2016 has been an odd one. We're only three months in and already, I've gone through every emotion imaginable. I always thought life would get easier as you grow older, after all, older and wiser, right? But instead I've come to realise that your twenties are a complete minefield, and I know I'm not the only one.
So, when it came to the dreaded birthday and the even more dreaded twenty-seven (which is sounding awfully like late twenties...), I needed to get away, see my best friends and totally unwind.
And that's how I ended up in Bath.
Day one was all about shopping. After a three and a half hour train journey, in which trying to keep a reserved seat for my friend was as dangerous as the Hunger Games thanks to it being a bank holiday, we hit the city. I live in Cornwall, so having more than three clothes shops to choose from is nothing short of a miracle. The weather held out to the point where sun glasses were needed and I particularly enjoyed the street performances, my favourite being a man in his pants juggling swords. Pants-Man, I salute you.
And if I felt at all homesick, I just had to pop in one of the many Cornish pasty shops. You Wiltshire folk must love your Cornish food for there to be so many Cornish food places in one city! Fair play, though. Our pasties are absolutely the best.
Day two was Stourhead. I'm a lover of all things 'period'. Historic buildings and gardens where I can wander around pretending I'm in a Jane Austen novel are a particular favourite, so Stourhead is somewhere I have always wanted to visit. Unfortunately, I didn't consider this the evening before and instead sat up until the early hours of the morning chatting, singing and drinking copious amounts of wine. I woke up the following morning to the hangover from hell and and my first grey hair. And people said twenty-seven would be no different to twenty-six... How wrong they were!
The weather wasn't quite as kind to us for this day trip. In fact, it rained relentlessly for our entire visit, so the photos came out looking rather sad and drab. I will definitely be returning here in the summer as it was beautiful and there is so much I didn't get to explore.
The giant rabbit was probably my favourite part of the day. Forget crazy cat lady, I am the crazy rabbit lady and I would quite like one of these for my garden. That's not weird, right?
Jet particularly enjoyed the rabbit.
It's easy to feel overwhelmed on your birthday, particularly when thirty is creeping closer and closer and your life plan is in tatters (or is that just me?!), but really, why do we stress so much about a number? All you need are a couple of amazing friends to keep you smiling and motivation to keep you moving forward. It doesn't matter if you're not in your dream job, if you're still living at home while you save up for a house, if you are single or married or childless or a mother of three. There are no rules about what you should be doing. It's your life and as long as you are happy, that's really all that matters. Things will happen eventually, but if you spend your time worrying, you'll miss all the smiles.
And besides, thirty is the new twenty.
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