30 countries in 30 years – Is it a pipe-dream with COVID-19?

One of the reasons I started this blog back in 2017 was to document all the paces I’ve traveled. Even if no one ever read the blog – it would be a place for me to remember where I’ve visited. I had a secret goal of reaching 30 countries before the age of 30. By the age of 26 I’d visited 19 countries – and I felt like it was an obtainable goal. Nothing too crazy – 11 countries in 4 years, 2.75 countries per year, that was doable, right? But then COVID-19 entered our lives. An unknown, deadly coronavirus with no vaccine and no cure. Quarantine, Lockdown, social distancing and closed borders became our reality and the idea of 30 countries before the age of 30 seemed more impossible as each day went by.

At the time of writing this we are almost 9 weeks into lockdown (8 weeks & 4 days to be exact, but who’s counting?). The government imposed the lockdown on the evening of the 23rd March and my initial response was to cry, which is odd considering I’m one of the most introverted introverts you will ever come across. The reality was that my life really wasn’t going to change very much at all. I could work from home, workout from home, video call friends and family, and I did a lot of that in pre-COVID-19 times anyway. But it did mean one thing for sure – I wasn’t going to be going on a holiday anytime soon. The reality of the situation was that we couldn’t travel even before lockdown. I was due to fly to Denmark on the 12th of April but Denmark closed its borders to non-Danish citizens on the 13th of March. But lockdown made the no travel reality feel a bit more real. All my 2020 travel plans have pretty much disintegrated before my eyes. Denmark, our Washington D.C, Boston and Philadelphia trip in May and a family holiday to the South of France in August – all gone in the blink of an eye.

So, what does all of this mean for me and the travel and tourism industry? And, how long will it be before we can travel again? At the moment British nationals are not allowed on non-essential foreign travel. It’s unlikely that I will be able to go on a foreign holiday this year, with the UK planning to impose a 14-day quarantine period for UK nationals returning home from other counties. There are some suggestions of “air-bridges” to and from countries with low infection rates that would allow British nationals to be exempt from quarantine but this largely all depends on how the virus behaves over the next few months – and this is a big unknown. It will also depend on what other counties are doing, and how their restrictions ease over time.

Even if we do get to travel – will it really be enjoyable? There will likely be controlled access to tourist attractions, hotels and restaurants. We will have to wear face coverings and follow social distancing rules. I’m thinking that I may have to revise my travel goal slightly? And I think I’m okay with that. What about you? Are you still planning to travel in 2020?

So, what countries have I been to?

1. Bulgaria
2. Cape Verde
3. Cyprus
4. France
5. Germany
6. Guernsey
7. Iceland
8. Ireland
9.  Italy
10. Jersey
11. Kenya
12. Mexico
13. Qatar
14. Romania
15. Spain
16. Thailand
17. United States of America
18. Vietnam
19. The United Kingdom (obviously, as this is where I live)

Where would I like to travel after Coronavirus?

1. Denmark
2. Sweden
3. Norway
4. Portugal
5. Poland
6. South Africa
7. Morocco
8. Russia
9. Prague
10. Canada
11. Croatia
12. Greece

❤

A Long Weekend In Berlin ❤

This year we started December off with a little mini break to Berlin. Oddly, Berlin has never been top of my destination wish list but Scott was really keen to see the Christmas markets. I was keen to make the most of the three days we had in the city so I created a little itinerary for us which included all of Berlin's best bits. Here is what we got up to...

CHECKPOINT CHARLIE

Checkpoint Charlie is a replica of the former cold war checkpoint between East & West Berlin. There is also an open air museum close by where you can learn a bit about the history of the wall.

THE REICHSTAG BUILDING

A beautifully designed building that was reconstructed after the German reunification in 1990. The glass dome symbioses a transparency in government processes for the German people. 

 MEMORIAL TO THE MURDERED JEWS OF EUROPE

The maze of 2,711 concrete blocks is a harrowing and moving monument to the Jewish victims of the holocaust.  You can walk through the blocks and visit the underground museum where 3 million names of Jewish victims are recorded.

CHRISTMAS MARKETS AT POTSDAMER PLATZ AND ROTEN RATHAUS 

The Berlin Christmas markets are truly spectacular. I truly recommend getting yourself some Gluhwein and delicious currywurst before strolling around all the stalls.  I really enjoyed stalls of blown glass Christmas tree ornaments. There is a German tradition of hiding a pickle shaped Christmas bauble (yep, you read that correctly. A pickle!). Once the tree is decorated, the first child to find the pickle gets an extra little gift from St Nicholas. So of course, I picked one up for when I have my own children.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading about some of Berlin's famous landmarks.

❤

Our Honeymoon ❤

When we planned our honeymoon back in 2017, we chose Sri Lanka as our destination. However, fate intervened when a week before we were due to set off, suicide bombers attacked a number of hotels and churches across Sri Lanka killing hundreds of innocent people. This threw our plans into chaos due to the UK government advising essential travel only.

Full of anxiety and upset we desperately called our travel agents who completely reassured us and put our minds at ease. Less than 48 hours after that initial phone call we were in the Trailfinders office designing a brand-new honeymoon. ❤

Thanks to Trailfinders we were able to Fly on Saturday 27^th April as planned with our main destination being Vietnam.

Doha, Qatar – Saturday 27^th April - Tuesday 30^th April

We planned a short stop over in Qatar as my brother and his wife  live there and it gave us the perfect opportunity to visit them. We arrived at around midnight on the Saturday, so after a short drive across the city we went straight to bed. We spent the morning in their apartment sleeping off our jet lag before heading out to Almayass for some delicious Arabic food! I also tried Limonana, a classic mint lemonade which is a favourite in the Middle East (and a new favourite of mine!)

After our lunch I treated myself to a mani-pedi at BD Nails to ensure I was flip-flop ready! We also took a walk along Iusail marina, marveling some of the city’s iconic architecture before driving to the Museum of Islamic Art for some great Dhow Harbor photos! For dinner that evening we went to Belgian Bar at the InterContinental Doha. The warm Doha air meant that we could enjoy our dinner outside on the terrace whilst admiring the city skyline. 

For our last day in Doha, we spent our morning at the pool outside my brother’s apartment before heading to Galleries Lafayette for a look around the luxury mall and eating lunch at Joe’s café. We also visited the Amphitheatre in the Cultural Village, a beautiful modern landmark. We spent our evening at the iconic Souq Waqif with all its bustle and atmosphere before heading to the airport to catch our flight to Hanoi.

Hanoi, Vietnam– Tuesday 30^th April - Friday 3^rd May

We arrived into Hanoi at around 3pm. Thankfully the drive to the hotel (Hilton Hanoi Opera) was only a 40min taxi journey as we were both fairly exhausted. Dinner that night was at a Vietnamese restaurant called Nha Hang Ngon – where I tried the famous Pho noodle soup. This was a nice restaurant for our first night the only issue was the long wait to be served.

We spent my birthday (1^st May) doing a tour of Hanoi with a local guide. This gave us a whistle stop tour of Hanoi’s highlights including the Temple of Literature, the one pillar pagoda, Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and Hoa Lo Prison Memorial. We ended our tour with a walk around the atmospheric old quarter before stopping off at a theater to see a traditional water puppet show.

Our last day in Hanoi was spent doing a cycle tour along the banks of the red river. This gave us a chance to see some of the surrounding countryside including ancient pagodas, quaint villages and lively markets. I did unfortunately fall off at one point (cycling clearly isn’t my forte) but overall it was a good way to see a different side Vietnam!

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam– Friday 3^rd May - Monday 6^th May

In Ho Chi Minh we stayed at the InterContinental hotel which was located right in the city center and had excellent cityscape views! We kicked off our time in the city in style with an evening street food tour on a vintage vespa. This was my favourite tour and it really made me fall in love with Vietnamese cuisine. Our first stop was a rooftop bar followed by several paveway eateries, all just as fantastic as each other and offering authentic street food. I loved the fresh spring rolls and banh xeo (happy pancakes!). We ended the tour in a hidden café listening to live acoustic music and drinking iced coffee (or eating ice cream in Scott’s case).

We were up bright and early the next day for a tour of the Mekong Delta. Here we boarded a private boat with a small group of fellow tourists to visit the bustling port of My Tho. Along the way we stopped by numerous farms and gardens to taste local produce, before going to a coconut candy factory to see how the locals make it. We also took a small drive in a Xe Loi (Vietnamese Tuk-Tuk) to visit a bee farm before boarding a row boat back to our main boat. We were able to take advantage of the Hard Rock Café situated next door to our hotel that evening for dinner. Collecting a Ho Chi Minh City Hurricane glass for good measure!

Day three involved a drive through the countryside to the incredible Cu Chi Tunnels, constructed by the Viet Cong. I was amazed and saddened by history of the tunnels and the way the Viet Cong survived in the tunnel network – this is a must see if you ever visit Vietnam.

We returned back to city for lunch stopping by Hoa Tuc for a bite to eat before getting a tour around the city’s main sights including the reunification palace, the colonial style post office and the colourful Ben Than Market.  We stayed close by our hotel of dinner that night choosing to eat at the Propaganda Bistro which was just a few blocks from our hotel.

Phu Quoc, Vietnam– Monday 6^th May - Friday 10^th May

We stayed in La Veranda Resort in Phu Quoc. A 5 * resort which has a beautiful 1920s French colonial style mansion as its centerpiece. Here we were transported to a different world for a few days as Phu Quoc is largely untouched and has been out of influence for most of its modern history.

Our room overlooked stunning gardens and we ate breakfast each morning with a view of a white sand beach. Here we were able to relax and unwind, enjoying a slower and simpler pace. Most days we lazed about by the pool, enjoying cocktails and seeing what restaurants were close by. Two of our favourites actually weren’t Vietnamese restaurants! If your ever in the area I’d highly suggest visiting Winston’s Burgers & Beer and Sher-e-Punjab Indian Cuisine.  

Bangkok, Thailand – Friday 10th May – Sunday 12th May

We were lucky enough to be upgraded to a suite when we arrived at the Anantara Riverside hotel in Bangkok (defiantly played the honeymoon card!). It was a great hotel with a fabulous location on the Chaophraya river which is the major river that runs through the city. We spent the only full day we had in Bangkok doing a city tour to get a taste of the city and what it had to offer.

We caught a river boat from our hotel to the atmospheric old quarter where we could marvel at the glittering Grand Palace before taking a tuk-tuk to Wat Pho to see its famous reclining Buddha. We finished the tour with a visit to the impressive Golden Mount where we could take in some views of the city!

Where we ate in Bangkok:

Basil Thai

La Scarpetta

The Pizza Company

❤

Our Wedding!

After a lengthy 2-year engagement (or at least I thought it was lengthy!) we finally tied the knot last Friday!! The day was truly perfect and everything came together beautifully, just as I imagined it. I was very relaxed right up until it was time to walk down the aisle – then all the emotions took over! Despite this, I wish I could relive the moment over and over. I am so grateful to everyone (suppliers and family alike) who helped me make the day so magical. Photography credit to our amazing photographer Martin Ward. 📸

Wedding Details:

Piper- Jimmy Banks
Ceremony Location – The Long Gallery @ Balbirnie House
Chairs – Balbirnie’s Limewash Chiavari Chairs decorated with pink sashes supplied by Style A Chair 
Drinks reception drink - Bellini
Photographer- Martin Ward
Cake – Fantastic wedding cake supplied by Cherry on Top
Evening Entertainment – “ NOTHERN STAR “
Bridal Make-up- and Bridal Hair- Pouts and Pinups
Favours – Personalised Shortbread
Flowers- mixed cream roses and cream blooms, blush pink avalanche roses, florets of blue hydrangea, white bouvardia & gypsophilia filler
Florist- Green Room florists
Sweetie Buffet- Supplied by Bride and Groom
Post Box- Balbirnie’s vintage post box

xx

When In Rome...

Last year myself and my fiancé Scott headed off on a 4-day trip to Rome. We had never been to Italy before and it had long been on my bucket list of countries to visit!  We were also there over my birthday which made the trip extra special!

I wanted to share some photos and helpful travel hints as well as our hotel, restaurants we visited and what we got up to. So, let’s start with day 1…

Day 1: Arriving in Rome

We caught a direct, 3-hour flight from Edinburgh to Ciampino airport in Rome and arrived into the city at 10.30am. We had decided before we left the UK that we would take a cab to our hotel as we knew that there was a fixed fee of 30 euros imposed on cab companies for airport runs into the centre of Rome. Just a word of warning here, some cab drivers are trying to negotiate higher fares (a bit cartel style) with tourists – but if you know your hotel is in the centre of Rome – an area known as the Aurelian walls please stick to your guns! We did have one taxi driver trying to charge us €50 before a second driver agreed to take us for the fixed fee of €30. Also, you are not expected to tip in Rome so unless your taxi driver has done something exceptional – keep your cash.

We were staying at the Tribune Hotel, a beautiful hotel in the historical centre of Rome. Let me start off by saying that I am in no way sponsored by the Tribune Hotel (God I wish!!). It’s just a hotel that I bloody loved! The hotel was so modern and beautifully styled with mustard gold velvet seats and deep purple walls, high ceilings and a grand staircase that sported some very elegant tubular ceiling lights.  One of the best features of this hotel was a complimentary smart phone that comes with every room. This wasn’t so appealing to us as coming from another EU country (although not for long ☹) as we could use our own phones for 3G free of charge. However, this would be very useful for anyone coming from outside the EU as it comes preprogramed with maps and restaurant recommendations etc.

We used the phone given to us to find a restaurant for lunch. We went to a place called Harry’s which was very nice although it was a little on the pricey side – perhaps just the area as it was just around the corner from some very nice hotels.

After lunch we headed off to the Spanish steps and the Trevi fountain two very popular tourist sites. Luckily for us we had very nice weather and we could sit, people watch and enjoy the views around us.

For dinner that night we headed to Pizzaria da baffeto – a pizzeria close to Piazza Navona. This pizzeria is very popular with tourists and locals alike (even a few celebrities such as actor Jeff Goldblum). The pizzas are very cheap and very good (two things that aren’t often associated together) but trust me they are good – thin, crispy and traditional, just the way they should be! The only thing I would say is that it has a very simple, convivial style where you could be sharing a table with strangers. So, if that’s not your thing you might feel uncomfortable.

Day 2   - My Birthday!

Whist we didn’t go away specifically for my birthday it was very nice to be on holiday and enjoy turning 25 in a beautiful city. I chose to go to the Colosseum for my birthday - and it did not disappoint. I was blown away by the history and grandeur of the Colosseum and really enjoyed learning some fascinating facts. For example, did you know that the Colosseum was once filled with water to stage a mock see battle for spectators? Nope, me either!

For lunch we stumbled across a café called Antico Forno Al Serpenti. It was perfect for a quick snack as there was a little seating area and it felt very local rather than being swamped by tourists. It was also very reasonably priced - which is a nice little bonus.

For dinner we went to Cul De Sac - a wine bar and restaurant close to Piazza Navona. This was one of my favourite restaurants of the trip. I had a pesto pasta and the best wine I’ve ever drank in my entire life – but I can’t remember what the wine was called! I’m sure all their wine is delicious…

 Day 3 – Vatican City

On day three we took a cab over to the Vatican City. Unfortunately, this was on a Wednesday in high season and apparently this is one of the worst times you can visit as it is so busy! The Papal audience occurs on Wednesdays, giving tourists and pilgrims a chance to see the Pope. We didn’t know this – and experienced crowds like we have never experienced crowds before. However, it was a good trip and is a must see if visiting Rome. Just avoid a Wednesday (or Sunday – another chance to see the Pope) if you can – unless you specifically want to see the Pope that is.

For lunch we visited Alice Pizza – a little street pizza café in Rome where pizza is served by the kilo and cut into rectangular slices. It was DELICIOUS!

 Dinner was spent at Osteria Barberini – not too far from our hotel. This restaurant specializes in truffles and OMG is it incredible. I had black ruffle bruschetta as a starter and the ravioli with sage butter as a main – it was heavenly. If you decide to go here, you will have to book as its very popular with locals and tourists alike.

Day 4 - Last Minute Shopping / Time to Fly Home

Day 4 left us with just a little time to pick up a few souvenirs and goodies before flying back home including this cute little decoration for our Christmas tree so we could treasure our trip for years to come. 

Thanks for reading!

M x

❤

13 Reasons Why – Netflix’s Newest Mystery Series with a Twist

I have a lot of admiration for 13 Reasons why, Netflix’s recent adaptation of Jay Asher’s bestselling novel. I finished watching the series yesterday and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. Any story that can capture an audience whilst bringing hard issues such as bullying and suicide to light deserves a lot of praise in my book! For those of you haven’t read the book or watched the series, the basic plot follows Hannah Baker, a 17 year old high school student who makes the tragic decision to end her own life. Hannah leaves behind 13 tapes outlining 13 reasons why she decided suicide was her only option. The series was a tough watch and I experienced a roller coaster of emotions whilst watching it. However, I believe the series impacted me in a positive way.

 I think one of the main reasons why I was utterly gripped by this series was because the characters are so relatable. Hannah Baker is a very normal teenager - as are the other characters featured in the 13 episodes. I think, regardless of who you are or your background – you will relate to at least one of the characters at some point. 

 The series also deals with a lot of difficult themes, which we are perhaps not always used to seeing on screen. As well as suicide and bulling we also see themes of rape, drug abuse, peer pressure and homosexuality. These themes grip the audience and make Hannah’s story feel very real. 

After watching I was reminded how important it is to show kindness to others. It seems so simple but I think it’s something we can often forget. We can get so caught up in our own lives and issues that we can forget to look out for others. I think Netflix have done a very good job of highlighting metal health issues among adolescents through the series. Do you agree? I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments.

The Loveliest Surprise

I am currently writing this post with the biggest smile on my face because, as of yesterday, I am engaged! It still hasn’t completely sunk in yet, but I have been on a high all weekend and I could not be happier. It started off just like any other rainy/miserable Saturday. It was half snowing, half raining, yet Scott insisted on trekking up East Lomond  (a hill in Fife, Scotland). I did think this was incredibly bizarre considering the murky weather but, he kept going on about wanting to be healthy and get fit so I went along with it, none the wiser.

Disaster did strike half way up the road leading to the visitor car park. Snow on the road meant my little 1.2 Corsa wasn’t having it and refused to drive, getting stuck on a windy dirt track road. I started to panic (anyone who knows me, knows driving is not my forte!) and had to get Scott to reverse back down the hill for me. I was still none the wiser when Scott suggested we walk round a local loch instead. So off I drove, still slightly confused at this sudden desire to go out walking despite our earlier hiccup!

By the time we got to the loch the rain had subsided so it was just the cold we had to contend with as we made our way round the foggy loch. On the way back to the car Scott asked if I could take his photo. This did confuse the hell out of me because there was nothing to really take a photo of as it was so dark and misty. Puzzled, I pulled my phone out and clicked the camera icon but as I looked up I noticed he had his back to me. ‘What?! You want me to take a photo of your back?’ I exclaimed. I was utterly confused. It was at this point he turned around and produced the most beautiful ring.

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been so shocked. I’m sure I looked ridiculous as I’m pretty sure my jaw was on the floor. He even got down on one knee. And so, I’ve been in a complete state of bliss ever since…who knew he could be so romantic?

Apologies in advance for the wedding/house posts that will no doubt dominate the blog over the next little while as I start to plan. Hopefully you will enjoy reading these. Of course I will still post about beauty, travel, lifestyle etc.