29/7/11- Estonia

Back to the cruise...

After our two ports in Germany, we stopped in Tallinn Estonia. I wasn't sure what to expect of Estonia, but was surprised at how beautiful it was. Nice to spend the day just wandering, and taking in the feeling of the town.


Beautiful and very fairytale-like. A main square, beautiful buildings...


Cobblestone streets...


And breathtaking churches. We enjoyed our day in Tallinn's Old Town.

28/7/11 My new ride

I got a new bike- and I love it!



I forgot what it was like to ride a bike, and this old girl is such fun to take around town. 1979 Royal Enfield, made in England.

I think I may call her Betsy...or Betty. I also love taking pics of people on bikes, or bikes in general (as it seems everyone in Europe rides a bike!), so its great fun to finally have my own to take a pic of. :)

I promise not to post too many of her!

Do you have a bike?


Taste of Britain Tuesday- Aubergine, red pepper and tomato tart. 28/6/11

Well it's time for another Taste of Britain Tuesday...This week I've chosen to make tarts.

I'm not sure if savory tarts are a British thing, but I've noticed more tarts on menus and in cafe's here, than at home. This is a nice summer savory tart, and gives you a nice serving of veg.

I've used courgettes (aka zucchini) instead of aubergines (aka eggplant), as Waitrose didn't have any aubergines in, and frankly I am not a huge fan!

This recipe is from 'Popina book of baking'. Lots of lovely recipes in this book.

25/7/11- Germany


On the trip we had two ports in Germany. One thing I loved was in every port, the ship would fly that countries flag. Here you can see the German flag (whipping in the wind, on the left hand side) as we pulled into our first port.


The first day we arrived in a pretty place called Kiel. A major maritime centre of Germany, but more importantly where my Mom was born!


That same day we took a train to a nearby town (45 min away) called Lubeck. Lubeck was another pretty German town, the home of marzipan, also home to some interesting buildings like this one.

From the Kiel port we sailed overnight (slowly as it was quite close) to the next port called Warnemunde. From here many people took the train ride to Berlin. We have both been to Berlin (I've been quiet recently), and the three hour train ride too and from was not overly appealing.


So we spent the morning at a nearby town (15 min by train) called Rostock. Another small, but pretty town with a lovely town square, and a fancy clock.


That afternoon we took the train back to Warnemunde, where the boat was docked, to spend the afternoon there. Did you know Germany has beaches? We didn't. The warm sun brought out the locals to their beach to catch some rays...we enjoyed the sand and sun, and a fish & chip lunch (I know, so German! ha) from a fish shop that was located on a little fishing boat.

We were pleasantly surprised by these small port towns in Germany.

24/7/11- Days at Sea

Cruise ships are a great way to see the world. (Not to mention the fantastic service and food). Mom and I discussed that it was great to see all of these ports via the cruise, as doing it on our own would have made for a very different (and possibly more expensive) trip. A nice snapshot of the ports, allowing us to see many new areas.

Not only are the ports great, but we had three full days at sea. You could make these as relaxed (see below) or as busy as you'd like. The ship had events, courses, shows, exercise, food, ect ect ect to fill your days and nights.

Have you ever been on a cruise?


Our beautiful boat


How I enjoyed our afternoons at sea. (Reading 1984).

23/7/11- White Cliffs of Dover

Well, I'm back!

The holiday was fantastic, here is what happened. My Mom traveled over from Canada the first week of July, and on the 9th we departed on a Baltic cruise. The cruise left from Dover- located on the south east corner of England. Dover is where the ferries go to and from France. Dover is also known for its famous white cliffs.

From there the cruise went up north and around the following ports: Kiel, Warnemunde (Germany), Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Very amazing ports, and a great cruise. Will do a bit of blogging over the next week about the ports we were lucky to stop at.

Scarf swap & holiday! 8/7/11

At the end of June I participated in a scarf swap with some UK bloggers. I was paired up with lovely Lauren of A Bird in the Hand whom just blogged about my scarf I sent her today.

I thought it was time to mention the scarf she got me- how beautiful! I've not styled it yet, but will do so soon and maybe post a photo. It's a pretty print with some tassels on the end, with a nice light weight. I've worn it twice already, thank you Lauren! x


I'm taking a little blogging holiday now, but keep your eyes peeled for some exciting posts in a few weeks time. Enjoy the first summery weeks of July bloggers & readers. :)

Books, beautiful books... 7/7/11

I think book posts are one of my faves to include on this blog. Friends always comment who have great suggestions of new books to read, and great conversation.

Sadly I am STILL reading the Berlin Wall book. As mentioned before, it's a large book with a heavy subject matter, therefore taking me a while to finish. Almost done though. To balance out that heavyness I am also reading "Meet me at the cupcake cafe", a light read I bought en route to Paris. It's light and fun and actually has more of a story than I expected.

Below that you will see the next three reads I have planned. "Kafka on the shore" was given to me by my cousin who just finished it, and I look forward to reading that after her review. She also convinced me to read "Gone with the wind" saying it was amazing! I also can't wait to read 1984. It's seems so relevant to what our world has become today- or at least thats what I've heard.

So as always- what are you reading right now?

Taste of Britain Tuesday- Pimms! 5/7/11



Pimm's is a wonderful British drink that makes it's presence known at backyard gatherings, weddings, summer functions, and just plain warm summer days.

There are a few variations on how to make Pimm's but the standard is three parts lemonade (and lemonade here is like 7-up at home), to one part Pimm's. Then you add the fruit- strawberries, lemon, orange. Generally mint is included (but it was sold out in three stores!), and sometimes oddly cucumber.

It's Pimm's o'clock!

Cinnamon. 3/7/11

I made this very odd looking cinnamon pull apart loaf today...I got the recipe from Dinner with Julie a Canadian blogger that posts some amazing recipes.

This was interesting to make, and turned out great! (However, I think that certain types of baking does not photograph well. Take a look at Julies website to see how it really looks ;)

My Mom arrives tomorrow for a few weeks of quality time. I'm excited to have her here, and therefore may be posting a little less.

Canada Day 1/7/11

Happy Canada Day!

I could go on about my love for Canada, but I will keep it simple just by posting this pic I took a few years ago.
Mountains, the maple leaf, and wide open spaces.

:)

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