Beach Bums

From Greg's Instagram. Be-a-u-tiful.

Yesterday we didn't get up to too much and it was glorious. We spent most of the day lounging on Venice Beach in the sunshine and 'frolicking' (another Gregism) in the Pacific Ocean. The weather was wonderful and the water was lovely and basically I want to move to LA and open a hostel on the beach.

 

'Look, look! I'm hugging the ocean!'

No, Greg isn't wearing fake tan on his face.

My natural habitat.

We took a walk down the board walk to Santa Monica beach and Muscle Beach. A large part of the walk was a bit of a hippy paradise, with loads of stalls selling bracelets made of hemp and sage for burning, so of course I was loving it, even though my ice cream melted all over my hand and my clothes and my face...

My favourite part of the day however, may have been Greg's super exciting 'tan', which consists of being totally red aside from his eyes and a white patch on his stomach because he sucks at putting sun cream on.

This is just a taster, but it did look kinda like he was wearing a strapless mini sun dress. I laughed so hard I cried.

This morning were packing up to get ready for our Mexico stint of the trip; our bus for Tijuana leaves in just a few hours! I'm super excited to discover an entirely new culture and country, it's been too long.

Hollywood Boulevard

We're currently lounging in the beautiful morning sunshine on our second full day in LA, eating another signature Rochester breakfast at the Mansion (our hostel), which turns out to be the old home of Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, who acted in Gone With The Wind, and has been converted into a hostel which is run by his son! It's such an awesome hostel that we decided to stay another night before heading off to Tijuana tomorrow.

Yesterday we spent most of the day in Hollywood, firstly visiting universal studios then walking up and down the boulevard. We went with two of the guys from our hostel called Daniel and Peter who are from Poland.

En route to universal studios.

My feet and Fleetwood Mac.

Moon landing!

My fav ❤

We also managed to get a pretty awesome view of the Hollywood sign and paid a visit to the Chinese Theatre, where I got to put my hand where Rupert Grint's and Johnny Depp's hands had been and it made my life complete.

After a morning chilling with the stars, we decided to go off and explore downtown for a little while. It turned out to be, to quote Greg, very accurately represented in Grand Theft Auto, and also strangely empty compared to London or any English city. We mainly wandered aimlessly, but did come across a few gems along the way, such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Greg's arty Instagram of inside the concert hall.

In the evening we came back to the hostel to enjoy some beers in the pool and take some hilarious underwater pictures, involving a lemon picked from a tree and a lost button. It's the simple things eh? However, as I don't have access to a computer yet to upload my camera shots, you'll have to sit tight for Greg's sexy underwater snaps.

Today's plan so far consists of heading to Venice Beach (because I want to make myself feel as ugly as possible for some reason) and perhaps a trip around Beverley Hills. So I have to attempt to dress a little more 'fancy' than usual. Wish me luck! 

What happened in Vegas...

First of all, no, we did not get married in Vegas. Let's just clear that up right away.  Not to say we didn't consider it though... (I'm joking)

We spent three days there all in all and if I'm honest, I wasn't really a fan. I was really quite relieved to get out of there yesterday, not only for the heat but mainly for the sheer hedonistic excess of the place. However like in everyone I meet and everything I do, I like to try and find the good stuff, so I'll try and write a little about that first.

Of all the things that Vegas has got so so wrong, it's impossible to deny that it really is a testament to man's skill and creativity in architecture. Seriously, in the space of a couple of miles you can visit the Eiffel Tower, New York City and King Arthur's Castle. It's completely nuts.

Before I'd visited, I'd heard stories that people wouldn't leave their hotels at all, and it's easy to see why. Each one is like it's own little city with shops and casinos and pools and shows and the best air-conditioning ever in the world ever. One even has its own aquarium and another a roller coaster! We spent an entire day just exploring the hotels and ended up walking for about 11/12 hours (we guesstimated about ten miles in the blistering -literally for our feet! - 43*C heat).

Little did we know that this was an UNDERestimate.

I also have to say that it was a pretty awesome place to go out at night. On the second day, after raiding an outlet store in the morning and a visit to the 'Welcome to Vegas' sign that nearly killed us, we decided to conserve our energy for the rest of the day and re-explore at night.

We went for dinner at a place called 'Bubba Gump' which is a shrimp restaurant based on Forrest Gump which was super yummy and had a killer view of the strip.

For me I suppose Vegas was an experience, but not necessarily one I'd like to repeat, because for all its star quality, there's so much about it that makes me want to cry a little inside. It's (to use Greg's favourite phrase) an affront to nature, in that it is so unnatural. None of what Vegas is, is an attribution to the beautiful scenery that surrounds it and its excessive energy waste is so ridiculous I had to fight back my inner eco warrior from going on a rampage. It's basically a giant adult playground, that promotes so many things that are wrong with humanity, from the objectification of women to the ignorance of those in poverty - there were people gambling away $1000s in the casino and others starving on the streets outside. That was probably the most painful to watch.

I think it's safe to say that I've done enough of Vegas for one life time, though I can't say I regret going. I think it's a completely unique experience in itself and I'm glad I got to see it (and even gamble a whole dollar myself!)

We're now in Los Angeles after a loooong bus ride (actually it was only 6 hours but I'm out of practice) in the coolest hostel. It's called The Mansion, and as the name suggests it's big white mansion, with the main housed furnished in such a rustic style, we were genuinely confused about what time period we were in. It's also run by the loveliest people who make a killer breakfast (are there any other qualities to look for in a person?) I think we're off to Hollywood today with a couple of guys we met in the hostel, so hopefully it should prove pretty exciting :)

A Blue Popsicle and the Mafia

As I said yesterday, everything seemed to be going far too swimmingly on our outbound journey and it turns out I was right to be suspicious.

After collecting our bags, we began walking towards the second security check before leaving the airport. This means that before this point, we'd already had a thorough passport check, finger prints and mug shots taken and visas scrutinised. A random security guard/serious looking police officer man decides to pull us to one side to do some kind of unofficial background check on us.

'Are you two married?

*classic gets-em-out-of-everything-giggle* 'No!'

*stoney faced* 'What is your business in Las Vegas?'

'Travelling...?'

'What is the actual name if your hostel?'

'Las Vegas Hostel...' (Perhaps I can see why that was kinda suspicious)

And he went on like that for a while, so I decided to word vomit our entire trip at him until he let us go. Now I get that the security here is tight and that on a plane full of hen parties and fake baked middle aged men we did stand out a liiiittle bit, but just coz I haven't brushed my hair in a month and we didn't smell the sweetest after a 10 HOUR flight doesn't mean we're up to something. Honestly.

The second exciting event happened just after we arrived at the hostel. We'd had a lovely shuttle bus ride with Belltrans (highly recommend!), who drop you and your luggage at the door of your hostel for just $8. This meant that we got not only a trip of all the fancy famous hotels (whilst we were praying we'd be dropped off last, seeing as our digs were bound to be of no comparison and no-one in the bus even understood the concept of a 'hostel') but also some solid advice of where to go and what to see. Lots of people told us about their favourite places to visit and where we could find the best chapels - EVERYONE thinks we're eloping... - and of course the best places to eat. Our driver was particularly lovely, and on dropping us off warned us not to go any further right down the street we're on. The location, he said, is great, but six blocks in the other direction and we're in gang territory. 

So we got into the hostel, unloaded the bags and headed across the street to the 7/11 which is literally only half a block to the right of the hostel. I mean we could see it from our dorm room window. Yet straight away I was approached by a man, who I kid you not, literally fanned out a spread of $50 bills in my face (there must have been thousands there), looked me up and down and asked if I was interested in making some quick money... As always, I took a little time to click onto what he meant but, I mean, I didn't know my pasty white legs could be so enticing... Luckily, when I said a respectable 'no thank you', he was actually very lovely, wished me a nice day and went about his business. I'm still confused.

Finally, I am awake at this ridiculous hour (it's 3.22am), in part due to jet lag and partly due to my dorm-mate Chris, who woke me an hour ago to offer me a popsicle in exchange for helping him blow up a lie-low for the pool downstairs. He's been awake for two days and is afraid to crash in case he sleeps through the remainder of his trip (which is three days...) and was very surprised that I was a girl for some reason. Vegas is really weird.

And we're off!

Today we got up at 4.45am to embark on our long awaited trip to the Americas! The flight left Manchester at 9.15am UK time and seeing at the time difference is eight hours, we've been up for nearly 24 now.
 

Here's a few of my ramblings from the plane...

14.55 (uk time)

 

We're just over half way of our flight from Manchester to Vegas and to be honest it's gone pretty quickly so far (touch wood!) PLUS they have 'Frozen' on the flight movie list so with 5 hours to go that gives me at least one or two more watches before we land.

 

Not much to report, aside from the various old men who seem to have 0 sense of spacial awareness and think it's ok to lean over to chat to their mates and forget about where exactly they're putting their asses. Which, btw, seems to be in my face. A lot.

 

We also had some celebratory bubbly for breakfast which is possibly why Greg is completely passed out right now... Poor boy, can't handle his champers.

17.08 (uk time)

 

JUST THREE HOURS TO GO!! (Said with more hysteria than excitement in my groggy state) Still not much to report, I'm actually beginning to get suspicious about how smoothly everything seems to be going. Even the in flight food was kinda tasty! 

 

Sausage and mash apaz by some fancy chef (I've never heard of him but they seemed pretty proud of themselves)

I'm taking a little time off from my headphones and TV after watching The Lego Movie, due to it being a complete and utter mind boggle. It's possibly the weirdest film I've ever watched, so of course I loved every second of it. However it did take me a little while to convince myself that they weren't seeking hallucinogenics in through the air vents. Oh and I finally convinced Greg to watch Frozen and I think we might be on to a winner...

 

***

 

We've now been here for a few hours and things have been much more eventful; I knew I was speaking too soon! However I'm too exhausted to think straight so I'll elaborate tomorrow, just checking in to let you all know that we arrived safe and sound :)

Nostalgic Feels

It's less than two weeks until I head off on my next journey.

I'm excited/nervous/terrified/raring to go/trying to come up with ways to get out of it. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary for when pre-travel stress finally starts to sink in.

I always knew I'd be going away on another big trip again (and again and again and again) but it's been two years since I last left the continent and I've changed a lot since then. Undeniably travel is one of the things I live for, I guess I'm just nervous that it won't love it as much as I love being at home in London. I've become so settled where I am, with awesome family and friends both here and back in my home town and the prospect of leaving them all behind is rather sad. I feel like last time I really had something pushing me to leave; I'd just come out of the most important long term relationship I'd ever had (and still have ever had to be honest) and I was on my gap year between college and uni and all my friends were away having fun at their respective unis. Really, I just wanted to get away from it all, to escape the quiet of my home town and head off on my own adventure, that was more exciting than working three jobs in the town centre. This time it's all a little different, seeing as I've finally found somewhere that I feel settled and happy within myself.

There's also the added factor that some of my bestest friends in the whole wide world who I've hardly seen over the past year will be returning home from their years abroad - in Australia, USA, Hungary, Germany... the list goes on - and I won't be around to see them when they get back. I've been pretty shabby at keeping in touch over the year too (I'm so sorry guys), which makes me miss them EVEN more. Plus there's all the summer fun they'll be having without me...

I know right, BOO HOO to me going off travelling, it's a hard life. Believe me, don't for one second think that I don't feel super lucky to be in the position I am in, but our highlight orientated society dictates that I should focus on all the awesome stuff I am missing out on and sometimes that mentality is difficult not to sink into. It's when I think about that, that I realise exactly why I am so in love with travelling.

I mean, there are no expectations or constraints on you as an individual. Yes, you may be in the expectant mindset of 'THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST TRIP EVERRRRR', which isn't a bad one to be in, but there are literally 0 expectations on you as a person, and you learn how to be a much more open-minded and well-rounded person because of this. You can get up when you like, eat when you like, eat what you like, talk to whoever you like (travellers are friendly folk). There are no deadlines, essays, time constraints, meetings, classes, events, nothing that you HAVE to do or anywhere you HAVE to be. Whilst society back home is telling me I should be sad about missing out on the guaranteed fun I could be having there, travel beckons and whispers, 'Who knows what will happen, let's go and explore'. How could I ever say no to offer like that? As cliché as it might sound, there is nothing that can read or buy and no prediction that you can make to 100% prepare you for travelling.

'Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness' - Mark Twain

I was reminiscing with a couple of friends last night about previous trips I've been on, as two of them had come up to stay the night before jetting off this morning on a trip around South America (they'll be in Brazil by tomorrow night!). Of course you remember all the big highlights of your trip: the big mountains climbed and oceans you swam in, but what about all the little things that make the journey so worthwhile? The people you meet, the foods you try, the music you listen to; all the things you would never and could never experienced from the comfort of your own home.

This was taken in San Pedro de Atacama, just before a three day 4x4 trip towards the Salt Flats. We met Steve and Georgia a day and a half earlier when getting off a bus, when I dropped a bag on my foot and swore rather loudly in strong northern accent, to which Steve responded, 'Are you English?'. We then travelled together for a month and a half.

I met Mani in Cusco, when he had tagged along with our crew for a while on his year long world trip. Since then, we've visited each other in our home countries of Germany and England, and no doubt we will do again.

My favourite story to tell is that of an unlikely couple. When Evie and I travelled to Peru, we met a guy called Sam (far right on the cover photo!), who quickly became a close friend of ours. One thing lead to another, we travelled together and then he came to visit us in the UK on the European stretch of his world trip. Which is when he met our friend Niamh, who I'd gone to high school and was living in Edinburgh for uni. The two met, fell in love pretty much instantly and he has now permanently moved to Scotland to be with her and they are making plans to move to Aus after her degree has finished... Sometimes I forget just how crazy-romantic that story is until I say it out loud. I'd like to think that story alone made our trip worthwhile, but we got that and more, along with life-long friends all over the world and some of the craziest stories that you just cannot make up.

These are the things I try to focus on when I get scared about going away, that uncertainty is not necessarily always a bad thing; it can be terrifying and fun and absolutely bewildering all at the same time. Over my travelling years I have done some of the craziest things and met the coolest people, including zip-lining over the Inca Jungle, surviving drugs raids on Peruvian buses, epic car chases and becoming the best of friends with the male version of myself just one afternoon together in a Croatian hostel. Who knows what this next trip is going to entail.

Mexico City and Berlin

I think it's about time I explained to you lovely people what's going on with my little countdown timer at the side of the screen. I may or may not (I genuinely can't remember) have mentioned that I study languages at university, German and Spanish to be precise, and due to this I am required to go abroad for my third year of study, before returning back to London to finish my degree. I am currently in the midst of completing my second year exams, meaning that my year abroad is fast approaching. I'll be spending my first term at UNAM in Mexico City and my second term at the Humboldt in Berlin, which is all very exciting.

However being the keen bean traveller that I am I don't fancy wasting any time of this almost entirely university funded year away, so I've booked a flight to Las Vegas on the 25th May (two days after my final exam) along with my lovely friend Greg. We decided on Vegas since it's much cheaper to fly there than most places in Central America, so the plan is to cover some of the major South West tourist sights and cities in the USA - Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles - before heading down into Mexico, perhaps looping through Guatemala and Belize before ending up in Cancún where Greg is due to fly home from. After that I haven't really planned the details but I have a few friends called Edgar and Adriana who live in Mexico City and San Cristobal, respectively, who I will definitely be popping in to see before term starts in early August.

That awkward moment when you both buy the same travel guide, which doesn't contain any information about the entire north of Mexico. Skills.

Here's a rough plan of the route we're thinking of taking (click on it to enlarge!)

That's about all I've got semi-set in stone for now, but I do have two friends studying their first terms in Martinique, which is a Caribbean Island and another in Rio, Brazil so we're intending on doing some visits and travelling once our terms finish in December. Then we're all moving to Berlin to join up with some of our other course mates and I'm considering flying out to Estonia and travelling down from there before my term starts in late March/early April... We'll see anyway!

*For those with USA travel know-how*

Greg and I would really appreciate any tips any of you might have for cheap ways of getting around in the US. We're on a pretty tight budget and it turns out that because of my age car hire is just out of the question. We're going to be using Greyhound and Megabus for the long stints, but we'd love to be able to visit either Death Valley or the Grand Canyon (or any other major outdoorsy spots) without having to pay extortionate day-trip fees. So any pointers on car shares, cheap car hire sites or even cheaper bus companies would be much appreciated! Also cheap campsites would be nice too :)

10,000

That's right, I finally reached my 10,000th blog view yesterday!! I can't actually believe that so many of you are continuing to read my ramblings - thanks so much :)

I thought I'd do a quick post dedicated to all my trips since I started the blog. I suppose this could act as a bit of a catch up for any new readers, as well as a celebration of all the wonderful things I've experienced and incredible people I've met over the past two years.

East Coast USA

New York - Philadelphia - Washington DC - Knoxville - Nashville - Atlanta - Orlando - Miami. In three weeks. Possibly the most hardcore travelling I've done to date. These first two trips are the reason I started the blog, which is pretty crazy considering how much it's come along now!

Started off the trip with Rach and Ferris as well as Aimee to celebrate Rach's 18th birthday! We managed to pick the rainiest cloudiest day to visit the Statue of Liberty and to be honest were pretty underwhelmed by how big it was... Still, been there, done that, got the t-shirt and it was still a pretty good day.

WE MET ED SHEERAN. In Nashville after a Snow Patrol concert at which he was the support act. He smelled wonderful where as I was sweaty and horrible and hadn't washed my clothes for far too long. Sorry about that Ed.

Our first basketball game! Heat vs Pistons and Heat won it by a mile. We also got on the big screen by dancing like loons whilst people around us held up giant cardboard cut outs of H E A T.

Peru, Chile and Bolivia

Lima - Cusco - Arequipa - Arica - Iquique - San Pedro de Atacama - Uyuni - Potosi - Sucre - La Paz - Copacobana - Isla del Sol - Cusco - Huacachina - Lima. A beautiful continent full of beautiful people. I'd go back there in a heartbeat.

Peru: This was actually taken on our return to Peru at our last stop in a place called Huacachina. It was a great place to end the trip, with our good friend Sam from Aus, pretty much just partying all night and eating BBQ chicken wings all day. In this picture we'd decided to go on a midday booze cruise on the tiny lake with a surprisingly strong current in the middle of the oasis town. Such a great memory :)

Chile: Arica, the dryest city in the world, where in 10 years in rains only enough to fill one tea cup. 25 degrees everyday without fail. What an incredible place.

Bolivia: Sugar Daddy, The Cow (that's me...), G-meister General and Evester, setting out on three day 4x4 tour of the salares and salt flats. The trip consisted of the absolute coldest nights I've ever experienced, as well as the most breath-taking views.

Eurotrip 2012

Prague - Vienna - Budapest. A trip to reunite all the homies after a year away at university and travelling.

Prague: For some reason we decided to climb a really big hill just to see what was at the top. If I remember correctly, there really wasn't much up there, but the view was pretty special.

Vienna: This is from the night out where we went to the club 'Flex' and got invited on stage by the DJs simply because we were 'foreign'. Great night, from chucking shoes at Peter to the wall of sweets in the bathroom. Even though I wasn't wowed by the rest of the city I had a really good night.

Budapest: Since we're dead mature and all we decided to spend a day renting go carts and bikes and ride around the park. One of my absolute highlights of the trip as Pete and I rented a tandem and failed miserably at riding it. We also enjoyed ice creams and played in the musical fountain.

Abersoch- Girly Summer Holiday

A week holiday with all my favourite girls from high school. Unfortunately I didn't blog about this at the time but we had a lovely time chilling out at the beach and doing some serious charity shopping, whilst sleeping in a lovely cottage we rented.

The beautiful girlies. We decided we weren't too old to fit on this little train ride around the park and all six of us crammed into the back seat, making the ride rather squished.

This was pretty much our own private beach, about 15 minutes walk from the house and hidden away from the main busy one. This is also the beach that destroyed my apparently indestructible camera that had survived three months in the USA and South America... 

Five days in Amsterdam

Another one I didn't blog about - sorry fellas! - because I only really started blogging again in January where as this trip was in November. In short we stayed in a caravan, visited a lot of Van Gogh exhbitions, the Botanical Gardens, Anne Frank's House and a fair few coffee shops. You know, the usual Amsterdam thing.

Note to self: Going on a holiday with four boys and no girls to a place like Amsterdam is probably not the smartest thing you could have done.

Me and the guys chilling in a pretty cool coffee shop in the Red Light District. Going with four guys means you spend a little too much time in that area of town.

I met Desiree and Sophie from the Machu Picchu trek!! We went out for a lovely traditional Dutch meal and I tried Bitterballen which I am a BIG fan of. It was great to be reunited with some old travel friends :)

We LOVED the Botanical Gardens. I can't remember the exact price anymore but I know it was pretty reasonable (especially if you have a student card) and they also have a butterfly house!

Eurotrip 2013

Siegburg, Cologne and Bonn - Krakow - Vienna - Bratislava - Budapest - Belgrade - Sarajevo - Mostar - Novalja, Pag (Hideout Festival!) - Zagreb - Dubrovnik.

I spent the first four nights with my friend Mani who I met in Cusco, Peru. We had such a great time chilling in the sunshine, swimming, sharing a few beers and throwing popcorn at each other.

Highlights picture created by my wonderful friend Mitch. I joined the trip at picture number nine. I can't believe how much we did in such a short space of time!

Mitch and I chilling at the lake in Bratislava, one of my favourite pictures from the trip. This is the day we tried Bull's Testicle Goulash and Josie burnt her ass and stomach. Silly girly.

And last but not least... Hideout Festival and Zagreb!

On Novalja, Isle of Pag with 11 other members of the Preston crew. Probably the best festival I've ever been to.

Danny and Ki living it up on the first day. This was at a pool party with a live DJ set (goodness knows who it was) where we danced like crazy and drank tasty but pricey cocktails.

Sunrise at 6am. I saw four of these during the five day festival. Not bad for a girl who didn't even like house music before she went.

(Almost) Everyone together in Zagreb, which pretty much acted as a recovery session for the festival. Despite the criticisms it's had I actually really liked the city, which is much more chilled out than others so a welcome break on a busy trip.

And that just about sums up my last two years worth of travelling. Looking back at the post I really haven't done too badly have I? Especially considering I had to cancel two trips to Madrid and Dublin. I'm really excited for my cruise round the Canary Islands in August now :D Once again, thanks so much for reading (I wouldn't be a proper Brit if I wasn't excessively grateful now would I?), it really is quite flattering that so many of you want to read my thoughts, documentaries and rants. You're the best! :)

Decisions, decisions... HELP ME

I'm currently in a major dilemma about what I should do with my summer. I've been deliberating for a few months now and have changed my mind so many times that my head is starting to hurt. So I have decided to open it up to you guys, to see if you can cure me of my ridiculous indecisiveness.

What I really want to do is get a job and a flat somewhere in Germany with some of my course mates, so I can save a little and improve my German. I've applied for quite a few positions to no avail so far, though I'm not giving up just yet. However if that falls through I need another plan in place so that I'm not stuck with absolutely nothing to do.

I have a few different options to chose from...

1. Go home to Preston, smile sweetly at my old boss and try to get my old job back, work my ass off to pay off my student overdraft and start saving for trips to Philly and Newcastle, AUSTRALIA, to visit my besties who are studying abroad for a year. However the cons are that Preston isn't terribly exciting and most of my friends will be off galavanting around the world... Plus I haven't left England since November, so I'm getting a little twitchy.

2. Stay in London and keep my job here, maybe look for an internship. I wouldn't be able to save as much as in Preston due to paying rent but it would mean I wouldn't have to faff around with getting my job back in September. Plus I'd get to experience living in London in summer without the studenty aspect which would be interesting. However I'd have to try and get my housing sitch sorted which sounds terrifying... Though I suppose I can't avoid it forever anyway.

3. Travel Europe with my flatmates. This is the provisional plan:

(NB I know Budapest is in Hungary not Bulgaria, my friend is just a silly billy)

Unfortunately I'd be missing Scandinavia and joining around 12th June. Obviously the pros are I get to travel to new places and the itinerary looks AWESOME but then I'd be very poor by the end of summer and jobless. I also have a ticket to Hideout Festival in Croatia at the end of June (fits into the plan perfectly!) so it'd be a case of selling my ticket if I couldn't go. AND that's the last chance I'd get to hang out with some of my home friends before they go away for a year.

4. Another option is to just go to Hideout festival, whilst working in Preston/London, but this raises the issue of whether they'd give me the time off to go...

Basically the question is the degree of sensibleness I should take in making my decision. Being sensible has never really appealed to me if I'm honest, life is all about taking risks and doing what makes you happy. However in this scenario, I have to consider that I can't do what makes me happy if I'm broke. SIGH at being a grown up.

Please comment/message me/slap me round the head. ANY help or advice would be greatly appreciated. In the mean time, I'm off to enjoy the London sunshine :D

Foodie Favourites

Of course, the amazing variety of new and exotic foreign foods you get to try is a big reason for travelling. It's one thing to try something in a themed restaurant in the UK and another to eat the real authentic stuff in the country itself. Plus last time I put my Foodie Nightmares post up someone told me I looked really uncultured and whiney, so I wanted to prove them wrong :P

Milan, Italy - Cosmopolitan Cocktail at Banco Milano

Literally the tastiest cocktail I have ever had. Unfortunately, when we tried to order it again, it just didn't taste the same. Still, we drank there a few times and their other cocktails are also pretty darn good, so I'd highly recommend it to anyone. And if you don't believe me, here's what TripAdvisor have to say about it.

Washington DC, USA - Mussels and Chocolate Cake at Busboys and Poets

I LOVE mussels. And chocolate cake for that matter. So I suppose it's not exactly difficult to please me on that front. However I'd say the food we ate at Busboys and Poets was pretty exceptional; I mean, just LOOK at that cake. I have a vivid memory of how lovely the waiter was and the general cool vibe of the place. Also the bathroom had really fancy taps.

Nice, France - Garlic Snails

An obvious venture for any tourist in France, but contrary to popular belief these things taste AMAZING. This could be, however, because they (in line with popular belief) tasted like chicken covered in garlic, which is always a win for me.

Frankfurt, Germany - Currywurst

One of my favourite things in the whole world. Usually done best at the German Christmas Markets, but to be honest you can rarely go wrong with a good Currywurst. It's cheap and cheerful too, what's not to love?

Cusco, Peru - Full English Breakfast at Jack's Cafe

After travelling around for over a month and a half and going broke more than once, meaning we had to live off the cheapest of food in some places, this was a welcome sight for sore eyes. All the pounds we'd shed in the previous weeks seemed to come flooding back all at once but I would 100% recommend it! Just make sure you order the special tomato jam that they make to go with it, it's divine.

Atlanta, Georgia, USA - Fried Chicken

So I was told by a lot of people that I had to try 'Soul Food' when I visited the South of the United States. As I had no idea what this was, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it included fried chicken, possibly the best food ever invented. I have to say, this stuff is the real deal, it EVEN beats KFC (and I love KFC). It was huge too, I literally couldn't move after finishing it.

Small Village on Machu Picchu Trek - Alpaca

Unfortunately I don't have a picture for this and I decided not to include a picture of a live alpaca because they're just too cute and I felt guilty. I can't deny that they taste yummy though...

Miami, Florida, USA - Hot Dog from Fiveguys

Wow, sexy pic Em. Again we went here on a recommendation and it was SO good. You choose between a burger and a hot dog, then add your own toppings and fries etc and of course they have the legendary-to-the-US unlimited refills. There are articles all over the wall comparing them to English Chippies. I suppose the chips aren't like the usual American fries, but I wouldn't say they've quite got the traditional British down. No matter though, it doesn't make this place any less awesome.

Prague, Czech Republic - Venison Curry with Dumplings

Apparently traditional to Prague/Czech Republic (correct me if I've got this wrong, we read it from the menu and my Czech is a little sketchy). Unusual combo but extremely tasty and filling.

La Paz, Bolivia - Cafe Banais

We ate here most days as we found we could trust it and the food was so damn tasty. I'd recommend the Milkshakes and the BBQ Chicken Sandwich. I know it's not exactly embracing the local culture, but by this point I just really wanted a break from street food and the stomach aches that often came with it. Everyone needs a little flavour of home once in a while eh?

Amsterdam, Holland - Bitterballen

I'm not exactly sure what's in these but they're bloody good. It's breaded on the outside with creamy ragout and beef filling and extremely moreish.

Knoxville, Tennessee, USA - Create your own pizza at Tomatohead

A recommendation made by a lovely guy we met on the Megabus who originally came from Knoxville. Now this was more Aimée's love than mine, after our first visit she made us go back another three times. Bare in mind that we were only in Knoxville for two nights. I can't deny it was super tasty though, garlic and chicken pizza = YUM.

Urubamba, Sacred Valley, Peru - Garlic Bread and Wine at Misky's

A little cafe just off the side street of Urubamba's main square where you're sure to encounter all the local volunteers hanging out over a drink or two. The wine was Chilean White and by far beats the stuff I get at home. They also do really nice smoothies and desserts...

Decided to post this, this week as the current post I'm working on is taking a lot longer than I thought it would. However I hope this one will do in the mean time. Also an update on my travel plans - I am currently applying for summer jobs and flat hunting in Berlin with a group of friends from my course. Keep your fingers crossed for us!! :)