Day 3 - 01/08/2014 - Brugge!

Got up so early we couldn't even stay for breakfast to hop on our first Interrail train! Forgot to mention the very lengthy wait we had in Gare du Nord yesterday to reserve some seats and figure out our route for Brugge in Belgium.

On our way, I experienced my first travel sickness panic! But I think it was actually down to how much butter I smothered onto my croissant! Haha, we made friends with some lovely Americans from LA by offering them pain aux chocolats! We spoke for ages which passed the 4 hour journey ahead (on some v. cool trains by the way - double decker!). I found it so strange how jealous they were that we lived right in the countryside?! And we had a few laughs doing English, American and Mexican accents. 'I'm off to pub with me mates' and 'C'mon ese, I'm not even Mexicaaan' were some of the examples haha! 

As we parted ways, we arrived in Brugge on what seemed the hottest day of the year, trudging our v. heavy backpacks like lost turtles around in search of our hostel. Once we got to 'Bauhaus' we chilled out until check in. I was way too tired and hot to walk about anywhere just yet, but Archie explored and came back with an amazing can of coke! Got changed, met the people we were sharing our room with - an Argentinian couple - and then had a walk around the city.

Funny story - My mother bought me some 'security level 3' padlocks for lockers whilst away, and today was the day I realised they were far too small to actually lock anything! Sooo... Archie bought us a massive one for just €1! We also made it our mission to get suncream! Even if it did cost us €15... 

After hopelessly not being able to find anything in Brugge we decided to try and kiss the legendary frog and go home! Bought some beers and pot noodles for dinner and kipped for an hour in the room. Showered, nearly died of hunger, but Archie saved my life by buying plastic forks to eat the noodles with! Woohoo! Had a couple of sips from the really frothy and alcoholic beer and went out again. Sat in the park, got some famous Belgian chips, went to the 'snuffle bar' AND 'kwik-e-shop' ready for a well earned home to sleep :)

Review #11 - The Fish at Wixford

This little pub is so reminiscent of my younger years when I didn't have a care in the world. I would stuff my face with what I wanted without worrying if it was bad for me or if I'd be sick or if there was too much on the plate. And I would always get sausage beans and chips! Total heaven!! And after I'd finished, I'd go crazy on the outside activity circuit without risk assessing the obvious dangers. I remember so clearly getting so red in the face and out of breath from running about so much! I was introduced to this restaurant when my Mom's ex boyfriend brought us all and to me, a place to eat food and play after was always a winner. So in the back of my mind, this pub means a lot to me... In a weird way. And I had a real urge to come here for some food. I think it was because it's just started to become quite autumnal in the UK recently, which is when we would come years ago. Distinctly remembering Mom's boyfriend's heated seats on the car journey there...

Going to eat a pub named 'The Fish' I couldn't resist to order their Fish and Chips and see how if lived up to my glorious memories. And how it had changed, for the better! I think they'd had a bad flood a few years back so had  to renovate it. But they really glamped it out with lovely decor! You can even chose your own teapot when you order tea :) v. cute!

When my meal came (which didn't take v. long either) it was presented gorgeously on a chipshop-paper-style-plate with tasty tartar and yummy slightly minty mushy peas. The chips were crispy and fluffy and not too heavy like some can be. The fish was fresh and the batter was so light and actually for once I could taste the difference in being 'beer batter'. Top pub fud! I could not fault this posh grub and the atmosphere combined with super friendly staff, not the pushy kind, was exactly how I'd hoped. 

The only slight criticism I can make is that for 'pub' food, it is a tiny bit over the average price. It worked out about £30 for two, which to me, seems more than usual. But, considering the food was of good quality and your surrounded by a pretty, eye-appealing views - it's worth it :)

Food        *****

Atmosphere  *****

Service     *****

http://www.thefishatwixford.com/

Thanks for reading! xx

Day 2 - 31/07/2014 - Paris!

Woke up early for free breakie (bread, croissant, tea, coffee, oj) and headed straight for La Louvre! Oh, correction, we actually went to the shop down the road first for shampoo, deodorant and toothpaste (v. important stuff guys).

I do actually remember buying some nectarines as a snack for in the day and some water from a market type shop where this uber cute cat would jump up for fuss!

It was stupid hot on that day, but all the stuff we visited was free entry!! Saw Mona Lisa (awfully hard to find) and then went to the famous Notre Dame (our lady). Had a subway (how un-traveller like!) coffee, coconut and caramel ice cream and bought some pasta for dinner off the tiredest checkout guy evahh! 

 

 These little green boxes along the river bank pop open to sell all kinds of antiques. Books, posters, pins.

Chilled out, made our grub in the kitchen (nice traveler guy offered his leftover brie and bread aww) and then saw the Moulin Rouge and had a homemade peach iced tea (nicest thing in the world) at the bar where Amelie works :) Bedtime - tried to do 'raki' on Arch, as he hurt his back and didn't sleep too well because I felt a bit sicky :(

Day 1 - 30/07/2014 - Paris!

Hello there world! So I said from the day we left that I would blog/note/keep a memoir of the fabulous trip around Europe Archie and I did in August with Interrail. 'Famous last words' eh? But! I finally (a month later) have got round to it woohoo!! I definitely didn't want to forget any of this though, it was the best month of my life! I'll start you off on out first day...

After a tearful goodbye with complementary hugs and kisses off my Mother and Sister (as they dropped us at the airport) myself and Archie hobbled off into Birmingham Airport, equipped with rucksack and all! Because its a tradition in my books, we just HAD to get a Burger King  and before we knew it, we sat in our gate awaiting to board the flight to Paris CDG. Funnily enough, whilst walking onto the plane we heard someone call Archie's name and coincidentally an old school friend, Tim Crump, was also on his way to Paris with his girlfriend. Now, at this point, I'm absolutely petrified. Not because of Tim Crump, but because I was on a plane, no option to get off, no way back. Uh Oh. I just hate the take off, I can't help think of that scene from Final Destination.

Safe and sound in Paris, and quite a while after passport control, we excitedly attempted to find out how to get into the center. I tried 'un peu francias' and soon realised it isn't a great hit with the locals. Eventually, we got this shuttle type thing and desperately asked a friendly looking guy for help! Haha and how nice he was! He used his phone to get us directions and considering we only knew half the name of our hostel, he did a pretty good job!  When we made it to 'Vintage Hostel' we were amazed as we opened our door to find a room to ourselves! With own bathroom, TV, BALCONY and free soap, towel and hair dryer! (This place included breakfast too for only €30 a night!) 

To make the most of our time (and 'cause we were starving hungry), we wandered out to get some dinner at a jazzy kinda cafe right on the corner and had the loveliest food. Onion soup with Croque Monsieur and Archie had fancy coconut chicken - mmmm. After that we headed for the Eiffel Tower but stopped off for a cheeky look at the Arc de Triomph first using our metro tickets. And then, after catching a glimpse of an ingenious shopping trolly that barbequed corn on the cob we hopped off the metro for le eiffle tower. I'd seen the tower before with the school, but not like this, not at night time! C'etait magnifique! We strolled back, stuck the telly on in the background, opened our balcony door for a cool breeze and had a lovely sleep.

Bon nuit!