Finally a White Christmas

Being away from my family during the holidays does not get any easier the more it happens. So the best remedy for homesickness is to distract yourself with something amazing. I’ve been away from home for almost 2 years and in that time I am yet to see snow. Boo! So in hopes of finally having a white Christmas a cabin was booked, the car was packed, snow clothes and hiking boots were bought and the Scottish Highlands were in my sights. I have yet to explore much of the UK as its much like travelling around Australia, generally more expensive than getting on a plane and seeing something further away. So I was pretty excited to be seeing something of my ‘backyard’.
The car ride to Scotland is a long one, however being Aussie is meant to make long car journey’s a piece of cake, right? Ahhh probably should have rethought that idea. But after a long 12 hours we finally reached our destination.
	The cabin was attached to a house right in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but snowy mountains and pine tree plantations around. It was truly beautiful. The owners of the cabin had really outdone themselves, the cottage was more wonderful than I could ever imagine, and I joked it was better than my home in London, haha not kidding; I would have easily lived there.
Christmas isn’t Christmas without tons of food and booze, and being away on holidays and away from family (well most of them) is no excuse. We stocked the cottage, mostly with booze and things to make cookies with ready for a fun 10 days. (we made sure we had enough Tim Tams for the holidays, hehe). The closest town to our cottage was Inverness and it was around 30mins away. So we were literally in the middle of nowhere.
Sadly the cottage was not covered in snow on Christmas day, but I settled on an early morning hike to go and see some snow, it’s practically the same, right? We were informed it was a fairly easy climb, and would take around 3-3.5hours to complete. So after a coffee and a quick Merry Christmas, we set off for a Scottish adventure.
	The sun was shining and the air was crisp, it was perfect hiking weather. I was surprised at how many locals were also out hiking early Christmas day. The hike was fairly easy, and the ground was sprinkled with snow, as we climbed higher the ground became an icy snowy track. I actually wasn’t prepared for how slippery it was. I didn’t think we’d make it to the top.
After a slow final climb we reached the top, and it was seriously the most amazing views I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas morning (except the one my parents and brother seemed to have on the Gold Coast of Aus, only slightly jealous of their first beach Christmas). Tons of photos were taken, and a hangry Bec emerged, it was midday and I was definitely ready to feast.
I was right at home in the cottage kitchen; it was fully stocked with everything I could dream of. I made shortbread, gingerbread cookies, Anzac biscuits, apple crumble, and loads of other delicious treats. After last year’s turkey, we decided that took way too long to cook, and we couldn’t really be bothered with that, so we cooked an amazing pork dish. I’m impressed with my awesome chefing skills.
	We spent the rest of the day eating, drinking, and playing board games, perfect wintery Christmas day.
Scotland has a lot to offer and we spent every second day in the car going to see some amazing sights. We visited the Loch Ness, Isle of Skye and the Eilean Donan Castle. I had no idea people still lived in castles, where is my Scottish Prince whisking me away to live in a castle. Scotland is also famous for whisky and haggis. I’m not really a fan of either, having tried both at a Rabbie Burns night, but travelling with a bunch of boys meant I was given no choice in visiting breweries and eating at pubs. I didn’t complain too much :P
	The views around the Loch Ness were seriously stunning. We walked along a Loch, which was super slippery, and I was sure my brother was going to fall in head first; I don’t think he took a step without slipping. As you drive around Scotland you can’t help but stop and take pictures every little while. The scenery changes and reveals more amazing sights. We stopped the car and climbed a small hill (when I say small it was still huge, it just wasn’t a mountain) and watched the sunset.
	Around our cottage there were walking tracks, and plenty of pine tree plantations to fill our time with. With such limited day light hours, we spent most of them outdoors taking in all we could. The great thing about Scotland is that even though the weather is snowy and cold, you still have that amazing sunlight. The sun was out every day, beautiful.
We had every intention of going to Hogmanay in Inverness, however the kind neighbours invited us over for an early whisky, and the thought of going back out into the cold weather and driving back into town was not appealing anymore, so we spent New Year’s drinking and being merry with the neighbours.
Before we knew it our holiday was coming to end, and to finish the trip off nicely, we headed to Edinburgh to see the castle. As we arrived and I was climbing the hill to the castle it decided to dump a heap of sleet over me, and I was freezing. I thought snow was meant to be pretty and fun, this was not. But within 30mins the weather changed and the sun was shining, and there was no sign of cloud in the sky. Haha typical. I was pretty exhausted by this stage, so we wondered around Edinburgh, feasted on pub foods, and had an early night, ready for our trip back to London the next day.	I would definitely go back to Edinburgh and really enjoy the city. I didn’t really have time, or energy to get excited and enjoy it. So back it goes on the bucket list.
	I can finally say I’ve had a white Christmas, and it was amazing!
	Peace out for now Bxxxx

"Walking in a Winter Wonderland"

Christmas is by far my favourite holiday. Not for religious reasons, but because I get to spend time with family and friends. Those 3-5 days staying with my parents in my home town, visiting friends from high school, cooking and eating too much delicious food, and spending way too much time with my brothers and parents, which ends in the good old Christmas fight. There is no better time of the year.

I was excited for my first cold Christmas this year, but not missing out of that family time. Lucky for me, I had tons of fun and exciting things planned for my first Christmas abroad and in winter.


First things first, the work Christmas Party. And being a massive foodie, I was excited for this. Lunch at Gordon Ramsay’s Foxtrot Oscar. The restaurant is quite small, but the chefs simply out did my expectations. Due to my food allergies and issues, it’s always worrying eating a new place, but this place tailored whatever I chose off the menu to my dietary needs. The dessert was the best part, of course. Sorbet with almond crumble, Mmmmmm, delicious. Needless to say the only way this day could have gone better was to have Gordon come and cook the food himself.


Nothing screams English adventures quite like a traditional afternoon tea for Christmas Eve, and what’s that? Gluten free and all you can eat!! Yes Please!! The idea of all you can eat is always appealing until you’ve eaten the first cake tier. All the cakes, scones and sandwiches were uber tasty, but one round was all I could muster, and even that lead to the tightening of the clothing. It was of course chased down with a shot of mulled wine, Mmmmmm!


I’ve always thought the idea of cooking a Turkey with all the trimmings would be a fun way to spend Christmas day. After spending the ENTIRE day on Christmas cooking, I’m now not so sure it’s a good idea.

Having never cooked a turkey before, some research and planning needed to go into it. We bought the 10,000 ingredients needed for stuffing, roasting a turkey, vegetables and of course gingerbread cookies, all that was left was to cook it all. So the day started with Christmas waffles. Then moved onto gingerbread men, and then the main event the TURKEY! Seriously I spent the entire day cooking. The turkey needed basting, and then the stuffing needed cooking, and then more basting, and then mulled wine. And before I knew it, it was 6pm in the evening and we were finally ready to eat.


The turkey actually turned much better than I expected. And I was happy to eat it for following 4 days for 2 meals a day, haha.

Mulled wine was another thing I wanted do make at home. It’s such a delicious drink, and not something I’d had back home. The mix of red wine, cinnamon, orange, cardamom, and other Christmassy spices, is simply divine. I did get a little carried away, and drank far too much of it over the Christmas break, but at least I know how to make it now. And will totally be taking this new found deliciousness back to Aus when I move home.


Tradition back home is that we always go to the movies on Boxing Day. So this year was no different, although a slightly fancier version. The cinema near my house is quite small, and is set up like a lounge room. Each seat is like a lounge chair. You can get wine, nachos, pizza, salad, and popcorn, practically anything you want at the bar. It was one of the best movie experiences I’ve ever been too.



There are few touristy things I haven’t done around London and the aquarium is one of them. Going on a Saturday afternoon between Christmas and New Year was probably not my finest idea, but nothing like an afternoon with the fishies to get your mind of the coldness. It’s quite a cool aquarium, with loads of fun species to see, and it’s super interactive. Best to avoid school holidays though and always buy online before the day, as you get fast tracked entry and it’s generally cheaper.

As I’ve gotten older, New Years Eve doesn’t have the same “OMG I have to get drunk, and party the night away” feelings as it used to. And after waking up sober to begin 2013, I was ready for a little more adventure this year. Though we probably should have gone into London City before 11pm to get a good seat for the fireworks. And after being directed down the Strand, we reached St Pauls Cathedral and decided surely we’d see the fireworks over the smaller buildings here. Well as we waited along with thousands of other to ring in the new year, sure enough we sure NOTHING! Not even one firework, a small spray from the building near us, but we heard the fireworks, and they sounds super amazing.


This was rather disappointing, and led us straight into the nearest pub to down a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Much to my surprise, or not really, I woke up New Years day with a killer headache, the inability to even lift my head off the pillow for the better part of the day. Yep, London New Years will be one to remember.

So I survived my first winter Christmas, YIPPEEE. I didn’t see snow unfortunately, but there is always next year.  Not sure I enjoy winter Christmas’s over Summer ones, although there are Christmas Jumpers during winter, so that’s a pretty big selling point!!!

Peace out for now.....
Bxxxx

Christmas in Brussels

	I've been to Brussels a few times now, and what’s not to love; chocolate, delicious fresh waffle aroma filling the streets and beautiful architecture. This time there were promises of chocolate tasting, but Christmas markets and mulled wines were on offer. Being my first Christmas away from the heat, I am very very excited to experience the typical winter Christmassy things. I have visions of it being exactly like in the Christmas carols and Christmas cards. And Brussels did not disappoint.
Everywhere you turn; there are Christmas lights, a never ending row of stalls selling everything from mulled wine, and beer, to waffles, and stoemp, to wooden tree decorations. The streets filled the people of all ages, rugged up in beanies, mittens and scarves, sipping warm drinks, or downing delicious street foods. I had been to the chocolate factory before and knew it was going to be difficult to resist sampling EVERYTHING! This time I was determined to not be sick after the experience and just enjoy the delicious chocolates to a sensible limit. Hehe yea right!
Neuhaus was packed. Sooo many people bringing their kids, grandparents, cousins, friends, to feast on free chocolate samples. When you enter the store all you can smell is that sweet sweet cocoa smell, mixed with hints of fruits and nuts. I held back and didn’t dig into the first open box of chocolates I saw. I looked around and carefully selected what I wanted based on the few words I could actually read on the boxes and how well the chocolate was presented. This worked for a little while, but then lust and greed took over and well Bec is not in charge then. All I wanted was more, and more chocolate. I knew it was time to leave. So I grabbed a handful of caramel slivered almonds and went outside to wait for my friends. Haha I will win the battle next time, NEUHAUS, next time!!!
	Next stop we were onto lunch! WHOOHOO!!!! There is a cute and popular fish shop, where they have no seating, you stand and eat your food around tables. It’s an odd concept to me and seems kinda barbaric, but I’ll roll with it. The food was DELICIOUS. The tuna steak was cooked amazingly, the last time I had tuna steak my mum cooked it, and it was possibly the worst meal I’ve ever had, haha poor mum! But this was the perfect kinda of tuna; it melted in your mouth. I also tried razor clams/shells which I’d never had before, they were also super tasty. It could have been that I was freezing my ass off, but everything tasted amazing!!!
I didn’t know or realise that the Smurfs were written and based in Brussels. Should have guessed as it’s the comic capital of the world. And as you walk around you can see street art of different comics. And in this cute little courtyard there is a massive sculpture of a Smurf sitting on a toadstool. Its soo cute.	We spent the rest of the weekend indulging in mulled wine, mulled apple and cinnamon cider, wine, chocolate, sweets and Belgian foods. I think I’m going to love this whole winter Christmas….. Peace out for now…. Bxxx

Copenhagen

This has been top of my list of places to visit since I arrived in the UK. I’ve been dreaming of this trip for months. And when my friend suggested we go for my birthday and for the Christmas Markets, I honestly cried. This would be the best birthday of my adult life! There were a few key things I wanted from this trip. I wanted to go to 42Raw (a cafe that only serves raw food), Paleo (a cafe that only serves paleo foods) and the Christmas Markets. The trip over was awful and I will NEVER fly with Easyjet again. But that bitching will be saved from your eyes, cos I’m that kind: P
The first day started with a trip on the train to the little mermaid statue. Mind you the trains themselves are amazing, and way bigger than my house. It felt like I was in the future. The trains had TV’s and plush chairs, London tubes could really take some pointers from them. So I arrived at the statue of the Little Mermaid, which has been the centre of the Disney movie, and some other dude who wrote the actual story, I forget his name.
	We didn’t have a plan till lunch time, so spent some time wandering the streets. Copenhagen is beautiful; it has everything I’d ever want in a town. Every second shop is a health food, or organic cafe. Aimlessly walking lead us right into the palace square, where at that exact moment the changing of the guards was beginning. Talk about timing. I’ve never seen a changing of the guards, it’s all quite scripted and almost like a dance. It was quite interesting to watch. Near where the guards marched, there is a huge beautiful church. It’s a massive dome, and has murals, and stained glass all around the walls. I imagine the sounds on a Sunday here, when there a tons of people singing, would be wonderful due to the shape of the church.
Next stop LUNCH!!! And mannn have I been waiting for this for a loooong time. Little did I know that 42Raw and Paleo are actually in the same street and side by side. AMAZING!! So 42Raw was first on the tasting menu. I couldn’t decide what to have, so settled on a tasting plate: raw sandwich, raw lasagne and raw curry. I’m a fan of the raw food movement, only as a treat, or a change to the usual eating plan I have, and everything on this plate was delicious. Even my bacon loving, chicken eating friend liked the raw lasagne. I finished the meal off with a coconut and ginger brownie, and a vanilla cookie. The cookie was my favourite part. I honestly could have died happy after that cookie.
But there was more to discover........ The Tivoli Gardens are a huge draw card to Copenhagen, as they are only opened four times a year. And being a month till Christmas, they had opened a week or two before our trip, and were stocked with Christmassy stuff. The temperature dropped, and man was I cold. And for everyone who knows me, I whine, and whinge A LOT! I’m like a little kid. No attention span, always need a drink or to pee, or I’m cold, or I’m hot, or I’m tired. Haha can’t win really. So when I went to the Tivoli Gardens, it was night time and the temperature was around 1 degree. Yep I was dying. Pretty sure winter will kill me! But as soon as I saw the lights, and all the prettiness of the gardens, my freezing disappeared. It was soo fun and Christmassy, with tons of lights and decorations, and sweet sweet smells of sugared nuts, and waffles. I guess this is what you expect for a cold Christmas.	There was soo much to see and look at, my eyes and brain were in over drive! After a few hours, the excitement wore off, and I was back to being cold! But with a quick costume change I was off to a Ruby for birth day cocktails.
	Day 2 started with a late breakfast and then more wandering and stumbling upon great parts of the city. I saw Christmas markets, with a super jolly Santa, I had juices, and coffees at nice little cafes. And then it was time for Paleo: D
It’s the best feeling going into a cafe and knowing I can order anything on the menu and be able to eat it without dying or feeling awful. Paleo was everything I could imagine. I had a salmon wrap, which was made out of egg, and in the wrap was orange and pomegranate. It was simply divine. And what is lunch without dessert, coconut muffin and brownie with coconut butter and flakes. Too much YUM!!! With full bellies, we set off for more sightseeing. I have this ability to find organic food places no matter where I go. It’s like I am drawn to them, and no surprise I stumbled upon two food halls, which housed soo many different kinds of foods and oils, and drinks. EVERYTHING!
	After a rice milk gelato and peppermint tea, it was off to prep for dinner. On the menu were fishies!!!! When I arrived at Fiskebaren we were seated at a huge bar with a fish tank in the middle. So we were literally eating dinner with the fishies. The restaurant was a little more up market, and nothing seemed too difficult for them. They were soo helpful with all my allergies and issues; that they specifically made me a dessert with ingredients I could eat, which the chef bought out himself. The fish was super fresh and so delicious. The whole experience was fun, and really ended our nights in Copenhagen amazingly.
With our trip drawing to an end, we decided to spend our last hours in Copenhagen at the zoo!!! It was minus a million degrees, but that didn’t stop our excitedness.  One thing I don’t understand is how they can take a zebra from Africa and dump it in a zoo in Copenhagen where the temps are super cold, and the zebra just adapt and act like it’s the Bahamas. I’m freezing my a$$ off and I have a million layers of clothes on. The zoo was a ton of fun, and you could really get quite close to some of the animals. It really ended the trip off well.
	The flight home was a disaster, and again will never fly with Easyjet again. But Copenhagen is now my new favourite place on earth. Peace out for now...... Bxxxx