Friday 18 November 2016

48 hours in Cardiff

The first weekend in November saw the Australian Rugby Union team face off against the Welsh. We were lucky enough to secure tickets for the game so decided to make a bit of a weekend of it and headed for Cardiff early on Friday morning.

We took the cheap route of the National Express coach and ended up in Cardiff by half one. After a quick, refreshing nap, Cara and I decided to check out Cardiff Castle.


Cardiff Castle stands in the centre of the capital city and has been there since the 11th Century. The castle passed through many different families and during the early 20th century a lot of the surrounding areas had been sold off leaving little but the castle.

During World War II the castle was used as an air raid shelter which you can walk through on a self-paced tour.


We found a cute little pub near where we were staying. we met Hanna at Gassy Jacks for dinner and they also had £6 pitchers of cocktails! I was still recovering from my jet lag, but the girls managed to get through Round 8 jugs.

After a sleep in, we got ready for the game and met the rest of our group for lunch and pre's. (pre-drinking).




Once we had eaten and had our fill of cheap drinks (Cardiff is the place to go for cheap drink and eat!) we headed to the stadium and watched the Wallabies absolutely annihilate the Welsh.

spot the angry Welshman


all rugged up against the Cardiff weather



After an amazing win by the Australian team, we headed where every Aussie (and most of the Welsh) end up for a good night - The Walkabout!

I found a sheep! Must have wandered in from the countryside.





> National Express return cost us £15 return, however we did end up paying an extra £15 because we decided to go back to London earlier.

> Rugby tickets cost us £60.

> General entry tickets for Cardiff Castle are £12.


Wednesday 2 November 2016

Travel Link-Up - A Perfect Sunset

The November travel link up topic is:

A Perfect...


This is quite a open ended topic, but as I have just spent some time in the US I decided to go with...
A Perfect Sunset




After a hectic 5 weeks travelling the United States, we decided to have a 'holiday from our holiday' and ended our trip in Hawaii.

We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, which boasts it's own lagoon.

This shot was snapped as we made our way back from a day on the North Shore.










How to link up your post
Just pop your post up over the first week of the month (the 1st - 7th November), add it to the link up widget - found on either Angie's, Emma's or on our lovely co-host Jamie from Ink + Adventure's blog - from the 1st of the month.
There are no rules – basically all we ask is that you check out some of the other cool bloggers that are involved in that months travel link up; make a few comments here and there and tweet a few of the posts out to your followers that you think they will love. It’s a great way to meet some new travel bloggers and share some blogging joy!
The Travel Link Up is open to all bloggers as long as the post is relevant.


2 days in San Francisco


I just returned to London after a whirlwind 6 week trip in the states with 3 of my best friends.

The first part of our US holiday started with a stay in San Francisco. We stayed in the heart of the city – which also happened to be Crack Corner – at the Metropolis Hotel.


As we tried to save money anywhere we could, we quad shared. The 2 double bedded room did not give a lot of room for 4 suitcases, a carry-on case and 3 backpacks but we managed to not kill each other or trip over anything the 3 nights that we were there. This is probably because we didn’t spend much time inside.


Our first full day in San Francisco started with walking the scenic route to Fisherman's Wharf so we could catch our boat across to Alcatraz.


The tour of Alcatraz is self paced and has an audio guide within the main penitentiary building. The audio is presented by past prisoners of the island and is full of stories of their time there, including a daring escape!


After walking up and down and all over the island, we were hungry! Luckily we were able to find this gem of an American icon on the wharf.


I was quite excited when the waiter told me the ribs (including the sauce!) was gluten free.
Especially seeing as I didn't like seafood at this point. After trying Jess' 'shrimp on a stick' however I had to get my own!

Nicole and Jess
Me and Kyle


The afternoon was spent walking around the city and signing up to the great discounts that Safeway offer!

Our night was spent at AT&T Park where we watched the San Francisco Giants take on the St Louis Cardinals. Baseball is quite an interesting game to watch, goes a bit long though. We stayed warm with our new beanies and the best hot cocoa I've ever had.


The next day we had a bit of a sleep in, before making our way back to Fisherman's Wharf to do a cruise of the Bay (thanks to our Flight Centre travel agent for this freebie!)

Unfortunately it was a bit foggy so we couldn't get a clear photo of the Golden Gate Bridge, but this was one of my favourites.



A trip to San Francisco isn't complete without taking a ride on the historic cable car. We made our way back to Union Square and waited for around half an hour in line - entertained by the buskers and homeless dancers - before getting on.



The tram starts at the junction of Powell and Market Streets and makes it way through the streets to Fisherman's Wharf. Tickets are US$7 one way.

We also managed to find and begin our love affair with Ross in San Francisco.
For those not familiar with the store, it's a bit like TK Maxx. Nicole, Jess and I had fun trying on the discounted bargains and I picked up a pair of Sketchers for $35 (I love my Sketchers. Might be because I don't have a Prada backpack!)