Category: pictures

bristol, uk

kelly2 Comments

as a well-deserved breather after weeks of interning, varian and i took a short trip to bristol.

we started off the day by having lunch at st. nicholas market, where i got a mediterranean salad bowl from the olive works filled with halloumi, hummus, gremolata potatoes, couscous, olives, dolmades and more. this is probably my favourite cuisine, so having such a variety of mediterranean food to munch on was a real treat! varian got a filling bbq plate from low and slow, with pulled pork and mac & cheese. afterwards, we toured the eclectic range of stalls in the marketplace where i got some sea salt with mountain herbs from be natural kitchen.

having heard lots about the cafe scene in bristol, we headed to society cafe for our first caffeine break, and then full court press for our second. i must say that the 1029 lake kivu rwanda beans from full court press was some of the best coffee beans i’ve tried — with milk, the espresso shot supposedly has notes of golden raisin and creme caramel, on top of its original fruity notes such as orange, raisin, biscuit and red wine.

in order to avoid potentially overdosing on caffeine by having a third cup of coffee in a row, we went on a hunt for banksy’s art, scattered about the city. the one that was most recognisable to me was banksy’s well hung lover, in full view at the beginning of park street. we also checked out the christmas steps, a narrow walkway that was lined beautifully with vintage shop fronts and fairy lights.

heading down to the harbour, we attempted to visit the brunel’s ss great britain, but the journey there was oddly complicated (there were no bridges to help us cross the canal) so we just admired it from afar. we headed back to where we came from and walked around the bristol cathedral and bristol city council, where there was some sort of carnival taking place.

no trip to bristol would be complete without checking out the clifton suspension bridge. we climbed uphill to the clifton observatory to view the iconic bridge from afar, but it started raining so we took shelter at the royal oak and conveniently got some small plates as an early dinner. after it stopped raining, we found some gems of books in the last bookshop and got them for as cheap as £4 each.

before we caught our coach back to london, we visited the famous mrs. potts chocolate house and shared a very delicious and creamy cup of hot chocolate!!!

marrakech, morocco

kelly3 Comments

day 1: london – marrakech
arrived at our riad / had lunch at mechoui, recommended by our airbnb host, where we had amazing lamb tagine / got lost in the souks while exploring the whole medina / chilled at cafe guerrab with sombreros and a good view of the city / visited the jewish quarter of the city, mellah / bought some tea leaves from the berber souks (one vendor even threw in some free traditional moroccan lipstick, made from aker fassi) / attempted to visit bahia palace but be warned that the last entry into most attractions is at 4pm… / visited the towering koutoubia mosque / strolled around jamaa el fna / had dinner at oscar progrés where we had some couscous and more tagine

day 2: marrakech – agafay desert & atlas mountains
we booked a day trip to the agafay desert from morning till evening / we visited the agafay desert, high atlas, kik plateau, berber villages, imlil waterfall, argan women’s cooperative and the kik valley / my favourite parts of the day were riding on camels and having lunch at an obscure but authentic restaurant in the middle of the valley / had dinner at kabana

day 3: marrakech
woke up early to go to the jardin majorelle–yves saint laurent mansion and the ysl museum / had lunch at bacha coffee as a show of solidarity… waited for 1 hour but it was quite worth it / attempted to visit ben youssef madrasa BUT WE RAN OUT OF CASH / visited bahia palace (successfully) this time / had some coffee at cafe des epices, another rooftop bar, where we watched the sunset (highly recommend this) / had our last dinner at kui-zin! pigged out on a buffet spread of moroccan dishes such as meat stews, salads and desserts

places i wanted to visit but didn’t and you should totally visit on my behalf if you’re going to morocco: saadien’s tombs, badi palace, ben youssef madrasa

important info: bring cash to exchange for moroccan dirhams at the marrakech airport, visit the attractions before 4pm because that’s their last entry time despite closing at 6pm officially and only eat from stall no.1 at jamaa el fna

denmark & sweden

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day 1: copenhagen
we cycled to along the nyhavn river and passed by the det kongelige bibliotek and the børsen / reached the iconic nyhavn where we strolled past the christmas stalls along the waterfront / had breakfast at apollo bar (try their banana bread!) and explored the kunsthal charlottenborg, a charming little square tucked in a quiet corner of the area / for lunch, we had some great smørrebrød (our first of many) at nyhavns færgekro / visited the ofelia plads but it was less busy than it would’ve been during warmer seasons / explored the christmas market at kongens nytorv and spotted the mindeankeret (memorial anchor) / we paid a visit to the famous freetown christiania and found green george of thomas dambo, one of many giant statues dotted across the city / walked past the church of our saviour / almost had lunch at det lille apotek LOL but because we didn’t want to have their christmas menu we went to ARKET cafe instead / we did some window shopping at højbro plads and strøget, two famous shopping streets / stopped by the national museum of denmark / had a fun night at the amusement park in tivoli gardens

day 2: copenhagen
we cycled to the botanical gardens and strolled through the snow-capped park / visited the rosenborg castle which overlooked the king’s garden / passed by nyboder, an iconic neighbourhood with yellow houses / had lunch at torvehallerne, a food market. I tried some porridge from the famous local chain grød and fell in love / walked to kastellet where we visited the quintessential little mermaid statue / sat inside frederik’s church for a while / walked around the grounds of amalienborg / had lunch at amadeus where we had even more smørrebrød / had dinner at puk

day 3: copenhagen – odense
took an early bus to odense, the third largest city in denmark / had some bread from føtex and lagkagehuset for breakfast / went into st. canute’s cathedral / strolled around the ground of eventyrhaven / had coffee with ms ang at nelle’s coffee & wine, one of the city’s most famous coffee shops / window shopped in the city centre / had dinner at giraffen and watched the world cup finals there!

day 4: copenhagen – malmö, sweden
took a day trip to the closest swedish city, malmö / had a lovely breakfast spread at ruths / strolled through lilla torg and viewed some exhibitions at the form/design centre / continued walking to gustav adolfs torg and malmö rådhus (town hall) / went into st. peter’s church / walked to malmö castle / escaped the rain by reading some books about libraries at malmö city library / ate lunch at smak, where they have a daily menu and an amazing buffet of sides including roast potatoes, bread and salad / shopped at grandpa and ab småland to buy some souvenirs / had dinner at malmö saluhall where we tried kung pao chicken at street food by pink head, swedish meatballs at clemens kött & husman and gelato from favvo glass

day 5: copenhagen – london
on our last day, we visited the exhibitions at ny carlsberg glypotek for free (because it was a tuesday) / had lunch at the little yellow coffee bar where they had some really huge portions of smørrebrød

wrocław, poland

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day 1:
we arrived in the afternoon and had lunch at wroclawska, where we tried traditional polish dishes such as assorted pierogi (my favourite was the one with the cheese), bigos, and kotlet schabowy / we visited the wrocław christmas market at the market square, and walked around the museum of bourgeois art / we stopped for some donuts, or pączki, at nasza pączkarnia / we went back to the christmas market and had some amazing hotdogs, churros and roasted chestnuts

day 2:
we climbed up the katedra św. marii magdaleny to reach the bridge of penitents, on which we got an amazing view of the cityscape / we headed to konspira for lunch, where feasted on more polish food such as placki ziemniaczane, żurek, gołąbki and grilowany karezek / we took a cab to the japanese garden and strolled around the centennial hall / we took another cab to the tumski bridge connecting ostrow tumski, the cathedral island. there, we spotted the cathedral of st. john the baptist / we crossed the sand bridge to get to the wrocław market hall, where i got a cup of coffee from enklawa wrocławska palarnia kawy / we window-shopped at galeria dominikańska / grabbed dinner from MANI ToGo