London is a huge city with thousands of restaurants, but I quickly learned when moving here that not all of them are created equal (thanks to a few rough tummy aches early on). After being here now over seven months, I’ve narrowed down what my favorite restaurants are of the ones I’ve visited. What really sets an average restaurant apart from a favorite for me is delicious food, reasonable prices, and a good atmosphere. I hope you find this list useful when deciding on your next meal in London! Continue reading “My Top 10 Favorite London Restaurants”→
This past week was a trip back to the U.S. It felt a bit strange going back to the U.S. as I hadn’t been for almost 5 months – my longest time ever from home. After being in England so long now I am able to appreciate what I missed in the U.S. (pumpkin EVERYTHING and driving), but also what I like about England (getting around easily without a car and the effortless 10,000 steps I manage to walk everyday).
After a long travel day Saturday, my arrival was marked by a welcome home gift basket of all things pumpkin from my mom. I had told her that it was hard to find pumpkin flavored goods in England, so I was really happy to get the gift basket. Sunday morning we made pumpkin pancakes while I sipped on my pumpkin coffee, and later in the week was pumpkin sauce pasta and pumpkin bagels.
Pumpkin gift basket!
My week started off by hosting a party for Markie’s friends to celebrate his 10th birthday. The party went really well, and as I had been feeling crafty earlier in the day I even made s’more goody bags for the kids which seemed to be a hit.
I also made sure to do the very important task of voting this year – I’m glad that I got my absentee ballot in time to send it in for free in the U.S. I’m not one to get too political on here, but I’m pretty sure as a feminist you all can guess which my direction my vote went.
Midweek was catching up with friends – I had a coffee date with my friend Rasha, and caught up with a few friends for drinks and dinner. It’s amazing how much can change in five months – new relationships, new jobs, new homes, and so much more! My parents also bought a fire pit recently so we enjoyed sitting outside and making s’mores one night.
My parent’s fire pit
No visit home is complete without a winery visit, so I made a trip out to my favorite winery, Fabbioli, with Lauren and Matt. There we shared a bottle of wine, cheese, some laughs, and I bought a bottle to take back to England.
Wine tasting with food pairings at Fabbioli Cellars
On Markie’s actual birthday, I made him pumpkin pancakes and the whole family went out to dinner that night. He claims that 10 feels no different than 9. I’m just happy he still hasn’t decided he’s too cool for me (I’m looking at you, pre-teen years).
Pumpkin pancakes
The next day Markie and I headed to an AirBnB RV I had rented for the night in West Virginia. The RV was decked out with a comfy bed, patio eating area, fire pit and hot tub! After spending the afternoon in the hot tub, we headed to the nearby town of Shepherdstown which was really quaint. We ate dinner outside at a nice restaurant that had a stream running through it! After dinner we bought supplies for s’mores and spent the evening by the fire and then relaxing in the RV.
Our AirBnB RV!
Hot tub at the RV
Downtown Shepherdstown
Historic Shepherdstown
My trip ended with the best things – family, friends, and football. Saturday my family and I watched Virginia Tech beat North Carolina, which put Tech’s college football ranking at #17 in the country, the highest its been in a few years. Saturday night a group of my friends and I went out for drinks in Clarendon, and had a really nice time dancing and enjoying rooftop views of Arlington. Sunday was also great – the Redskins beat the Ravens, and my family and I enjoyed a sunny day with dinner outside.
Views from Lake Anne Plaza
I’m so glad I came home just as fall was starting, as it’s my favorite time in the year. Sadly I’ll miss the rest of fall at home, but will be back just in time for Christmas festivities, another favorite time of year of mine!
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What’s Next?
This weekend I will be heading the Lake District, a national park in north west England. The Lake District is known for its beautiful mountain and lake scenery, so I’ll be doing a bit of hiking and taking the view in.
I’ve decided to start a new monthly recap series – if you like it or would like to see additional areas included, please let me know in the comments!
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For the first time in several years, I’ve actually been able to enjoy my fall and not see September as the mark of back-to-grad-school for myself. The additional free time has let me finally find a gym in London that I like and catch up on the Game of Thrones series (I’m starting season four next!), as well as get quite a bit of travel in. Continue reading “Noelle’s Monthly Recap: September 2016”→
Travel blogs are a great resource – they are a way to see how someone else experiences and reflects on a destination. As well, they also can be useful in providing information on how to make travel better, more affordable, and giving ideas for your trip to a destination.
This week I’ve put together my top 5 favorite travel bloggers, as well as two YouTubers that I follow regularly.
Rum Point, Grand Cayman
My Top 5 Favorite Travel Blogs:
Adventurous Kate – Kate is my all time favorite travel blog. The way she shares her travels, and her reflections on them is really captivating, and I’ve gained a lot from reading her blog as a traveler and a person.
Expert Vagabond – Matthew of Expert Vagabond does all the trips I wish I had the balls to do – hitchhiking across the U.S., remote multi day hiking in Greenland, and exploring some of the really off the beaten path places (think: Afghanistan).
On The Luce – Lucy is a fellow U.K.-er, albeit she is actually English and I am not. I have enjoyed her blog particularly because of the U.K. focused content, but she also writes about worldwide destinations.
Nomadic Matt – Matt has created the ultimate destination resource. He has guides on several countries and cities that give you the best advice on how to save money, and the top things you should do in each location. I’ve used his blog many times to determine activities and places to go on my trips.
Oneika the Traveller – Oneika really brought my attention to the differing experience African-Americans face traveling abroad than someone Caucasian does. Besides that, she is also a great writer and writes poignant posts on various subjects.
Lugano, Switzerland
Besides blogs, there a two YouTubers I go to for travel content as well:
Hey Nadine – Nadine is really quirky but does great videos on everything from what she eats at a destination to what suitcase is most practical for each type of trip.
Rick Steves – Rick Steves is a bit of a classic – he has been in public television for travel since the early 1990s. His focus is on Europe in particular, and he has a plethora of videos for various European destinations.
Who are your favorite travel bloggers or YouTubers?
For a few years now, I’ve been really interested in traveling to eastern Europe. What has attracted me to the region is that it’s a bit off the beaten tourist path (versus places like Paris), it’s cheaper than western Europe, and I had heard that the Balkan region in particular has beautiful scenery. So when it came time for Mark and I to pick somewhere to go for a long weekend, Bulgaria was brought up and we decided on that. Continue reading “Balkan Bliss in Bulgaria”→
Noelle Across The Pond 