Birthday Weekend @ Eastbourne

The past month had been absolutely hectic 💨💨, hence I have took some breaks away from my blog and baking. It did start to feel a bit depressing as I had been spending most of my evenings and weekends doing work stuff 💻😪😪, so honestly this birthday weekend did come at the right time for me to find any excuse I can to get out of London! 😂

For this getaway trip, I decided on Eastbourne (kind of come out of blue to be fair lol) as I hoped some rare sunshine 🏖☀️ will be a perfect change of scenery to the miserable weather in London in the past week or so.

Straight after work on Friday evening, I took the tube to Victoria Station to board my train to Eastbourne. Though my initial train was cancelled, there were plenty of replacement lines which meant I only arrived slightly later than expected. 🚂 However, it was pitch dark by that time, so I headed out straight to dinner after checking in the hotel.

Charlie’s Special Burger (with egg and bacon) plus a Blue Lagoon cocktail 🍹

My mum was a big fan of Snoopy and Charlie Brown, so growing up I did read a lot of the Peanuts comics. (Immediately sent pics to her after! 😛) The diner was a quirky little place with a lot of American references and deco. The menu wasn’t exactly wow, but the portions were absolutely massive (just like America would lol- I barely finished the whole plate.) And that Blue Lagoon was certainly getting into my head afterwards haha! 🥴😵‍💫🥴😵‍💫

Tipsily walked into the supermarket to get a chocolate and mint ice cream haha…

After a rather early night (for me at least lol), I woke up to the worst weather possible on Saturday morning! 🌧🌧☔️☔️☔️ So I settled for a more indoors day (far from what I had initially planned…😓) and ended up going to a café in the shopping mall for a nice brunch and doing some work stuff on the laptop… (The wind was so strong that day, I actually felt absolutely battered by the time I got there! 😮‍💨😵)

Mushroom Brunch – and then worked some more lol 💻💻

Even by late afternoon, the rain seemingly had no plan of stopping. 😕😕 After some long pondering, I ended up buying an ice cream takeaway back to the hotel (sticking to traditions regardless of weather lol!)

Whilst I took a semi nap soaking in the bath tub 🛁 , the rain somehow miraculously stopped (honestly I had totally given up hope by then lol!) So I decided to brave the winds (it was still super strong… actually used that to dry my wet clothes earlier 😂👌) and headed out to an Italian restaurant called Rostick.

The sizzling Brodetto di Pescatrice (mussels, clams, prawns, scallops, monkfish, skate wings, razor clam, langoustine and baby octopus)

I ordered their signature Brodetto di Pescatrice which is cooked in a hot clay pot (it was still sizzling when it served.) The flavours of the broth were good, but some of the seafood was a little overcooked (octopus and monkfish was good, but the scallops were a bit rubbery…)

The next morning, the rain and wind has completely ceased, with rays of sunshine shining brightly across the beach front. Finally got to enjoy what Eastbourne was really about! 👍 (Essentially squeezed what I wanted to do yesterday into 3 hours before I hopped on my train back to London!)

Victorian Tearoom at the centre of Eastbourne Pier

Inside the Victorian tearoom – beautiful chandeliers

The classic combo of sandwich 🥪 and soup 🥣

Always love to see beach huts in these coastal places

Glimpses of Beachy Head (was supposed to hike across yesterday… 😣)

Whilst the trip didn’t go fully as planned, it was still memorable in many aspects! After arriving in London, I caught up with some of my old pals from my uni judo club in Mercato Metropolitano- all in all not a bad weekend to complain! (And I had one too many mixers whilst with them lol! 🥴)

Had this delicious Korean fried chicken with my drinks! 😋😋

Isle of Wight: Beyond the Sea

This weekend I really needed a recharge! 😩 Whilst it is not far away until my long summer break, things have been a bit intense lately so I really felt the need to detach myself from my work life in order to be able to refocus myself again later.

For this weekend getaway, I decided to do something I have never done by myself before- taking a ferry ⛴ and sailing across the sea to the Isle of Wight. 🌊 🌊 To get to the island, it is a rather straightforward one hour trip across the water from Southampton via the Red Funnel Ferries. So I opted for an overnight stay in Southampton on Friday and going on the ferry the next day. 😊

Giant cruise shop by the harbour (not my ferry tomorrow 😂 but certainly made me a bit envied!)

Enjoying a Chatime bubble tea🥤 (haven’t done that in a while 😆👍)

After a cosy night in the hotel, I woke up early in the morning at just before 6 (saving enough time for a long bath 🛀 of course! 😂) and made sure I am on time for the Red Funnel ferry at 9. (I booked in advance but I believe it is just as easy to buy ticket there at the time.)

Eating my second breakfast. So busy I had to sit by the window (also raining ☔️ outside…)

On the deck after the rain has stopped (couldn’t sit on the chairs though as they were all soaking wet 😂💦💦)

Sailing time 🌊

Arriving at East Cowes in the Isle of Wight

To get around the Isle of Wight, I opted for a 24-hour bus ticket for £12. Even though it is a small island, locations of interests are quite spread out and not really walkable, so I decided that was the best option (as I neither drive nor cycle… 😛) As I was only there until Sunday morning, I focused exploring on the east side of the island (unfortunately missing out on famous landmarks like the Needles.)

Heading south,my first stop was the beautiful beaches on Shanklin- only though it was raining (again) when I arrived. I managed to shelter at a nearby café (that was part of a hotel lodge) and enjoyed a nice bowl of chips. 🍟 The staff there was so friendly and let me charge my almost dead phone, and I ended up spending the idle time doing some work (so much for the detachment I know lol! 😂💻 They thought I was so in the zone that they didn’t want to bother me! 🤣) By the time I was ready, the sun was out again! ☀️ What perfect timing!

A seaview is only as good as the ice cream you have! 🍦 (I went for the “funky banana” and jelly & ice cream 😋)

Maybe one day I will hire a beach hut! 😂

Being a dinosaur fan, I then also dropped by Dinosaur Isle. 🦕🦖 Some nice exhibits – but the museum is just a bit small for me (good for kids but I think it’s a little too less for an adult like me who likes dinosaur 😂)

I then also visited Wildheart Animal Sanctury (which was just right next door) 🐒🐯🦁🐷🐰 and I made it in time just 10 minutes before last entry! So glad I did – this definitely reminded me of visiting many zoos during my childhood. (And also how difficult it is to snap pictures on moving animals! 😝📸)

Wowza! Can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a tiger this up close! 🐯

Felt like this meerkat is giving me a look! 😂

Oink oink oink! 🐷🐷 There were also a lot of farm animals in the sanctuary

Following this, I took the bus 🚌 heading back north to Ryde where my hotel is. (Almost fell asleep on the bus! 😴😴)

After checking in the hotel and enjoyed some chill time in the bath 🛁, I then headed out for dinner followed by an evening walk along Ryde Pier.

Dinner time at Ryde – look at the giant cauliflower wings! 😆

Journey to the End of the World

Today marks my last day in Folkestone, but there is still plenty of time to kill before I make my way back home. There is so much to do in this small town, I wish I am staying around for longer!

Lobster & Scallop Sunday brunch by Folkstone Harbour

After checking out the hotel, I visited a seafood bar right in front of the harbour and enjoyed a luxurious brunch (it was a £20 whole lobster 🦞, which to me was quite a bargain!) Though I needed to keep warring off a seagull who had been eyeing my food from the get go! 😠 Once I finished and left the table to get some tissue, it wasted no time hopping onto my leftovers and took off with the empty lobster shell! 🐦😂 (Sneaky bird!)

Today’s weather was much more pleasant compared to how it was the past days, so I decided to journey along the other side of the coast, heading into the Folkestone Warren area.

Wasn’t too cold for a mango ice cream! 🍨

🌊 🌊

The hotel receptionist did warn me it was tough to get to the beach area down Folkestone Warren, and boy, was he right! I somehow picked the more difficult route along the coast too (typical me- as I found out later I would have had a much easier time walking uphill past the golf courses then back down.) The slippery mud along the path 💦 resulted from the rain the previous days certainly didn’t help (and I really should get a different pairs of shoes besides my usual flat trainers… 😓) The views were definitely worth the effort though! I would take it as my workout for the day done!

The ‘easier’ path uphill which I didn’t take… 🤷‍♂️

Journey on! 🥾

Was so knackered by this point… 😑 (My trainers were covered in mud by then!)

Finally down by the beach! 😀 (Getting through that large pile of rocks was also tricky haha!)

Took the chance to rinse off my trainers in the water! 😂

So calming here! 😌

Had this ‘End of the World’ 🌎 feeling here 😮

‘Exercise’ done – it’s time to head back to the town centre to get a bubble tea to recharge! (The two ladies in the shop were so nice and funny. Turned out they were both from London too! We had a great chat about Folkestone and why they decided to settle here. Maybe I should do the same? 😂)

I am going to miss little town! What a special place Folkestone is! 💚💚

A Long-Waited Weekend Getaway

A weekend like this has been a long time coming! With lockdown easing finally allowing overnight stay this week, I wasted no time a few days ago booking my city break from London. As soon as I got off work on Friday, I jumped on an Uber to the train station and away we go! 🚞🚞

For this trip, I picked the coastal town of Folkestone just to be close to the sea. The town overlooks the English Channel and is a nice little tourists’ attraction along the English coast. Taking that into account, I also picked a hotel situated by the seafront. Weather, however, was not on my side from the get-go with strong gusts of wind 🌬🌬 (and rain 🌧) throughout the Friday evening. (Mind you I did expect it as the weather in London have been absolutely miserable this past week too ☹️) In fact it was so windy, I was struggling to even walk (and snap photos 📸 – in fear of my phone getting blown away into the sea! 🌊) So, I basically retreated to my hotel room and restaurant for dinner.

Storm in the harbour 💨💨 (You might just be able to make out the large ripple on the water)

Knowing lockdown easing will probably mean that restaurants may be fully booked up, I spent some time before my trip calling up restaurants to reserve tables for me. (Which is very unlike me as I usually just go on the fly! 😂) After going some researches online, I decided to head to Marleys for dinner on Friday. Absolutely loved the food there and it’s cute, cosy interior! 💓

So cute! (I do miss playing Scrabble! 😂)

Crispy sweet potato balls with beetroot hummus

The best tuna steak ever! 🤤🤤 (It even smelt incredible!)

The staff were all very warm and welcoming, and to top it it off – I think I had the best tuna I had ever eaten in my entire life! 🐟 Perfectly cooked to medium rare and well seasoned – I couldn’t get enough of it honestly! 😂

The next morning after enjoying some ‘me-time’ in the bath 🛁 (and the night before! 😂) I decided to head along the coast as the weather took a nicer turn! (Thank goodness! 🙌🙌)

The Folkestone pier was just simply breathtaking. The sea was so calming and the view truly did throw away all my worries for the week out the window (albeit temporarily! 😂) It really let me appreciate the freedom of being able to travel again.

I also headed to the creative quarter – a quirky, colourful area of the town. Marleys where I visited yesterday was also situated in this unique alley.

Meet Oliver the Octopus! 🍰 🍰 (so impressed by the artistry of this cake!)

When you are in a coastal town by the sea, surely seafood is a must, right? 🦪🦐🦀🐟 Hence my visit to the Harbour Inn for lunch (again booked in advance.)

Yum! Yum! What a feast!

After the luxurious seafood lunch, I left the restaurant just as rain poured heavily over the town. ☔️☔️ Just so happened I left my phone charger in the hotel, I walked back into my room with my trousers 👖 all soaked. 💦

After taking yet another hot bath and a brief nap in the room, I decided to head to the beachfront (umbrella in hand of course!) as the rain started to fade. Walking gradually into the sun, I was taken by surprise of an amazing view from behind! 🥰🌈

And more colourful surprises down the beach! (I think folks in Folkestone really do love their colours haha!) Maybe I should think about moving here lol? 😂🤔

To cap off the day, I went back to the Folkestone harbour for some light seafood snacking by the water.

And a nojito – can’t get better than this for a Saturday night! 🍸

And lastly, a few more snaps of the pier as night falls. ✨✨

Oh, and also, happy Eurovision day! (Caught the last hour or so of it back in my hotel room! 😂)

Birthday Weekend Getaway: Salisbury and Stonehenge (Part 1)

Happy weekend, everyone! Hope all of you had a good week. In my case, this week has certainly felt long, so I was glad I have finally made it to my “birthday weekend”! 😛 Despite my original plan of going away abroad is now thrown out of the window, I decided (at the very last minute) that maybe it was worth going away from London for a bit after all. Therefore, on Thursday, I decided to book a train away to Salisbury to see the famous Stonehenge. I appreciate that, for some people, the place is nothing more than a pile of rocks, but 10 years old me would have been so excited! (At that point in my life, I was obsessed with a lot of the mysterious locations in the world such as Loch Ness, the pyramids in Egypt and Machu Picchu among many places.)

The weather in London has been very rainy in the past days! ☔️☔️ As a precaution, I checked weather forecast (something I normally don’t do if I am honest! 😂) and anticipated that it would also be raining in Salisbury. Before I stepped out of my house, I kept on reminding myself not to forget the umbrella (more on that later lol) since I have an awful habit of leaving it behind whenever I go!

Initially I was worried if it would be complicated to get to Stonehenge from Salisbury (since I don’t drive), but it turns out that there is a direct bus one can board from the city centre. I purchased the all included ticket (total to £32.50) that covers the bus and entry to both Stonehenge and Old Sarum Castle. The bus journey wasn’t very long (around 30 minutes from the city centre of Salisbury) and I quite enjoyed the scenery of all the open fields around the area – since I really needed a break from city life lately. 😝🌾🌾

A replicate of the apparent homes (?) for the builders of Stonehenge

To get to the Stonehenge from the visitor centre, there is a choice of either taking a shuttle bus (which arrives in less than 5 minutes) or walking (around 20 minutes). On a nicer day, I might choose to walk, but today I decided to take the shuttle bus. The foot path is designed to be a circuit around the Stonehenge, so I have taken lots of snaps 😝 and here is Stonehenge from all directions!

Before leaving, I also took a scroll in the exhibition area and sat down for the a small lunch in the café.

Feels like this is the weather today 😂

Wish I can go to all these places one day! 💪

Steak Cornish pasty 😋 plus an apple juice I bought from M&S before I boarded the bus 😆

Boarding the bus again, I then headed to Old Sarum Castle (which was about 20 minutes away from Stonehenge and only about 7 minutes away from city centre.) The castle was situated in a very peculiar spot (in my opinion at least 😂) that required one to cross a long winding footpath through the fields and up the hill. And only when I was halfway gone, then I realised that I left my umbrella on the bus! 🤦🏻‍♂️

Don’t know why it took me a long time to figure out how to open this lol…

360 view of the castle

Feels a bit like walking in a tight rope 😬 the slope on the side is very steep!

As the rain started to get heavier 🌧🌧, I tried to still go around the castle (without my umbrella of course…) but it did gradually get to a point when I had to retreat since I was soaked from top to bottom (if anything, my frustration was more with my own forgetfulness than the weather! 🤦🏻‍♂️) So I finally settled down at a spot underneath a tree and patiently waited for the tour bus to come back. 🚌 (And luckily, since it was the same tour bus that kept going around in circle, I was thankful that I was able to get my umbrella back 😂☂, otherwise it would have been long gone!)

After checking in the hotel and soaking myself in a warm bath, I then headed out for dinner in Zizzi. (Tonight felt even busier than I imagined a Saturday night would be, so it took me some time before I finally found a place with spaces. And it was pouring rain as well, so I didn’t walk around looking too much.)

And the perks of staying above a pub means I got to take a pint to my room to enjoy! 😉

Wasn’t feeling alcohol today, so went for a lemonade instead lol! 😂 Just needed something to quench my thirst to be fair.

An Escape from the City

Honestly can’t say how excited I was for this weekend! 🙌🙌 After reading so much about city getaway trips on the social media and internet, I have always wanted to do that and, earlier this week, I went on an impulse and booked a trip away from London for the weekend! Having said that, I didn’t want to go too far (and avoided flying in case I won’t make it back in time for work on Monday lol 😂.) So I ended up choosing the historic Canterbury in Kent as my destination, only a relatively short one and an half hours by train from London.

Despite sleeping quite late last night, I set my alarm (with snoozing lol) early for this morning. Victoria Station was super busy but I managed to grab a breakfast roll from a Burger King before hopping onto the train.

The train was such a peaceful ride. Not only did I get to enjoy the countryside scenery, I also was able to get some work done during the journey and kept myself occupied. 😂👌

Looks like winter is finally in full swing…❄️❄️

The weather was not the best when I arrived with slight drizzle running throughout the lunch hours. Strangely though I wasn’t hugely bothered and continued to explore the old city.

The entrance of the iconic Canterbury Cathedral. I would have gone in if it wasn’t for its steep entry fee… 😓💸💸

Amazing metallic painting of London in the Castle Fine Art ❤️❤️

The steep entry fee of Canterbury Cathedral put me off from going inside…😥😥 So instead I had a wander inside Castle Fine Art nearby, then Old City before heading off for lunch.

The rain got heavier 🌧🌧 as I was heading to the restaurant, so I almost sprinted my way there. I did some research and chose to go to The Ambrette Canterbury, an Indian fusion restaurant. And I must say I was not disappointed, in fact I was slightly taken aback by how good it was! 🤤🤤 (I am not exaggerating but it is hands down the best Indian food I have ever eaten! ❤️❤️) The price is also very reasonable as well, especially given their quality! (Costed me under £24 for the entire lunch… That’s less than twice the entry fee to go inside Canterbury Cathedral haha. 😂😂)

Complimentary appetiser: Chickpea and Venison Dumplings

Starter: Saffron infused chicken thigh and liver kebab with coriander chutney, mango and salad

Main: British pork belly with with Dauphinoise potato, crackling, seasonal vegetables and Biryani rice with tomato & ginger sauce

Dessert: Mango Kulfi with flaked coconut, poppy seeds and almonds

I have never heard of Kulfi until today! (For those of you who don’t either it is an Indian ice cream.) But it was so delicious, I want to go home and make this myself! ❤️❤️ (Watch this space haha 😉) Not only were the dishes presented beautifully, but they are wildly flavoured with spices! If you are a lover for spices, you will definitely love this place as much as I did! 🤤🤤

After a brief rest in the inn (which is a convenient spot within the Old City), I went for another walk in the evening to catch the beautiful, bright Christmas lights under the night sky. ❄️❄️❄️ The streets and market were busy with brilliant music playing in the background. Since I moved to London, watching Christmas lights and going to Christmas market have become a tradition of mine every year to welcome the full swing of the winter season, so this year I am simply starting somewhere else! 😉 Christmas can’t come any sooner! ☃️🎄⭐️ (And I brought a slice of Yule Log back to my hotel room after dinner! 😋❤️)

Hope you all also have an amazing weekend!

Three Days, Two Nights and Plenty of Foods

Hurray to me for finally being able to catch a break from work! 🙌🙌 For my week off, not only my mum is visiting me right now in London, but we were also able to make a city getaway trip to Bristol and Bath for the past three days and two nights.

Bristol and Bath are major tourist’s attractions in the UK, the latter especially for its historical significance. I actually visited both cities once before around two years ago, so this time was more of an opportunity for my mum to visit herself! 😛 However, why would I deny the offer of a getaway trip haha? 😂😂

Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel, where we stayed

Bristol was apparently the hometown of Banksy. Now, I got to confess I actually don’t know much about Banksy’s works, but street art is definitely a big part of the city wherever you wander.

I don’t know if any of these is by Banksy, but they sure do look amazing! ❤️

Our first stop for arrival was at Little Chinatown (sticking well and truly to our Asian roots lol…) The food wasn’t bad at all, but we did end up waiting for over half an hour before we were fed after they confused our orders with another table… 😡☹️ (and my mum was definitely not a happy woman by that point haha! 😅)

After the very filling lunch, we decided to go back to rest in the hotel room. (Our unlucky streak though continued when we went back to the hotel… The reception checked us into the wrong room TWICE! 😓) Having then recovered slightly from the food coma after a quick lap, we went for a stroll by the sunset 🌅 around the Bristol harbourside and had dinner in Za Za Bazaar, an international food buffet restaurant. Turned out to be a big mistake because we were both beyond stuffed afterwards! 🤢

On the second day, we decided to take the train from Bristol to Bath. It was a very short journey between the two cities, lasting just under 10 minutes! 🚂 The biggest two attractions in Bath are the Roman Baths and the Thermae Bath Spa (how could one not wonder where the name of the city came from lol!), but my mum was uninterested in either, so we decided to simply stroll around the city… 😗 (I have been to both places in my last visit and the Thermae Bath Spa was right up my street with their rooftop pool! 🏊‍♂️ The Roman Baths was nice to see for its history though with a very hefty ticket price…)

The other noticeable thing in Bath was its many pastry shops selling the traditional Cornish pasties. However, it seemed all the shops label their own Cornish pasties as ‘award winning’ or ‘best’, which made me sceptical about who to believe. 😅 Nonetheless, we did manage to sit down in one and had a taste of their Cornish pasty, but ended up falling in love instead with their Cornish pudding (which tasted like a custard-rich bread pudding to me. 😋)

The Cornish pudding on the right was absolutely delicious! 😍😍

Afterwards, we decided to head to the famous Pulteney Bridge by the river, bathing ourselves in the feelings of autumn. 🍂🍂

By Pulteney Bridge

And we decided to have one quick meal at a spicy noodle bar before jumping back onto the train back to Bristol! It was delicious! 😋😋

Beef Tripe Salad (top) and Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Roasted Duck (bottom)

Our hotel stay came with a free use of the swimming pool and it was perfect to make up for my lack of spa time in Bath! 😁 (The odd thing was that the hotel’s fitness centre was located in a different building next door, so I needed to walk out the hotel’s entrance, cross the street with my towel and sandals and back lol.) I swear I could doze off there just by lying on the bench lol 😴😂 (Meanwhile, my mum was sound asleep in the hotel room haha! 💤 💤)

Relaxing by the pool 😎😎 (There was also a jacuzzi!)

As for dinner that day, we kept it easy and dined in the hotel’s restaurant before heading out and bought a bunch of ice creams back to the room! (My excuse- it was discounted in the supermarket! 😜)

We didn’t have much time on our final day in Bristol (as our bus was scheduled for the early afternoon), but we did manage to visit the university area and catch a good valued Italian lunch at Sergio’s before heading back to London! 🚌 (We didn’t quite manage to finish so we took the pasta away with us haha! 😂😂)