Breakfast at Bills

 

I visited Cambridge at the weekend and discovered a great cafe/restaurant/shop called Bills. As we wondered the streets we were keeping our eyes peeled for something tasty. We spotted a sign then followed the trail and ended up at Bills. We new it was a good sign when we saw the queue. Once seated we enjoyed some yummy food and a river of tea. The atmosphere, styling & service was brilliant. Worth a visit if you are in the area, click here for more info.

Herb Lester - Maps

Image © Herb Lester

Image © Herb Lester

Image © Herb Lester

I love these pocket city maps by Herb Lester. The style is really quirky and reflects the culture of each destination. Mmmmm where to go next?

Creature Comforts

Image © Creature Comforts Blog

Image © Creature Comforts Blog

Image © Creature Comforts Blog

Creature Comforts is a daily blog full of inspiration, ideas, DIY projects & showcases some amazing talent across the web. Its a great place to spark ideas and you can easily loose time looking through its archive. Well worth a look & I've added it to the links page.

Instagram pics - July / August

Image © Laura Towers

Image © Laura Towers

Image © Laura Towers

I've been enjoying a few days off over the last couple of months and thought I'd share some of my pics. The first is an afternoon spent at Leeds City Art Gallery cafe with Mr P, we enjoyed a huge wedge of peanut butter & caramel cake (mmmm), washed down with a pot of good old Yorkshire tea. 

Then we spent the day in York, an unsuccessful shopping trip but found a new cafe hidden away from the busy streets around the shambles - The Attic is located on the top floor and has a great view, the interior is very relaxing and we grabbed a comfy sofa and ordered an amazing latte, hot chocolate and food. 

The last group of shots is from a very sunny day in Blackpool.

A Good Friday

Mr P crossing the bridge

The Wildlife walk

Gibson Mill

Marking an adventure

Finished with a treat

Me (Laura) & Mr P spent Good Friday exploring Hardcastle Crags near Hebden Bridge. Its part of the National Trust and you can spend a few of hours walking along the various routes or stop for a cuppa & explore Gibson Mill, a unique sustainable building. There was an Easter themed hunt for the kids to take part in and the different terains makes it accessible for all. And after a few hours outdoors we treated ourselves to some Easter treats, mmmm.

Sunny Days

Photo of YSP sign by Laura T

Lady Bird at YSP by Laura T

Blue Skies at YSP by Laura T

Me (Laura) & Mr P went to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park recently, it was a gorgeous day, full of blue skies & sunshine - probably one of the best places to be on a hot day. If you've never been I'd recommend a visit, you can wander round the grounds on planned routes or go off to explore the various sculptures dotted round the grounds. There are also changing collections in the various galleries, a quirky gift shop & a lovely cafe which sells amazing hot chocolate ( for chillier days). I've posted a few of our pics above.

Made North

I'm heading over to Liverpool on Tuesday for the Made North Conference (on behalf of work), I'm not sure what to expect yet but I'm looking forward to a day out of the office & will hopefully have some spare time to pop into some of my favourite spots in the city, including Utility & The Blue Coat. I'll fill you in on my finds later in the week.

Edinburgh: Galleries

Logo from Google Images

Anna Barriball, 36 Breaths, 2002, Ink on found photographs,
image from  TFG Facebook page

Logo from Google Images

Allan Sekula: Ship of Fools

During my stay in Edinburgh I planned to visit a whole host of galleries, but due to the lazy pace and cold weather I only got round a couple. The first destination was the Fruitmarket Gallery near Waverly train station. The venue is a cosy cultural hub with a lovely cafe, compact book shop and room for exhibitions. I saw a collection by artist Anna Barriball, her skills create sculptural drawings, combining elements such as paper & pencil to create the texture & appearance of a brick wall, an interesting exhibition which makes you look beyond a quick glance.  Then followed by a quick visit to Stills Gallery, a Photography Gallery just off the Royal Mile. The space is small but there is plenty of room to view the pieces. 'Ships of Fools' was a collection of images trying to convey the message of the corrupted shipping industry, a powerful message with beautiful photography. 

Edinburgh: Food & Drink

Tea for Two at Foodies, photo Ltower2 Instagram 

Banana Creme Brulee at Kyloe,  photo Ltower2 Instagram

Beef Ramen at Wagamamas, photo Ltower2 Instagram

Tea for Two at the Fruitmarket Gallery, photo Ltower2 Instagram

I spent a long weekend in Edinburgh last week and had a brilliant time soaking up the atmosphere, pottering around the Royal Mile and the panaramic views from Arthur's Seat. One of the highlights from the holiday was the food & drink, my lovely other half treated me to some wining & dining the Kyloe Restaurant - their desserts were gorgeous, the service was brilliant and the atmosphere was very relaxed, definitely worth a visit if you are there. Moving on we called into a few tea rooms & cafes to warm us up, one of my favorites was Foodies at Holyrood (near Arthur's Seat), the interior was very clean, crisp & open with plain wooden furniture, it was quite Scandinavian, we settle ourselves on one of the long tables and watched the world go by with some lovely little teapots.Feeling a bit cold and indecisive on the Sunday we chose Wagamama's for dinner, mmmm beef ramen! On our last day we visited the Fruitmarket Gallery, again a lovely little cafe with a brilliant cup of tea. 

Paris

Inside the Pompidou Centre

Paris Skyline

A Carousel in the Park

The Star of the Show

I visited Paris a while ago for my Granny's 80th birthday, it was freezing but we were blessed with bright blue skies, great for snapping a few landmarks. I discovered a sample of my images on Flickr (I forgot they were there) so thought I'd share them on SSH.

The York Wheel

The Big Wheel

Up & up

Enjoying the view

Room for 2

It was my (Laura) birthday last week and I took the day of work and visited York. I was kindly treated to a ride on the big wheel and thoroughly enjoyed seeing York from up high. The rest of the day was spent eating, shopping & drinking - perfect. Hope you like the photo's! 

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Fox Print by Donna Wilson

Beardy Man Plate by Donna Wilson

Jauma Plensa, photo by LT

Jauma Plensa, photo by LT

I visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park on Friday for a work event. We had a couple of hours to explore the grounds, galleries & shops. It was a cold crisp day and we had the place to ourselves. I started off viewing the Donna Wilson Exhibition - Donna is an award winning designer who's range consists of quirky knitted characters and silly illustrations. I've added a couple of my favorites at the top. The second exhibition, in the Underground Gallery & outside in the grounds was by artist Jauma Plensa, his work includes large sculptures in the landscapes & a curtain of poetry ( photo above taken by myself). His work is very tactile and encourages interaction. The hot chocolate in the cafe was also worth the visit. 

Bella Illusione

Its that time of year when a holiday is in need, or at least the planning of one (before Christmas engulfs us). The Bella Illusione blog is a great place to gather some inspiration for destinations far and wide. Above are a collection of images from her blog that make me want to jump on a plane tonight, hope the make you smile.

Leeds Craft Centre

SundaySuperHouse are based near Leeds, in West Yorkshire, and I'm pleased to say that there is a lot of creativity going on in the region. One place to see some of the local talent is Leeds Craft Centre next to Leeds Art Gallery. I visited the center last week for the first time and was impressed by the standard of the ceramics, jewelry, prints & paintings on offer (to name a few). Above is a selection of images from the up coming exhibitions, so if you are in need of an original gift or to treat yourself then I would recommend calling in and supporting local crafts. 

Visit: The Hepworth Gallery

I visited the newly opened Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield a couple of weeks ago. The new building stands out against its industrial setting between the river & busy roads. I was impressed by the design and liked the choice of materials - smooth, vast & industrial, lots of large windows filtering light inside. A very modern clean structure.

The Exhibitions are a collection of Barbara Hepworth's work (some unseen), local Wakefield artists and touring exhibitions, currently the work of Eva Rothchild. There is a mixture of sculpture & painting, loads of beautiful materials with different finishes, unfortunately you can't interact with the sculptures so I had to fold my arms to resist and there is limited photography. The cafe looked very tasty and the bookshop had a great collection covering Art, Design, Sculpture, Architecture, Fashion, as well as local history.

All in all a great way to spend an afternoon. Click here to see more.