Football Fever in Brazil

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I am not a football fan. At all. The closest I’ve ever got to being interested in football was watching Alex play on Sunday mornings, but now I much prefer staying in bed till he gets home at noon 😉

Alex, on the other hand, is football crazy. He teaches it every day in his job, he plays football every week, he even collects football stickers like the big kid he really is. So going to Brazil during the World Cup was completely his idea. Not mine. While he was looking forward to the World Cup like it was the most exciting thing in his life to ever happen, I was just looking forward to relaxing on the beach sipping a Caipirinha.

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Panoramic Peru

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I’m not really a fan of using my iPhone to take photos and my camera comes pretty much everywhere with me. But we ended up using our phones a lot more than usual on this trip as silly old Alex broke our camera by dropping it the evening before we started the Inca Trail – one of the greatest hikes in the world. Yes, I was angry (slight understatement!), and no, he didn’t hear the end of it!

After hunting around the small city of Cusco for hours looking for a repair shop, it somehow magically fixed itself, only for silly old me to go and break it again by getting it wet during a storm in the Amazon Rainforest.  And yes, I was just as angry with myself as I had been with Alex!

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Split Second Story

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While we were wandering around Lima, we came across Kennedy Park, a pretty green area nestled in the district of Miraflores. This is now my favourite park in the world – not because of the abundance of green grass for people to relax on in the sunshine and not even because of the people that gather to dance to the Peruvian music – but because of the cats. The park is home to an array of cats who roam around, finding shelter amongst the flowers, climbing the trees to hide from lively children, and trying to pinch some food from people having picnics.

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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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I Heart Belgium (Part II): Brussels

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After a lovely couple of days in Bruges we made our way on the train to Brussels; we were sad to leave but excited to explore a new city.  But the capital of Belgium didn’t give us the greatest of first impressions.  Everything looked old, dirty and grey and before we’d even got to our accommodation we were both wishing we’d stayed in Bruges for a bit longer.

But, not one to judge a book by its cover, we dumped our bags and started exploring straight away, and soon realised that Brussels was not all it first seemed.

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Liebster Award

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Getting recognition for your blog is always a wonderful thing so I was excited to be told that Mrs Ayla’s Adventures has been nominated for a Liebster Award by Mike at Bemused Backpacker. Not only is Mike a brilliant writer himself, but he has supported the blog since I first started it, and has also became a good friend (as well as my unofficial travel nurse!) so I am once again truly grateful for his support.

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On The Move

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Sitting still doesn’t come naturally to me.  After a day of relaxing on a beach, my feet start twitching, and I’m ready to get up and start exploring.

All the travelling to reach new destinations can sometimes take it’s toll.  I don’t even want to think about the ludicrous amount of hours I’ve spent waiting at airports or train stations; the number of times I’ve rushed in a panic to catch a flight; the amount of delays that have frustrated me, and the hours of sleep I’ve lost to jet leg; the irritation of bartering over prices for a local taxi, tuk tuk or bus; the air miles I could have earned if only I had been clever enough to sign up in the first place; and all the plane food I’ve consumed (and yes, I’m one of those rare few people who actually enjoys plane food. It’s food…what’s not to like?!).

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I Heart Belgium (Part I): Bruges

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Having heard so much about the small, quaint and fairytale-like town of Bruges, I was eager to get there and see it for myself.  And it really is all of the above with extra cuteness on top.

Only an hour away from Brussels, by day Bruges is filled with tourists on day trips and it’s hard to move between the large tour groups that fill Market Square.  Queues are long for the main attractions like climbing the 366 steps of the Belfry, sampling the chocolate at the Choco-Story Museum, and taking a boat ride along the canals that wind through the town, much like the canals in Venice except here they don’t make your eyes boggle at the price!

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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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