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Its been a VERY long time but its time to pick up the keyboard again and start the blog back up! its time to travel the world again and let you know about all the fun things ive been up to. i may also reach back into the places i never blogged!!

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This is going to be a long one so grab a drink and get comfy!!!

Me and my boyfriend decided we would travel to Belgium and go to Rock Werchter (Belgium’s Glastonbury) and it was epic! So please see my little summary of the festival. The festival this year was 29th June – 2nd July and i believe its similar dates most years.

Travel

We travelled from Bristol to Belgium by coach – this was not a very comfortable way to travel but it was cheap! It was a 12 hour coach journey after work and it was LONG! i think I had about 4 hours sleep. If we go again I think we may travel by Eurostar/ Plane.  Once you get to Belgium your festival ticket includes one return train ticket to leuven station and then free travel from there to the festival which was excellent!!

Camping

So we paid that little bit extra to camp in the HIVE camping zone – for the small amount extra it is worth it. When you are a HIVE camper you are allowed to ‘check in’ to your campsite a day before the festival – we did not do this due to work restrictions but I can see the benefit of doing this as finding a spot to camp on the day of the festival was quite challenging! So we pitched up in the HIVE campsite and then had a nose around. The HIVE has some added extra’s such as a shower station, a food market, places to heat your food up, Ticket station for your food ect. The HIVE also has a ‘party zone’. This is for after the festival and it goes on till 4 in the morning – not for me but we had the option.

Food

Now the food was something! You pay for food via food vouchers. One voucher = 3 Euro’s  and there are ticket stations all around the festival. The options or the food itself was so good… there was SO many choices of delicious food. You had the options of Pizza, Noodles, Salads, BBQ food, Smoothies, Fruit, Ice Cream, Nachos, Chips, Chicken Wings and SO MUCH more. All in all excellent.

Music/ The Festival

Now the line up we had was EPIC. Our highlights were Foo fighters, Rag & Bone Man, Blink 182, Linkin Park, Seasick Steve, Imagine Dragons but we saw so many more incredible acts. Rock Werchter has 3 stages, the main stage, Klub C and The Barn.

The festival itself was so good – the atmosphere was really chilled and everyone was very friendly. It was quite busy in the festival grounds but thankfully there was plenty of places so sit and relax on the grass. The usual tradition of collecting cups in exchange for a free drink was there which was defiantly something everyone got involved with!

It really was such a good long weekend and I would 100% recommend it to anyone who wanted to go to a festival that isn’t in England! We are already debating going next year and we don’t even know the line up!! Any questions please please please just ask :).

After lots of walking the day before its safe to say i slept well!! My feet were recovering and i was ready for another day of exploring!

We decided today are main mission was to climb Gellert Hill to see the Citadella. On are treks we stops at the cave church. This is literally a church that was built into a cave in 1926 and was the seat of Hungary’s Pauline order until 1951. This was still pretty cool to have a nose around. Your given some headphones and its an audio guide around.

We then continued are trek up the hill. Whilst my legs were burning the views were pretty amazing.

The Citadella is a massive structure 220 meters long, 60 meters wide, and 4 meters tall, the Citadella was occupied by the Austrians until 1897 it displayed four statues: A woman carrying a torch, representing progress; a man fighting a five-headed dragon symbolizing the struggle against the forces of evil (the Axis powers probably); a Red Army soldier, representing the liberators; and atop the monument, a 14-meter statue of a woman holding a palm leaf with both hands up to the sky, representing liberty.

After this we made are way over to Basilica of St Stephen.  It is named in honor of Stephen, the first King of Hungary. It is the third largest church building in present-day Hungary. Basilica’s main attraction is the mummified right hand of St Stephen which you can view and you can pay to light up the hand!!

We then took a stroll to around Budapest for a final hours and i took some photos of the sights around Budapest. We also tried Chimney cake which was AMAZING… i  loved it!! super tasty and HUGE… we shared one as one each would of been excessive.

After this it was the end of are little trip! it was amazing and i will defiantly be back to Budapest in the future. If your debating going – do! totally worth it and super affordable!!

As always any questions please feel free to ask!

Recently  me and my boyfriend took a trip down to Cornwall to stay in ‘The Cornwall Hotel and Spa’ as we fancied a nice relaxing weekend break! We paid £324.00 for the weekend which included:

• 2-night stay at The Cornwall Hotel, Spa & Estate in a luxury room
• A full Cornish breakfast each morning
• Complimentary dinner in the Elephant Bar & Brasserie on the first night
• Access to the spa facilities – Pool, Sauna, Steam Room & Gym.

The Room

Bathroom

Pool

Rooms from the outside

The Grounds

Hotel

The Hotel was in a very quite location so definitely helped keep that lovely relaxing feel to the place. The Room was so comfy! i mean hotel bed are always so much comfier than your bed at home! So nice! The pool is an infinity pool and was SO nice! we spent about an hour a day in it and it was lovely!  ( how many times do i want to say nice!)

The meal was okay, not unpleasant in any way but i have had better if i’m perfectly honest!

From the top – My meal consisted of Fried Squid rings, Steak with chunky chips and Lemon Posset with Raspberry Crumb!

Dans meal – Roasted Pork belly with crackling and scallops,Breton Chicken in Cornish cider and chocolate and caramel slice!

As i said it was tasty but i’ve had better! – i sound so pompous! i’m not i promise!

Whilst we were there we went an visited Pentewan which is a very small beach town, it was so lovey and in true Cornish fashion on and off rain!!

a lovely beach, these photos do not show the rain! but that is a good thing, to hide from the rain we then popped into a cafe to have a cream tea. It was called the little bay cafe and it was SO lovely! the cakes are handmade and the lady why owns this cafe is truly lovely – she was the most accommodating person i have met in awhile!!

All in all a lovely weekend! breakfast in this place is super tasty! was actually my favorite meals of the weekend!! bit of a weird this to bring up at the end of this little post but ah well!

all in all it was a lovelyy weekend a way and a much needed relaxing break! and if you are ever looking to come to Cornwall and would like to go somewhere with a pool and somewhere super quiet this hotel is perfect!

So we recently decided to go away for the weekend as we fancied some time away from Bristol, but we wanted to go somewhere in the comfort of the UK and somewhere in driving distance so we shopped around and found a hotel right next to a zoo. Me and my boyfriend are massive children so this was perfect.

We spent £99 for the both of us to stay in this hotel, this price included Dinner, Breakfast, use of the lesuire facilities within the hotel and a standard room stay for one night. The offer was via Secret escapes.

Marwell hotel is a zoo themed hotel and the atmosphere is very outdoorsy and woodsy. They have decorated the exterior of the hotel so it fits in with the zoo next door. The hotel is also very family friendly, as proven by the amount of families staying there!

The inside of the hotel is very open and spacious, the hallway is very cold and clear so you get a view of all of the rooms, this really helps with the outdoor nature vibes they are creating. There is a small leisure center with a pool and sauna which is okay but nothing to sing home about!

The room was lovely and spaciousness but the bathroom was very small.  The shower was… awful… it was either freezing or boiling so it made for a very very interesting shower as you didnt know whether you were going to burn or freeze! The bed on he otherhand was the COMFIEST THING EVER! it was sleeping on a cloud of comfort and the bed was HUGE, this i didn’t see my boyfriend all night!

Complimentary Amous Boushe

My Main

Side Dishes

Dans Main

Complimentary Pre Desert

My Pudding

Dans Pudding

As part of our stay we had a two course dinner included. During this meal we have a Complimentary amuse bouche and a Complimentary pre Dessert ( i know i have never heard of a pre dessert!)

Dinner was pleasant enough but i feel they were focusing on trying to be very fancy and the portions were unfortunately smaller than we would of liked but it was an experience! they had a crumb scarper for the bread!  Little new of the restaurant below!

After dinner we went up and relaxed watched a bit of telly and drank some hot chocolate. The next morning we woke up and went down for breakfast which was included. It was the usual buffet hotel breakfast with that confusing toast machine (if you dont know what machine i mean then get you butt to a hotel in the UK) It was very tasty and definitely filled a breakfast shaped hole!

We then checked out and went next door to the Zoo :) Think i may do a blog post on the zoo next – prepare for many many photos!!

The last day full day :(

Today we gave ourselves the day to explore Iceland and have a nose round. Go see some spots that are near are hotel.

First thing we did was go up the Hallgrímskirkja as we were right next door to it. The church itself is beautiful. Its very modern and only has one typical church stained glass window.

We then paid to up to the top of Hallgrímskirkja which cost – the money does go towards the church so it goes to a good place. The views from the top are pretty amazing!

A very windy experience as you may be able to tell from my very windswept face/hair! but i was worth the trip up there!

We then went on a stroll to The Sun Voyager. This sculpture is by Jón Gunnar Árnason. Sun Voyager is a dreamboat, an ode to the sun. Intrinsically, it contains within itself the promise of undiscovered territory, a dream of hope, progress and freedom.

We got some lovely photos of Iceland and the view of the mountains and then just strolled around. I didnt take my camera out for the rest of the day as we just spent the day together.

We just had a stroll around the high street and nosed and it was lovely. It was very cold and cloudy so we got some takeway noodles which were AMAZING and defiantly required after a long day.

We then got ready for our last excursion of the day which was the ‘Warm bath cool lights’ trip. This Tour you driveto the Laugarvatn Fontana Spa, where you relax and bathe in the geothermal baths. There are 3 different natural pools which vary in temperature. The warmest one (34 degrees i believe) was quite obviously the busiest pool but it was LOVELY. It was as warm as a bath and it was amazing.

One you have had enough of lounging around in the pools you then get to go into the main hall and enjoy a local style dinner buffet which was super tasty and full of different food.

After the buffet you go on a northern lights hunt, due to the weather this part was cancelled so we just went back en route back to Reykjavik. Bit unfortunate as we missed out on seeing the northern lights but it was still an amazing evening and i felt SO relaxed after!

I would 100% recommend the warm bath cool lights tour as this is so lovely and relaxing. Its got all the parts of the Blue lagoon but its warmer and less crowded and you get food out of it!

We then went home and got to bed as this was our last day :( They day after this we just got up, packed and got on our flight home.

Summary

Iceland was amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed every element of this holiday. Iceland itself is a very expensive country and i am so glad we pre booked all our tours as we saved alot of money doing it that way. If you are a geography nerd like my boyfriend or you just love nature and travelling like me you will love Iceland. I would defiantly visit again – maybe in the summer so i can experience elements of Iceland i may have missed. I also never got to see the Northern Lights so that is still on the bucket list!

And that concludes the Iceland Holiday, i hope you all enjoyed my ramblings and i look forward to writing about my next adventure!

Much Love to you all

Iceland – Day 3

On day three we woke up for our day tour (South Shore Adventure) around iceland . It was an early start but thankfully our hotel was still able to serve us breakfast!  Unfortunately the weather wasn’t on our side for this day so it was incredibly cloudy and there was rain so we couldn’t see much of the mountain ranges. Skogafoss waterfall Our first stop was the Skogafoss waterfall. This was a…

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Today we set off on the day tour called South Shore Adventure. This was a tour all around the south of Iceland (no DUH) Unfortunately the weather on this day was not great, super misty and on and off rain so we couldn’t get the full views but it was still an excellent tour.

Stole this map from a website – this is the day tour route!

Skógafoss Waterfall

The first stop on our tour was the Skógafoss waterfall. This waterfall is AMAZING! It is a 60 meter waterfall and due to the weather it was kicking up quite the spray. We spent about 20 minutes here to explore, take photos and stretch your legs.

Skogafoss Waterfall Panorama 

Like i say the weather was not playing ball this day and i can imagine in the sun this waterfall is even more breathtaking but it was pretty incredible in the wind and rain!

A few photos of the waterfall and me doing a strange jig in front of it. As you can see the hoods were up!

Black Sand Beach

The next Stop was the Black Sand Beaches. This beach is so cool! Clue is within the name the sand is black. The beach has an amazing cliff of regular basalt columns resembling a rocky step pyramid, which is called Hálsanef. Out in the sea are the spectacularly shaped basalt sea stacks Reynisdrangar. The area is known for its wildlife – mainly birds such as puffins, fulmars and guillemots.

Unfortunately due to the weather we saw no birds. We also had to stay quite clear from the sea as the waves were HUGE. Our tour guide was telling us that these waves are so unpredictable and they are known for pulling people into the sea.

Black Sand Beach

Black Sand Beach

Crazy Waves

We spent about 30 minutes here which was more than enough time to walk around and take plenty of photos. Also take a well needed loo break!! Then back on the coach for the next stop!

Skógar Folk Museum

The next Stop was the Skógar Folk Museum. This Museum shows how Icelanders lived in past centuries, its quite a large museum and has many different sections showing old fishing boats, old cars, all the different animals they have had in Iceland and well you get the point!

This museum is worth a visit so i would recommend going if your nearby. We spent about an hour here, this was enough time to look round the whole place and a steady pace.

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

The last stop was the  Seljalandsfoss waterfall.  This waterfall is another one of Icelands beautiful waterfalls. This waterfall you can walk behind it and through to the other side, unfortunately due to the weather this wasn’t possible as it was slightly to dangerous and we could of slips and fallen in the waterfall, no thank you!

As you can see the sun was starting to go down so the photos are quite dark! but it really was a beautiful waterfall and i got very damp standing close to this waterfall but a little bit of water never hurt no one.

A very beautiful waterfall which closed a very beautiful day. I will say i was absolutely exhausted at the end of it, which is bizarre as we were being driven round all day but travelling makes me SO sleepy!

We then came back to the hotel and went out for Pizza – this was delicious and much needed as we had a packed lunch for lunch so warm food was really appreciated!!

After Pizza we went back to the hotel and slept which was much needed!!

I’ve been gone a while!

Laptop has broken and then whilst getting it fixed it got lost in the post! Typically really! I will shortly be finishing my iceland series one my laptop has returned to me :) sorry everyone!  

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On the second day we awoke an went downstairs to our hotels breakfast spread. This was a usual European continental breakfast but with the added addition of a waffle machine! having never made a waffle before this was an experience!

We then upstairs and  got ready for the day. One thing about Iceland is there hot water smells like sulfur, it can be pretty odd showering in water that smells but you do get used to it!

We layered up for ‘Gullfoss, Geysir Direct and Thingvellir Afternoon Tour’. This was a six hour tour where we got to go and see various ‘tourist attractions’ in Iceland.

Thingvellir

This is a national park in Iceland is where the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates is,you can literally stand in between them! Its a very beautiful park with views of mountains, and the actual lake of Thingvellir.

One of my favorite shots of the national park

There is a tourist center there and a cafe to go into and keep warm should you fancy it. we got around 40 mins to take photos,  go for a wander and take in the views. sounds like a while but time really did fly by.

Geysir Direct

We then got driven to the geysers where we were given half an hour to roam around and take as many photos as we could.

Action shot of the exploding Geyser 

There are 2 main geysers that go off. One goes off roughly every 10 mins so your guaranteed to see that one, the second one goes off once every month so you would be lucky to see that one erupt. The water is obviously scolding hot so they rope the area off to stop people trying to touch the boiling water, and the air does have the lovely smell of sulfur.

Gulfoss

We then drove to Gulfoss, one of Icelands most popular waterfalls and probably one of there biggest tourist attractions, and you can really see why. it is beautiful!

Gulfoss Waterfall

This waterfall is quite breathtaking, your given about 30 mins to and take as many photos as you can. you can go down down to the waterfall and up around it but they do make sure there is no danger of falling in! its one of Icelands largest waterfalls and i’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want to touch that water as its probably FREEZING.

If your ever in Iceland this waterfall is a must to see.

After this we got the coach back to the hotel. We were meant to go on the northern lights hunt that evening but unfortunately weather was not on our side and it was cancelled! It did mean we had time to relax in the hotel and take advantage of the unlimited free hot drinks in our hotels lobby. We also managed to get an early night in as we knew the next day was going to be an intense day of travelling!