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Ten happy things – June 19

Procida island

At the end of each month I look back and reflect on ten things that made me happy and that I’m grateful for. Here’s my ten happy things for June.

Pizza for losers

At the beginning of the month I attended Pizza for Losers, an event that celebrated failure and allowed people to share their experiences in a safe space. It was absolutely brilliant and I was surprised by how open and honest the speakers were. The Do More Good podcast was there so have a listen to the Pizza for Losers episode. Well done to Nikki (pictured with me below) for a great event and can’t wait for next year’s!

Pizza for Losers event

Applebee’s Fish pop-up launch

My lovely friend Kaye was invited along to the launch of Applebee’s Fish summer pop-up on the Southbank and I got to go as her ‘plus one’. The drinks were flowing and the food was plentiful. There were oysters on offer, prawns and more but it was the humble fish and chips that were my favourite – absolutely delicious!

Applebee's Fish summer popup

Applebee’s Fish has a permanent restaurant in Borough Market but the Southbank pop-up is only open until 15 September.

Wedding anniversary lunch at Locanda Locatelli

My husband and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary at Michelin-starred Locanda Locatelli – which made up for last year when we weren’t even in the same country as each other. We’ve been a few times over the years and we always have a lovely meal. It’s a great choice if you’re celebrating a special occasion.

The star dish had to be the quail starter – wow, it was phenomenal!

Locanda Locatelli quail starter

They also served us with some petits fours after the meal with ‘Happy Anniversary’ written in chocolate across the plate – which was a lovely touch!

Graduated from Couch to 5k!

At the end of June, I completed the 9 weeks of Couch to 5k! I can’t actually believe that I can run for 30 minutes non-stop. If you’re thinking of starting it (and you should!), here’s how I found weeks 1 to 5. I will be writing a new post soon on weeks 6 to 9.

Amazing food in Procida

We spent a wonderful four nights on the colourful Italian island of Procida, just off the coast of Naples. You might recognise it from the famous film, il Postino (The postman), which won a bunch of awards.

Procida, Italy

Although the beaches weren’t as nice as we were expecting, what did surprise us was how good the food was. Every single meal we had in Procida was so good! We would definitely go back even if only for the food.

Risotto from Vivara restaurant

Day trip to Ischia

Although we were only there for four days, Procida is a pretty small island and we’d basically seen everything so we took ourselves off to Ischia for a day trip. Ischia is one of my favourite islands and it was so nice to be back for the day! We hired a scooter when we got off the ferry, went for a swim then had lunch at one of our favourites – Umberto a Mare.

Lunch at Umberto a Mare in Ischia

First gelato of the year

When in Italy it would be rude not to eat gelato! Oddly though our first gelato wasn’t in Procida but rather on our day trip to Ischia where we had one after lunch. I choose pistachio and stracciatella and it was so delicious. We had another one in Naples too!

Gelato in Ischia

Exploring Naples

We’ve passed through Naples many times on our way to the Amalfi Coast, Capri or Ischia but we’ve never actually seen it! Until now… As our flight back from Naples was at 11:20am (although it ending up being delayed by 4 hours!), we had to stay the night in Naples so we got a morning ferry and had the afternoon and evening to explore. My husband really wanted to see the Spanish Quarter so that’s where we headed first.

Spanish Quarter in Naples

Naples seems to be a city which divides people – either you love it or hate it. Although we were there less than 24 hours, we loved it! We’d like to go back for a weekend to see more of it.

Lunch on a boat

When we got back from Italy, the weather in London was pretty much just as good which meant we were keen to find somewhere for lunch on the Saturday where we could enjoy the good weather. I found just the place – The Grand Duchess. It’s a boat which is moored at Paddington Basin and it’s a fabulous restaurant. The setting is lovely and the food was great!

The Grand Duchess

Finished a good book

I really enjoyed Lullaby by Leila Slimani so I got her other book too. Adele is a married journalist living in Paris with her husband and young child. She seems to have the perfect life but she’s actually bored, unfulfilled and hides a secret – an insatiable need for sex. Gripping stuff!

So that’s my ten happy things for June! How did your month go?

Kirsty Marrins

Reader, writer, occasional runner, travel lover.

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2 COMMENTS

  • Rosie

    We were in Amalfi last year but unfortunately never visited Ischia although we did stop off at Capri and Positano. We’ve just booked to go to Cinque Terre in September – have you ever been? Would love any hints or tips if you have x

    • Kirsty Marrins
      AUTHOR

      Well Capri and Positano are also beautiful! I’ve sadly not been to Cinque Terre but would love to go – it’s on the list! I’ll have to ask you for tips when I go x

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