#McLaren have the opportunity to eat next year

[renarots]

McLaren just announced they’re partnering with monster next season so I wanna see some sick ass fucking liverys

Like tell me khaotic wouldn’t be such a cool Miami livery or papillon would be so cute as well, ultra sunrise would be such a good Mexico livery or cosmic peach nitro would be such a cool vegas livery, that or maybe Singapore

[harrysfolklore]

oscar piastri being obsessed with his girlfriend: a compilation

MASTERLIST | MY PATREON | oscar smau

Oscar Piastri was known as the introvert and reserved driver on the grid.

While other drivers basked in the spotlight and didn't shy away from sharing details about their personal life, Oscar often preferred to keep his privacy.

However, when it came to his girlfriend, it was a different story altogether.

Oscar was what people called "a total simp" when it came to his girlfriend, always bringing her up in interviews, promo videos and casual conversations, and fans couldn't miss the opportunity to make several compilation videos and tiktoks about it.

The most popular one was called "Oscar Piastri being obsessed with his girlfriend: a compilation" and the 15-minute long video was filled with moments that made fans both awe and laugh.

It started with the clip of the first time he publicly talked about her during a podcast interview, rumors about him not being single were spreading around but nothing was confirmed.

"I do have a girlfriend, yeah," Oscar said, a small smile playing on his face.

"You're not very public, aren't you?" the interviewer asked.

“We keep it to ourselves and try to be out of the spotlight and just live normal lives,” he replied, “We have been dating for over four years now, she has been there for me since the start of my career and I couldn't imagine my life without her. She's my biggest supporter and keeps me grounded.”

The next video showed Oscar and Lando sitting next to each other wearing their McLaren shirts, filming a game called "Green flag or Red flag."

"Picky eaters," the interviewer asked and Lando immediately waved the green flag.

"He's a very picky eater that's why," Oscar said, making Lando laugh, "But, what if they eat fish, cause you hate fish."

Lando dramatically raised the red flag, making everybody laugh again.

"You wouldn't date a pescatarian then," the interviewer said.

"No," Lando shook his head, "They shouldn't be here."

"My girlfriend's a pescatarian, actually," Oscar said, looking at his teammate with a raised eyebrow, "I'll pass that on to her.”

"Noooo mate!" Lando immediately shook his head, waving his hands in mock horror, "Don't tell her I said that, I don't want to be in trouble with your missus! She's a lovely girl."

"She is indeed, but I don't think she'll like you very much after this."

The next segment was from his "Day in the Life" video with Quad Lock, where Oscar gave fans a glimpse into his daily routine. In one particular clip, he was in the kitchen making breakfast.

"So, this is where the magic happens," Oscar said with a cheeky grin as he poured pancake batter onto a hot griddle, "My girlfriend loves pancakes, so I make them every Sunday. It's become sort of a tradition for us."

The camera then panned to a candid shot of his girlfriend, who was sitting at the kitchen island, sipping coffee and smiling fondly at Oscar. She blew him a kiss, which Oscar caught with a playful wink.

"There she is, sitting pretty while I play housewife."

The next clip in the compilation was from a press conference, where a journalist asked him how he manages to stay focused with such a demanding schedule.

"Having a supportive partner really helps," Oscar said earnestly, "She understands the pressures and the demands of the job. She’s my rock and makes everything a lot easier."

"Does it get hard for her when your schedule is too busy for your relationship?"

"My schedule is never too busy for my girlfriend, I always make sure to make time for her. That's why we've been going strong for four years now."

Another McLaren game with Lando was included, this time they were playing Finish the Lyric with Taylor Swift songs.

"Do you feel confident about this game, Oscar?" Lando asked his teammate.

"I do, actually," Oscar nodded confidently, "My girlfriend is a huge Taylor Swift fan so I know a lot of her songs."

"We should get your girl to come and play then," Lando teased.

"She'd probably beat us both, hands down. But I'm not giving up just yet." Oscar chuckled, shaking his head.

The compilation video then transitioned to a moment in the McLaren garage before the first quali of the Hungary Grand Prix. Oscar was off to the side, chatting with his girlfriend, who had joined him for the event.

They seemed to be in their own little bubble, Oscar's attention completely focused on her and his smile wide as he listened to her talk. The camera captured a sweet moment where he gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. It was a simple gesture, but it spoke volumes about their relationship and fans absolutely melted at the interaction.

The next clip showed Oscar at a fan event in Australia, hundreds of fans gathered to meet the drivers and see them up close, Oscar was answering questions from the interviewers when he suddenly addressed one of the fans in the front row.

"I've got a girlfriend, thank you," he said into the microphone, making everyone laugh but look confused at the same time, "For everyone wondering, she just asked what my number was," the crowd laughed again even louder, "But I'm a happily taken man. You're nice but I'm not interested."

In that same event, he got asked what did he miss the most from the UK when he was back in Australia.

"My girlfriend," he immediately said, "Other than that the food is better here, the weather is better here. So my girlfriend, that's it."

The following video was also a fan interaction, this time it was a fan recorded video while he was signing stuff for those waiting for him as he arrived to the paddock for the Austin Grand Prix.

Oscar was signing autographs and taking pictures, when a fan handed him a photo of him and his girlfriend from a race weekend.

"Oh, this is a great picture," Oscar said, grinning as he looked at the photo. "This was taken at Silverstone, right? It was her first time at a race with me. She loved it."

"What's her favorite part about the races?" The fan smiled and asked.

"Probably the adrenaline and seeing me in action," Oscar chuckled, "But she also loves hanging out in the paddock. She gets along really well with everyone here."

The next clip showcased Oscar during a Twitch stream, where he was playing a racing simulator. His girlfriend walked into the room, and the chat exploded with excitement.

"Hey, love," Oscar greeted her, pausing the game.

"Am I interrupting you?" she softly asked.

"Nope, come here," he encouraged to come closer, "Everyone, this is my girlfriend," she waved at the camera, and Oscar wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into the frame. "She's the reason I'm still sane," he joked, earning a kiss on the cheek from her.

The video included one of everyone's favorite interactions between the couple, captured by McLaren's instagram team.

Oscar had just finished a quiali, earning a P2 position, the camera caught as he reunited with his girlfriend who threw her arms around his neck as soon as she saw him.

"Hiii," he shyly said, a hint of a blush on his cheeks.

"You did such a great job, baby," she said, still wrapped around his arms, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"I couldn’t have done it without you cheering me on," he replied, his voice soft and genuine.

The final clip was from the FIA Prize Giving ceremony, Oscar stood on the stage, dressed in a sharp suit, the Rookie of the Year trophy shining in his hands.

"First of all, I want to thank my team, McLaren, for believing in me and giving me the opportunity," Oscar began, his voice steady but emotional, "But most importantly, I want to thank my girlfriend. She's been my rock through it all, supporting me every step of the way. This award is as much hers as it is mine."

The camera panned to his girlfriend, sitting in the audience with tears in her eyes, smiling proudly. The fans watching the livestream couldn't help but gush over the touching moment.

As the compilation ended, the screen faded to black with the text, "Oscar Piastri: The Ultimate Simp, and Proud of It."

[delulujuls]

brazilian air | as12

hi, i am in my classic f1 era rn and i am currently obsessed with mr Senna god he was so fine and since it's his bday today i thought that im gonna upload this one bc why not

also im like 100% sure that this one will flop but i wanted to upload this anyway, so if you'll find it worth a shot, enjoy then!

happy bday king, 64 today but 34 forever, you'll always be missed

summary: during a month break from racing, ayrton thought that inviting y/n into his family sides will get them along even more. to the surprise to both of them, they got along even better than expected

warnings: sexual content, fingering, female orgasm

pairing: fem!mclarendriver x ayrton senna

After the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, there came a monthly break, even though it was only the second race of the season.

The end of march was very warm, but the weather in Brazil had its own rules. Just as in London there was probably a downpour and the temperature barely above ten degrees, the other side of the globe had almost holiday-like weather.

The 1990 season was the second year when Y/N took Alain Prost's seat at McLaren, thus becoming Ayrton Senna's teammate. While many did not look favorably upon Ron Dennis's decision for various reasons—because Y/N was the first woman in history to have the opportunity to race at the top level of motorsport, her debut in Formula 1, her young age, and the fact of what kind of past Senna had with his previous teammates—with each passing month the doubts started to going away.

The girl handled herself on the track incredibly well, and since McLaren did not disappoint with their cars, she practically returned from every race with points, effectively shutting the mouths of all those who spoke unfavorably about her.

Even Ayrton himself, who was initially the most unconvinced about the boss's decision, also didn't need much to change his mind about her. At first, he approached her with distance, fearing that her joining the team might cause even more damage than when they had Prost in reserve. As it turned out, the girl was not his enemy; often, he himself silenced all those who attacked her and questioned her abilities.

Senna saw that she looked up at him as her authority. She never explicitly told him, but it was evident how she listened carefully to his advice, asked when she had doubts, and consulted almost everything only with him, although she had a whole crowd of people around her.

Ron breathed a sigh of relief seeing that they tolerated each other and there were no forecasts for them to repeat the Senna-Prost scenario. However, tolerating each other was an understatement, because Ayrton would never invite someone to his family's sides whom he merely tolerated. The Brazilian didn't admit it out loud, but he liked the girl. Sometimes he even caught himself thinking about her when she wasn't around, and when she was, he smiled a lot more in her company, whereas McLaren's garage used to be a place of nerves and tense atmosphere for him.

Yes, if someone asked him about Y/N, Ayrton would say she was his friend. Someone he never had after leaving Brazil.

"How do I say in Portugese that I can't eat anymore?"

The girl asked, lying on her towel stretched out on the hull of the motorboat belonging to the Senna family.

Y/N shielded the sun with her hand and glanced at Ayrton, who laughed at her question, sitting next to her and smoking a cigarette.

"It's not funny, your mom wants to fatten me up so that I'm heavier and slower than you on the track."

"Não aguento mais, tô chei", but even if you say it in Portugese, my mom won't listen to you anyway."

"I've never eaten such delicious food, but when we get back, I probably won't fit into my clothes anymore."

He released smoke from his lungs and involuntarily glanced at her when she turned onto her stomach and closed her eyes. Her hair, still wet from bathing in the lake, stuck to her shoulders, and her skin, once pale, slowly began to take on a blush from the sun.

"You look good, so don't worry."

"I didn't say I would look bad, just that I won't fit into my pants anymore."

"As long as you can fit into the car, you'll be fine."

The girl snorted, "Well, in that case, I have quite a reserve."

Y/N gathered her hair behind her shoulder and settled more comfortably, exposing herself to the pleasantly warming rays of the sun. Ayrton glanced down her body and only when the heat from his cigarette burned his fingers a little, he snap out of it. Did he really like the girl, or was it just that he spent so much time with her that he got used to her? He didn't know the answer to that question, but he knew that sometimes he found himself staring at her for a bit too long. Despite being a few years younger than him, she had feminine charms. He also objectively thought that the girl was attractive.

She didn't have much of a different opinion about him either because in her eyes, Ayrton was indeed a handsome man. He was tall, athletic, had beautiful brown eyes and hair of the same color, which often fell in curls onto his forehead. She liked his smile and the way he wrinkled his nose, which, like most of his body, was covered in freckles. But Ayrton appealed to her only as an older teammate, someone who was completely out of her reach, and for whom she was probably just an insignificant kid. At least that's what she thought.

They spent time at the lake until late afternoon, as for dinner, besides Ayrton's parents, his sister with Bruno, his nephew, was also supposed to appear. Upon returning to the Senna family's home, the girl took only a quick shower and threw on a thin, white dress because even though the day was slowly coming to an end, the temperature was still high. They spent the evening on the terrace, and time passed in a very pleasant atmosphere. Mrs. Senna made sure that only delicious dishes appeared on the table, while Mr. da Silva entertained the company with stories and jokes. Although Y/N didn't speak anything in Portugese except for the short phrases Ayrton had taught her, there were no communication problems for a moment. At one point, little Bruno grabbed the radio and turned up the volume, pulling the girl by the hand and inviting her to dance. The girl, already somewhat tipsy from wine, agreed without hesitation and followed the six-year-old, dancing with him barefoot on the still warm concrete. Ayrton's mother and sister sang along with the song, his father clapped his hands, and Ayrton himself looked at the scene with tenderness, laughing and sipping his beer. She took the boy in her arms and spun with him, dancing, to which Bruno laughed out loud. Although Ayrton's family had only met Y/N a few days ago, he was convinced, seeing with his own eyes, how much they liked her. It meant a lot to him.

"Tio, agora tio Ayrton!"

Bruno shouted and pointed at the man when a new song started playing. Ayrton laughed and shook his head, to which his sister started pulling his arm and, to the sounds of approval from the family, he stood up and approached the girl, who put the boy down on the ground.

"Querida senhora," he extended his hand towards her, slightly bowing, "may I?"

Y/N chuckled and nodded, extending her hand, which was met with numerous shouts and whistles.

"I can't dance, I can't dance at all."

She said through laughter when he pulled her closer and placed his hand on her waist.

"Everyone can dance to Brazilian rhythms, trust me."

Ayrton replied with an assuring smile and spinned her around, catching her again after a moment. They danced, understanding each other without words, laughing only when one of them accidentally bumped into someone or stepped on someone's foot.

The girl didn't know if her cheeks were burning from the sun, the alcohol, or the fact that she felt embarrassed by being so close to him. But she felt light and happy enough not to dwell on it. She wanted this evening to last as long as possible.

However, at some point, Bruno fell asleep on the chair, and Viviane took him in her arms, announcing that she would put him to bed and she will also take a rest, wishing everyone a good night. Ayrton's mother, seeing that his dad had had enough beer, took him by the arm and, amid numerous protests, escorted him inside. The girl helped carry the dishes to the kitchen, and when she brought in the last batch of plates, Ayrton's mother hugged her tightly.

Y/N returned her embrace with a smile, wishing her a good night before returning to the terrace.

Seeing the expression on her face, Ayrton smiled too.

"They liked you, but I'm sure you noticed that yourself."

"They are very kind," the girl replied, closing the terrace doors, "you have a truly wonderful family."

Y/N approached the table and took a chair to sit on it, but Ayrton straightened up and patted his knees, indicating that she should sit on them. The girl accepted the invitation without protest and sat on them sideways, embracing him around the neck.

"I'm glad you agreed to come here with me," he said, looking into her eyes, to which she smiled.

"I'm glad you invited me."

For a moment, they looked at each other in silence, she on his lap, with her hand on his bare shoulders, he with one hand on her waist and the other caressing her exposed thigh. He raised his hand and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, touching her flushed cheek. The girl smiled at his gesture and closed her eyes.

"You're important to me, you know?"

"I am?"

She asked, looking at him again.

Ayrton nodded, stroking her cheek with his thumb. Y/N threaded her fingers into the hair resting at the base of his neck, stroking it lightly. At one point, without thinking or saying a word, he leaned towards her and kissed her. She kissed him back, touching his cheek with her other hand. Ayrton didn't break the kiss, he just hugged her tighter, pressing their bodies together. Y/N was returning each of his kisses and after a while their tongues started their love dance, rubbing against each other. Even though they were both a bit drunk, Ayrton wasn't sure how much he could afford. However, when she slightly opened her legs, giving him a silent invitation, he squeezed her thigh to which she sighed. He smiled against her lips, continuing to kiss her. He stroked her leg, moving higher and higher with each movement. When he felt the fabric of her underwear with his fingertips, he pulled away slightly, wanting to look at her face and see her reaction, but she pulled him closer again, connecting their lips in a kiss.

"Do not stop"

Ayrton smiled against her lips and deepened the kiss in response. He ran his fingers over her pussy and she purred softly. He began to slowly massage her through the fabric of her panties, but when they began to get in the way after some time, he pulled them off her with a quick movement.

His lips soon moved to her neck, marking it with kisses. She tilted her head, giving him better access to her. Ayrton accidentally slipped the strap of her dress, but neither of them cared. The girl noticed it only when he sucked on her nipple, which made her moan involuntarily.

"You have to be quiet, can you do that?"

He asked quietly, glancing at her ecstatic face. She just licked her lips and quickly nodded. He ran his tongue over her nipple again, his hand still massaging her pussy. When he felt how wet she was, he slowly inserted his finger into her, but carefully watched her face, continuing to caress her breasts with his mouth. He looked at her, wanting to make sure they were both on the same page. However, his actions were perceived with enthusiasm, as the girl tilted her head back, letting out a muffled moans from her pursed lips. Ayrton smiled to himself, still peppering her breasts with kisses. He inserted his finger all the way and started moving it, expertly nudging her inner, sensitive spot. Y/N had a hard time staying quiet, especially when he added a second finger and his movements inside her started getting more precise and decisive. The girl covered her mouth with one hand and grabbed his wrist with the other and pushed him harder into herself, feeling that she was only seconds away from orgasm.

"Ayrton, I- oh my god…"

Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck again and dug her nails into his bare shoulder.

"Kiss me, quick"

He said quietly, his breathing also quickening. She complied with his command and kissed him, making him muffle her moans with his mouth. Y/N came on his hand soon after, squeezing her eyes shut and tilting her head back. After a few moments, the girl sat up straight again, trying to calm her breathing. As she slowly began to realize what had actually happened, the blush on her cheeks intensified even more. She looked at him uncertainly, he laughed seeing her reaction and kissed her on the cheek.

"Don't look so innocent, you're quite a good one."

The girl felt ashamed and closed her eyes, cuddling into him, and he hugged her tightly.

"Promise me that no one in your family will sit in this chair for breakfast."

Ayrton chuckled and rubbed his hand on her back.

"I promise, don't worry about it," he rested his cheek on her head, "We can go somewhere else if you want."

The girl raised her head and looked at him.

"I won't be able to keep quiet, Ayrton. Your parents-" "Don't worry," he interrupted her, taking her panties thrown on the chair next to them and handing them to her hand, "I'll make sure you keep your mouth busy."

[thelostconsultant]

I will love you 'til the end

pairing: Mark Webber x Piastri!reader

summary: She's been with Mark for years, they're happy, but life can be cruel sometimes...

note: Based on the poll/idea of @theinsanityclause. Sorry for turning it into something bittersweet.

warnings: terminal illness, age gap

She couldn’t really tell when this thing with Mark had begun. Was it back when she started working for Red Bull? Or was it later, when her little brother joined McLaren? It was hard to tell, but honestly, sometimes she couldn’t even care. They were having fun, enjoying those secret meetings on race weekends, and going off the grid during longer breaks if they had the opportunity. Her family suspected that she had someone, but every time they asked, she rolled her eyes and told them she was chronically single. 

There was a twenty-year age gap, but who counted? As long as this worked between them, they couldn’t care less about this little detail. Why they decided to hide from the public was the fact he was Oscar’s manager. Things would surely become awkward if he found out. Her mom? She would probably accept it. But her brother? Not so much. Neither of them wanted to destroy their respective relationships with him, so it was better to stay under the radar for now. 

“What’s the deal with you and Mark?” Max asked once he plopped down next to her with a shit-eating grin on his face. 

With a sigh, she turned to him, doing her best to give him a disapproving look. “I see what you’re doing, and no, you won’t be free of the social team. We spent an entire week trying to come up with concepts you wouldn’t instantly hate, the least you can do is play nice,” she told him sternly.

But he didn’t seem to be bothered by that, he just waved his hand nonchalantly, then leaned a little closer. “I saw the way you were looking at each other. There must be something.”

“He’s my brother’s manager, we’ve known each other for a long time, that’s all. We get along, just as he gets along with everyone from my family,” she explained with a shrug.

But Max wasn’t convinced, he just rolled his eyes and rested his elbow on the back of the couch as he watched her. “Look, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t look at your family members as if he wanted to devour them on the spot. But when he looks at you? Ooooh, he’s smitten with you.” She hid her face into her hands, letting out a groan as she wondered why the Dutchman had to be so perceptive. “Hey, I’m not telling anyone, I swear.”

She believed him. Sure, Max wasn’t known for being the master of keeping secrets, but as long as no one asked him about her love life, she was safe. And so that’s how he became the only person who knew about the two of them, although they didn’t really talk about it again, but there were teasing looks he shot at her when he saw them talking in the paddock.

On Saturday evening, when she entered her hotel room feeling dead tired, all she wanted was to crawl under the blanket to snuggle up to Mark. They had always gotten key cards to each other’s rooms, so every day they agreed where to meet, and tonight it was her turn to host him for the night. But she was running late, it was way past eleven when she arrived, but he was still up, sitting on the bed as he read something on his phone. The corners of his lips curled into a loving smile when he noticed her, and she didn’t hesitate to kick off her shoes and sit down next to him. 

As she placed a kiss on his shoulder, Mark put his phone on the nightstand, then tipped her head back to finally kiss her properly, smiling at the sound of her soft moan as she moved her hand under his shirt, desperate to feel his warm skin under her fingertips. “Long day?” he asked, deliberately planning to make her talk instead of giving her what she’d been craving since their stolen kiss in the paddock earlier that day. 

It was frustrating, really, because all she wanted was being tired out in bed so she could sleep well, but now it seemed like she wasn't getting that tonight. “I missed you,” she replied eventually when he pulled away to rest his forehead against hers. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” 

She heard him gulp at this, his breath caught in his throat from the confession. This wasn’t the first time she had said that, and he already told her these words too, but lately it felt different, it was almost painful for him to hear it. It was understandable. With the number of secrets they were keeping growing all the time, it was only a matter of time before he retreated into a shell to protect himself.

“You don't have to say anything, don't feel like I was trying to pressure you,” she said quietly. 

But when he looked at her, his hazel eyes taking in every little detail of her face, she understood what this was about, and his next words confirmed her theory. “Every time you say this, it sounds like goodbye. You know how terrified I am of that day,” he told her. 

With a sad smile, she moved a little to bury her face into the crook of his neck. “Mark, that day is still far from today. Let's enjoy the time we have, okay? Don't think about this.”

“I'm just not ready to lose you, sweetheart,” he informed her as he pressed a kiss on her head, arms protectively wrapped around her frame. 

“Have you showered?” she asked him, a playful gleam in her eyes making it clear that she wanted a little more than just showering together. To her luck, he understood it, so he let her go and moved out of the bed in sync with her. But on the way to the bathroom she intercepted him by putting a hand on his stomach, then reached up to pull down his head for a kiss. “I was beginning to worry you didn’t want me anymore,” she noted as a joke. 

Mark’s hand moved from her back to her hips, looking for the hem of her Red Bull shirt to take it off her. A deep growl left his throat when he kissed her again, doing his best to show her just how wrong she was if she assumed he had gotten bored of her. During their years together, sex had never been a problem. In fact, in the beginning that’s what their relationship was based on, emotions only came into the picture after the first half a year or so. 

By the time they arrived in Baku two weeks later, things returned to normal, although this was the weekend when they had to be extra careful since her mother was there as well. But it was hard to stay away, especially after the qualifying results and the news of Mark making sure her brother’s contract couldn’t name him the second driver in the team emerging in the media. She was so proud of him for doing everything he could to support Oscar, and in all honesty, she had dozens of ways in her mind to repay for that. 

Following that fantastic win on Sunday, the Piastri family had dinner together to celebrate before the team took Oscar away, and of course he invited his manager as well, after all he was like family by now. But their mood was set before they even left her hotel, because Mark could see she wasn’t in the best shape at the moment. She was happy, he could tell, but she said she felt nauseous, which wasn’t ideal before a big family dinner. 

This was one of those nights when he had to be extra attentive, making sure she was safe, and he had his doubts about doing this right in front of her family without their secrets being revealed. “Maybe we should cancel,” he noted, his bad feeling making him say it before he could truly think about it. Her brother had just won his second race, this time without team orders casting a shadow on the result, there was no way she would miss this. But he had to try for her sake.

Just as he expected, she shook her head and told him that everything was fine, that she had this under control. She wasn’t convincing at all, but there was nothing he could do apart from being there for her. “You should go first. I’ll probably throw up one last time before heading out,” she told him. 

Mark shook his head as he stepped over to her and cupped her face to make her look at him. “You’re not going alone, don’t even think about it. If anyone asks, I was in your hotel to meet someone from Red Bull, and we decided to go together,” he said before giving her a quick kiss. “Or we could just as well say we arrived together because we are dating,” he suggested with a shrug, earning a shocked look from her. “What? Maybe it’s time we tell them the truth. It’s been years, we can’t hide forever. And you know why we should tell them sooner rather than later.”

“Oscar is celebrating today, he’s happy, let’s not ruin this,” she said. 

Rolling his eyes, he shook his head a little. “I’m not saying we should make an announcement. I would pick a… more subtle way to let them know. Just dropping hints. Maybe they wouldn’t even notice.”

She leaned forward to bury her face into his chest, arms wrapped around him as she listened to his heartbeat. Maybe he was right. Maybe it truly was time to slowly let this secret come to light. “Okay, you won. Let’s do this your way,” you said with a sigh. 

The moment they reached the entrance, Mark reached out to take her hand, lacing their fingers tightly as he navigated through the chatting crowd outside. By the time they were taken to the reserved table, Oscar and their mother were already there, deep in a conversation until they noticed them arriving. Nicole stood up and hugged her daughter as if they hadn’t met a few hours ago, but it was a nice feeling. 

But her brother remained seated, his narrowed eyes watching his manager with an inquiring look in them. There was no comment from the older man, so he turned his attention to his sister, who decided to simply ignore him. They started to talk about the race, and it seemed like they would get away with that entrance and the nonchalant touches, but as they were waiting for their desserts, Oscar put up his hand to stop the discussion. 

“Okay, what is going on? You arrive together, hand in hand if I’m not mistaken, you are clearly on the same wavelength as you finish each other’s sentences, and don’t even get me started on those meaningful looks you exchange,” he listed. 

Their mother’s lips curled into a small smile, causing Oscar to give her a questioning look, as if he was asking why she wasn’t shocked to hear that. “You’re such a smart young man, but you can be so slow sometimes,” was all she said with a laugh before turning to her daughter. “How long has it been going on? I know you were together at the beginning of this year, but… I have a feeling there’s a longer history.”

Mark looked over at his girlfriend, deciding that it would be the best if she handled this conversation for now. It was her family, after all, he didn’t want to get involved unless it became necessary. She seemed taken aback, but after gulping loudly, she nodded. “Yeah, well, it’s been about three years now. Maybe a little more,” she confirmed. “How long have you known? And how did you find out?”

“I’m not stalking you, I promise, but you disappeared in January so I checked your location. Remember? You shared it with me. And I saw you were in Mark’s house for weeks,” she explained. 

“I can’t believe it,” Oscar muttered under his breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Are you not mad at me?” she asked her mother, once again deciding to ignore her brother. 

Nicole shook her head. “No, why would I be? You’re my daughter, if you’re happy, that’s enough for me.”

“Well, not like you cared to ask, but I am not happy,” Oscar interjected with a disapproving look. “Have you considered what you got yourself into? How much older he is? Don’t get me wrong, Mark, you’re in great shape, but what will happen ten or twenty years from now?”

Her eyes softened as she reached out to take the younger Piastri’s hand. “Look, Osc, I know it’s probably a lot to take in, but I love him.” Oscar pulled his hand away and leaned back in the chair, his eyes fixed on her the whole time. “And we don’t need to worry about what will happen decades from now. Hell, there’s no need for a five-year plan either.”

Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed her mother’s surprised look that was soon followed by a logical question. “Are you planning to break up?” she wondered out loud.

There was a heavy sigh before she looked over at Mark, trying to gain some strength from him. When he reached out to take her hand, she took a deep breath and began to explain the situation. “No, not exactly. I’m just… lucky if I’ll have another year. I’m already outliving my doctor’s original prognosis.”

Her mother and brother exchanged confused looks, asking her what doctor she was talking about. So she began to tell them everything she’s been hiding for almost a year, the diagnosis of glioblastoma on the weekend of the Las Vegas grand prix and the treatment that began with the new year, all the critical pieces of information they needed to understand the situation. It hit them hard, she could tell, but since they were in public, they both decided to do their best to keep themselves together. 

“I didn’t want to ruin your day, I’m so sorry,” she told Oscar in the end. 

He only shook his head, his eyes shining from the tears he could barely hold back at this point. “Just promise to come to the party tonight. I–I want to spend time with my sister while I can, okay?” After she nodded, his eyes turned to Mark. “So… she said her treatment started early this year, and mum said she spent weeks with you in January. Did these happen at the same time?”

“I was by her side the whole time, don’t worry. It was tough, but we got through it,” he assured his protégé. 

“But you came to that thing with me, and it took almost a week. Did you leave her alone?”

Shaking his head, Mark let out a quiet laugh. “Well, no, Max was there to entertain her.”

Oscar looked at his sister. “So you told Max, but not us?” he asked incredulously. 

She tilted her head to the side as she gave him a look of disappointment. “Trust me, that wasn’t entirely my decision. He was the one who took me to the hospital in Vegas. He didn’t leave my side until we found out what was wrong with me.”

“I’m your brother, you should have asked me to take you.”

Nicole put a hand on his shoulder, probably understanding that it hadn’t been the kind of situation when she could be picky about the driver. “Let’s just be happy she had people looking out for her. And now she has us too,” she said, flashing a warm smile at her daughter. 

At the party, Oscar decided not to leave his sister’s side. He even took the time to go out and get some fresh air with her, using this opportunity to talk. He wanted to know why she made her decisions, why she decided to hide her relationship with Mark, why she came to the conclusion that not telling them about her illness was a good idea. This was the first time in a while when they had such an honest conversation. She told him that she didn’t want his focus to shift from racing, and that she believed their mother knowing would have resulted in him finding out as well. In return he admitted that she still wasn’t fully okay with her dating his manager, but he promised to try and be understanding. 

They agreed to have a dedicated night on every race weekend when they would just hang out in his room, playing stupid games, eating a lot, and watching TV until they passed out. Oscar would have never admitted it, but ever since he was old enough to remember, he had been clinging to his sister, always begging her to read one more article from his favorite magazine, or to play one more hour with him, or to come see him race to bring him good luck. And she was always there, always supporting and protecting him, even when some stupid kids used his kindness against him. 

Long hours later, around three in the morning, she stumbled into Mark’s hotel room, not drunk, just tired, and she was surprised to see him awake at this time. When she sat on the edge of the bed next to him, he was quick to wrap his arms around her, pressing a kiss on her lips as a welcome. After everything that had happened earlier in the day, she couldn’t fight back her tears anymore, so she buried her face into his shoulder and started sobbing. He tried to soothe her, but it took quite a long time for her to calm down. 

When she finally stopped crying, he lied down and pulled her down with him, his arms still safely around her as she moved closer to him. “It’s okay, baby,” he whispered to her, happy to hear her breathing slow down, giving away that she finally fell asleep. It didn’t take him long to drift off to sleep himself, moving on to a dream where everything was okay, where he didn’t have to face the harsh reality of losing her one day. 

[lestappenforever]

I know its been a day, but I wasn’t able to watch the race fully yesterday, and this is my take on what I saw

Firstly, VCARB. The cars just wasn’t there this weekend, and we can’t lie, their quali and the fact that they kind of got stuck all throughout the race cost them, and being stuck behind someone in a track like Circuit de Catalunya, which teams go for 2-3 stops in because tyres are dead, and with dirty air. Yeah it just wasn’t it for these guys. But hopefully next seek they are able to be back, because they do have the speed, and they could go far in terms if points this tear.

Williams just aren’t on the right foot all year. And this race was no exception, poor quali, slowest car. You can’t expect your drivers to compete if you don’t give them the tools. 2023 parts in the 2024 car for a driver and the other that had the 2024 parts still is p18. Yeah, they need to get their shit together and stop blaming Logan for not getting points when nit providing him with the Machine and an equal opportunity as his team mate, who isn’t also performing.

Aston Martin was in the wring foot this week. The car isn’t bad, but they still need to wirk hard. A team like them is “supposedly” a top 5 team in the constructors. That’s what they gave us last year. But they need to work on their car because it just is not adding up.

Alpine, double points for the second week running is VERY impressive and important because of their tractor at the beginning of the season. They seemed to have put the work and it’s starting to show. But in order for it to be a fair comparison, give both your drivers the lighter chassis, not just one while leaving the other with the overweight one, and expect hin to perform greatly. It just doesn’t make much sense tbh.

Ferrari are way better than Canada, that’s for sure. Getting back up after a hard blow is not something easy, but they were not too bad all weekend, but they were also not that good. Charles and Carlos having an incident, then Carlos and Lewis. Carlos is getting frustrated for sure, but he needs to get his head in the game, because these silly mistakes could coat him , Charles and Ferrari points, like it did in Canada. But nonetheless, their strategy was not on point , with pitting Charles quite late, almost same time as Lando, it cost him a fight fir forth or even third place.

Second race in a row, second Mercedes podium. Tbh, these upgrades have given both George and Lewis so much confidence in their cars, with the lead that George stole fron Lando, to both being able to keep Lando, in the fastest car of the race behind them a couple of laps, to their calls. They are on the right trajectory and it’s something we don’t hate to see.

McLaren are getting cocky. And don’t get me wring, I’m impressed with their progress in one year, but they’re getting too cocky for their own good. Oscar did a phenomenal race from starting in p9 to ending p7, overtaking and a right strategy, but he’s in the fastest car, and couldn’t get past the Ferraris who were on a considerably “wrong foot” since Canada. Meanwhile Landi started on pole, by the end of lap 1, lost 2 positions, tried to overtake and got stuck in dirty air, and when his engineer asked him , he said fight for the win, which I respect, but fucked his strategy with the time he pitted and then being stuck unable to regain first. Let’s be real. McLaren have no one to blame for this race but themselves, because they were the fastest all weekend and have been for a while, yet they didn’t win. And Zak Brown should definitely eat his words that if you put someone other than Max in the fastest car, they’d win, and no one is faster than Lando, well guess what. Lando had the fastest car, and has had it since Miami, yet won only one race, why is that Zak. Eat. Your. Words.

Lastly Red Bull. Are they making progress, yes for sure and that could be evident on Checo, who is regaining more confidence after 2 horrible races for him in a row. Starting P11, regaining and ending p8 (granted not the best result, but points finish nonetheless) and be wasn’t 100% happy with the car. And saying he’ll continue to fight, I’m sure he will, and Checo will return to the podium very soon, especially because his strategy wasn’t the best and the penalty cost him a bit, but he’s regaining that confidence and that’s what we like. Then we have the one who literally destroyed the dreams of those around him. You can’t tell me that that race wasn’t all Max, because it was. The overtake on George that was as it was written in the book. To being able to communicate effectively with GP. To the strategy that had Max lead into lap 2. To then win the race in the second fastest car, snatching the win from the fastest. Yeah he’s unbelievable, but the team need to wake up, and provide him with upgrades that would enable them both (Max and Checo) to be more confident and less concerned with how their cars will perform (upgrades please red bull thank you)

Well, this is my race analysis for 1/3 of the upcoming triple header. And I want to end it on something I read about Max. Because HE is what makes the difference, not the car

It said something like there are great drivers in fats cars then there is the fastest driver in a great car. And I guess this sums up the Spanish GP top 2 in a nutshell

BRING ON AUSTRIA (May we listen to the Austrian and Dutch anthems tomorrow and enjoy it, and hopefully more on Sunday)

As I didn’t get the chance to watch much of anything this past weekend, this analysis is golden. Thank you so much for sharing once again, I truly enjoy reading your post-race analyses. ❤️

Honestly, people who still believe Max's success is only because of the car and not that man's raw, once-in-a-generation talent, they haven’t been watching the races. Or they have, but they're simply too blinded by jealousy and/or their dislike towards Max to see him for the exceptional driver he is. And those people are simply not worth your time or energy.

Let’s fucking go Lestappen holy temple!

[leclerced]

…..so when DO the boys see carhop reader again ?

honestly they went straight to mexico city from austin i think but i don’t know if they wen’t straight to vegas from mexico bc there was an off weekend between mexico and vegas. idk what they did after mexico n before vegas tbh i can’t remember?? BUT considering they have a weekend off between those two races i think they’d def take the opportunity to go back to texas. they’d verify w their teams they can get that weekend off and ask her to schedule that weekend off and her coworkers would do it immediately but only if she promises to bring them by.

imagine her picking them up from the airport late at night then stopping by her sonic before it closes and all her friend coworkers are there, she’s weirdly nervous ab it like she’s introducing them to her parents. but tbh you need the cooks approval y’know? after sonic the boys are actually hungry and she refused to eat sonic so the boys waited until they left to eat, but not much is open so girlie takes them to waffle house. she tells them all about the waffle house index, which if you don’t know is an informal way of measuring how bad a disaster is. waffle houses are notoriously open no matter what, so if your waffle house is closed, shit is fucked up. i’ve never seen a closed waffle house in my life. they do limited menus during disasters and have trained teams to reopen, if they do close, asap once safe to do so. live laugh love waffle house.

then as soon as they’re back at the hotel they’re rushing to get her into bed because they’ve missed her.

i think she would take them allll around austin. idk much about it but the things i do know ab it is theres an amusement park where you can go karting!!! also rock climbing, mini golf, laser tag, rides, and those classic prize games. she definitely would have gone growing up its like a tradition imo, everyone goes there at least once. one morning when they’re asking what they can do, she’d passively mention it and they’d get so excited about it and she’s like tired from the night before and doesn’t wanna walk around the park all day, but oscar says he’ll give her a piggyback ride the whole time and she refuses that and goes anyways. despite her saying she can walk, he carries her around for awhile just because he wants to. he would insist that she hop on his back so lando can take their picture at least, but then he doesn’t put her down. they’d go on rides and hold her hand and totally beat her at karting. she hates losing so she casually says they should try the rock climbing next , then absolutely smashes the rock wall. before they’re halfway up, she’s scampered to the top, run the bell then dropped back down.

also would looove them somehow convincing her to go to vegas with them ?? getting her all fucked out so she lets them buy her plane tickets and secure all the paddock passes and the next morning she regrets agreeing to ask her boss for a week off work all of a sudden. oscar and lando would promise passes to the race next year, then have to concede and promise to get standard tickets for the people who will be covering her shifts for the week she’s taking off because her manager will only let her have the time off if she finds someone to cover her.

im not in school so idk how the breaks work but im pretty sure they get time off for thanksgiving, and thanksgiving was the thursday after the vegas race soo lets say she has the following week off school for the holiday so they just have to convince her to take off work for the week. vegas was a weird one. lets say she doesn’t have class fridays so she flies to vegas after class thursday and goes straight to the track to see her boys before practice. they’d have gotten her passes and such so she gets in easily, and someone takes her to the mclaren garage and she gets to see them right before practice starts.

and then it swiftly ended when carlos’s car was annihilated by that drain cover. she’s soo sleepy by that time bc it’s late at night but she just sits and watches her boys work, ignores them telling her she should go to the hotel and rest. she eventually gives in to the idea of napping in oscar’s driver’s room when they come back from their interviews, and she convinces them to go with while they have a little break and lay down with her until the next session.

[dizzyduck44]

Daniel Ricciardo’s blessing is his curse 🍯🦡🇦🇺

Daniel is in his 14th season of Formula 1. He has had a long career in the highest tier of motorsport. However the questions that surrounded him at McLaren seem to have followed him to Visa CashApp FFS this is seriously what you called the team!

The thing is every driver seems to reach for the F1 seat, but Daniel’s seemingly lack of ability to adapt driving style is being compounded by the grid he currently drives on. You see, either competitively or for fun most of the drivers have had to adapt to a different style of driving. Some at a stupidly young age.

Let’s look into it

Max Verstappen - spends his days off driving any kind of race car Red Bull will let him. Seeing him take his Dad round the Nordschliefe says it all really.

Sergio Perez - drove just about every form of junior open wheel car on his way to F1.

Charles LeClerc - like Daniel seems to be all F1. Do we question he’d be a beast in a Ferrari sportscar though?

Carlos Sainz - again seems to be all F1 but remember Dad has a track on the family farm. He has been driving allsorts, on dirt, since he could sit in a car seat

Lewis Hamilton - never competitively but again over the year Mercedes has given him opportunities to drive all sorts of high powered sports cars for promotion. Even a superbike.

George Russell - says he tested a DTM car, again gets to play with the Merc sports cars

Lando Norris - went from karting to Ginetta then to open wheel. Add a go at the Daytona 500, all competitively. Embarrassed himself at the Race of Champions. Now seems to love ice karting (weirdo).

Oscar Piastri - another one straight through to F1, however only ever driven one F1 car but I don’t worry he wouldn’t adapt

Fernando Alonso - Nando has the full set right? F1, Indycar, WEC, Daytona, Dakar. Won Le Mans. Next!

Lance Stroll - has done a couple of races in IMSA.

Esteban Ocon - drove in DTM prior to F1

Pierre Gasly - drive in Formula E prior to F1

Alex Albon - has done a season of DTM

Logan Sargeant - straight through to F1. Again only driven one F1 car.

Kevin Magnussen - various stints in sportscar series throughout the years inbetween F1.

Nico Hulkenberg - Le Mans champion, Indycar test.

Yuki Tsunoda - straight through to F1. Only ever driven 1 F1 car.

Valtteri Bottas - ice rallying. Need I say more!

Zhou Guanyu - another open wheel all the way to F1. I’m gonna give him the credit of having driven the Renault a number of times before moving to Sauber.

So you see what Daniel is up against.

Not a winter break goes by when you don’t see half the grid in a go kart. Shout out to Lando and Fernando who seem to do it midseason and all the drivers who happily jump in for promotion days. (80% of the grid). One of the biggest shocks for me was when Daniel went karting with Jenson Button in 2021 and admitted he “hasn’t done this is years” 😬

So we are getting to the core of the problem. With a grid of drivers who turn their hand to anything, sometimes for a laugh, Daniel has never really pushed himself out of what he knows. And it’s biting him.

What is of further concern for him, is Liam Lawson is hovering (he should already be in a seat but I digress). A driver who went for F2 to DTM and nearly won the championship in the first season (I’m still bitter). Then into an F1 seat and was up to speed almost immediately.

The trouble is now it’s too late to throw him into a sportscar to give him the experience, because I’m not sure he would get back into F1. If Daniel thinks the Max and Lando’s were a handful to deal with, who needed a bit of maturing to hit their stride, the Oscar Piastri’s and Ollie Bearman’s of the world are terrifying.

Daniel needs to find the solution on his own. Before it eats away at his mental health and confidence. 6 laps in a NASCAR round COTA is not gonna cut it.

I think I know what’s happened and I and he are afraid to admit it. Ask Jenson Button about the point you sit behind the wheel and no longer want to take the risk or push the limit. I worry he has hit the mental block of I can’t learn another way and the idea of taking a high powered sportscar out terrifies him.

And who’s going to let him lose in the Red Bull if that is going on in his head?

Fingers crossed he shows up and shows out in Melbourne

[f1]

Larson wants to feel Im prepared enough to win in 2024 Indy 500 debut with McLaren | IndyCar

Kyle Larson paid a visit to the McLaren team he will race for the 2024 Indianapolis 500 during today’s practice session for this year’s race. The 2021 NASCAR Cup champion said he’s eager to learn as much as he can ahead of his debut in the race next year. “It’s obviously very exciting,” he said. “It’s been something that I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. “I wanted to be patient and wait for the timing to feel right. Having Hendrick Motorsports be extremely supportive of it and supporting the efforts with Arrow McLaren is something that I’m extremely excited about.” Larson already has experienced of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval from NASCAR’s visits to the circuit. “I’ve obviously come here a lot in a stock car, I lived in the area for a couple of years. So this this place for a long time felt like home or a second home to me. “In my opinion this is the biggest race in the world. You want to be a part of the big ones and hopefully someday you’ll be a winner of a big event.” He spent six years driving for Ganassi in NASCAR but never sought an opportunity to drive for their IndyCar team before being fired by them during the 2020 season. Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free “When I was with Chip Ganassi Racing in the NASCAR stuff I think a lot of people – and maybe myself at times – thought that I would go immediately and try and compete in Indy 500 for Chip. But I wasn’t as accomplished yet in the NASCAR stuff and I wanted to be able to not feel like I was taking a ton away from that. “Now I’ve been able to accomplish a lot in the NASCAR stuff, Hendrick is obviously always a consistent front-runner, so I felt like you could take a little bit of focus away from that to run the Indy 500.” He said he is serious about competing at the front in his one-off appearance next year. “I don’t want to just do this to do it, I want to do it and take it serious and feel like I’m prepared enough to win. “I feel like I’m surrounded by great people and looking forward to the opportunity. I’ve got 300 and some-odd days left to try and get ready.” Larson is already familiarising himself with McLaren’s set-up at the circuit this weekend. “I think having this much time, knowing that I’m racing next year, I’m definitely going to pay more attention to all of these days than I would have in the past, kind of see how that all goes just to be really more prepared for how the couple of weeks of on-track time goes for next year,” he said. “Just to not be surprised by anything new. “It’s been nice even being here in the short amount of time we’ve been here today just to see how they have everything laid out and the hospitality where the team hangs out or eats and the engineering room, stuff like that. I didn’t know any of that before I got here today and this is the only day I’m going to be able to come this year. So even just getting to get eyes on all that will help little things like that for next year.” Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free IndyCar Browse all IndyCar articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/

[artsninspo]

EXCUSE ME MISS - II

Masterlist 

Part I

AUTHORS NOTE: Soooo, I felt like the vibes were incomplete, there were no private jets, cars, no major black girl luxury moments (they’re coming). I’m going to try to wrap this one up in 5 parts.

SUMMARY: Anon requested one with Trevante and the Reader based on the Jay-Z and Pharrell Excuse Me Miss video. So, I decided to have some fun with it.

PAIRING: Trevante x Reader, Erik x Reader

---

The light streams into the room, beams slipping through sheer white curtains.

There’s a peace to this morning, no alarms, no rushing up and down the stairs – just the faint sweet smell of pancakes and the sounds of Chels’ cheffing playlist. You find yourself smiling, letting your body sink into the plush bed surrendering to the relaxation. Slow living brings you so much joy.

You smile in appreciation of all the finishes you diligently put into HQ, like the bath and rain shower. Putting a few drops of essential oil into your diffuser as you take a shower starting on an intricate face routine much neglected over the past few months.

The door opens and Robin smiles, her full lips and bright eyes sparkle.

“It’s nice isn’t it” she smiles handing you a cup of her infamous hot chocolate and sitting on the counter.

“Its paradise” you in the feeling of stillness.

“It’s been too long”

“It has” you agree with my eyes closed at the memory of life always being so sweet.

“Imagine if we could go shopping and get massages then eat at the mansion or rent a boat for the afternoon and work on our tans” Bella smiles entering your bathroom and the three of you stand there smiling with closed eyes.

“Soon” you sigh hopefully.

“Breakfast is ready” Chels says entering with a smile.

The vibe is so right you all walk into a group hug happy and hopeful. Last night had gone off without a hitch, each of you employing the necessary tactics to make the most of the big spenders. Best of all they wouldn’t miss the change they spent to have a good time. The four of you had been working yourselves to the bone for too long.

“Let’s eat!” Bella says leaving the bathroom first you file out until Chels stops you. The other girls go along and Chels takes an envelope out of her pocket.

“Erik’s payment for this month, it’s all there”  

“Thanks”

Chels smiles before you can, you both laugh a little before hugging away all the tension and bad blood caused by the financial stresses resulting from Chelsea’s bad decisions. Everything’s a little less contentious now that she’s finally over her depression about it and outing in just as much effort as everyone else to right the wrong. It’s even better when you all enjoy her gourmet breakfast. We all clean together enjoying the morning and each other’s company for the first time in what feels like forever.

“We’re, ten grand away from paying off the balance on the house we owe in arears” Robin says making everyone smile at the good news.

“I’ll try to sell some more bags” Chelsea offer’s but her style is so loud she has a lot of trouble ridding herself of her favorite pieces.

Bells smiles, “I’ll take on some extra hours at the shop, try to get in higher paying clients – up the ante on social media hopefully it brings us in some business”

“Ill keep scouting out more opportunities” Robin adds.

“How much do we owe Erik?” Bella asks and I do the calculations closing my eyes out of stress and irritation at the realization.

“50k” the response leaves everyone equally demoralized but the doom and gloom only lasts a moment before the bass of loud music and the purr of a luxury car is in within earshot of the house.

“Speak of the fucking devil” Chels grits.

Erik hops out of his black McLaren in Nike sweatpants and a matching t-shirt his hair is braided into a style freshly cut and relocked. His eyes smile when he sees me outside which is never a good sign. He’s like a predator, baring teeth isn’t a sign of docility.

“Hey baby” he taunts coming in for a kiss only to be pushed back. “Be nice, you owe me money” he responds reaching for the door behind you only to be stopped. “Why aren’t you at work? Your hairs freshly done too” he smiles running his hands through my silk press to work my nerves.

“Erik stop” I whisper, and he steps back finally swallowing.

“You have fun yesterday?” he asks.

Of course, he knows you think to yourself. It isn’t the late payment or genuine concern for your well-being it’s his ego.

“I’m twenty-five Erik I should be able to have some fun”

“Well since you’re not going to work, owe me money and don’t want me in the house – get your stuff”

“Pardon me?”

“What now you have a problem dressing sexy to get attention and get paid, I have a job for you” He says heading back into his car. “Don’t take long I’m not in the mood”

Just like that the perfect morning is ruined by your asshole ex. You head into the house to the girls waiting apprehensively.

“I’ll be back, he knows about last night, don’t make any moves with the” I pause mouthing MONEY before getting my purse and heading out before he gets too antsy. He opens the door for me letting me in the car.

Erik and I have history.

Not all the good kind.

He pulls off taking the freeway to his side of town. I take note of his sleepy expression, the slight bags under his eyes, his casual outfit and his irritation says he’s back from a job. He’s probably been up for at least  48 hours, definitely been traveling.

“So, if you just got back who squealed on me?”

Erik smiles at how well we know each other, “Doesn’t matter I run security at Onyx now”.

That’s a new development

“I don’t know how you make time for it all. The expansion, the odd jobs, keeping tabs on me”

“I prioritize what’s important” he mocks me kissing my hand. You shoot him a look that warns against his actions but it’s no use. The worst part about all of this is that you still find him attractive. If he had it in him to promise you, he was done with all the other women and that he could be a one woman man – you don’t think you could resist giving a relationship another shot.

“So, what’s the job?”

“The usual you go somewhere looking pretty, this time you’ll be sitting beside me, shouldn’t be too hard, Babydoll”

Erik was your first real boyfriend and there was nothing traditional or normal about your relationship. You were working at a strip club and Erik was a regular. He was insatiable and the entire club lit up when he’d come in. It was clear despite spending the money he wasn’t a trick. There were countless fights over him, and he thrived on the contention. He spent quite a lot of time at the bar with you trying to find your price for a private dance, or date or a little more. Unfortunately, you werent’t repulsed by a man who chose to spend his free time in the club watching naked women. You liked the attention. Erik was attentive, unlike the others. He realized that you kept things flowing. Spotted the big spenders and sent the girls to them. With smiles and little gestures, I kept the money flowing like an expert. Babydoll was a champ whose position wasn’t shaking her ass.

“Whatever Erik”

“How much y’all rake in last night? Y’all out of hot water yet or you still close to needing to move back home. You know I left your room and closet how you left it?” Erik has no business being such an asshole. The only thing I ever did to him was leave and cut all communication. He’s the one who was sleeping with other women and telling me they meant nothing. He starts laughing when he sees that I’m frustrated with him.

“You shouldn’t treat me like this” I snap tired of it, tired of the constant provocation.

“Fuck you!” He snaps aggressively. “Fuck you, Y/N” he repeats telling me to shut up. He’s exhausted and furious about my activities last night barely holding it together. “You owe me money. You tell me to fuck off, then a year and a half later you call me crying. Chels stole from you not me. You didn’t give me a happy birthday check on me nothing. I bailed her dumbass out a year ago right, took care of it FOR YOU!” he barks not looking at the road. “Then you treat me like I ain’t shit when you can’t even pay up consistently. I could put to work everyday until its paid off but I don’t. So shut the fuck up and grow up” he finishes with flared nostrils, his dark eyes a blaze waiting for me to challenge him.

I don’t, knowing when to pick my battles, “No one put a gun to your head, you didn’t have to, if you didn’t want to” I swallow.

His jaw clenches at the truth and he doesn’t say anything else for the remainder of the drive. He opens the garage when we pull up like he’s done a thousand times when we were good. Its nostalgic and this place still feels like home when it shouldn’t. The house has a few new upgrades. It’s still immaculate and our puppy runs to me all grown up now. He heads upstairs and I follow to my old room seeing my outfit ready on a clothing rack. You look around trying not to be overwhelmed by the memories. Erik never said no when your first moved in, he was your boss and he took great care of you. Life was easy, the responsibilities were minimal. About 10% work, 10% housekeeping, 60% having fun with the girls and 20% Erik because of his demanding schedule. It was perfect.

“I’m going to be away for the next month – don’t want you out here looking desperate”

“Month is a long job”

“Don’t act like you care” he says and it’s an insult. The problem is I care too much. His jaw clenches he’s angry with me for leaving still. “Benny will be here in an hour to do your hair and make-up” he sighs stepping closer. The anger fading as he eyes my lips. It’s like he scolds himself secretly like he decides against something before surrendering to lust. We both know better.

His left hand holds my side and his right guides my head back supporting my neck as his lips kiss mine. You can’t resist the temptation and deepen the kiss. It turns him on and kisses grow more and more assertive as he tries reclaiming what’s his. You both rush to nakedness. Your eyes glance over the new keloids covering his chest. His eyes fall in self-consciousness but there’s no room for judgement as his hand traces the covered tattoo of his initials under your breasts before he takes one, kissing them both.

Straddling him your hands hold his shoulders before lowering onto his manhood as your body yearns for him. There’s no shame in taking what you want. Erik had taught you that but it’s too much to watch him, watch you ride out the waves of pleasure. Your eyes close in the rapture of pleasure holding on for better control as you contract on his manhood making his grip tighten guiding your hips in a new rhythm. No longer face to face you embrace each other breathing heavily in each other’s ears as you both begin to glow.

Erik moves from the seat to the bed peppering kisses down your back before taking you from behind. Your breaths are even more shallow as you feel his frustration, anger and resentment with every stroke.

Hate-fucking.

Its lovely. Your eyes close as your teeth sink into your bottom lip in efforts to contain the moans of pleasure threatening to escape. His ego doesn’t need further sustenance. He grabs your neck reliving you of being on all fours as he strokes to his climax filling your vigorously, recklessly, intentionally. He doesn’t lose his strength as your body goes limp, guiding you both onto the bed to lay and catch your breath.

If things were different this would only be round one of many. You’d trace the keloids on his chest, kissing them, he’d hold you, running his fingers along your back.

It wouldn’t be so empty as you get up padding to the bathroom to pee. You’d be on birth control, not having to make a mental note for a plan B. Some sweet thoughtful gesture would follow not relief when you hear him leave the room heading into the master bedroom.

You sigh turning on the shower.

He hadn’t changed a thing.

….

I sit through hair and make-up with Benny and the nostalgia is a little too much as you laugh and talk like you’re still a kept woman with no worries, that couldn’t be further from the current reality.

“Are you still writing, anything I should check out? Ideas I should run by clients? Research?” He asks invested my career and progression.

“No” I swallow, and his smile falls as he looks at my reflection.

“It’ll return Y/N. Remember, no matter what you can’t kill an artist’s talent, but practice and action make masters” he smiles a pillar of wisdom.

“Thank you, Benson,” you kiss his cheek and he nods finished. You look better than you did last night.

“Tell Bella I’ll be holding classes again; I want her to take my south-eastern slot” he reminds packing up.

“I will” you smile gutted that we can’t afford our dreams right now.

You get dressed in the teenie tiny mini dress that has a circle lace up detail on the sides, you admire the vision of 90’s video girl, glam hoochie. Twirling in the mirror you admire your look, feeling sexy again. Browsing your closet to find a high-end bag to match the outfit. You were so mad when you decided to leave, you didn’t want anything to do with Erik not even the gifts he’d purchased.

You make a pick and turn to find Erik watching you in the doorway. There’s a hint of happiness in his eyes seeing you here but there’s also a danger to him. He definitely has something up his sleeve. Besides enough nostalgia to make you reconsider being his girl again.

“You look perfect” he smiles kissing your forehead.

Taking your hand, you leave in another car and end up at a venue that you’ve never been too.  Erik holds your hand as you walk through the outdoor venue before entering private cabana’s. He stops suddenly stepping behind you so he can guide your steps forward. Your heart slows in apprehension not trusting him. Your heart races when you close in on a man that looks familiar, dark chocolate skin, and a beard. He looks up sensing us and its Trevante. You swallow feeling yourself and so does Erik.

“You really think you were gonna fuck me over this easy. Milk him and walk away from me forever?” Erik says into my ear. My blood boils as Tre looks at us confused. I try to smile.

“Erik” Tre smiles.

“Tre, this is my girl Y/N, Y/N Tre, we go way back” Erik swallows looking me over. “And were working together” Erik smiles like he’s a good guy – not the cold-hearted insufferable asshole that he is. You’re so mad you could make a scene, knowing Erik that’s just the kind of embarrassment Erik is hoping for to further bury any prospects of you and Tre.

“Hi” I manage and Erik smiles at the hoarseness of my voice.

“What you want a long island, Tre want anything?” he asks his friend.

“I’m good bro” he responds and Erik stands leaving the two of us. You look at Tre who also looks at me like I’ve done something wrong. You turn to see Erik at the bar flirting with the bartender too dizzy to know which path to take in such a fucked situation.

“I didn’t know Erik settled down” Tre comments and you look back at Erik again feeling particularly cornered.

“You work together?” you ask, and Tre looks me over before nodding his head.

“On occasion”

“Erik’s not an adversary you want to have, so stop looking at me like that.” I warn and he looks taken back. Erik returns sitting close to me and I move away despite us having company. He just fucked me only to screw me over.

“You two met last night right?”

“Bro, I didn’t know” Tre surrenders like he isn’t the multimillionaire tycoon.

“You remember at MIT all the baddest bitches in the city were mind – you think Miami is different?” Erik laughs being disrespectful on purpose as he G checks Tre who shifts uncomfortable. Satisfied with position of power Erik smiles like he’s not about to raise hell. “I told you I had the perfect girl for your VR game” Erik smiles sitting back.

I’m so confused I’m getting a headache until Tre looks me over again. His eyes study me, drinking me in. His head nods and his lips upturn into a smile before his eyes light up.

“Bro, she’s perfect” he agrees shocked.

I’m uneasy as I look at Erik he’s pissed enough to put me in a bad position. “Youre lucky I still want to fuck you or you’d be leaving here embarrassed and broke but I’m still getting break for you – remember that the next time you go out in next to nothing looking desperate and embarrassing me” Erik whispers in my ear. He’s diabolical.

“It’s a VR game” Tre smiles when he sees I’m visibly confused and uneasy. “Virtual reality, influencer culture is big right now. Our game is going to monopolize that but first I need an IT girl, a model if you will. The blueprint, someone who fits the looks of private jets and shopping sprees, the kind of girl that our players will want to be friends with and like to look at.” He explains with a smile. I look at Erik who nods.

“Obviously I need to see numbers and a contract, how much of my likeness is going to be used”

“Your face your body” Erik says.

“I’m not doing anything raunchy” you tell him, and he smiles.

“That’s all for me. You two work it out, remember I get my cut” Erik says getting up and leaving.

He’s unbelievable – you can never decide if you hate him or love him.

_____

Taglist: 

@determinednot2fall @twistedcharismaaa​ @l-auteuse​ @chaneajoyyy​ @thickemadame​ @longpause-awkwardsmile​ @klaylakayblack​ @amelatonin​ @just-juicee​ @xo-goldengirl​ @ljstraightnochaser​ @itsjustyazz​ @soufcakmistress​ @nijajoha  @iamrheaspeaks @4tprincess  @justgetitoverwith0​ @queenflaws @abeautifulmindexposed @coveredingodiv @nahimjustfeelingit-writes​@champagnesugamama​ @heavensangelxo​ @bugngiz​ @cherrystainedlipsbaby​ @tip222u​ @keiva1000​ @doublesidedscoobysnacks​ @shalynn-m​ @bakarilennox​ @tyees​ @damienwitcher 

[lindoig8]

Heather's Birthday

Tuesday 20 April

A week on the road and a big birthday celebration today! We drove just under 100 clicks (our shortest day by far) to William Creek where we enjoyed a drink in the picturesque bar before a shower and dinner.

We started the day with a longish wetland walk at Coward Springs after a hearty breakfast and then back-tracked about 5 km to the turnoff to Mound Springs. It is a further 4 clicks off the road on a very corrugated track but we had been there before and wanted to see it again.

There are a lot of these springs in the area where subterranean water is forced to the surface under pressure and when the water bursts out, it forms a mound, usually 10-15 metres high (my guess) with a gently bubbling spring and a pool at the top, often overflowing to form a small wetland around its base. At Mound Springs, there are basically two active springs and a handful of defunct mounds nearby. They have evolved their own tiny isopods and we saw some of them scurrying around in the pools. After inspecting these Springs, we returned to the Track and passed Coward Springs again to another area of springs at Strangways. This is a much more extensive area with at least 100 springs, mostly just defunct mounds but with some of them still containing (mainly cool) water bubbling gently from the depths of the earth. It was hot, dry and dusty, but there was a poorly defined walking track that visited about a dozen or so mounds (and the cemetery because there used to be a settlement here) so we did the hard yards and walked the course and climbed a few of the mounds. It was very dusty of course and we were very glad to get back to the car for a long cold drink!

We debated driving out to look at Lake Eyre, but when we had our drink in the bar at William Creek, the pilots who fly tourists out there said we wouldn’t get close enough to see any water, so we gave it a miss. Last time we were here, we did go out there, but again, no water and the scene was less than inspiring. We had decided on the same course of non-action at South Lake Eyre a few days ago. When we passed a few years ago, we ventured close to the water that was there then and almost got our boots bogged so this time, we just sat and watched some other intrepid tourists slog back from their attempted visit to the now dry shoreline.

Lake Eyre South as we saw it - a long walk in over rugged ground to a salt pan. (We think the blue area was simply a mirage, but certainly too far away to explore.)

We decided that seeing it was Heather’s birthday, we would make an early camp at William Creek and take advantage of the opportunity for a shower. We even ran the air conditioner in the van for an hour or so and turned on our PCs for the first time this trip. The internet was VERY slow and we had heaps of emails to respond to so we sat in the van and worked for a couple of hours prior to dinner.

We had booked for dinner at the pub. Heather even got a free drink because it was her birthday so that probably saved us $10-12 – my tinny cost us $8 as it was. Dinner was excellent! Slow cooked Goat Curry – superb! Maybe even challenging our own goat curries, but they are very hard to beat. They also served an excellent shiraz – labelled especially for them, but sourced from McLaren Vale. It was a great meal, but a tad noisy. A team from Netflix was there – they are filming in the area and we hope to see the product in due course. There was also a bunch from a 4WD club, all dressed up to the nines to help celebrate one of their member's 70th birthday so that was a talking point – two birthdays on the same day in such a remote area – actually three because the 70-year-old guy told us he had met up with a 2-year-old celebrating her birthday that morning too. I reckon there must have been at least 50 people served meals in the restaurant that night, probably half or more enjoying the goat curry!

Wednesday, 21 April

We continued another 250-odd kilometres west along the Oodnadatta Track, stopping several times to explore along the way. We checked out a couple more sidings, or their ruins actually. One looked as if someone had attempted to reconstruct parts of the collapsed walls, but I suspect the next willy-willy will undo all the work done to date. This was one of the buildings, several of the walls of which I reckon I could easily have pushed over, but was careful to avoid in case the whole wall fell in on me.

One of many defunct railway sidings along the old Ghan track. I could probably have demolished half of it with one hand.

There were huge swathes where the ground was covered with a pale green fuzz – obviously a result of the recent rains, but essentially a thin ground cover. But there were also many patches of darker green with more grass and low shrubs where water had obviously pooled and given the plants the opportunity to establish themselves. There were even small areas where the water still lay – as well as occasional rivers, some with water in them.

We stopped off at Algebuckina on the Neales River. We have called in there on previous trips and the river was actually flowing quite strongly. I believe it is the only river in a huge area that has never been completely dry in human memory. I went looking for birds and found a few, but the mozzies soon found me. At Oodnadatta (Bushfly-centre), they said that Algebuckina is Mosquito-centre! The mosquitos are very small, but I was bitten at least 20 times within a few minutes. Algebuckina has one of the old Ghan rail bridges across the river – a huge structure that we have walked on in the past, but this time, the mozzies were so persistent that we simply locked ourselves in the car to eat our lunch and then just kept driving.

We called in at the Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta for a cold drink and a chat with the bar staff, but decided that it was too early to make camp so did another 100 kilometres or so before camping along the road near the entrance to one of the big stations out there.

I tried to fly our drone but found I needed to do a bit more reading about how to control it before doing anything more than simply flying and landing it within a few metres of the caravan. I suspect this might be a project for us when we are out at Gemtree with lots more space and fewer people to avoid whilst earning my P-plates.

At night, we slept in our new sleeping bags, just to try them out before our Camel Trek. They are very cosy and comfortable, but maybe a bit warmer than expected.

[vantovan-blog1]

A beginning

Well, here we go, better late than never? This is a blog to get some of the experiences Tash and I have had and will have this year as we travel Australia and the world to find family, friends and fun, ending up in Vancouver where we plan to stay for a while before we head back to Melbourne, our home city, when it feels right. 

Our instagram account (@van.to.van for those playing along at home) has captured a lot of the best moments, but it's time to get some words down too. It's been just over three months since we set off from Melbourne. 

Leaving was harder than we anticipated. We found it tough to say farewell to our house, having only been in it for a year, to friendships that were really solidifying, and to family and familiar faces and places. It was an emotionally, mentally and physically tiring couple of months leading up to departure - there is a lot to organise when you upturn a settled existence - but we got there in the end and drove away from Melbourne excited, nervous and a little uncertain about what was ahead of us.

Australian road trip

Life in the van was amazing. It's a cliche, but it's remarkable how simple life becomes (temporarily at least) once you've pared down your possessions to the essentials. Fewer things in front of your face means less to think and worry about, and we quickly fell in love with the lifestyle, where the principal concerns are what you will eat for the day and where you will park the van for the night.

Our road trip took us almost all the way up the east coast to Port Douglas, a small tourist town north of Cairns, then cross country to meet the Stuart highway, down through Alice Springs to Adelaide, then back home via a few wineries in the Mclaren Vale, Barossa and Clare Valley regions.

It's difficult to pinpoint highlights as there really were so many; this trip gave us both a newfound appreciation for the beauty and variety of Australia, and as is often the case when you travel, the journey itself was as good and sometimes better than a lot of the destinations. I will, however, pick out a few.

We rushed through it more than we should have, and really want to go back again, but the section of coast between Sydney and Brisbane was spectacular. Some of the best beaches we have come across anywhere in the world are in that region. We stayed with friends in both Sydney and Brisbane who generously hosted us and put up with our larger than normal car.

There were some pretty amazing beaches above Brisbane as well, a highlight for us being the Agnes Water/1770 region, where we stayed in a bush camp right above a surf beach. Magic. Another highlight was Magnetic Island, just off the Townsville coast, where we spent a few days with some family friends Ric and Candy in their oasis of a home. A beautiful house at the end of a cul de sac right below a cliff, complete with decor from PNG and a dip pool, all accented with colourful lead light lamps and wall art made by Candy. They were very lovely hosts as well, which made it a very special few days. 

Above Townsville we ran into bad weather and didn’t get to see the best that the Cairns and Whitsundays regions had to offer, but still got a good day on Whitehaven beach (Whitsunday Islands) and out on the Great Barrier Reef. It was nice to see it while it is still there; who knows how much longer it will be alive. I tried diving for the first time and had a ball. 

We got rained out in Port Douglas and spent a solid two days in the van in a caravan park as landslips had closed the roads in and out of the place. That was testing, and we got very bored at times. Thanks to our good friend Pat Fountain who we stayed with in Brisbane, we had a fan to keep the insane humidity at bay. At times, it was intolerably hot and muggy. Combined with the inability to move from the car, we went a bit crazy in Port Douglas.

Once the rain cleared we schlepped across Queensland and half of the Northern Territory to the Stuart Highway, taking the long route as flooding had closed the main highway. Long stretches of road were at times very fun and at times intensely boring. We listened to a lot of true crime podcasts and audiobooks. There was also a fair share of silly dancing to loud music, something I hope we will never stop doing. The heat up north is something else in March and we were very grateful for the quality air conditioning in our van, Sheila. 

We stayed with a friend in Alice Springs who took us on a tour of the West Macdonnell ranges just outside town, exploring water holes and canyons. We also spent a good chunk of our time in Alice Springs watching Ru Paul’s Drag Race; an American reality show about drag queens I hadn’t watched previously but now love. A lasting memory of Alice Springs this time will be the flies, they were awful. Not awful enough to ruin the experience, but enough to leave an impression!

After Alice, we took a few days to get down to Adelaide (via Uluru), covering big distances across the NT and SA deserts, which are vast. They are beautiful in their own way and we came to love the landscape. In Adelaide we stayed with friends of a friend and had a couple of lovely days and nights out in a city we fell in love with. It has to be the most underrated city in the country and we want to go back for the fringe festival sometime. We used the opportunity to taste some excellent wines in the regions around Adelaide and had a couple of nights on the coast south of the city. A fantastic section of Australia. 

We stopped for a night in Ararat with a friend to break up the drive home, having a quick look at the new build he is project managing and were back in Melbourne just before the end of April. 

Another massive highlight of these two months was the three weddings we attended, two of which we flew back from Townsville then Alice Springs for. They were all wonderful and we felt very lucky to have such great friends around us and to be invited to such beautiful events. The first was for Simon and Bec (Simon is Tash’s old boss at Isobar). Theirs was at Emu Bottom Estate just outside Sunbury in Melbourne. The next was Tom and Hannah, good friends and neighbours of ours, who got married at Wye River where Hannah’s mum owns a house. The last was Andrew and David (I work with Andrew) who got married at Mt Ophir Estate near Rutherglen in the Indigo Valley, Victoria. 

South East Asia

This leg kicked off with a bit of minimoon crashing, as we joined forces with Tom and Hannah of above wedding fame for a beach/poolside holiday in Bali, split between Canggu and Uluwatu. This mostly consisted of chilling at the private villa we had in Canggu (outrageous I know), eating great food, drinking too much and reading lots. It was particularly nice to explore Uluwatu a bit, where Tash lived for a few months in 2014. Spending time in the beach clubs (the Lawn Club and Ulu Cliffhouse) also deserves a mention; it’s amazing what you get for your money in Bali. Only lowlight of this trip was Hannah coming off a scooter and badly hurting her leg, though this turned into a highlight when they got to the airport as she got ushered through check in and security in a wheelchair. Win. 

Next stop was Vietnam for a couple of weeks. We flew into Ho Chi Minh City to hang out with old friends and colleagues of mine from when I lived there back in 2006 and to explore old haunts. It was great to see the school I taught at again and spend lots of time with my good friend Mr Huy. We had dinner at his family’s house one night which was fantastic. Tash was unwell for much of our time in Ho Chi Minh which was disappointing, but otherwise it was a good time. It was also fun to get back into speaking Vietnamese, which I can speak conversationally, and which came in handy when getting around outside the tourist districts. 

We then spent a few days in Hoi An, where we surprised one of our neighbours from Flemington, Mara, for her 40th birthday. This was great fun, particularly the day we all dressed in matching fruit salad print threads and went out for lunch. Mara and her husband Petro have three adorable boys aged 7, 9 and 11 who were great to have around, and the whole thing was made possible by the two socialites of our street, Mark and Adrian, who are a bunch of fun to be with. Being with our neighbours made us miss home a bit and solidified both Tash and my love of our neighbourhood. 

Next was Hanoi for a night then up into the mountain town of Ha Giang on a sleeper bus to do a five day motorbike tour of the hills near the Chinese border, something I did with a uni friend back in 2011. The scenery in the mountains is spectacular, and seeing it from a motorbike is definitely the best way to do it. We ate fantastic local food, feasting every night in homestays. The only downside of this part of the trip was doing it with a guide, which seemed unnecessary. When I did it seven years ago, we didn’t see any tourists on bikes and didn’t even consider the possibility of doing it solo, but this time there were a lot, most doing it without assistance, which made us feel a bit silly for spending money on the guide when we could have done it ourselves. It was nice not to have to deal with the bike breaking down though, which it did, three times. 

We had one more night in Hanoi after the tour then spent five days in Bangkok with my uncle, who owns an apartment near Sukhumvit where he spends a few months of the year escaping winter and learning Thai. It was lovely to spend some time wiith him, poking around the local streets and riding the Klong (river canal) boats. A highlight was a night out at Blue Elephant restaurant, a Michelin guide restaurant, for a fancy many course meal with matched Thai wines.

Serbia volume I and Bosnia

We arrived in Serbia on 2 June where we will be spending about a month, collectively, in Novi Sad, the city where Tash’s dad’s family live. We are staying with her aunt and uncle in their house with a huge vegetable garden that spits out flavourful tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce and all kinds of fruits and berries. These are fantastic complements to what is otherwise a very carb and meat heavy (and endlessly delicious) diet. Tash’s aunt is the best cook in Serbia in my humble opinion.

We have spent a lot of time hanging out with family, drinking coffees, rakija (brandy) and beers in the back yard, and doing a bit of gardening when the time is right. We have done a few trips into the city to explore and shop, and been for long training walks (for the West Highland Way walk we are doing in Scotland in August) and bike rides. We have also had a couple of days at the Strand, a beach on the Danube river where there are lounges, bars and loud music playing all day. Fantastic people watching and a great way to spend a sunny day.

We recently had five days with Tash’s mum’s side of the family in Banja Luka, the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in one of the Serbian controlled regions. I have been brushing up on my history a little, learning about how complex the politics and consequent wars were in its region of the world in the 1990s. There is just nothing good that seems to come from war. It is striking how recent it was and to notice some of the cultural, physical and emotional scars that still remain.

This week, there is an international wine festival on in Novi Sad, which we will imbibe in, then we have a family friend’s apartment booked in the city centre for the weekend. Next week we are taking Tash’s aunt white water rafting, then the week after that we are off to Greece for a couple of weeks. Tough life...

[buckybarnesappreciationsociety]

“My Heartbeat” Part 10 (Final)

Summary: The injury sustained on his last mission made Bucky realize how fragile life is. It’s time to step down and enjoy life with Veronica.

Word Count: 1,249

Pairings: Bucky Barnes, Veronica Barnes OFC: Darius, Malcolm and The Avengers

Warnings: None

A/N: This is the end of “My Heartbeat.” I’ve had so much fun with this series. THANK YOU FOR READING!!!

BUCKY’S POV

Physical therapy’s going really well. Darius is a hard nut to crack, but so far, I’ve gone from a wheelchair to a cane. That’s real progress.

I’ve also made a decision to quit field work. It’s time. This injury shook me to the core. I almost lost Ronnie because some HYDRA asshole got the drop on me.

“Hey Ronnie? Can we talk for a sec?” Bucky walked into the sunroom.

Placing her book on the chair, “Sure James. Come sit with me please.”

Gingerly moving forward, Bucky made his way over to Veronica.

“Uhm, I’ve made a decision about returning to field work. Think m’gonna quit because this injury got me to thinking about you, our marriage and most importantly, my life. I need to do this for myself as well as us.”

Turning towards her husband she replied, “James, I don’t know what to say. Please don’t make a rash decision based on how I acted before your last mission.” Tears rolled down her face.

Using the pad of his thumb, Bucky wiped her face. “Doll, listen. When I was laying in that hospital bed, all I could think about was you and ‘what if?’ What if I died and never told you how important you are to me? What if we never have a chance for a family? I don’t wanna live like that. We deserve to be happy without the head and heartache that fieldwork causes.”

Veronica laid her head on his shoulder, “Love, I want you to be happy, no matter what. If being home does it for you then by all means, do it.”

“Listen, we have enough money saved to do anything we wanna. Travel the world, upgrade the kitchen appliances, get new carpeting, ANYTHING! Ronnie, let’s live a little.”

The gleam in Bucky’s blue gray eyes spoke volumes. His mind was made up. Time to tap out and explore other options.

Excited, Veronica pulled Bucky into a tight hug. “James, thank you. New stainless steel appliances would be nice. I’ll be able to really crank out some delicious dishes and desserts.”

Bucky chuckled, “How ‘bout we plan a dinner party and I can make my announcement then?”

“That would work, my love. I’ll plan the menu and enlist Darius’ help. James, my heartbeat, I love you so much.”

“Ronnie, my pride and joy, I love you too.”

**************

Darius, Malcolm (Darius’ Husband) and Veronica scurried around the kitchen preparing a feast for the Avengers.

Bucky busied himself on the 3 huge gas grills. He felt comfortable moving around the patio, wearing an apron, “Sexy Cook” and a chef’s hat! Darius and Malcolm couldn’t resist snapping a flurry of pictures.

“Ronnie” Malcolm mused, “This is going on Instagram, honey.” Veronica guffawed, “He’s going to be so pissed. Post it!”

The kitchen was Veronica’s ‘happy place’. Her fondness for cooking afforded she and Bucky fun ‘together’ times. They would dance around giggling like teenagers. Having her husband home full-time was an answer to Veronica’s prayers.

From the kitchen window, Ronnie smiled as Bucky bopped along to The Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole.

Smoke billowed from the grills into the air as ribs, chicken, steaks, assorted vegetables, brats and hot dogs sizzled. The smell permeated throughout the massive yard.

Darius and Malcolm moved from inside to outside setting up mosquito torch lights, tables and chairs. Tony Stark never misses an opportunity to have a party; tonight was no exception.

From the bar to food, only the best for the Avengers and their families. Bucky and Veronica’s backyard was spacious. Rose bushes lined the sides of the lower deck; beautiful fern hanging baskets hung from the screened upper deck. As far as the eyes could see, massive trees adorned the yard. For security, a tall electric fence stretched around the property. The centerpiece of the house was a magnificent fountain in the pool. The lights danced off the crystal clear water, yielding a rainbow-esque feel.

Bucky removed the last piece of meat and corn on the cob from the grill. Malcolm and Ronnie set up a dessert table to compliment all the grilled delicacies. Red velvet, german chocolate, and yellow cakes, along with apple, blueberry and lemon meringue pies were on display.

The fantastic foursome looked around with pride. Next stop, shower and dress. Darius and Malcolm waved and disappeared to their suite.

Veronica and Bucky shared a sensual moment, reacquainting themselves through smouldering kisses, feather light touches and explosive lovemaking. After almost a year, Mr. and Mrs. Barnes had a lot of time to make up for.

Relishing in post coital bliss, Bucky cradled Ronnie in his arms. “Doll, you know we gotta get dressed?” Placing a kiss on his nose, “Yep, but thank goodness we have plenty of time after the party.”

The layout of the house gave everyone privacy. Bucky and Veronica’s master suite was situated in a corner of the house away from everything. Darius and Malcolm’s suite was on the opposite side of the house.

Guests began arriving. Nat, Steve, Dr. Cho, Sam and Thor rode in Tony’s Hummer limo. Clint, Laura and their kids were behind them. Tony and Pepper rolled up in his silver McLaren P1 LM. Darius shook his head. “The man knows how to make an entrance.”

Scott, Hope and Cassie apologized for being late. “Traffic was crazy.”

Veronica and Bucky greeted their extended family with hugs, tears and vigorous handshakes.

Giggling erupted as Cooper, Lila, Cassie and Nathaniel spied the dessert table. Laura shook her head and directed the excited kids to their table. “No dessert little ones until you eat.” Cooper balked. “Awwww momma. No fair.” Speaking firmly, “Young man, what did I say?” “Food first; dessert later.” Relenting, the kids settled down, eating a hearty meal.

Tony quipped, “Mrs. Tin Man, you outdid yourself.” Shaking her head, Ronnie chuckled, “Thank you, Can Opener. I love you too.”

After dinner, Bucky and Veronica stood to make their announcement.

“Listen, I ain’t one for speeches, but here goes. First of all, thank you so much for being there for me and Ronnie when I got hurt. I love everyone of ya. Second, me and the Mrs. had a long talk and I’m retiring from the team.” Veronica wiped Bucky’s face, as tears rolled down his cheek.

Steve furrowed his brow, questioning his childhood friend. “Hey pal are’ya sure ya wanna do that?”

“Yeah. I almost lost my life. That showed me just how short our time on earth is and I wanna spend my time here, with Ronnie. I’ve had a good run but s’time to hang up my tactical gear.”

Nat, raised her glass, “Bucky, I wish you and Ronnie all the best life has to offer. We’ll miss you.”

Steve, fighting back tears, toasted Bucky. “Let’s raise a glass to James Buchanan Barnes. The luckiest son-of-a-bitch on the planet. Be happy pal. I’ll miss ya.”

Everyone joined in, “To Bucky.”

Veronica kissed her husband, as the team continued to enjoy the party. Now wasn’t the time for sadness. James Buchanan Barnes’ life had come full circle. Now, it was his moment to ride off into the sunset with the love of his life.

TAGS:  @omalleysgirl22 @bolontiku @rebelslicious @ @jrubalcaba    @sgtjamesbuchananbarnes107th @love2rhyme @buckybabybaby @irene-rogue-adler @rda1989 @justareader @erisjade@caplanbuckybarnes @reniescarlett@katiej98 @katykyll @debzybrazy @eve1978 @arabellaaurorabarnes@wintersmiless-blog @this-kitty-has-claws @goodnightwife@pegasusdragontiger @the-witching-hours12-3 @supersoldierslover @ek823 @nerdyandproud9 @fuckmewintertucker

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  U.K. Travel Bucket List – Best National Parks

  The month is May and the year 2020, the World as we know it, has been in lockdown mode for the better part of the year now, as COVID – 19, is spreading like wildfire everywhere. The silver lining is that Mother Earth is healing, and while the world heals from this Pandemic, with all of us Staying at Home, we all can make the most of this Quarantine Life by adding different destinations to our Post COVID – 19 Travel Bucket List. Which in reference to this blog post is the Best National Parks in the UK.

  More than 10 Travel Experts have contributed their suggestions about the Best National Parks in the United Kingdom, that I have curated and compiled for your ease, in alphabetical order, in this UK Travel Bucket List – The Best U.K. National Parks.

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  Brecon Beacons National Park

  The Brecon Beacons National Park is one of the three national parks in Wales. The park is home to the famous Brecon Beacons range of mountains in the south of Wales, These mountains are the highest ones in southern Britain and they are famous for its magnificent upland formations. 

This National park is less than 30 miles from Cardiff and 100 miles from Birmingham in England, and just a three-hour drive from London. Its outstanding waterfalls, caves, ancient landscape and beautiful lakes attract adventurers and nature lovers from all over the world. Here is where you can get active and create some unforgettable memories.

There are numerous walking routes and hiking trails for any fitness levels. If you want to take your hike an extra mile, you can go rock climbing on some amazing spots in the park, where you have a coastal view. 

Cycling and mountain biking are also a great way to explore The Brecon Beacon. Some cyclists like to enjoy riding peacefully on a canal path next to the river while some prefer to go for more challenging climbs. There is different terrain in the park, including roads, lanes and hillside tracks. 

If you are looking for a fabulous place to mountain bike you can head to the south to Bike Park Wales, where you can find several downhill tracks of varying difficulty.

The national park is also a great destination for horseback riding. There are bridle paths and tracks. Some people might say The Brecon Beacon is one of the best ridings in Europe. 

There are many brilliant organised group activities like Canoeing, Kayaking, Paddleboarding and White Water Rafting in the national park. 

You can stay in Parkwood Outdoors Dolygaer which offers different types of accommodations such as cottages, lodges, and chalets. This centre also offers different activities including caving, stand up paddleboarding, and canyoning. 

There are also various caravan and camping sites in the park. Make sure stargazing when the sky is clear. Here is one of the best locations in the UK to watch the sky during the nights. 

While in the Brecon Beacons, make sure to take the Four Falls Walk which takes you to four amazing waterfalls.

By Mansoureh Farahani from Travel With Mansoureh

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  Cairngorms National Park

Cairngorms National Park – Largest National Park in UK

  If you’re an outdoor/ nature lover, you need to put the Cairngorms National Park onto your Scotland Itinerary. This incredible place is the largest National Park in the UK and was voted one of the top 20 places to visit IN THE WORLD by National Geographic!

The park is 4500 sq kms (which is bigger than the whole of Luxembourg) and contains mountains, valleys, castles, distilleries and watersports. There’s something to do for everyone.

One of our favourite things to do was hike. There are multiple trails and walks within the park (guides are available from the tourist offices if you’d like one), or you can just turn up and wander wherever you fancy. Dog walking is encouraged, but the area is full of wildlife, so please be aware and obey local signage. 

It’s possible to walk for a short time, find a quiet spot and enjoy a picnic, or plan a more advanced hike right up into the mountains, where the views are breathtaking. A word of caution- the weather can change VERY quickly in this area, so please carry appropriate equipment/ clothing.

If hiking isn’t for you, how about some sport? Within the Cairngorms you can enjoy cycling, skiing or play golf at one of the 12 golf courses! There’s also a bungee-jump (the first permanent one in the UK) and a sled dog centre. 

For water lovers, there’s fishing, kayaking, windsurfing, rafting, swimming or gorge walking. There are several watersports centres in the park and they offer lessons, hire or even wildlife watching tours from the water- where you can glide quietly past local birds and animals as they sit on the river banks- a magical way to start the day.

If you’re not travelling Scotland in a motorhome or camper, there are plenty of places to stay within the park, including local B & Bs, hotels, hostels, campsites and log cabins. You need to stay for at least 3 days to really experience everything the park has to offer. 

If all the sport and hiking sounds utterly exhausting, many of the hotels offer beauty/ spa services and pools, so you can relax and unwind as much as you like.

There are many places to eat and drink within the park- restaurants, cafes and shops are plentiful, but there are also farmers markets, local artisan shops, food and drink workshops and of course the distilleries, where you can enjoy a ‘wee dram’.

By Kathryn Bird from Wandering Bird

    Exmoor National Park

  Exmoor National Park is located in the South West of England on the borders of Somerset and North Devon.  It was designated as a National Park in 1954,  It is located south of Minehead between Taunton and Tiverton and its outer boundaries are just a short distance from the M5 motorway.  It has a wide range of landscapes from high moors including Dunkery Beacon.  This peak is the highest point in the south of England outside of Dartmoor.  From the moorland farmland tumbles down to the Somerset Coast.  This is unique in the UK and was one of the reasons for the National Park designation.  The moorland reaches the coast in spectacular 400m cliffs with Great Hangman being the highest sheer sea cliff in England and Wales at 244m.  

Dotted through the landscape are small villages with old cottages with thatched roofs and beautiful gardens.  The landscape is ancient with archaeology being present in the form of hillforts and Norman Castles including the stunning red Dunster Castle.  Tarrs Steps near Dulverton is an ancient clapper bridge and is believed to have been in place since the Bronze Age.

Exmoor is wild and remote with a wide range of nature.  In the autumn it is one of the best places in the country to experience the red deer rut.  Stags battle for territory, battling with other males to win the right to mate with their hinds.  Their deep calls can be heard echoing across the landscape and the clash of antlers is a sight to be seen.  Finding this behaviour is not easy but there are a number of ‘stalkers’ who can help you find and watch the stags. 

Exmoor also has its own Exmoor Ponies.  These are small, stocky ponies that have roamed the landscape for over 50000 years and are documented in the Domesday Book in 1086.  They have a dark bay colouring with a lighter mealy colour around the muzzle and underbelly. They are semi-feral and roam across the moorland helping to conserve the landscape with their grazing.  Completely silent they have a gentle and docile attitude to life and will slowly saunter off if they are disturbed.

    Exmoor has beautiful walks, some of which can be quite technical, especially in the winter months.  The coast is perfect for rock pooling and sea kayaking although access down the steep cliffs has to be planned at access points.  

Exmoor can be visited at any time of the year.  In winter the higher points near Dunkery Beacon can have a dusting of snow and driving can be hard.  In the summer months the moor can be busy with visitors but there is enough space to escape and be alone in the landscape.

By Suzanne from Meandering Wild

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  Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park

Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park – The 4th Largest National Park in UK

  Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park in UK is a relatively young park with its birthday/confirmation of formation date being 19th July 2002.

It is the 4th largest national park in the British Isles and it covers 1,865 square kilometres of Scottish Highlands, and is an integral experience of your Trip to Scotland, when you plan your 7 Day Scotland Travel Itinerary. The park is easily accessible by car, or public transport from Perth or Glasgow with many accommodation options all around the park.

An outdoor enthusiast won’t be bored visiting the area, in fact rather opposite; be prepared to be spoilt by a choice of activities.

Those who love walking can find 21 munros (Scottish mountains with a summit of more than 3000ft), with Ben Lomond being the most southerly munro. But this is not the end yet, the park is home to 19 corbetts (mountains over 2,500ft), with Ben A’an being our all-time favourite due to its amazing views over Loch Katrine.

For experienced climbers, The National Park offers many multi-pitch routes and bolted sport climbing, with the iconic mountain The Cobbler (or Ben Arthur) in Arrochar Alps. If you have  no previous climbing experience but are keen to try, visit McLaren Community Leisure Centre in Callander for an indoor climbing wall and/or get lessons from a qualified instructor.

Cyclists can enjoy many car-free routes, including a route along Loch Katrine, suitable for the whole family. Within the park borders one can find routes at different levels of difficulties, suitable for road and mountain bikes.

Since Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park is also a home to the largest lake in the UK, and over 20 stunning lochs (Scottish word for lakes) opportunities for water sports are endless as well. If you dare you can dip for a swim in freshwater, but it is Scotland after all, so expect the water to be very cold.

Kayaking, canoeing or paddling are very popular activities. The park provides opportunities for each level; try smaller and sheltered Loch Lubnaig if you are a beginner. Love the challenge, then enjoy amazing Loch Lomond or try open water at Loch Drunkie. The options are endless!

Even windsurfing lovers won’t be disappointed visiting the park as Loch Lomond is a popular windsurfing destination.

It is not common to find golf courses in a national park. But we are talking about Scotland, the home of golf. So you probably won’t be surprised to learn that there are 7 golf courses within the borders of the park.

By Beata from Stunning Outdoors

    Longshaw Estate

  When looking for the best national parks in the UK, the Peak District springs to mind. After exploring some outdoor spots in and around Sheffield I went to look for the closest places to visit in the Peak District from Sheffield. The residents of South Yorkshire will tell you just how lucky they are to have the Peak District on the doorstep. However, with the Peak District covering such a large area you can’t explore all the sites in the national park within one day. Because the park stretches over many counties, depending on where you are on the map, your experience will be completely unique. From Sheffield, you can easily visit the Longshaw Estate. 

As part of the National Trust, this charity is set up specifically to conserve historic and natural landscapes, and own a percentage of the land in the Peak District National Park. These are landscapes that makeup and can be seen from the Longshaw Estate and bordering footpaths. This gives nature lovers an opportunity to be amongst some of the most preserved nature in the UK. Arriving at the visitor center of this National Trust Property you can start your route at the in house shooting lodge offering spectacular views of the rolling hills of Desert Valley. Following the windy trails, you discover unusual sites here such as millstone quarries to packhorse routes. If you are located in the nearby city of Sheffield you can arrive here by means of a car or public transport. 

The Peak District and estates like Longshaw offer visitors looking for things to do in Sheffield and want to escape to the outdoors in a short space of time. Like most of the national parks, there are many things you can get involved with. Many visitors come here for hiking, abseiling, bouldering and even camping plus there is even more you can get up to. The grounds are open all year round apart from the 24th to the 26th of December. The area has total access including disabled toilets and available wheelchairs. Fox house pub is also another popular local stop which serves a traditional 

British lunch located along the walk nearby, this is also a great starting point to get to the Longshaw Estate or walk further in the Peak District. So when looking for a national park in the UK to get outside and enjoy the crisp taste of air, head out to Sheffield’s peak district and the Longshaw Estate.

By Daniel James from Urban Road

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  North Yorkshire Moors National Park

  The North Yorkshire Moors National park is a beautiful national park in the north of England. Famous for moody landscapes, pretty purple heather, old steam trains and beautiful coastal villages there is so much to see and do in this wonderful UK national park. It is perfect for adventure and nature lovers alike!

The North Yorkshire Moors was one of the first national parks in the UK. It is easy to see why with its wonderfully varied landscapes. Nature lovers can choose from 3 main types of landscapes in the North Yorkshire Moors: woodland, coastal and moorland. There are also many ways to explore these Yorkshire landscapes. 

The North Yorkshire Moors is a hiker’s paradise. You can climb wonderfully named peaks such as Roseberry Topping or walk along the coastline. There are also strange features such as the Devil’s Punchbowl to wander in! For many though, just wondering amongst the heather in August is a highlight of any trip to the North Yorkshire Moors national park. Also, the abundance of rain in this national park means there are some wonderful waterfalls! The waterfalls in Yorkshire are spectacular and you must add Old Meggisson and Falling Foss to your waterfalls in the North Yorkshire Moors bucket list!

Nature lovers will enjoy the beautiful landscapes whether on foot or by train! The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is a heritage railway that runs through the North Yorkshire Moors national park. It was closed but has reopened and is now a major tourist attraction in the area. Therefore, if you don’t fancy getting muddy boots, you can sit in the warmth and admire the beautiful landscape from the comfort of your train seat. If you would like to admire the coastline why not hop on a boat?! There are tours of Whitby harbour or you can join the Three sisters boat trip for the chance to see whales, dolphins and sea birds! 

If you are an adventure lover you might enjoy an adrenaline rush at Dalby forest! Dalby Forest is one of the biggest trail centres in England which offers trails for all abilities. If you are looking for an adventure in the North Yorkshire Moors this is a good place to find it!

There is so much to see and do in this magnificent UK national park. Both adventure lovers and nature lovers will love visiting the North Yorkshire Moors. 

By Anna from My Travel Scrapbook

    Northumberland National Park

Northumberland National Park – England’s Northernmost National Park

  Northumberland National Park is England’s northernmost National Park connecting the area between Hadrian’s Wall and the Scottish border in the north.  Northumberland National Park is all the more stunning as its one of the least visited and populated of England’s National Parks.

The park covers more than 1,000 square kilometres and includes historic houses, like Cragside, to the immense Kielder Water reservoir and the incredible Hadrian’s Wall, which runs from the east to the west coast of the country.

Northumberland National Park is an outstanding park to visit for adventure and nature lovers because of the outdoor activities it offers.  The Park is a Dark Skies site and I can think of nowhere better to get a great look at the night sky without light pollution.  There are many holiday cottages that can be rented within the park areas that are literally in the middle of nowhere, so if it’s splendid isolation you’re looking for, then it’s here you need to come.

There are more than 700 miles of walking paths in the National Park, with trails for all standards – including the Hadrian’s Walk trail from coast to coast and sections of the Pennine Way.  The Kielder Water National Reserve, which is entirely within Northumberland National Park provides for canoeing, sailing and water skiing and is surrounded by glorious walks.  For history lovers, the iconic Hadrian’s Wall is a fascinating trail to talk, either in bite-sized daily pieces or in its entirety – the 135 kilometres route goes from east coast to the west coast.

As one of the least populated and least visited National Parks, Northumberland National Park is a fabulous place to see the natural world.  Here many rivers are home to salmon and trout and annual salmon leaps – where salmon’s return to their spawning ground to breed is a sight to behold.  And when it comes to animals Northumberland has one of England’s secrets.  The park is one of the few places that is still home to the native red squirrel.  In most of England, you can only see the grey squirrel, introduced from the United States, but the red squirrel has made its home here in the woodlands and forest of the National Park.

Northumberland National Park is a stunning, vast area that is all the more special because there are very few visitors here, so head north and experience this amazing place!

By Sarah from Let’s Grow Cook

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  Peak District National Park 

Peak District – The first National Park in the UK

  The Peak District was the first national park in the UK, and still remains one of the most visited. The national park spans 555 square miles and is located within five counties, Derbyshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. It is one of the most accessible national parks in the UK as it is within a four hour drive for 80% of the UK, making it no surprise that over 10 million people visit a year. The Peak District has 65 miles of off road cycling trails, and 1600 miles of hiking paths and even one of the longest walking trails in the UK, the Pennine Way passes through the Peak District.

The landscape of the park is made up of moorlands, hills and farmlands, and the highest point, Kinder Scout is 636 metres above sea level.

One of the quaintest villages in the Peak District is Castleton in Hope Valley. It has long been a hotspot for hikers, outdoor lovers and history buffs. Situated in Derbyshire, the village can be reached by car or train. The train journey from Sheffield is only half an hour, making it highly accessible.

The charming village of Castleton, is known for being home to Mam Tor, also known as Shivering Mountain. The top of Mam Tor provides dramatic views of the Peak District, and the hike takes only two hours from the village centre, making it a popular amongst families as well as seasoned trekkers. 

Looming high above Castleton is also the 11th century ruins of Peveril Castle, one of England’s earliest Norman fortresses. The castle makes for another great hike in the area as it is perched well above Hope Valley. 

For those who would rather take in some history, Castleton is home to some of the best show caves and caverns in the country, such as Speedwell Cavern, Peak Cavern and Treak Cliff Cavern. To end your visit a traditional afternoon tea or a pub lunch is a must, especially when visiting this beautiful English village in the Peak District.

By Roshni from The Wanderlust Within

    Pembrokeshire National Park

Pembrokeshire National Park – The only coastal National Park in UK

  The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is unique among all UK National Parks, as it’s the only coastal National Park in the country. Most of it is concentrated around the coast of the county of Pembrokeshire in south-west Wales, with a small section inland encompassing the Preseli Hills, a wild, remote range in the north of the county.

Pembrokeshire has always had something of a historic divide, between the Anglicised south and the Welsh-speaking north. The coastal scenery is often wild throughout the county, but it’s more rugged in the north, and there are also far less beaches than the south.

As far as adventure goes, one of the best things to do in Pembrokeshire is the coastal walking. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path was always a bit of a holy grail for long distance walkers, keen to cover the 186 miles (299 km) – this has since been incorporated into the Wales Coast Path, of which it’s one of the best two or three sections. I’ve walked most of the Path, just not in one go.

If you’re a beginner, an 8-mile (12 km) circular walk starting and finishing in the tiny city of St David’s, with the golden sands of Caerfai Bay your first stop. If you’re a more seasoned walker, the final northern section of the walk, from Newport to St Dogmaels, is one of the best coastal hikes you’ll ever attempt.

There are plenty of other activities for the adventurer in Pembrokeshire. It’s one of the places where coasteering – navigating the coastline at sea level – began, and St Non’s Bay, to the south of St David’s, is a great setting for this. You can also try your hand at sea kayaking at nearby Porth Clais, or surfing 6 miles (10 km) east at fantastic Newgale beach.

Pembrokeshire is also known throughout the UK and beyond for its beaches. Barafundle Bay, in the south of the county, is one of the most popular, and I’d also recommend Whitesands Bay near St David’s and Freshwater West, in the south of the county. As for a base to explore Pembrokeshire, St David’s is great, with a medieval cathedral that is the most impressive church in Wales. The seaside town of Tenby is another favourite, with three awesome beaches and one of the most picturesque harbours on the planet.   

By David Angel from Delve into Europe

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  Snowdonia National Park

  The Snowdonia National Park is located in a mountainous region in the Northwestern part of Wales. It has a total size of 823 square miles and was actually the first to be designated as a national park in Wales in 1951. It is home to some of the highest peaks in the UK outside of Scotland. 

Why should you visit? Well, Snowdonia is a dream. It consists of lush green hills, picturesque villages, lots and lots of fluffy sheep and a totally romantic scenery. Still, there is lots of adventure waiting to be discovered – from intense hikes over mountain biking at Coed y Brenin to trying out the longest zip line in Europe at Zip World Velocity. There is really so much to see and do!

But there are also a few hidden treasures that you should put on your list: The South of the park in particular is still a real insider tip away from the hustle and bustle and the demanding tours on the ridges of the Cader Idris is amazing as well as Bodnant Garden, which is one of the most beautiful British gardens.

Even if Snowdon can be overcrowded at times, you shouldn’t miss the highest mountain in Wales. There are many paths to its summit in various degrees of difficulty and it does give you the best feeling to actually reach the peak, feeling super tired but also super proud.

A trip to Newborough Warren, one of the most beautiful dune landscapes in Great Britain, is also worthwhile. This patch of Earth is very popular with the Welsh. The beach is full of families and youth groups splashing, grilling and/or drinking beer in the water. We suggest taking a leisurely stroll to the tidal island of Ynys Llanddwyn. According to legend, Dor founded a monastery at Dwynwen, the patron saint of Welsh lovers.

Not an insider tip, but the hike up to the Cnicht is still nice and quite lonely! The Cnicht is often referred to as the “Matterhorn of Wales” due to its striking shape. According to our hiking guide, the tour to its summit should last 6 hours, whereas it took us 3 hours to make it to the top. I don’t know how we did it, but I guess we found a secret shortcut, which is so secret that we met no one but dirty sheep. We won’t tell you where it is, but we’re sure you’ll find it!

By Clemens Sehi from Travellers Archive

    South Downs National Park

South Downs National Park – Youngest national park in Great Britain

  South Downs National Park is located in south-east England. This is the youngest national park in Great Britain. It covers an area of approximately 1,600 square kilometres and stretches over 140 kilometres between the city of Winchester in the west and Eastbourne in the east. South Downs National Park was established only in 2010. Although its creation was recommended in 1947, it took the authorities 52 years to make a decision. Implementation of the plan took another decade. Finally, the park opened its doors officially only on April 1, 2011.

The park stretches across three counties: Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. It covers the range of Cretaceous South Down hills, which terminate in the chalky cliffs of Beachy Head in Eastbourne, and much of West Weald, which is characterized by heavily forested sandstone and clay hills and valleys. Visiting this part of England is a must! Our favourite place is Seven Sister Cliffs – one of the most stunning landscapes in Southern England. 160 km South Downs Way runs through the park, which is one of the National Trails long distance routes in Great Britain and the only one that lies entirely within the national park.

Thanks to very good train connections with London, the area is the favourite destination for weekend getaways for the residents of the British capital. The hills are a great place for walking, cycling and horse riding. There are as many as 3200 kilometres of well-marked paths throughout the park, so everybody will find a suitable trial.

South Downs is not only nature, but also history. Man has already inhabited these lands in prehistoric times. Most archaeological finds come from the Roman period. However, the most famous is Cissbury Ring – the second largest fort in the UK and one of the largest in Europe. The chalky cliffs of Beachy Head attract not only tourists but also film crews. It was here that he reached the shore after the crusade “Robin Hood Prince of Thieves” played by Kevin Costner. 

If you love nature and plan visiting one of the National Parks in the UK, start with South Downs. It really is one of the most stunning parks in the United Kingdom!

By Darek from Darek and Gosia

    Yorkshire Dales National Park

Yorkshire Dales National Park – One of the Most Stunning National Parks in UK

  Yorkshire is the largest county in the UK so it is no surprise that it is also home to one of the most stunning National Parks in the UK. The Yorkshire Dales National Park was formed in 1954 in recognition of its extraordinary natural beauty and was extended to reach further into Cumbria, Lancashire and more of Yorkshire in 2016. 

The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a vast and interesting place to visit and can occupy any outdoor enthusiast for months with an array of activities, sights to see and more. You won’t just be filled with natural beauty and stunning views but also warm welcomes and kind hearts welcoming you into their homes and villages. 

Depending on what you love to do will depend on where in the Yorkshire Dales National Park you want to go. Though anywhere you go you will find something to do. If you like to visit film locations then the Yorkshire Dales is a place for you, with scenes from Harry Potter films at Malham Cove’s stunning limestone walls and villages such as Kettlewell playing a big role in the 2003 Calendar Girls film starring Dame Helen Mirren and Julie Walters. 

One of the biggest challenges for hiking enthusiasts is the Yorkshire Three Peaks, a 24-mile hike up three of the biggest hills, Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales. This can be done as part of a tour, by yourself (there are some rules before taking on the challenge) or as part of fundraising activity. 

One of my favourite activities to do while in the Yorkshire Dales is walking and hiking. There are stunning views and walks around the villages, to waterfalls and by rivers. Visit some of the stunning limestone features with the most popular being Malham Cove and don’t forget to see the peaceful reservoir of Malham Tarn.

Other activities include rock climbing, nature works and visiting some of the many waterfalls in and around the hills and villages. Many of the local village pubs have beer gardens that back onto rivers and streams so you can spend a sunny afternoon having lunch by the water. Along with visiting places above ground level, you can also explore some of the natural caves such as Yordas Cave or Ingleborough Caves. 

There are so many diverse activities you can do in and around the Yorkshire Dales National Park that it would take a lifetime to see and do them all. 

By Helen & Cora Harrison from Inside Our Suitcase

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Best National Parks in the United Kingdom (UK) U.K. Travel Bucket List - Best National Parks The month is May and the year 2020, the World as we know it, has been in lockdown mode for the better part of the year now, as COVID - 19, is spreading like wildfire everywhere.

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Why Immerse? Why choose our Cambridge summer programme?

An unparalleled educational experience held in inspiring settings throughout the UK. Immerse is a residential academic programme with a diverse and enriching curriculum. Our 16-18 year old programmes are designed to provide a taster of what it’s like to study a subject at university level. Our 13-15 year old programmes are designed to ignite students’ interest and help them better understand what subjects they should be pursuing at a higher level.

All academic sessions are carefully designed and taught by expert tutors in an optimal learning environment that stimulates academic enquiry. And our carefully planned schedule ensures that the programme not only meets the academic needs of the participants, but also provides a unique experience of the university city through an abundance of extracurricular activities.

Students reside in one of central Cambridge’s largest and most beautiful university colleges. Within the college’s historic walls, we pride ourselves on providing unique experiences of leadership and academic excellence through an inspirational programme for participants. With its diverse and enriching curriculum, the programme allows students to explore and further their knowledge of a chosen subject in an unrivalled academic environment. Students emerge more confident and ready to articulate what they have learnt, with knowledge of their chosen fields that provides fascinating academic insights – and, of course, many unforgettable memories along the way.

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Food And Also Consume.

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