A Welsh Day Trip

 October 2019

In the last few days of October, knowing our time in Cardiff was slowly coming to a close, we tried to do some more sight-seeing. One of the places recommended to me over and over again was the open air museum St Fagans. A museum showcasing mainly rural life in past times, its set across the grounds of St Fagens Castle, a 16th century manor house.

The grounds were stunning, and the day sunny and beautiful, which made exploring the extensive gardens wonderful. Even better, we had it almost to ourselves. 

The museum has more than forty buildings, including things like a blacksmith forge and watermills. It was a fascinating way to showcase Welsh history.

One of my favorites was the row of workers cottages with furnishings ranging from 1800-1985. One had a museum staff dressed in traditional working clothes, tending to a peat fire. If you haven't smelled a peat fire before, it's unique, sort of earthy. 

We had an amusing exchange with a security guard who was nervously watching the Rugby World Cup game, Wales vs. South Africa on his phone. We all cheered on Wales, and then headed home. Unfortunately Wales lost the match, but it was fun comradery. We distracted ourselves from the sad loss (and really we weren't that sad because a few days later NZ trounced Wales) by carving pumpkins for Halloween. If it's not obvious, mine is supposed to be an owl!

Corfu Part II

 October 2019

Being so close to Kassiopi, (a five minute drive) we decided to try dining out at one of the restaurants there. I had found a couple online I thought might be worth trying, but upon turning up, discovered they had all closed for the season.

 All was not lost however, as we simply tried the nearest likely looking place which didn't resemble a tourist trap. 'Thraka Greek BBQ' wasn't exactly an inspiring name (and in fact I only found it out thanks to google maps later, as it had no name sign we could see) but it wasn't full of tourists, only Greek families, and looked rather non-descript, which I have actually found to be a good thing a lot of the time.

 We weren't disappointed, oregano chips, delicious tzatziki, and gyros - rotisserie meat stuffed with salad and tzatziki and wrapped in a soft pita - everything was delicious. Including the house wine!

We were soon packing up and moving to our next Airbnb, still in the north, in an area called Nisaki. We were avoiding the south like a plague, as whilst beautiful, it was also full of the English resorts which we wanted to avoid. The plus side is outside of those resorts, few tourists bother to go.

 Our second Airbnb was nicer than our first, and very close to both a little supermarket, and a tiny beach we could simply walk to.

It also had a lovely outside area, which had been the main selling point for me.

The local beach (Nisaki Beach) was absolutely tiny, so not much good for sunbathing, but it was perfect when you wanted a quick dip close by, which was exactly how we used it. 

Overlooking the little beach sat the lovely beach bar Alymra Beach Bar Nisaki (what a mouthful) with a huge garden full of chairs and hammocks, the perfect place for an ice cold drink!

It was whilst staying here that we discovered our favourite beach of all. We decided to check out the nearby Agni Beach, upon which the cute Taverna Agni sat, perfect for those lunching needs.

I loved how it was right on the beach, and we tried all manner of interesting dishes, washed down with cold rosé. 

The beach itself was nice, but a little crowded. We noticed a trail near the left-hand end of the beach, seeming to lead into woodland over a hill. It looked like an interesting walk so we decided to explore. It quickly came out of the scrub and led us around the cliff, with incredible views.

With a bit of scrambling, we were suddenly greeted by another beach, and this one we had all to ourselves. A secret beach!!

This became our go to place, where we would largely spend our days, often bringing a cold beverage with us! We could then pop to the taverna on the other beach if we became peckish, or drive home to hang out in our garden, bliss!

On my birthday, we rented kayaks for an hour and explored the ridiculously clear water, then drove back to Agni Taverna where I had a delicious pasta dish for a change, washed down with more wine of course.

Then a few hours sunbathing and having multiple dips in the ocean perfectly capped off the day. What a perfect birthday!

We were incredibly sad to leave, and I can't wait to one day return! Greece really is my favourite place on earth.

Corfu Part I

 October 2019

Touching down at Corfu airport, we took the shuttle bus to Corfu Town, arriving on a blindingly blue day. We couldn't check into the Airbnb for a few hours, but luckily we only had carryon luggage, so we hefted our little backpacks, and went to explore. 

Did you know Prince Philip was born here? And that the Venetian's ruled Corfu for about 400 years? And that it's the only place in Greece where cricket is popular (thanks to the British). It's an interesting mash of cultures and history, and although heavily bombed in World War II, much of its architecture still survives. 

Feeling the heat, we popped into the cafe Puppet for some icy refreshing juice, the atmosphere was awesome and it was super tiny and cute - apparently it's a fantastic bar at night. We were getting hungry however, so went wandering for food. 

There were so many touristy places, we were struggling to find somewhere and ended up picking a place at random on the waterfront. It proved to be an excellent choice, serving up my favourite 'Corfu Red' beer, along with delicious fried saganaki cheese, and the real showstopper, octopus in vinegar. 

Once we were able to check into our Airbnb, we did so and rested for a while, tired from the hot day and travel. Once evening began to fall and the temperature cooled, we walked the thirty minutes into town, and then meandered the seafront until we were far enough away to look back on the fortress with a good view. Sunsets in Greece are a thing of wonder, the light is golden, the water dark and mysterious, and the sky filled with dusky pinks and purples. Far off in the distance, the mountains of Albania loomed, looking like something out of a fantasy novel. 

We ate at a restaurant called Stazei Meli, admiring the way the old town looked by night. The restaurant only served Loukoumades, a traditional Corfiot dish sort of like donuts, but both sweet and savoury. we tried ones stuffed with feta and accompanied with fresh tomatoes and a yogurt dill sauce, followed by milk chocolate stuffed ones, drizzled in white chocolate. Heaven.

The next morning I tried the very strange Fish Spa, something very popular in Corfu town. A fish 'pedicure', you pop your feet into a tub and tiny fish nibble the dead skin away. It was a totally bizarre sensation and whilst fun to try, was just a little too strange for me to get on board with! Also it tickled something terrible. 

We checked out of our Airbnb and met up with the company renting us a car for the rest of our trip. Typically Greek, there were no real checks or explanations, he handed us over the keys, waved and drove off. Nervously, we got into the tiny automobile, and Ben soon had a crash course on learning to drive on the right. We then headed north, towards our next airbnb, stopping only for a paddle at Ipsos, a beach I had fond memories of from my previous trip. 

We were staying just past Kassiopi, a fishing village on the northeastern coast. We didn't know the exact house number, having just been told where to park on the road, and then to call the owner. Which is all well and good until our phones - which worked perfectly in Greece, France and most of Europe, decided we were actually in Albania (you know, the country ACROSS the ocean?) and therefore wouldn't work at all. 

Panicked, we drove back along the main road until we found the first bar we could see, asked if they had Wi-Fi (thus fulfilling the terrible stereotype of annoying tourists desperate for internet) and were so grateful we ordered 2 giant beers which I then had to drink most of both myself rather quickly as Ben was driving, and we were about to be late! 

Luckily we were able to use the Wi-Fi to message the Airbnb host who quickly responded, so we were in business! The Airbnb was small and simple, but the balcony and view were out of this world.

Going to Corfu so late in the year had both benefits and drawbacks. The flights were cheap, and our car rental was heavily discounted. There were barely any tourists about either, however some restaurants had already closed up for the season, and the afternoons became cool much earlier than I was used to. A positive of this however was that nights were cool and pleasant, not the sticky unbearably hot hellish things I was used to in Greek summer. 

We had 3 days at this housesit, and 3 days at another one, so we set about making use of our base to explore the local area. We spent a couple of mornings sunbathing at the nearest beach at Kassiopi, but it wasn't the nicest for swimming.

We therefore decided to explore further afield, on one of the days making the trip up north to the Canal d'Amore, where the cliffs have been carved away into sea channels, with perfectly clear water. According to various legends, if a couple swims there they will either be in love forever, or get married very soon (which to me seem rather different things!).

 It's also horribly busy with tourists, so we admired it for a few photos, and then walked around the corner to a much quieter area (pictured below) for a swim.

We also ventured up to Loggas which had beautiful views and amazing white cliffs. We had wanted to eat lunch at the restaurant on the cliffs, as I had done so years before with Dad, but it was sadly closed for the season. We explored the beach for a while instead, so all was not lost.

Birthday Celebrations

 October 2019

My birthday this year was excellent. We celebrated the weekend before, and on the Friday I came home from work to a homemade sponge cake, champagne, chocolate and flowers!

The next morning I was taken out to Brava Cafe, just around the corner from our house, which we had been meaning to try for ages. They made a mean eggs benne and mocha!

After a lovely day, we headed out to the Dough Thrower, an Italian restaurant that was known for excellent pizza. And was it ever! As usual, I stuck with my margherita, and was very happy. 

We didn't bother with dessert, as we had the cake back home! Having it with champagne wasn't bad either.

It was a wonderful celebration, but the best was yet to come. 

The reason we hadn't celebrated on my actual birthday was because we would be celebrating for a whole week in Greece! Talk about birthday of the decade!

Family Hangouts

October 2019

We had a few fun things planned for my birthday month, starting with a visit from my brother who lives in Cambridge. We had great fun showing him around Cardiff, and took him to one of our favourite little restaurants for lunch, Madame Fromage. There we introduced him to the gloriousness that is Welsh Rarebit - like a toasted sandwich but better, and made with beer. 

We also shared an epic liquid nitrogen icecream after which, very full, we retired back to the house for a Catan tournament. 

Of course, there's always room for dinner! Especially when it's ravioli with burnt butter sage sauce! What's the picture below then, you ask? The aperitif of course!

In the morning, we popped into our favourite local cafe Brod, to fortify ourselves before venturing into the Brecon Beacons for some more sightseeing.

Although we knew Brecon town was an awesome location, it was a very long daytrip, and the weather wasn't playing ball. We decided to take a shorter trip just to the edge of the Brecons, for a nice little hike.

It was beautiful, wild and steep, and we soon stopped to catch our breath and eat the sandwiches we had brought with us. 

Unfortunately the rain was beginning to set in, which made for dramatic photos, but soggy heads, so we soon turned around. It had given my brother a taste of the Brecons which had been the purpose of the trip, and hopefully some lovely memories too. Besides, a Catan rematch was calling!

Holiday Time! Seville, Spain

 September 2019

Attempting to escape the promise of winter, we headed to Spain for a long weekend, taking off both a Friday and Monday to make the most of our time. My absolute favourite thing about living in the UK is finding cheap flights to jet off to new locations!

We had chosen Seville, simply because we had never been, and flights were cheap. And it was sunny! After a Welsh summer, we were very ready for a sunny European holiday.

Reacquainting myself with those warm hued walls in shades of yellow that are so quintessentially Spanish was deeply nostalgic for me, as parts of Seville reminded me so very much of Valencia, somewhere I would really love to go back to. 

The days were mercilessly hot, the sun beating down, our only respite was shade and cold beer. It became a pleasant habit that whenever we were feeling too hot, we would find the nearest bar for cold beer and complimentary nuts/olives in the shade.

According to myth, Seville was founded by Heracles. The city was known by the Pheonecians as Hisbaal, after the fertility god Baal. It had a long history of being sacked and changing hands, which is clearly reflected in its varied architecture. 

Tired from all that epic history, we stopped for lunch. I highly recommend the tapas bar Ovejas Negras Tapas, it was so good we went twice. Ben was finally introduced to the glory of Patatas Bravas (and he was indeed a fan). 

We shared a number of delicious plates, from manchego with lavender honey to slow cooked beef cheeks in a rich sauce with silky mashed potatoes. My mouth is watering just remembering how delicious everything was!

We finished off with cooling icecream in the sunshine. Have I mentioned I love Spain?

We were in Seville on the cheap, however one place we did pay to visit was the Royal Alcazar of Seville, a fancy palace that is still partially used whenever the Spanish royal family visit Seville. 

Originally built in 913 AD, it was expanded in the 11th century, earlier architecture was demolished, and then again in the 14th century it was converted by the Christian kings, and built upon some more. Due to 500 years of construction and demolition, it is a mish-mash of styles and history. 

My favourite part was the sprawling gardens however, so green and lush compared to the rest of Seville, it was like stepping into a cool paradise. 

Another highlight of Seville was the Plaza de Espana, by the time we got there after the palace, the sun was starting to set, leading to a warm yellow glow to the whole square. Built in 1928 for the World Fair of 1929, it's absolutely stunning architecturally, and has even been featured in a number of movies, including Star Wars, and Lawrence of Arabia!

One cannot go to Seville without mentioning the Metropol Parasol, a huge wooden structure built in 2011. Not only was the project over budget and delayed, it ran into multiple issues - most notably two years into construction, when the engineering firm announced it was actually unfeasible, and thus had to be redesigned to be structurally stable. In total, it's estimated the project cost 100 million euros, and is rather controversial due to the total cost (double what was estimated) and not everyone likes the unique design either.

We paid the small fee to go up to the top at sunset and I can say this for it, it certainly provides the best view of the old city. 

Feeling rather hungry from all our walking, we went on an epic hunt for octopus. I had eaten the best octopus of my life in San Sebastian a few years before, so I had in my head that I could find excellent octopus in Spain, and was determined to be proved right. 

After some inventive googling, my hunch paid off, and we ate ridiculously delicious octopus for surprisingly cheap in a restaurant I usually wouldn't have set foot in, as it looked too fancy. Sometimes it pays to take the risk!

I couldn't believe how quickly the days had flown by, and how we would be going home in the morning. The only thing I wouldn't miss was the Airbnb, which whilst clean and cheerful, had a dire problem with the air conditioning unit, where if it was used for more than 10 minutes, water started gushing down the wall. This small detail aside, our stay had been perfect! 

We ended our trip with breakfast at the same place for the third day in a row, a cute cafe which made the best hot chocolates we had ever tasted. Guess whose breakfast is whose! What's the saying, you can take the boy out of England, but....