The New plough Tea Trailer

 

A lovely afternoon trip out, make your way to the New plough tea and coffee trailer for a lovely beverage and a slice of cake alongside lovely riverside views. Also available is the stables where you can say hello to lots of lovely animals, a great idea for those with young children. Lots of outside picnic tables or you could take your own picnic blanket.

After a refreshing break follow the path along and you can do a range of different walks along the river wear you can also do the walk up to Penshaw monument a National trust site.  also good cycle routes along this area that you could follow if your prefer being on two wheels rather than on your feet. A lovely walk for people of all ages and a lovely afternoon out for all the family.  Many small routes or circular if you fancy extending your walk further.

I love finding hidden gems, Beautiful scenic spots or local businesses to support and the The new plough tea trailer is certainly getting added to my North East must visit list. Go give them a visit if your fancy or if you are local.

Amsterdam

 

 

Neon nights and Rainbow days, Amsterdam is truly a dynamic, lively and unique place to visit filled with colourful evenings and subtle pastel days. Plenty to see, do and experience, Amsterdam is certainly a place of firsts.

From family friendly experiences to more raunchy and exotic sights it is truly a city one must visit. This was my second visit to the iconic dam and i am glad i decided to return with fresh eyes and my other half with me.

we did a day of bar crawling and trying out dutch beers or cider for me, Amsterdam is filled with quirky and beautifully decorated bars and micro-pubs along the canal and red light district.

.Canvas Rooftop bar

Proeflokaal Arendsnest a lovely bar with very friendly staff and over 50 beers on draught!

.Beer temple great bar, wide selection of beers and ambience.

. Vesper quirky cocktail bar.

. Craft and Daft

.Excalibur Café a Metal/Rocker/Bikers idea of heaven nestled in the heart of the red light district.

We did some typical tourist sights

we went to the Heineken Experience which allows you to learn about Heineken how it came to be and the ethos behind a good beer. Although i am no beer drinker it certainly was informative and very interactive.  As you go through you can see how it all started to modern day brewing today… unfortunately i did not find out the “secret ingredient” but who knows maybe one day we might find out.  Heineken is offered in between the middle of the tour with one half pint per person and at the end of the tour you are lead to the vault where you can use your tokens for two half pints.

Rijksmuseum where we got to see some incredible art and even the well known painting by Vincent van Gogh, self portrait. Lots of artefacts and art to viewed across three different floors and the gardens are also on offer too.  make sure you spare plenty of time to appreciate everything we spent around 2/ 2.30 hours exploring and reading all the exhibitions.

we did a night tour and explored the red light district in full swing and even went to the well known sex museum filled with history’s association with sex and all thing kinky.  Within the museum their is a range of media showing explicit images from across the decades, within this museum nothing is taboo and as its known for a sex museum it certainly is and showcases Amsterdam’s open mind towards sex and the sex industry.

Along with this we took lovely walks along the canals, visited record stores and  enjoyed eating traditional Belgian chocolate waffles (YUM).

 

Tropical World Leeds

On Saturday the 27th of June we took a road trip to Leeds and decided to visit Tropical World in Leeds.  An amazing interactive Tropical world experience within the UK’s biggest greenhouse. As you explore different contents, species and plant life from across the planet. You can enter the rainforest, Mangroves and desert right within the heart of Leeds.  The experience was better than we anticipated and it was a lovely find with lots of cool things to see including Meerkat’s. We were apprehensive but the Greenhouses and its contents are truly bigger and more interesting than the first appear with an adult ticket only costing £6.20 it was truly worth the money. Its very family and visitor friendly with a gift shop, cafe and facilitates.  If you lover animals, Plant life and Instagram worthy snaps the  Tropical world is the place for you!.

 

tropicalworld.leeds.gov.uk 

Neutrals and warm tones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Lindisfarne Festival

 

Lindisfarne Festival is an annual music and creative arts festival which takes place in Northumberland. The festival is opposite Beal Farm, and is close to the coast, overlooking Lindisfarne Island, and Bamburgh Castle. Plenty of delicious food and drink venues surrounded the main area including Newcastle’s own Canny Coffees which helped me survive the camping experience! A selection of local talent attended and some more well known names entertained us throughout the weekend including the Levellers and happy Mondays.  The vibe at the festival  was relaxed and lots of fun, I loved the folk style atmosphere and friendliness of everyone there, i would certainly return and i recommend  this fun, local festival especially if you are from the North East.

 

 

The Refuge – Manchester

 

 

Amy- http://www.anchoredteapot.com

 

 

 

FOR THE GRAM,

I cant be the only one who searches for photogenic locations, colourful back drops and unique places to document my gram/blog and lifestyle?. Well here in Manchester i got to do just that and finally check off The Refuge off my list, I mean can you blame me ?

So The refuge by Volta is a successful Bar and  restaurant hot spot when visiting Manchester its different themed rooms are photographers dream. The refuge is also situated in the Principal Hotel also stunning and a nice place to stay or have a staycation when in Manchester.  The Refuge is a elegant, modern and chic dinning experience and i loved the conservatory best as photographed from above for obvious reason such as the tiled floor, stunning plush velvet sofas and green foliage everywhere. We had some bar snacks and cocktails while we were waiting to see the one and only Britney Spears! as photographed above we ordered  ‘One Daisy’ and the ‘The Queen’s Peach’ both were scrumptious.

For the gram, for the cocktails, for the food get yourself to The Refuge as soon as possible.

Macara

Siena

 

 

From our adventure in Rome we took the ItaliaRail Train from the city centre of Rome to Siena a city in the central of Italy’s Tuscany region.  Siena is a beautiful Italian city and well worth  visit with its medieval themed buildings and Gothic inspired churches its is a city soaked in 14th century history. Siena was the location for the iconic Jame’s Bond film Quantum of Solace and Twilight new Moon. You can see why directors would find Siena to be a incredible filming location from the pictures alone the people and hospitality was also another great reason this city was so wonderful to visit.   While spending days in Siena we stayed in a Villa known as ‘Country House Casa Cornacchi’ an incredible, traditional Italian villa with all the necessities including your own private Hot tub and swimming pool ! We were staying at the Casa Cornacchi as two of our friends were getting married which was stunning a day filled with Italian traditions, lace and the coming together of two families it was a  wonderful day  and something i will never forget.  As you can see from the above pictures the views, luxury and privacy of the villa was beautiful enough to say the least.  We had an incredible trip to Rome and Siena experiencing traditional Italian culture and Tuscan traditions. I cant wait to visit italy again and progress my travels to other areas such as Milan and Venice.

Would you ever visit Siena?

Macara

48 Hours in Rome

 

 

 

 

I went for a mini stay-cation in Italy’s heart, Rome.

Rome is a lively and beautiful city with stunning architecture and historic buildings dating back to BC. The city welcomes modern culture in historic surroundings and every new street welcomed something new and unique.

I highly recommend a visit to St Peter’s Basilica for €8 you can climb 551 steps to reach the top and marvel the stunning panoramic views of Rome, embracing the magnificent art and architecture from above and below. St Peter’s Basilica is a  Late Renaissance church with architects including Michelangelo and can hold an impressive 20,000 worshippers, along with the art work, the chapel, you also get access the the Pope’s Tomb and other historic  artefact associated with the Churches longstanding history.

The Trevi fountain is an iconic and free location to visit. Which features a stunning water feature. This stunning fountain was completed 1762 and still stands beautifully intact. With the aqua blue water and mythological inspired sculptures surrounding the fountain. It is such a stunning and must see on the bucket list of many eager travellers. They say if you put a euro into the water and make a wish you will have good luck and good fortune for many years to come.

The Colosseum was a marvel to see visually incredible and vast in size it is only when you are up close can you really appreciate the grandeur and  scale of this well known building. If you are visiting Rome on the first Sunday of a new month then visitation is free otherwise you have to pay. We opted out and decided to appreciate it from the outside as the waiting line was HUGE, Plus if you have seen the movie Gladiator the inside inst hard to imagine. 

I highly recommend visiting the Vatican city it is very specific to Rome. This is where the headquarters to the catholic church resides and it is also home to Pope. Their are a couple of areas attached to visit within the Vatican city these include –  St Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel and the gardens of the Vatican City.

Honorable visit recommendations when in Rome –

• Pantheon
• Castle Sant’ Angelo
• Villa Borghese Gardens
• Galleria Borghese

 

I adored Rome and i would love to travel around Italy more i already have Cinque Terre, Milan and Venice on my travel list.  I hope you enjoyed

Have you ever visited Italy ?

Mono&Dogtooth in the streets of Edinburgh

Coat- Primark

Leggings- Primark

Jumper- Primark

Bag- H&m

Sunglassses- Missguided

Boots- Select Fashion

 

Thing’s To do in Edinburgh

When visiting Edinburgh their is lots to see,eat and do within this incredibly historic city. One of my favourite places to visit is the national museum of Scotland a beautiful building rich of history, fashion and technology. It is extremely family friendly with something to do for everyone’s taste and age. A lot of the museum is interactive allowing you touch and explore you way through different fragments of history and science. Not only is it interesting but the building and contents is extremely photogenic and makes for lovely photograph. The national museum of Scotland is FREE and is open 10-5 everyday.

Camera obscura is a great place to visit for a variety of reason’s. It is one of Edinburgh’s tallest buildings and once you reach the top you are given the most spectacular views of the city below offering you a panoramic view. You can also see Edinburgh castle from here and it is 5 minute walk away from Camera Obscura. The illusions vary and are really obscure and hilarious, we had a good two hours within camera obscura and i really enjoyed the variations of illusions from images to interactive mazes. We paid £15.50 each but the exhibition did not disappoint and again this one is for all ages and interests.

 

Princess Gardens and Edinburgh Castle

 

Princess gardens has always been a special place for me. Growing up my dad worked in Edinburgh and i used to spend many weekends in princess gardens during the summer. Of course more active and scenic during the summer princess Gardens is  a beautiful walk through the city centre of Edinburgh and it provides you with scenic views of the castle and the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh city life.

A lovely Market inside one of Edinburgh’s old churches providing a place for local sellers to sell their wares, art work and handy crafts. The market is very spectacular with stunning stained glass windows and original brick work giving a regal look to the venue. I purchased a fabulous print  from a stall called Diedododa which you can follow on instagram @diedododa. A unique place to visit with something a little different inside. Certainly a good place to visit if you enjoy supporting local businesses.

 

 

 

Honourable Mentions

 

Edinburgh Dungeons

Arthur’s seat

Mary’s king’s close

Dynamic Earth

Scotch Whiskey Experience

Edinburgh Zoo

I had a great time in Edinburgh but i know i will be back real soon. Until then Bye for noo.

Love from Macara

x x x