Berlin -Part 1

Berlin is a gentle giant with a dark past. It is remarkably quiet (i.e. in decibels) compared to the likes of London or Paris and vast - very vast. It is edgy yet mature and I was amazed by how polite Berliners were (even if one of them tried to con me!).

My introduction to Berlin was slightly surreal. I was on a girls weekend but the rest of the group were flying in from London  whereas I flew in to Tegel from Edinburgh. As I'd booked us in at the restaurant in the Reichstag (an excellent way to get in without queueing for hours) at a specific time, I opted for a taxi to our hotel. The very friendly driver tried to con me by charging Euro 68 (instead of Euro 20ish max).When I challenged him about this he very swiftly sped off (with his car boot wide open) and shouting that he did not need any money. I kept thinking he must have pinched something off me but I don't know for sure!

The dome at Reichstag is one of my favourite Berlin sites. It was designed by Norman Foster (and symbolises the reunification of Germany) and works incredibly well against the older Baroque-esque structure.

The Reichstag is also a great lace to start your exploration of the city - it is close to the Brandenburg Gate, The Holocaust Memorial and Tiergarten.

After a lovely tea, wine and cake break, we walked around the Reichstag before making our way to the other places mentioned nearby.

It was getting late and our final stop of the afternoon was The Holocaust Memorial - a solemn reminder of the millions of lives lost during the period. Annoyingly, there were many 'tourists' who thought it was perfectly appropriate to be taking ridiculous selfies or monkeying around the area.

Berlin is quite flat and so you can see landmarks from a fair distance. The Alexanderplatz TV tower looked arty against the pinkish-blue evening sky.

More on Berlin soon. Hope you are all having a lovely week. Ann x

Wearing Isabel Marant jumper, Gap skinny jeans, Tom Ford shades and Nike spotty trainers.

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.

Holy Island of Lindisfarne

We've been hoping to visit Lindisfarne (of Lindisfarne Gospels fame and an important place for Celtic Christianity) for a long while but the weather, tides and our diaries just didn't seem to work in sync. The glorious weather (by Northern standards anyway) over the Easter bank holiday weekend gave us the perfect opportunity to explore the Holy Island. We studied the tide tables which provided us with a good window to explore the island - this is very important unless you don't mind being stranded for hours.

Lindisfarne is about an hour and half's drive from Edinburgh and is easily accessible by road (just a few miles off the A1) and slightly less so via train (Berwick Upon Tweed and then bus). Our drive (all the way up to the parking lot at Lindisfarne) was uneventful although it did get busier once we got to the causeway. We first explored the ruins of the ancient priory before going on a walk around the island.

Lindisfarne priory was built circa 634AD by Irish monks (led by St.Aidan) who travelled from Iona to establish a christian settlement in Northumbria. The patron saint of the North, St.Cuthbert was part of this monastic family and was originally buried here before being moved to Durham Cathedral.

It was a beautiful (alabeit slight chilly) day and we  decided (after a coffee and brunch stop in a local pub) to hike up to Lindisfarne Castle. The island is beautiful and on this sunny day the waters and the skies complimented each other in the most beautiful shades of blue.

Modern day Lindisfarne castle is a Lutyens designed building using parts that of the old Tudor fort that once stood here. It was built for Edward Hudson who was the founder and editor of Country Life. 

We explored the castle for a little while before slowly making our way back to the car - stopping very so often to take in the beautiful views.

Hope you are having a lovely week. Ann x

Wearing Bimba Y Lola Coat, Topshop hat, Bella Freud Lion jumper, old levis and New Balance trainers.

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.

Gozo and Comino

Gozo means 'joy' in castilian and I can think of many reasons why the island's Spanish invaders thought it was a joyful place. A short sail from the Maltese mainland, Gozo is the second largest island within the archipelago. It is smaller and sleepier - both of which adds to its charm. Comino is a tiny island near Gozo and is surrounded by stunningly turquoise waters and worth visiting en-route to or on the way back from Gozo.

You  can get to Gozo using the local buses from Malta but our friends warned that this could be long and time consuming. so we decided to go with a local tour group instead - it wasn't expensive and we had a clear plan for the day.

We stopped by Gozo's main town Victoria (locally known as Rabat) for a walk around town - a coffee and bite before heading to the stunning rock formations of Dwerja Bay. It was heaving with tourists (like us!) but a wonderful place nevertheless.

Gozo felt more Arab than Italian - I think it was partly the landscape and partly the architecture. Our tour guide took us on a bus ride across the island and pointed out a number of different structures, temples and forts.

After spending all morning and the early part of the afternoon in Gozo, we stopped by Comino for a few hours of swimming and jet skiing. The jet ski took us closer to the cave formations around the island - it reminded me a little of a similar tour of Islas Ballestas in Peru. Comino is delightful - I wonder why the Spanish didn't come up with an equally joyful name for it - instead they named it after cumin!

 

Having lived with not a lot of sun in Scotland for over a year - I got badly sunburned on Comino ( yes, brown people do get sunburns!) whilst hanging out by the water and despite factor 50 on. All I can say is keep topping up that suncream if you happen to visit - especially on a summer's afternoon!

I do recommend making some time to visit the islands if you're heading to Malta - but try avoiding a DIY tour using public transport unless you have bags of time.

Happy Sunday people! Ann x

Wearing Muji t-shirt, Clover Canyon skirt, Helene Berman straw hat, Marc Jacobs bag, Tom Ford shades and Toms shoes.

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.

Arashiyama Bamboo Groves

A short bus/taxi/train ride from Kyoto, the Arashiyama bamboo groves are a world apart. They possess the same zen like character of many Japanese places but just a bit more amplified. The forest has been around for centuries but its origins and purpose (when planted) are not very clear.

The bamboo groves are a bit of a walk from the main town area so Ed and I fuelled up on Japanese fried snacks and matcha ice-cream before we started our trek. The area is serene and quiet with the lovely sound of bamboo trees whistling in the soft breeze. This is a very popular and highly photographed area so it was no surprise that the place was busy. However, Japanese tourists/day-trippers tend to be very quiet and respectful so it was all very pleasant.

After our maiko spotting in Gion, we were very excited to see what we thought was another maiko in Arashiayama. We eventually found out that we were wrong - apparently maiko/geisha dress-ups and photo-shoots are a popular activity amongst young Japanese women.

After a few hours of wandering the forest, exploring nearby temples and gardens, we made our way back to the train station to catch a train back to Kyoto. I must also mention that we taxied to Arshiyama and that was an interesting experience - we were under-charged (!!) for the taxi ride as when I originally asked the driver how much the fare was likely to be, he estimated the fare to be lower than it turned out to be. And he refused to let us pay the actual fare! Just another reason why I think Japan is quite wonderful.

Hope you are having a lovely Easter weekend! Ann x

Wearing Carven Paris map print dress, Helene Berman straw hat, Longchamp bag and Toms shoes.

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.

Exploring Melbourne

If I were to draw parallels between British cities and the Australian ones, Sydney felt like a cross between Birmingham and London whilst Melbourne felt a lot more like a bigger (i.e. denser) and more modern version of Edinburgh with its relatively more cultural going-ons, its food markets, the weather (wet and cold) and its refinement. Fair to say, I really liked Melbourne.

I'd heard great things about the foodie scene in Melbourne and we were not disappointed. We stayed near the MCG (Air BnB again, a lovely studio for £45 a night!) and were within walking distance of most places in town. Ed found Sezar ( a modern Azerbaijaini restaurant) via Zomato and that's where we dined on our first night in town. Amazing place - do check it out.

Like Sydney, I had a very limited shopping agenda for Melbourne and it was to stock up on my Aesop essentials as they are far cheaper than in the UK. I also wanted to check out the Sass and Bide outlet - I've been lusting after their snowbird cape and was hoping to find one cheap-ish.

Melbourne has a brilliant public transport network and travelling within the inner city limits via tram is free. We took advantage of that to do a quick survey of the city's offerings before venturing to St.Kilda.

Some have raved about St.Kilda whilst others have turned their nose up at it. I think it depends on where you go. We thought it was quaint but weren't that enamoured by it. It has lots of seaside shops and cafes plus there is Luna Park if you fancy a bit of adventure. We didn't. It was very cold too ( even by Edinburgh standards - those Arctic ocean winds!) and we were quite happy finding a cafe to grab a drink and slowly make our way back into town.

My favourite bit about Melbourne was its markets. We checked out two - the Queen Victoria Market and the South Melbourne Market. The quality of the seafood, fresh produce and coffee were all exceptional. I loved the fresh oysters at the South Melbourne Market - tasty and less than 50p!

For a final spot of shopping exploration, we headed to Chapel Street and the Docklands. I did not find my Snowbird cape although I've now added the Soldiers and Riders cape to my lust list (It wasn't a priority buy at over £400 and I'll hunt it down on eBay someday). 

Given the foodie and social scene here, we wanted to check out a few more places. On our last night, we drank at the Double Happiness bar and ate at the vietnamese street food place next door called Rice Paper Scissors. They were both was exceptionally good!

Have you been to Melbourne too? And if so, what were your favourite bits? Ann x

Wearing Carven Paris Map blazer, Gap skinny jeans, Muji shirt, Tom Ford sunnies and Bloch ballet flats

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.

Cool Things to do in Edinburgh

Despite being so much further north compared to many of our friends, family and previous lives, we've continued to see a lot of them. That has less to do with our wonderfulness and more to do with Edinburgh. Many of the folk that visit assume that Edinburgh is all about the castle, wandering Old Town and Princess Street. I've been on a mission to show our visitors more of the city as there is so much more to it than the aforementioned places. This is my attempt to highlight what I consider 'cool' in Edinburgh. I have excluded most of the Old Town, the Castle, the Zoo as most of you will do these anyway and they can be easily explored in a day. I have also excluded places that are outside Edinburgh City limits (Roslyn, South Queensferry etc.) as I will write about these separately.

1. Visit Stockbridge: Those of you that know me will have guessed this was coming. I am biased but I do think Stockbridge is quite special. It is so close to the centre of town (15-20 min walk) and yet so different. It was built by the Water of Leith and has the feel of a market town. The boutiques and charity shops here (especially St. Stephen Street) are worth visiting and it also has some fabulous cafes, bars and restaurants. I live here too so do drop me a line if you visit :)

2. Visit Dean Village: Literally next door to Stockbridge is the Dean Village. Again, very different in character to all other parts of Edinburgh and so very special. A walk along the Water of Leith from here to the Museums of Modern Art is well worth doing.

3. Explore the Museums: My favourites are the Modern Art Museums as they are stunning in their setting and always have some fantastic exhibitions on at all times. The National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery area also pretty spectacular. All these museums have very good cafes that serve excellent food and drink.

4. Take in spectacular views of Edinburgh: By virtue of its hilly terrain, Edinburgh has a number of fine spots from where you can take in spectacular city views. The top of Calton Hill, Arthur's Seat and also any high building at the top end of New Town works for this.

5. Experience France in the West End: I love the West End! It is home to my favourite festival - The Edinburgh Book Festival and is a mini France of sorts. The French Institute is situated here and so are some fabulous French cafes and restaurants including La Petit Follie and L'escargot Blanc.

6. Go for a walk in the Royal Botanic Gardens: These magnificent gardens are over a hundred years old and very impressive. It aways amazes me how well they have managed to preserve the variety of plants they have in here despite the Scottish weather.

7. Go for a concert or show at Usher Hall and surrounding theatres: Edinburgh is one big cultural extravaganza and Usher Hall and nearby theatres host some wonderful musical and theatre talent. The one I'm currently looking forward to is the John William's concert next month.

8. Experience the New Town: The New Town is older than Australia but it is 'new' by Edinburgh history standards. This is where the rich moved to after the Old Town got too full with people and disease. New Town is filled with galleries, antique stores, fashionable boutiques including Multrees Walk which is home to Harvey Nichols - although some may argue we are now getting in to Leith.

9. Explore Leith: Whilst on the subject, some Leithers would be offended if I called it Edinburgh but administratively, it most certainly is. Plus, it is a ten minute walk from town. I'll talk about the Leith-Edinburgh history another time (or watch Sunshine on Leith) but it has a great harbour ( home to Royal Yatch Brittania), some great pubs and restaurants.

9. Morningside and Bruntsfield: This is another lovely neighbourhood - a bit more mature compared to Stockbridge but lovely nevertheless. Check out Falkos Konditorei, the quirky Canny Man's restaurant and charity shops whilst in the area.

10. Go to the beach and Victorian Baths at Portobello: Yes, Edinburgh has a beach! Head to Portobello for a bit of beach fun and to explore the bohemian neighbourhood. Portobello is also home to Edinburgh's last surviving authentic Turkish baths!

Hope you enjoy exploring my favourite city! Ann x

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.

The Great Barrier Reef

I believe that self-growth is all about pushing out of your comfort zone, experiencing new things and  exploring new places. It was this belief that made me sky-dive many years ago despite no real interest in jumping out of a plane. I can't say I particularly enjoyed it but at least I know what it feels like to be hurtling down to earth from over 10,000 feet. It was the same with paragliding although that was much more pleasant (as it was Switzerland rather than A1/fenland with my skydive). My feelings about scuba diving were not dissimilar to that of skydiving but I really wanted to do it and could not think of a better place to do so than the Great Barrier Reef.

 We used Cairns as our hub for exploring the reef and stayed in a fabulous AirBnb place there too. There are *so many* options when it comes to reef exploration from Cairns and we chose a boat that wasn't too big or too slow and had good reviews. After about an hour's sail into the reef area, we stopped to get on to a glass bottomed boat and do some initial lazy viewing of the Reef's offerings.

After that, our interest definitely piqued, we were given thorough safety demos and training. I was mildy terrified ( as I'm not a good swimmer and a wimp) but decided to keep focused to complete my bucket list mission. The diving session started with us being kitted up, testing equipment and procedures at a shallower depth before heading deep into the ocean.

The diving instructors were absolutely brilliant and kept us safe whilst pointing our the wonderful features of the reef. One of my fellow divers had a panic attack and had to be taken back up so I had another instructor guide me - to be honest I was quite pleased to have kept my cool despite this other person throwing a wobbly under the ocean.

The fact is that once you relax and start taking in the magnificent underwater surroundings, you stop feeling terrified and are instead are awestruck but the curious aquatic life around you. My favourite bit was when a big scary fish came into our zone and all the little fish started scurrying away. We were so close to all the action - it was super!

In between diving sessions, we stopped by a little island in the middle of the ocean for a bit of a rest.  It was stunning wee place but the hot Australian sun was beating down mercilessly and our Scotland acclimatised bodies couldn't sun bathe for very long. So we headed back to the boat for another round of snorkeling and diving before calling it a day.

Unlike my skydiving experience, I loved scuba diving ( even if I was hardly a pro) and would highly recommend it to anyone!

Have you sorted out new year resolutions for 2016 and how much of them are about pushing boundaries? I'd love to hear about them! Ann x

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.

Exploring Sydney

I must start this post with a apology of sorts - this is written from the perspective of someone who had an incredible 10 days in Tokyo and Japan before landing in Sydney. We were prepared to be underwhelmed - few places in world are as 'out of the ordinary' as Japan. But, that does not mean they are not just as special in their own unique way. So forgive me if I do not ooze with the kind of enthusiasm  I've displayed in the past whilst writing about Japan, The Outer Hebrides and East Africa. Sydney is a very cool place too - big and gutsy -  it is just that bit more familiar than the others mentioned despite being so far away.

Whilst in Sydney, we stayed in a stunning AirBnB property in the Petersham neighbourhood. It was handy for getting to and from the airport and an interesting area too. Many of the suburbs in Sydney have strong European links.  Petersham, for example, is very Portuguese with houses that were beautiful and had ornate architecture. Even the local supermarkets and what they offer seem to vary depending on the locality. It felt very cosmopolitan. Plus, the transport links across Sydney are very good.

 We spent an afternoon in Manly beach catching up with an old friend and that was very pleasant. Not the most spectacular beach but it was lively and had a friendly vibe. We were told that Bondi is usually teeming with tourists and so we gave that a miss. The journey by boat from Sydney Harbour to Manly and back is well worth doing (on a clear day) for the spectacular views of Sydney Harbour.

Sydney is great for shopping too but I had only one shopping agenda on my mind - heading to the Bloch flagship store and stocking up on ballet flats at half the UK price. And I did just that as I know they will last me absolutely ages - I wore my last pair almost daily and in all kinds of weather and they looked reasonably good even after a year of heavy use.

Other things we did in Sydney included a trip to the Bally outlet (but we didn't buy anything), numerous pit stops in town for coffee and cake (Gumption coffee is well worth checking out), catching up with friends and checking out some local restaurants. City is even more stunning by night  and a walk around the Harbour area and The Rocks is a great way to finish an evening.

Hope you are all having a lovely holiday season! Ann x

To get in touch and see the latest on all my adventures, follow me on Bloglovin, Twitter,Instagram or Facebook.