Category: Travel

The Windsor Hotel in Nice, France

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As some of you know, a few weeks ago I flown to the French Riviera to spend some quality time with my mum. We stayed at the trendy Windsor Hotel in Nice for 3 days.

Atmosphere:

As soon as we entered this trendy hotel we felt welcomed and the front desk receptionist made us feel welcomed. The hotel is has an informal atmosphere and is addressed to a modern, urban audience that seeks not only a great place to stay during their travels but also the originality of their surroundings.

Location:

The Windsor Hotel is superbly situated in the centre of Nice’s downtown area. The sea is only 10 minutes away by foot and there are lots of restaurants and cafes nearby. The central train station is only 10 minutes away. The main square is only around 15 minutes walk from the hotel and the shopping district is around 10 min walk from the hotel. All key attractions are within walking distance making it a perfect place to stay whilst in Nice.

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Facilities:

The Winsor Hotel has only rooms spread over 6 floors. The hotel’s design is meant to make you ‘feel like home’.

This artistic theme is visible everywhere, starting from the reception, moving to the bar and breakfast area and ending in the rooms which open a window onto the contemporary art world: the use of the volume, the game of shapes and materials, humour. Each room is different and has an original creation. Some rooms with frescoes are more traditional and romantic.

The hotel  guests can also enjoy the oasis of the tropical garden whilst sitting among the bamboos, fruit trees or enjoying a swim in a small pool. In addition, the hotel also have its our Wi Zen space which offers body and face treatments at the competitive prices. For anyone who wants to stay fit whilst away, there is a small gym area.

Daily breakfast service is available from 7:00a.m.-10:30a.m.

Room:

We stayed in a premium room located on the forth floor . Our room was equipped with a private bathroom, interactive TV,  mini bar with a selection of soft drinks and wine, safe, air conditioning. There was a free Wi-Fi available throughout the property. Our bed was comfortable and the room had a simple, modern design. There was a walk in wardrobe as well as study desk with 2 chairs.

Our bathroom had a contemporary, open-plan design with glass-panelled toilet and shower cubicles. Some basic toiletries were provided.

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Overall experience:

Although, we were in Nice for only 3 nights, we had a great stay at the Windsor Hotel. The hotel has a perfect location, staff was extremely friendly and our room was comfortable and  modern. I would definitely recommend it to any travellers who enjoy chic looking surroundings and like to feel like home whilst away.

Address:

11 Rue Dalpozzo,

06000 Nice,

France

Website:

https://www.hotelwindsornice.com/en/

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

The Adagio Nice Promenade Des Anglais Hotel in Nice, France

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Two weeks ago, I joined my mum for a girly mini break in French Rivera for 4 days. I was looking forward to spending some quality time with my mother and enjoying the sun, beach and French food. During the first night of our stay, we checked into the Adagio Nice Promenade des Anglais hotel.

Atmosphere:

As soon as we entered the hotel we were welcomed by the front desk receptionist who was very friendly and helpful. As we both had a very early morning flight – my mum was flying from Warsaw whilst I travelled from London- when we arrived at the hotel at 10a.m., we dropped our bags and we were ready to start exploring Nice.

Location:

The Adagio Nice Promenade des Anglais is situated in front of the famous Promenade des Anglais.  opposite the beaches of the Bay of Angels and 15 minutes’ walk from the market in old Nice.

Nice Airport airport is around 15 min drive from the hotel and the taxi costs around 30 Euros. You can also take an airport bus which stops around 50metres from the hotel.

Facilities:

The Adagio Nice Promenade des Anglais offers 73 studios and 2-room apartments, all of which are fully-furnished and have a kitchen and free WIFI. Some apartments have a private terrace with sea views.

Next to reception, there is a relaxation area where daily breakfast service is available from 7:00a.m.-10a.m. daily.

Room:

We stayed in a 2-room apartment overlooking the sea located on the fifth floor. Our apartment was spacious with a fully-equipped kitchen, separate lounge, free WIFI, telephone, air conditioning, bathroom with bathtub and separate toilet.

Our bed was comfortable and the room had a simple, modern design.

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My favourite place in the apartment though was a sunny terrace where I enjoyed having my coffee whilst taking in the beautiful views of the promenade. I also took quite a few photos there as the views were breath-taking.

Overall experience:

Although, we stayed at the Adagio Aparthotel for only 1 night, we had an enjoyable stay. The hotel has a perfect location, staff wasfriendly and our apartment was very spacious and modern. I would definitely recommend it to any travellers who like to stay within the short proximity to the sea, beach and everything else that Nice has to offer.

Address:

179 Promenade Des Anglais

06200 NICE

Website:

https://wwwbeta.adagio-city.com/gb/hotel-9138-aparthotel-adagio-nice-promenade-des-anglais/index.shtml

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

Holiday destinations: New York, USA

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I have recently traveled to the USA with my husband for our autumn / winter holidays. Our first stop was New York City.  It is the most densely populated city in the USA and it has a population of 8.5 million. New York City is one of the most famous cities worldwide and it has been described as the cultural, financial and media capital of the world. New York City consists of five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island. I have recently read that there 800 languages are spoken in New York, which makes it the most linguistically diverse city in the world.

Many districts and landmarks in New York City are well known and 61 million tourists visited the city in 2016. There are many places worth visiting in New York. Please find a quick summary listed below:

  • Empire State Building – a perfect way to see the city’s major highlights from the highest building in New York.
  • Statue of Liberty – a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City.
  • Grand Central Terminal – beautiful train station with a wide range of shops and eateries to relax in.
  • Fifth Avenue – a famous shopping street with a range of boutique and high-street brands where you can shop until you drop.
  • Times Square – exciting and colorful square that just cannot be missed. Sometimes referred to as the Crossroads of the World.

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  • Rockefeller Center (Top of The Rock experience) – an observatory on top of Rockefeller Center, with great city views.
  • National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey – amazing entertainment experience in the heart of Times Square which uses ground-breaking technology that takes its attendees on a journey into the ocean. It is super interactive with escaping sea creatures and underwater maze. A perfect destination for a day out with a family especially if you have kids as everyone can experience being face-to-face with whales and sharks, squids or sea lions.
  • Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum – an American military and maritime history museum. I especially enjoyed learning more about the Space Shuttle ‘Enterprise’ – the first space shuttle, a Cold War-era submarine Growler and British Airways Concorde, the world’s fastest commercial jet that can take passengers from London to New York in under 3 hours.

I hope you enjoyed reading this review.

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Pauline

Holiday destinations: York, UK

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A couple of weeks ago after work, we drove to York with my husband to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.

York is located in North Yorkshire in England. It is a historic city that has a rich heritage and was part of major political events in England throughout the history of UK. It is also a popular tourist destination for millions and, nowadays, tourism is an important element of the local economy.

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The city was founded by the Romans. In the Middle Ages, York grew as a major trading centre and became the capital of the northern province of the Church of England. In the 19th century, York became a known hub of the railway network and a confectionery manufacturing centre.

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The city offers a wealth of historic attractions and I would definitely recommend a visit to:

  1. York Castle Museum
  2. The Shambles
  3. York City Walls
  4. York Minster Cathedral
  5. Yorkshire Museum and Museum Gardens
  6. Jorvik Viking Centre

During our stay we had some great meals but I will review them in another post.

If you consider visiting York then Booking.com has a range of great properties where you can relax and unwind after a day of sightseeing. In addition, if you book your accommodation via this referral link, you’ll get £20 in cash.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post!

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Pauline

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Dinner at Restaurant Pfistermuhle in Munich

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During our recent trip to Munich, we tried lots of local German cuisine and today I would like to tell you about the best meal we’ve had whilst on our trip. You are probably wondering what was so great about our dining experience at Restaurant Pfistermuhle. If you are intrigued then read on…

Location:

Restaurant Pfistermuhle is located in Munich’s oldest mill building also occupied by Platz Hotel. It has a perfect location in the heart of the city – right by the Platzl and just a few minutes away from the famous Marienplatz. It can be easily reached by public transport.

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Atmosphere:

We booked our table for 7:00 p.m. We were greeted by a friendly waiter who made us feel welcomed and walked us through the menu.

The restaurant has a welcoming décor. Dinners can be sited in its classic dining room in the vaults of an old 16th-century mill or one of the tables based outdoors which are perfect for when the weather is sunny. We decided to sit outside.

The menu:

Restaurant Pfistermuhle offers its diners fine-dining experience serving high-end Bavarian cuisine with a modern twist. The menu changes seasonally and offers a nice selection of local dishes that are all built around the best produce from the area which guarantees consistently high quality. The Head Chef – Michael Sobota provides his diners with unique style of cooking which he himself describes as ‘Alpine cooking with international flavours’.

We commenced our evening with a refreshing cocktail. Our waiter also brought us some complimentary bread and butter.

To start with, I went for some prawns with an avocado chutney, mushrooms and a side salad.

My husband had some salmon accompanied by a pesto from wild herbs, chanterelles and chicken gravy. Both dishes were divine and presented beautifully.

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By the time we were done with our starters, our waiter brought us some Am Berg (2017) white wine. It offered a rich mouth feel that lead to soft fruits and orange zest on the palate.

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Secondly, I had some cold soup of cucumber and avocado which was mouth-watering.

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Thirdly, I had some trout from Lake Ammer and it was definitely my favourite course. It was cooked to perfection and accompanied by a cream of potato and parsley, smoked egg yolk, eggplant caviar and riesling foam.

My husband had some Fillet of Ox from the “Allgäu” with marrow crust and sauce of shallots accompanied by some green beans with bacon. He loved it as it was flavoursome and cleared his plate in no time.


Lastly, it was time for some dessert. I am quite adventurous so I ordered some Pfistermühlen surprise. It was a mixture of breakfast granola with berries and 2 sorbets. It was delicious!

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My husband ordered a variation of elder flower which was based on wild berries and ice creams. It was scrumptious.

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Overall experience:
Our meal at Restaurant Pfistermuhle was the best meal we’ve had whilst in Munich. All dishes were delectable and presented beautifully whilst service was flawless and attentive. If you would like to experience some great Bavarian dishes with a modern twist then I would definitely recommend it – I am sure you will not be disappointed!

Address:

Pfisterstraße 4,

80331 München,

Germany

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

Our dinner at Brasserie Chez Fritz in Munich, Germany

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As some of you probably know, I was in Munich with my husband to celebrate our second wedding anniversary. We’ve had lots of meals but there were only two that stood-out in terms of traditional German restaurants. Today, I would like to tell you about our experience at Brasserie Chez Fritz.

Location:

Brasserie Chez Fritz is located on a quiet, residential road – Preysingstraße which is just a short walk from Wiener Platz. You can get there easily by public transport.

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Atmosphere:

Brasserie Chez Fritz has a traditional décor and an informal atmosphere. Diners are able to select their seats in a cosy restaurant or on an open patio – perfect when the weather is nice and sunny.

The waiter that attended our table couldn’t speak English so we had to translate the menu on Google Translate but he was friendly and attentive so I cannot complain. We later realised that there were some other waiters who could speak English so if you decide to visit you should definitely ask for someone who you can freely communicate with.

The menu:

The menu at Brasserie Chez Fritz doesn’t offer its diners typical German cuisine. Instead you can experience a selection of mouth-watering dishes with a French cuisine twist.

To start with, I ordered some smoked salmon which was served with a fennel salad whilst my husband had some pulled pork accompanied by an apple salad. Both starters were tasty and presented nicely.

For my main I decided to have a fish of the day – cod on a bed of some perfectly roasted potatoes and samphire. It was mouth watering and the flavours were exquisite.

My husband had a flank steak served with artichokes, beans and a tomatoes chutney – ‘sauce fritz’. The steak was tender and cooked to my husband’s liking.

After our mains, we decided to have a dessert. I decided to have some crème brulee whilst my husband went for some refreshing sorbet which was served with strawberries. Both of our desserts were delicious.

Overall experience:

We both had an enjoyable dinning experience at Brasserie Chez Fritz. It was one of the best meals we had in Munich and I would definitely recommend it.

Website:
For more information and to book visit:

http://www.chezfritz.de/

Address:

Preysingstraße 20,

81667 München,

Germany

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

Holiday destinations: Birmingham, UK

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A few weeks ago, my younger brother was in UK for a couple of days and we decided to go to Birmingham for a day break.

Birmingham is located in the West Midlands area and is the second largest city outside in UK with a population of over 1 million. We took a fast train (Virgin Train) from Euston and in just 90 min, we arrived in Birmingham’s New Street station.

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Due to its close proximity to London, Birmingham is perfect if you wish to escape from London and visit another English city. It is an important transport, retail, events and conference hub and city’s economy is dominated by the service sector which accounted for 88% of the city’s employment.

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Apart from world-class galleries and stimulating museums there are many places worth visiting:

  1. National Sea Life Centre – an aquarium with over 60 displays of freshwater and marine life in Brindleyplace. Located 15 minutes walk from the train station.
  2. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery – great museum with a vast collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork and natural history.
  3. Birmingham Botanical Gardens – if you like relaxing in gardens then you should go to this 15 acres botanical gardens that are around 10 min walk from the city centre.
  4. Gas Street Basin – a canal basin in the centre of Birmingham with some trendy bars and cafes to grab a drink or some lunch from.
  5. Hall of Memory – a war memorial located in the city centre to commemorate the 12,320 Birmingham citizens who died in World War I.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post!

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Pauline

 

Holiday destinations: Rome, Italy

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Rome is the capital of Italy and of the Lazio region. It is the country’s largest and most populated and fourth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits. The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula.

Rome’s history spans for more than two and a half thousand years so it doesn’t matter how long you are planning to stay here-you should be prepared to step into the world’s biggest open air museum. I would personally advice you o travel for a minimum 4-5 days so you can see all the famous areas and monuments. It was my third visit to Rome and with each trip I enjoy it more.

Last time, I travelled there for my fiancé’s birthday and firstly we decided to follow the typical tourist paths and then we became brave enough to go off the usual tracks and discover the hidden germs of the city. The places and monuments that you definitely need to visit whilst in here are:

  • The Vatican City-an independent country geographically located within the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.
  • The Trevi Fountain.
  • St Peter’s Square.
  • Spanish Steps.
  • Colosseum.

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Rome is one of world’s most picturesque capitals and if you’ve never been here then you should definitely visit.

Hope you enjoyed reading this post!

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Pauline

Holiday destinations: Trieste, Italy

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Another week, another holiday destination review.

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This week, I would like to tell you about Trieste in Italy. I recently traveled there and even though the weather wasn’t great I enjoyed a walk around this pretty Italian town. It is a lovely destination for a day-trip

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Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is in one of the richest regions of Italy, and has been a great centre for shipping, through its port, shipbuilding and financial services. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of Italian territory lying between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia and the city is physically isolated from the rest of the Italian peninsula. In addition, Croatian border is located closely (further 30 kilometers south).

We started our trip by visiting the tourist information office in Piazza dell’Unità d’Italia, where we equipped ourselves with some informative leaflets and maps. The whole tour around the main city attractions took us under 2 hours.

The main attractions we saw during our short walking tour were:

  • Piazza dell’Unità d’Italia -a large and elegant outdoors space opposite the waterfront, with some impressive buildings.
  • Castello di San Giusto – it is located on the hill so it is a great place to enjoy some nice views from a memorial garden outside the walls.
  • Roman theatre.
  • Castello Miramare – one of Trieste’s most vaunted sights, the a nineteenth-century castle.

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Pauline

Our dinner at José Pizarro Restaurant in London

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If you read my blog regularly you will know that I am a massive foodie. I love going out to the new restaurants and discovering hidden-gems on the dining scene. I recently joined my husband for a dinner-date at José Pizarro restaurant and today I would love to tell you about my experience.

Location:

José Pizarro has 3 restaurants in London:

  • Pizarro Restaurant near London Bridge;
  • José Pizarro Restaurant near Moorgate station
  • José Tapas Bar near London Bridge.

As I work near Monument, we decided to visit Pizarro restaurant on Bermondsey Street which is a short – 10 min walk from the London Bridge station.

Atmosphere:
Pizarro has a stylish décor and an informal atmosphere.

Diners are able to select their seats next to the window overlooking a picturesque church of St Mary Magdalen, at the bar, at the long communal table or the classic tables if they fancy a more intimate dinning experience. As we were on our dinner date, we decided to have a quiet table at the back of the restaurant which was overlooking an open kitchen so we could admire the chefs preparing our tasty dishes.

The menu:

The menu at Pizarro restaurant offers its diners a selection of tasty small and more substantial Spanish dishes, made using the seasonal products which can be served as starters and mains or as tapas for sharing.

To start with, we ordered a few tapas dishes to share from the Pica Pica and Starters menu:

  • Jamón Ibérico
  • Mushroom Croquetas
  • Butifarra negra & pulpo
  • Citrus prawn fritters

All of our starters were great but I absolutely loved the mushroom croquetas. They were the best croquetas I’ve tasted in a long time. You definitely need to try them when you visit Pizarro.

For my main I decided to have a fish of the day – Pescado del día – scallops with some aubergines. They were mouth watering and the flavours of cod and side worked perfectly together.

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My husband had a Castilian leg of suckling lamb with some mojo rojo and chickpeas. It was extremely tender and the portion was generous.

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Once we were done with our mains, it was a time for my favourite part of any meal – our desserts. I decided to be adventurous and ordered some cream cheese ice cream accompanied by some blackcurrant and camomile syrup. It was certainly different and not what I expected!

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My husband was less adventurous and just ordered some classic ice creams and enjoyed them.

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Overall experience:

We both enjoyed our dining experience. I my opinion, Pizarro is definitely one of the best Spanish eateries in London and it offers some great traditional dishes with a modern twist. The restaurant is perfect for a romantic dinner for two or a casual meeting with friends over some delicious tapas and quality Spanish wine. Throughout our meal the service was attentive and the waitress made sure that we had a wonderful evening. The restaurant is also conveniently located (especially if you travel to or work in the City of London) so I would definitely visit it again soon!

Website:
For more information and to book visit:

https://josepizarro.com/pizarro-restaurant/

Address:

194 Bermondsey St,

London

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I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline