Saturday, 28 March 2015

5 Good Travel Reads

Whether I'm off on a long haul flight or weeks holiday, I always love to take a good book with me.


Personally, I'm not a big or fast reader, but I like the idea of having a paper book than an e-reader. 

So, whilst travelling around on my adventures, here's a list of my favourite reads.




1. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce

"When Harold Fry nips out one morning to post a letter, leaving his wife hoovering upstairs, he has no idea that he is about to walk from one end of the country to the other. He has no hiking boots or map, let alone a compass, waterproof or mobile phone. All he knows is that he must keep walking. To save someone else's life."

From rectifying past mistakes to helping out old friends, this  book is heartfelt and inspiring as an elderly gentleman takes an adventure throughout the UK. 

2. Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer

"In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself."

Happiness is only real when shared - word's to live by in this iconic novel. I read this just before travelling to Thailand and it made me realise that all travel adventures should be shared with new and old people. 

3. The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson 

"It all starts on the one-hundredth birthday of Allan Karlsson. Sitting quietly in his room in an old people's home, he is waiting for the party he-never-wanted-anyway to begin. The mayor is going to be there. The press is going to be there. But, as it turns out, Allan is not...Slowly but surely Allan climbs out of his bedroom window, into the flowerbed (in his slippers) and makes his getaway." 

A little similar to the Unlikely Pilgrim of Harrod Fry, the 100 year old I am still to complete this epic novel, but from the first half that I have read - it's pretty awesome. 


 As "Sal Paradise" and "Dean Moriarty," the two roam the country in a quest for self-knowledge and experience. Kerouac's love of America, his compassion for humanity, and his sense of language as jazz combine to make On the Road an inspirational work of lasting importance.

Before deciding that we wanted to travel around America, I read the infamous tail of Sal Paradise and his adventures. Safe to say, booking my cross country adventure 5 weeks later, left me pretty exited! 


"From perfectly formed potatoes to adulterous US presidents, and from domestic upsets to millennial fever, Bill Bryson just cannot resist airing his opinions and standing up for his (mostly) law-abiding fellow American citizens."

We read this book as we travelled around America, which was rather fitting as we noticed how accurate so much for it was to the way of American life.

Monday, 23 March 2015

Top 3 long-haul destinations to travel in 3 weeks

Whilst travelling around Central America, I met a number of fellow travelers who were exploring two or three countries over a three week period. For them, this was the perfect way to see the world in short 'travel' periods of time, without quitting their jobs or home life. Plus for a number of working people, three weeks is an accepted amount of time to take off.

Image: We Heart It
As we continue to build our life with buying our first home and eventually having a family, we will no doubt become this type of short term traveller. And to be honest, I kind of like to. I get to keep my home and see the world, it's kind of a win-win.

With so many destinations yet to explore, the best way to explore handful of long-haul destinations would be to fly from one place to the other. For instance, New York > Washington > Miami was one of the routes we booked with Flight Centre* to cover off a large part of the east coast.

With that in mind, here are a few long haul destinations that you can visit in three weeks.

Australia: Cairns > Sydney > Melbourne 

From my experience of travelling Australia, these would be the key locations that I would recommend when visiting on a three week window. 



However, it is all dependent on what you enjoy doing when travelling, I'd also highly suggest a visit to Brisbane, Fraser Island and the Whitsundays. Gap Year have a great article on 3 weeks in Australia which you can read here.

Image Source: www.gallivantingoz.com.au

Thailand: Bangkok > Koh Samui > Krabi

Thailand is such an eclectic travel destination - from idyllic beaches to the bustling Bangkok - the people are so friendly and welcoming in all of the must-see destinations I have suggested above.



However, if you'd like to experience more remote islands or more secluded tourist destination then Lonely Planet offer up some great itinerary ideas based on 2-3 weeks in Thailand, which you can read here.

USA: LA > San Francisco > Las Vegas

This is such a tough route for me to pick for three weeks, as there is so many great options. But if I go for 3 weeks to america, I would opt for either a west or east coast (and seeing as I kind of gave you an east coast one above) I'm choose this California/Nevada trip. 


However, the idea of chilling in Cali-forn-I-A doesn't float your boat, then the Guardian Travel have written a great article on four classic America road trips to take, you can check them out here.


So, there you have it. My top three long-haul destinations to travel around in three weeks. I'd love to hear your perfect three week trips. Please feel free to send me a tweet @EatTravelLove.

Saturday, 21 March 2015

Historical adventures to Edinburgh

Sometimes I forget how beautiful my country can be. Having been lucky enough to travel a lot of the world. I'm always amazed at how much natural beauty the United Kingdom has to offer.



Which is why, rather than book a city break in Europe, we decided to take a drive to a picturesque Scotland. From Nottingham, the drive took us around 5h 20m to make, but there are always options to take a flight or train. 

Setting off at 8:30am we made our way out of Nottingham and onto the A1. Passing through motorways and countryside, when we reached Gateshead, we even got to see the iconic Angel of the North.



Arriving into Edinburgh at 1:30pm (and getting a little lost on the one way system) we finally parked up and made it to our Travel Lodge hotel. This cost us £34 for the night and is locate just off the main high street (Princess Street) in Edinburgh.


After dumping our bags, we made it way over the bridge and began to walk through the royal mile towards the famous castle.




I have never seen a city as beautifully historic as Edinburgh. The buildings are stunning - consisting of old brown stone, white windows and cobbled streets. I was constantly in awe at the aritechture here. 


After walking up the hill for 15-20 minutes, we passed an amazing a la carte restaurant called The Witchery, which looks incredible. Next to this you can also go on a whiskey distillery lesson or a tartan weaving lesson - classic Scotland, I know.



Reaching the castle, we were greeted by a range of beautiful British and Scottish flags. Walking up to the draw bridge stood two statues of guards and a beautiful crest above the bridge.




To get into the castle grounds, there is a fee of £16 per adult - which we decided not to pay as we had actually see a lot of it before reaching the ticket booth.


Making our way back down the hill and royal mile, we stopped off to grab a drink and continue to walk back through the princess street gardens to take a look at the giant Scott Monument.

  

Little fact for you - this this monument is the largest monument to a writer in the world and was actually used in one of my favourite films, Cloud Atlas. 

Walking down Princess Street, there is also an array of designer and high street shops to choose from. But rather than shop we decided to head back to our hotel and get ready for dinner and drinks.



Starting off at the beautiful Balmoral hotel, we paid a trip to the Scotch Whiskey Bar to sample some of their iconic whiskeys from their floor to wall case. (Blog post coming soon)



With a little fire in our bellies, we made our way to Rose Street - a popular place for bars and restaurants. Visiting a few of the local pubs, we decided to go to Jamie's Italian for dinner and indulge in a big bowl of pasta and home made larger.

The next morning we woke up and decided to go out for breakfast across Rose Street. There are so many great places to go for brunch in Edinburgh, but one I wanted to make you aware of is Social Bite. This amazing food establishment donates 100% of their profits to charity and 1 in 4 of their team are homeless people who they are helping out with food and a job.

After grabbing a quick bite, we made our way back on the road, across the stunning coastal roads.




All in all, an amazing weekend with my favourite traveller. 

Saturday, 14 March 2015

Home Rambling: Greek Inspiration with Cerulean Blues

Whenever I think of Greece, I think of the images below...



Stunning white buildings with a cerulean blue roofing, set against the sunshine. The idea of capturing these calming colours in my home makes me feel very happy indeed.

After our wedding this summer, we are also thinking about buying our first home together, where we can store and display all of our beautiful travel adventures.

I think that cerulean blues will definitely be a colour I add into my home. So I have started to gather some inspiration over on my Polyvore board which you can check out below!


Friday, 6 March 2015

Afternoon treats at Le Chalet | Selfridges

No matter how many times I visit, I always find London such an exciting city to visit. 

A cafe, bar, museum or shop - there's always something new to find here. But then I suppose this is what makes London the capital of our great country - it always needs new and fun things to explore and see. 

So, when catching up with a few of my London besties - we decided to try a new place (to me) for afternoon tea. Le Chatlet Restaurant on the Roof. 


Taking the private lift, located near the channel perfume counter, we went straight up to the restaurant. Walking into the reception, you're greeted by alpine inspired decor - think chunky wood logs, twinkling lights and bare trees. Following the long forest-like corridor, we were all greeted by the friendly concierge, who showed us to our table. 


As you can tell from our sunglasses, it was a perfect day for sitting on the roof and enjoying the winter/spring sunshine. 


Sitting down, there was a range of tantalizing smells in the air, from sweet cakes to rich slow cooked meats (I'm feeling hungry just remembering this). 

Image: Selfridges
Browsing through the beautiful rustic menu, there is an special selection of treats to choose from here. Le Chalet serves up breakfast, mains and sweets (see the full menu here). I have to admit I was tempted by the afternoon tea... From 2pm until 5:30pm you can indulge in an English cream team with freshly baked scones, clotted cream and raspberry jam - YUM!
However, we had just been for brunch with friends at yet the Newman Street Tavern (also amazing, see IntheFrow's post).

So I opted for a 'healthy' hot chocolate made with almond milk and apparently packed with vitamins. Whilst everyone else opted for the 'super' coffees (personally, I am not a coffee drinker).


For the rest of the afternoon, we caught up on all of our life happenings, travel adventures and drooled over the great food arriving at peoples tables. All in all, a great afternoon treat with even greater friends. 
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