Contemplatingtheclouds

LATEST ARTICLES ( 203 )

• A Second Year In Photos: Cake and Kremlin Adventures

  

  Some people like to go to the Costa Brava or Corfu for their holidays. They lie on the beach – book in one hand, pint in the other – and slowly turn themselves... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2012 TRAVEL

• A Second Year In Photos: A Golden-Diamond-Jub-Olympic Summer

  

  Let’s be honest, we’re never going to have another summer like 2012. Not only have parts of the country gone from being drought-stricken to being underwater, bu... Read more

  Posted on 20 October 2012 TRAVEL

• A Second Year In Photos: Instagrammers (Not So) Anonymous

  

  One this year’s regular features only started back at the end of April, but since then it’s happened almost every Friday; it is, or course, Instagrammers... Read more

  Posted on 19 October 2012 TRAVEL

• A Second Year In Photos: Feeding and Watering

  

  As everyone knows, an army marches on its stomach, and I am very much the same (except I image I get slightly better food). I love being in the kitchen, and... Read more

  Posted on 18 October 2012 SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• A Second Year In Photos: Making Friends With The Animals

  

  As a semi-reformed (OK, not at all reformed) biologist and a dog lover it’s hardly surprising that pictures of animals have made several appearances here so to... Read more

  Posted on 17 October 2012 TRAVEL

• A Second Year of Contemplating

  

  Picture the scene: It’s Monday evening after a long day in the office. I’m sitting on the sofa slurping my way through a bowl of my roasted tomato and red chill... Read more

  Posted on 16 October 2012 TRAVEL

• Instagrammers Anonymous: Baking and Long Weekends

  

  If you’re feeling that last weekend seems a rather long time ago then you’ll probably be quite glad it’s friday. And Friday means -as we all know – that it’s... Read more

  Posted on 12 October 2012 TRAVEL

• Weekend Wanders

  

  And once again it’s Monday. Where the weekend goes is anyone’s guess, but this time round I think mine was quite busy. Oh, and the sun shone! Read more

  Posted on 08 October 2012 SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Instagrammers Anonymous: Books, Blackness and Bond

  

  It’s been a quick week, hasn’t it? Doesn’t feel that long since I was last writing a instagram-y review of last week. Anyway, this week’s slightly delayed... Read more

  Posted on 06 October 2012 TRAVEL

• The Name’s Bond, James Bond

  

  From the first “Bah Bah! Dum. Bah Bah! Dum” I’m well and truly hooked. That white circle scans back and forth across the screen, but too late for the person on... Read more

  Posted on 05 October 2012 TRAVEL

• A Birthday Indulgence – Chocolate and Amaretto Cake

  

  Of all the family traditions we seem to have collected over the years – they range from the bizarre to the utterly ridiculous – one of my favourites is the... Read more

  Posted on 01 October 2012 TRAVEL

• Instagrammers Anonymous: Back to Normal

  

  Aaaaaand breathe…For about the first time in a month I sat down last night and did absolutely nothing. I sat watching reruns of various BBC panel shows on Dave. Read more

  Posted on 28 September 2012 TRAVEL

• Doors Open Day – Ambitious Plans, The Scottish Parliament and Cake

  

  Sometimes I feel my life is a little too rock and roll. In between watching Downton Abbey or the Great British Bake Off, spending my Sunday afternoons walking... Read more

  Posted on 25 September 2012 TRAVEL

• A Tale of Three Cities: Bratislava

  

  Parachuting down onto the platform of Bratislava train station I entered a totally different world from Vienna. I’d only been on the train an hour, but I’d... Read more

  Posted on 22 September 2012 TRAVEL

• A Tale of Three Cities: Vienna (II)

  

  Yesterday’s post – the first part of my trip to Vienna – mainly featured the Ringstraße and all the buildings associated with it. Today is much more relaxed,... Read more

  Posted on 21 September 2012 TRAVEL

• A Tale of Three Cities: Vienna (I)

  

  Walking across the tarmac was like entering another world. The sun was beating down, the people were friendly and there was that fabled gate at the border: ‘EU... Read more

  Posted on 20 September 2012 TRAVEL

• A Tale of Three Cities: Moscow (II)

  

  Outside the ridiculous central cocoon of Moscow, there is a hugely diverse city. Parts of it are brand new, glistening in the September sunshine, but then... Read more

  Posted on 19 September 2012 TRAVEL

• A Tale of Three Cities: Moscow (I)

  

  It seems that my Great Uncle phoned my mom last Friday with a question: “What on earth is Craig doing in Moscow?” It would seem he got my postcard. Read more

  Posted on 18 September 2012 TRAVEL

• Instagrammers Anonymous: The End of August

  

  What a crazy week! If I thought that last week was busy, then I had no idea what was coming. But of course, there’s always time to indulge my Instagram habit an... Read more

  Posted on 31 August 2012 TRAVEL

• Catherine the Great at the National Museum of Scotland

  

  She wasn’t a blood relative of Peter the Great, as many people unsurprisingly assume. In fact, she wasn’t even Russian. She was born in Germany and moved to... Read more

  Posted on 27 August 2012 HISTORY, TRAVEL