Perfect night away in Cardiff with Aaron Wise Apartments

I love being a tourist in my own *adopted* city of Cardiff so being invited to come and check out the newly opened Aaron Wise Apartments, in the centre of Cardiff, I couldn't wait.  It's rare having a child-free evening in the city and it's been a while since I have been right in the heart of Cardiff later than 9pm. I was really excited to not only to enjoy some good food but also stay at the luxury Aaron Wise Apartments which look out across the river Taff and only a stones through from St Mary's street and an abundance of eateries and bars. The apartment was really easy to find and you are sent a secure pin to access the building, there are a few different one and two-bedroom luxury apartments to choose from, we stayed in a one bedroom and it consisted of a spacious lounge and kitchen area, separate double bedroom with luxurious linen, large flatscreen tv, plenty of storage and space to set up your laptop, en-suit to this is a very stylish bathr......

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A taste of Greece

Growing up in a warm country has meant I have always had a love for Mediterranean inspired food as the idea of sitting in the sun with a white wine spritzer, bowls of juicy olives, sundried tomatoes and a fresh salad totally captures summer and reminds me of the family adventures we had in Greece when I was younger, jumping on the ferries and exploring various islands in this stunning part of the world. So I was very excited when Expedia ask us to be apart of their World on a Plate Challenge and rustle up little Greek fest at home and despite the recent rainy wether this has not damped our spirit and imagination that through food we can at least get a taste of Mediterranean sunshine. What I love about Mediterranean food is the nibbles, I think I could literally live off Kalamata Olives and Feta cheese and we indulged in little bowls of mild chilis, sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers and a big family sized Greek salad seasoned in Extra Virgin Olive oil of cour......

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Dreaming of a Christmas in Kefalonia, Greece

Myrtos Beach in Kefalonia I have been to Greece a few times with my parents - we generally avoided large resorts and enjoyed Island hoping to some of the smaller islands such as Poros and Hydra being two of my favourite and I have some very fond memories of our times there, including coming across a beautiful secluded restaurant 2 miles up a hill through a lemon grove, no other customers were there and the owner made us feel so welcome and cooked us a real feast, he then showed us a nearby waterfall, it was one of those magical days. I would love to return to Greece with John and the little man as there are so many places to visit and with such friendly locals, warm weather, blue sea and wonderful food what more could you ask for in a holiday destination. I am particularly drawn to Kefalonia as even though it's one of the larger Ionia Islands it's actually one of the less inhabited and is great for a quiet, relaxed and outdoor filled holiday, which is something I reall......

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DIY continental food and drink at home in the UK

If you want to bring a little bit of relaxed, continental retirement lifestyle into your own home there’s no better way to do it than through the delicious options you have when it comes to food and drink. People living overseas, especially in Europe, often remark on the wonderful variety of foodstuffs they can enjoy; however, the same ingredients are available to you here in the UK if you only know where to look for them and how to put them together. Here are a few top class ideas for creating some of the delights of continental offerings. Spanish tapas Tapas are appetizers or snacks and an essential part of the Spanish cuisine. Often served in bars as a pre-dinner treat, they can be hot or cold and frequently include ingredients such as cheese or olives, slices of bread with a variety of toppings, cold meats or chorizo sausage. These are easy to assemble at home as you can cook your favourite omelette, for example, containing lots of interesting vegetables (potat......

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Barcelona style and interiors

Love the tiles in this beautiful Barcelona apartment ( image ) A few year back I spent 2 wonderful weeks in a rented apartment in the heart of downtown Barcelona. I found inspiration in every part of the city and loved all the street art, outdoor bars, relaxed lifestyle and interior style. I have been thinking a lot about that city lately and thought I would just share a little bit of the inspiration with you. The mix and match so many different patterns and colour into their life and home, something I am trying to actively do into our home. Such a stunning hallway ( image ) Barcelona is such a creative hub ( image ) When I went it was over New Years, so technically it was winter in Spain but still every day was sunny and around 18-19 degrees which was much warmer than the 4-5 degrees back in the UK. We enjoyed lots of tapas, cheap wine and Sangria as well as nights on the beach, secretly wishing I was back there with a big class of Sangria How amazing does......

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Travel Tuesday - trendy Barcelona

In 2007 me and a bunch of friends travelled to Barcelona for a week, we rented an apartment (a very small apartment) and our main purpose was to have fun, celebrate New Years and skateboard. I use to do a lot of skateboarding a few years back, in fact I won the UK Girls Skate Jam in 07 but due to having a bad knee injury and two subsequent knee surgeries I don't do nearly as much as I did. This trip also happens to be the last time I flew - thats not to say I have not travelled since becuase I have in fact I have travelled to many countries and have done many long and overnight train/bus and car trips all across europe but I have to admit I am terrified of flying, even though I have been lucky enough to fly around 30 times in my life, I have a major fear of flying which has got worst with age, but I hope to face my fear sometime soon. Sagrada Familia taken on my old film camera I loved this trip, we used the underground system daily, we walked all across the c......

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The unplanned Cosmopolitans

Well this week was somewhat interesting, we where really looking forward to the Cardiff Blogs Meetup at the Maldron Hotel, had a babysitter planned, ready to meet everyone and then on the way there our car decided to play games and in the pouring rain the windscreen wipers stopped dead, and I really mean no movement at all. We still carried on, stopping every 10 meters to wipe the front window with a scarf, and what is really annoying is it's not a banged up old car but a nice Citroen C3 :( Eventually we did make it to the city centre but it was way too late and we had to park it over night by the museum. But being out we made the best of it and it ended up being a really great night. Our first stop was a apple cocktail at Cardiff Arts Institute, I love the interior of that bar and the big booths are a great place to sit and chat, I really want to go back to try their Hulk burger challenge. After that we went to one of our favourite for tapas in 10 Feet Tall, it had a gre......

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Penarth Pier

Yey to bank holidays, you have got to love a long weekend. On monday we decided to take a little drive down to Penarth, a little seaside town near Cardiff, in the Vale of Glamorgan. it has an amazing old victorian pier, which is in abit of state of disrepair but that almost adds to the charm of it. The weather was a little hit and miss with breaks of sunshine. We tried to get a seat outside the very popular figtree for a cup of coffee but being a bank holiday I think everyone else had the same idea. Which actually worked out to our advantage as we enjoyed amazing Tapas in the Ocho lounge, a cafe bar found in the centre of the town. It was a busy, bustling bar filled with people of all ages and the service was great. I had hummus and mozzarella with cherry tomatoes while John went for the pesto and chilli chicken - Arthur also joined in as he loves hummus. After a walk around there beautiful maintained park, that has hedges cut in the shape of birds, we headed back to the pier for an ic......

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