Category: Travelling Tales

So on Friday night we drove down to Gatwick, as we had a super early flight the next morning- getting up at 5am was not my favourite way to start the weekend, but it turned out well in the end.

We dropped our bags at the hotel and headed out on a walk- it was pretty cold but not as freezing as it could have been (yet).

There were plenty of little Christmas markets on street corners- I love seeing all the gingerbread houses.

Plus plenty of very grand buildings- neither of us had been before and it was a great city to walk around- I think it would be lovely in the summer too as there were so many parks.

Just like in Cologne (we went there last year) all the markets had different cups- when you bought Gluwein (mulled wine) or any hot drink (Andy had that whereas I had a hot chocolate), you pay a deposit (a couple of Euros) and then get that back when you return the cup.

There were a few bigger markets that we walked to- in the day they were not too busy so we could look at what was on offer (and take photos).

There were so many amazing food stalls- these pretzels were gigantic- I don’t think the photo does it justice. We shared a marzipan pretzel (oh yes) in the evening.

Yet another market, by this church (cathedral?) with the most impressive patterned roof.

The gingerbread stalls were my favourite- we bought one to take home as we had one last year and it was just so good. Although some of the phrases piped onto them were a bit amusing- #yolo or #b*tch being the strangest two.

We had a rest in the hotel for a bit before heading out in the darkness to see the beautiful lights. I was not sure about food options, thinking it would be all sausages and stew, but there were a few veggie options about (although one market was so huge that you had to just get something when you saw it as you might not find it again)- I ended up having a jacket potato with cheese (my German is not the best, but I could translate that for sure) and Andy had a bread bowl filled with tomato soup- just like Boudins in San Francisco!

We went back to the biggest two markets, and they were just so pretty (but also rammed).

There were plenty of lanterns in the trees, including cupcake ones!

We were pretty shattered (and also freezing- it was so much colder after dark) so headed back for a long sleep- according to my vivofit I walked 29,000 steps- not too shabby! On Sunday we got a train pass and went out to the Schonbrunn Palace which is a big palace (over 1000 rooms) with enormous gardens- perfect for a walk. It also had a large Christmas market.

The sun even came out for a bit.

After a little walk around we fancied a warm drink – Andy again got the mulled wine, and I noticed on one menu an After Eight hot chocolate, and it stated alcohol free. The day before when I ordered my hot chocolate they asked if I wanted cream (I can’t remember what the word is, but it is a long word but it was written on the menu so I was prepared…) and I didn’t but this time they didn’t ask (and it wasn’t written so I didn’t think it would be included). The lady poured out the hot chocolate, covered it in cream and then stuck an actual after eight chocolate in the cream! I am not a huge fan of cream, but I put up with it because it held the chocolate in place!

Although the chocolate melted quickly!

Cheers!

Then we walked to the top of the hill for stunning view of the gardens and Vienna.

Then we walked back to the main building, had another mooch around the market before getting the train back to the city centre. I was going to buy a few gifts, but the shops had shut by the time we got back, plus we had hand luggage only so I was a bit limited with what I could bring back.

Our flight wasn’t until 9pm so we had time to re-visit our favourite markets before collecting our bags and heading to the airport. We still managed 22,000 steps for the Sunday- impressive!

It was a great weekend away- the flight was under 2 hours and because we didn’t check bags it was really speedy at both ends. The train from the airport to the city centre takes 16 minutes, and the centre was really walk-able too, with plenty of markets around.

Now we need to decide where to go next year! So far we have been to Copenhagen, Bruges, Cologne and Vienna, and I must say that the Germanic ones win so far for festiveness, food and gifts. I mean, last year I had a marzipan and nutella filled crepe, this year a marzipan pretzel- sounds good right?

Are you a fan of Christmas markets? I love that they are becoming more common over here too- we are off to Bath in a few weeks as theirs is always a nice one too.

What Christmassy food would you go for at a market like that?

My final holiday recap has been a long time coming!

After our time in Acadia National Park, we drove up into Canada, to Quebec city. We didn’t have the best start, as the drive was long (several hundred miles) and we were stuck at the border for a bit, and then in traffic to cross the bridge for a few hours. Then we got lost trying to find the car park, and then once we had found it we could not find out hotel and ended up dragging our cases up and down the streets for close to two hours. We were so exhausted by the time we checked in (it was around 9pm and we had left our hotel at about 10 in the morning) we went to Starbucks for a panini and hot drink before crashing out in the hotel.

This gorgeous hotel dominates the skyline of the old town (no, not ours, although we could see it from our hotel).

One our first full day we got our bearings (realised then how close we actually were to the car park- about ten minutes!!) and had a lovely walk around the old town.

It was a beautiful day so it was great to walk around.

You could walk along a lot of the wall too.

I got a little obsessed with David’s Tea. They have shelves of loose leaf tea in canisters which you can buy, and they make anything hot or iced to take away too.  I watched carefully- they brew the tea, pour over a cup of ice, and top up with a little cold water- if we had space in our freezer for a bag of ice I think I could replicate it at home! While we were there we tried quite a few fruity flavours and I bought a few packs to bring home.

Quebec city was very french, in the way it was set out and of course all the people speaking french! From watching TV and films I will generalise and say that Americans seem to love the idea of Paris, but I would say that Quebec city is what they imagine Paris to be like if that makes sense. All cobbled twisty streets and little shops. And macaroons.

During the summer there are free firework shows over the river, so we made sure we were there on time. Each time is a different theme- the one we saw was set to opera music. Very dramatic, although it started raining and was absolutely pouring by the end- luckily we didn’t have to run far to get back to our hotel after but we were soaked through!

There was a big park by some battlements, and one morning I went for a run along the top- the park was great with running path marked out, and lovely views across the river.

Later we got the ferry across the river, again for the views, and then enjoyed wandering around the shops and other parts of the old town.

As our holiday traditions go, we didn’t have lunch, and so headed for an early dinner at Le Chic Shack, a really good burger place- they did a home-made veggie burger, which you could have in a bun/ gluten free bun/ served on a salad. They also made their own soft drinks- I had a mango one and Andy had lemonade. We sat by the window and enjoyed people watching.

Then we went for a long walk through the park, and even saw some woodchucks!

It was a great place to visit, although I think it would be magical at Christmas time with everything covered in snow and lights everywhere. Save it for another year I think!

Do you like going to places at certain times of the year? Going to the Bath Christmas markets is one of my favourite seasonal trips, but then going in the summer means lovely walks.

So after waking up to beautiful sunshine we headed out on the drive to Acadia National Park, which is on the Atlantic coast. We arrived to early to check in to our hotel, so went to the visitors centre to find out what to do.  After looking around and buying a pass (this was different to every other National Park we had been to, in that there were no entrance gates, you just bought the ticket at the centre) we headed to the Lake House.

We were going to have lunch (what? On holiday?) but the queue was huge, so we opted to walk around the lake first. It was a 3 mile loop and was just beautiful.

I saw a few red squirrels too, but of course they hid when I took a photo!

Such a wonderful place for a walk.

By the time we got back the queue was gone so we opted for food. They did a hummus and veggie wrap (hooray) and proper fresh lemonade- I had blueberry lemonade (I wanted blueberry iced tea but they had run out).

They also sold these things called “popovers”- they would have them warmed with jam and tea as a sort of afternoon tea. Well, we had to try them- they turned out to be like yorkshire puddings! A bit strange, but nice to try. After checking in to our hotel we drove back to the park to watch the sunset.

Perfect.

The next day we drove to the coastal section of the park- it was always really misty by the sea. This was Thunder Hole- the sea crashes in and out and makes a loud booming sound. The path was closed off for safety reasons but of course there are always some people who feel it does not apply to them…

Then we headed inland for some hikes. We picked up a little hiking book in the shop, as at the other National Parks we were always given a free newspaper that had maps of walks, but this one didn’t. We wanted them more for the rating (one walk contained a section of vertical rock where you pulled yourself up iron rungs drilled into the cliff- no thanks!). In the end we combined a few walks as the trails met in different places.

We were up high at this point but could see the clouds covering the sea below.

We saw loads of blueberries growing.

And ended up walking to another lake, where the mist came in pretty quickly. We sat for a bit and had a banana (holiday lunch).

Then we walked/hiked back (we don’t go on the extreme hikes, but the terrain was steep and involved a lot of climbing over boulders and things) and walked along the sea shore for a bit.

In the evening we walked to the town (Bar Harbor) for a wander around- it was so pretty.

We found an amazing place to eat- the Side Street Cafe. I had so much choice, it was amazing! And the best part of the menu was that they did a build your own sandwich (and offered gluten free bread) so pretty much any diet would be catered for. We shared guacamole and corn chips to start, and then I had a sandwich with hummus, tomato, spinach and avocado. The best combination!

To top it off we found a great bakery, The Pink Pastry Shop. It was a bit chilly that evening (the mist came in to the town while we were eating) and this place did a chai latte and offered almond milk! I was very excited. Of course I was also swayed by the baked goods, so I got a pumpkin whoopie pie, and Andy had a peanut butter cupcake. The drink kept me warm on the walk back, and we had the desserts a little later.

The next day we went to a different part of the park to see another lighthouse. Again, nice but not really what I was expecting. Then we drove along the coast for another walk to see the pink granite “cliffs”- really the part of the beach you walk on.

The mist was really rolling in, and although we had planned a walk on this side, we headed back to the other part as we didn’t think there was much point in walking up for ages if we couldn’t see anything.

So we walked up to the top of this hill to look down on the lake (the first one we walked around)- stunning views.

We saw Bubble Rock, which is a huge boulder that was deposited during the ice age. It looks as if it will roll off the edge.

Then we saw some of the sea in the sunlight! Very pretty indeed.

For dinner we walked back to the Sidestreet Cafe- I had a black bean wrap (again, delicious) and we were persuaded by the waitress to share a dessert.

This was a Fluffernutter sundae. Basically a grilled peanut butter and fluff sandwich, topped with ice cream and chocolate sauce. It had to be tried!

The weather was lovely that evening so we spent some more time wandering around the town and enjoying the views.

Acadia National Park was a lovely place to visit. It had a different feel to the other National Parks we had been to- it was much smaller, and being so close to a town meant it had a relaxed vibe about it. It did have plenty of hardcore day hikers, but it also had people who were there to sit on a boat all day and go out for ice cream in the evening.

Do you like trying new foods on holiday?

Hey, I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. Another part of the holiday recap here.

So, after a day in Montreal we got a bus down to the USA. We crossed the border 4 times during this trip, and going into the USA was not a good experience. Our bus was late, but then it was in the queue for the border for 2 hours before we even got off the bus to be interrogated by the officials. Anyway, I think we ended up being about 3 hours late by the time we picked up our hire car, but there was still enough time for a touristy visit.

We could not go to Vermont without going to Ben and Jerry’s world! We did the tour (it was something like $4 each so not bad)- it was quite interesting although the factory only goes in the week, and this was a weekend, so some of it was a video instead. Then had a free sample (which was pretty big- Andy’s had an entire oreo biscuit in it!).

On the exit of the tour they had posters for the top 10 flavours, so of course I had to have a picture by my favourite! Then we joined the queue to buy an ice cream. We shared two scoops- one hazelnut one and one peanut butter/caramel one. They were good, but we had eaten breakfast very early (7am), been on the bus for hours, and this was around 4pm, so both of us decided that we should have had a smaller size- it was a bit too sweet.

They even have a flavour graveyard there…

Anyway, then we drove to our B&B which was just gorgeous. It was in New Hampshire (Jackson), and by the time we had driven there it was the evening. Trip Advisor to the rescue- there was a pub within walking distance (The Red Fox Bar and Grill)- they did the most amazing salad with roasted pear, nuts and goats cheese- I was sold!

On the drive to the mountains- a lovely view across the valley but huge clouds…

The weather was more overcast the next day. We headed out to the White Mountains National Forest, but got caught in a torrential downpour (when even the wipers on the fastest speed could not clear the rain)- we did have raincoats but we would have been soaked in seconds. We went to a visitor information centre to find out about the Old Man of the Mountain (the profile of a face on the side of a cliff that collapsed in 2003- there is now a memorial there, and do not under any circumstanced make light of the situation because the locals are very cut up about it- you could get memorial t-shirts and everything…). There was a walk to view it, but it was still pouring so we headed to another section of the park for a lovely walk to a waterfall (Flume Gorge).

We even saw a bear cave- run!

After a couple of hours we headed back to the car, and as the rain was coming our way again headed to some outlet shops.

In the evening we went to the Red Fox again- they had a brick oven for pizzas so we shared a veggie pizza and the grilled pear salad.

The following day we had breakfast at the B&B (which was fantastic- every day they had available fresh fruit, home-made granola, little home-made pastries, juices, teas etc, and then they had a menu for their cooked items- some sort of pancakes and some sort of French toast were on offer every day. One day I had French toast with bananas and pecans and one day spiced apple pancakes. Delicious.)  Anyway, back to the trip. It was raining again (hard) so we popped to some other outlet shops- I got some bargainous Gap jeans for about £18, and some Lindt chocolates.

Then we drove to Freeport in Maine. It was a really pretty town, with some outlet shops but also some quirky places too. After a few hours wandering around (and a Starbucks “lunch”- we don’t tend to have lunch on holiday- we each had a drink and shared a piece of pumpkin bread as we were hungry) we drove out to see the lighthouse at Rockland. You had to walk along a breakwater for about a mile, and it was really misty, so pretty spooky. We kept hearing fog horns but could not see the ships!

It was pretty, but not like the sort of lighthouse I imagined! Walking back was strange too as we could not see the mainland because of all the mist. We still had a bit of driving after that (a couple of hours) so by the time we reached the town we were starving. We saw a Friendly’s diner and so that decision was made. They did do a veggie burger, but they also did tomato soup with a grilled cheese, and I fancied the soup so went for that with a side salad.

As we finished our meal the lights flickered and huge crashes of thunder rumbled about- we had to sprint to the car and were drenched! The storm was crazy- lightning every 10 seconds or so, and such heavy rain. The sat-nav took us straight to the hotel, and luckily we could park under cover to unload the car.

The next day we woke to glorious sunshine, and luckily those were our only really rainy days. I don’t mind a bit of rain and of course we pack raincoats, but some of that rain was so heavy we would have been soaked in seconds which is never fun. And of course the views are not quite as stunning!

Do you have lunch on holiday? We tend to have breakfast and then a snack like a cereal bar or banana, and then dinner.

Does rain stop play on your holiday, or do you carry on regardless?