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.

Delightful Souq Jara

First and foremost - Ramadan Kareem everyone! Fasting and non-fasting, I wish you a blessed month and not too many thirst induced hallucinations! *wink* 

There's a quaint Friday market just off of Rainbow Street called Souq Jara. It's open from sometime June-ish until late September, and attracts a mass of local handicraft groups, artists, chefs and trinket sellers who set up under colourful umbrellas and sell a variety of things. 

Louis and I have managed to go once a year since 2012 and we enjoy it more each time we go. I remember the first time I visited it I wasn't extremely impressed. I'm not the greatest fan of markets as it is and I felt this one was a little bit small, cramped and didn't offer many new or interesting things. However, I actually enjoy walking through the cobble stoned street and having a little nosey. What I like the most though is that a lot of stalls are run by women's organisations or groups who use the proceeds to further their individual causes and create better opportunities for their communities. It's nice to see local made products and help contribute to someone's life directly. 

We found ourselves in Souq Jara on Friday and it was the perfect opportunity to take some photos and share them with you. They've expanded the Souq to now include a separate food hall, which previously you could find in the main part of the market. Souq Jara is open for probably a couple more months and if you get a chance to go see it, I would recommend it :) 

Sx

Viewing spot from Rainbow Street of the Citadel.

A busy Rainbow Street.

Adorable key hangers.

Bees makin' honey.

Traditional Jordanian clothes.

Mosaic ceramics.

Show of hands if you ever owned one of these.

You can find the most random of things.

Vintage cameras.

Fell in love with these adorable binoculars.

More vintage cameras and other random stuff.

 

A life size Monopoly piece.

The food hall at the end of the market.

Spectacular view.

Umm Qais Umm Qais

I'm sorry this is SO late! I can't even remember when it was that we went to Umm Qais! So let's just say that this post will not be too wordy (lucky you eh?)...

Umm Qais is located practically at the northern border of Jordan. To drive there will take you around 2 and a half hours, as you go through some northern cities like Irbid. Umm Qais is an ancient Roman town and is steeped in history due to its location. You can read a bit more here. 

I'm glad that we managed to visit Umm Qais, even though I am tempted to say that it isn't worth visiting if you have a limited time in Jordan. For me, I enjoyed having a look over the border, especially to see the famous Golan Heights and the gorgeous Lake Tiberias. We were informed by our guide that there are various hikes that would lead into the valley and near the Yarmouk River. We didn't have time to do that though.

I feel we've done quite well in seeing Jordan. A couple more places I'd like to visit are Karak castle and Ma'en Springs, so hopefully do that sometime in the future :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sx

Leading into the Ampitheatre.

 

At the top of the Ampitheatre.

The Terrace.

Love the volcanic black columns, so different to the white ones commonly seen.

The Golan Heights.

The view from our table at the Umm Qais Resthouse.

Grilled halloumi is always a good idea.

View of Lake Tiberias.

Cactus flower.

Madaba and the Map

It's been over a month of flat hunting and if you've ever been on the hunt for accommodation, you'll know how frustrating, heartbreaking and at times soul destroying it can be. Which is why, in between all of the phone calls to random people, Louis and I decided we should leave Amman for a few hours and enjoy some of the historical culture Jordan has to offer. 

Last Friday we drove out to Madaba, a little town about a 40 minute drive west of Amman. Madaba is most famous for the mosaic map of the Holyland, uncovered in the Greek Orthodox Church and for a quaint Jordanian restaurant which came highly recommended by some of our friends. The church itself is quite small, but colorfully decorated with mosaics all over the walls. We were lucky because the church was empty save for an intimate baptism celebration taking place.

 

A copy of the map outside the church.

After wondering around the church and taking photos, we headed over to Haret Jdoudna, where we enjoyed some delicious starters and a couple of amazing mains. Again, we were lucky because the restaurant was fairly empty and it was just lovely sitting and relaxing for a little bit. 

We then decided to take a (very) short walk around Madaba.

I think Madaba is worth a visit if you have a car and are unsure of what to do on a Friday afternoon. We didn't have time to visit the Archaeological park, but apparently that has even more mosaics currently being uncovered and you can walk among them! Maybe if we get another chance to head that way, we'll go visit that. 

We also had a chance to visit Umm Qais in the same weekend, but that deserves a post of it's own! 

Wherever you are in the world, hope you have a great weekend! =]

Sx