Holiday dreams...

I have some pretty exciting travel plans in place for the next year or so. Remember this? I might just be doing something about it at last. Plus there are less than two months to go until my next trip back to England for Christmas, which I'm crazy excited about. I mean, who wouldn't be? Christmas trees, cold weather, seeing my friend A's house in person at last, rather than through the letter-box, drinking mulled everything - I'm already getting worryingly into the Christmas spirit.

And I just booked my flights to Amsterdam for New Year's festivities with the wonderful S and her husband, who I haven't seen since I moved stateside. I have big dreams of a sophisticated, Euro-awesome start to 2013. (These may be overly ambitious. I'm not renowned for my sophistication.)

Throw in my determination to see some more of the US next year and I've pretty much pre-planned the next 10 months or so of holiday allowance already. Which is cool.

But I'm still on the mailing list for various holiday letting agencies, thanks to my family trip to Cornwall earlier in the year. This morning I was lured in by an email advertising quirky holiday destinations, and, fickle as I am, I fell head-over-heels in love with the idea of a mini-break in a Scottish watermill...

Mill House in Caithness

Or a trullo surrounded by olive groves in Puglia.

 Trulli sant'oronzo in Monopoli

Or (my personal favourite) a 1920's beach hut on the north coast of Cornwall.

The Beach Hut

A girl can dream, right?

                             

Gunpowder, treason and plot

Image from the murky depths of Pinterest

Did I ever mention that November 5th is my absolute favourite night of the year? OK, that's a slight exaggeration. I'm also a big fan of Christmas Eve and my birthday, but Bonfire Night is right up there.

I think it's because I still remember a party I was invited to when I was maybe seven, where we played with sparklers and set off fireworks in the back garden of someone's house, and ate oven-baked potatoes with melty cheese and crispy bacon bits. And there were woolly gloves and itchy, stripey scarves. And hot chocolate with marshmallows. It sticks out in my memory as one of those perfect childhood evenings.

The fact that pretty much every Bonfire Night since adulthood has involved either a failed attempt to rally reluctant friends, a lame communal firework display or a bunch of late shifts, with me watching fireworks from the office window, has totally failed to destroy that enthusiasm.

Image from oldsoulswelcome.tumblr.com via Pinterest

Sadly, whilst America is most excellent at providing holidays (Thanksgiving! Independence Day! Martin Luther King Day!) an evening of festivities commemorating the hanging, drawing and quartering of a Papist revolutionary is not on the list.

But neither that, or the minor issue of it being about a million degrees outside will prevent me celebrating in style this year.

And as I'm not sure anyone would appreciate me lighting a bonfire on my balcony, or setting off fireworks from the roof for that matter, my contribution to the anti-17th-century-treason partaay will involve food.

More to come once I've decided what to cook, gone on a stodge-and-sugar shopping spree and finally accepted that a candy thermometer, while awesome, is probably not an entirely essential purchase...

Luke vs food

One absolutely amazing thing about Cayman is how adorably tiny it is. Within 10 minutes of being picked up from the airport, we were parking at a beach-side bar and I was rummaging around for my bikini.

Within 20 minutes I'd shed my flight ensemble (leggings. Always leggings) for something more tropics-appropriate, and had a Dark and Stormy in hand. Nothing shouts 'Welcome to the Caribbean, Celia!' louder than rum, if you ask me.

Less than an hour after my delayed landing (actually that's a whole other subject. American Airlines, I HATE YOU) I was enjoying a late-night dip in the sea.

So by the time my first morning in Cayman rolled around, I was already in full holiday mode. And you know what's a really strong indicator of holiday mode? Morning drinking...

And some serious eating too, to be accurate.

The Westin Hotel, on Seven Mile Beach, offers a weekly all you can eat champagne brunch which is, or so I'm told, a staple of the island's social scene.

And all of us, but particularly my friend Luke, see the magic words 'All you can eat' as a challenge of sorts.

This is Luke:

This is Luke's first course:

I'll add a spoiler at this point, and mention that there were six more courses, one of which was a (very unseasonable) full roast dinner.

By the time we reached dessert and cheese, even Luke was flagging.

And all any of us were good for was an afternoon of beach-side lounging, some very lazy floating around in the sea and, for some of us (OK, fine - me) a little afternoon nap in the sand, before settling down to watch the sun set.

Cayman

When I booked my flights to Cayman, I was fully aware that visiting a Caribbean island during hurricane season (albeit the tail-end of the season) was a slightly high-risk choice.

But I still hadn't anticipated that Hurricane Sandy would be making its presence felt - strengthening and becoming a very serious proposition indeed as it headed for Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti and then up towards the east coast of America.

We were really lucky. Sandy only turned from a tropical storm into a hurricane as it moved further away from us, and, whereas some Caribbean islands were directly hit, with a high death toll in Cuba and Haiti, we just had some rather changeable weather, rather than any risk to our safety or to the island's infrastructure - and for that I am very grateful.

The day after I arrived, the normally tranquil Caribbean suddenly started to rival the Pacific in terms of rather intimidating waves, while freakishly sudden rainstorms drenched everything before moving on again just as quickly as they'd arrived.

The giant seas put the kibosh on a couple of the bigger activities we'd scheduled, including a snorkelling trip to Stingray City and a trial dive. But there's something very freeing about being on holiday with two of the people whose company you most enjoy, and feeling no pressure to run around being the World's Best Tourist.

Instead, our days tended to begin in leisurely fashion, with some midday beach action.

Then lunch - usually jerk anything.

Maybe some drinks. This, my friends, is a Mudslide. The low-calorie afternoon beverage of choice.

Then some afternoon swimming or snorkelling.

A little more beachside drinking.

And one last sunset swim.

If you're a big old geek like me, any rain-enforced breaks from the water can be easily filled with board games. And of course, catch-up chat with Fi and Luke, friends that I  used to see every day, and now might not get to hang out with for another year.

It was so amazing to see their new lives in the Caribbean, meet their new friends, pad around their fancy new home and see for myself how happy they are in chilled, friendly Cayman.

I'm also very, very grateful that Sandy largely bypassed us, and hopeful that it doesn't cause too much more damage before it runs its course.

Now I just need to work out when and how I can make it back for a return visit...

For your listening pleasure: My favourite cover songs

David Byrne, © Marcia Resnick

For no reason other than that I was listening to music in my car and realised some of my absolute favourite songs are covers - some classics in their own right, others a little bit more unexpected - I decided to compile a little playlist for you.

20 cover tunes, beloved by me, that either offer something distinct from the original recordings, or (in some cases) are just plain better. You can get the whole playlist from Spotify here should you feel so inclined.

1. Diamond Dogs, Beck (originally by David Bowie)

2. I'm on Fire, Bat for Lashes (originally by Bruce Springsteen)

3. Handle With Care, Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins (originally by the Traveling Wilburys)

4.When Doves Cry, Patti Smith (originally by Prince)

5. Diamonds are Forever, The Arctic Monkeys (originally by Shirley Bassey)

6. Blitzkrieg Bop, Yo La Tengo (originally by the Ramones)

7. Eleanor Rigby, Ray Charles (originally by The Beatles)

8. Sea of Love, Tom Waits (originally by Phil Phillips)

9. She's Not There, Neko Case and Nick Cave (originally by The Zombies)

10. Immigrant Song, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Karen O (originally by Led Zeppelin)

11. Hounds of Love, The Futureheads (originally by Kate Bush)

12. Rocket Man, My Morning Jacket (originally by Elton John)

13. Hurt, Johnny Cash (originally by Nine Inch Nails)

14. The Killing Moon, Pavement (originally by Echo and the Bunnymen)

15. Boys are Back in Town, Belle and Sebastian (originally by Thin Lizzy)

16. Waterloo Sunset, David Bowie (originally by The Kinks)

17. No Surprises, Regina Spektor (originally by Radiohead)

18. If You Leave, Nada Surf (originally by Orchestral Manoevres in the Dark)

19. What a Wonderful World, Nick Cave and Shane McGowan (originally by Louis Armstrong)

20. I Wanna Dance With Somebody, David Byrne (originally by Whitney Houston)

Three things to note: Firstly, I could very easily have compiled an entire playlist made up of David Bowie covers. Maybe that should be tomorrow's task...

Secondly, Nick Cave has covered basically every good song ever written (as proven here), from Dylan to the Beatles to Pulp. Just one more reason why he is my hero.

Thirdly, I discovered a few absolutely amazing songs that are sadly not available on Spotify, or anywhere, really, except via terrible quality YouTube clips. Still worth taking a gander at, I feel.

The Flaming Lips' take on Under Pressure:

And Sufjan Stevens singing a bit of R.E.M:

Enjoy!

The Happiest Place on Earth

This week I ticked off one of the goals of my Californian bucket list, and made my first trip to Disneyland.

I'd dropped my sister and her friend off there last summer, and then proceeded to spend the day covering a fan expo in Anaheim while they rode roller coasters and  posed with Mickey, but I'd never actually found the time to go myself.

Then (I am very lucky) I acquired a couple of free tickets, so I rounded up my friend E and headed south for a day of Minnie ears, kids' rides and giggling fits.

There are two things you should know:

1. The first thing we did on arriving at the park was buy said Minnie Mouse ears. They stayed on all day.

2. We are both absolute and total cowards when it comes to scary rides. We define 'scary rides' as anything that takes place in the dark, anything fast, anything with sharp corners, anything involving a simulator, and, well, anything with a height limit of over about 3ft.

There will be no detailed descriptions here of Space Mountain, the Star Wars simulator thingy, or anything else even faintly adventurous. Because we never went anywhere near them.

So. Are you ready to see us tackling a bunch of rides generally considered lame by anyone who's hit nursery school age?

Excellent!

Up first: It's a Small World. Sing it with me: 'It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all....'

Beefeaters and belly dancers, men riding cartoon-y tigers, clog-wearing Dutch, and Flamenco-dancing Spanish, all represented in beautiful living colour. E may have had a giggling fit halfway through. We may have enjoyed this around 600% more than anyone else we saw.

The Haunted Mansion: I love a good haunted house ride. And, because it's Halloween season at Disney, this one had been well and truly pimped out. Tim Burton-style.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Historically speaking, my favourite theme-park ride in the world. On my first ever Disneyland adventure, to Euro Disney (I was 10 or 11. My mother still fondly remembers it as the day I found a squashed slug in my trainer. Ahem), my sister and I fell completely in love with all things piratical, and didn't say much except 'Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum' and 'It's a Pirates Life for Me' for the rest of the holiday.

What can I say? I was a very cool child.

You get the picture, right? We went on Mr Toad's Wild Ride, we criticised the Snow White ride for its lack of narrative arc (you can't go straight from the scary witch/evil queen carrying out her plan to 'and they lived happily ever after'!). We rode the carousel, and we visited pretty much every single gift shop in the park. 

Disneyland isn't as big as Disney World, and it doesn't have as many flashy rides as Universal Studios. But it's the original, it's cute and a manageable size and as long as you hang up all pretence at adulthood when you put your Minnie ears on, it makes for an awesome day out.

The Great Californian bucket list

I've tried to make the most of living in California over the past year and a bit. From Palm Springs to Yosemite, San Diego to Santa Barbara, I've been on little weekend adventures, I've been a California tour-guide for various visitors, and I've explored lots of LA.

But there are still a few more things I'd like to do while I'm living here, so I can feel like a proper west coast girl. These are mainly LA based, purely and simply because I'm running very low on holiday allowance!

So without further ado, here's my list of the 10 Californian experiences I'm planning on working through:

1. Go to Disneyland

2. Take a surfing lesson

3. Go to Coachella

4. Eat tacos at Yuca's

5. Visit Catalina

6. Do a Man vs Food challenge (this is my sister's masterplan. If I'm doing it, she's going down with me!)

7. Go to a drive-in movie

8. Attend a Super Bowl party

9. Go to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl

10. Go to a baseball game

Actually I will have ticked at least one of these off within the next 24 hours, I hope. More to come!

*Image credits for these seem to have fallen into a Pinterest black hole. I'd be happy to add them if anyone can illuminate me...