Being Buttons

Christmas at Stourhead

Christmas at Stourhead

Christmas illuminations seem to have been particularly popular this year. Just in the area around Bristol I’ve seen adverts for illuminations at Westonbirt Arboretum, Longleat and Stourhead. I think I first received an email about the Christmas at Stourhead illuminations back in June – long before I’d begun to even start thinking about Christmas. However, it was instantly something I was interested in. I’d never been to a light installation before and it sounded like it would be a fun thing to do so we found a free weekend and booked our tickets.

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A festive day out at Bath Christmas Market

A festive day out at Bath Christmas Market

The best part of the festive season, for me, is Christmas Markets. With the smell of mulled spices and caramelised nuts in the air, and stalls adorned with unique Christmas decorations, there’s nothing that captures the spirit of Christmas better for me. My first experience of a ‘proper’ European Christmas market was when I was 12, and I can still remember the feeling of enchantment on my first evening. I get a similar feeling when I go to markets now, although I usually have a better idea of what to expect. Although I have a list of European markets a mile long that I’d like to visit, this year we stuck closer to home and decided to check out what festive delights Bath has to offer.

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An Autumn trip to Westonbirt Arboretum

An Autumn trip to Westonbirt Arboretum

Autumn is my least favourite season of the year. The days get shorter and darker, it gets colder (and quite often wetter) and people start talking about Christmas far too soon. It doesn’t really live up to the idyllic images of pumpkin patches, hot chocolates and trendy ankle boots which seem to be all over the internet. However, although I’ve never been autumn’s biggest fan, I do enjoy a sunny day when the leaves are on the turn – and Westonbirt Arboretum is the perfect place to go! I’d intended to go last year and ran out of time, so was determined we would make the time this year.

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A Three Day Guide to Boston

A Three Day Guide to Boston

Whilst I found New York City really exciting, and Buffalo was much more interesting than I’d expected, Boston was my favourite of the three cities that I visited in the USA. It was the only one of the three where I could imagine living there myself and I would have happily stayed there a lot longer. Boston had all of the things I look for in a city; history, culture, green spaces and good food! Read on for my advice for how to spend a three day short break in Boston.

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Visiting Niagara Falls

Visiting Niagara Falls

Often classed as one of the seven wonders of the natural world, Niagara Falls is a pretty impressive place to visit. Staying just a half hour drive away in Buffalo, we would have been mad not to go and see them during our trip to the USA. Sure enough, seeing the falls was one of the highlights of our time in Buffalo and was certainly the most impressive sight that we saw.

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