Unexpected Stop Over

Things have been a little quite over here but I'm not even sorry, I'm currently on the best family holiday ever! If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram you may have already seen some of the photos and you may also know that the trip didn't get off to the best start....

Mum, Dad, Matt, Mike and Ellie flew out on Saturday and I was supposed to join them on Sunday but thanks to a delay on my first flight I missed my connection and had to wait for the next flight out on Monday. I thought I was going to have some kind of breakdown in the middle of Charles De Gualle airport; I wanted nothing more than to get to my family. There was only one thing for it...I had to distract myself and after all I love Paris so I decided to make the most of it.

I got a taxi into town only to discover half the roads were closed for the Tour De France so that was an experience.

After eventually manoeuvring round the blockades I made the most of the sunshine and just took a long walk around the city to stretch my legs ahead of my 8 hour flight.

After tiring myself out, also pretty certain I'd managed to burn my shoulders I thought I best head for some shade and really is there any other place to do that than Ladurée?!

If you don't already know it is one of my absolute favourite places and any opportunity to visit must be taken especially since there isn't one in Edinburgh.

 Still feeling a little sorry for myself, but a good deal better than when I arrived I headed back to my hotel for the night keen to get a good start in the morning so there was no chance of missing my flight to St Maarten.

The New Galleries

The National Museum on Chamber Street recently opened its new galleries and last Thursday was the first chance I had to pop along. With the promise of food I managed to convince my brother to join me on my travels. We had a few errands to run so took care of those then headed over to the Museum.

There is so much to see but we just went to the new galleries, the rooms are a little dark compared to the main hall so the photos aren't the best (also made the wrong camera choice) so really you'll just have to go check it out for yourself, if you haven't already!

Theres something for everyone from shoes...

To cars....

To Dolly the sheep!


Oh and there is even a robot that can draw cars

And for the inner child there are some puzzles and fun things to try out

Although I'm not going to lie this one was too hard for me! (check out the video on instagram it wouldn't upload here so another terrible photo it is)

Time to just get back to focusing on the displays and not playing on them!

I've already seen quite a few people take this photo but you can see why, the planes lined up in the middle of this room look too good to resist several snaps.

Our last stop was the Charles Rennie Mackintosh furniture...arguably some of the most recognisable work by a Scottish designer/architect. He was most definitely one of a kind

Matt was super patient on our little adventure but time for the main event...Byron

Now I'm a little embarrassed to admit I'd never been before but its another one of those restaurants that was in England a while before it made the journey North but boy am I glad it did.

We went for a couple of burgers, obviously, with a side of onion rings and fries with cheese and bacon; these are a must order!

As you can see we really enjoyed the burgers and were pretty stuffed but just couldn't resist a milkshake for dessert.


The new salted caramel is amazing but to be honest we probably should've shared one, they're massive! We made a good attempt at getting through them but couldn't quite finish them for fear that we would have to be rolled home.

There are 2 restaurants in Edinburgh so theres no excuse that you can't get to one so if you haven't been already get yourself down there. Its the perfect way to refuel after using all your energy wandering around the museum.

Some Good Eggs

I feel like I have been working a lot lately, so Last Sunday when I had the whole day to myself I just had to make plans so natuarally brunch was the first idea that came to mind!

After a bit of a Late night on Saturday, Jill and I dragged ourselves out of bed grabbed a coffee and reluctantly headed to the gym.

In hindsight it was possibly not the smartest idea; we were super tired but didnt want to miss our workout, so there was no circumstance in which we could win on this one. However it did really help us build up quite the appetite so off we went for some brunch.

I'd asked on twitter for some good suggestions and got a few that looked amazing and will all be tried out in the near future but our pick of the bunch for Sunday was Urban Angel.

Unfortunately it was pretty busy when we got there so we had a bit of a wait for a table but its ok thats what coffee is for. Cappuccino no. 2 of the day helped pass time and fill a space before the main event.

But boy was it worth the wait; the building is pretty cute...but the food!

My favourite brunch food has to be Eggs Benedict so I went for that with spinach and a mango smoothie while Jill chose scrambled eggs with toast. Feeling the need for a little more protein we also ordered some sausages (gluten free for those who are interested). Not a scrap was left on the plate!

If you're looking for a top brunch spot I'd highly recommend Urban Angel, definitely the best Eggs Benedict I've had in Edinburgh so far....I do have quite a few more places to try though!

'Why are you single?'

Now is it just me or is that the most annoying question ever?! And it is never asked as a genuine question, as if the person asking is actually interested in your reasoning! Its usually asked with a not-so-subtle hint of concern as if there is something wrong with you. And even after a good explanation you are still met with a 'but don't you want to be in a relationship?' and you just stare back wondering if they even listened to a word you said.

I'm fed up of people not listening/understanding so decided to get this off my chest and where better to do it but here!

The biggest thing people don't seem to understand is that it's perfectly ok to be happy by yourself. In fact I think its quite important. Now I'm not saying I don't want a relationship but I'm also not going to settle. I'm happy; I enjoy my job, going to the gym and spending time with friends; my life is good and I'm very lucky so why would I want to be with someone who doesn't add to that?

Apparently this is a very difficult thing to comprehend...maybe its just because I don't need to rely on someone else and not everyone has that luxury. Everyone is different and I think thats something to celebrate not poke fun of so can we all just be friends please :)

The perks of being single is that you can pretty much do what you want when you want and don't have to worry about other people; I feel like I've had so many adventures with friends and family! Yes it would be nice to find someone who I could share this with but as I said it has to be there right person.

I'm glad I got that off my chest; tried to keep it short so I don't bore you but I just felt I had to put it out there.

Food, Drink & cute buildings

Three of my favourite things, put them all together and you've got a winner! However I apologise in advance for the photos, they're not the best but hopefully you can still appreciate the beauty.

Sunday was the last day of our mini-break and after a few days filled with a bit of driving we opted for something a little closer and relaxed.

Tewkesbury Food & Drink festival was being held in the grounds of the Abbey; its a place I'd never been but it just sounded like the perfect way to spend a Sunday. It was warmish but pretty cloudy as we arrived and of course the first thing I needed was a coffee, so picked one up at the first stall we found then headed inside the marquee for a good sniff around.

There were quite a few families there eyeing up the pies, pastries and cider, we made sure to do a full lap before making our selections, finding a nice patch of grass and sitting down to enjoy our mini picnic style lunch.

We sat there a while enjoying the live acoustic music and the little sun that decided to pop out and say hi for a bit.

It wasn't long before all the kids with ice-cream made us a little jealous so we set off in search of our own. Deciding to walk off the ice-cream as we ate it, we wandered back through the church grounds and into the centre of town.

If you were to picture a quaint English town I reckon Tewkesbury would be pretty close to the image in your head! Theres just something about the wonky walls and concave windows that I just can't resist.

By the time we wandered through the centre and finished our ice cream it was time to head off to the airport and back to reality.

I just love exploring new places and I'm already thinking about my next adventure....

Beautiful Bath

It's been about 8 months since I was last in Bath but it's one of my favourite cities and so I can never pass up the opportunity for a visit, even if it is a quick one. I had a week booked off work and was keen to go away, I opted for a bit of a mini-break. Jill and I decided to jump on a plane to go stay with Holly for a few days. 

We were doing a bit of a holiday on a budget as we all have other things planned later in the year. Our day in Bath was probably our most extravagent day; It was our 'treat day' for Jill's birthday.  

After struggling with the sat-nav, that decided to take us on possibly the most scenic route available, we eventually arrived in Bath and headed straight passed the beautiful architecture to the Spa. 

I've been here a few times now but it was a first for the girls; think its safe to say they will all be making a return visit! Sadly no phones/cameras allowed so you really will have to go check it out for yourself; especially the rooftop pool. I seriously contemplated dozing off in the pool but didn't really feel like drowning. 

After a very relaxing couple of hours we were pretty peckish so headed out to meet Holly's boyfriend,  Sam, then all headed for some lunch to Bill's. Now if you live in England this won't seem too exciting but you see we only have one in Scotland and sadly it's over in Glasgow (Please come to Edinburgh?!)

As we were celebrating, we just had to order a bottle of prosecco between the 3 of us, Our chauffeur stuck to the coke (thanks Sam!)

Jill and I both went for Burgers, Holly a salad and Sam a steak, everything looked pretty good! But we made sure to save just a little space for some dessert.

How good do they look? mini donuts, strawberries and chocolate sauce...yep they tasted that good too!

We didn't even feel guilty for eating our weight in food but we thought we better walk it off.

 You can't go to Bath and not go see the Royal Crescent and The Circus so off we went.

There are also some very pretty doors....

Bath is and always will be one of my favourite cities, it was so nice to share it with the girls and Sam of course! There is still so much I would love to explore there and I can't wait for my next visit.