Theres more to Catalonia than just Barcelona.

Theres more to Catalonia than just Barcelona.

Sunday, 19 November 2017

Well known for its consistent heat, the man made beach and of course Las ramblas, you can see why Barcelona is a very popular destination, but there is also lots to see outside of the city center. If the hustle and bustle of this busy city can get a bit much, especially when your in holiday mode, I've put together a list of things to see and do that are all within an hour of the madness so you could easily pop out for the afternoon or even book in an overnight stay if you fancied.

Visit Monstraat
Whilst mountains aren't usually something I would recommend for fun, in fact I really thought I wasn't a fan of any mountain activity (apart from eating), I really enjoyed my day in Monstarrat. Firstly, it was the first time I've been up to the top of a mountain and it was hot so that gave the whole afternoon a whole other edge and secondly, the train ride up there was an experience in itself, I felt like I was on a real life thunder mountain in regards to the mountains and the views (not the crazy rode part) At the top, we took a walk around in the sunshine, watched a school boy choir sing in the huge monastery, had a local lunch and then got the train back to the station. 

Segway ride in Sitges
Segway tours are such a fun thing to do. With the sun out, our evening tour was still pretty warm and a great alternative way to see a place. Don't worry if you've never done it before, I hadn't but our guide was great and went through it individually with each of us before we set off; plus our route was super simple although there was some time to play sound once we got to the park. It's really easy, although riding a segway can actually get pretty exhausting too so an hour was the perfect amount of time.

P.S. I was told that a building site on the seafront was the beginning of ME Barcelona  so soon that'll be another reason to visit Sitges.

Beach club in Vilanova
Vilanova is a very quiet seaside town but as you venture out along the harbor, once you pass all of the yachts, you'll find La Daurada beach club at the end. This is where we had our welcome party and we were all told to wear white in traditional beach club fashion. Starting upstairs, we grabbed a glass of cava and drank it on the balcony before finding the cocktail bar and grabbing a seat downstairs on the beach front. There we watched the sunset which was really quite impressive. The sky changed from clear blue through an incredible range of oranges and reds whilst the live band played.

• Drink wine in Vilafranca

If you're a wine lover, then this is the one for you. Vilafranca is the wine capital of Catalonia and we did lots of wine related activities during our day there. Firstly, there is the Vinseum where you can learn about wine culture if that's your kind of thing and of course it ends with a glass of wine. We also went to the most beautiful vineyard for lunch (the restaurant there was called Mas Rabell) where we were served 5 courses each paired with a wine. The food felt like there was a lot of thought put into it; each dish was very tasty and well presented too. Lastly, we went up to the bell tower of Santa Maria church whee you can see sweeping views all around. You have to book in your visit but you can opt for the sunset and with a glass of wine visit for just €5. Cheers!

See a human tower in Terressa
Human towers (or castellers) are a traditional spectacle in Catalonia and upon seeing my first one I can confirm they are very impressive. Time you're visit right and you'll be able to catch a public display that happens over most holiday and festivals but if not, like us you can go and watch the local team practice. Minyons de Terrassa, who we went to see were the first team in Spain to build a tower 10 people high. Pretty impressive!
Human towers are tradition in Spain & last night we watched the @visitaterrassa team train 😮 #BCNmuchmore #costabarcelonaweek @Spain_inUK pic.twitter.com/WuWqs7nz9Y

— Georgina Goodman (@GeorginaDoes) May 18, 2017

*Thanks to Costa Barcelona Week for hosting me

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Walking Camino de Santiago del norte

Walking Camino de Santiago del norte

Monday, 14 August 2017

The Camino de Santiago del norte, The Northern Way, is a well trodden pilgrimage route, along northern Spain and as it turns out, 2017 is a holy year for it. Originally, pilgrims walked this route to reach a monastery but these days, people who enjoy walking take this route to see northern Spain and stop off to see and do things along the way. It's a bit of an adventure really.

I did a little section earlier this year, and spent four days exploring the route starting in Santandar and finishing at the monastery. Santander is a seaside town and reminded me a little of Brighton. We ate outside in the sunshine before taking a stroll the front with an ice cream and finishing up with a glass of cava at a beachside bar; My kind of afternoon!

Over the next four days, from Santander, we walked a little along the coast through the Oyambre national park. With beautiful green landscapes and a lovely stretch of very quite beach, I really enjoyed walking this part before we headed inland. There we visited a cave, El Soplao, although that's not really my style so I spent that hour outside in the sunshine. We also got a cable car to the top and explored picos de europa mountain range.

 

Of course there was also lots of food along the way. Cantabria is full of local culinary delights and as usual, I wanted to try them all. We ate Cocido montañés which was the perfect hearty lunch after a morning exploring in the cold!

My favourite stop of the trip had to be Potes; the cute little cobbled town that we reached just before our final stop. The old town was a lovely place to spend the morning wandering around I just love a town with a river running right through it. A very pretty place!

Our trip finished at the monastery. We walked through the door of forgiveness, as pilgrims had come to do in the past, and once inside was able to see the Lígnum Crucis. This metal cross houses the largest surviving piece of the cross that Jesus was crucified on.

 After chatting with the priest, we took a group selfie to celebrate the end of our trip!

*Thanks to The Spanish Tourism Board for hosting me.

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Summertime in the Austrian alps

Summertime in the Austrian alps

Monday, 31 July 2017

Apart from ice skating, winter sports really aren't my kind of thing. I've never even been skiing and to be honest, being cold on holiday just isn't my style so the Alps wouldn't usually be my first choice when it comes to holiday destinations.

Saying that, I have been invited to visit Austria in July both this year (to Styria with Thomson Lakes & Mountains) and last (to Lech) and I have discovered that during the summer months, there's much more to the Alps than the snow topped mountains and skiing down them. Whilst I'm not the most outdoorsy person - you guys should know you this by now; Austria in the summer gives way to some gentle adventure. The opportunity to get out there and see the mountains without it being a stressful and exhausting expedition means I am able to take in the scenery and actually enjoy my experience of a place.

My recent trip was just a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed my time there! So what sort of things are there to do? Here were some of my favourites:

Take A Gentle, Guided Hike

Our hike was more of an enjoyable walk with beautiful scenery. We walked up to and around the Black Lake in Sölktäler Nature Park, before stopped off for tea and cake but more on that later. This was a great route for our group because there was a stony path for us to walk on for most of it so we were able to enjoy the scenery rather that spending the whole morning looking down at where we were stepping.

With no signal it's easy to disconnect from the rest of the world; and with such breathtaking scenery, I didn't even miss my twitter feed for a few hours. Just the seven of us, the sound of the waterfalls and lots of cows wandering around as they pleased.

Indulge In Alpine Treats

As I said, once we had finished our walk it was time for tea and cake. We had many tea breaks over the four day trip so I have come to the conclusion that this is a very popular pass time in Austria! Austrian food isn't something that I come across all to often in London but as always, I love to try local food so if it wasn't tea and krapfen (mountain doughnuts) for elevensies, then it was trout caught in the lake, Tiroler Kasspressknoedel (gooey, cheesy dumplings) and lots of Kaiserschmarrn (shredded pancakes with fruit compote and my number one).

Zip Line Down A Mountain

Ziplining was another one of those things that I hadn't done before and this one I was absolutely petrified of. When you pay, you are given a backpack thing which actually turns into your harness; we took these with us on the bus up to the top of the mountain and put them on ourselves when we got there. It was a little nerve wracking but the staff checked us over before attaching it to the line. Next thing I knew, I was speeding down the side of a mountain at 120 kilometers per hour. After I got past the fear of essentially jumping off the side of a mountain, what I thought was going to be an adrenaline inducing roller coaster turned out to be really peaceful, serene and calming experience.

E-biking

 Normal bike riding is also an option and there were alot of people doing it but when you are riding said bike up the side of a mountain, then that little extra push from the e-bike is going to be much appreciated; and anyway, I said gentle exercise didn't I? I hadn't ridden a bike for years and I was a bit worried at the start but with a guide on hand, I was fine! There are lots of stunning views to see along the way and once you get started, there is the promise of lunch and hot chocolate when you get to the top.

The Ice Palace

After lunch at the top of that mountain, we caught the cable car right up to the glacier at the top. There was lots of adventurous stuff to do up there like walk along a wobbly wire bridge and standing at the bottom of the stairway to nothingness (very eeary ion the cloudy day that we were there) but I preferred The Ice Palace which we discovered once we had gotten inside the glacier itself. The floors were frozen so we were slipping and sliding everywhere but that all added to the fun. Inside, were intricate ice sculptures all lit up with different coloured lights!

*Big thanks to Thomson Mountains & Lakes for hosting me on this trip.

Other Austria Posts:

Hotel Gotthard Review

My First Day In Lech 

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Think Menorca is Boring? Think again

Think Menorca is Boring? Think again

Tuesday, 4 July 2017

When I mentioned that I was going to Menorca, a lot of people asked me why? Whilst Menorca is the lesser known of the Balearic islands and has a completely different feel to its party sibling, it's still got that typical island vibe with palm trees and white houses; it's a much more chilled out place to be. The island is quite and it's relaxing but that certainly doesn't make it boring; I was visiting with Traverse and a big group of influences who made sure of that!

If you want to relax then Menorca is perfect, but if you like to explore a little bit more, then there is loads to do! Here are some of the things we got up to in between lazy days by the pool:

Visit The Cave Bar

This is one of the most incredible bars that I've ever been to so if your looking for something really impressive, I would really recommend that you visit Cova d'en Xoroi. So what makes this bar so impressive? Well, it's built into the side of a cliff. It's not a party bar (because it was still bright with sunshine until about 9pm) although they were playing some pretty good music. Don't expect a nightclub; instead you'll want to be outside on one of the terraces watching the sunset with a glass of fizz.

Explore The Beaches

With the Mercury hitting 30 degrees in May, the sea is the place to be and with over 100 beaches you're never too far from the clean blue, water that surrounds the island. We didn't get any time to visit a beach in our busy itinerary but it was something we were all very sad to miss. We saw quite a few of them on our journeys around and each one was different; some big touristy, some small hidden cove types, most not very busy at all. One afternoon, whilst the photographers were doing their thing up on a rock, a few of the others and I spent 20 minutes walking in the clear waters of a rocky red beach and it was one of the highlights of the trip. Be sure to give yourself at least one beach day if you visit Menorca.

Glass Bottom Boats

With the clear water and the wonderful weather in Menorca, a boat ride is a really enjoyable thing to do in the afternoon. You can catch a yellow catamaran from Mahon harbour and for €12.50 you get an hour on board with an explanation played over the speakers as you sail by. As lovely as it is sitting on the top deck with the wind in your hair, the middle deck has shade and a shop to buy an ice cream or a drink and below the water, there is also a glass bottom so we spent some time downstairs too watching the fish swim by.

Go kayaking

This blog is turning me into a little advernturere - I've experienced so many new things since I took up travel and I did another one whilst I was in Menorca! It was my first time ever kayaking and although I was a little nervous having never done it before, it was loads of fun and I can totally see why people enjoy it. With two guides and a boat following along too, we spent an hour in the turquoise waters exploring caves, stopping off for a little bit of snorkeling and eating crisps that the guides had brought for us! I returned back to land feeling really exhausted good about myself - I had had a fun morning, done something completely new and come away feeling like I had done a little bit of exercise as well.

Thanks for the photo Steve!

Experience The Gin Culture

We made a visit to a gin distillery which involved seeing the way they process the alcohol and lots of free samples - obviously we had to try all of the different flavours so this place is a must for a gin lover! Whilst I am not actually that into my gin I did love the Granizado de pomada (aka a lemon gin slushie) which we got from a ice cream shop in Mahon; delicious and very refreshing on a hot day!

Relax

Like I said, there is lots of stuff to do but as someone who usually gets dreads the through of spending the whole day by the pool, Menorca was pretty enticing. It is a wonderful place to just chill out and I really enjoyed doing so there. One of my favourite days of the trip was a lazy one by the pool. We popped out for lunch but it was mostly spent floating around on a giant blow up ice cream. There was some of real ice cream involved too.

*Big thanks to Traverse & Visit Spain for hosting me on my trip

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Making Tagines at Le Maison Arabe Cookery School, Morocco

Making Tagines at Le Maison Arabe Cookery School, Morocco

Monday, 1 May 2017

After a morning exploring Marrakech’s best hotels, we made a trip to La Maison Arabe Country Club. Away from the madness of Marrakech this little area of calm was the perfect place for an afternoon cookery class. We walked through the gardens and took a seat under a canopy by the huge wood fired bread oven. There, our afternoon plans were explained to us as we watched our dada (Moroccan chef) spread dough over a wooden board and throw it into the oven.

At the school, we learnt the actual process for making a cup of traditional Moroccan mint tea which was really interesting considering how much of it we had drunk in the two days that we had already been in Morocco. First the green tea is added, brewed and then it is supposed to be poured away but people don't always bother; that explains some of the questionable cups of murky brown stuff we had seen around. The next step is to add the mint leaves and sugar to the tea pot. I thought the blocks of sugar that they had brought out were just for show but I was mistaken. Each tea pot got a fistful of mint leaves and two huge rocks of sugars; not that I was complaining, the sweeter the better if you ask me and if that’s the way they drink it in Morocco, then that's how I wanted to drink it.

It was then poured from a height into the glasses, put back into the pot and done a second time to mix it properly. After that, it’s ready to drink!

Since we were such a large group, we paired up at a cooking station for our class. La Maison Arabe has 16 stations each complete with two hobs and a live video stream so you can keep up easily. For something that is so flavourful, our chicken and apricot tagines were so simple to cook. We put the chicken and some chopped onions into the tagine, covered it in an array of spices and left it to bubble away under the tagine lid whilst we caramelized the apricots with some sugar and water in another pan. After we had finished up rosewater was passed around to pour over our hands leaving us all smelling incredible.

We were taken back out into the garden and off to a beautiful room set up with three big, round tables and a tent style ceiling made up of colourful material. We had actually all just had lunch before making our way to the class although that didn’t stop anyone from trying our creations. The tagine was placed down in front of us and as the lid was lifted the smell of our second lunch filled the room. The chicken fell off of the bone and the sweet chewiness of the apricots and the crunch of the almonds was the perfect accompaniment. Honestly, it was actually delicious and we finished the lot even though dinner was in just a couple of hours.

*Huge thanks to Visit Morocco for inviting me along on this trip

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Mountain Hiking in Lech

Mountain Hiking in Lech

Monday, 29 August 2016

Our second morning in Lech was an early one as we wanted to go down to explore the hotels bakery before our days activity. Clements took us to the huge bakery underneath the hotel and showed us how they made the apple strudel that they serve upstairs. He told us that the bakery supplies bread for the whole town and brings in as much money for them as the hotel does! It took him all of ten minutes to perfectly stretch the dough paper thin, fill it with ingredients and roll it up, we were all in awe of his skills. With the promise of a slice for when we return later on, we were off on a big hike.

I'll be honest; hiking, OK but hiking up a mountain in the freezing cold isn't really my idea of fun. It looked like a nice day and we were told it'd only be two hours so when given the choice, I went along. We soon realised it was actually snowing in the mountains and we spent the next four hours up there. Of course, some of the views were really breathtaking, that is, when I did look up, as I was so worried about slipping on the wet stones that it didn't happen often. I did however stop to watch each small waterfall we passed because I loved how the water moved and was always interested to see where they started and how they ran down the mountains. I  also loved the sound that came from the cows and their cowbells. That stuff, was all very storybook.

By the time we'd reached the top we'd seen snow, rain, sun and hail and been soaked through and then completely dried again. We also came across a hut full of goats which my personal highlight, I love goats!

We finished our trip at a little old wooden house without any electricity. We bought lemonade and cloudy cider and ate cheese, chorizo and ham whilst we marveled that at how we managed to get there - me especially, I didn't think my body was capable of that and although I found it extremely hard, I did it, I kept up for the most part and I was proud of myself. 

Saying that, I never want to do anything like that ever again. The panic I felt when the tour guide disappeared completely out of sight was like no other. It was pouring of rain and the very thin path that I thought I'd seen him go up was now occupied by a couple of cows. So yes, I did have a panic attack on the top of a mountain but luckily it was only for a couple of minutes as I knew how to get through it.

When we finally reached the bottom of the mountain, we were picked up in the hotel's mini van and driven back to civilization with a piece of strudel waiting for each of us. I ordered mine with a scoop of ice cream and a peppermint tea and then went straight to the room for a bath and a well deserved nap. Ready for dinner a couple of hours later, we all hopped back into the van and drove 10 minutes to a little hut next to a huge lake. All eleven of us bundled inside and filled the whole place which I loved, it was so cosy! We ordered fish caught fresh from the lake and tried some more delicacies - I started with a creamy fish soup which was just what I needed after the day I'd had and for dessert, we had Kaiserschmarrn which translates to shredded, fluffy pancakes which I really enjoyed. Some bits were crunchy whilst others were thick and stodgy - all the better dipped in sweet apple sauce.

After dinner we went back to the hotel and had a drink. Austrians are all about their Schnapps and Clements has a bit of a press trip tradition on picking a flavour to suit each person. He picked hazelnut for me which was the sweetest of them all, he had obviously noticed that I like my desserts hahah.

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