Postcard from Edinburgh

For someone who enjoys new experiences, different cultures and, well, travelling, I have done very little of it since the beginning of university. I really want to get better at it as it really combines all my favourite things. It's just a matter of learning to be a bit spontaneous with it. This is kind of what happened this time!

One of the cities I had wanted to visit most since moving to the UK is Edinburgh. Me and the man booked a little get away for a weekend far from work and studying and it was great. Apart from the rain. Did you know it rains a lot in Edinburgh? It rains A LOT in Edinburgh. (True story: we made it 15 minutes in Edinburgh before popping in a shop to buy waterproofs.)

So what is there to do in Edinburgh?

Lots. First, you want to simply walk around. Edinburgh is such a beautiful city. It feels very homely and easy-going, and obviously, full of secrets. I'm not one for ghosts and sombre vaults but even in well-lit, non scary places there is a feeling that there is more to this place's history than is known. Incidentally if you're a history buff, you're in for a great time. Edinburgh is a city full of stories. Visit Edinburgh Castle for some great ones of Scotland and its relation to the UK (plus I hear the Military Tattoo is the best attraction to see if you're in town in August); check out the National Museum of Scotland for a bit of everything, from art to industry, nature, and of course Scotland; and if you're into that, go for a ghost tour...

It's also great to get out of the beaten track. Don't walk and walk the Royal Mile; instead trot to Stockbridge for a walk by the water, or wander through the Meadows and stop for coffee at Peter's Yard (more on food later). The best though, is to hop on a bus to Gilmerton for a tour of Gilmerton Cove. These underground chambers and passages were first discovered in the 18th century... and that's about all they know! Not only is it a fantastic mystery and such an interesting story, the tour is also great to know more about the region and its past, as all the (many) theories to explain its origins are linked to local people and events.

What if I'm thirsty?

Edinburgh has many excellent bars. For cocktails, head to The Devil's Advocate, just off the Royal Mile. Not only does the place look absolutely lovely, with a fantastic looking extra-tall backbar and a chilled-out vibe, the cocktails are also a treat. If it's later at night, try speakeasy Panda & Sons, which hides behind a barber shop window on Queen Street. You'll feel super cool knowing it exists, and the cocktail menu is incredible. If you're into mezcal, Vida Villa! was something else. We also really liked Dirty Dicks, a classic little pub on Rose Street with a fantastic quirky decor (including lots of golf memorabilia).

Now let's took about the real stuff: where should I eat?

Oh man. One thing we learned over the four days we spent there is that Edinburgh is full to the brim with great restaurants, pubs and breakfast spots. I'm sure there is a much more than what we tried but here are some favourites from our stay.

© The Atelier

The Atelier — My favourite, first. At The Atelier we had incredible food — beautifully designed dishes, with flavour combinations that worked so well, cooked to perfection, and delicious. The real plus is that it was all very reasonably priced for such quality. To whet your appetite, here is a selection of what we had...

Left — Beetroot & goat cheese cake, chutney puree, orange gel, balsamic caviar. Middle — Chorizo poached cod loin, blue shell mussels, saffron gnocchi, butterbean puree, spinach, shellfish espuma. Right — Rhubarb parcel, mascarpone pave, roasted lemon marshmallows.

© Arcade Bar

Arcade Bar — We walked past this 'haggis and whisky house' in the middle of the afternoon and stopped to have a look at it... When we walked past a second time, hungry and drenched from the pouring rain, we knew we had to try it. Arcade have the absolute best fancy pub classics I have tried in a long time. Their award winning sausages are actually the best bangers I've ever had. Plus, their staff is super friendly and the place very inviting. A great lunch spot!

© Peter's Yard

Peter's Yard — Perfect for indulgent snacks and breakfasts, this Scandi bakery-cum-café was our best random find of the weekend. I recommend the Quarter Mile branch which has a lovely outdoors area and so, so much bread, cakes and fantastic buns. Come and come again if you're into coffee and pastries (but they do lunch too, and apparently really nice pizzas!)

Pinnies & Poppy Seeds — They call themselves 'the butter way of living'. Need I say more? Buttery, crumbly shortbreads in different flavours (loved the lemon sugar and raspberry) in a cute little shop. Great souvenir from the 'burgh to nibble on the (nearly) seven-hour train ride home.

© Leo's Beanery

Leo's Beanery — This quirky café in Stockbridge feels like home. It's one of these places you'd love to spend a whole day, sipping on tea and watching time go by. We popped for breakfast; the menu is fairly classic but the food very nice, and I really did like the interior. Try their scones, they're yum.


Any final tips?

As I mentioned above, waterproofs are a must. Some Scots have told me it does stop raining at times but I did not see it... I'd also recommend good walking shoes, as Edinburgh goes up and down quite a lot and is great to explore on foot. Finally, staying-wise I'd suggest checking out Airbnb. It was my first time using it and I enjoyed the experience: we stayed in a really central flat, in a large and comfortable room, for less than the price of a hotel room. Plus if the owners are around, you get to chat with locals and know all the best spots!

That's it for my Edinburgh travel diary. I hope you enjoyed the tour! Now where should I go next...? xo

Postcard from the Pays Basque | Six spots to visit

I'm back to tell you more about the Pays Basque, and for this second and final post, I'm sharing with you the six places I liked the most during the holiday, as well as some more photos of the region. Hope you enjoy!

La Rhune
On our first day in the Pays Basque, we hiked up a mountain. A small mountain, alright, but still. We don't hike in the family, ever. Turns out it was really fun (at least for me, less so for my very much afraid of heights brother and my "oh my God this was a terrible idea" mother), and I felt incredibly proud when reaching the top! Just remember to bring a bottle of water PER PERSON (right mum?) and wear good shoes.
For non-crazy people, there is an old train going up and down the mountain. From the top, you can see all of the valley, with the Pyrenees on one side and the sea on the other... well, that's if it's sunny. By the time we got to the top, it was so foggy you could barely see 5 metres ahead of you! A must-do in the area.

www.rhune.com/uk

Spa Makila

This holiday was originally my parents and brother's golf holiday, and I decided to tag along on the promise of beach afternoons while they golfed... and a Spa day! One of the golf they picked had a Spa so I got to do a hammam/sauna/jacuzzi session (possibly the best 45 minutes of my life) followed by an an hour and a half long face and body massage + treatment (definitely the best 45+ minutes of my life.) If you're ever in the area, I'd definitely recommend it. The place is lovely with a great view on the golf courses from the jacuzzi, and the treatment left my skin at its very best. I don't know if it's related or not, but for the first time in my life, I came home after a holiday with a tan...

www.spamakila.com

Saint-Jean-de-Luz botanical gardens
After walking around the market and the town centre = doing the typical touristey things in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, we opted for something a bit different. We headed for the botanical gardens, which turned out to be a fantastic choice! The gardens are beautiful, peaceful and quiet, full of plants unknown to the public... and it has a beautiful view upon the ocean. A refreshing oasis away from the busyness of summer holidays!

jardinbotaniquelittoral-saintjeandeluz.fr

La Plancha d'Ilbarritz
I mentioned this restaurant already in the previous blog post because it was AMAZING. We chose this place on a recommendation from our host at the guest house and the whole family agreed it was like, the best decision ever. The restaurant is by the seaside, directly overlooking the bay, making it super popular to tourists and locals alike. No reservations, so v busy, but there is a nice outdoors bar with cocktails (A+ frozen margarita!) to help you wait. And then you feast. Plancha grilling is obviously this place's speciality, so you'll get to try piquillos (small peppers), chipirons (baby squid), chorizo, rib steaks and all kinds of fish grilled a la plancha. I'll say this again: best fish EVER. It had garlic crisps, man, garlic crisps! Stereotypically French maybe, but what can I say, I do love garlic.

La Plancha d'Ilbarritz, Bidart

Euzkadi
Another fantastic restaurant, this one being the best we found to try typical local recipes and products in a traditional setting; plus, it was in Espelette, a town nationally famous as it is where they grow the Espelette pepper. The staff was über friendly, the menu had no end, but mostly the dishes were flavoursome and generous, and I felt that this was the place we visited the most representative of the Pays Basque. Not high end cuisine, but hearty and moreish!

www.hotel-restaurant-euzkadi.com

Biarritz fireworks

Finally, I have to mention the "Nuit Féérique" fireworks in Biarritz. August 15 is a national holiday in France and most towns traditionally celebrate with fireworks of some sort. Biarritz's have the reputation to be exceptional, and they were! If you ever have the opportunity to see them, definitely go and get stunned by the beautiful spectacle of the fireworks blowing up on both side of the bay and illuminating the Grande Plage. Splendid!

Aaaan this concludes my postcard from the Pays Basque! I hope you enjoyed this little trip in South-Western France and that I made you think about planning a trip to see its beautiful sights. I'm now back in London, and after a summer of travelling... I just want to leave again! 

Postcard from the Pays Basque | What's it like?

Last year there was no real family holiday, as my mum and I headed off to New York without the men. This year, I came home just for it. I had barely been in France for 24 hours that we were off on a seven hours long drive South to the Pays Basque. Brits will maybe know it as Basque Country, but it sounds prettier in French so deal with it. 

Things you will find in the Pays Basque:
- White houses with mostly red shutters and doors; sometimes green, very occasionally blue. Nothing else, as the colours correspond to the three occupations of the locals in old times: livestock farming, agriculture and fishing.

- Delicious food that will make your taste buds sing. There is something for everyone down there. Meat lovers will enjoy rib steaks a la plancha, platters piled with ham and chorizo, grilled duck filets and the most adventurous will love the local black pudding. (I'm far for a meat lover but man, their black pudding!) If like me, you're more into sea things, you should already be on your way there because I ate the best fish of my life in Bidart (roasted hake with olive oil dressing and garlic crisps at restaurant La Plancha, mind blowing, seriously.) They're also incredible at seafood, make delicious cheese, and cultivate their own regional chili pepper in Espelette. What's not to love?

- A difficult thing to escape in the Pays Basque is... tourists. They are everywhere, as it appears the region is rapidly becoming one of the most popular holiday destination for froggies. We saw these beautiful fireworks on an absolutely packed beach, as in I barely had enough room to stretch my legs (totally worth it though.) We were staying in a village of barely 1,000 inhabitants and had to skip lunch one day because all three restaurants were full! It needs going into the land and avoiding the most touristic villages to find empty places.

- Street art, surprisingly! The small village we stayed at had its walls covered in stickers of old people...

- Tons of pretty and interesting places to visit. I'll tell you more about what we did during the stay in my next post, but really I want to insist on how beautiful it all was. The land is surprisingly green (we were told it rains a lot), the all similar houses create a beautiful landscape, with houses decorated with chili peppers and animals sunbathing in the fields.

That's it for my first postcard from the Pays Basque, but I have another one coming up soon...

Sea, sun and... pizza: a holiday in Sardinia

Today I want to share with you some photos of my holidays in Sardinia. If you're not familiar with the place, Sardinia is an Italian island situated West of the mainland, just South of French Corsica. It's hot, dry, the sun shines bright and the land is incredibly beautiful. I've never really been down to the Mediterranean before; I went to Madrid once, but apart from that, all I've seen of the South is the Alps. So naturally, I was pretty excited to discover what it felt like to go on holiday to an actual sunny place and swim in water that wasn't 18°C (yes I'm talking to you, Atlantic.)

Me and the man stayed at his family house all the way down on the Southern coast of Sardinia. The landscape was all mountains and sea, with a striking contrast between the perfect transparent blue of the water and the incredibly bright colours of the flowers that are grown in every single garden. We pretty much spent our days sleeping, either soothed by the lull of the aircon at home during the very hot afternoons, or lying on the beach with the rest of the town's population—me lying very much under the umbrella to make sure I didn't burn my whiter-than-white skin.

I was surprised to discover the Mediterranean way of life: the place is ghost-like for most of the day when the sun is too high to work, and as soon as it sets, everyone comes out. At night, the streets are crowded with tourists browsing craft stalls and eating ice cream. Ohhh, the ice cream. Sardinia is a great place to go if you like to eat. We had some delicious pizzas topped with local cheese and Sardinian sausage, all kinds of deep-fried seafood, and the best octopus salad ever. Also seadas (photo below), delicious little ricotta or mozzarella filled pastries that are fried and served covered in honey. Drink wise, Sardinia has its own national beer, the Ichnusa. 'Vorrei una birra nazionale' is definitely one of the tag lines of our trip!

Just so you know, this last picture hasn't been edited. The colour of the sea is 100% authentic. If with that you're not booking your tickets... One thing's for sure, I definitely want to go back!