Tag: Travel

Holiday destinations: Vilnius, Lithuania

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I have recently visited Vilnius and stayed there for 3 days with my husband.

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Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania. It contains one of the largest surviving medieval quarters in Europe.

It is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, Old Town contains almost two thousand medieval, gothic, renaissance, and baroque buildings.

Top 5 ‘must-see’ places to visit are:

  • Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania – the former political, diplomatic, cultural centre of the State.
  • Gediminas’ Tower of the Upper Castle – An observation deck on the top of the tower is the best place from which to appreciate a magnificent panorama of Vilnius.
  • Cathedral Basilica – The Cathedral of St. Stanislav and St. Vladislav is the most important place of worship for Lithuania’s Catholics, and the venue for the country’s main Christian, for, and national festivities.
  • Gates of Dawn – The Gates of Dawn is one of the most visited shrines in Vilnius that is famous not only in Lithuania but also abroad, worshipped by the representatives of other creeds too. This is the only surviving gate of the first original five gates in the city wall that was built between 1503 and 1522.
  • Church of St Anne – The church of St Anne is a masterpiece of the late Gothic period.

We really enjoyed our stay in Vilnius. It is definitely worth visiting if you decide to travel to Eastern Europe.

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I hope you enjoyed reading this review.

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Pauline

 

Our dinner at Informal Restaurant in Barcelona, Spain

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As you are probably aware, I love travelling and I am a massive foodie. During my recent trip to Barcelona, I visited lots of local restaurant and bars but only 2 of them really stood out from the rest. Today, I would like to tell you about my experience at Informal Restaurant in Barcelona.

Location:

The Informal Restaurant is located in the Serras Hotel in Barcelona. It is situated in a famous Bari Gotic area, just a few minutes away from Barceloneta station. It is a 7 minute walk from Las Ramblas.

Atmosphere:
The whole hotel has a minimalist, modern decor with its linen fabrics, neutral colors and use of materials like iron and wood that connect it to the surrounding marina. As soon as we entered the restaurant we were welcome by a friendly hostess and introduced to Rodrigo who was our waiter throughout the evening. There was a relaxing music playing at the background. In the middle of the restaurant there was an open kitchen and grill which was great as you could admire your food being made.

The menu:

The menu at Informal Restaurant is developed by Michelin Star Chef Marc Gascons who focuses or Catalan and Mediterranean specialties. He aims to provide its dinners with a delicious selection of dishes made using locally sourced products from land and sea.

The restaurant offers a nice selection of dishes but we decided to order from ‘Menu Experience: Picasso’.

To start with, we ordered a few tapas dishes to share:

  • some homemade toasted flat bread with tomato and extra virgin olive oil;

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  • salted anchovies from L’Escala with olive oil and pepper;

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  • mixed salad of green beans, green peas, Iberian ham and black truffle;
  • steamed artichokes, bulgur, celeriac, orange vinaigrette and black truffle;

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  • patatas bravas;
  • free-range chicken roast croquettes.

For my main I decided to have a roasted monkfish with peas, squid and chicken juice. It was mouth watering!

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My husband had some succulent veal with potato parmentier and some seasonal mushrooms. His meal was simply amazing and he thought that it was the best veal he’s ever eaten which is a big statement to make as we eat out at least twice a week.

I love desserts and I was looking forward to trying some of Informal Restaurant’s roast apple dessert with puff pasty, pine nuts and lemon cream. It was delicious!

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My husband ordered some chocolate ice cream and gnache with olive oil and salt. It was a perfect combination of sweet and salty experiences in one dessert.

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Overall experience:
We both enjoyed our dinner at Informal Restaurant. Chef Marc Gascons offers its diners a great selection of some of the best best local food with a modern twist. Throughout our meal the service was friendly and attentive. They made us feel relaxed and welcomed. The restaurant is also very conveniently located so I would definitely visit it again next time I am in Barcelona.

Website:
For more information and to book visit:

https://hoteltheserrasbarcelona.com/en/informal.html

Address:

Carrer de la Plata, 4,

08002 Barcelona, Spain

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

Holiday destinations: Reading, UK

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I travel to Reading regularly on business so today I would like to tell you a bit more about this town.

Reading is a large town on the Thames and Kennet rivers located just 25 min away by fast train from London Paddington. It’s known for the annual Reading Festival and it’s shopping district at the town centre. There are also a few monuments and museums in there including the Reading Museum which contains exhibits on the town’s history and displays a Victorian replica of the Bayeux Tapestry.

Here is a short list of my suggestions of places worth visiting:

  1. Reading Museum:

reading museum     2. Basildon Park:

basildon-park-front-of     3. Reading Abbey:

Reading Abbey   4. Museum of Berkshire Aviation:

mus_new   5. Riverside Museum at Blake’s lock:

riverside museum

I hope you enjoyed reading this review.

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Pauline

Holiday Destinations: Bruges, Belgium

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A few weeks ago, I took my husband to Belgium for 4 days break to celebrate his birthday. During our stay we spend most of our time in Brussels but we also went on a day-trip to Bruges.

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Bruges is Belgium’s most perfectly preserved medieval town and its stunning architecture attracts over two million visitors every year. If you Belgian fries, waffles, seafood and beer then you should definitely make your way there.

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the northwest of the country. The historic city center is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO. The city’s total population is slightly over 120,000 of whom around 20,000 live in the city center.

There’s lots to see in this beautiful city often referred to as the Venice of the North.

Here is a short list of my suggestions:

  1. Belfry and Halle;
  2. Markt;
  3. Town Hall;
  4. Groeninge Museum;
  5. Church of our Lady.

I hope you enjoyed reading this review.

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Pauline

Holiday destinations: Singapore

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I have recently returned from my honeymoon and today I would like to tell you about the first destination I visited-Singapore.

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Singapore is the world’s only island city-state that is based one degree north of the equator, south of the southernmost tip of continental Asia and peninsular Malaysia, with Indonesia’s Riau Islands to the south. It is known as a global commerce, finance and transport hub.

What I found inspiring is that most Singaporeans are bilingual. There are four official languages on the island: Malay, Tamil, Mandarin and English.

We decided to see what the city has to offer by taking a bus tour and although, it is a nice, modern city it doesn’t have much heritage.

There were 100s of shopping malls so if you are planning to go on a shopping trip then you could add Singapore to your destination list. The prices of most items are higher than in UK though so change the exchange rate before you splash your cash 🙂

 

The highlight of my visit to Singapore was our visit to the Botanic Gardens. They were beautiful and I had an opportunity to walk in the rain-forest that is located in the middle of the city.

Top places that you should go to whilst in Singapore are:

  1. Botanic Gardens
  2. National Gallery
  3. Gardens by the Bay
  4. Singapore Zoo
  5. Little India

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I hope you enjoy reading this post!

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Pauline

Shopping in Queens Centre– the most diverse borough in NYC

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As some of you know I love shopping. I was in New York City over the Thanksgiving period and as a result I was able to do some Black Friday shopping. The options on where to shop whilst in New York are all but limitless. New York has some of the best department stores in the world, including Saks, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s and countless Fifth Avenue boutique shops. I was advised by my friend to go shopping in Queens Center and I really enjoyed it. I love shopping and for all the shopaholics among us, a destination filled with shops, boutiques as well as eateries to escape the busy hustle and bustle of shops sounds like the ideal day out. Well for me, it certainly was as I left my husband at the hotel after our breakfast and spent my day at Queens Centre. I ended up being there for 6 hours and came back with multiple shopping bags filled with goods from Kiko Milano, Gap and my beautiful new handbag and pouch from Armani Exchange in addition to some other bits and bobs. In addition, I also managed to collect almost 19,000 steps on my iWatch. Clearly shopping is not only good for your mind. I often go shopping to treat myself when I am stressed but what I also realized that it clearly made me more active on that day.

Stores: 

The Queens Centre has recently been renovated and offers its visitors an opportunity to shop in the modern, spacious surroundings. I discovered that Queens Center attracts nearly 27 million shoppers annually, compared to:
– 20 million visitors to Niagara Falls
– 17.4 million visitors to Disneyland
That is more than the combined, annual total number of visitors to: The Eiffel Tower (7 million) or The Statue of Liberty (4.2 million) so you should definitely check it out!

Everyone can find the brands they like in there ranging from a very popular JCPenney’s and Macy’s, Apple, A|X Armani Exchange, to all other known retailers such as TDisney Store, Hollister, MAC, Swarovski, Forever 21, H&M or Michael Kors. I went to many of these stores and managed to splash some cash on the goods from GAP, Kiko Milano, Armani Exchange as well as some small bits and bobs from the other brands. I was offered a first class suburban shopping experience in an urban environment.

If you feel you need a break from all the shopping, it makes sense to enjoy one of the eateries. In addition, you can also grab some chocolates from Godiva or a piece of cake from The Cheescake Factory to enjoy later.

Discounts: 

As I was in Queens Centre during the Black Friday the discounts were pretty hefty however if you decide to visit this great mall during other periods of the year then some special discounts are available to all out-of-town guests. When I went to the Concierge (that is located at the top floor of the mall) and provided her with my Business Card I received the Visitors Savings URL and the secret Password that gave me the access to the deals! You should definitely check it out!

Location & how to get there:

Queens Centre is located in the heart of Queens in Elmhurst in New York. Queens is a dynamic borough rich in Arts & Culture and can be described as the most diverse borough in New York City.  If you would like to experience live entertainment, music performances or art galleries then you should definitely add it to your travel itinerary whilst in NYC.

Queens Centre is easily accessible by public transport – I took a subway train to get there and it only took 35 min from Manhattan. It is well placed and a mass transit hub, at the intersections of Queens Boulevard, the Long Island Expressway and Woodhaven
Boulevard.

Opening hours :

These opening hours change during the special events like i.e. Black Friday when Queens Centre was open until 2a.m. but usually the Queens Centre is open until 10 p.m. at most days.

Address:

90-15 Queens Blvd

Elmhurst, NY 11373

Website: 

http://www.shopqueenscenter.com/

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Pauline

Dinner at The Artist Bistro in Porto, Portugal

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Last week, I was with my husband in Porto in Portugal. On our last evening, we booked a table at the popular local restaurant – The Artist Bistro. It was definitely the best meal we had whilst in Portugal.

Location:

The Artist Bistro is located inside The Artist Hotel. The hotel is based in a former art school and provides a contemporary and comfortable environment, inspiring and developing the skills of the current students of the Hotel and Tourism school who work there. It is just around a corner from a famous shopping street and commercial area of Rua de Santa Catarina. The metro closest station (Campo de Agosto) is just a few minutes away.

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Atmosphere:

The Artist Bistro is inspired by the artistic heritage of the building which has previously hosted an Art School. The decoration of the restaurant is classy and elegant.

All art visible in the restaurant is made up of pieces from previous students of the old school Soares dos Reis.

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The dinning experience at The Artist Bistro is designed to socialise with the art one can see, smell, taste and feel. The atmosphere of the restaurant is warm and inviting. We were welcomed by Katia who was attending our table through the night. She was really friendly and professional. Quiet jazz music was playing in the background…

The menu:

Do you like surprises and trying new things? If you are quite open to the new experiences and you like being surprised then you will love The Artist Bistro. The key aim of the Head Chef – Hugo Dias is to surprise his dinners with a unique experience of sampling some great locally sourced food.

You can now be surprised by selecting one of 3 sampling menus:

  • Myth 5 experiences
  • Musa 7 experiences
  • Bistro 9 experiences

What all of these menus have in common is that they change on a daily basis and they offer dinners a combination of unforgettable flavours. At the beginning of the meal, we were asked if we had any allergies and whether there were any ingredients we really didn’t like. Our waitress took notes and explained that every course we’ll  receive will be a surprise-we could only choose what type of main dish we wanted to receive (fish/ meat / vegetarian). The really unique think about this restaurant was that we didn’t know what we will have for any of the courses!

We decided to try a Musa – 7 course dinning experience. Each dish was beautifully presented and made from fresh seasonal foods.

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While sipping some crispy white wine, our first course arrived- oysters with some red onions.

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We finished them in no time and the waitress brought us some mouth-watering mushroom soup with some olive oil, croutons and chives. It was delicious.

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From the next course onward we were surprised with different dish each. We received ‘Samosas de Artist’. We decided to play a game and identify the ingredients of our samosas-a great way of having fun whilst enjoying your meal. My samosa was with goats cheese with pumpkin and my husband received a samosa with a chicken and chorizo filling.

Next, we received some vegetable brioche with some potatoes, carrots, peppers, balsamic vinegar, courgettes which were all baked with egg. It was really enjoyable.

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Moving on, I received caramelized scallops with a cauliflower mouse-they were divine.

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My husband, on the other hand, got an octopus with a lime foam with breadcrumbs and site salad. It crackled like a sea because of the foam popping up.

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Following on from our great seafood dishes, I received some green beans stew based on a traditional Portuguese sausage and bread in a rich tomatoes sauce.

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My husband got some pork belly, crackling with balsamic vinegar.

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Before our main dishes were served, our waitress brought us some lemon & vodka sorbet to clean the palette. It was really refreshing.

At the begging of our meal I decided to have a fish main and I received some beautifully cooked sea bass paired up with an appetizing vegetable puree.

My husband decided to have a meat main and he received some quail with roasted carrots, potatoes pure in a port sauce with some figs and rosemary. It was the best quail he has ever eaten-extremely tender and cooked to perfection.

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If you read my reviews regularly then you will know that a dessert is always my favorite part of any meal. I received a delectable chocolate brownie with large pieces of nuts and some vanilla ice-cream.

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To finish off his meal my husband received a pear that was boiled in port and paired up with some raspberry ice-creams.

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Overall experience:

We both had an amazing time at The Artist Bistro. As I like surprises and trying new food, I was delighted with the concept of discovery. The restaurant serves delicious food with a twist. In addition to food, the service was great and the restaurant is conveniently located so I would definitely visit it again.

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Website:

For more information and to book visit:

http://www.shotels.pt/restaurantetheartistbistrot/en/home

Address:

 Rua da Firmeza 49,

4000-099 Porto, Portugal

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

 

De Vere Wokefield Estate, UK

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I travel on business a lot and a couple of weeks ago, I stayed at De Vere Wokefield Estate.

Location:

De Vere Wokefield Estate is located 25 minutes drive from the Reading train station or 40 minutes drive from Heathrow Airport. It is set inside of a golf course in 250 acres of Berkshire parkland.

DE VERE WOKEFIELD ESTATE entrance

Facilities:

De Vere Wokefield Estate has a 24-hours reception and a Business Centre.

DE VERE WOKEFIELD ESTATE reception

Wi-Fi is available at no extra charge. The hotel caters for both business and personal events from weddings to meetings and team-building exercises. The hotel has a restaurant, bar and a room service.

The restaurant serves a nice selection of buffet items for breakfast and dinner. The bar offers a nice selection of gourmet food but I wouldn’t advise to eat in there. Firstly, the service was extremely slow-I was waiting for my steak for 2 hours… Secondly, I was disappointed with the bar staff as they should have at least warned me and my colleague about the waiting time before we ordered. Food was reasonably priced but my steak was really solid and I ended up only having half of it.

In addition, if you like playing golf then De Vere Wokefield Estate is surrounded by an 18-hole championship golf course with 9 lakes. You can also buy some professional golf merchandise on-site.

Room:

De Vere Wokefield Estate offers rooms in either the sleek Executive Centre or in the elegant Mansion House. I stayed at the Executive Centre. My room had a  modern, stylish decor. My king-size bed was comfortable and room also had a study desk and a large TV.

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The bathroom had a simple décor – bath, shower, hairdryer and toiletries were available.

Overall:

De Vere Wokefield Estate is a great place to unwind after a day of work or during the weekend. If you travel to Reading on business then I would definitely recommend it as it is much nicer then most hotels based in the city centre. 

Address:

Goodboys Lane, Reading
RG7 3AE

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Bristol, UK

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Last month, my mum came to stay with me for a few days and we decided to go to Bristol for a couple of days. We stayed at Hilton Garden Inn Bristol City Centre.

Location:

Hilton Garden Inn Bristol hotel is located 15 minutes walk from the Bristol train station in a quiet business area. In addition, it is only 5 minutes from Temple Meads Station and 10-minutes train ride from Bath Spa. The shopping centre is located barely 5 min away so if you are planning a bit of retail therapy then look no further. 

Facilities:

Hilton Garden Inn Hotel has a 24-hours reception, baggage storage room, restaurant and a room service. Wi-Fi is available at no extra charge. The fitness center is open 24 hours a day. The Races reception serves a nice breakfast to start your day with. During the evening you can choose from a range of International and British dishes but I wasn’t impressed with their quality.

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The hotel has 2 meeting rooms that can host a conference or private event for up to 60 guests and if you wish to make your stay extra special then you can request to stay in one of the rooms with a picturesque view of Temple Gardens.

Room:

We stayed in a Queen Guest Room had a nice, contemporary décor.

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Our room had a mini-fridge, work desk and a chair. I addition, there was a large 32-inch LCD TV. The bed which was comfortable and easy to fell asleep in.

The bathroom was small and had some basic toiletries were provided.

Overall:

Hilton Garden Inn Bristol hotel has simple yet comfortable facilities in addition to great location. I would recommend it to anyone who travels to Bristol on business or for pleasure.

Address:

Temple Way, Bristol, BS1 6BF, United Kingdom

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

Mangia DC Italian Food Tour – Dupont Circle

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As some of you probably remember, I was in Washington a few weeks ago. As I am a massive foodie, on one of the evenings I decided to go for a foodie Italian walking tour.

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The tour was organised by Mangia DC.  “Mangia” is Italian for “Eat! Enjoy!” Mangia DC motto is to help locals and tourists alike enjoy Washington D.C. and show them all it has to offer.

The food tour takes place around the Dupont Circle neighborhood which is around 15 minutes walk from the White House. I was welcomed by a friendly and knowledgeable guide who introduced me to the other tour attendees. He described our tour as an informal historic sightseeing tour—with the added bonus of stops in some local Italian restaurants for tastings.

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Our tour started at the ‘Darlington House’.

The staff in this establishment were extremely friendly. Charlie-the Chef and Ernesto-the Manager welcomed us and served us a traditional tomato and mozzarella starter and a delicious mushroom risotto.

I really enjoyed them and would definitely return to this restaurant when I am back in Washington D.C.

Secondly, we walked to ‘Tomate’.

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We sat down and tasted some duck ragu. It was nice but as I don’t really eat pasta it wouldn’t be my normal choice of main.

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After our main we walked around the Dupont Circle and learned about the history of this area. It was fascinating to listen to our guide and I really enjoyed wandering down picturesque streets of this area.

Lastly, we went to Pasha for a dessert and after having some traditional Cannoli the tour ended.

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Final thoughts:

Mangia DC walking food tour will take you on a unique, interactive journey of the Italian wines and foods. I had an unforgettable evening with a progressive dinner at 3 different establishments and I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to discover Washington whilst at the same time having some great Italian food. The tour costs $65 and is definitely worth it.

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Pauline