weather

We didn’t get much of a summer in the UK, so I was so thankful for the super-hot summer weather and the extra vitamin D of course J

5) Singing

During song service I always manage to request a hymn that no one knows, and then  end up having to sing a solo (I really hate singing solos...I just don’t do them L) in order to teach the congregation the song.  This awkward moment proved to be a blessing as I was approached to help lead out in song service during the camp meeting. I haven’t lead out in music in such a long time and it was such a blessing to serve and minister for the Lord in this capacity especially in a foreign land.

Singing with wonderful people

6) Mousegate

Now this wasn’t a highlight but I thought I would mention it since I can actually laugh about it now. I live in the countryside so it’s not uncommon for me to have some field mice come in as the weather begins to turn. I usually catch and get rid of them quite quickly as they come in and stay downstairs and only ever come out at night when I am asleep and it’s completely quiet. I’m writing about this so casually and calmly but I absolutely loathe the fact that I get mice; I am completely petrified of them! Even knowing of their presence in my house freaks me out. I was so happy to be away from home knowing that I wouldn’t have to deal with them for a while….you could probably imagine my great distress when I saw mouse traps in the room I was staying in! Where I was staying is very country and I had a very brave and daring American mouse who not only came out to play while I was making noise in the kitchen, but who managed to wrestle itself off a sticky trap  and also eat the  bait clean off a carefully laid snap trap. My most memorable moment of “mousegate” is when the mouse had the audacity to enter my room, get into the closet and chew through items in my handbag. To conclude this tale the mouse never got caught and is probably still on the loose, let’s just say that I left America with a new found respect for the rather sophisticated, reserved and quiet British mouse.

7) Gardening

There’s something about cultivating the ground that leaves deep impressions on the heart and character. I don’t know how to describe it; I don’t know whether to describe it as therapeutic but the more I worked in the greenhouse and spent time selecting and planting seeds the more it awakened a great sense of carefulness, love, humility, tenderness and attention to detail. At first I hated it, I was so hot and bothered while gardening but after getting past the first hurdle of keeping myself from passing out in the green house I actually really enjoyed it.  I planted 3 quarters of the greenhouse and felt so sad when I realised that I would never get to see what would come of the seeds that I had planted but God reminded me of this scripture:  1 Corinthians 3: 4- 10 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon…” Though I planted the seeds, I am happy to know that the Lord has someone else there to follow the process through to the end. So looking forward to growing session in the UK this year!

In the green house 

8) The Camp Meeting

The camp meeting was such a blessing! I was truly convicted of my duty before God. It was such a joy to spend endless hours listening to the word of God from the lips of men and women who have given their lives to serve Him. It was also a blessing to spend much time with like-minded people discussing the message and to see such deep dedication manifested towards the study of God's word. I was deeply moved and humbled to see that the spirit of God is moving all over the world, to know that there are people separated by sea and land and yet we all come to the same conclusions when we study the bible. What a privilege it is to have the bible so readily available to us, that we might have the opportunity to understand truths that angels desire to look into (1 Peter 1:12)! God has given us such a great work to do for him in these last days, and it’s so humbling to know that I can be a part of that should I choose to follow his appointed way. O to be faithful to Him, and to avail myself fully to His service! This has been my hope and prayer since leaving Arkansas.

Elder Jeff and I 

Not sure if I will be travelling in 2016, but you never know!  Thanks for reading my travel diary, till next time J

Love, your girl forever,

♥ Miss Daisy ♥

Till we meet again...

Travel Diaries: Paris, France - Part 2

Continuing on from part 1 J

6) Beware of pick pockets!!!!

No exaggeration! I read some tips online on how to avoid being a victim of pick pockets and I determined to stay safe. I put all my valuables in a small cotton shoulder bag and wore it under my jacket. On the second day of being in Paris we were in Place de la Concorde and I saw a picture of Cain (from the biblical story of Cain and Abel) lamenting. I was taking pictures of it with both mine and Estella’s phone in my hands.  Three girls came out of nowhere and asked me if I could speak English. (They probably thought I was on my own as Estella was standing on the side of the statue and out of view.) Without me realising it the girls had formed a subtle circle around me and I was in the centre. As soon I heard the girl say “Sign here please” My mind went back to an online article I read and according to Estella I firmly said “No!” and "teleported" myself out of their circle! Estella found my swift exit incredibly amusing. Without hesitation the three girls quickly moved on. OK, you don’t need to be as dramatic as I was but make sure you keep your belonging close to you and also be aware of your surroundings especially in busy public touristy places. Estella and I giggled at the fact that those pickpockets would probably have relieved me of the banana peels and apple cores that were building up in my bag, but I guess it’s all about not giving them an opportunity at all.

Statue of Cain Lamenting - Place de la Concorde

7)  Understand who you’re traveling with

I learnt so much about Estella as well as myself on this holiday. Estella is very much into being flexible and ad hoc, I on the other hand am into being structured and following schedules. This could have been a point of contention as we are complete opposites but instead it gave us both an opportunity to explore each other’s personalities. Without prior planning day 1 of our trip was my day, it was very structured and all planned to the minutest detail. Estella took part in that and I think it allowed her to see how much organisation goes into planning activities for a holiday and also how many things you can fit into a day if everything is pre planned. Day 2 was Estella’s day which was very “as and when”, we literally woke up in the morning with no idea or goal in mind. This would ordinarily frustrate me but day 2 ended up being such a fun and spontaneous day. I learnt how to relax and simply “go with the flow” and allow the day to evolve naturally. So when traveling with anyone, seek to understand exactly who they are and do not allow your differences to hinder the holiday, but rather use it as an opportunity to get to know them (and yourself) better.

The Mona Lisa 

8) Being polite will help you

To keep costs low we booked to stay at a hostel in a female dorm room of 6. It was my first time staying in a hostel and I was nervous about the experience due to my own preconceived ideas of hostels and also not knowing who we would be sharing with. We got to the hostel early Sunday morning and clearly woke up the receptionist when we buzzed to get in. He asked if we could come back in an hour, we were so shocked and annoyed as the website stated that the reception was open for 24 hours. We found it hard to make out what else he was saying as he was literally half asleep and mumbling English words, but we think he was asking us to leave our luggage in the lockers and come back in an hour and we would be able to have our room. I was so tempted to make a fuss about the whole situation as we had travelled the whole night and needed to sleep, shower and eat ASAP! We complied however and came back after an hour. When we got back Ester decided to speak to the receptionist in French and to build up a rapport with him while he checked us in. Well, he ended up giving us a free breakfast, the best room in the hostel and we had the room to ourselves! Praise God, I was so happy and thankful!!!! Now I am not saying that you should be polite just so you can get what you want, but from our experience we found that it pays to be polite and build bridges when travelling abroad.

The "Love Lock" Bridge

9) Enjoy the experience

That’s it! Just enjoy it! Enjoy every moment of your holiday even the parts that don’t seem very exciting or that don’t go as planned.  I enjoyed sitting with Estella in a self-manned laundrette for an hour waiting for the hostel to open.  I enjoyed walking around Paris in the rain with our feet soaking wet, looking for a raw vegan restaurant which we didn’t even step into in the end as it was so pricy! I enjoyed taking pictures under a tree at the park and having a bird poop on my hand and screaming so loud that Estella got scared and ran into me and the bird poop smudged on her, we couldn’t stop laughing. I enjoyed just sitting on the L’Open Tour “hop on, hop off” bus all day with no real destination in mind. I enjoyed Estrella and I randomly discovering an open green park area and spreading my sleeping bag around the grass and just lying there watching the world go by. Those precious moments, relish them. You don’t usually experience those things and being in another country everyday so make sure you enjoy your time whatever happens.

Best Falafel Place in the world!!!!

10) Trust in the Lord

Last but not least, trust in the Lord J

Estella and I literally put this whole holiday in God’s hands, from our safety to our spending money, even to our friendship. It can be scary travelling to a foreign country as sometimes people go on holiday sadly to never return. Some may laugh at this, but I was amazed when I got to Paris and the realisation hit me that God is literally everywhere and he is always with me. This comforted me as there were times when I was concerned about whether we would be safe in Paris; I realised that I am as safe there (in Paris) as I would be here (in the UK) because ‘It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.’ Lamentation 3:22. God is always with us wherever we are so give your holiday to him, trust him; He will keep you safe, sustain your friendships and untimely make your holiday enjoyable.

The Eiffel Tower

Thank you for reading my travel diary. Until next time J

Love, your girl forever,

♥ Miss Daisy ♥

Estella, we did it!!!!!!

Travel Diaries: Paris, France – Part 1

I spent the last May Day Bank Holiday in Paris, France, with my friend Estella. It’s amazing how this quick, cheap, minimal holiday turned into one of my best holidays so far. We are definitely not seasoned travelers but we did learn a lot of things during our 3 days in Paris, here are some of our tips - 

French Flag

1) Make a covenant to remain friends no matter what

It has always baffled me how people can go on holiday as best friends and come back home with a severed friendship. Estella and I were very much aware of this possibility and promised each other that we would fight to stay friends no matter what! (sounds funny right!) This included choosing not to make small things an issue, being flexible, praying together, dying to self, putting the other person first (e.g Estella knees were killing her but she still spent the day walking around Musse du Louvre with me because she knew it was something I really wanted to do - what a sweet heart J) and working together to make the holiday enjoyable for both of us. I’m telling you it really worked! Estella and I came back from holiday even better friends.

2) Learn your maps as much as you can

There’s nothing that screams target than a confused tourist reading a map. Estella is an excellent map reader but even then we had to be careful. We were trying to get to a raw vegan restaurant on day 2 of our holiday and it was raining so heavily that our paper map was literally being dissolved by the heavy rain drops. We were on the right road but didn’t quite know where to turn off so we spent some time staring at the map and out of nowhere a man was trying to help us. He was quite persistent even though we explained we were OK, Estella then firmly declined and we carried on our way. I questioned her about it and she said “Be careful of those that are oh so willing to give their help, especially in crowed places”.  I don’t think she is saying that we should walk around paranoid but that we must be aware of our surroundings as you may find this friendly helper has associates (who you probably wouldn’t notice as they look like casual by passers) that are helping themselves to your belongings.

Musee Du Louvre 

3) Set rules at the beginning

You didn’t go on holiday on your own so be mindful that someone else is accountable for you so you shouldn’t really try to do your own things This was not an issue for Estella and I but we definitely think this is a worthwhile tip. If you want to have a bit of independence while on holiday with someone else, communicate this clearly and set rules from the beginning. For example no wandering off, if you’re going somewhere say where you’re going, set meeting places etc. This will allow the holiday to run smoothly and will also provide accountability and safety.

4) Be careful when taking Touristy pictures at night

We made this mistake when walking home on day 2 and ended up being followed. Thankfully we managed to get away by asking a waiter if we could sit in his restaurant until the men that were following us went away. Once the coast was clear we watchfully hurried back to our hostel. We were so confused as to why we were targeted and it was only when Estella took her phone out we realised that it was because we were taking pictures which made it obvious that we were tourist.

Good Vegan Food

5) There’s no point of everyone bringing everything

This is key when going on a “Budget” minimalist type holiday. Estella and I purposed to try and bring as little as possible on this holiday in terms of clothes, toiletries, travel items etc. Estella is the champion of this as she went with just her hand bag! She didn’t bring any shower gel or tooth paste, which was OK because I had some and she knew she could use it. Apart from my “pick pocket proof” bag I didn’t have a suitable bag to carry around my non valuable items, but Estella had a fold away shoulder bag that I could use. Some people may not be too keen on sharing personal items but if you’re going on a short holiday where there may be times you will need to walk around with your luggage then this would be the more logical approach. Plus you want to leave space for your souvenirs and other things you buy on holiday.

Tuileries Garden

More tips to come in part 2 J

Love, your girl forever,

♥ Miss Daisy ♥

Travel Diaries: Cologne, Germany

This month my mother and I traveled to Germany for a little respite from work and to visit my sister Rona and niece Malaika. I was literally living between London and Germany for most of 2011 so I was excited to go back after almost 4 years.

Interestingly enough there was almost no holiday as we missed our early morning flight, which left me in a very rotten mood and I vowed to go back to Wales. The situation was a complete disaster - the cab driver came really late, the self service bag drop wouldn't register our bags so we had to take them as hand luggage, I had almost all my liquids thrown in the bin at security, as we rushed to the gate we forgot one bag at security and had to turn back and then my mother and I ended up going to two completely different departure gates...it was awful! But I guess you live and you learn. That day I learnt the true meaning of the phrase "Character is not formed in a crisis but rather revealed". Running late, missing our flight and being extremely stressed really showed me how dreadful I can be when under huge amounts of pressure...hmmm this is probably a discussion for another blog post so let's get back to the holiday. 

So we finally arrived in Germany and were greeted by Rona, Stephan and Malaika. When I saw my sister I realised that I hasn't seen her in almost two years but it felt like I just saw her the other day. My niece on the other hand didn't remember me at all, even after showing her pictures of us having fun times together. Despite forgetting who I was she greeted me which such affection and warmth. I realised how important it is to be active in a young child's life and to make an effort to be there as children will forget who you are if they hardly or never see you. It's nothing personal, I guess so much happens in a young child's life and they are constantly making new memories who those around them. 

Malaika and I - Creating new memories

When I was last in Germany my sister was living in a modern apartment in Bonn but since moved to a house in a small village in Cologne. The village isn't too far from an apple farm so we spent most of the trip in the house enjoying the sunshine with freshly squeezed organic apple juice.

Mum, Niece and Sister

On Sunday we visited the historic town of Aachen which is still in Germany but borders Belgium. Almost everything is closed in Germany on a Sunday, but the town's main attraction, Aachen Cathedral, was open. I only managed to get one decent picture of the outside (the cathedral is much bigger than pictured) and I wasn't too sure if I was allowed to take photos of the inside, but definitely look it up on the internet as it is quite an interesting building. The outside of the Cathedral had a very gothic and medieval feel but the inside was quite bright and had some very detailed artwork - especially on the ceiling. Overall I would describe the interior as being quite spectacular. It's strange because even though I found some parts of the Cathedral very  beautiful, I couldn't help but think how much money was spent on the interior and the ornaments and wondered whether it could have been put towards a more needy cause. 

Aachen Cathedral 

Well, that pretty much sums up my trip to Germany, I think this short holiday really ignited my love for travelling. I want to do a lot more traveling in the future and explore the world that God created. One thing is for certain, I will definitely be making trips to Germany more often than not. 

Be ready for more travel diaries.

Love, your girl forever,

♥ Miss Daisy ♥