Europe – Page 3 – The Adventures of Elle Coco

Soothing Sunday Scavenger Hunt

Sunday morning arrived like a freight train full of angry cats. Finding a half eaten kebab on my night stand as I woke up fully clothed made me realise I was about to be struck by one almighty hangover, the promise of healing spa pools was to be the only thing to get me through today. My partner on the other hand, the picture of health and non-hangover wellness, excitedly tells me it’s time to check out and secure our luggage so we can get exploring. Given that our first stop today was 40 minutes outside of Budapest, not part of our Hop on Hop off Bus tour, and I was struggling to string a sensible sentence, we booked a taxi that our hotel were only too happy to help us with.

(Note to self, and anyone reading this: UNICUM is never a good idea, regardless of what the chatty Hungarian bar man will tell you the night before!) Continue reading “Soothing Sunday Scavenger Hunt”

Buda OR Pest?

Want a novel way to surprise a loved one for their birthday or other significant date? Take them on a surprise trip to a romantic Eastern European city, for the weekend. Budapest ticks all your geek boxes, and food related boxes too – history, architecture, politics, bars in tumbling down ruins, chocolate, glorious little unpretentious restaurants and some really awesome heated healing spa pools.

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Chocolate, Laughter and Haggis

Friday had arrived at last, and armed with a comprehensive list of acts and shows to see, with a light sprinkling of pubs, restaurants and chocolate shops in need of visiting, I crammed onto an Edinburgh bound train from London Waterloo with what seemed like half of London’s sweaty, tired commuters kicking off the August Bank Holiday early!

London Waterloo crowds - why do we do this to ourselves? — London Waterloo crowds – why do we do this to ourselves?

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Koln Karneval

It’s cold, very cold, and I’m on the 5am train to Heathrow airport heading for Cologne Bonn, Germany. This all sounds perfectly normal for a Friday morning, aside from the fact I’m in a traditional German dirndl, dressed as a pirate with a fake parrot strapped to my shoulder. I’m going to Koln Karneval, to celebrate yet another traditional German festival, like a true native. Continue reading “Koln Karneval”

An Island off an Island

Having explored much of Malta over the last two days we couldn’t leave without hopping across on the ferry, past Comino, to Gozo – Malta’s even smaller cousin island. Although markedly similar to Malta in terms of style and appearance, Gozo is in fact noticeably different, one of the first differences you will notice is it is much much quieter…well, ok, it’s basically deserted at this time of year!

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Silent City or Party Island

If, like me, you are one for a bit of spontaneity and a lover of winter sun, but heavily restricted on time AND money, then late October and November are the perfect time to get away to a tiny island in the Med!

If you look really closely you can almost see it…almost

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Bring on Brussels

The hotel looked heaps grander on the internet than it was in real life, and the smell of stale cigarette smoke hung in the room, despite the fact I’d selected ‘non-smoking’. The decor looked like it had dropped straight out of a 1960’s Bond movie – plush sofas, curtains made of heavy fabrics and clashing colours – and I was expecting Mr Bond to walk straight through the door…but he didn’t!

Despite the dated Bond-style decor, there was no Connery waiting in my hotel room… *sigh*

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Viva Colognia

Crazy Cologne:

29th JULY: The time had come to leave the Dam…for now. We were up bright and early for a very windy open top car ride down to Cologne. Now looking suitably windswept we checked into our next accommodation and made a beeline for the nearest restaurant, which just so happened to have the most amazing leg of lamb and potatoes, before donning our ludicrous rave t-shirts and hitting the town.

Dinner at Peter’s Brauhaus

The boys in their rave t-shirts

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Hitting The Dam

Hitting The ‘Dam:

25th JULY: Feeling in desperate need of an adventure I’d booked a one-way flight to Amsterdam and made no further plans, until I was at Heathrow! After touching down and successfully navigating my way out of Amsterdam Schifoll airport and onto the right train I arrive in the city center, where it’s now time to find my hosts. While waiting to board my flight from London, I’d posted a last minute ad on backpacker website Couch Surfing to see if anyone could put me up for the night, and I was in luck, after wandering the streets for the best part of 2 hours I eventually found them.

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Die Oktoberfest am Wiesen

Do you want to partake in one of the worlds best drinking festivals, in true style? You’d better meet some Germans then, these Fraulines and Junges sure know how to party!

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