Over the past couple of years I seem to have become a bit of a foodie, always on the hunt for something new to try and eager to experience local cuisines whenever I travel. I browse as many blogs, reviews and tips as possible, not just on what to see and do, but also on what to eat. I’ve noticed myself talking about, blogging about and taking pictures of food more and more often and my Instagram feed now seems to be filled with more photos of food than it is of travel (oops!)
It may not be snowing quite yet* but winter has taken over London with full force. I don’t leave the house without making sure I’m all wrapped up in a big coat, woolly scarf and gloves, but after being outside for just a few minutes, my cheeks are rosy red, my nose is running and I feel like I’ve been slapped in the face with the full force of the bitter wind.
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.
If you read my previous post about this park in Peru’s capital city of Lima, you’ll already understand why it very quickly became my favourite park in the entire world.
But there’s also another reason why Kennedy Park is simply like no other. A whole load of people, of all ages, sex and ethnicity, converge in one part of the park for a massive dance.
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.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Venice is one of the most photogenic cities I’ve ever visited. Every narrow cobbled alley you explore, every canal you wander past, every colourful little building; everywhere you turn there is another beautiful sight to stumble across.
Even the rooftops are just as colourful as the buildings, which is why I loved the view from the top of San Marco Campanile.
As the name of this blog suggests, I love a fun adventure, so when we were invited to try out the Tree Top Adventure at Go Ape I jumped at the chance – quite literally when it came to the activity!
Our location was Wendover Woods, a lush green forest not far from Oxford where we were heading for a weekend getaway outside London.
We were hoping for one of those unexpectedly warm and sunny days we’re occasionally treated to in autumn but unfortunately for us we woke up to a foggy drizzly morning, the ground already wet from the rain that had clearly poured down through the night.
Anyone who knows me at all will know that I love food. All food, any food, I love it all. But when it comes to making food…well that’s a whole other thing entirely.
I was never taught to cook or bake when I was younger so now that I’m all grown up I just don’t do it, which may explain why I eat out so much.
But for my mum’s last birthday I wanted to do something special for her. She is the biggest chocoholic I know – she’s actually intolerant to chocolate but still eats it anyway – because what crazy fool would give up chocolate?!
After a lovely couple of days in Bath and Cheddar Gorge, the last stop on our mini road trip was the Cotswolds where we planned on seeing some of England’s greenest countryside and stopping off at several of its small villages before heading back home. As is typical in England, it rained pretty much the whole time, but this didn’t make the area any less beautiful. In fact, I took so many photos that I just had to share all the prettiness of the Cotswolds with you.
It may have been a cloudy day in Rio de Janeiro, but standing at the top of Sugarloaf Mountain looking down at the city’s iconic landscape, the view was still jaw dropping.
We spent a while wandering around, pointing out all the sights we could see from the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema with their long stretches of white sand, to the tightly packed favelas with their bright and colourful buildings. I was so disappointed that we couldn’t see Christ the Redeemer through all the foggy clouds and this is just one of the many reasons why I want to make a trip back to this amazing city.
Mama Ayla's Adventures 