Missing travel? Forget your passport, grab a book ! (review)

Did you manage to get away on holiday this year? We visited family in the UK and went on a mini adventure in Belgium, but that was it. No big trips planned for us again, as, even though we're all double vaccinated, I just didn't feel at ease with travelling to exotic, far-flung places. I do miss it though - seeing new places, meeting new people, tasting exotic dishes and discovering things that are completely different to anything we find at home. Luckily, publishers Cranthorpe Millner came to the rescue and sent me some fabulous books that gave me the travel experiences without leaving the comfort of my favourite armchair !

My first read was Secret Lands, Petrol Clams and a Bagful of Bolivar by Sharon Cracknell, author of the fabulously-named previous book, Pringles, Visas and a Glow in the Dark Jesus. The titles tell you everything you need to know about her writing style - she's full of exciting travel stories about off-the-wall places that cannot fail to make you laugh. You know all those things that go wrong on holiday but you say, "Ah well, at least we'll remember this and get a good story out of it" ? Well, imagine that to the power of a hundred and you'll have a good idea of what to expect in Sharon's writing !

I love the way the book instantly had me googling things before I'd even turned to the first page. I'd never heard of bolivar so I was intrigued to find out what it referred to. A quick google search revealed that it is the currency in Venezuela. Aha ! Sure enough, stories are revealed about Sharon quaking at the airport as her bag stuffed with illegal banknotes goes through a Venezuelan airport scanner. And petrol clams? Well, yes, google had the answer again. It's a traditional North Korean way of preparing clams on a barbecue by dousing them in petrol then setting them on fire. Sounds crazy ... and probably tastes crazy too !

Even those places that are not so far off the beaten track are revealed in new ways. Whilst giggling at Sharon's tales of dodging epic farty-pants on a hike up Mount Toubkal, I was surprised to learn that this is in Morocco, a country I've been to. It's also the highest peak in the Atlas Mountains. How had I never even heard of it ?!

This is the beauty of the book. As well as being an enjoyable read, it is an educational and informative one. Sharon goes to places that most people, even those who enjoy travelling, will never go to. Ethiopia, Cuba, Columbia, North Korea, Tanzania, ...  even Kyrgyzstan, that I'd never even heard of !

The next book that I discovered was Because Japan by Ash Watson. The tone is quite similar and frequently had me chuckling as I raced through the pages. It focuses on the time that author Ash Watson spent in Japan, in particular the two years he lived in Tokyo, working in a private high school. Japan is a country that is frequently shown on TV and in magazine articles, but here, you get the real deal - what life is like behind the scenes in Japan, through the eyes of an expat. The Journal of Firsts, kept by Ash during his time there, to record all the weird and wonderful experiences along the way, became the basis for his book. It's an interesting and intriguing collection of memories, covering everything from the ultra modern (Pokemon Go) to the ancient and symbolic (Mount Fuji). 

While the tales of culture shock are perfectly predictable, the author also faces bigger issues involving mental health, racial discrimination and sexual orientation. While developing a new understanding of the country around him, the author looks deep within himself and grows as a person. That sounds very serious though, whereas the main thing I brought away from this book was a bagful of belly laughs !

The Banana Road by Andrea Montgomery is subtitled It's Tenerife But Not As You Know It. Well, that's not complicated for me as I've never been to Tenerife, but we did take a family trip to another of the Canary Islands, Lanzarote, a few years ago. I had some misgivings about going before we left and, I must admit, when we arrived, I was put off by all the cafes selling full English breakfasts and English-speaking bars which just seemed like any random British seaside town with a bit more sunshine. However, we hired a car and travelled further afield, giving us an insight into what life was really like away from the touristy areas. This is what the author does, telling the story of her time in Tenerife, getting to know the locals (humans and animals !) and really discovering how the locals live.

Along with her husband Jack, she set off from Manchester to discover a new life in the north of the island, in a little house surrounded by banana plantations and a pitch 'n' putt golf course. The people that they come into contact with are so weird and wonderful (with the accent on weird !) that it is sometimes hard to remember that this all really happened ! As well as providing a great deal of humour and an insight into what life is like on the other side, so to speak, we also get to see what happens when things start to go wrong. This book constantly had me reading just one more chapter before turning off the light, even when it was already way past my bedtime, because I wanted to see what would happen to the couple and their dreams of a new life in an exotic location. I'd love to catch up with their story and see what happens next !

for more information : www.cranthorpemillner.com/

Disclosure : I received review copies of the books, n order to share my honest opinion.

Alaska diaries : Day to day life

We're currently on our autumn half term, but as Pierre has his leg in plaster, we're not actually doing a great deal at the moment. This has had me looking through the draft blogposts that I never found the time to post, to see what I can share with you. I've found some more photos of our trip to Alaska this summer that made me smile, so I thought you might like to see them too.

You can't go to America without going to a mall, and the Dimond Center in Anchorage (yes, that is how it's spelt !) was the perfect place for the girls to get some retail therapy in. They loved looking at the clothes and bath products and spent a fortune in a "fan store" that had T-shirts, badges, mugs and all sorts of other things related to all their favourite series. Pierre, meanwhile, was happier skating around on the ice rink on the lower floor.

He also enjoyed making full use of the massage chairs while the girls shopped up a storm !

Food was another thing that kept the kids happy ! Whenever we were heading out somewhere, Jim, our host, would always stop the car at the final garage before the main road, declaring that it was the last chance for snacks. They managed to find all sorts of things to while away the final miles - sweets, drinks, doughnuts, corndogs, cookies, ... you name it ! We also ate out in a lot of "family restaurants" like McDonald's and Subway. This was in a local Mexican restaurant.

The kids all opted for nachos, which they declared delicious.

I opted for enchiladas, which were very tasty too. The little pot of tomato salsa was stupidly spicy though !

Another afternoon was spent at the local bowling alley.

Yep, you've guessed it - we checked out the food and drink on offer there too !

The ice cream sandwiched between two cookies was a big hit. I reconfirmed that root beer is absolutely disgusting though - ewwww !

On one of our trips to the nearby Three Bears store to get some groceries, we spotted some popcorn kits. They came in what looked basically like a sieve - a foil tray with a long handle and a dome of foil over the top, that you heat over the cooker. Our first one was a spectacular fail, as it all came popping out of a hole, but it did give us a good laugh ! Luckily, the second one worked perfectly.

Hmmmmm I just found this photo and can't remember what it is - it was Jim who knocked this up for breakfast (well, brunch, as nobody was hungry for lunch afterwards !). I need to ask him for the recipe because it was delicious, but as far as I can remember, it involved sausages, split open and cooked, then mixed in with milk or cream and spices - I need to check the details. Underneath were hash browns and on the side, a milk roll. All absolutely delicious.

Yep, we definitely need to go back to Alaska some time soon !

Alaska diaries : Down By The Lake

Before we went to Alaska, if you'd asked me to name something that the state had in abundance, I'd have answered snow. Having now visited in the summer though, I'd be able to list several other things : trees, greenery, rosebay willowherb (or fireweed as it's called here) and lakes. There were several lakes close to where we were staying, including one just a five minute walk from our house, which was great when we wanted somewhere to head to for a quick adventure. Wandering down the road, Pierre always loved this "dead end" sign, and couldn't resist pretending to be a zombie !

We soon arrived at the lake.This lake is called Prator Lake and it's a really calm, peaceful place to chill out for a while.

There's nothing much to see or do here, but I loved it. There is a bench to sit on and a rack of life jackets to put on the kids, as well as a little car park, but that's it !

There was a family of ducks that often put in an appearance, as well as many huge dragonflies. One day, we were amazed to see an eagle swooping down into the lake and flying off with a fish - I didn't manage to get a photo of that though ! Pierre loved trying to skim stones across the water, but as they weren't flat, it was more about creating the biggest splosh possible !

I was happy taking in the scenery and enjoying the peace and quiet, as well as trying to get artistic shots of the reflection of the clouds on the lake surface.

Meanwhile, the kids were busy looking out for bears on the opposite shore. They didn't see any, but we DID spot this enormous, fat caterpillar. I'd never seen one with a big pink rear end before - ewww !

Another day, we got an unexpected visit from a very friendly dog. He came running through the trees from one of the neighbour's houses and came over for a stroke.

The kids were over the moon and the dog absolutely loved all the attention.

He was soon charging around, playing chasing games with Pierre.

It didn't seem to bother him in the slightest if he was on dry land or in the water.

Then he'd go and stand next to Pierre and shake dirty lake water all over him !

Time to head for home, dropping off the cheeky doggy on the way back.

Many of the houses have deer antlers or moose horns on the signs. Welcome to Alaska !

If there's one thing they like in Alaska, it's their own sense of personal space.

*** Don't miss the rest of our blogposts about our Alaskan adventure ! ***

Alaska diaries : The Alaska Zoo, Anchorage

On our recent trip in Alaska, I was absolutely determined that, if nothing else, I wanted to see at least one bear and one moose. I didn't care where, but I just wanted to be able to tick them off my bucket list. After chatting with Jim, who we were staying with, I admit that I did have a few doubts about getting up TOO close, but I was still up for it ! In the end, we didn't actually see any in the wild (boohoo !), but Jim drove us down to Anchorage so that we could be sure to see all the local animals in the zoo.

The Alaska zoo, which is the only zoo in Alaska, is home to about 100 animals and birds, with over fifty species, including, for the most part, those native to Alaska. What I absolutely love about the zoo is that many of the animals were found orphaned or injured before being taken to the zoo to be cared for. We spent about 2 or 3 hours wandering around looking at the animals (and munching on reindeer hot dogs - I kid you not !) which was plenty of time to see everything.

The beginning of the zoo is a fun story. It was started back in 1966, when Anchorage grocer Jack Snyder won a contest offering a prize of either $3,000 or a baby elephant ! Unsurprisingly (or not, I suppose !), he took the baby elephant and, a couple of years later, Alaska Children's Zoo was opened, with the elephant as the biggest attraction. Sadly, Annabelle the elephant died back in 1997.

We started off visiting the seals' enclosure, watching them lazing around outside of the water then diving in to cool off.

Just next to the seals were the otters, which were having great fun swimming around, trying to get at a little green sweet placed up next to the glass, which was hilarious !

We headed around, checking out the other animals, including these musk ox, which are apparently called oomingmak in Inuit.

We loved all the educational boards dotted around the zoo, with samples of fur, teeth and bones, as well as scaled down skeletons, to discover.

There were also lots of displays of antlers, from various sizes and species of deer and moose.

Lots of them were fixed to the railings at the perfect height for antler-selfies!

I think they definitely look better still attached to the animals though !

The wolves looked very laid-back and chilled-out in their huge shady pen, lying serenely on the plastic slide or wandering around aimlessly ... until a visiting teenage girl came bounding down the path, howling like a wolf. According to Jim, she was obviously a hunter, practising out her wolf howl imitations. Literally seconds later, the whole pack of wolves came up to the fence, howling back at her - I have no idea what it all meant but it was very impressive !

Moving down past the temporary cages, we came across a very frail-looking baby moose - just 4 months old apparently and brought into the zoo when its mother was killed in a road accident. This was the first moose that I'd seen, but I didn't really count it, as it was so small and had no antlers !

We watched the eagles, checked out lots of other animals (llamas, camels, porcupines, dall sheep, foxes and deer, to name but a few), ate some snacks then finally - woohoo ! - we headed to the big brown bear enclosure. There were three bears in there, as far as we could see, all snoozing in the sun, and before long, one woke up and wandered down to the bottom of the enclosure, just next to where we were standing. Woohoo again ! 

We had another adventure awaiting us, so we headed back to the car, full of smiles, stopping off at the gift shop on the way out and buying various souvenirs.

If you want to find out more about our trip to Alaska, click here !