A Week In Rhodes

In September Thomas and I went to Rhodes for a week and between this trip and last year's visit to Crete, I think we're finally converts to the "lazy holiday in the sun" club. We had a wonderful time sitting by the pool reading, taking in some of the island's historic sites and, most of all, eating lots of delicious Greek food.

We were staying in the village of Kalathos, on the east coast just north of Lindos. I'd heard lots of great things about Lindos and so it was an obvious choice for our first outing (after a couple of days of lying on sunbeds doing very little, that is). And it was extremely charming: a picture-perfect Greek village, with stunning views along the coast from the cliff-top Acropolis.

Overall, though, I much preferred our visits to Rhodes Town, and especially having a chance to explore the fascinating medieval streets of the Old Town. Sitting within the modern town but entirely separated from it by fortified walls, the old town was constructed by the Knights Templar in the 14th century and boasts a magnificent mixture of ancient, Byzantine, Ottoman and Italian architectural influences.

As well as wandering the labyrinthine streets, peering down alleyways and admiring the many street cats, we visited the Archeological Museum for some Proper Culture. It's well worth a visit, as much for that incredible building and gardens in which it's set.

It's a testament to how great the food is at To Marouli that we ate there on both of our visits to Rhodes Town. And we also enjoyed stumbling upon Todo Bien, a Cuban-themed bar just around the corner, whose boast of serving 'the best mojitos in Rhodes' obviously had to be thoroughly tested.

We were also lucky to find a number of excellent restaurants serving vegan food near our hotel in Kalathos (our favourites were probably Konstantin and the seafood restaurant Mythos) and generally found Rhodes far superior to Crete when it came to vegan options.

But the absolute highlight of our trip was undoubtedly the cats. Our apartment block had a huge gang of semi-feral cats - we counted thirteen in total - who included some of the friendliest and sweetest holiday cats I've ever encountered. Although most of the older cats were happier left alone, Thomas and I spent many a happy hour with the younger cats and kittens who enjoyed clambering all over us and our sun loungers, peeking up from under our books to demand attention, begging for treats, and snoozing in the shade.

We stayed in Daniel Apartments in Kalathos and can thoroughly recommend both the apartments and the island itself. Good vegan food, excellent local wine, friendly cats, and breathtaking historical sites combined to make Rhodes a very special place to be. If you happen to visit, do say hello to the kittens for me.

The Thrifty Gift Swap: Summer Edition

My friend Rebs recently got in touch to ask if I fancied running a summer gift swap like my annual Christmas swap. Never one to pass up an opportunity to send and receive parcels, I leaped at the chance. So here's the Summer Thrifty Gift Swap! If you want to take part, have a look at the guidance below and then get in touch with either Rebs or me.

1. Send your name, address, social media links and blog address (if you have one) to jbistheinitial@gmail.com by May 31st. Please also include in your email as much detail about your likes and dislikes - including any dietary requirements - as possible, so your giver has a starting point.
2. Once you receive the information about your recipient , you can start putting together a box of bought, thrifted and handmade goodies you think your recipient will love.  In the Christmas swap there have been a huge range of thoughtful gifts exchanged: last year my haul included enamel pins, a tote bag, secondhand books, a beautiful handmade embroidery hoop, and zines.
3. Limit yourself to a £10-12 spend (not including postage).
4. Pop your parcel in the post by June 30th.
5. Sit back and wait to receive your own box of delights from a mystery giver!

What I Wore: On A Sunny Dutch Day

* Black t-shirt: H&M * Floral skirt: thrifted * Sandals: Saltwater via Office * 

* Necklace: Mungo & Jemima  * Sunglasses: New Look *

* 'Badass feminist killjoy' tote bag: by Glitterbugbean, bought at Sheffield zine fair *

It's been almost a year since I last did an outfit post. When I was beginning to get disillusioned with my old blog, they were the first thing to go. Also, a lot of what I wear in winter is super boring: summer outfits are much more blogable.

When we were in Nijmegen last weekend, we were lucky enough to have glorious sunshine, which meant my extensive collection of skirts were able to have an airing. This floral beauty was a steal from a local charity shop: I rarely, if ever, wear pinks and peaches so I initially left it behind, but after continuing to think about it for a week I went back to the shop and lo and behold, it was still there waiting for me. 

I teamed the bold print with a plain black t-shirt, black sandals (these Saltwater sandals are SO comfortable) and a pendant necklace I bought in Cape Town this spring. The star of the outfit, though, turned out to be my bag, which garnered compliments (and attempts to steal it) all day!

Welcome To Nijmegen

Nijmegen is a small city, pop. 160,000, in the east of the Netherlands. You're unlikely to have ever heard of it - I certainly hadn't until I met Thomas - but it's now one of my favourite places on earth.

I've been visiting Nijmegen regularly for the last three-and-a-half years, because this is where Thomas was living when we first met. For nine months we conducted a long distance relationship, and I got well acquainted with the Luton-Schiphol Easyjet route. And since Thomas moved to Leicester permanently we have continued to visit regularly to see friends. Yet until now I've never properly blogged about it.

Last week we went to visit again and I was determined to finally share my love for Nijmegen. So, camera in hand, I snapped my way around the city. Get ready for some grade-A, heavy-duty, travel brochure-worthy gushing, because I really do think it's that good.

The Netherlands is a pretty awesome place generally - friendly people, almost all of whom speak perfect English, great public transport, public spaces all clean and well-maintained in a way which makes you realise how crappy and broken the UK is - and Nijmegen is no exception to the rule.

The city centre isn't as devastatingly beautiful as some other Dutch cities, as much of the Medieval core was destroyed by Allied bombs during WWII (it's within miles of the border with Germany and the theory goes that the pilots either didn't know or didn't care that they weren't flying over a German city but a Dutch one). You also won't find the 'typical' Dutch landscape: the city is pretty hilly rather than pancake-flat, and doesn't have any canals. But, in my totally biased opinion, what remains, such as the main market square and the narrow alleys around the church, is full of character and charm.

Nijmegen has a vibrant arts and music scene, with festivals and events taking place near-daily (especially throughout summer - when we were there this past weekend, we had no fewer than four festivals to choose from, including a rock music festival and a festival of organ music, showing that the offerings are nothing if not varied). When it comes to food and drink I can recommend the Mexican food at Popocatepetl, the veggie/vegan cafe at De Klinker (part of the social centre and co-housing space that Thomas used to live in), the beautiful outdoor terrace at micro-brewery De Hemel, and the bars, independent businesses and street art of the HonigComplex. It's also only a 30 minute train ride to s'-Hertogenbosch (known colloquially as Den Bos), a picture-perfect Dutch city and the home of artist Hieronymus Bosch, which is well worth a trip.

However, the beautiful architecture, outdoor terraces and Mexican food can't completely explain why first Thomas, and then I, lost our hearts to Nijmegen. The key to that is in the thriving counter-culture of street art, bands, squat bars and activist groups. It's renowned for being one of the most left-wing cities in the Netherlands and, since the refugee crisis began, has mobilised to welcome Syrian and Eritrean refugees. You can't walk 100ft in the city without seeing one of these Migrants Welcome, Racism Not stickers, which make my heart sing.

Our trip last week was one of the best we've had. We stayed with a couple of wonderfully welcoming friends and were able to catch up with almost everyone else for lunches, picnics, or drinks.

On Saturday we walked a short way out of town to visit the SMKMRKT, taking place in an ex-industrial area overlooked by a decommissioned power plant and abandoned factory buildings. In this somewhat dystopian landscape an entire festival had sprung up. Bars, food trucks, an artist's market, live music... it felt like a tiny slice of East London (but without the hipster attitude) transplanted to this small city on the edge of Holland. Happily sipping cider and eating wood-fired pizza, we watched Het Brandt, the band Thomas used to play with and still some of his best friends.

As June 23rd creeps nearer, and with it the very real risk of Britain leaving the EU (and exposing itself as the kind of xenophobic, jingoistic, racist country I'm ashamed to call myself a citizen of), I become ever more keen to move elsewhere. And for me, Nijmegen remains top of the list of alternatives. I lost my heart to the place and the people the very first time I visited on New Year's Eve 2012, and would move there without a second thought. TLDR, I 💕 Nijmegen!