Eating and drinking in Bruges

Eating and drinking in Bruges

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Say Belgium and the following culinary delights come to mind: chocolate, waffles, fries and of course beer. And if you want to indulge in any of these, Bruges will not disappoint. Here’s our experience of eating and drinking in Bruges: 1) Delicious veggie (yes veggie) friendly restaurant Reliva As a vegetarian who loves food, I often get disappointed with the opportunities for eating new and interesting food when we are travelling. I wanted to make sure that I had at…

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In Bruges

In Bruges

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I’m not quite sure how we started it, but James and I alternate organising Valentine’s Day and this year it was my turn.Feeling generous (and wanting a weekend away myself!), I went big this year and organised a surprise mini-break to Bruges. Hopefully, this has set me up well for next year … ? Watch this space. I’d had to tell James we were going away, as I’d booked an afternoon Eurostar and so he needed to get the afternoon…

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Five fun facts about Bruges

Five fun facts about Bruges

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We very much enjoyed our weekend away in Bruges. While we were there we learnt some interesting things about the city and its inhabitants – both historical facts and more recent curious developments.Which of the below did you know? Do you have any more surprising Bruges facts to share? Please include them in the comments below!1) Underground beerBelgium is well known worldwide for its beer, but a brewery in Bruges has the most unique way of transporting the brown stuff. De…

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Photo Friday: The Boston Beggar

Photo Friday: The Boston Beggar

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During our recent visit to Boston, we were impressed by the enterprising spirit of this man, who we saw begging outside the Old State House, the oldest surviving public building in Boston. The Old State House was built to house the colony’s government in 1713. In 1776, it was from the balcony of the building that the Declaration of Independence was first read to the people of Boston.  Old State House As such, pretty much every visitor to Boston will…

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Tanzania: On the search for the ‘BIG FIVE’

Tanzania: On the search for the ‘BIG FIVE’

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A safari in Africa usually includes an attempt to spot the “Big Five”. This includes seeing an African lion, an African elephant, a rhinoceros, a leopard and … a Cape buffalo.  ‘Wait!’ I hear you cry. ‘A buffalo? Not a cheetah or a hippo? Or even a giraffe?’Nope. The fifth animal that you must see on safari in Africa is definitely the Cape buffalo. I did not make this up.  Why a buffalo?The term ‘Big Five’ was actually coined by game-hunters and…

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Under the sea!

Under the sea!

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During our honeymoon in Tanzania, we took the opportunity to explore below sea as well as above.  We went diving a number of times with One Ocean Dive Centres, who had one of their many satellite bases at our hotel, Ocean Paradise, on Zanzibar.  They took us to the dive sites at the Mnemba Atoll Conservation area – the most well known area to dive, on they island,  which is just off the North East coast. They were very professional…

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Jambo! Swahili for beginners

Jambo! Swahili for beginners

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Any tourist visiting Swahili-speaking Kenya or Tanzania, will quickly learn to greet people they meet with a friendly ‘jambo‘. And like many other Swahili words it’s easy for English speakers to pronounce and really quite nice to say! However, ‘jambo‘ by itself is usually only really used with foreigners. If you want to make that little bit more effort, the correct greeting is ‘hujambo‘ if you are the first person to speak. The response is ‘sijambo‘. Another common greeting that you’ll…

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Princess Salme of Zanzibar – A 19th Century Feminist?

Princess Salme of Zanzibar – A 19th Century Feminist?

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Right next door to the hotel where we stayed in Stone Town – Emerson on Hurumzi – is a small museum dedicated to the Princess Salme. The Princess was one of 36 children of the Omani Sultan, which at the time also meant ruling over Zanzibar. In fact, her father liked Zanzibar so much that under his rule, the capital of Oman was moved from Muscat to the island. Her mother was a ‘slave’ wife or concubine. Luckily for Salme,…

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Arabian nights in Stone Town

Arabian nights in Stone Town

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Stone Town on the whole was a little bit of a disappointment. Lonely Planet describes it as ‘a magical jumble of cobbled alleyways … (which) make it easy to spend days wandering round and getting lost’.In reality, it felt more than a little tired, with the once fine buildings in desperate need of some TLC and the ‘jumble of cobbled alleyways’ filled with small shops selling the same tourist fare for over-inflated prices.Down along the seafront, pushy salesmen tried to…

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Doors of Zanzibar

Doors of Zanzibar

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‘Do you know what my problem is?’ I asked James as we walked through the streets of Stone Town, Zanzibar. ‘You have an unhealthy obsession with doors’, he retorted. Now, I can’t actually remember what I was referring to, when I asked the question, but James’ response was pretty spot on.   While in Cartagena, Colombia, I kept taking photos of door knockers. Meanwhile, I spent a disproportionate amount of time in Stone Town, taking photos of doors. You have…

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