Wandering in Porto

Posted on 04/28/2013 by Angie

Last weekend I got to to explore Porto with my friend Ingrid!

It was so nice to get away and that it was warm was an added bonus.

Porto in Portugal is a lovely city that impressed me greatly and I would recommend anyone to visit. Its a beautiful city on the river and close to the ocean. We walked everywhere to explore the city. It is very hilly, but worth it to get close to the river and then the views from higher up.

We stayed new the main square, which seemed to be the centre for arts.

The main bridge was designed by the man who designed the Eiffel Tower. It was lovely to sit by the river and watch the world go by.

The bakeries were amazing! So many different cakes and breads. We tried a variety over the weekend – no wonder I put on weight, but worth it!

There was also an amazing bookshop which I could have stayed in for a really long time if it hadn’t been so busy. If it had been quiet it would have been a really peaceful place to explore.

I love all the red terracotta roofs.

We went a on river boat trip and also Port Tasting, but I’ll cover that in another post

We spent a lovely afternoon at the Crystal Palace gardens.

Lots of the churches have amazing tiled walls.

Overall it was a lovely weekend away. Four nights is perfect for a European city break. Porto held more wonders than I had expected and it is a lovely place place to visit with reasonable prices too.

Wandering Around Edinburgh at Christmas

Posted on 12/23/2012 by Angie

I love Edinburgh. It is one of the three cities where I could see myself living in the future. I got to spend three days wandering and doing exactly what I wanted and it was fantastic! This is going to be a fairly long post as I am putting everything into one!

The Christmas Market was on and was fun to wander through each day.

I enjoyed some Original Edinburgh Mead in the Highland Market

And then apple strudel in the German Christmas Market

I used Shauna’s recommendations for places to visit in Edinburgh

Adventures in Coffee… Lovecrumbs

I walked over to this cafe intending to have coffee and cake, but when I arrived I really didn’t fancy anything sweet, so just went for a long black coffee, which was nice and strong. The cakes looked amazing and I’m sad I didn’t get one, but I enjoyed the coffee.

Adventures in Tea and Food… Eteaket

I focused my first day in the city on shopping. I still had a few presents to buy and this was my last chance. I stumbled across Eteaket while shopping and am so glad I did. I went for the Awesome Assam tea, which I intend to order online as well as take part in there Tea Club! I then went for the soup and sandwich combo for lunch – spicy tomato noodle soup and a houmous and feta sandwich (totally stealing this idea for at home!).

Adventures in Coffee.. Brew Lab

I woke up my second day to rain so turned it into a coffee tour of the city. I found this Brew Lab using the Edinburgh’s Coffee Lovers blog and the map they have created off all the coffee shops in the city – AMAZING! I fell in love with this place as soon as I walked in the door. It is rustic and cosy. The staff were lovely and helpful and recommended a coffee to try. A long black coffee of their espresso blend after talking through the types of coffee I like. I found a comfy armchair with it’s own shelf to sit and enjoy my drink. I also just found out they use Has Bean Roasters, which is the coffee subscription i am saving up to get next year

Adventures in Food… Peter’s Yard

I went in search of Peter’s Yard for lunch and was so happy I did. I found a modern and open cafe with a wonderful selection of lunch items and sweet treats. I went for the brie and goat’s cheese on olive bread. It was super yum.

Adventures in Coffee… Wellington Coffee

I then wandered after lunch in search of a Christmas present for my dad and a birthday present for my mum – the most difficult people to buy for. I wasn’t planning on grabbing another coffee, but stumbled across Wellington Coffee and remembered it was mention on the Edinburgh’s Coffee Lovers blog so went inside to warm up. It’s a tiny place, but perfect for a one cup stop to warm up. I had a flat white, which was nice and strong, but the milk made it nice and smooth (I think it was whole milk as I didn’t specify skinny). I was sat right by the counter and kept staring at the homemade scones, but held back because I was planning on heading elsewhere for my afternoon sweet treat.

Adventures in Food and Tea… Cuckoo’s Bakery

This was where I was heading and it was worth the walk! It is a lovely bakery, tea/coffee shop set back out of the city centre. I headed there on Shauna’s recommendation for a cupcake – I went for the black forest one!

I also had cherry almond tea, which complemented the cupcake nicely. If you get a chance to visit I highly recommend it. They do a variety of lunch items as well as a wide selection of cupcakes.

I really enjoyed my trip away from everything. I enjoy heading off on my own every now and again as it feels like a proper break away from all the normal things at home. It was my chance to do exactly what I wanted and I did!

Adventures in Food… Centotre

My last stop before heading home was the lovely Centotre, an italian resturant for breakfast with the lovely Shauna from the The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl and Up & Running! We had breakfast of poached eggs with toast and it was great. I really want to learn to poach an egg. I currently use little poachet pouches, but I would love to be able to do them without. I’m going to check in with Shauna next year to see if she has mastered it. I also had some great coffee and also the orange juice was amazing!

This made my trip. Shuana’s blog was the first blog I ever started reading and have kept reading because I love how real she is. Also so warm, funny and honest in person. I definitely had a fangirl moment or two We talked about quite a few different things, but eating was the main topic. I’ve been following Shauna and Juila’s Happy and Mindful plan for December and have found it honest and insightful. Not a single calorie of point in sight, just three meals a day and being aware of choices. It was interesting talking to Shauna about triggers and emotional eating as I find it is not simple for me. I can eat too much when I am happy and celebrating, sad, feeling lonely or just feeling too much and can’t cope. The only time I don’t eat is when I feel anxious and I have also moved away from angry eating and instead heading up the gym to lift from heavy weights. Learning new ways to cope and deal with unsettling emotions is going to be my way forward. But also to accept that I might never not use food to cope and understand that is okay and not beat myself up.

It was great to be able to talk to someone else who has similar experiences with food without feeling judged or a burden, just understanding and talking about ideas for change. Thank you Shauna I really enjoyed meeting you and exploring Edinburgh

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Wandering Wishlist… Japan

Posted on 10/28/2012 by Angie

This is the fist post in my Wandering Wish List series. Trip planning is one of my favourite activies and since my trip at the beginning of the year I haven’t had any trips to plan (due to money constraints) so I decided to put my skills to use and start thinking about trips I could do from next year.

My next big (and expensive I imagine) trip will be to Japan. This may be next year or the year but I already am excited about it. I got a copy of the Rough Guide to Japan from my local library

Japan is much bigger than I thought and is desctibed as “a place of ancient gods and customs, but also the cutting edge of modernity”. It has four main islands – Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu (I need to learn to use the other parts of the keyboard) – as well 6800 other islands!

I was orginally thinking of a 2-3 week trip, but the rough guide says this will only skim the surface. I still think this will have to be the length of the trip for work and budget purposes, so it just means choosing carefully where to visit. I am thinking spring at the moment as this is supposed to be the most pleasant time of year to visit. I may also get to see the Cherry Blossoms bloom! Although if I want to do trekking summer might be better. This needs more research

Tokyo is of course on the top of my list. It is where I would fly in and out of so I will be guaranteed time there at either end of my trip. It is also the capital and can’t be missed. Kyoto is another place I want to visit. It is described as the cultural centre and from the images I have looked at int he book and online it looks beautiful. I would also like to visit historical areas such as Nikko and Kamakura.

Of course the food is another exciting part of visiting Japan. I can’t wait to see the difference between our version of Japanese food and the real thing! In the Rough Guide it talks about Kaiseki-Ryori – Japan’s Haute cuisine made form seasonal ingredients.

Another place I want to see, if not climb, is Mount Fuji. Exodus offers two trips to Japan and one includes climbing the mountain (I did Amalfi, Peru and Kilimanjaro with them – excellent company). It is down as challenging and is very weather dependent. I am unsure on this at the moment, but it is something I am considering.

Another part of Japanese culture I want to experience is staying in Ryokan – a traditional Japanese Inn. I am thinking this would be quite peaceful and would be a restful part of my trip.

Japan has been at the top of my list for a while and I now feel it is getting closer to actually happening. This will be a totally selfish trip as I am just doing it for me. I’ve only spoken to people about it who have already been, so haven’t had any interest in anyone joining me. I wouldn’t mind if someone else wanted to join me, but I would also be okay with going on my own (especially if I went on one of the Exodus trips).

I will look again once I am all moved into my house. I can then set the date and get saving!

Wandering Around Grassmere

Posted on 06/07/2012 by Angie

Last weekend I headed up to the Lake District. Originally I had planned to walk up Scafell Pike, but I was not feeling up to it as I have done no walking training in ages and didn’t want to be miserable all day, especially as I was only up there for 2 nights.

So instead we explored a few of the villages around where war staying.

The hostel was great. I was very impressed and would stay there again.