Latest London Adventures

March 17, 2016March 17, 201624 Comments

The desire to get on a plane and step foot in a different country is currently taking over my every thought. I haven’t been away since our trip to France back in December and although I love a staycation, our weekend break in Brighton just does not count. I know I may sound greedy but I’m sure most of you travellers out there will agree with me – travel is like a drug and right now I am having some massive withdrawal symptoms.

So the thought of our impending American adventure next week is like the light at the end of a very long very dark tunnel.

But I’m not one to sit around at home just waiting for something exciting to happen, so in the meantime I’ve kept myself busy by becoming a tourist in my own city and exploring more of London. I often take for granted the fact that I live in such a fantastic city but it’s little adventures like these that make me remember how great London really is.

So I’ve put together a little itinerary of some of our latest explorations over the past few weeks that would make for a fun weekend in London.

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The Best Lip-Smacking Places to Eat in Marrakech

March 9, 201623 Comments

Almost as soon as we had dropped off our bags in our beautiful riad we found ourselves stepping back out into the chaos of Marrakech’s Medina. Cars tried to jostle their way through the dusty streets, donkeys pulling carts alongside them and mopeds speeding by loudly tooting their horns. We darted out, joining the people (and cats) zigzagging between the traffic. Our bellies were rumbling and we were on a mission to find some Moroccan food.

Not a total surprise, I’m sure, that the first thing I do in a different country is hunt out the local food. But Morocco is a place where the cuisine is such a huge part of the culture – well I like to tell myself this anyway so that I have an excuse for all the eating! With five days in this magical and mythical city we attempted to eat our way around the whole of Marrakech, from sipping mint tea in rooftop cafes, sampling street food in the bustling markets, and fine dining in luxurious hotels.

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A Surprise Adventure

February 29, 2016April 20, 201681 Comments

It’s been five long torturous months of having to keep this secret to myself and now I can finally share it. Mr Ayla turned 30 yesterday and I’d planned a little surprise for his birthday. There may actually be a few of you (okay possibly a lot of you) who already know about this surprise – I may not have been able to share it with my husband but the excitement was too much not to share with anyone at all!

Mr Ayla woke up on his birthday morning to be greeted with a treasure hunt leading him to a selection of clues around the house and finally to his big surprise…

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A Valentine’s Weekend in Brighton

February 23, 201624 Comments

Apart from family trips when I was little, as well as the odd night out in my slightly wilder days of partying and actually being able to cope with a hangover, Brighton is somewhere that I haven’t really seen in years. So when my mum gave us a Segway experience voucher for Christmas, we decided to spend Valentine’s weekend trying out this new adventure near Brighton and then spending the rest of the weekend exploring the city.

After an afternoon of fun whizzing our way through the woods on our Segways, with me desperately trying to avoid tree trunks while attempting to keep up with Mr Ayla, we made our way down to the seaside. Thankfully we didn’t have too much mud to wash off ourselves before heading out for dinner where, for once, I didn’t take a single photo of our food. Shock horror I know! But it was Valentine’s weekend and we just wanted to enjoy our meal for a change. (I think Mr Ayla was rather happy that he was able to eat his food while it was still hot without all my photo taking!)

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A Weird and Wonderful Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea at the Sanderson

February 11, 2016February 11, 201639 Comments

My sister loves Alice in Wonderland and I love cake, so it seemed only fitting that I take her to an Alice inspired afternoon tea for her birthday. I’ve decided that this is the best possible gift to give someone. Not only do they get the enjoyment of the afternoon tea but so do I, which is totally a win-win situation.

Themed afternoon teas are my favourite – there’s always something different to both fill you up and to entertain you and the Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea didn’t disappoint. Set in the Sanderson Hotel just off Oxford Street, from the outside it looks like a simple office building and nothing fancy at all. Inside though, the reception and bar area is decked out with a random collection of various shaped chairs which we obviously both got comfy on straight away. I guess it made sense that such a unique hotel would hold something as quirky as a Mad Hatter’s tea party!

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A Weekend Discovering Le Havre: Part 2

January 24, 2016January 24, 20167 Comments

As I promised in my post last week all about our weekend discovering Le Havre, here is our second day exploring this lovely city on the coastline of France, just a short ferry ride from Portsmouth. Not quite as hectic as the first day, today was spent wandering around the city and, best of all, sampling lots more delicious French food.

Despite all the wine the previous night, we were up bright and early in the morning for a stroll along the harbour just outside our hotel. And what a glorious morning it was. Even though it was winter, the skies were bright blue and the sun shone down on us as we got ready for a new day of adventures.

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A Weekend Discovering Le Havre

January 14, 2016January 28, 201620 Comments

Shortly before Christmas Mr Ayla and I set off for a weekend of discovery in Le Havre, along with Brittany Ferries, Le Havre Tourisme and a group of other keen adventurers. Only a short ferry ride from Portsmouth (or a slightly longer ferry ride with a cosy little cabin to nap in), Le Havre was somewhere that I had admittedly never heard of. I was expecting a small French town with not a massive amount to do and, extremely unusual for me, I hadn’t done a single bit of research before we left. For once I was happy to let someone else do all the planning and Le Havre Tourisme had a fantastic weekend ahead organised for us.

Over the course of the 48 hours we spent in Le Havre, we had an itinerary packed full of sightseeing and adventures. The quiet little French town that I was expecting to visit was nowhere in sight. Instead, I was surprised to find a city rich in history, teeming with beautiful architecture, a mouth-watering cuisine and only a stone’s throw from the Normandy countryside.

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The Mules of Marrakech

January 7, 2016January 7, 201626 Comments

It’s no secret that I have a massive love for animals and every time we travel I seem to make furry friends wherever we go. In fact, my doctor always recommends that I get a rabies shot whenever we travel because, whether I’m living with lions in South Africa, saying hello to street dogs in India, cuddling flea ridden kittens in Fiji, or doing my usual job of volunteering at London Zoo, absolutely nothing can keep me away from animals.

So when I started my research on Marrakech and came across Jarjeer Mules, a retirement home and care centre for donkeys just a short drive out of the city, there was no doubt in my mind that we had to go.

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My Favourite Travel Memories from 2015

December 29, 2015December 30, 201552 Comments

As 2015 comes to an end and we look back on a year of fabulous adventures, and onto 2016 which will hopefully be filled with many more, I know you’re already thinking “oh no, not another New Year round up post!”. So okay, I may be doing a total cliche here but I figured that this year has been a pretty awesome one so I simply couldn’t resist. Plus, Mr Ayla is adamantly refusing to go on as many trips next year (oops my finger must have accidently slipped and hit enter to book those flights!!) so all I can do is look back on some of my favourite memories from this year.

Despite having a full time job I’ve managed to squeeze in plenty of adventures, from long haul relaxing holidays to short city breaks closer to home; trips with both family and friends; sightseeing holidays, hiking trips, beach breaks and everything in between. While we may not have anything planned for next year (yet) these are some of my favourite travel memories from 2015, and some of these places have very quickly worked their way to the top of my favourite ever destinations.

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Drinking Our Way Around The World

December 17, 2015December 17, 201527 Comments

It’s no secret that I love a fruity cocktail. In fact most of my family and friends will forever relate the Piña Colada song to me because every time a cocktail, pineapple, or just a drink in general is mentioned, I start singing the tune – with Hawaiian style dance moves included of course. Yes, I like Piña Colada.

As it’s almost Christmas and I’m sure the celebrations are already in full swing, I thought I would add to the festivities by sharing some of the best and most popular drinks from around the world that we’ve come across on our travels. They’re not all cocktails – I promise – and they’re not all alcoholic. Unfortunately, Piña Colada isn’t on this list (sigh) because I’ve not yet been to Puerto Rico, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying what the rest of the world has to offer.

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