Serene Bath

Bath had been on my list of British cities to visit for a while. Unfortunately, its fairly western location meant that we never really found an excuse to go there, and most definitely not for a day trip. So when I realised that it was only 1.5 hours away from our friends' house who we were planning to visit anyway, I quickly convinced Louis that taking a day for ourselves to explore it was the best idea, ever. Luckily, he agreed and left the details to me.

I'm the first to admit that I am not a travel expert. Which is exactly why I utilise TripAdvisor for every thing. All I had to do was type "Bath" and bam, a list of things to do and see was before me. I browsed the list and came up with the places I really wanted to see. Our plan was to be there for one night and then spend the day roaming around before heading home in the evening, so I had to be picky with what we were going to spend time seeing. I narrowed it down to three locations (plus a cafe obviously for a coffee stop!): Royal Crescent, the Roman Baths, Pulteney Bridge and Prior Park Landscape Gardens. 

Google maps told me that the first three were walking distance to each other but the Gardens was a bit further. I made an itinerary and changed it and changed before I decided that we'll just have to play it by ear and possibly miss the Gardens. 

I also found our hotel via TripAdvisor. The Queensberry Hotel is a gorgeous place - don't be fooled by the unassuming exterior! Our booking had free parking included but as we drove up to the hotel we couldn't see a single space. After driving back up the hill a member of the staff came out and told us he would be happy to park our car. I found out as we were checking in that valet parking cost £5, which was a little cheeky but I also found out that we were upgraded so I wasn't too upset! I think that charging £5 for valet parking is fine, especially since they kept our car in their car park for the entire day after we'd checked out and even went out to get my shoes from the book, but it should've been made clear. However, I'd happily book again with them. 

Other than the a-mazing upgrade, the hotel made a point of rewarding us for booking directly with them, including giving me a linen tote. I was really happy to see that my efforts to book direct with a hotel were being appreciated. 

After a wonderful night's sleep, we headed down for a delicious breakfast in preparation for our day of exploration! The receptionist recommended we get the hop-on/hop-off tourist bus and mentioned that it even went up to Prior Landscape Gardens if we wanted to see it. Let me mention at this point, it was a typical English summer day, complete with rain and grey skies. So a visit to the Park was most likely not going to happen. Boo.

We decided to start our day on the tour bus and then figure out where we wanted to go after that. I don't normally take these hop-on/hop-off buses but I really enjoyed it. Tickets cost £14 each, but they included the other bus tour as well, which went up to the Gardens and covered a different part of the city. The tickets also granted us a discount on ticket admission for the Roman Baths, so for us it was worthwhile. Also, it was interesting learning about Bath and its history from our tour guides. Well worth it in my opinion.

After going around the bus once, we decided to hop off at the Royal Crescent and take some photos. When I was planning this trip, I had a beautiful sunny day in mind (amateur) and thought we might end up laying on the grass and soaking up the sun. Instead my shoes were soaking up street side puddles and so we quickly moved on indoors by going to the Roman Baths. The queue was not short but it moved quickly. I'll let the pictures do the talking - I've rambled on for too long already. 

The straightest street in Bath.

Royal Crescent.

Quirky jokes in the square.

Bath Abbey.

Bath Abbey - notice the angels climbing the ladder.

The dome in the entrance to the Baths.

Overlooking the Great Bath.

The Great Bath.

Structure that used to stand at the entrance of the Baths.

Coffin.

The Goddess Minerva.

The Sacred Spring - you could see the steam rising from the surface.

The Spring Overflow - an eternal supply of hot water. 

Plunge pools.

The heated rooms - the hypocaust.

Tasting the bath water. It was disgusting. Like warm iron. Ew Ew Ew.

After the Baths we were ready for our coffee break and so headed for Collona & Small's. It's a very cute coffee shop serving speciality coffee. I had a flat white and the board of information said the bean I chose would have blueberry flavour. Guess what? It really did. It was bizarre but really yummy at the same time. We also ordered date cake to share and I was impressed. In case you don't know, my cake standards are very high. It's from years of cake testing hehe

Coffee & cake.

The weather was still pretty bleak and the rain was on and off with more on than off. We decided we'd hope on the bus and head over to the Gardens. If it had stopped raining by then, we'd get off. Otherwise, we'd just head back into the city.

And I can't believe our luck. The rain stopped minutes before the stop to the entrance to the Gardens. There was no discussion, we hopped right off! You have to pay an entrance fee to enter the Gardens as they are owned by the National Trust. But it is really worth it, if only to see the Palladian bridge, 1 of 4 in the entire World. We had an incredible walk around the Gardens, and what made it even more special was that we were practically alone because no one wanted to go there given the the rain. Again, I'll let the photos do the talking but if you're ever in Bath, you really must visit this Park. It is just stunning. 

So peaceful.

View overlooking the city. Spectacular.

Ralph Allen's house. Ok, mansion.

So. Much. Green.

Summer house.

View of the city from another angle.

It really was this dreamlike.

After we I had my fill of taking trillions of photos of that breathtaking bridge, we decided to walk back into Bath town and get some food. We had been told by the lady at the entrance to the Park that it was about a 20 minute walk back into town and we were happy to be outside in the fresh air. We headed for The Real Italian Pizza Company, which I'd read about from Lorna over at Raindrops of Sapphire and also on TripAdvisor. Both Louis and I ordered pizzas and we were not disappointed! They were fresh, HUGE and disappeared in minutes! We also had gelato from their gelato shop next door but it wasn't anywhere near as nice as the pizzas were. 

Our day was coming to an end but we were so close to Pulteney Bridge that we mulled over there (literally a 2 minute walk) and talked about weirs and stuff. It really is an adorable little bridge.

Pulteney Bridge - the popular side.

I also decided that we must cross this bridge since it's so special and as we were crossing back to head to the hotel I realised that we could see the other side of the bridge. "Louis, we must see the other side of the bridge because all the photos always show one side!!". And after I saw the other side, I realised why. It was like the ugly twin sister.

I can't believe how much fun we had in Bath. It's such a fun city and quite different to any others I've been to in England. You can go there for culture, history and even shopping, since they have a fantastic shopping district. Hope you've enjoyed the photos!

Any British cities you would recommend?

Sx

HashtagFirstWorldProblems: Reading a book you just can't seem to finish

Has this ever happened to you? Surely it has. It must happen to everyone (cough cough in a first world conundrum like me). I'm reading For Whom the Bell Tolls. This is attempt number 3, if I remember correctly. My Kindle tells me I'm 41% through. My brain tells me I have 41% of my sanity left. But I want to finish it. I don't want to give up. It's a phase, you see. There came a time when I decided life was too short to trawl through a book I didn't enjoy. But recently I just don't want to put a book down. I don't think it helps that I keep a very public record of the books I read here. Damn it I've been reading this book since June..I can mark a little asterisk to say I never finished it. But that may will compromise my credibility as a book nerd.

Get it here.

First.

World.

Problem.

In other news, I have written my post about Bath but it has like 2951523 photos. Tell me, do you like looking at photos or should I go back to the editing table?

Happy Saturday everyone! 

Sx

It's a buuuuuurger record!!

Don't ask how, but amidst all of our meetings, dinners and weddings, Louis and I managed to have THREE burgers in the two weeks we were back in the UK. I think we deserve a medal...or a Weight Watchers voucher. Whatevs. 

Round 1 - Byron Burgers - O2 Centre, Finchley Road

We'd heard about Byron from some friends and Tripadvisor and so as soon as we stumbled on the one in the O2 Centre, our discussions of what to eat came to an end. I had the Smoky and a lemonade. Louis had the Byron and a soda float. We also ordered some chips and onion rings on the side.

Yummy soda float.

Looks better in the photos in my opinion.

Honestly, we weren't mind blown by their burgers. My burger wasn't medium as stated in the menu, and I found it to be a bit dry and didn't have the flavour I was waiting for. I'm almost tempted to say I make better burgers at home. As for the sides, the chips weren't anything special and the onion rings quite oily. Now that I recount the visit, I doubt I'll be back again. Just wasn't my thing. 

Round 2 - Honest Burgers - Kings Cross

I had been eyeing up Five Guys all afternoon when a friend suggested that we go to Honest Burgers instead. So glad we did! The venue was relaxed and we were given a booth overlooking the kitchen, where you could see the chefs preparing the burgers (and I couldn't wait to have one in my tum!). It was a toss up for me between the Tribute and the Special and when I asked our waiter for his recommendation there was no hesitation before he said "The Special". 

That's the kitchen there.

Louis' coke...awww.

Ice tea in a jar - sold.

Demolished this in record time.

I mean, look at that!

Special.It.Was. I can't rave about these burgers enough. Mine was juicy, flavoursome and the tobacco onions really did have a tinge of tobacco which made them delicious (I know it sounds crazy). The chips were crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. I opted for my chips without the rosemary salt but I had a taste of Louis' rosemary chips and they were yummy. If you are anywhere near an Honest Burger, I would highly, highly recommend it. Pricing-wise, it was reasonable for a sit down restaurant. I think I paid about £12 for my meal excluding tip. 

Round 3 - Five Guys - Covent Garden

You thought I wouldn't get there? Always space for a burger! This was a cheeky burger for us so we shared one burger. We got a basic burger with onions and peppers. Looking back, I enjoyed this burger more than I thought I did. I liked that the burger was quite sloppy, the onions were a nice addition and the bread was soft and spongy. Also, the chips were amaaaazing. It was on the pricey side though - we paid about £13 for the meal.

Proof I was there.

Those chips.

Those chips. Those chips.

Sloppy burger = yummy.

Writing this post and uploading these photos has made me want another burger. Apparently there are a couple of great burger joints here in Amman that I haven't tried yet so I'll just have to make my way down there!

What's your favourite burger place? 

Sx

World, I'm 30!

First, I have to apologise for pulling a disappearing act (again). I'm sorry but I promise that I have tons of photos to share over the next few posts as I've just come back from Sunny England, which was truly sunny for once! 

So, you guys. I turned 30 last week. At.Last. Why you ask? I loved my 20's and all that, but my God am I happy to finally move on to my 30's. I already feel like I know myself better and that's after only one week! It sounds crazy, I know. Also, I believe that age is just a number so for me, growing "older" is not dictated by that number I write down in various legal forms. And, let's be honest, any excuse for a birthday and cake is fine by me.

And boy was there cake this year! I really want to thank my wonderful friends for the time they took out of their busy days to mark my birthday in some form. During my visit to England I tried my best to meet up with as many people as Louis and my schedules would allow, and on almost every meeting I was made to feel like a birthday girl, even though it wasn't my birthday yet / my birthday had passed. 

My old flat mates surprised me with a birthday cheesecake during our picnic in Greenwich. A group of my university friends (aka La Familia) put up balloons in one of their houses, bought me a funny gift (and a normal gift), handed me a bunch of cards and then bought me a cupcake with a "30" candle. I also got more cards, money from my in-laws (thank you!) and even some tarts from the brother-in law and his lovely girlfriend. Louis treated me to a lovely night and day in the gorgeous Bath (which deserves a post for itself), including the biggest pizza followed by ice-cream. 

I am really, really blessed. 

Sx

Cheesecake, mmmm.

I have no idea why I found these amusing.

Aaand that's how many were needed to light ONE candle. Good enough for me!

Don't worry, that kid knows me.

Travel essentials

You may remember that I'm not the best of travelers. I see photos of people jet-setting with impeccable hair and matching luggage and I wonder how they do it. It feels as though every time I travel, no matter the size of my carry on or handbag, I cram it full of stuff and end up exhausted from carrying it around and from trying to find anything in there. I have a friend who travels carrying his passport...in his pocket. Oh I wish I was that easy going! Unfortunately, this post does not relate to some revelation of how to travel light. Nope, it's just a little peak into what I always carry when I travel.

So...I cram all of this stuff into my bag: purse, kindle, sunglasses (don't want them to break in the checked baggage), passports, diary and travel wallet. I finally bought a cute travel wallet from Cath Kidston, and would highly recommend getting one, as it just keeps all your travel docs in one place. There are some gorgeous leather ones out there for a reasonable price tag, like this one from Asos. 

Of course I always print out my tickets / boarding pass before my flight and triple-quadruple check all the details.  

Things I also always carry are a couple of passport photos, as you never know when you might need one and of course my Oyster card if I'm heading over to Sunny England. Yes that Oyster card photo is glamorous, I know. Especially with the glittery star sticker. (Student days) I also for some reason manage to have an extra British Landing Card that I can complete before landing. You American and EU passport holders, I'm not sure you'd relate!

I don't own a very good smart phone (something I need to invest in...eventually), so I also use my Kindle to keep my travel itinerary and any important information, like phone and reference numbers, addresses, flight details etc. I find it very helpful since I don't need the internet to access this document, and you can send it to your Kindle either as a Word doc or PDF. I do also upload all my meetings, flights and travel information on to my Google Calendar, but I like having access to information easily and in one place. I haven't created a detailed itinerary for my trip this time, although I have done that before and found it very helpful to know what I needed to accomplish for when (I had about 3 days to visit four cities and make sure I got to my best friend's wedding on time!). I've heard of a lot of great apps that help with planning trips, so maybe when I get a smart phone I'll try those and see. For now I'll just have to rely on good ol' Microsoft Word! 

Of course I also take lip balm and if the flight is really long then some face cream to keep my skin moisturised. But that's pretty much it! What do you carry when you travel?

Sx

Show me the Bouza

Pistachios and mastic. Synonymous with the Arab world where we try to stuff everything we can with some form of nut, rose water and sugar. About a year ago, I watched a BBC program on Syria and it had a feature on Bakdash, a popular and very old ice cream parlour selling Arabic Bouza. At the end of the programme, they mentioned that Bakdash had to open a branch in Amman due to the growing turmoil in Syria.

I had to find it.

Admittedly, I didn't Google it straight away and when I finally did, realised I had no clue where the location was and in fact wasn't sure if it was popular enough in Amman to ask a cab driver to take me there. So it took me a few months to get there. And then even more months until I went back. 

However, we've now moved to an apartment that's about a 20 minute walk from the place so....yup, been there a few times in the last month :D Arabic bouza is different to normal ice cream in the way that it feels, (it's a bit rubbery do to the mastic...), tastes and is made. The ice cream is made in big blocks, which, after they freeze them*, are thrown into deep steel tubs and pounded by, what I would closely describe, as a massive wooden mallet [feel free to correct me on my vocab]. The block of ice cream turns into a paste and is then scooped up, thrown into a bed of pistachios and served. Yum-my.

 

 

Bakdash is such a great place to go with friends or family if you want some ice cream but don't fancy the usual. They do chocolate and strawberry ice creams too and I'm tempted to get an Arabic neapolitan next time I'm there!

Sx

*this is not a scientific analysis of how bouza is made, merely my observations, ahem ahem.