Hatti's Patch

Teguise and Peurto Del Carmen... Teguise is an old town located in the center of Lanzarote. It used to be the capital of the island, and as such it is rich with culture. Every Sunday there is a flea market where the locals all gather and take the chance to sell their wares. It's great fun trying to nab a bargain and with 'Gucci' bags for €30 who could resist a nose around? Just out of the town center, there is a creepy looking house... This house has a whole range of random objects all over the garden, as seen in the top two photos. No one has ever explained the reasoning behind the creepy collection so if you could shed some light on that then please do! I'm curious! Once we had finished at the market in the morning, we travelled down to Peurto Del Carmen by the coast. This place is tourist central but if you keep driving along the front and avoid the 'local cuisine' at Goofy Burger and O'Reileys Irish pub, then you will find yourself down in the Old Town, which is a little less rammed and a little more pretty as seen in the last photo. Whilst here we had a meal and a wander whilst Mexico played the Netherlands on the tv. (What a match!)

Haul today, as we didn't do much in the way of sight seeing on Lanzarote. We spent our morning in Deiland, the islande's biggest shopping center, then headed back to Playa Blanca for dinner and a chill out. So... on with the haul! First I went to Springfield in Deiland, where they sell a variety of clothes in *thankfully* a range of sizes. The clothes remind me of the seaside and the outdoors, but some are a little more homey and cute! Basically, my style exactly, haha! Here, I bought a bright pair of green shorts, a blue string and leather belt and a snazzy little navy bag. I'm really gutted that this shop isn't in England (that I know of) as it's very rare that I find clothes which are fashionable, comfortable and more importantly, that make me feel good when I'm wearing them. Being a funny big size makes shopping for clothes stressful, but I didn't feel that way at all whilst at Springfield! (Also it wasn't too pricey. Bonus!) Second shop is one I've seen in England, so my interest here lay on the sales items. I managed to find two vest tops which took my fancy, and I saved a fortune. Not bad of you ask me!

Volcano time! Day three found us satisfying our inner geologists as we travelled to the Timanfaya National Park on the island of Lanzarote. The national park allows tourists to travel up to the top of one of three hundred volcanos on the island, in order to get a proper look at the volcanic landscape. The drive up to the national park was breathtaking enough in itself. The perfectly tarmaced road contrasted the rough and rugged landscape surrounding you as you got closer to Timanfaya. Everywhere you looked, the remained of a huge erruption lay scattered around you. It almost felt like we were driving to a different planet. Once at the top we were able to look out across the national park, as seen in the top two photos. We were then quickly rushed onto a tour bus which took us right around the park, whilst educating us on the history of the island and how it was formed. I'll mention this again as I think it's mad; 37 mile long island with 300 volcanos on it. 300. Waa! Once back at the visitor center, we were able to go to a cafe which had your food prepared using the heat from the volcano..! You could also watch some demonstrations of geysers and.. well a hole which set things on fire just by having them inside it. It's really worth a visit if you ever plan to go to Lanzarote. Once we had spent time there, we moved on to a less known volcano a little further south; El Golfo (Pictured last!) This is an ancient volcano which had it's side blow away to form the landscape you see above. The water in it's laguna has turned green due to algae, though the sign indicated you better not swim in it makes me think it might be something a little more corrosive! It's incredible being able to view the inside of a volcano like this. All the channels and layers are there to see, and it makes you appreciate how HUGE the place must have been seeing as this is only the remains of half of it!

Day two on Lanzarote, and we decided to venture North, to Mirador Del Rio! This spot is a view point which allows you to look out to a smaller island called La Graciosa (Pictured above). The view is incredible, and the fact that you can have a coffee whilst looking out to the island just makes it that bit better. It means you can stay warm whilst still making the most of your trip! Speaking of which, it's much cooler on the top of the island! The temperature from north to south actually varied from 36 celcius in the south to 26 celcius in the north! Considering the island is only 37 miles long I find that to be a bit mental!

Welcome to Hatti's Patch; Lanzarote edition! This week I'm in Lanzarote, and it's so so lovely here. We are currently staying on the South of the island near Papagayo, and on our first day we spent a bit of time in Marina Rubicon and Playa Blanca (Pictured above). These two locations are also on the South of the Island and boast a generous amount of restaurants and small shops. Perfect for the tourists, much to the dismay of the locals in the Marina! You can even catch a ferry from Playa Blanca to another of the canary islands; Fuerteventura. When sailing over you might be lucky enough to spot a bunch of flying fish jumping alongside the boat too!

A couple of snaps from my trip so far! The weather isn't great but I'm really enjoying myself. Since landing I've been to on a bike ride to the beach and to some of the shops in Harderwijk where I found the tiniest pan for frying eggs. Yesterday we went to Aqua Mundo at Center Parc. Fun times on the slides and swimming pool. They even had a short rapids ride which was awesome. You got shot down short tracks into pooled areas both inside and out. After that, we went for strawberry pies in the cafe. Yum :B Today I'm seeing Ella (@tostimonster)! Though that trip hasn't quite started yet do we'll see how it goes. :) Should be fun!

I doubt I'll get another chance to post about my day today so here it goes! I'm waiting for my plane to Amsterdam! I'm really excited to be going back to see my Dutch buddies. :D It's quite funny. There are a lot of parents with teenage daughters reading "The Fault in our Stars" by John Green. I wonder who suggested this trip(!) :P

Liverpool again today, though this time went to the shops. :) On my adventures I bumped into an old 'landmark' I used to visit with my friend Josh, back when we were younger. We Christened the bizarre statue thing "Lollypop Land" and it was the center point for a lot of nutty times we had the summer before 6th Form. It was nice to see it again. ^_^ Once I made it to the shops I was a little naughty and bought myself a new note book and photo album. I've never managed to fill an album or book before but I'm hoping that this time will be different. :D

I hung out in Liverpool today and spent some time checking out both of the Cathedrals there. I have to say - the contrast between the architecture in both places is just mental; absolutely insane! For one, the Anglican gave me a feeling of 'Hogwarts'; big sandstone blocks and gothic styled structures. Meanwhile, the Catholic one gave me more of a feel of a night club.... See if you can figure out which picture relates to which cathedral, eh?

Hello one and all... My name is Hatti and I really enjoy adventure in all it's forms. I love travelling, exploring and creating new things. I also love story telling and photography. This blog is going to be an amalgamation of all of those things. :) I hope you enjoy reading through and looking at what I have made and have to offer! ^_^