Yearly Archives: 2019

Holiday Post 5: San Francisco

03rd August 2019

We ended our holiday with a three night stay in San Francisco. It was late when we got there on the Sunday so we didn’t get to see much of it (we took a detour via the Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Factory!) but we did get to drive in over the Golden Gate Bridge and enjoy the sun going down after getting stuck in some traffic and getting very hangry!

After rolling in to town we dropped off our rental car as we didn’t see a benefit to keeping it in a busy city where parking is notoriously difficult/expensive. We picked up an Uber to take us to our Airbnb- we went with this option rather than a hotel because we were able to get something MUCH nicer for our money with what little budget we had left and it was a winning choice. Hotels in San Francisco are expensive, and somewhat dingy if you’re on a budget. On the flipside, our Airbnb which was a converted basement in someone’s house, was immaculate and our hosts were perfect- friendly and on hand to help if we wanted it, but happy to leave us to our own devices. As a first experience of Airbnb it was perfect.

We were located somewhere downtown with little around in terms of dining options so we took a 10pm stroll to a nearby grocery store for a makeshift dinner. It was quite daunting at first as it was our first real city experience outside of Vegas but very interesting (and hilly!)

Our first morning in San Francisco saw us getting another Uber and heading down towards Fisherman’s Wharf, via IHOP which Bob was desperate to try (it was good!).
We don’t actually feel like we got the best experience of SF as it was freakishly hot whilst we were there- up to 37 degrees. This is not ideal temperatures for exploring a busy city and we definitely didn’t see as much as we would have liked as it was unbearable to be out for too long, but we’re already planning our next road trip which will see us back in San Francisco before driving up to Seattle.

One place we absolutely loved was Musée Mécanique- a vintage penny arcade located on Pier 45 on Fisherman’s Wharf. We spent a very happy couple of hours here playing on the old school machines and posing in the photo booths- 100% recommend a pit stop here if you’re in town!
We also took a tour of SS Jeremiah O’Brien, a WWII Liberty Ship as Bob and I are both war history buffs. This was an awesome experience and well worth the entry fee we paid. It was however far too hot to spend long on board.

We didn’t visit Alcatraz this time as we didn’t book in advance, which is a must and it was fully booked. We saw it from afar though and it’s on the list for next time.

View of Alcatraz Prison from the SS Jeremiah O’Brien.

After some lunch grabbed from a 7-11 (love those places) we headed to another famous pier- Pier 39, known best for it’s sea lions. Again it really was to hot to fully enjoy this, but it has a buzzing atmosphere and super cool vibe.

A few hours wandering this part of town and we were beaten by the weather. We headed back to our apartment to have a siesta and cold shower before going out to a fairly local shopping mall for an easy dinner (Panda Express, yum!) and a bit of retail therapy.

Day two dawned slightly cooler and we decided to get an Uber to Golden Gate Park. We picked up some breakfast in a supermarket which we ate on the beach before setting about our mission to cover as much of the massive park as we could on foot (next time we’ll hire bikes!)

We made a pretty good dent in the park as well, but there are so many zones to explore you really need a couple of days to get the most out of it.

As an aside, this was on the Tuesday and not one person had mentioned that at noon on a Tuesday they test the emergency alarms, so when they went off there was genuine terror and visions of us about to be engulfed by a tsunami, especially as our Uber driver had kindly told us this freak weather scared him as it made the chances of one much higher! Consider yourself warned!

After about four hours of walking we got yet another Uber and went back down to the beach for one of my favourite parts of the entire holiday.
Before we went I had posted on Facebook that I’d be in San Francisco and this actually presented itself as the perfect opportunity to meet up with one of my most longstanding online friends.
It’s so wonderful to be able to turn an online friend in to a real life one, and our afternoon with Meghan was perfect. We drank cocktails at the Beach Chalet then took a walk on the beach to dip our toes in the Pacific.


It was the most idyllic ending to the holiday of a lifetime and I hope that when we go back to the states we can meet up again.

That evening we headed to another shopping mall, ate more Panda Express (we were so taken by this chain, and we were priced out of local restaurants by this stage in our trip!). We also finally visited a Trader Joes and loaded up on snacks to take home- England needs Trader Joes asap!

Shopping and dining done we headed back to our Airbnb for an early night ready for our epic day of travelling the next morning.
The flights home were smooth sailing, although we didn’t get an minute of sleep so we were slightly delirious by the time we landed in a cold and rainy Heathrow, and we had four days of truly horrendous jet lag. But we had the absolute best time and came home to a very happy to see us Pablo, a house full of engagement cards and balloons, and of course, a wedding to plan!

As I mentioned earlier in the post, we’re keen to re-visit San Francisco in more normal weather conditions. We were a bit overwhelmed when it came to choosing where to visit and what to see, so although it won’t be for a couple of years now we’d love some recommendations.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our little holiday re-cap series! Hopefully there will be more travel posts, both UK and overseas in the future, we’ve certainly got the exploring bug!

Posted in holiday, life, life stuff, lifestyle, travel

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Degustabox- the July Picnic Edition

31st July 2019

Welcome to the July 2019 round-up of Degustabox* (gifted). I’m slightly lacking inspiration for blog content lately, but one thing always guaranteed to get me posting is the monthly arrival of this food subscription box. This month there was a picnic theme to the products, and I was excited to get stuck in.

As you can see, there was a bit of a transit mishap with the Piri Piri Chicken 3 step cooking kit from Simply Cook, which is a shame as Bob and I would have loved to try this as it looks right up our street! These are available at Sainsburys and Waitrose stores so we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled and will pick one up to try in the near future.

Personally I’m not a big fan of flavoured coffee, but Bob is so he was eager to try the limited edition Butterscotch Coffee Syrup from Monin. You can use this in both hot, or iced coffee and we agreed is best in a milky coffee drink like a latte rather than in a straight up black coffee. It got Bob’s approval though and is way cheaper than buying a fancy latte at a coffee shop.
I REALLY enjoyed this Pineapple and Yuzu salsa from Ravish. It’s perfect for adding a splash of summer flavour to sandwiches, salads and burgers. It’s not to sweet, or too tangy- really it’s a dose of sunshine for your mouth.

Hot Sauce, yay! We love hot sauce in this house, especially Frank’s so this product was greeted with much enthusiasm. It’s hard to review just how hot, or not, that it is due to people’s tolerance being so varied but we found it spicy and flavourful without causing any pain.
These Greek Style Flatbreads from Deli Kitchen are a great idea for a BBQ or Picnic. With a bit more weight behind them than a tortilla they make the perfect host for kebabs, falafel wraps or whatever you fancy really. They freeze perfectly making them ideal for keeping on hand for an impromptu gathering.

I always love the snacky bits in Degustabox and this month was no exception. I’ve been a long time devotee of the Kallo brand for rice cakes and these mini bags are perfect for a picnic, or for slinging in your bag for a portable snack on a day out. There’s something about a chocolate covered rice-cake that I can’t resist!
I was a little more hesitant to try the Ape Snacks coconut bites with sesame seeds although I’m not sure why. They are quite moorish and the flavours work well together, another ideal snack for on the go.

I’m not the biggest lover of tortilla chips- I’ll eat them if they are there but there are other savoury snacks I much prefer. That being said, I loved these Beetroot and Onion tortillas from Mister Free’d. They have a wonderfully strong and unique flavour and are suitable for those on a gluten free diet, or who are vegan. Paired with hummus these are bang on.

Bob swooped in on these Randoms as soon as he saw them, he loves his sweets! Both were met with rave reviews- I personally didn’t like the texture of the squish’ems, but he did. We both agreed the sour ones are fantastic!

Last but not least we have New Ribena Frusion- a blackcurrant flavoured water with the flavour of kiwi alongside. I found this an odd combination, I never considered kiwi as a flavour for a soft drink- but it’s nice, refreshing and great served chilled on a hot day.

Let me know if you’ve tried any of these products and what you thought in the comments.


If you’re new to Degustabox, it’s a monthly food subscription box that gives you the chance to try new and exciting products on the market whilst providing amazing value for money.
On a month by month basis the box costs £12.99 (with a discount for longer subscriptions) but the contents are generally worth far more than this as you can see if you do the maths.


If you’re persuaded to give Degustabox a go (and really, you should) you can claim a brilliant £5.00 off of your first box (making it just £7.99!) by entering the code 6HZJ8 at the checkout. It’s been a pleasure to work with the brand regularly over the last couple of years and it’s without a doubt something that I will continue to purchase long after our partnership ends. I love the monthly surprise and excitement as well as the chance to discover products I’d otherwise pass up on the supermarket shelves.

Posted in food, review

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Holiday Post 4: Mammoth Lakes*

22nd July 2019

After the happiest moment of my life to date; getting engaged in Yosemite National Park it was time to get back in to our rental car and head to our next destination; Mammoth Lakes.
The pass we needed to get from Yosemite to Mammoth Lakes was still closed due to snow (so hard to imagine on a day where temperatures were in the mid-twenties), we only found this out at the last minute so after a bit of advice from a friendly park ranger we set about on a bit of a detour.

We set out with plenty of fuel in the tank, but it soon became clear we’d need to fill up. No worries we think, there’s a gas station before we hit the Sonoma Pass…except when we get to the town where the gas station was meant to be located, there was nothing. Just an empty shell of a gas station and the burnt out remains of an area completely destroyed by last years forest fires.
Still, not panicked we reasoned there would be another on the way and we technically still had enough fuel in the tank. We hit the pass, climbed and climbed and climbed (10,500 feet elevation at it’s peak) and watch the fuel dial plummet.

By the time we had made our descent the tank was empty and sat-nav showed 40 miles to the next gas station. We hoped our car had a good reserve tank as we had no phone signal and there was barely anyone on the road- and a serious lack of houses/general civilisation. That gas station was closed, and at that point we went from celebrating our engagement to sheer panic. Luckily our car had a seemingly bottomless reserve and we made the next 30 miles to an open gas station- an hour further from our destination and back in Nevada. That sense of relief was insane. It was 10pm by this time, we grabbed coffee, figured we’d find something to eat when we got to Mammoth Lakes and got back to it.

At midnight we rocked up to our hotel, obviously check-in was closed but the owner had left the key out for us, alongside a triple underlined warning about bears…we had a very cautious trip back to the car for our belongings!
We pretty much crashed straight in to bed after that drama, fuelled on some car snacks we had salvaged and a strange sense of delirium.

The view from our hotel entrance.

We woke up the next day full of renewed engagement excitement and finally got to tell our family and friends. We had a spot of breakfast at the hotel before heading off, keen to make the best of our one full day at Mammoth Lakes, starting with a hike around Convict Lake.

There are no words to explain how stunning Mammoth Lakes was. Surrounded by snow capped mountains even in June, during the colder months this is a popular ski resort, and during the summer a place of outstanding natural beauty and opportunities to be at one with nature.
It’s somewhere I am desperate to go back to, for at least a full week just to see and experience more of it, you can even get a flight there, with a quick airport transfer to your destination.

Hungry again after our walk we headed to local supermarket Vons for some fuel. I’m still in awe of American Supermarkets- I actually got some of the best sushi of my life in Vons, freshly prepared in front of me.

We spent the afternoon driving around and checking out more of Mammoth Lakes but we barely made a dent. Our plans of a second hike were scuppered when, as the only ones on the trail, we saw evidence of recent bear activity- we’d had enough drama!

Determined to break our run of fast food/chain restaurants we decided to splash out on a special dinner at a local restaurant called The Mogul. Here we had some of the best food of our holiday and I’m sad I didn’t think to take a photo but if you do happen to find yourselves in Mammoth Lakes I highly recommend the Ahi Tuna!
We then headed back to the hotel to celebrate with champagne in plastic cups that we’d purchased in Vons (the hotel bar closed really early) and settled down for another early start, and a reluctant departure from such an amazing place.
Our holiday was rapidly approaching it’s end but we had one final destination to reach.



Posted in holiday, life, life stuff, travel

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My Three App Experience*

21st July 2019
Photo by Sebastiano Giuseppe Garilli on Unsplash

I’ve had Three as my mobile phone network provider for over five years now. I made the switch from my previous provider after getting frustrated with the lack of coverage in my area, lack of plans that suited me and the absence of an easy to use way to track my usage and access support.

Three ticked all of these boxes, and have continued to do so in the years that have followed.

I’ve always been impressed with the three app, it’s always been user friendly and readily accessible meaning I can check my usage on the go, and access help and support regarding my phone and my contract whenever I need to.

This proved especially useful recently when we were on holiday. I had already gathered from using the app that our destination was covered by the Go Roam service (another major selling point of the network for me), and it was super easy to access the relevant information explaining what my limits were.

Thanks to being able to access and check in on my usage whenever I needed to I was able to see exactly where I was in terms of these limits; with the cost of overseas phone usage being rather high this was invaluable when it came to making sure I wouldn’t be hit with a hefty bill when I got home.
It didn’t entirely go to plan as coming home we had a layover in Canada- a destination not covered in Go Roam. My mobile phone data kicked in at the airport in Calgary, and despite my switching it off within 30 seconds, the background apps that run amassed a huge bill entirely disproportionate to what I’d done (i.e. nothing but quickly turn my data off!)
I’m not complaining though, I was able to use the app once back in England to see exactly how much it had cost me, and was then able to get in touch with customer services to rectify the situation- which they did, immediately with a very gracious and satisfactory outcome.

There are other winning features to the app too- you can view and amend your plan, buy add-ons, sort out your next upgrade and utilise the live chat feature too.

Overall I’ve been decently impressed with the App, and with the network as a whole, there will always be people who disagree but right now I can’t think of a bad word to say about the service they provide.

Posted in brands I love, gadgets, review, tech

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The Top 6 Things About The Countryside *

18th July 2019
Photo by Gautier Salles on Unsplash

If you live in a city or a town then an escape to the countryside is needed every so often. Even if it’s just for a day trip, visiting the countryside can make you feel like you’ve had a break, and it can often help to clear your mind and reset your batteries. Here are a few reasons why visiting the countryside is one of the best things you can do.

You Can Take Great Photos

If you’re an Insta fan, then you can get some beautiful photos of the countryside. There are some stunning landscapes, beautiful colours, gorgeous animals and magical scenery. The country is breathtaking, and you’ll want to capture it and treasure your memories forever.

You Can Go For Amazing Walks

Walking is so good for you and so is the fresh country air. There are so many different walks you can take, download a walking app to show you the different routes and you’re set. Walking in the country is pleasurable and never feels like a chore because you are always surrounded by beautiful things and exciting things to look at. 

Enjoy Long Drives

Long drives in the country are fantastic too. You won’t find yourself stuck in traffic and getting frustrated (although tractors are a risk!) but you’ll be able to enjoy your car and enjoy the roads. If you need a decent car for the countryside, then look no further than LRC 4×4 Limited where you’ll find something to get you through those country terrains. 

You Can Meet Great People

Many people say that in the countryside the people are friendlier than they are in the city. Now, this is hard to measure of course, but what you probably will find is that in the country people are less busy, the shops are quieter meaning that there’s time for a friendly chat with the shopkeeper, the streets are quieter meaning that when you walk past someone, it’s likely that they’ll say hi to you. There might be more opportunity to speak to people and to find out about them. Locals might be very proud of their country village and want to show tourists a good time; therefore they will make an effort to chat with them and make them feel welcome.

You Can Visit Great Country Pubs

The cosy country pubs can’t be beaten. When you come in from a long walk and go in for some warmth and a home-cooked meal and a nice drink, it’s the best feeling in the world. Many people say that the food is fresher in the countryside too as it is most often local food and perhaps more traditional in the country. With access to local farms and produce, you can enjoy some local delicacies and usually some homemade comfort food.  

You Can Do Lots Of Activities

With nature walks, horse riding, visiting animals on the farm, there is lots to do in the country if you want to do it. You won’t get bored, and there’s usually some sort of attraction you can get to by car if you’re going to go somewhere and get out of the country for a day.


Posted in inspiration, lifestyle

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