The third re-cap…2016 travel, events and interesting places visited!

Well, 2016 has absolutely rushed by, and I have been swept up in the whirlwind of the year. Here is a little re-cap of some interesting places I visited, events attended and any places to be added to the list.

January

This year started on an absolute high with a New Years boat party, sailing along the Thames with some good friends. We boarded the boat at 19:30 on the 31st December, and were taken up and down the Thames past the distinctive landmarks, and soooooooooooo many people who lined the streets waiting for the fireworks at midnight. We started with a champagne reception, and were treated to hot food, an all-inclusive bar and a great DJ playing some great tunes, and thankfully not just the wedding classics. It was a fantastic evening, and I would recommend it to anyone as a treat one year, it is most definitely worth it.

When I selfie.

February

This month I was working for Virtual Aviation in Cambridge, a simulator company which not only does simulator preparation for commercial pilots, they also do experience days for anyone who wants to learn the basics in a variety of aircraft, from the Boeing 737 to the Airbus 330.

I wrote quite a lot of blog articles over the 3 months I was working for VA, mainly about advances in the airline industry and exciting improvements to the technology used in aviation. Click here for one of the videos which just demonstrates the passion of aviation.

March

This month I found out that I would be following in my Father’s footsteps, as I had been offered a job as a First Officer with Monarch Airlines! I started a type rating on the Airbus 320/321 in Crawley, just around the corner from London
Gatwick airport.

safe_image This is also the month that I had the dreaded chop…a haircut that is! I donated 8 inches of hair to the Little Princess Trust, which is a fantastic charity that provides real hair wigs free of charge to boys and girls across the UK and Ireland that have sadly lost their own hair due to cancer treatment and other illnesses. If anyone fancies a chop of their own, or just wants to donate then do take a look at their website.

April

440px-eaglepub I had a great evening with the girls in Cambridge, exploring a few of the local (and oldest) pubs. We headed to the Eagle which is a fantastic pub, in fact it is probably my favourite in the entire city. It is always packed, food is meant to be good, and the bar is fully stocked, everything a good establishment should have, however the real gem is in the back room. If you make your way through all of the winding corridors, you will reach the RAF Bar, which is decorated with all of the signatures of the RAF pilots and airmen that frequented the place during postings and the war. Also, this pub was the place where Francis Crick announced that he and James Watson had “discovered the secret of life” after they had come up with their proposal for the structure of DNA (on 28 February 1953). The anecdote is commemorated on a blue plaque next to the entrance, and two plaques in the
middle room by the table where Crick and Watson lunched regularly . Today the pub serves a special ale to commemorate the discovery, dubbed “Eagle’s DNA”.

Another year, and another friend is running the London Marathon, and making me feel like I really need to take up running. We were supporting my good friend Jonny this year, and were keeping track on the app throughout the race.

May

13076741_938594874084_1248708080283962107_n I headed to Twickenham this month with my long-time friend Barry, and his other half Lizzie, to watch the Army vs Navy Rugby game. What a fantastic day it was! If you ever get the chance to go, please, please, PLEASE take up the opportunity! This day is not only about the rugby…even though it was a great game, but it is about the drinks, the atmosphere, the fancy dress, the company and half-time show of a military nature.

June

url When else would you hold a May ball, but in June? Every June, all of the university colleges in Cambridge hold their own May Ball, and this year we managed to get some tickets to attend the show for St John’s 150th Anniversary ball. Just before sunset, we went down to the Scudamore’s dock and boarded our punt for the evening for the fireworks tour. We were then punted down the river to join up with about 100 other punts, ready for the fireworks. The fireworks were extraordinary, and I think have ruined my expectation for firework displays for life. This is a yearly tradition I will be starting.

July

In my flying training, this month I went out to Châteauroux with three other cadets to complete our base training. We flew around the circuit doing touch and go landings followed by a final one landing, before switching over. This was a fantastic day out, a chance to socialise and meet some of the other pilots we will be working with, and our first opportunity to fly the Airbus 320 in real life! It felt fantastic, and of course, we had a little celebration in the bar afterwards.

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13258872_1326267340721121_516661469_n Now, I’m steadily making my way around the majority of restaurants and bars in Cambridge, but Cotto was one I hadn’t heard of until recently, which is surprising because at the time of visiting it was the number 1 restaurant in Cambridge to eat at. Please let me place this warning…it is expensive. We went for a celebratory dinner, and the food was not only delicious, but beautiful! This pudding was wonderful, a fantastic mix of chocolate with strawberries and flowers. I would definitely go back to Cotto again, the staff were fantastic, they really made the evening, and the food was out of this world.

August

One of the best things that I’ve found about being a pilot (apart from the amazing views!) is that nearly no matter which airport you turn up to, it is likely that there will be someone nearby that you will know. So a little reunion was on the cards when one of the Spindler’s boys was flying out of Leeds and I was there for the weekend! Gary and I headed to Dock 29 for a few drinks and snacks before shooting for some food. The best Bloody Marys and sausage rolls.

Back in London, I managed to have another catch up with a friend I hadn’t seen in about 7 years since we worked together at a rowing club in Putney. Justin and I headed to Vinoteca in King’s Cross to make the most of the sunshine and the wine. Wonderful bar snacks, and a lovely gin and tonic.

Flights to Naples and Verona this month have only made me want to travel around Italy even more…I may need to put this on the list for next year.

September

Exploring Manchester has never been such fun, especially when you have a great housemate to show you the best places. We headed to a number of places around the city, but one of my favourites is the Laundrette in Chorlton. This place opened in the former place of the Soap Opera laundrette on Beech Road, and the cocktails reflect the nature of the name, some even being served in miniature bath tubs. Plus, anyone who knows me well will know that there is a special place in my heart for anything with truffle in it…the truffle mac and cheese here is to die for…oh, I could do with a portion of that right now! Plus, my first ever Pornstar Martini…yum!

14305256_10153674410102131_1128153047613900891_o Back to London, and I’ve finally made it to Madison, the bar/restaurant on a rooftop that overlooks St. Paul’s Cathedral. Catching up with a good friend who I haven’t seen in the past four years, in that time she’s become a nurse and I’ve become a pilot… #squadgoals. So, to celebrate and catch up, what better place to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine, a few cocktails and the food I’ve had for a while – I highly recommend the triple duck burger with truffle fries (truffle again!).

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October

Back to Manchester again, and another foodie place, breakfast at Thyme Out in Didsbury. This place is hipster heaven…I definitely did not feel cool enough to be here, surrounded by muns (man-buns), flip-flops and stubble, but apparently fitted in enough for the 14732157_10154685028451350_8288985010681250748_n morning’s breakfast with my housemate! Try the fruit smoothies and the Duck Egg Cocoette with wild mushrooms…yum.

What do you get up to when your Manchester housemate visits Cambridge? As much touristy stuff as possible, mixed with cocktails of course! We visited King’s College (history – check!), the Fudge Kitchen (delicious fresh fudge – check!), the Eagle (historical pub as previously mentioned – check!) and the Varsity Hotel Roof Terrace (cocktails – check!)…the only thing we missed out was the punting, but we have to save something for next time!

November

14980676_10157807664450074_2601923882645681841_n This month we had a Spindler’s OAA pilot reunion to celebrate 1 year since we graduated from Oxford Aviation Academy…we headed to Berlin to visit Ben for a few days. We ate far too much, and drank even more, and explored Berlin as much as we could in the time possible. A few highlights were…

Mauerpark: a daytime rave, pints of prosecco, steins and jäger shots – we headed here originally for the flea market and some outdoor kareoki…but we instead stumbled across a fantastic outdoor rave, sun-downer drinks and music into the night.
Branderburg Gate
KaDeWe – The German equivalent to Harrod’s…visit the food court at the top of the building for a varied selection of delicacies.
Reichstag Dome – go and have a look around parliament for some fantastic views of the city and to learn about the history.
Watergate Club – for a dance and to meet new people – no photography allowed
though!
EXITROOM Berlin – one of the popular live escape games where you need to work out a series of tests and riddles within a set amount of time to get out of the room. We saved the world by stopping an alien invasion in 49 minutes…just FYI! Thank us later!
Hofbräu München, Berlin – Great live bands and fantastic traditional German food – so much meat!

Back from Germany, and I headed to London with my family and best friend Cat to go to see the new Harry Potter theatre show – “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”. It is a brilliant two-part production, done fantastically, and I’d love to go back and see it again – if you get the chance, I would totally recommend it.

15109612_10153535012972824_2707598595114622784_n While we were in London, we had breakfast in a little cafe after a walk through Horse Guard’s Parade, and then heading to Mr Fogg’s Tavern for some afternoon drinks. The Tavern downstairs is a fairly traditional pub with some interesting decorative quirks, and the beers are all sourced from London and the South-East. However, after making friends with the bar staff, we got to sneak around to the back, through an unassuming door, and up the stairs for the real gem – Aunt Gertrude’s Gin Parlour: a cocktail salon dressed in oddities of the late 19th century, with chaise-longues and dark corners… “a smell of cocktails lingering like 15171198_10153535013717824_1980054859212576736_n perfume and operatic fare playing throughout”…this place features over 88 different gins! They encourage patrons to be ‘elegantly dressed’ and remember it is 21s and over.

If gin isn’t your thing, and you’d prefer wine, then I would recommend a trip to the Crusting Pipe, downstairs in Covent Garden. Not only are the wines delicious, Live performances of classical music and opera take place in the courtyard of the Market Building throughout the year, from 11am until the early evening. The string quartet is a personal favourite.

December

December was a busy month, I was popping all over the place on my time off from work. I started off by heading to Paris with my housemate, and what a fantastic time we had. We drank champagne, tried macarons, ate fantastic French food, shopped in Parisian shops and danced in Parisian bars. A few highlights are:

Ladurée – for what I think are the best macarons in the world…try the pistachio.
Le Carmen – a bar and nightclub in Pigalle, which looks like a huge Parisian manor house. Try having cocktails in the
birdcage!
Galeries Lafayette – The French equivalent of Harrods…fantastic shopping mixed with Parisian boutiques.
Dirty Dick – This funky neo-tiki bar in SoPi (that’s South Pigalle) was formerly a hostess bar, which gives its name, shall we say, an extra little frisson. If you like palm trees, bartenders in Hawaiian shirts and brightly painted walls of vintage pin-up mermaids you will like this bar. It is owned by the team behind the Russian-themed Kremlin, and it is retro heaven…all faux-Polynesian bamboo and lanterns, garish sunset murals, taxidermy animal heads, a puffer fish lamp and custom-made palm tree wallpaper. The drinks are as strong as the men behind the bar!
L’Artscenik café – Try the steak tartar. Cocktails are lovely, as are the staff.
The Louvre – for a little culture, but I wouldn’t recommend spending a whole day there.
The Eiffel Tower – take some champagne for a memorable sunset whilst taking beautiful pictures, just watch out for the police parading around!
The Salon Opera Ballroom – this beautiful room is located in the Intercontinental Hotel in Opera, and is now regarded as a National Heritage site, since 1970.
Notre Dame – beautiful, but a long line to get in. We didn’t bother this time, but enjoyed a walk around the outskirts and looked at the street artists instead.
Harry’s New York Bar – a mixture of a speak-easy and piano bar…absolutely fabulous. Get there early to get a seat as space is limited.

After Paris, I had the pleasure of attending RAF Brize Norton‘s Winter Draw with Barry and his friends, and what a night! The theme was winter wonderland and included Christmas dinner, a silent disco, live music, Irish bar and band. There was winter pimm’s, beer on tap, and ice luges to play with,
photo booths to enjoy, and as much cheese as the eye could see (that’s not to mention the port!). At the end of the night we were treated to surviver’s bratwurst…it’s fair to say, those RAF boys can really party!

Back to London again, and I was invited to an event at Spencer House with my good friend Chris. The event was to celebrate the year that Style for Soldiers has had, and was attended by huge number of people; the night was a wonderful reason to get dressed up, catch up with a good friend, meet some lovely people, and celebrate a fantastic cause, and there was even speech by HRH Prince Charles. It was a brilliant evening, and everyone should take a look at this charity – it does a lot of good! Here is a great article on the charity that was featured in the Telegraph.

As I’m coming up to the end of my first year with an airline job, it is only fair that I fly on Christmas Day, but that didn’t stop us having a good day! We had a cheeky, early-door return flight to Malaga, enjoying a few Christmas cookies and pigs in blankets on the way…and of course, I made it back home in time for some Christmas pudding and the Queen’s speech. What a year it was, I can’t wait to see what 2017 has in store for me.