We were technically there for 4 days, but since Richard was the best man at the wedding, there was a lot of time spent doing wedding-related stuff. Everything we did could be easily crammed into two days.

Romania wasn’t exactly a country that was on either of our bucket lists, but we enjoyed the opportunity to check out someplace new. It’s been described as “the new Berlin” (since I’ve never been to Berlin, this didn’t really mean much to me), and definitely has a lot of new bars and coffee shops popping up all over the city. It’s a city that seems ripe for development; I couldn’t stop admiring all the old buildings around town, and kept wishing people were buying them and fixing them up. Buuuut despite the lack of a squeaky-clean exterior, there are a lot of new restaurants and ‘hipster-type’ hotspots all over the capital city that are worth a look.

The best place to start is definitely the Old Town, which is full of cafes, bars, and plenty of tourist shops if you’re feeling the need to buy some sort of fridge magnet or tacky shot glasses. It’s quite small, so you can walk around it pretty easily and admire all of the buildings. And, if you’re hotel is located a bit outside the old town, why not walk through a park to get there?

Bucharest has plenty of nice old parks all around the city, which are great in the summertime. If we’d had more time I would have wanted to walk through more of them to get to/from Old Town and our hotel. However, with the wedding activities, it was often more prudent to simply get an Uber. (Oh, and if you happen to visit Romania, make sure you use Uber! It’s so insanely cheap in Romania, but also incredibly reliable. We used it to get everywhere, including getting to and from the airport.)

Outside of Old Town, there are a few major monuments that people seem to visit. We went to the Palace of Parliament but didn’t bother going for a tour inside. I’m normally more interested in seeing sites from far away than doing a tour, plus you need to bring a passport to get inside, which we didn’t. We only viewed it from the side of the building, as the thing is absolutely massive! It’s the second largest administrative building in the world, after only the Pentagon. Not exactly something you expect to find in Romania, no? We also saw the Arcul de Triumf while driving back to the airport, which is like a smaller version of the one in Paris. I had hoped to see it, and was glad when our Uber driver happened to take that route!

We didn’t really go out of our way to visit all the old churches or buildings, as we were more interested in just wandering around, or checking out cool places to eat and drink! We looked some up before we arrived, but only managed to try a few.

First up, are the restaurants. We only went to a couple of them due to time, as we tended to visit cafes for breakfast and didn’t seem to eat much lunch. Most lists of restaurants to see in Bucharest mention Caru’ cu Bere as the place to go if you want to try traditional food. We had tried to get a table our first night, but when we called, they said they were all full for the duration of our trip. So we headed to a traditional restaurant that Richard found, which felt like it was on a random street in the middle of nowhere. The food was alright, but nothing really to write home about. But it did allow us to sort of check “traditional” food off our list.

Caru’ cu Bere photo source

We later stopped by Caru’ cu Bere while wandering Old Town, and I reckon we could have gotten a table if we’d just gone in person that first night. However, my overall impression of the place was a bit – meh. It just felt super packed and touristy, not really an authentic place like advertised. The building was kind of cool to look at; we ended up just getting a beer, and headed elsewhere to eat.

The restaurant that we both enjoyed was Energiea, which was a little walk outside of the hub of Old Town. Their food felt fresh and modern, with some rather unusual cocktails and awesome fresh lemonade on the menu. While it was what Richard would have called “hipster” it didn’t feel like they were trying to just recreate a Western restaurant – but rather create something new and modern in Romania. Their chips with sour cream and dill dip were also fantastic.

Energiea photo source

Energiea also happened to be one spot away from one of the coffee shops I had on my list to visit!

Now, really great coffee seems to have become a passion in Bucharest. You find these little hidden gems all over the city, and they really care about the brewing/beans/everything! We visited two while we were in the city, and enjoyed both quite a lot. One even gave us a little map with a guide to all the best coffee spots in the city! I wish it wasn’t our last day because I would have loved to check out more. The map had little scores that you could give each place, so you could do a self-guided coffee tour of Bucharest!

First, we stopped in Origo – the one right near Energiea. It’s a cute little place, down a few side streets outside of Old Town. We sat outside on their little makeshift patio (it’s just on the sidewalk) and enjoyed some nice herbal iced tea. Their coffee looked, and smelled, amazing – but we’d both just been walking around all morning and needed to cool off.

Origo photo sources here and here

The other coffee shop we went to was M60. I had wanted to go there for brunch the first morning, after reading about it, but some friends we were there with had gone to check it out that morning and said it wasn’t great. But then after going to the place they recommended (overpriced and felt like a tourist chain), I decided to follow my instinct and go our last morning. Man, I wished I had gone there each day. Their coffee was amazing (we bought beans to take home), and their breakfast options were light but fun. I had a halloumi egg sandwich, which combined two of my favourite things! That, plus the laid-back decor – these were my people.

M60 photo source

Oh, and the servers really care about the coffee. After buying beans, one guy came over to make sure we knew to soften/filter our water and grind to the right consistency etc. He even gave Richard a shot of the espresso straight up, just so we could taste it without milk and know what to aim for when we got home. He was also the one who gave us the map/tour sheet of all the good coffee shops in the area. You could tell these people live for their coffee.

One final cafe we visited for lunch, was Cafe Van Gogh (weird theme, as he’s not Romanian). It’s down a quiet street in the middle of Old Town, with a great patio. They had decorated it all over with hanging fake flowers, which was surprisingly fun, and had that water vapour machine which Richard loooooved. A great way to cool down as the days we were there were sunny and over 30 degrees. We split some simple lunch food (good quesadilla) and had beer, iced coffee, and lemonade. It was a welcome respite as almost every other cafe/restaurant we walked past in Old Town had a hostess outside trying to convince us to come in.

I don’t know about you, but both Richard and I detest that! When someone is standing outside telling you to come in, and doing so by telling you that they serve “cheeseburgers” or “pasta” as though we Westerners can’t abide any cuisine but our own… well it immediately puts us off. If you have to convince me to come in, I won’t. I don’t care how nice your place looks – I don’t want to feel pressured to eat there! Okay, rant over.

Gradina Eden photo source

Other than restaurants, we visited one bar that I would definitely recommend – Gradina Eden. I read about it online before we got there, and we went on our first night! It’s a garden bar, tucked in behind this old building. Honestly, we thought that we might be walking into something kind of sketchy when we walked behind the building and then bam! – there were hammocks, string lights, and seating galore!

I wanted to go back there a few times while we were in Bucharest, but our time was already accounted for with wedding-related engagements. This place even had food trucks – one of them was waffles! I mean come on, warm waffles with a few cocktails while relaxing in a hammock on a warm summer’s night? Kind of perfect in my books.

Oh, and we grabbed some ice cream at Emilia Cremeria, which was quite good! Their mango was the best!

Okay – I think I have exhausted places to eat or drink in Bucharest, which just leaves one last place – the best place! If you look up Bucharest on Pinterest, you’ve probably seen photos of it. It’s the prettiest bookstore I’ve ever seen – white columns, spiral staircases, and natural light galore. And they even sell wine! In a bookstore!

If you like either books or architecture, then you’ll want to visit Carturesti Carusel and just wander for a bit. You can look at tea cups, cards, and books, and even get your purchases gift-wrapped at their little wrapping table. Richard got a bit bored, but I could have spent lots of time there.

And that’s it! Those are all of the places that we visited while in Bucharest that I would recommend. So if you happen to visit Romania, make sure to check out all of the new cafes and restaurants popping up around town. Grab some fantastic coffee near Old Town, wander through a park, and end the evening with a cocktail in hand on a hammock… a perfect day in Bucharest!

We both feel guilty doing nothing at home. So when we had a special day to celebrate, we knew we had to get out of town… to Wales!

10 years ago, on October 8, I met Richard for the first time! We were both volunteering in Nepal on gap years, for the same local organization and met in the volunteer’s meeting. I had already been there a month, and it was the first time we were meeting the new intake of volunteers. You can bet I did a second take when Richard sat down beside me!

It may have taken 8 more years until we finally got together, but we still felt that we should celebrate the 10-year mark. So we went back to the same cottage in Wales that we spent our first Christmas together in, which we loved! It’s located a little outside of Brecon, on a farm with a few cottages. Our first time there, we were staying in Duck Cottage, but it was booked already, so we stayed in Damsen Cottage instead. Both places have cosy log burners and all the amenities you could need. However, knowing how cold the stone floors get, we brought our slippers, and some tea, and spent a few days curled up in front of a cosy fire…

The farm has a few resident ducks, chickens, guinea fowl, roosters, dogs, sheep, and horses. All of which add to such a lovely experience! We would give our crumbs to the chickens in the morning, and hear the sheep baaa-ing all day long. We both kept saying to ourselves that we wished we lived on the farm all the time.

Nothing better than a weekend spent relaxing, drinking tea, watching movies, and making some great food! We meal planned ahead, and brought any spices or ingredients we may need – anything fresh we could just grab down in Brecon!

On the Sunday we were there, which was also the exact day we met 10 years ago, we decided to hike up Pen y Fan! We had tried to hike it the last time we were there, but it got so cold and foggy halfway up, that we abandoned our ascent. We got to this one point, couldn’t see anything, and realized that even if we got to the top (which we didn’t know how far away it was), we wouldn’t be able to see the view. Honestly, you don’t know how cold and windy it was that day! I was freezing!

So we both decided that if the weather cooperated, we would finally get to the top this time! So we wrapped up warm, and made our way up to that same point as last time… which it turns out was sooo close to the top! All we needed was another 5 minutes of climbing and we would have made it. Ha!

So we got to the top, and the fog began to clear! All of a sudden this beautiful sunny day unfolded around us, so we decided to walk along the top of the ridge and see what other sorts of views there were. And the further we got away from “the top” we realized that it might not even be the highest point. Once we were a little ways away we looked back and saw that the second hill, which looked lower up close, might actually be higher? Perhaps next time we’ll hike to that point, just to make sure we’ve been to the highest part of Pen y Fan.

But, even though we may not have reached the top, it was such a fantastic day! We even had to ditch our jackets! In October! In Wales!!

As we were making our way back to the main trail, along the ridge, I kept walking ahead to take photos. It is such a beautiful sight up at the top of Pen y Fan! Then, when I turned around to find out where Richard had got to, I found him down on one knee in the muddy pathway!!! He said some beautiful words, and asked me if I would marry him! Of course, I said yes!

And the antique halo diamond ring he gave me, was the best thing I could have expected to find at the top of a mountain! Don’t you think?

So we made our way back down the mountain, the most stupidly giddy pair, and back to our cottage. From there, we got dressed up and went out for a lovely dinner at the Felin Fach Griffin pub and restaurant. They have such cosy leather sofas near a big open fire and delicious seasonal food which changes daily. I even tried some beef tongue which was surprisingly delightful! They had made it into a sort of roulade with fresh peas – it just melted in the mouth.

photo by coolspaces.co.uk

I’m always saying that we should be adventurous with food, as you never know what you might discover! Luckily for me, I found a guy who feels the same way

On Monday, we had a relaxing morning full of the best breakfast we could muster, before heading back to England. We spent most of the weekend relaxing, but it was just the thing for two people who never seemed to relax properly at home. I can’t recommend that farm in Wales more, as any of their little cottages are just lovely! The perfect place to spend a long weekend, or even get engaged!

Waaaaaaay back in August, my parents came for a visit. As I mentioned before, we spent a few days in London, but most of our time together was spent in Northern Ireland.

My parents had never been to the Northern part of Ireland before, and Richard still has some family living outside Belfast. It was a great excuse for us to visit family, while also showing my folks a part of Great Britain they had yet to see. We debated driving up through Scotland and crossing the sea on the ferry, but just didn’t have the time. The next time my parents visit, I want to do Scotland properly – I long to explore Edinborough and the Isle of Sky, but haven’t had the opportunity yet.

So, as we weren’t going to drive there, we took the quicker option and flew to Belfast. From there, we rented a vehicle and drove straight up the coast to see the many sights of County Antrim. A few years back, for our first Christmas together, Richard and I toured the coast of Antrim. Of course, it was rainy, windy, and horribly cold during that trip, so I was excited to see the same places in a slightly warmer climate. It is Northern Ireland after all

When Richard and I had visited before, we spent a couple nights in the Causeway Hotel and rather enjoyed it. It’s right near all the main sights, and quite reasonable in low season (however, this time was a bit pricier). The breakfast had been excellent last time, and was the place I got my recipe for wheat bread! The food wasn’t quite as good this time, but the location just can’t be beat. It’s right beside the visitor center for the Causeway and grants you free access.

I love the mosaic tile in their entry!

We decided to just relax that first night and grab dinner in the hotel, then wake up early the next morning to visit a couple of the sights. First up, was the Carrik-a-Rede rope bridge. It’s a beautiful little spot just a ways down the coast from our hotel, and plenty busy with all the tourists. The last time that Richard and I were there, it was closed and I never got a chance to go across to the little island. It used to have a proper rickety rope bridge, but now it’s pretty sturdy. But it’s still a scary crossing for some of the tourists there!

Once you get across (which can take time with the lines of tourists in the summer), you can just wander around the little island and enjoy the views of the cliffside. Be careful, as there are no ropes or anything keeping you from falling off the sides of the cliffs!

On our drive back to the hotel, we stopped at Ballintoy Harbor. It’s not much more than a pretty little place to sit and have tea, but you might recognize it if you’re a fan of Game of Thrones. It was one of the many filming sites that they used, and we often saw plaques showing the scenes at all the locations for tourists. They even used the overflow parking area at Carrick-a-Rede in an episode!

As we drove back to the hotel, we decided to grab some coffee. We had passed by a cute-looking place on our way to the rope bridge and thought it might be nice for a coffee and some sort of pastry. Bothy Coffee in White Park Bay is still kind of new to the area (don’t remember seeing it in 2015), but is already a local favorite. The space is super cute, with good coffee and plenty of outside seating. We all sat down to relax a bit, after being surrounded by tourists all morning. It was a welcome reprieve for sure.

photos of Bothy Coffee by Orr and Gillespie via Houzz

After our coffee break, we had intended to view the causeway, but arrived at a packed parking lot and tour groups everywhere. So, we decided we would do the Causeway the next morning, first thing, and caught a taxi over to the town of Bushmills. Here, we wandered the shops in the town a bit and took in a tour of their famous distillery.

I won’t bore you with the details of the tour (in my opinion, when you’ve done one tour, you’ve kind of done them all), but Richard and my dad sure enjoyed the free tastings they got in the end, as both my mom and I dislike whiskey. From there, we decided to get a small bite at a local fish + chips spot, The Cod’s Way, before heading to the Bushmills Inn. None of us had eaten lunch, and our dinner reservation wasn’t for a while yet. So we thought we’d have some chips perhaps, and then a couple pints at the Inn before dinner. Well… let me tell you, we had more than a few chips.

Richard and I decided to share some fish + chips, and it was probably the biggest fish we had ever seen! Not only that, but it was really good! The best either of us had ever had before. The shop had recently opened in Bushmills, so let’s hope it’s still just as good now, as it was that day – I’d highly recommend it! It was hard to find online, but if you’re in the area, let me know if it’s still a great little spot

photos via Hilary Finlay (top) + Good Food Ireland (bottom)

After a few pints in the pub at the Inn, we made our way through to the restaurant. It’s a really great place, and far larger than you would think from the outside. We all had a lovely meal and enjoyed a break from touring around. If you’re ever in Bushmills, I would highly recommend it. You can even spend the night there if you want, but it was a little outside of our budget.

The next morning, we all woke up early to get down to the Causeway before anyone else. We decided to wander around it first and have breakfast after, in order to beat the rush.

Many tourists think that you can only access the Causeway through the visitor center, and thus wait for it to open in the morning. But, if you get up early, and wander along the hilltop, you come to a little pathway down to the rocks below. Once you climb to the bottom, you’ll have the place almost to yourself until the tourists descend on it.

It’s really quite a unique place, with all the strangely shaped rocks, and if you bring along a Northern Irishman, he can regale you with stories of the Giant who built it all He’ll point at wonky-shaped rocks and tell you that one is a boot, another a camel and that the upthrusting columns of hexagonal rocks on the hillside are actually a giant’s organ. Or you can visit the center at the top of the hill and read about it yourself.

Once we’d had our fill of the coast, we hopped on one of the buses back to the top and had our breakfast. From there, we packed our vehicle and drove to our final sites, the Dark Hedges and Dunluce Castle.

First up, was Dunluce Castle. Located just on the other side of Bushmills, it’s a really quick drive, but the parking can be quite manic in high season. Maybe try to get there earlier in the day, in order to have the place to yourself. Dunluce is my favorite kind of castle – ruined! While they have rebuilt some sections, it’s mostly just crumbling walls and views of the seaside.

The kind of place that’s perfect for climbing and goofing around!

It’s one of the last proper sites in County Antrim, but we still had one more thing to see. If you drive a way outside of Bushmills, down some windy roads and farmland, you’ll find the Dark Hedges… or as Richard kept calling them, the Black Bushes You’ll want to use something like Google Maps to find it, as it’s just a stretch of road, not a proper tourist attraction. We got lost the first time we tried to find it.

photo via Mother Nature Network

The road is well known for being featured in an episode of GOT but otherwise is just a pretty road with huge beech trees that meet overhead. If you go at the right time of year, it’s quite beautiful. However, when we went there were so many people(!) on the road, that I didn’t bother trying to take any photos. It’s not a great picture when there are cars lining the road and people standing all over trying to get selfies… ugh. When we went back in 2015, it was December, and no one was around. However, the trees don’t have leaves, and I’d wanted to come back for a better photo… oh well!

And that’s it! All the popular sights in and around County Antrim and Bushmills. Afterwards, we continued our journey to a little town in Ireland, Belfast for a couple days, and then a bus to Dublin. I’d sort of stopped using my camera by this point (hence the fact that I’m not doing a post about them), but I have a few iPhone shots from our trip.

It was a great 10-day trip with the folks and makes me excited for the next time we all get together. Perhaps Scotland this time?!

Our home base in the city was the Fairmont Norfolk Hotel. Not as fancy or luxurious as the Fairmont in Mt. Kenya, but it was in a good location, right beside one of the markets that we were planning to visit. As we had dropped off our vehicle when we arrived in Nairobi, we hired a driver for the time that we were in Nairobi. It was a great call, as he knew all the best ways around town, as well as some places to eat along the way.

Our first stop was the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, to see the orphaned elephants. I had been picturing some sort of romantic scenario, where I get to hand-feed baby elephants, but the result was a biiiit different. The crowd at this place was massive, which meant that we ended up at the back of a group of school children, unable to get very close to the elephants. It was a bit of a letdown, as those people in front were taking photo after photo and not letting anyone else have a turn up close. If you decide to go yourself, get there early in order to beat the tour groups.

However, the elephants were exceptionally cute, and it did feel good to spend money to help a group of orphaned elephants, rather than pay some zoo. Although why they are orphaned in the first place (ivory) is so sad. By the time I have kids, elephants might be something you only see in zoos.

After the elephants, we had lunch before venturing to the Giraffe Centre. Now, if you have Pinterest, you’ll probably be familiar with Giraffe Manor.

It’s a fancy old house-turned-hotel where the giraffes come right up to your window and stick their heads in (you often see photos on Pinterest in “best hotel” lists). Well, these Giraffe don’t live on the Manor grounds but are part of the Giraffe Centre which is right next door. If you don’t have the money to stay in the Manor ($$$) or it’s booked solid (like it was when we checked) then you’ll want to visit the nearby Centre.

Here, you can get real up close and personal with the giraffes! Just watch that you don’t turn your back on them, as they like to head-butt you for more food. And as you can see in the photos, their heads are big!! The Centre started out as a breeding program for a variety of Giraffe that were going extinct, and now also serves to educate young Kenyan school groups on conservation and animal protection.

But the best part is how much you get to interact with the giraffe!!

At the end of our first day, we had a bit of time before dinner and opted to visit the Nairobi Animal Orphanage program at the National Park. It was a bit of a letdown, in that you find out so few of the animals get rehabilitated into the wild (they had lots of large cats). Kind of sad seeing large lions knowing they will spend their lives in captivity.

But you can bet I got to pet more cheetahs! Never tell me that I am allowed to touch cool animals because it will become my new mission in life… oh and I got a monkey to climb all over my shoulders. And can only find a crappy iPhone photo of it.

On our second day in Nairobi, we opted to spend it perusing the markets. I had read online that there were two Maasai markets on certain days, and that one was more geared towards locals, and the other towards tourists. Our driver opted to take us to the touristy one first, and it was a bit of a letdown.

Sure, there were tons of the styles of bowls and spoons that I liked, but so many sandals and purses and other “non-traditional” items. I had really been wanting to find things like masks, baskets, and carved gourds. This market had none. Although you can bet I still bought more bone inlay bowls…

So it was with some uncertainty that we approached the second market. And boy, it did not disappoint. It was huge! Just a big field-type space where the people all set up their little stands, and it can be a bit overwhelming walking through. Everyone wants you to stop and look at their stuff, and the odd trader can be a bit aggressive in following you.

But they had gourds! And baskets! And masks! And you can bet we came home with all three. We even went back to the market later, as we had been rushing through the first time, and it was only a short walk from our hotel.

I can definitely suggest picking the markets not located in malls if you are visiting on a day with two locations. The market might be a bit chaotic, and the sellers more pushy, but you’re more likely to find something unique. I even went home with a bunch of porcupine quills! This woman just had a box of them beside her necklaces and I spent like £1 on a handful. It was almost my favorite purchase because it was unexpected.

And so, after two days in Nairobi, we packed our bags for the final time and headed to the airport. 10 days went by so quickly, but it was an experience I doubt we will ever forget.

Okay, so after we left Samburu, we started on our way towards Shaba National Reserve. We were headed for some relaxation after a few days spent driving around on safari. The two reserves are right beside each other, but it took longer than expected to get there due to the ‘locals‘.

See, we ended up caught in the thick of a massive herd of camels! The locals tend to herd their livestock through the reserves, which can often scare off the more exotic animals. In this instance, I didn’t mind too much, as I happen to love camels. On my bucket list is to do a camel safari through the desert, and stay in a bedouin-style tent.

Once we got through the camels, it was pretty quick up to the Sarova Shaba Game Lodge. The terrain here, despite being so close to Samburu, was far more rocky and looked fairly volcanic. As we got closer to the lodge, the rocks gave way to trees and then the river that runs alongside the resort. Shaba Lodge was a lot ‘fancier’ than Samburu, and we wanted to make the most of our two days of relaxation. So we checked into our room and headed for lunch.

We pretty much spent the next two days in and around the pool, reading our books and snoozing. It was quite lovely! There were more people at this lodge, and yet we pretty much had the pool to ourselves! Most of the groups staying there were taking safari tours each day, while we had already spent over three days doing just that. So instead, we ate and got all kinds of lazy for two days…

After Shaba Lodge, we made our way back to Nanyuki and headed towards the Fairmont Mt Kenya Safari Lodge! We had yet one more night booked for relaxation before heading to Nairobi and got some seriously good rates at this super-fancy hotel. Our room (or should I say rooms?) was like a little cabin tucked away from the main buildings (sensing a theme?). It came with a little sitting room, a huge washroom, a bedroom, and a large patio. The best part of all was the fireplace! Despite what you might think, Kenya can get quite cold at night, depending on your elevation. Not that we really needed it, but Richard and I both love a good open fire.

But despite all the finery and fireplaces, we were mostly there for the wildlife! Right beside the hotel is the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, which you can visit. It costs a small fee, but you get to actually touch the animals, which is quite awesome. Well, you can’t touch the leopard they have, but you can touch cheetahs!!

One of Richard’s colleagues visited this hotel six months before we did, and actually got to go into the enclosure with them and play! See, cheetahs aren’t normally dangerous to adult humans. We’re too big to be viewed as prey to them (which is why I specified adult) so they act more like dogs than anything else. However, when we got there they would no longer let anyone into the enclosure, stating that the young cheetahs were too big now to play safely. We were able to pet one of the cheetahs through the enclosure though!

That thing purred so loudly! It was quite crazy putting your hand through a fence and petting a cheetah… having it lick your hand with its crazy rough tongue. It really was just a big cat.

Other than petting cheetahs, we got to stroke some bongos, feed ostrich and monkeys, as well as see the most adorable little pygmy hippopotamus. All in all, despite the disappointment that I wouldn’t be able to actually play football with a couple of cheetahs, it was still quite fun! Like a really exotic version of the Beacon Hill Park petting zoo.

Afterward, we headed back to the hotel for some tea before dinner. The hotel has lots of peacocks roaming around (perhaps what first reminded me of Beacon Hill Park) as well as these crazy prehistoric-type birds with the most dangerous-looking beaks. It might have driven Richard nuts how they kept trying to sneak up on us and steal food, but I loved it. You can bet that I was throwing them crumbs for sure!

Not only did the hotel have strange birds, but they also had horses and a pair of labradors that you could take out for a walk! Of course, Richard and I did just that… and these two dogs almost ripped our arms off! But it was fun to walk around the safari lodge with a pair of exuberant canines.

In the end, we relaxed and enjoyed the hotel for a little over a day before embarking on the last bit of driving for our trip. We were heading back to Nairobi, dropping off the vehicle, and seeing the sights. Stay tuned for the last post on our Kenyan adventure!

Okay, be prepared for a reeeeaaaalllly long post (with way too many photos) – I’m not quite sure how to condense it any more than this As I’ve mentioned before, Richard had to go away at the end of May for a month, for work. But, unlike most jobs where maybe you go someplace boring, his sent him away to Kenya! Not exactly great, being on my own for a month, but it meant that we could do a Kenyan safari at the end of his trip!

See, Kenya is surprisingly expensive! We were probably the only young people we saw at any of the places we stayed, other than a few couples on honeymoon. Everyone else seemed to be either there for work or retired. The only way we were able to afford the trip was because Richard’s flights were already taken care of, and we got discounts at the places we stayed.

I loved this cactus, it was seriously massive!

But enough about that, let’s talk about the actual trip!

I flew into Nairobi airport in the afternoon, and Richard came to collect me. He had rented a vehicle through work for most of our trip. See, while there are national reserves in and around Nairobi, some of the best ones are a fair drive away. Our first day was pretty much all travel as we drove from Nairobi to Nanyuki. It was a sort of halfway point from Nairobi to the Samburu National Reserve, which was our first safari destination. During his previous month there, Richard had found a nice little hotel in Nanyuki called Le Rustique, where we could spend the night. I’ll be honest, I was pretty tired after my long indirect flight and crashed pretty quickly.

The next morning, we drove to the reserve, and I began my new favorite game of “find the animals”.

If you know me personally, and especially if you knew me as a child, then you know I love animals. I wanted to be a veterinarian for the first 13 or so years of my life, as it meant being surrounded by animals. I asked to visit the pet store like most kids ask to go to the candy store. I may have also convinced my dad to buy a few pets while in said stores…

So knowing that you can imagine what going to Africa and seeing animals on safari was like for me. When we first drove into the reserve, I started scanning for anything in the desert shrubs. We passed these amazing little hanging bird’s nests in the trees and even saw a flock of ostriches in the distance, but it was mostly just an empty landscape everywhere I looked. I was starting to feel like it was going to be hard to find animals, when we suddenly rounded a bend and I saw a giraffe in the distance! And then that one giraffe turned into three (!), and as we started driving towards them, we turned a corner and saw three elephants!

Suddenly it seemed as though there were animals all over the place! So we drove around a bit more before heading to the Samburu Game Lodge to settle in. The lodge was mostly empty, with the exception of ourselves and another group of about 6 people. We stayed there for 3 nights of our trip and were almost always the only people in the dining room. The staff there were lovely, and I loved how the whole resort was in the middle of the reserve. Baboons and monkeys ran all over the place, and the river running through meant that elephants were often to be seen. There was even one point where an elephant tried to come up on the riverbank beside our little hut and had to be driven back by the staff. We saw two genet cats (not a cat, more like a spotted mongoose) in the dining room; we think they lived in a small nook above the catering tables. The only slightly scary thing was hearing that leopards had been spotted in the trees at night before – we were always guided back to our hut at night by one of the staff members.

But despite the threat of leopards, I loved how the place was in the middle of the jungle, and was surrounded by wildlife. I swear, half of the staff employed at places like this, are there to shoot the monkeys away with slingshots. The baboons can get quite aggressive.

We stayed in one of the huts the furthest away from the main buildings, with a lovely view of the river from the patio. It’s not exactly five-star luxury, but you don’t expect that in the middle of a Kenyan National Reserve. The location couldn’t be beat, and the people were lovely.

Now, back to the safari! Most people, when they go on safari in Kenya, pay to be driven around in groups on tour. I personally hate being on a tour – I want to go where I want and see what I see. Even if it means that we might not get to see everything, I much prefer having our own vehicle and just driving around. So for us, when we got up in the morning, we’d scarf down a nice breakfast, and hop in our vehicle! Then we just drive out of the game lodge, and we’re on the hunt! We would just pick a direction and drive, following whatever trails looked promising, and see what we could see.

There were a couple of instances where we decided to follow a group of vehicles. See, all of those tour groups have radios, and when they find a big cat (which is what everyone wants to see, and the hardest to find) they let everyone else know where it is. So when you see a cluster of vehicles, you know there’s something worth seeing. The first time we saw a cat, it was because we had rounded a bend and saw two large vehicles stopped up ahead. We pulled up alongside the anti-poaching vehicle, and they let us know what it was. Turns out, it was a couple of cheetahs just sitting in the brush! We sat back and waited for the vehicles ahead of us to move on, and then drove a bit closer to get a look.

Cheetahs are a lot smaller in real life than you’d think, but so so beautiful. We sat around for a bit, until the anti-poachers told us to move on, as the cheetahs needed to go off and hunt. So we drove around a bit more, trying to find something else before the sun went down. On our way back to the lodge we actually spotted the cheetahs in the distance, hunting, which was cool.

The other time that we found big cats, was quite a different experience. See, on our second full day in the Samburu Reserve, we decided to go out before breakfast and catch the sunrise. We drove up to a nice spot and just watched it from the sunroof of our vehicle. It was quite pretty. But, as we started driving away to find some animals, we got a flat tire! Driving around before the sun was up meant that we drove over something we couldn’t quite see, and popped a tire! So we pulled into the nearest resort and attempted to switch to the spare tire.

I say attempted because the manual that came with our vehicle had the wrong instructions for removing the tire, which was located underneath the rear of the vehicle. Eventually, some of the staff from the resort came out to help, and it took us ages to realize how to use the limited tools that we had to lower the spare. In the end, we got the tire on just before breakfast was about to finish, and raced back (carefully – we only had one spare) to the lodge to eat.

But before we got very far, we saw the tell-tale group of vehicles clustered. So we drove up to see what they were looking at. Turns out, it was three young male lions, and their lioness mother! Just lounging around with their freshly killed zebra! However, the other groups were everywhere and completely in the way of us being able to see anything. We tried to sit back and wait for them to move on, but other tour vehicles kept coming up, and just driving in front of us. It was so rude, and frustrating. Finally, we had to go because we were going to miss breakfast, and there was no sign anyone was leaving soon.

With the exception of our beautiful sunrise and a brief glimpse of a lion, it was a wasted morning. After we ate, we asked around if there was somewhere we could go to repair the tire. We were directed to one of the safari guides, who apparently knew someone in the area who could help us. So two guys hopped in our vehicle with us and guided us to a nearby camp. The owner there did a patch job on our tire while we waited, and made some new friends!

One of the anti-poaching guys who we’d met the other night stopped by as he was heading out, and he and Richard got to chatting about the local weaponry. It wasn’t long before they had me trying out his rifle to see how heavy it was. A little while later (and a fair few shillings) we were back on our way to the lodge.

We decided to try and make the most of our afternoon by heading back to where the lions were, in the hopes they might still be around! Well, they weren’t. But then we got an idea… what if we came back just before dusk, and parked the car by the kill? Scavengers like hyenas only come out at night, so maybe if we waited we might see something?

So we did just that, spending the day driving around before returning as the sky began turning. But to our surprise, it wasn’t hyenas waiting when we got back. The three young male lions had returned! And we were the only vehicle in sight! We were able to simply drive slowly into the middle of the group, and park up. Then we just sat there, watching them relax, eat, and generally be the laziest lions around. It was awesome. We stayed for a good while before our old friends, the anti-poaching crew, turned up to tell us that we had to go back to our lodge. All, in all, a great end to a very frustrating morning.

On our last day in the Samburu Reserve, we had a leisurely morning breakfast, before one last drive through the reserve to the gates. We were on our way to the Shaba Reserve, to spend a couple days relaxing in a bit of luxury (nice pool and food). As we drove through the familiar trails, we happened upon a massive herd of zebra, and spied something unusual! There were different zebra! Now, I had stupidly thought of zebra as only one type, not really thinking there were multiple varieties. Turns out, there are three main types of zebras out there! The rarest ones are the Grévy’s zebra, which is the most common type in Samburu Reserve. The zebras we were seeing in large herds everywhere are actually the most endangered! The smaller ones we saw on our last day (which were rare to us) are actually the more common plains zebra. You learn something new every day!

plains zebra (above) + Grévy’s zebra (below)

And so, we drove back through the gates to the reserve, on our way to the nearby Shaba National Reserve, for the next part of our trip…

Artist Residence in Brighton | Hello Victoria

For a while now, Richard and I have been talking about spending a couple days down in Brighton. It’s so close by, which makes it perfect for a quick little weekend, or even a day trip by train! And of course, ever since watching the original A&E Pride and Prejudice as a kid, I’ve wanted to go. Just like Lydia!

A little bit of sea bathing would set me up too, Mrs. Bennet.

But other than seeing the ocean (I miss that), I wanted to go because Brighton is a smaller, younger-feeling city. It’s got the sort of hippie-meets-hipster vibe that you find in places like Seattle or Portland, with lots of small businesses. Most of them are centered around a few small streets, called the Lanes. They can be quite busy and a bit touristy at times, but still lots of fun. In a weird way, it reminded me of Coombs, if Coombs was a proper city with a university, etc al.

Richard had been wanting to take me there because it’s where he went to University! He mostly wanted to show me where he used to live and have a pint in an old pub down the lane, but it was closed when we tried to go. Darn.

Now, I mentioned that you could take the train down and do Brighton in a day, but when we tried to book our tickets a few days before, they were so expensive!! We did the math, and it would be only £20 more to drive down and get a hotel room for the night than the train! Of course, we decided to choose that option, as it would give us more time to explore Brighton.

isn’t that brick wall and tufted headboard gorgeous?

Not only would this option give us more time in Brighton, but it would also give me the option to stay at the Artist Residence!! I first heard about this chain of boutique hotels when we were traveling around the UK in December. We were looking for a cool place to stay in Cornwall, but unfortunately, they were fully booked for New Year’s. Ever since then, I have been looking for a reason to stay at one of their locations in Cornwall, London, or Brighton (with more opening soon).

the lovely sea view from our room

Let me tell you, this hotel didn’t disappoint! We were staying in one of their smallest rooms (they have large ones with four post beds and free-standing copper tubs in the room – serious) and yet it still felt luxurious. Our wee room was packed with charm, as well as tea, biscuits, and some really lovely-smelling bath products. Not only that but the cutest little radio, which was playing some retro Sinatra-style music when we checked in.

After getting settled in our room, we decided to make the most of our day shopping in the lanes. From little shops that specialize in kitchen trinkets, to antique stores, and curated clothing shops – Brighton has it all. My favorite shop that we went in was actually not on the lanes, but close by our hotel. I Gigi had some great ceramics and other items sourced from around the world, with everything sort of muted and handmade looking. I went home with a plant pot, a small-footed bowl, and a necklace from their sister clothing store (just down the road). They even have a little cafe above the store, which has some lovely-looking treats!

I Gigi’s beautiful ceramics and gorgeous staircase

Speaking of lovely treats, while exploring the lanes, we stopped at the first cute-looking coffee shop we came across. Turns out it was the Flour Pot, which I had heard about through a colleague. Their location was very cute, and the focaccia sandwich I had was amazing! The other place that we tried was No 32 Duke Street for dinner. I was a little underwhelmed by my food, but the decor was really nice!

But I’m getting ahead of myself! Before we had dinner, (and after we went down the lanes) we went to the pier! We were both really hoping that some of the carny games would be open so that Richard could win me a teddy bear (and I could win him something bigger ;)) but only the arcade games were open. We spent a few pounds playing air hockey, and skeeball before relaxing on the beach for a while. Just down the road from our hotel is where the burned-out pier is, and we parked ourselves on the pebbles to watch the sun sink below the water.

Oh, and as if our hotel wasn’t cool enough, they have two cocktail bars! And a ping pong table! We definitely made use of the former, but then were too tired for the latter.

The next morning, we had breakfast at our hotel and sat around drinking tea, planning our IKEA trip that day. Breakfast was actually really nice for something that was included, and the little cafe room is so cute. Nothing gets you ready for a full day trying to buy a new kitchen like berry-topped pancakes…

The hillside town of Lindos, Rhodes | Hello Victoria

The hillside town of Lindos

The last post about Greece, I promise!

On our final day in Rhodes, we managed to book a day trip out to visit the town of Lindos by boat. We had tried to arrange the same excursion earlier that week, but it had been booked solid by the time we made up our minds to go.

Luckily for us, since our flight left late on our last day, we were able to pack first thing, check our bags, and spend the day in Lindos before our flight back to London. Seeing as how we would have had to check out early that day anyway, it worked out quite perfectly!

I wish our boat looked like that…

Now, I will say, that the whole ‘boat trip’ part wasn’t exactly how I imagined it would be. For some reason, when we booked it through our Thompson Cook hotel representative, I was imagining a small boat with like 15-20 people. No, no, no, it was a ferry of a boat with like 100 people, or more!

Not only that, but our bus group got there almost last, which meant that all of the seats out in the sun or on the deck, were taken. We ended up by a window below the deck. Now, this suited Richard just fine, as he burns easily and wouldn’t have wanted to be out in the sun, but if I’m honest, I spent the first 30 minutes to an hour feeling kind of ripped off…

See, I had imagined the boat trip there to be one where I laid on the deck and got a tan, enjoying the warmth of the sun… not stuck inside. But, then that 30+ minutes turned into hours (who knew it took so long to get to Lindos?!), and before long people were dying to take our seats out of the blistering sun! Turns out being last meant we actually got the good seats (for those who dislike hours in the sun) (Me = cat laying in the sun rays through the window).

The fact that the boat was so ferry-like was even a plus in that it was large enough to have washrooms, a snack bar with drinks, and even popsicles! I might have had a few watermelon ‘ice lollies’ on the return trip…

Enjoying my own little private swimming hole

So, part of the excursion was that the boat stopped once in either direction for some swimming, with a few hours to see Lindos in the middle. I had initially worried about said swimming time, because I doubted it would be much fun (or feel very secluded) with all the people on the boat. However, not everyone on board wanted to swim, so I managed to really enjoy those little stops!

Where we docked in Lindos

Once we arrived in Lindos, we had a few hours to go up and see the main tourist attraction – the Acropolis on the hill. Now, before I went on this excursion, I had read up about Lindos and the Acropolis. One thing I was warned about was the people peddling donkey rides up to the acropolis for those too lazy to walk, and from what I read the donkeys are very poorly cared for and mistreated. Since donkeys are one of my favorite animals (the eyes!) we chose to bypass the people selling rides. It’s not a hard little hike in the slightest, and I did it with flimsy Greek sandals on my feet.

The shop where I turned down a pair of sandals I wish I had bought… sigh

The beautiful streets of Lindos, and my ‘hiking’ sandals

The walk up the hill itself was quite nice as most of the buildings here are the classic white facade sort, with beautiful little pebble mosaic streets. There are lots of shops selling the usual wares (Greek sandals, bags, souvenirs, etc.) and plenty of small restaurants tucked away.

Cute little shops and streets along the way up

We decided to beat the rush and go straight up the hill to the acropolis, rather than shop along the way. With the exception of a silly little turnstile payment point, it’s pretty much an open space to explore. We walked all around, seeing all the columns, etc., and enjoying the views from the top of the hill. Richard was a bit bummed that a lot of the columns in the acropolis were actually rebuilt, and not original, but we both still thought it worth the trip.

A few photos of the Acropolis

On our way down, we found a little family restaurant where we sat down to enjoy some olives, pitas, calimari, and halloumi (of course). We had the entire place to ourselves and rather enjoyed the reprieve from our crowded little ferry.

Amazing olives and calimari!

Since we got back to our boat a little early, I took the opportunity to swim around the beautiful little bay that Lindos surrounds. The water was so clear, and very refreshing after walking around in the heat of the day.

The view from the Acropolis

Our return journey felt a lot longer as I think we were all getting kind of tired from the day out, and I’m pretty sure the crew agreed because our swim stop on the way back felt shorter (albeit still fun – and a pretty spot). After that it was simply a matter of relaxing below deck, eating popsicles, and drinking cider until returning to our bus transport to the hotel.

Our last swimming spot

It may have started off kind of rocky, but that little boat trip made me really want to return to Greece. Of all the parts of Rhodes we visited, Lindos felt the most like what I had been expecting, and made me only want to come back. Next time, perhaps we’ll visit another island?

One of the two-day trips that we took while staying in Rhodes, was to the old town. A walled part of Rhodes set along the water, it’s the oldest inhabited medieval town in all of Europe!

beautiful bougainvillea vines growing all over the place!

We spent the day roaming the streets (getting lost a few times), looking in the shops, and enjoying some halloumi and Greek beer! (I’m pretty obsessed with halloumi, as evidenced by its constant appearance in my fridge.) I quite enjoyed some of the older architecture, as well as all of the bougainvillea growing around the city.

As far as tourist attractions go, it’s an alright day spent shopping (if that’s your thing), but I found it a bit lacking in terms of other excitement. The streets are pretty, but there’s not much to see or do there besides shopping and eating.

I’m pretty sure that most of the photos Richard took were of stray cats

My one regret is that I didn’t buy a pair of leather Greek sandals. I had been looking forward to finding some since discovering cool Etsy shops a couple years ago. I ended up being too picky, and kept passing shops by, thinking I would find something perfect around the corner, only to leave with nothing.

Looks like I may have to buy some online after all!

Traveling to Rhodes, Greece | Hello Victoria

Now seeing as how Richard and I both had three weeks off from work, we didn’t spend the whole holiday painting! A week of that was more than enough, so we jetted off to relax a little on the Greek island of Rhodes.

When it comes to our vacation styles, we both enjoy visiting places with lots of cultural stuff to do… but this trip was all about doing nothing. Richard’s work means he sometimes has to go away for huge chunks of time (he was about to go away for 6 weeks), so we saw this as a great excuse to go somewhere and just relax in each other’s company.

What we woke up to each morning… sigh

Rhodes, as we discovered, doesn’t look like the Greek postcard we had in mind. Most of the older architecture on the island could be described as medieval in style, so it’s not the island to visit if you want to have lots of pretty photos of little white hillside villages with blue accents (darn). What it does have are cheap flights and lots of all-inclusive beach-side resorts!

We spent our week at the Ixian Grand, which was in a nice quiet location. No one ever came to bother us at the beach, selling trinkets, and the water was beautifully clear and warm. I’m pretty sure we spent half our vacation just sitting under umbrellas, reading books, and drinking piña coladas. (I know, I know… that’s not a Greek drink… but I am a sucker for the combination of pineapple and coconut.)

Our usual spot on the beach

My book of choice for the vacation was Kazuo Ishiguro’s Buried Giant. I realized in the airport I had nothing to read, but luckily there was a store with a few books I had been looking to read available. Knowing how fast I read, I should have brought two or three, but I spent a good portion of my time in the sun napping anyway. It wasn’t as interesting as some of his other books I’ve read, but it was an enjoyable ‘beach read’ of the fantasy sort.

Finally got a chance to wear my new Panama-style hat

In addition to the lovely water and beach access, our resort also came with some pretty great food. It was better than most buffets that I have experienced at this type of place, with lots of fresh fruit and Greek cuisine. I think I made myself a huge fruit salad each morning, to go with my waffle and yogurt. Now that’s how you get your 5 a day!

Despite spending most of our time relaxing at the resort, we did venture out a few times to visit some tourist attractions. I’ll write a bit more about our holiday soon, but will stop here for now.