Category: London

Bloc Hotel London Gatwick Airport

The Perfect Way To Start A Holiday: Bloc Hotel Gatwick

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Ever since I was a little girl, the start of a holiday has always been getting up at stupid o’clock in the middle of the night, the sky still pitch black outside and not a sound to be heard as we pack up the car to head off to the airport. When I book holidays now I will always pick the earliest morning flight there is, not only because it means we get more time away, but also because my older self still loves starting holidays in this way.

Mr Ayla, on the other hand, isn’t such a massive fan of the early starts. He moans and groans about only getting a nap for a night’s sleep and he hates having to wake himself up properly if he’s the one to drive to the airport while I relax in the passenger seat.

So ahead of our long flight to Cuba I thought it only fair that he get a good night’s sleep and we decided to try out an airport hotel for the first time.

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Afternoon tea with a twist at BRGR.CO

Afternoon Tea with a Twist at BRGR.CO

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Afternoon tea is one of those quintessentially English things that everyone has to do at least once in their life. Or preferably once every few months if you become addicted to it, much like I have.

London is chock-a-block full of a huge variety of places serving afternoon tea.  From a fancy high tea, traditional afternoon tea or a more modern tea with a unique theme; whichever one it is, I love them all.  Savoury snacks, warm scones smothered with clotted cream, different flavours of tea from all over the world, and enough sweet nibbles to leave you well and truly satisfied.

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Passport stamp heart print

New Year Adventures…

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I’ve been a bit quiet on the blog and social media front lately as, to put it simply, I was just having too much fun over the holidays. Relaxing, playing board games, eating way too many pigs in blankets and chocolate Roses, and enjoying some time just switching off. Seeing as we pretty much skipped Christmas last year as we were travelling around India, I wanted to make the most of this one with my family and friends, and the last couple of weeks couldn’t have been better if they’d tried!

Wherever you were in the world, I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year too!

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Paddington Bear Trail London

On the Search for Bears on the Paddington Trail

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With my overly excitable and big kiddish personality, I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone that I love a fun children’s film, so when I saw the trailer for the new Paddington movie, of course I was massively thrilled. Alex usually gets dragged along to the cinema, packed full of screaming and giggling children, to watch these sorts of movies with me, but even this was one he actually wanted to see.

So when I came across the Paddington Trail, a fun adventure in London by the NSPCC and Studiocanal to celebrate the release of the film, my excitement tripled!  Paddington Bear statues popped up all over the city waiting to be found by curious children and eager adults.

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Ice skating at Somerset House London

Getting Festive in London

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I will admit that up until now I have been a bit of a Scrooge.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Christmas, and not having a proper Christmas last year as we were travelling around India, means I’m looking forward to it a whole lot more than usual this year.  But seeing Christmas gifts starting to be sold in shops, hearing Christmas songs on the radio, walking past houses twinkling with lights, and being asked about my plans for Christmas in October and November, well that is just way too far in advance for my liking.

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Afternoon tea at Hush

Afternoon Tea and Cocktail Making at Hush, London

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I’m ashamed to say that, despite living in London for the whole 26 years of my life, I had never been to afternoon tea before.  I find this hard to even believe myself as I have so much love for tea, cake, chocolate, scones, pretty much all food really, that this sort of thing should have been high on my to-do list.  When I finally had my first afternoon tea experience earlier this year, I’m pretty happy to say that it exceeded all expectations and I now seem to have become quite addicted.  A pretty good addiction to have though wouldn’t you agree?

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Cats and Cake at Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium

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I know I talk about animals a lot but there is a reason for that…animals are simply great.  There is no doubt about it that every single animal is fascinating in its own way and even though I spend a lot of my spare time with them when I volunteer at London Zoo and with my own pets at home, there is still some sort of magnetic pull wherever I am in the world that has me heading straight for the nearest fluffy nosed creature around.

So when I heard that Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium, the UK’s first cat cafe, opened up in London earlier this year there was no doubt that I had to go.

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My Latest Adventures

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The last few weeks have been pretty crazy and I haven’t had much time to sleep let alone keep you all updated on my adventures!

Since Belgium, which was only last month but seems like a lot longer ago now, I’ve been pretty much non-stop.  And what with jetting off to South America this weekend (woohooooooooo!!!), it would be impossible for me to tell you about it all before I go.  You are such an inconvenience South America 😉  So, I’ve managed to condense my latest adventures into this one post to give you an idea of what I’ve been getting up to lately.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Spring

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I love Spring, when the weather gets warmer, the smell of fresh rain and cut grass drifts through the air and colourful flowers are in abundance. Everyone seems that little bit happier and, in London, you may even get the odd smile from a passerby.

The cherry blossoms that dot the trees are my favourite, bright pink or white, giving a normally dull looking street a burst of colour. On my trip to Edinburgh this weekend, the view from outside the guest house we stayed at was beautiful. Not only could did we have a brilliant view of the Castle right at the end of the street, but the road was also lined with pink cherry blossoms, making it look like a pretty picture from a Scottish fairytale.

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A Chocolate Ecstasy Tour

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I may have just had a long weekend in Belgium, but that didn’t stop me going on a chocolate tour of London the week before. This was purely because I wanted to treat my chocoholic of a mum and not out of my own desire to stuff my face with chocolate. Obviously 😉 My sister also wanted to come along because who can resist a day of eating chocolate?

I’d spoken to Jen, our lovely guide and the creator of Chocolate Ecstasy, beforehand so I already felt like I knew her. As soon as the group had all gathered we were all given a bottle of water to cleanse our palates throughout the day.

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