Tag: food

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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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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European Easters

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Over the last few years, it seems we’ve got into a pattern of exploring a different city in Europe every Easter. The holiday season is the perfect opportunity for a long weekend break to one of the many gorgeous cities and stunning landscapes that so much of Europe has to offer that aren’t too far from home.

Our first European Easter trip took us to Venice, somewhere I’d wanted to visit for a long time. With gondolas floating down the winding canals, colourful buildings with their open shuttered windows, and narrow alleys to get lost down, it was everything I expected it to be and more.

Paris isn’t the City of Love. Venice is.

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Taking the Good with the Bad

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I’ve got a lot of exciting adventures to look forward to over the next few months, including trips to Belgium, Edinburgh and South America, as well as lots of plans around London and a visit from a certain lovely Australian.

While all of this makes me super excited it also means we’ve been saving hard to fund all of this. Being in Rio de Janeiro for the World Cup is going to cost a small fortune by itself let alone with all the other adventures on top.  (And no I can’t do less or miss a few things out…of course I need all these adventures in my life!)

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Nothing less than paradise at Marari Villas

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After an exhausting 2 and a half weeks travelling around the busy, noisy and dusty cities of North India, arriving at Marari Villas was like stepping into a whole different world.  A small resort in the quiet beach village of Mararikulam in Kerala, Marari Villas was exactly the bit of luxury and relaxation we needed to end our trip with.

While I plan all our trips and Alex just goes along with whatever I say (who says there’s no such thing as the perfect man?!), I had told Alex absolutely nothing about this place.  I knew how good it was and I wanted to see his face when he realised this.

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Mr Ayla’s Birthday Adventures

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This weekend was Alex’s birthday and, me being me, I obviously liked to have a couple of exciting things planned to celebrate.

First off, seeing as I had a weekend of fun activities planned, I thought I should make his actual birthday a relaxing one after a long hard day at work.  And what better way to relax than to put on some comfy pjs and just chill.  So a onesie party it was!

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Flavours of Morocco: Restaurant Review

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I eat out far too much to write a review on every restaurant I go to, but somewhere I tried for the first time recently was just too good not to write about.

My friend and I wanted to try somewhere different from the usual places we eat out so we took a drive around locally to see what we could find.  We stumbled upon Flavours of Morocco, a little Moroccan restaurant a short 10 minutes away from my home; it’s twinkling lights and pretty Moroccan decor invited us in as well as a chance to try some proper Moroccan food for the first time.

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10 Essentials To Take To India

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I like to think I know what to pack when I go on trips.  I do hours of research and make hundreds of lists, and travel experience also helps in knowing what to take.  I’m proud to say I’ve never once forgotten anything and found myself desperately in need of it when away.  (Okay so there was the time when I forgot my bra and had to turn back around when half way to the airport but that was totally Alex’s fault.  And yes it was a much needed piece of underwear!)

But India is in a league of its own when it comes to what you need to take with you.

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A Christmas In India

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When I think of Christmas, white snow and twinkly fairy lights come to mind; Christmas crackers with ridiculous jokes; stuffing myself full with my nan and grandad’s yummy roast dinner; opening presents from under the Christmas tree; and getting into arguments over games with the family. But I had none of that this year.

This year Alex and I spent our Christmas in India. Instead of white snow we had hot sunshine, and the roast turkey was substituted with curry.

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Christmas…? What Christmas?!

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What with my upcoming trip to India, I’ve been struggling to find time to fit in writing around all the planning.  And when I plan a trip, I really plan a trip.  No bars spared, I will put all my energy, concentration and every waking minute into making it as incredible an adventure as it can possibly be.  I may end up completely drained and about to pass out from exhaustion but it will all have been worth it in the end!

For this trip, as well as getting an extortionate amount of tips from other bloggers and twitterers (the #travelindia hashtag by Poonam has been super helpful), I have been reading up on India from my stack of books.  This is something I always do when I go away and I think it’s a great way to research.

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