The Wanderlust Issue #13
June 2025 // Street art in Liverpool, stormy weather and a summer wedding in Spain.
Welcome to Issue #13 of The Wanderlust, my monthly zine where I share what I’m up to, encourage you to dance, wander and explore and discover amazing new creative talent. I delve into my photo archives, share snippets from my travel journals and drop in the odd freebie. So if you know someone who you think might like this, feel free to share it with them.
This month’s edition is a little later than normal. It’s been a busy 6 weeks with multiple trips and I’ve needed time to decompress and relive the memories before planning the next adventure.
Liverpool was a fantastic blend of good coffee, good food, creative arts, cool architecture and lovely people. It’s a compact city, perfect for strolling through the cool, distinct neighbourhoods that bleed into each other and ducking in and out of shops and cafes. Four days was just enough for a few highlights:
Brunch (and coffee of course) at Bold Street Coffee which was also hosting a photography exhibition from Open Eye Gallery featuring the work of Ant Clausen and Ella J McConville.
Panoramic views of the city from Liverpool Cathedral.
Shopping at Red Brick Market.
Breakfast at Yonder.
Fantastic street art through the Baltic Triangle and Ropewalks.
Coffee at Coffi.
Strolling the waterfront and shopping at The Nest.
Brunch at Hardware.
Stumbling upon Lark Lane.
Bluecoat Art Centre.
Here’s the link to the Google Map I shared with you in case you missed Issue # 12.
The Wanderlust is taking a mid summer break in July so Issue #14 will be out in August. Have a lovely summer!
Time to read: 4 mins
Time to dance: 3 mins 40 secs
We’ve got a summer wedding just outside Barcelona coming up soon. We normally have the luxury of taking trips outside the busy summer season so I’m finding planning for it a little trickier. I’m conscious of overtourism, the crowds and just how hot Spain could be so I would love some input from you!
It goes without saying that we want to check out GaudÃ’s famous buildings, a few of which are spread out across L'Eixample, one of the busiest and certainly the most sprawling of the city’s districts. So I’m thinking first thing in morning, coffee in hand before the crowds arrive and it’s still (reasonably) cool. I’ve also read that quite a few places offer night time tours/events which are much quieter and sound really fun.
Of course there has to be some coffee involved and Nomad is top of our list to seek out. It’s in the El Born neighbourhood which sounds like a great area to base ourselves. The Grà cia neighbourhood and Gothic quarter (Barri Gòtic) sound great too.
The wedding venue is in a rural area so hiring a car seems like the best option after a few days in Barcelona. A trip along the coast to the Costa Brava before swinging back inland to Montserrat and down to the Penedès region.
Have you been to Catalonia? Do you normally holiday in the summer and have any tips? If you have any suggestions for places to visit in the region or something we shouldn’t miss let me know. You can hit reply to this email or if you’re reading on the Substack app, drop me a comment.
Barcelona is home to dozens of historic comerços emblemà tics (emblematic businesses) that have protected status. Many are still family run and some are hundreds of years old.
Cereria Subirà has been crafting unique candles since 1761! The shop itself looks beautiful and some of the candles are exquisite.
La Manual Alpargatera brought espadrilles to the masses. Founded in 1941, the shoes are still handmade in the traditional way and you can even attend a workshop to make your own.
La Colmena is one of the oldest bakeries in Barcelona. Dating back to 1849, it’s changed hands quite a few times but the candied sweets, pastries and cakes are all still made in the traditional Catalan way.
Guanteria Alonso specialises in accessories including handmade fans and has a beautiful wooden facade. I used to play with a set of castanets and a fan when I was a wee girl that my Mum had brought back from Spain so finding a traditional fan to take home would be a lovely reminder.
I’m taking you back to August 2014. The wind is blowing me off my feet and my Cornish Pasty away from my mouth before I can take a bite. The rain is lashing and I’m sheltering behind an inadequately sized boulder. I’m on the shoulders of Ben Donich and the weather is, changeable. My favourite kind for photography. The light and stillness that follows a storm is some of the most magical to me. In these moments, I forget that I’m soaking wet or freezing cold. My need to capture what I’m seeing takes over, my fingers working on auto pilot. And then, the light is gone.
Love the album artwork for this one. Plastic Beach by Future Islands.
Don’t fancy a boogie? Then chill to this from Jordan Rakei.
Saving this for a future trip! 🥰 The street art is so cool.