Travel

Gatwick Clubrooms

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Gatwick Clubrooms Lounge Review

*I visited the Clubrooms lounge as a paying customer, but there are affiliate links in this post. You can receive a discount on your airport lounge booking by using this affiliate link.

 

Because I’m scared of flying, I used to book airport lounges for unlimited alcohol. Basically, the idea was to get smashed before I got on the plane and sleep. The last time I visited the Philippines I don’t even remember stopping over in Doha (made it alive though). So I did wonder where the value would be of booking an airport lounge this time around, seeing as I don’t drink. Although I was in two minds, having a bit of space to myself away from the main terminal, the food, and the nicer toilets still sounded worth it to me. I decided to go for it and considering I have waited all year for this holiday and book the Clubrooms lounge, which is the most expensive but did look the fanciest. The only downside to booking lounge is that you have to dress smart/casual and I had to get myself a pretty fancy hand luggage bag. 

 

Before my trip I was doing the customary “look through all of your travel documents and get excited” and I noticed this lounge booking gave me access to the premium security lane. Once I had dumped my case I went to the premium security lane and my lounge booking did in fact, let me go through. Considering the security is always really busy at Gatwick this was worth the £38 in itself! So once I’d breezed through I went to the lounge area. Gatwick has all of its lounges conveniently located in one place which is really handy. The Clubrooms lounge is on the bottom so there are no airside windows, which is the only downside if you like that sort of thing. I personally don’t (again, scared of flying), so it didn’t bother me.

Because the Clubrooms lounge is that little bit more extravagant than the other lounges it is table service. When you enter and check in with the staff they will seat you at a table and give you a menu. Things like tea, coffee, and water are self-serve, along with some sweet treats. If you want an alcoholic or fizzy drink, which are unlimited, you can either order them from the waiting staff or go up to the bar. I got there just as the menu was changing over, which I was thrilled about as I had my eye right on the beef burger. Considering they put mayo on everything in this godforsaken country I didn’t even need to look at the menu to know there would be some element of it on this burger dish. I requested it without mayo and it really didn’t take long at all. I got my food in about 15 minutes which is fairly speedy in my opinion. It’s nice to have lunges with buffets but you don’t know how long the food has been sitting there and it is very rarely fresh.

 

Everyone who reads my blog regularly is probably sick of my banging on about it now, but I haven’t done a long-haul flight since I gave up alcohol. Instead of getting smashed I treated myself to a nice camomile tea from the self-serve bit. For all of you Karen’s out there the herbal tea selection is amazing, but fear not you can also get a standard cuppa if you are that way inclined and you are one of those people that goes to Spain and expects to find a full English and a cup of Tetley. There were also other added little perks like free newspapers and toilets there isn’t a 3 metre queue for.

I’d highly recommend treating yourself to the Clubrooms lounge before you go away. I mean, if you can’t treat yourself when you are on holiday, when can you?

You can get discount using my affiliate link here https://www.holidayextras.co.uk/?agent=WM076&utm_source=605603&utm_medium=itsmorefuninyour30s.com&utm_term=3496&utm_campaign=awin&awc=3496_1574680833_06f4b696fdee116e1a0b2a033c063a32

 

Blue Rock Beach Resort

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Blue Rock Beach Resort Review

*I visited Blue Rock Beach Resort as a paying customer

 

As I’ve mentioned on my social media, I have family in the Philippines so I visit fairly often. It doesn’t escape me how incredibly lucky I am to have somewhere to stay in this beautiful country, and I get to experience what day to day life is like there because I stay with family. One of the things we always do when I come to the Philippines is visit Blue Rock. I have definitely mentioned Blue Rock in Olongapo before but I haven’t ever written it’s own separate review, which is a shame, because it deserves one. It is really easy to book Blue Rock Beach Resort as well which is an added bonus.


Where is Blue Rock Beach Resort?

Blue Rock sits next to Baloy Beach in Olongapo. Olongapo is next to the famous Subic Bay, which used to be a US naval base. Now that the base is no longer active, the area of Subic and Olongapo have become popular tourist destinations. Blue Rock itself is right on the beach and there are even certain rooms where you can walk out of the front door and be on the beach. The beach itself affords lovely views of the mountains. If you book through Qatar Airways you can get a flight into Clark and then a bus to Olongapo.

 

What are the rooms like at Blue Rock Beach Resort?

 

I love the rooms at Blue Rock Beach Resort. They are, as one of mine and my pals favourite sayings goes, simple, yet effective. If you’v travelled about the Philippines a bit, you’ll probably be really grateful for the warm shower. I’ll be posting a video on my Youtube soon that shows you how close the rooms are to the actual beach, so make sure you subscribe  so that you don’t miss it. There are a few different levels of room available and I have stayed in two. The first time I visited, I stayed in the Blue Rock Junior Suite. This was a lovely experience, and the room opened out to a patio that was ON the beach. The view from the room was amazing, but one thing you will have to deal with is that the patio is completely undercover because Filipinos don’t like being tanned.

The Junior Suite was gorgeous. I’d recommend it for one night as a treat, or if you are travelling with a friend or as a couple. If you are on your own, it’s pretty big and you could probably use your PHP eating all the food or drinking all the wine.

Another room I have stayed in twice now at Blue Rock Beach Resort is the Blue Rock Beach Resort standard beach front room. This still has a pretty big bedroom and bathroom and is perfect for one or two people. If you are staying a while the reasonable price of this room will not let you down. Neither will the view, here is my picture from the window from 2016…

(The view form the window. Long old walk to the beach that)

 

What is there to eat and drink at Blue Rock Beach Resort?

 

One of the things I love the most about this place is the Blue Rock Beach Resort bar and restaurant, which is open 24 hours. My drinking days are over now since I gave up alcohol for my anxiety, but being able to get food any time is pretty great. The menu at Blue Rock Beach Resort is pretty extensive. You can get traditional Filipino food like Sizzling Sisig. The have a huge BBQ section and they BBQ every night. They have shepherd’s pie. They have pastas. They have a menu devised of pages and pages for food and drink, and the best thing is the majority of the items are also available on the room service menu. Another one of my favourite things about this hotel is coming up in the next section.

 

What is the room service menu/minibar like at Blue Rock Beach Resort?

 

First of all can I just say how weird it is that no matter what one of the far flung corners of this world you go to, you ALWAYS get a Toblerone in the hotel minibar. Another thing I love about this hotel is the fact the room service doesn’t cost any extra. In this country you get charged a ridiculous tray charge. None of this happens in Blue Rock, and you can get the majority of the menu delivered to your room with no extra charge. This fared me well when we took our trip in 2016 when I got sunburn, went bright red and was to embarrassed to go and meet my Aunty and Uncle in the restaurant. Funnily enough, there are no pictures of that haha.

 

Would I recommend Blue Rock?

 

Absolutely. Blue Rock is a great place to stay and I visit every time I go to the Philippines. You can book here: https://www.booking.com/hotel/ph/blue-rock-resort.en.html?aid=1730072&no_rooms=1&group_adults=1

Visiting the Philippines

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Everything you Need to Know About the Philippines

If it wasn’t for my Aunty being Filipino, I would ever have visited the place that has become my favourite place in the world. I’m always grateful that I have the opportunity to come here so much to see my family. But the Philippines is a wonderful place to visit so even if you do not have family here, visiting the Philippines is a must during your lifetime. There are so many things to do and see, two weeks almost isn’t enough. but if you are restricted with your annual leave you can definitely have a great trip within two weeks and see many of the beautiful sites the islands have to offer. I have done a couple of blogs on previous trips to the Philippines, but I feel so at home now it felt like a good idea to put all of my knowledge into a post for anyone thinking of taking a trip there soon. I’ve already written a separate blog on one of my favourite places, Blue Rock Beach Resort , and also filmed a Youtube video about the Philippines. However, I still wanted to put together an “ultimate guide” for anyone thinking of visiting.

Visiting the Philippines – is it safe?

I always visit the island of Luzon as this is where my family are. This is also the island that Manila is on and is, in general, pretty safe. Like anywhere, you need to watch out for pickpockets in the big cities. Funnily enough, I feel safer walking around Angeles City than I do in London. Mindanao is a risky area in certain parts and it’s worth checking the foreign office travel website before you go. At the time of writing this, their official advice regarding the region is “The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all travel to western and central Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago because of terrorist activity and clashes between the military and insurgent groups. The FCO advise against all but essential travel to the remainder of Mindanao (excluding Camiguin, Dinagat and Siargao Islands) due to the threat of terrorism.” If you are visiting the Philippines the chances are you are going for the beaches/tourist areas. Places like Boracay and Palawan are perfectly safe.

Where I went, Angeles City is very built up and many of the locals speak English. You will be safe if you follow basic safety travel tips you would follow anywhere such as:

  • avoid taking large amounts of money out with you
  • do not draw attention to yourself with expensive or flashy jewellery
  • respect local culture
  • do not venture alone into dark or secluded areas

Visiting the Philippines – how to get there

I always book my flights using Qatar Airways because they fly to Clark, which is the nearest airport to where my family live. They do a free shuttle service between Manila and Clark so even if you are going to use Manila as a base you could still fly to Clark. There is a stop over in Doha, and the amount of time you are there can vary from one and a half hours to six hours. I recently wrote some tips for travelling long-haul in case you need them. The journey sounds long but it does actually go really quickly. One of the things you should consider is flying into Clark and using that as a base to get everywhere else. It is a lot less busy than Manila, and you can still get to all of the tourist destinations from Clark airport. There are some lovely hotels in the area, like Central Park Tower and also The Clarkton Hotel. You can also get to Olongapo pretty easily if you want to visit the beach (I’d recommend Blue Rock).

Visiting the Philippines – getting around

There are a few different ways to get around in the Philippines, depending on your budget. The great thing about catching a trike is that they are very reasonably priced. I actually worked out that it cost me £3.07 in GBP to get a trike to the Korean high street where my Aunty lives, get a coffee and a paper from 7/11, and get a trike back. That’s less than the actual coffee would cost me in London. I also worked out that I spend about £150 a month on coffee and Ribena on my way into the city so that gave me a good idea of how to crack on with my saving in the future.

You can also get a Blue Taxi which you can hail down on the road and call. Another excellent thing about the Philippines is that they don’t overcharge you. They are slightly more expensive than a trike, but still very affordable. For longer journeys there are busses and jeepneys. I have to say, the concept of a jeepney still confuses me a bit. My anxious little mind can’t cope with the whole “how much and when do you pay” situation. You can also take a Victory Liner bus. One of the more recent routes is Clark to Subic, so if you were going to make Clark your base instead of Manila you can easily access the local beach resort.

Visiting the Philippines – eating and drinking

Food is a big deal in the Philippines, so if you are a food lover like me you will be in your element. Visiting the Philippines for me means getting immersed in the culture, so I have tried loads of Filipino foods. One of my favourite dishes is Sizzling Sisig, which is fried pig’s head and chicken liver. Most of the places in Angeles City do a fair bit of English and Australian food though, so if you are not up to trying local delicacies, there will be plenty of places for you to eat.

Central Park Tower – Angeles City (££)

Central Park Tower has amazing views and a huge menu. The hotel restaurant is accessible to the public without a reservation. They cater to a huge number of tastes, including things like pizza and pasta in their menu. The prices are really reasonable, but are a touch expensive compared to the other places you could eat.

Jollibee (£)

As soon as I step off of the plane in the Philippines, I want to get a Jollibee (there is a Jollibee in London which is a bit out of the way in Earl’s Court so I don’t visit often). Jollibee is a fast food restaurant that is really popular. Their main meal is fried chicken and rice, and they also do things like spaghetti and hot dogs. I can’t even tell you how good it is. You could easily live on it if you are travelling on a budget, and the menu is quite big so you wouldn’t get bored.

Filipino food dictionary

Sizzling Sisig

As previously mentioned, sisig is chicken liver and pigs head, fried with herbs and spices. It comes out on a hot plate, so it is “sizzling” when it is served. Don’t let the thought of it put you off. It’s actually delicious.

Chicken Abodo

“Abodo” is just the Spanish word for “marinade”. So Chicken Abodo is basically chicken marinaded in soy sauce and vinegar. Although it is traditionally cooked in clay pots, it is usually prepared in a metal pot nowadays.

Balut

Balut really isn’t for the faint-hearted. The dish is a boiled egg, but with the duck embryo partially developed. It’s an incredibly famous national dish, and it’s a bit of an acquired taste. Saying that, if you are going to visit, you might as well try it.

Sinigang

This sour-meat stew is another dish that is really well-known in the Philippines. Pork is the most common meat used, but it isn’t that out-there to see this made with things like chicken or fish.

Visiting the Philippines – things to do

If you are thinking of visiting the Philippines you might be wondering what there actually is to do. One thing I can promise you is that no matter which area you visit, you will be spoiled for choice. Because the prices in the Philippines are so fair, you’ll be able to find something to do on any budget. I will cover a few options of things to do local to Clark/Angeles and also Manila, which is around an hours drive away (depending on traffic).

Olongapo (Blue Rock Beach Resort)

I’ve already written a separate review on Blue Rock Beach Resort, but I just wanted to include it in my guide. The Olongapo/Subic area is a short drive form both Clark and Manila. There are plenty of beach resorts to choose from, most of them ranging between £15 – £100 per night (the £100 ones would be the height of luxury). The sand is smooth and the sea is warm, and this is a perfect area to spend a few days as you will find all of the shops and nightlife you want as well as all of the usual water-sports and beach activities.

Local markets in the Philippines

If you are in the Philippines, then it is definitely worth visiting a local market. Angeles City has the Friday market. You can pick up anything from the Friday market including clothes, make-up, shoes, bags, food and much more. It’s definitely worth a trip if you are close to one.

Spend a day in Manila

If you are going to use somewhere like Angeles as your base, you wouldn’t have much reason to go into Manila. The locals tend to avoid it because of the traffic and how busy it is, but it you are on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Philippines it’s worth seeing. Rizal Park is a huge public park, which is a bit like the Manila version of central park. It has great views of Manila bay and is steeped in interesting history dating back to the Spaniards rule. Intramuros is another part of Manila that is a direct result of the Spanish influence. The walled city looks completely different to the rest of Manila. You could also take a stroll along Manila bay promenade, which is strangely reminiscent of British seaside towns.

Things you should know before visiting the Philippines

  • The local currency is Philippine Peso (PHP), which usually hover around 66 PHP to £1.
  • due to the crack-down on drugs, you can’t buy things like strong painkillers OTC. If you absolutely need to take medication like that, make sure you have a prescription on you.
  • English is quite widely spoken, but it’s still nice to learn basics like “salamat” (thank you), in Tagalog.
  • Ferries and boats are weather-dependent so check before you travel.
  • Monsoon season is June to October.
  • It’s quite hard to buy tampons. So unless you want to use pads all trip, take your own.
  • Filtered water is free in most restaurants. Even the locals do not drink tap water.
  • Nearly all of the moisturiser is “whitening”. In countries like this, being dark-skinned is associated with being poor and working outside. There are loads of whitening treatments as the whiter you are, the more beautiful you are. Unfortunately that makes it pretty hard to get a normal moisturiser so you are better taking your own.

Top products you’ll need before visiting the Philippines

There is a risk of Dengue fever in some parts of the Philippines. Off! is a great mosquito-repellent, and one or two sprays lasts hours. You can buy it there, but if you have the room in your luggage it might be worth buying before you go, just to make sure.

As previously mentioned, tampons are quite hard to find in the Philippines. You’ll find pads galore but if tampons are your preference you might want to take some with you.

As mentioned, unless you want one with whitening treatment in, it is better to take your own moisturiser. Depending on where you are it can also be quite hard to find good skincare products, which are needed when you are getting that much sun.

Here is one I would suggest wherever you are travelling. I’m actually at the point of organisation where I put all of my documents like my lounge pass and airline ticket in order in the wallet.

If you found this content helpful, feel free to help me to keep this blog going by supporting me on Ko-Fi.

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Three Days In Iceland

Is Iceland worth the money?

Northern Lights

I’m going to start this article with an admission that is going to make me sound incredibly uncool. I LOVE the Eurovision song contest. I’ve watched it my whole life and it is very rare I will miss it unless I’m working abroad.

So, what has that got to do with Iceland?

Well ever since I started watching it, the little VT’s before each country have evoked the explorer in me. I’ve wanted to go to Iceland ever since I can remember, so this year, when my friend asked me to go for her 30th I thought “why not” and we made it happen. We did everything. People who tell you a long weekend is not enough are lying. If you are actually going to get up off of your bottom and go out and do things and worry about the tiredness after you will be able to fit in absolutely everything exciting that Iceland has to offer.

Day 1 – Reykjavik Cathedral, The Northern Lights, and a Scary Air BnB

I’ve never used Air BnB in my life, but when it turned out our flights were cheaper to go the day before we thought we’d give an Air BnB a go for the first night instead of booking an extra room in the Radisson which was quite expensive. The theory was “how bad could it be?”. Tasked with organising everything so that we didn’t need to rely on busses or taxi’s I found an Air BnB in central Reykjavik. The “how bad could it be?” theory didn’t really serve us very well.

A short, easy walk form the bus station – the location was everything they promised. Unfortunately so was the cleanliness. Although the Air BnB had described itself as “not immaculately clean”, to me, that just meant that they probably didn’t keep up hotel standards and were worried about appearing badly in a review. As it would happen this estimation was wrong. I won’t name and shame someone’s livelihood on an article the whole world can see, but all I will say is make careful choices if you are going to use an Air BnB.  It was so bad, my friend named it “the crack den”. Luckily, we were at the Northern Lights all night on the night we stayed, so once we crawled into bed after we didn’t really mind that it was filthy.

We left immediately to walk into Reykjavik and go up to the top of the Cathedral. Don’t worry, there’s a lift, so you don’t have to walk it. It was a beautiful view and it also gave us the advantage of now having seen where everything was in conjunction with each other and knowing where to walk For 900 ISK it really is worth it.

The Northern Lights were amazing. We booked through Isango and I would really recommend them. The coach picked us up from the hotel we were staying in for the next two nights so we walked up and found our way. On the way to the first stop, the tour guide informed us that we had a 0% chance of seeing the lights. She did say that we would see some cool stars and have some snacks so we weren’t really that worried. When we got to the stop, the chance of seeing the lights had increased to 1%. Wow. We found the stars amazing. While we were on the stop, we saw four shooting stars and the normal stars were so low it looked like you could pick them out of the sky.

How To See The Northern Lights

Luckily for us, we did, in fact, see the lights. They were amazing. You can’t really describe what it’s like to be standing there looking at something that occurs naturally that is so beautiful. We understood how lucky we were, and also we managed to see them on another stop and get a picture with them.

Day 2 – Checking into the Radisson and a Night Out in Reykjavik

My friend woke me up promptly around 9am and said “Wakey wake Kelly, it’s time to leave the crack den now”. We left promptly and tried to leave the room as clean as possible but my friend did admit when we were halfway down the road that she had stolen the picture of Bjork above our room. Sorry guys!

IMG_20171217_062605

We went for breakfast at Le Bistro which was wonderful as by this point I was craving a decent cup of coffee. Le Bistro is a lovely place for breakfast and I should imagine that the French food they serve for dinner is just as nice. After breakfast we just decided to take our chances and walk up to the Radisson Blu Saga and see if they would look after our cases for the day while we did other stuff.  This is one of the best, most helpful hotels I have ever had the pleasure of staying in. Because our room was ready they let us check in, and after the crack den it was VERY welcome. My friend went off to do some horse riding and I enjoyed the big comfy, clean bed with the view of the mountains, followed by a long bath in the lovely bathroom. The hotel even lent me and my friend some plug adaptors because we are both pretty stupid and forgot them.

Now armed with the use of 2 lovely big mirrors, we got ready for a night out in Reykjavik. The other convenient thing about the Radisson is that you can easily walk to Reykjavik town in about 10 minutes. We hadn’t booked or chosen anywhere for dinner so we ended up just going to the first place that looked busy and did food we both liked – Caruso. It turned out to be a pretty good decision. Shown upstairs to the rustic little room we were going to dine in complete with ski’s and exposed wooden beams, we realised we had made a great choice. The food matched the atmosphere and was just great, home cooked, filling winter warmers that were very welcome after a chilly walk into town. The wine was also good, according to my friend, and the guy playing the guitar completed the perfect, cute, Icelandic evening.

We went on to a bar in Reykjavik and it can’t have made a great impression on me because I forget what it was called. I can’t say it was particularly lively and I must admit even though I do not drink I am far from boring, so we moved on looking for somewhere with a bit more of a party atmosphere. This was also the evening we decided to celebrate my friends 30th as it was the next day but we were going to be out all day.

When we came across The American Bar we didn’t really want to go in, not because it didn’t look good just because we are the kinda gals that like exploring and doing different things, rather than going to American/English places while abroad. As soon as we heard the live singers we were draw straight in and it was great! The music was amazing, the drinks were not too expensive and the atmosphere was great – aside from one couple who looked like they were forced to be there at gunpoint. If you are out and about in Reykjavik on a Friday or Saturday night it’s definitely worth a visit.

Day 3 – The Blue Lagoon and the Golden Circle

No trip to Iceland is complete without going to the Blue Lagoon. It is every bit as amazing as everyone makes it out to be. We got a basic admission package included with our Isango booking. All anyone else who paid more got was a towel, robe and flip flops but we took our own towels and flip flops so I can’t say we really missed out. The mud masks looked good but you can pay for them there so if we really wanted one we could have had one. When you arrive, you get a wristband and you are able to purchase extra’s including treatments, drinks outside, or drinks inside. If you are going, do what we did and go early. Watching the sun come up over the mountains while actually being in the water was an incredible experience. The main thing we were worried about was freezing to death getting in, but getting in is actually indoors and then you walk outside while in the water. There is also a sauna and a steam room that is included in the admission price, so if you do get a bit chilly it’s fine. The water is every bit as warm as people say, but it is a rather weird experience having your face get that cold.

Blue Lagoon Iceland

The changing rooms are really modern with all the amenities you need to get ready to carry on your day and most of all they are warm. If you are going to book the tour that includes the Golden Circle as well then leaving yourself about an hour to get ready will give you a good chance to get dry and warm because trust me, it’s freezing at the Golden Circle.

Visit Iceland

We went into Reykjavik to pick up the next coach and start our afternoon touring the Golden Circle. Our tour guide was a jolly, knowledgable guy who’s name escapes me because my friend insisted on calling him Boris. The first stop was Þingvellir National Park where excitingly you can walk between two continents. Unfortunately the childishness of both of us came out when we found out we would be hiking down a crevice, but it was really interesting.

The next stop was the Selfoss Gesyir. By this point it was really snowing. It isn’t that I don’t like nature, it’s just that I don’t like it when it is cold and in my face. The geyser goes off a few times every hour, and we were lucky enough to see it. It was something that was definitely worth seeing, but I am glad it was part of a tour and not just the main thing we were doing as it wasn’t exactly overwhelming.

Before the next stop the Gulfoss waterfall, we had kind of agreed we were going to look at whatever it was we needed to look at and get back indoors sharpish. I can’t really remember what I was expecting, but it wasn’t much. The Gulfoss waterfall is amazing. Standing there looking at something that incredible really is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The Gulfoss waterfall also has the added benefit that the amenities in that particular part of the National Park are really good and include a cafe where you can defrost.

Getting around Iceland

We flew with Norwegian Air on the way there and I was expecting great things after so many recommendations, but they were rubbish! The plane was freezing and the service was terrible. To get out and about while we were there, we booked most of our travel with Reykjavik Excursions and they were perfect! 100% book with them if you are going. On the way back we flew with Iceland Air to Heathrow. On the day we were due to fly there was a strike so we were delayed by a couple of hours. I have to admit, after being up at 2.30am and being told by them to go to the airport anyway when they KNEW the mechanics were going to be on strike we were a bit annoyed and there were a few exchanges on Twitter. They had known about the strike for months and it was really poor form not to be more prepared. Saying that, we were just being moaners. Some poor people got literally stranded there. We also got boarded a bit too soon and ended up being on the aircraft for over an hour, but Iceland Air’s aircraft to Heathrow from Keflavik are lovely. Because it is the first or second leg on some long haul flights, it is like flying long haul. Leather seats, loads of legroom, free tea and coffee and soft drinks and setback screens. Even though the trip is only 3 hours long it was like being on an Emrites flight and I loved the service and the plane itself. I would actually fly with them again despite the inconvenience of the strike, I would just hope that they have learned their lesson from the situation.

Is it as expensive as everyone says?

Short answer: yes. It is expensive, but it is just one of those things you are going to have to deal with if you are going to go. There probably are ways to do it on a budget if you don’t want to see much, but some of the trips and excursions are absolutely once in a lifetime things, so if you are going to go save up and do it properly. One thing I was surprised at was the Blue Lagoon, as the food and drink wasn’t anywhere near as rice as I thought it would be. The other thing I was surprised at was the food in general, as there really are not many cheap options for eating out.

Top travel tips for Iceland 

  • Book through Iceland Air to and from Heathrow. Because they are connecting flights you will most likely get the benefits of a lovely long haul plane. We booked through CheapOair.com and got a great deal.
  • Take flip flops, your own towel and a robe to the Blue Lagoon. Then you can just book the basic package. It’s also worth taking a spare hat you don’t mind getting wet as your face and head get really cold.
  • Book up to stay somewhere you can walk into town from. Taxi’s and busses can be hit and miss so the less you have to use them the better.
  • Check out the local swimming pools and geothermal spa’s. There are a couple dotted around Reykjavik that are a fraction of the price of the Blue Lagoon if that is too pricey for you.
  • Go up to the top of Reykjavik Cathedral on the first day. It’s really practical because you can find your way around, and it is also beautiful.
  • Eat seafood. It is REALLY fresh in Iceland as one would expect, and if you are going to try seafood anywhere it may as well be somewhere where the turnaround from catch to plate is about 24 hours.
  • Take snow boots, thermals and a proper coat, hat and gloves. When it snows, it really snows. Iceland isn’t messing about, especially when you start mooching around the Golden Circle.
  • Pay out that little extra to stay somewhere luxurious like the Radisson. It really does make all the difference when you have been walking around in the freezing cold all day.
  • Use a company like OneTravel to get a super cheap deal on a holiday to Iceland, then just convert to pounds. For some reason travel companies based abroad seem to have better deals than your native country.

 

 

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Why Essex ‘ProseccoFest’ was a HUGE Rip Off

Having made my peace with the fact that I do not drink alcohol, and my friends do, I was under no illusions that going to a prosecco festival for my friends 30th birthday would grant me the same experience as everyone in the group who was drinking would have. That being said I am absolutely shocked that the event itself was so bad. I’ve always heard great things about Best Parties Ever and I’ve always loved Barleylands so I am obviously surprised either company would allow themselves to be associated with something that is quite clearly a scam.

The tickets for the event on the 18th of November set us back £19.70 each. You can get them online through Eventbrite, and as someone quite rightly pointed out – they do not profess to include anything in the ticket price. Fair enough. No one from our party was expecting anything free but the basics were not even supplied and the drinks in there were so grossly overpriced I’m not at all left wondering why no one was even remotely tipsy by the end. 

When we arrived, we were quite abruptly told that we would need to wait until 11am because we were ten minutes early. We actually ended up getting let in about 11.10am, so they can’t be that particular about timings. The venue itself was beautiful if not a bit empty. The tokens were 3 for £10 or 20 for £60 and that doesn’t sound too bad until you find out that ONE glass of prosecco is 2 tokens and a bottle is 10 to 14 tokens. If you can’t do that math that means a glass works out at £6.66 and a bottle works out to £33.30 on the lower scale.

For a non-drinker you would think that the day would be less expensive, but unfortunately a cup of flat coke from a bottle will set you back a token, and so will a water.

Staff were incredibly unhelpful on the day. We were turned away from a number of bars after asking for advertised drinks with staff either telling us to go to another bar or point blank that they did not know why they were advertised as they were not available. To be honest it’s lucky we spent so much of the day chasing things we couldn’t actually buy because there was sod all else to do.

One of the main problems only occurred to use after about an hour after we had all started to getting serious leg cramp. There was NO WHERE to sit down. Yes, customers are expected to stand for the full five hour session. We resorted to sitting on the floor. So for £20 we got a band for ten mins, some cheesy disco music and to sit on a cold hard floor in the middle of a farm. Great success.

After the event, I put across my views of the day (as did many others) on the Facebook page. Unfortunately, ProseccoFest have been snidely deleting anything negative from their page. This is an art form mastered by scammers – the reason they are doing this is because there is an event next week and they just want to scam the next lot of unsuspecting idiots out of £100s.

To make this article fair, I looked for some contact details to ask if a manager wanted to explain some of the reasons for the above complaints. There were none. You can only find their email address if you go right into their terms and conditions, and in true scammer style they have not answered me. Many people have been saying they are going to ask for a refund, but it is obvious they are just going to take everyones money and run.

Thankfully, a few people I know and who are active on the page have said they are not going now next week because of all of the negative reviews. Hopefully this will be the last time Best Parties Ever and Barleylands let themselves get associated with something that is quite clearly dodgy.

If you do not believe just my opinion, here are some of the Facebook comments I screenshotted before they get a chance to delete them. I’ve edited out names as I have not had time to contact everyone and ask if I am able to use their first name and last name in a post.

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*UPDATE*

ProseccoFest have now changed their prices and are still refusing to refund those of us that have paid full price already.

Fortunately, you CAN complain about the event. 

Had a reply from the council:
  

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A Trip To Greece For Under £400

Recently I took a trip to Greece to see some friends. As someone who has travelled to many of the Greek islands – I often forget just how good the mainland is. Once I had tallied up how much I had spent over my long weekend, I realised there were a few things I could have done a lot cheaper and thought that maybe it would be a great idea for a blog.

Getting there – CheapOair: £80

CheapOair LogoI will literally never book with anyone but CheapOair.com. My hand luggage only Ryanair flight to Thessaloniki only cost me £80 return which was amazing. I got a deal through them and I did actually check on the Ryanair website as they always claim to be cheaper if you book direct but that’s 100% a lie. Obviously, going with a budget airline means that you don’t get any frills, but with a just over 3 hour flight when it is low season you can probably make do. Try and get a flight on the Friday morning for your long weekend to start early.

Transfer from Thessaloniki – Suntransfer or Holiday Taxi’s: £25

I got a private transfer which was unnecessarily expensive. Get a one way with a transfer company as you won’t need it on the way back on Monday. There are loads of companies that do transfers from Thessaloniki airport and all of them are about the same price.

Where to stay – Kiwi Hotel: £143 for 3 nights

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Kiwi hotel is always my first choice when I go to this area. The price is right and it is a small family run hotel which makes it super friendly. There is a swimming pool for those hotter days and all of the rooms have a sea view. The great thing is anywhere good is about 8 euro in a taxi – but all of the hotels in these places are double the price. Setting up New Fokea as your base camp is a great way to save those pennies.

Get A Gyros In Nea Fokea: £2

Nea Fokea town is relatively small, but it is a short walk from Kiwi and no doubt you will be hungry from your flight. Wander up to the gyros shop and grab a traditional Greek kebab for about 3 euro. While you are there you can wander and get your bearings. There are some lovely little restaurants and bars on the actual beach and if you brave the climb up to the old castle you be able to see miles of the coastline from the top.

First night in Kalithea: £40

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Get a taxi into Kalithea and enjoy dinner and a couple of drinks in one of the bars. Kalithea has loads of rooftop bars with beautiful views so if the weather is pleasant enough you can spend hours here people watching.

Day 2 in Afitos: £4

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I really can’t remember how much the bus actually is to Afitos but I know it is 9.50 euro to Thessaloniki to Afitos and New Fokea is much nearer. Afitos is a beautiful, traditional Greek town with plenty of nice views and things to do. Again, it is quite high up so you can enjoy very panoramic, Instagrammable views from some of the rooftop bars. There is also a Greek folklore museum if the sort of thing takes your fancy.

Dinner in New Fokea – Ta Kymata: £15

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Ta Kymata in Nea Fokea is a cute little fish restaurant with tables right by the sea. It does loads of different things if you do not like fish and the wine is pretty good here too. Depending on what you have a meal here really does not need to be expensive – the spaghetti napolinita is only 8 euro.

Day 3 – A bus trip to Sani: £40

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Sani is the home to the world famous Sani resort and a return bus journey will set you back about 6 euros. Although the marina is reserved for guests, there is a beach bar called Anemos. Once you have had a drink at Anemos and maybe even some food you are able to wander up to Sani Marina which is more or less the focal point of the resort. It isn’t uncommon for celebrities to moor their yachts on the marina and have dinner i

n one of the restaurants. There is a great place called Mojitos which is quite inexpensive for where it is. It has wonderful views of the marina and a lot of the time they have live music.

Last day – Thessaloniki and the airport: £50

Travel Massive Thessaloniki

Get up early and crack on with going to Thessaloniki for the day for your last day. It is where the airport is anyway, so this is the best day to fit it in. It’s advisable to take a small bag to travel with if you are going to do this on the last day – rather than a suitcase. The bus into Thessaloniki is around 13 euro and it takes you into the bus station that you will need to use to get the bus onward to the airport later on – so it’s easy to get your bearings. Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece and it is jam packed with things to do. There is a shopping centre called Cosmos if that is what floats your boat and plenty of places to eat and drink. If history is your thing there are plenty of archaeological sites like the forum and the Byzantine walls of the city. Thessaloniki is known as quite a ‘hip’ city in Greece, which means there are plenty of restaurants and bars to pass a couple of hours in if you get bored of all of the things to see and do.

Total Spend: £399

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A Wedding In Bedford

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When you get to a certain age you can guarantee that if someone asks for your address – it’s to send a wedding invite. So when one of my friends who I did my season in France with in 2008 ‘asked for my address’ I was thrilled she wanted me to be a part of the big day. Not least because 20 year old me was a lot more of a handful than 29 year old me and I was frankly surprised she trusted me in a Church.

The wedding took us to Stagsden in Bedford. I have literally never been to Bedford in my life but luckily it was super easy to get to from London so I was looking forward to a little weekend away somewhere with actual fields and cows instead of sweaty people trying to get into my pocket on the tube.

Garden Rooms B&B

The journey was painless and upon arrival at the Garden Rooms B&B  we were greeted by an incredibly friendly owner called Jo who made us a pot of coffee and told us there were freshly baked brownies downstairs in the kitchen we could help ourselves to. I was going to like Bedford. We chose it because it was near to the village hall where the wedding reception was to take place but I can honestly say whenever I am in Bedford again I will choose this venue. The rooms were comfy and pretty with homemade biscuits and an amazing shower – not to mention cute pink soap!

One thing I mentioned to my friend who was the Bride was how much I enjoyed the fact that she had planned out the whole day so the guests wouldn’t be bored. We arrived at the village hall for a bit of chat and then to our surprise were picked up by a big red double decker bus and taken to the Church.

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Now if there is one thing places that are ‘a bit countryside’ do well it’s Churches and this is no exception. The Church was beautiful with huge stained glass windows which have always been my favourite and of course the obligatory organ player.

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I must admit – I am the most heartless bitch you ever did meet, but when my friend arrived she looked so beautiful I shed a tear. Knowing her like I did, I was waiting for some sort of sarcastic comment during the vows but she managed to hold it together and put more appropriate personal touches to the ceremony – like playing the Sound Of Music soundtrack while we were waiting for the registers to be signed.

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When we got back to the village hall we were finally allowed inside to see that it had been transformed into a beautiful afternoon tea. Literally every single last detail had been thought out and it was great to sit and listen to all of the speeches while eating sandwiches and scones (also helped the people on mine and my friends table didn’t show up so we had triple the food and wine).

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After the speeches it was time to get the hall ready for hands down the best bit of any wedding – the disco. Instead of just leaving the guests to mill about with nothing to do it was announced that there were actually garden games outside. Like proper ones. A coconut shy and everything. This led to an exchange where my friend insisted I could spin plates (there were loads of circus games). It went on for a while and she walked away still insisting I could spin plates and I walked away thinking she may have accidentally taken some of my Amytriptaline. I swear I have never spun a plate in my life but we were pretty drunk for our whole season in France so who knows – if marketing goes tits up I might see how I go with that one.

When we got back in to a fully set up disco, there was also cake cutting. This was important because being the funner the Bride is she had a normal wedding cake and then one made of cheese. Are dreams really made of anything else than cakes made entirely out of cheese? Needless to say we ate a lot of cheese and drank a lot of gin. One of the most pleasant parts of the day/evening was that I hadn’t yet met my friends Son who could not be more like her if he tried and provided much hilarity, especially when he said a blatant “no” to all forms of food except cheese.

The end of the wedding saw an arrival of a fish and chip van which I must say I didn’t utilise because I was already drunk and had already eaten a fair amount of cheese. Usually in situations like this I would be somewhere less remote, crawl back to my Travelodge and leave in the morning on an empty stomach hungover with some cheap coffee inside of me. This is where staying in a small B&B becomes the most beneficial you can ever do in life. Hangovers, most of the time, are curated by the fact that you lay in bed and feel sorry for yourself.  A quick go of the amazing shower made me feel a lot better, and of course so did walking downstairs to a home cooked breakfast.

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The only thing I wouldn’t recommend on a hangover is travelling on three trains back from Bedford, stuck next to the loudest chewer in the world on a seat that feels like the rock they hold Simba up on when he is born.

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Holi Fest 2017

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I am one of those people that can have fun anywhere. You could honestly put me alone on a desert island alone and I’d probably still get up to some mischief and have some fun. So when my friend asked me to go to Holi Festival for her birthday there was no way on this earth I was going to turn down the opportunity to have a few drinks in Wembley Park and chuck paint all over people.

In the lead up to the event the weather was looking more and more grim but like the true runners we are we decided we were not going to waste our ticket money and were still going to give it a good go. I woke up in the morning to some sunshine which was shocking so I had high hopes for the day. To be honest though my friend was so spectacularly late (4.5 hours – a new world record) we just about managed to get there before it got dark.

Wembley Park is literally just below Wembley Arena. It isn’t a massive area, and I must admit I can see the rain having done us quite a favour because at full capacity I can imagine an area as small as Wembley Park getting quite packed. After we made the wonderful journey of about 356 stops on the Jubilee line we were welcomed to the heavens opening just as we walked to the queue and literally no where to go to the toilet. Now I like to remain positive but when you desperately need the toilet and you are shitting yourself about your eyebrows washing off it is mildly challenging to try and stay positive.

None the less we got there, I purchased a £2 rain mac and got myself two vodka and cokes and my spirits lifted considerably. So I am going to get the negatives out of the way first. For a start, they operate on one of those ridiculous systems where you pointlessly top up a card instead of using cash or you own debit card. This means twice the queuing and while I can see the benefit of this for a weekend festival it is only a day one so this was frustrating and unnecessary. The second issue was that they didn’t sell Gin. I mean, was I really in London if I couldn’t get a G&T?

Anyway with those minor annoyances out of the way I focused on the best thing about the day – the music. I really wasn’t expecting much I actually liked considering I listen to house and techno but it was actually really good. Sure, a few commercial songs were thrown in for the crowds but it mostly was house music so I actually felt like I was at a real festival. Well, a real festival where you get powder painted chucked at you every hour on the hour. I have to say this was by far one of my favourite elements of the day. Every hour after a certain time, you just literally open your bag of paint and duck it over whoever you fancy. I know there is more to it and the original Holi Festival has a lot of religious significance, but I think it is great that they now make it something everyone can join in with. There really is nothing more liberating than standing in a giant car park having paint thrown all over you while you dance to house music.

The organisation of the day was actually pretty good. Obviously I wasn’t a fan of the token system but the rest of the facilities like the toilets, bar and food stalls were well managed and the queues were not as long as they can get (if anyone went to Dance Crusade years ago at Orsett Showground you will remember the four hour queues for the bar).

Tickets are only £20 – £30 depending on when you buy them and it really is worth going if you want to do something different.

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Tips for Travelling When You Are Scared Of Flying

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As someone who is basically petrified of flying, it surprises me that I haven’t wrote a blog post about this sooner. Not that I will ever let it stop me going anywhere. Fortunately I’ve still managed to calm my tits enough to travel to many places in Europe as well as the Philippines and Thailand. One thing I’ve learned in this process, is there is not one thing that works. I’ve managed to keep my fear of flying in control quite a bit recently, and this is by using a number of different techniques I have learned from different sources.

Before you go

Preparation is always key, and having a fear of flying is no exception. There are a few bits you can do to ensure that you minimise your anxiety before you go.

Track your flight for a couple of weeks

This is a brilliant technique I learned from the book ‘Soar’ and reading this blog isn’t going to completely rid you of your fear of flying, so I couldn’t recommend buying this book and reading the whole thing more highly enough. If you don’t get round to it, one of the things that helped me massively was to track my flight for a couple of weeks before I left.

The idea is, that you see days and days of data, which include your flight getting smoothly from A to B with no issues. I know what you are thinking – what if something does go wrong? You’ll be terrified to get on a flight ever again. Well can I let you into a little secret? I’ve done this at least the last ten times I have flown, and it has never happened. Try it and weigh up how it helps. There are loads of websites like Flightradar that will not only let you track your flight, but see how many planes there literally are in the airspace at any given second. Last time I went to the Philippines, I couldn’t begin to tell you how happy it made me to see that little green line every two weeks before I went.

Play seat raffle

If, like me, you basically have quite a high functioning fear of flying where you still go, you will probably have quite a good idea of where you need to sit to keep stress levels to a minimum. If your seat isn’t available when you book – don’t give up. Keep an eye on the seats, because someone could easily move or decide not to fly, who is in the seat you want. Check online every couple of days to see if you can get a better seat.

Book a lounge

It still shocks me that so many people don’t know about airport lounges. Most of them range from £20 – £30 pounds per person, and as well as unlimited free food, drink and magazines, you get a much quieter environment than that of the terminal. Most of them also have private toilets, and the Skyteam lounge at Heathrow even has a Clarins spa. I don’t know about anyone else, but one of the things that makes me anxious is the fact that I need to wrestle 37 other people to try and find a seat in the terminal and pay a months wages for a mediocre meal in Wetherspoons with prosecco so cheap it tastes like it’s been filtered through an Italians shoe. The lounge not only offers all of the amenities one could want in an airport for free, but it also a certain amount of peace and quiet.

On board

Pack hand luggage well

There’s nothing worse than being on a flight bored and with nothing to do. Long haul – fabulous! Unlimited alcohol and as many films as you could ask for. Short haul, not so much. If you are scared of flying, the chances are you will seriously need to distract yourself while you are on the flight. Most streaming services will now give you the opportunity to download things to watch online, so immerse yourself into a Netflix series to kill the time.

Try and stay awake

This probably sounds so counter-productive right? If you are asleep, you won’t even know you are on a plan and life will be fabulous! Amen to knocking yourself out with the Diazepam the Doctor gives out for fear of flying like sweets and a couple of Gins. All well and good for that specific occasions, but what you need to remember is, if you are unconscious for every single flight you take, you will probably need to do it all the time. You won’t experience all of the thoughts and feelings of flying, and essentially, you won’t ever get over your fear. If you need to take something to relax, completely understandable, but remember if the worst does happen you’ll be navigating an emergency situation off your tits. Try more natural remedies like meditation.

Let people know of your situation

There’s not really any reason for you to be kicking about in a massive badge that says ‘I’m scared of flying’, but telling some of the staff what situation you are in, especially if you are travelling alone, can really help. I’ve been on a flight a couple of times, with Etihad and Qatar, completely on my ones to the Philippines, and as soon as I have told the staff on board I am scared of flying they make a point to check on you. It’s also worth telling the person next to you, so they don’t wonder why you are smashing the alcohol on board at 5am.

Fly upper class

You may also want to give some thought to flying upper class if you can afford it. Then you can have a flat bed and go to sleep whenever you want, comfortably. It may sound expensive, but companies like Virgin have some great deals you can check out. 

After the flight

After the flight, you need to fully remind yourself how well it went, and how much the anticipation was worse than the flight itself, so that you can remember that for the next one.

 

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Coral King, Coral Bay, Paphos

 

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It’s not unusual for me to work on holiday – unfortunately I get fidgety in every way. What is unusual though, is for me to find a place so fabulous, I want to write about it separately from my standard travel blog. The Coral King restaurant has proved to be the exception.

As you would expect from a holiday resort, Coral Bay has a strip full of bars and restaurants, a woman selling balloons, and loads of groups of ‘lads lads lads’ who are on their way to Banterbury. It isn’t the place you would expect to find fine dining by a long shot. But nestled among the happy hour cocktails and the 3 euro fry ups like a diamond in the rough, is the Coral King.

When you arrive, the decor is unapologetically Greek, which is a nice change from all of the other places on the strip that rely on gimmicks to become crude caricatures of themselves. Although they cater to all tastes, they still do authentic Greek food, like traditional meze and moussaka.

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It’s hard not to go overboard on the starters here, especially seeing as they do little Cyprus delights like grilled halloumi. If you have the appetite for it, then I suggest you go for it, however bear in mind how reasonable the portions are of the mains. If you order a pork kebab, it will come deliciously cooked with enough sides to keep you going for a week. The moussaka comes in an individual pot, which is probably large enough for two give the sides. The spaghetti Bolognese is just right, and the sauce was much more tangy than the standard jar situations you can get in the supermarkets, which leads me to believe they make it fresh like everything else. For flavour, you couldn’t fault any of the dishes at Coral King, but if you are looking for a bit of extra flair, order one of the highly instagrammable desserts that come complete with sparkler.

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As far as drinks go, they have the pick of the cocktails that their rivals do, without being inclined to rip you off with dodgy local spirits. They also have a very agreeable house red wine which is the first house red I’ve had all holiday that I didn’t confuse with the vinegar for my salad. You will find Coral King at the bottom of the strip, on the end, the beach end, opposite Blazing Saddles.

It is central in every sense of the word, and very easily accessible if you are in Coral Bay, so if you do stay here and you don’t visit, then you are definitely missing out.

Coral King is around 30 euro per head including starters and drinks.

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