Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts

First day in Iceland - Keflavik, Silfra and Snorkelling




While everyone else is planning an exotic summer holiday,me and Nick were thinking about visiting ...Iceland.Yeah,that's right, cold,windy , unpredictable Iceland.It's actually quite strange how I picked this place, Iceland wasn't on my mind until earlier this year, after I've seen another vlogger's youtube video and I thought wow,that looks like such a cool place!

One day when work was a bit too much,in my lunch break I started looking for cheap flight tickets to...pretty much anywhere, when I found some really really cheap tickets to Iceland.I didn't think twice and immediately bought them.Fast forward to the day that we had our flight, or should I say the day that we should have had our flight...because we missed it. You can read here all about it: http://pixnkix.com/the-lost-flight-to-iceland-reykjavik/ .

So we missed our flight and had to stay 2 days in London at our friends place- thank you so much Daniela and Gica- and Friday morning we had our flight to Keflavik and believe me,we did NOT want to miss it this time.
A couple of days before arriving there we have booked a snorkelling tour for Nick and unfortunately I could not do it because you aren't allowed if you do not know how to swim,which is my case.

So we landed at Keflavik airport, took our car from the car rental company which by the way,  was smelling like dog food and we had a couple of hours to explore Iceland until Nick had his snorkelling tour in Silfra.
We went to the local supermarket to buy some food and then went to Thingvellir National Park , having some stops every now and again because the landscape was truly breathtaking.

Let me tell you a bit more about Silfra.
Silfra is a fissure between the two tectonic plates, the North American and Eurasian and it is the only one in the world where you can actually do snorkelling and scuba diving.It all started in 1789 because of a series of earthquakes and the crack quickly filled with melted glacier water from the nearby glaciers. The water is so clear and clean that you have a visibility of almost 100 meters and you can actually drink it.Be aware, because of the glaciers the water is constantly cold with a temperature between 2-4 °C so you cannot dive without a dry suit and gloves.


About the experience, Nick says: 
'Having the snorkelling equipment from https://www.simplyscuba.com/  made this experience so much more comfortable. The googles were a perfect fit for my face, it didn't let any drops of water get in and the foot fins made it really easy to swim with them.I would recommend to try at least once in your life to do snorkelling in Silfra!'

While he had the time of his life,I was outside, in the wind , freezing and thinking about the hot chocolate and cookie that was promised at the end of his tour.
After finishing the tour we went to our hotel to have some much needed rest.

I really wish that I could have snorkelled at Silfra,but maybe one day I will, until then I am already planning an exotic vacation where I can actually use my snorkelling set from https://www.simplyscuba.com/collections/snorkelling.

Tell me, have you ever visited Iceland?

*we received the snorkelling set for a review,but the thoughts are 100% our own.

5 of Worlds Most Exotic Islands - Food that You Must Try At Least Once in Your Life







Summer is not far away and soon we'll be seeing pictures from the most exotic locations all over our feed on facebook and instagram .
Have you planned your summer holiday yet?
Will you be visiting the following islands soon? If so,I've got you covered! Here are the foods that you shouldn't skip !


Mauritius

One of Mauritius's signature drinks, vanilla tea is made from the black tea that grows on the island and vanilla from South Africa.A refreshing drink that you shouldn't miss!
Mazavaroo is the most used ingredient in the mauritian cuisine.It's in fact a chilli paste made by the locals that is consumed with any dish, including veggies and even fruit(mango,pineapple,etc) .

Madeira

Grilled limpets splashed with a bit of lemon and garlic makes the perfect starter for those who love sea food.
Queijadas tops the list of the islands favourite dessert and it's made with cottage cheese, eggs and sugar.A very simple one,but extremely tasty.



Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura is one of those islands that you want to visit again and again.
Vieja Fish with  canarian potatoes and mojo is a dish that you don't want to miss.
Vieja Fish is also known under the name of parrot fish and it's cooked in the oven with a lemon dressing.Canarian potatoes with mojo sauce were for sure my favourite dish while visiting Fuerteventura, they are actually boiled in sea water and left there until the water evaporates and the potatoe skin is covered in a salty crust.


Bali

If you will travel to Bali ,you will notice that the locals will use banana leafs as food wrappings.One of those foods are called Pepes and it consists in  small packages of banana leafs that have meat veggies and tofu inside. Bubur Injin is a dessert made of a black rice pudding and coconut milk and it's served either as a dessert or snack.


Malta

Cannoli are a must when visiting Malta, it consists in a fried pastry dough filled with ricotta cream.
Bagrioli is a dish that maltese swear by and it's made from beef cooked in a wine sauce ,with a bacon, egg and garlic filling.Can't wait to try it!

This article was written in collaboration with Destination 2 Luxury Holidays



Have you tried any of these foods ?Which one was your favourite?

WHY YOU SHOULD PLAN YOUR NEXT HOLIDAY IN BENALMADENA SPAIN





Looking outside my window I see tiny snowflakes falling gently out of the sky...I thought we were done with winter.I guess not...Days like this can only  make me go downstairs and have a hot cup of tea , mint tea to be more precise.My mind wanders back to my very first holiday abroad with Nick, I think that you really can't forget that feeling,can you?

It went like this:
My job was stressing me out. I felt that I couldn't grow anymore but at the same time I was overwhelmed with the amount of work, so I quit my job.Friday afternoon,at 1 pm I left work and went straight to the airport with Nick.We were so excited, but at the same time didn't know what to expect,we just don't like to google the place when planning a trip,we prefer to discover new places by ourselves.
We arrived to Malaga late as the sun was setting down and we took a taxi to our first hotel where we had to spend just one night.Surprise surprise,when we arrived we realised that we have booked a room at a hotel right next to a .... brothel.It wasn't bad at all though, it was quiet and the room was nice.:)

The next morning we took the train to Benalmadena where we spend the rest of our vacation at Hotel Siroco .We got this trip at such a good price; if I remember correctly it was discounted so we ended up paying a total of 360 euro for 5 nights and it was an all inclusive holiday .(meals included,but not the drinks)
The food was amazing!Fresh fruit, veggies, all types of meat, pastry , cake,you name it! They had it.
 It was so good that we did not have to eat out at all and everyday the menu was different.
I ate churros and olives every time I could and whenever we were having lunch a jug of Sangria  was essential..We just couldn't get enough !

















Things to do in Benalmadena:

Hop on a tour bus
Visit SeaLife
Go with the Teleferico
Visit the port
Go on a boat tour
Visit Selwo Marina

There are plenty of other activities to try out,but we tried just the ones above so I can only recommend you these ones.I would advise if you want to buy tickets for different activities to always check with the 
agencies,they have the best deals .







And don't forget to relax and enjoy your time!








Have you ever been to Benalmadena? Would you visit it?

Travel seriers: Rota D'Imagna Hotel Miramonti



Today I miss going on holiday. This year my only true holiday was to Fuerteventura , but that was just  for 3 days so it was very short...too short.
Browsing through my computer I stumbled upon the pictures that me and Nick took one year go , in Italy , where we had the dreamiest vacation ever. 8 locations,16 days.
We landed in Bergamo where we took a couple of buses to arrive to Rota D'imagna.
Google maps was our help and of course, asking people on the street how to get from one point to the other.
Rota D'Imagna is amazing . You quickly get lost into the imposing landscape , there are mountains surrounding chic and clean little villages and you immediately think ' there's no place i'd rather be '.
Our first stay was at  Hotel Miramonti,where we spend our first two days . Our room looked like this:








It's the perfect place to relax.You can rent electric bicycles, electric cars or you can spend your whole day at the SPA.








The food was amazing,we really enjoyed the local cheese,meats and croissants .












What i liked most about this place is the fact that the staff was always there if you needed anything , more than that , if you got lost exploring the surrounding areas the only thing you had to do was ring the reception and someone would come and pick you up . When we left we needed transfer from the hotel to the nearest bus station,so they drove us free of charge . Amazing!
The view from any room just takes your breath away . We had so much fun and cannot wait to go there again . :)





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