June 29, 2010

Home From Paradise...


My partner and I arrived home from our trip to Koh Samui today. It is always a bittersweet feeling to come home after a holiday away. On the one hand it is so nice to come back to our own home comforts, books, food and friends and family - and of course our bundle of fluff who we are sure was very well looked after (i.e. spoilt) by his Aunty Em! On the other hand it is also sad to leave behind a beautiful experience - especially when you leave gorgeous tropical weather to come home to freezing cold winter!

We had a wonderful and relaxing holiday - beautiful food, many swims, massages, walks along the beach, meeting friendly Thai people and of course - lots of reading!

I finished four books while we were away; Small Wars by Sadie Jones, The Opposite of Falling by Jennie Rooney and The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest by Stieg Larrson - reviews to come soon.

In the meantime it is time to get back into the swing of "real" life - catching up on all of your blogs, heading to a bookshop to get a fix (Koh Samui while beautiful is unfortunately lacking in any great English bookshops) and preparing for the start of Paris In July!

14 comments:

claire said...

Welcome back, Karen! Loving the above photo and the header, so beautiful! I'm jealous. :D My childhood/teenage life/adulthood was spent in beaches.. till we moved to Canada. I miss it so much. But anyway, so good to hear you had a great time and so glad you're back and excited to hear about your adventures, bookish and otherwise. :D

Rebecca Chapman said...

It is good to have you back Karen. Koh Samui mut have been lovely. When I went to Thailand I made it ot Koh Pang Yangm but unfortunately not Koh Samui. It is so relaxing isn't it! It will be nice to get back into your own bed though, thats always the best part of coming home for me. I'll be looking forward to your reviews, especially of the Dragon Tattoo Books. I am reading Hornets Nest at the moment and enjoying it

Unknown said...

Welcome home! It is great to hear that you had a good time. I look forward to seeing what you think of those books - a mixed bag in my opinion and I'm wondering if you'll agree with me!

Joan Hunter Dunn said...

Welcome home and I'm looking forward to Paris in July.

verity said...

Beautiful - welcome home! and enjoy being back to bookshops :)

Paperback Reader said...

Welcome back! I love the beautiful header; it looks so idyllic.

Enjoy the bookshops - I'm preparing a Paris in July review for tomorrow :)

Anonymous said...

Welcome home! Look forward to reading your review of Small Wars.

Karen said...

Hi Claire - I grew up in a rural town - far, far away from the ocean but I have always loved being near it (just not in it so much!).

Hi Becky - I am looking forward to my own bed - so true! Thailand is a gorgeous country with lovely people.

Hi Jackie - Definitely a mixed bag for me too!

Hi Joan - me too!

Hi Verity - I will always enjoy getting back to bookshops!

Hi Claire - It was a beautiful and idyllic spot - so different to the main road on the other side of the beach! Looking forward to youe first Paris in July review.

Hi Sam - I am just about to post about Small Wars!

Steph said...

I can't wait to travel to Thailand some day! It's one of my dream destinations. So glad to hear your entire vacation was wonderful and relaxing (the way vacations should be!). Look forward to hearing about all the books you read!

Serena said...

Sounds like you had a great time. I hate when vacation ends and you have to get back to work.

Anonymous said...

Welcome back! Looks like you had a wonderful time - I am jealous!

Iliana said...

Oh sounds like you had a wonderful holiday. How fun! Glad to see you back and have fun getting your fix :)

Tamara said...

Gorgeous photo! I'm so glad you both had the rest you needed and deserved. I cant wait to see more of the photo's and hear about your experiences. Thanks also for your beautiful words on my blog this week - I feel so luck to have a friend like you.

Karen said...

Hi Steph - I hope you get to travel there soon - it is an amazing country.

Hi Serena - Me too!

Hi booksnob - definitely a wonderful time was had!

Hi Iliana - bookshops are definitely making my return home easier!


Hi T - I hope you are going ok and that Paris In July is keeping you busy with some nice things. Hopefully we can catch up really soon. xox