Although I’ve been to Chatsworth House once before – a scary amount of years ago – I’ve never been to their Christmas event and my friend suggested that we should do so for our annual Christmas trip. This year’s theme was The Enchanted Garden, focusing on the beauty and magic of the country in winter which included some interesting projections of fairies throughout the house, as well as beautifully decorated rooms and lots of Christmas trees.
A random round up of Athens things and places:
Do not underestimate the temperatures. Super obvious but I chose to travel mid May hoping that the weather would be a little cooler than the height of summer, which of course it was, but only because summer in Athens that year hit record breaking highs and many of the outdoor sites including the Acropolis shut down to visitors. This was perhaps unusual, though with climate change it’s probably the new normal. The temperature while I was there was in the 28-29C range the whole time and didn’t really let up even in the afternoon/late evenings. I had the idea that I’d do outdoor sites early in the morning and then in the afternoon when it was cooler but soon gave up on that idea and was just careful about keeping to the shade where possible.
Over the years Bath Christmas Market has become a staple of mine and my friend’s annual Christmas outing. The atmosphere is always lovely and the stalls are genuinely full of beautiful unique products from local sellers. The centre of Bath is really taken over by the market but it’s also worth going into the brick and mortar shops as well because Bath is well known for its independent shops. Everywhere seems to get into the spirit with lovely decorations wherever you look.
Louise Jayne's Blog 