Kitchen of Nutrition: travel

City Break: Barcelona, the Cosmopolitan Capital of Catalonia

July 10, 2017

Barcelona has turned out to be my number one favourite city in the world. After being home from Tenerife for just 6 days, I was so ready for some more sun and Vitamin D. I had a day trip to Barcelona when I was younger whilst holidaying in the South of France with my family. Ever since, I have always wanted to return and fully explore the city. Although I explored the city, I couldn’t possibly see it all in 4 days. I didn't appreciate how vast Barcelona truly was until I was actually there!

2017

My Bucketlist 2017

January 14, 2017

2017 is the year I want to try oodles of new things with my key goals listed below!

1. Visit a country I have never been to before. The Maldives would be my perfect place.

2. Visit a city in England that I have never travelled to before. Definitely somewhere in Southern England as I have explored most of the major cities in Northern England.

3. Travel to a new continent. I have never been out of Europe!

4. Learn to drive. I am 22 years old and have never had a driving lesson!

5. Delve into a new subject matter that I don't know much about. Maybe some sort of historic event?

6. Do something for charity. I am currently considering doing the Great North Run this year to raise and donate lots of money.

7. Get a dog. I have wanted a dog for such a long time and this year will be the perfect time to welcome a doggy companion into our home.

What's on your bucketlist for this year? Let me know in the comments below!

Best of wishes.

2016

Hello 2017

January 01, 2017

What a year 2016 has been. I went skiing in Austria, sunbathing in Greece, visited London just before Christmas, got a full time job, I graduated and me and my boyfriend officially moved into our own house. 2016 has been a fab year but I think 2017 is going to be even better and to make next year even better than the last one, I have a number of New Year resolutions.

2017, new year, diet, exercise, goals, resolutions

Exercise. Me and my boyfriend have our own gym in the house so there is no excuse for me to not exercise. We have dumbbells, kettlebells, a squat rack, Olympic bar, EZ bar and dip station - all I could ever want. Up until May, I worked out religiously for a good year but final year exams came for my degree and I stopped going to the gym. Ever since, I just haven't been able to get back into it even though I have tried on numerous occasions. January is where this will change and I cannot wait to feel fit and healthy again whilst toning up which is my aim!

Diet. My diet has been seriously bad over these last few months. Takeaways, chocolate, cake, you name it, I've eaten it and probably lots of it. I am really sick of lacking in energy so some energy rich, clean food packed full of vitamins and minerals rather than sugar and fat is needed. Roll on January!

Travel. We didn't do too bad in regards to travel to say me and my boyfriend now both work full time and I was a university student up until May but this year I want to travel even more. Even if it just means visiting places in England I have never travelled to. I have never left Europe and this is a major goal for this year!

Life. I love sleep like seriously love it but you don't accomplish anything by sleeping apart from overcoming tiredness. I need to start getting up earlier, getting out of the house and seeing the world and adventuring rather than just sleeping in bed.

Water. I do not drink enough water. 8 glasses a day in reality is not much and with my love for tea and coffee, it should be really easy for me to drink at least 8 glasses.

Family. I visited home a mere 3 times this year which is shocking. I am going to aim to travel home more often next year so I can see my family and spend as much quality time as possible with them. After all, it does only take 2 hours on a train.

What are your goals for 2017? Let me know in the comments below.

Best wishes.

Big Ben

London Trip

December 09, 2016

Last Sunday I turned the ripe old age of 22. Old I know. I can't stop singing Taylor Swift's '22' in my head. For my birthday, my boyfriend took me on a two day trip to London. I was so excited as I had only been to London once to look around art galleries whilst I was studying my A levels. I've never had the chance to be one of those annoying tourists who wants to do anything and everything whilst in London.

We got the train from Newcastle at midday. Our train was of course cancelled (no surprise there), so we had to hop on another one but luckily trains to King's Cross are pretty often although it did mean standing up for an hour on the train due to the lack of seats. What a great start to the journey but things could only go up from here!

We got into London just before 4pm and somehow managed to figure out the tube to get to our hotel which was in Kensington (posh I know, perhaps too posh for me). Our hotel was just a standard hotel, all we wanted was a shower to wash in and a bed to sleep in and this hotel was in the perfect location at just a 5 minute walk to Earl's Court tube station. I wish the tube existed up here in Newcastle, I could not believe how fast you could travel from one location to another.

After settling in, we got the tube to Oxford Circus which literally took 10 minutes. It was around 6pm at this time which of course is rush hour and wow both the tube and Oxford Street were packed! After figuring out our way onto Oxford Street, we met my boyfriend's brother who took us for food and mojitos at a burrito bar situated on a side street just off Oxford Street. Damn they were some good mojitos!

After catching up on a long 9 months of not seeing his brother, we decided to head off to Hyde Park where Winter Wonderland was. I had heard about it but I didn't know too much about it and I am so glad we went. It was spectacular. It was full of people of all ages and had something for everyone to do. We grabbed ourselves a hot chocolate which was one of the best hot chocolates I have ever had.

There was too much to take in and it was closing in an hour so we just had a slow wander around to take in the whole atmosphere including the smells and sights. It really was the scent of Christmas. We immediately made the decision to come back tomorrow at an earlier time so we had more time to browse. We then stumbled across a bratwurst stall where my boyfriend and his brother grabbed themselves one. How they were hungry after those burritos I do not know! But they did look and smell amazing!

10pm came and we decided to head back to the hotel and depart ways with his brother as we were so tired from travelling. In addition, we had a busy day planned for the next day so an early night was definitely on the cards.

The next day we were up, checked out of the hotel and at Waterloo tube station for quarter past 10. That is early for us. My boyfriend had organised tickets for us to go on the London Eye, visit Sea Life and take a trip to Madame Tussaud's. Whilst collecting the tickets, we had a glimpse of Big Ben, Westminster and the London Eye in daylight knowing that we were going to come back later once it was dark to go on the London Eye.

We first visited Sea Life where we saw an array of fish, sharks and jellyfish. I always get amazed at what can actually be found in the ocean and how magical and totally different ocean life is compared to life on land.

We then got the tube to Madame Tussaud's which was fantastic. Some of the models were unbelievably lifelike, some not so much. I'll let you decide on that! Johnny Depp was the most realistic look-a-like in my eyes.

We then headed to the London Eye which we had timed perfectly to get on just as it started to go dark. The views of surrounding London were unbelievable and I would go on it again in a heartbeat. Big Ben, The Shard and Westminster were all lit up and it was so mesmerising. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

We then had a walk past Big Ben and Westminster to Hyde Park where we again visited Winter Wonderland. We had a couple of hours here before having to get the train back to Newcastle. This time me and my boyfriend both had a bratwurst from the Bavarian village which was unreal. Yummy food along with the whole atmosphere and live entertainment was such a fun experience. I then had a mulled wine and my boyfriend had a hot apple cider. Both were scrummy. And to finish it off, we had some churros which were dripping in melted chocolate. They were divine and I wished there were more! After looking around, we noticed an ice skating rink which we were far too full to do so ended up looking at all the theme park attractions and the Christmas stalls.

Unfortunately, 8pm came and it was time to get the tube back to King's Cross. Winter Wonderland truly is wonderful and I would urge anyone to go if you get the chance, I will certainly be going back next year!

9pm and the train arrived to take us home which took 3 and a half hours. This time the train wasn't cancelled which meant we sat down for the whole journey which was a good job! we had been on our feet for 11 hours with heavy rucksacks and boy we were tired. We slept the whole train ride home!

London at Christmas time was unreal and I would recommend you visit there. I think it might turn into a yearly thing with me and my boyfriend because we both loved it so much. It was the perfect birthday treat.

Have you been to London at Christmas time? If so, what would you recommend to do in London at Christmas if I visit again next year? Let me know in the comments below.

Best of wishes.

Durham

A Trip to Durham

September 11, 2016

I have lived in Newcastle for three amazing years and with Durham just on it's doorstep, I cannot believe that I had never actually visited this visually beautiful place until a few days ago.

After hearing about Durham from numerous acquaintances and seeing stunning photographs of the architecture and city, I finally persuaded my boyfriend, Matt, to take the speedy train ride with me. With just a fifteen minute train ride from Newcastle Central Station to Durham city centre, it is a quicker journey than my usual half an hour bus journey into work and I was not disappointed at what I saw.

Full of cobbled streets, boutiques, galleries, country pubs, cafes and restaurants, we were soaked to the core from the heavy downpour of rain we had just been caught in but that did not matter anymore! I could not believe how different Durham is to Newcastle although a mere 20 miles separates these two north-eastern cities.

A visit to Durham Cathedral made me feel like an extra in Harry Potter as a few scenes were filmed in this very cathedral; all I needed was a robe and a wand. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the cathedral but this allowed me to fully take in the mesmerising detail and intricacy of the architecture. I did however take advantage of being able to take photographs of the external architecture of the cathedral. Built between 1093 and 1133, this religious and holy place has the shrine of St Cuthbert, a saint of the early Northumbrian church. An ornate and beautifully decorated shrine, visitors are welcome to congregate and pray here with the cathedral remaining a place of worship and pilgrimage.

The clouds slowly started to break up and the glorious sun and blue sky became visible for the remainder of the day casting down interestingly shaped shadows from the tall buildings. A large number of modern and mainstream shops situated in old buildings make up the main streets of the city. Small doorways and creaky, winding staircases of the shops make them quirky and give a sense of being in the past. I would highly recommend visiting the upstairs area of the Jack Wills shop where you will no longer feel like you are in a shop but more like a royal person's house.

The River Wear flows though Durham where we had a little walk down by the riverbank where we were again met with picturesque views. Durham really is beautiful.

After exploring the streets of this city, we had time for a quick bite to eat in an Italian restaurant where we had a view of the river. The sun was beating down, the smell of Italian food was lingering and Italian music was playing softly in the background; I felt like I could have been in Italy! We really wanted to hire a rowing boat out to have a row down the river, have a visit to the castle and the University but unfortunately we did not have the time so this is a must for the next time we visit!