December London weekend and Brussels Christmas Market trip

I don't know where December has gone, it has passed by so quickly much like the rest of the year. That said, we did have a couple of festive days out and a quick trip to Brussels for the Christmas Markets. 

On the first weekend in December my mum and I went to a local castle that was holding a Christmas fair. We went last year too and the place is decked out with greenery and lights so it looks very pretty. We did a little Christmas shopping but our favourite part is stopping for a mulled wine and mince pies in the cafe - they have the best mince pies! 

The following day my mum and I met my dad in London. Whilst he was working my mum and I did a little Christmas shopping on Kensington high street and we discovered Whole Foods! Whilst we were in there my mum entered a competition at a soup tasting and a few days later received a case of fresh soups! That evening we met my dad and went to pizza express for dinner. I indulged in my favourite dessert, their snowball dough balls. 

The following day I met my boyfriend bright and early at St Pancras for our trip to the Brussels Christmas Markets. We grabbed a coffee and croissant before boarding our train and a couple of hours later we arrived. 

As we arrived at lunch time and it was freezing cold, our first stop was a Belgian frites shop for authentic and tasty frites! Once we were full and warm we were on our way and first stop was a beautiful arcade mainly full of chocolate shops. We spent some time browsing the lovely displays and picking some nice chocolates to take home. 

One of the chocolate shops had a moving 'ski lift' display which was fun.

Next we went to the main square which had beautiful architecture and a lovely Christmas tree which we stopped to take a few pictures by, before picking up a hot chocolate from another chocolate shop to keep us warm. 

After a little more walking we reached the Christmas markets. We browsed the stalls which were mostly clothing or food related and after a while we stopped for gluhwein. We found a stall selling intricate laser cut cards and picked up our Christmas cards. 

The afternoon flew by so after a little more browsing we heading back to catch our train, stopping en route for waffles (we ate a lot that day!).

On our way back we had standard premier tickets as they were only £10 more than standard class, so we had a light dinner on the train and snoozed for much of the journey back.

We arrived back in to St Pancras station around 8pm and had both enjoyed our day in Brussels.

I've heard the Christmas markets in Germany are very good so I would like to visit those too. 

Tea and cake

I had the opportunity to get in a little Christmas shopping this afternoon and in between browsing, my mum and I made our way to John Lewis to use our vouchers for tea and cake.

I chose a chocolate fudge cake and my mum opted for a chocolate and orange sponge cake. The fudge cake was delicious!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am always on the lookout for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, one which makes chewy cookies best eaten warm out of the oven and laden with chocolate chips. I recently tried the recipe below which I found on Pinterest and it did not disappoint. 

Recipe (makes 12 cookies)

1/2 cup of sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar 

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup melted butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

4 oz milk chocolate chips 

1. Preheat oven to 180C / gas mark 4 

2. In a bowl whisk together the sugars, salt and melted butter until smooth

3. Whisk in the egg and vanilla 

4. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold the mixture with a spatula, being careful to not overmix

5. Fold in the chocolate chips and chill the dough for at least thirty minutes

6. Scoop the dough onto a tray lined with baking paper, spacing the dough 4 inches apart

7. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown

8. Allow to cool and serve.

October Harvest

The vegetable plants in my garden have nearly finished for the year. This is yesterday's crop, although there is also a large box full of apples that didn't fit in the photo. 

I might use some of the apples to make apple and parsnip soup. I found a recipe online last weekend and have already tested it out. It was delicious and so simple to make.

Film night - The Big Sick

Last night my boyfriend and I watched The Big Sick. I had been wanting to see this since I saw the trailers, but didn't get chance to catch it at the cinema, so we had a cosy night in instead. 

My boyfriend prepared a lovely Chinese meal followed by chocolate eclairs for dessert and we got started.

I had high hopes from the trailers and I wasn't disappointed. It was a heartwarming film with plenty of humour throughout and even a couple of tears along the way. I would definitely watch it again and would recommend it to anyone wanting a feel-good film. 

Monaco 2017

This time last week I was just arriving at my hotel in Monaco for a short break. We arrived at the airport in Nice late afternoon and took the bus to our hotel. We stayed at the Columbus hotel and it was lovely. The room was spacious with gorgeous views over the princess Grace rose garden, mountains and across the sea. There was a pool in the garden which we used a couple of times (but even with the gorgeous weather it was still a bit chilly!) and a small gym and a bar. 

The view from the room:

By the time we had arrived and unpacked it was already 8pm so we decided to just take a walk around the area and grab a bite to eat. 

The following morning we ate breakfast in hotel. There was a great range of pastries, cereals, fruit, hot food and even a tasty chocolate cake, so we were well fed for the day ahead. 

We took a walk to the Palace and had a look inside, before enjoying some ice cream in the sun. We then walked on through the pretty palace gardens to the Oceanographic museum and then looked round the cathedral where Prince Rainier and Princess Grace were married. We returned to the hotel for lunch on our balcony which we had picked up from the supermarket and a quick dip in the pool. 

After lunch we went to the animal garden we had walked past the previous evening. It was apparently started as Prince Rainiers private animal collection many years ago, but there are now plans to turn it into a petting zoo. We thought it would be home to small animals and birds but to our surprise there was a rhinoceros being kept there. I was pleased to read online after that the plan is for the rhinoceros to be moved to a larger, more suitable home and in recent years Prince Albert has worked with the born free charity to enable leopards which were being kept there to be released into the wild. 

Next we took a look inside the collection of classic cars which are on display just around the corner. It is the Prince's private collection of cars and has everything from formula one race cars to Victorian coaches. One of my favourites was a pale blue fiat with wicker chairs and no roof - very sweet but not so practical in British weather!

We struggled to find somewhere to eat on Sunday night as there were not many restaurants open and the ones we did find were expensive. Eventually we found a 'bar' with outdoor seating and an extensive menu and I ordered a tasty pizza and then went back to the hotel for an early night as I was so tired from all the walking. 

On Monday, after breakfast we took the bus to Nice. We walked around the antique market and found a stall selling vintage pin badges for a euro each and picked up a couple of Monaco and race car theme pins which made for nice and inexpensive souvenirs. I also found a sweet vintage pearl necklace in very good condition which I was pleased with, as I had been looking for a replacement.

We then went up to the fountain and found a spot with a view over the promenade to eat the picnic lunch we had brought with us, before taking the bus back to Monaco. 

When we got back to Monaco we took a walk up to the exotic gardens, although it was more of a hike than a walk, we had to climb so many stairs to get there! The exotic gardens are home to a wide variety of cacti and succulents and being so high up have breathtaking view over Monaco. 

On our way back we picked up a bottle of wine in the supermarket and took a takeaway back to our hotel to eat on the balcony as we were too tired to eat out. 

On Tuesday we got up early to catch the bus to Eze, to visit the Fragonard perfume factory. It only took 15 minutes to get there and we took a tour of the factory, spent a little time in the factory shop picking out some treats and then took the bus back to Monaco. 

For the afternoon we decided to visit the famous casino in Monte Carlo. I wasn't so keen to visit as I had read bad reviews online about rude staff and an underwhelming interior, but I was pleasantly surprised. The lobby was ornate with beautiful frescos on the ceiling, marble pillars and a pretty butterfly display cascading down in the centre. We were even approached by a member of staff who informed us about the tours which were running and the additional area we could look around without paying the entry fee for the main part. After a quick look around and some photos, we spotted the cafe which was surprisingly reasonable for the location and so beautifully decorated, with panels of the walls covered from floor to ceiling in roses, so of course I had to take a couple more photos the roses as a backdrop! 

After our ice creams we then went for a walk to look for the beach where we paddled in the sea. Along the way we seemed to pass a footballers walk of fame with their footprints cast in the stones which was interesting. 

That evening we went out for dinner again and all too soon we were heading back to the hotel to pack. We had such lovely weather and it was a really relaxing trip even though we packed so much in. 

A day out on centre court at Wimbledon 2017

I gave up on keeping a blog for ages, but occasionally I like to read back through my posts for recipe ideas or such like, so for a while I thought I might try and get back in the habit of posting now and again. Last week I was fortunate enough to enjoy a lovely day at Wimbledon so I thought that would be a good place to pick it up from.

On Wednesday I was lucky enough to get a pair of tickets to centre court at Wimbledon for the following day. Even better, my favourite tennis player Roger Federer was scheduled to play on centre court on Thursday and I was super excited. 

I took my mum (another Federer fan!) and we took the tube to wimbledon on Thursday morning. We arrived about 11:30 after walking fifteen minutes or so to the tennis club. It was so hot and sunny and all of the houses on route had turned into shops, selling everything from ice cold drinks to sunglasses and hats. 

Play was not due to start on centre court until 1pm and having not been to Wimbledon before, I thought we might be a little bored hanging around. However as soon as you walk in to the grounds you become immersed in this exciting and buzzing atmosphere and just walking around, soaking it all in, is enough to keep you entertained. 

With an hour to go until the first match we grabbed some drinks, a pimms for my mum (naturally!) and I opted for a refreshing cucumber and mint presse, before heading in to the centre court building. 

Our seats were close to the back but we still had a good view and it was nice to be sheltered by the roof - it was so hot that we were glad of the shade!

The first match was Kyle Edmund (GBR) v Gael Monfils. It was a great match and the crowd enthusiastically cheered on Edmund, who played well despite losing. 

Before the ladies match started, we popped out, planning to grab some lunch. However, on route we found the little booth from which they sell the tennis balls which have been used during the tournament. It was about 2.45 and the ball sale was due to start at 3, so we decided to wait. At that point there were only a couple of people in front of us and we chatted about the matches and the wimbledon experience. The man in front of us had camped for two nights ealier in the week to get tickets for centre court on Tuesday! By 3 o'clock the queue for tennis balls reached longer than I could see, but the queue moved swiftly and within a minute we were done and tennis balls used by Federer (or so I like to think!) were in the bag.

By now, the second match was due to start so we just grabbed some sweets and Haagen-Daas ice cream and returned to our seats, ready for Magdalena Rybarikova v Karolina Pliskova. Following another great match which saw Rybarikova beat the No. 3 seed Pliskova, we popped out again to stretch our legs and grabbed a tasty pizza from the pavilion and strawberries to take back in. (Is it really Wimbledon without strawberries and cream?!) 

Finally, at 6pm, it was time for Federer v Lajovic. By now, the empty seats on court had all filled out and the atmosphere was electric. 

 

It was so exciting to watch the match as it happened rather than on the screen and you couldn't help but gasp at close shots or clap along to hawk eye! 

In just three sets it was all over, and watching my favourite sports person win was a lovely end to the day. 

By the time we got out of the court it was about 8pm and after taking a couple more photos we headed out of the grounds and on our way. 

It was such a lovely day which really exceeded my expectations and I felt so lucky to get tickets so unexpectedly, especially to see three great matches and my favourite player! I would jump at the chance to go again and would definitely recommend it to anyone who has the chance to go.