Fooding it Up in San Francisco

Hello lovelies

So as promised I'm coming back with an ultra foodie post for yous all so make sure you've had a snack because after reading this you're bound to have the nibbles.

When my sister and I found out we were going to be heading across the pond to the USA there was only one clear though in our minds and that was, IHOP. Not the Golden Gate Bridge, not The SF Ballet, nothing fancy or cultured at all but just pancakes. We even looked up the menu and had decided what we were having before we left.... So it was of the utmost importance that we went to IHOP to satisfy our need for classic chain restaurant American food.

But we weren't disappointed let me tell you that. I had strawberry and she had chocolate. We went half and half and it was a match made in heaven.

The next stop on our foodie agenda was an ice cream place in Berkeley where my older sister went on her J1 last year. We were going to head up that direction anyways to see where she was living last summer so why not fit in a few snack stops too? :)

Cream is the name of this cookie/ice cream emporium where you can have an ice cream of your choice snadwiched between two delicious soft and thick cookies. Eimear went for mint chocolate chip ice cream with a double chocolate chip cookie and then a chocolate chip and caramel cookie.

After walking about Berkeley for a bit and taking in the sights, the dollar store, people talking to themselves and a good vegetarian restaurant, it was time to visit the University of California, Berkeley which is rated one of the top 10 universities in the US. 

It just so happened that we passed by Sheng Kee's, a really nice Asian bakery on the way that Claire liked to visit last year so I mean how could we not stop by and pick up something?

Then is was finally time for a walk about Berkeley Uni and I can see why college is so expensive in America. This place is huge! Speckled in green areas and huge trees the campus was crawling in people milling about on the grass enjoying the sun. 

 Top- Topshop

Shorts- River Island

Shoes- Toms

Sunglasses- Burberry

Jumper- Topshop

A real T-Rex skeleton just chillin outside the library. No big deal ;)

And is if we hadn't eaten enough food already we had to make one more stop. A stop I was particularly excited about as it included frozen yogurt. Frozen yogurt from Yogurt Park.

Look so good right? Tastes even better!

If you're not hungry by now I give you props. If you are hungry I give you permission to go get a snack :)

Thanks for reading,

Ciara xx

The last of my London Adventures...Lake House Fun

Hello lovelies!

So this blog is going to be my final 'London Adventures' post which is sad because that means I have to stop living in the past and embrace the present. A lot will be changing in my life these coming months and hopefully it will be a change for the good. However that is for another post entirely, today I am here to write about my final few days in England living it up in the Cotswolds staying in my aunt's absolutely gorgeous lake house.

Now I didn't know what to expect when my aunt talked about the house, was it going to be a rickety wooden construction or what? Because I do not do creepy crawlies! Let's just say I was very very pleasantly surprised when we arrived. Think luxury hotel crossed with an easy spa feel. My jaw was literally hanging open for a good 20 minutes that's how gorgeous this place was. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the actual house because I thought that might be invading my family's personal space but I did take a few of the lake on which the house sat!

If you're in the market for a little slice of heaven this place is the place for you. There's a perfect little gym which was almost empty every time we went there and also a swimming pool, sauna and spa to top it all off. And if you're into something a bit more physically challenging you can go kayaking, sailing or even swimming in the lake (which is a lot harder than it sounds trust me!). 

It was such a peaceful end to such a busy month for me and I would go back there in a heartbeat. One of my favourite things about holidays are the late nights you spend chatting around the dinner table in the silence of the night.

So that's the end of my wonderful month of London, I hope you enjoyed getting to find out what I got up to while I was there and all these posts weren't completely boring! Please stay with me because I have so much more planned for this blog :)

Thanks for reading,

Ciara xx

 
And of course the hugest of 'thank you's to my fabulous aunt who made it all possible for me!

London Adventures Part 2!

Hello again lovelies!

As I continue on with my account of my randomings in London I am brought to the day we started out at Le Cordon Bleu. Le Cordon Bleu is a fabulous cookery school that my friend Niamh is dying to go to to study baking and pastry arts and I can totally understand her. Situated in Bloomsbury Square the culinary school has a cute little cafe that opens on to a lovely quiet square and is a perfect picture of peace.

I don't even want to be a baker but I would make the trip to this cafe just to taste everyone of these hand made treats!

Next it was over to Portobello to check out the markets. I have to say Portobello and Notting Hill were my favourite places in London because of the relaxed and cute vintage atmosphere. I could spend hours walking about the pretty pastel houses and imagining what a splendid life I'd have if I too had my own dusty blue townhouse.

Apart from spotting the brilliant Jack Whitehall (he really is very tall in real life) we also came across the book shop where 'Notting Hill', one of my favourite feel good movies was shot.

That day was a very busy day indeed as after Portobello we walked all the way through Kensington Gardens and up to Hyde Park to go row boating.

Before we reached Hyde Park we took a gander at the Italian Gardens which were stunningly beautiful filled with colour and fountains. 

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.

Checking out the birds.

Now I must admit Niamh and I weren't the best rowers on the lake but we did our best to avoid capsizing or getting hit by other boats.

Gorgeous photo snapped up by Niamh while I was doing the hard work rowing us about. 

I've always wanted to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum because I've heard its exhibits are brilliant. We were lucky enough to visit the Club to Catwalk exhibit which was all about fashion in the 80s in London. We weren't allowed to take photos or videos but let me tell you it was so interesting. Very punk grunge, leather, studs and lots of mannequins dressed in famous iconic outfits, a definite must see if its still on show.

Now at this point in the day we had truly walked our feet to the bones so we decided to treat ourselves to something sweet and what better to treat yourself to than a Humming Bird red velvet!

However this is where it gets interesting. I'd say it was about 7:30ish around this point and we wanted to find a park to eat our well deserved cupcakes in. However there were no parks nearby and we made it all the way through Chelsea without finding a public garden. Instead of parking our bums on a curb or even eating our cupcakes on the way home we trudged on over the bridge and into Battersea park where we collapsed on the first bench we could find.

Poor tired out Niamh!

After devouring our red velvets we decided 9 o'clock was a good time to head home at so we set off in search of a tube station. But to our demise there were no stations on that side of the bridge and we were forced to walk for about an hour to the nearest tube. By this time it was after 10 and Niamh's feet were blistered to high heaven. Luckily I spotted a bus to Waterloo station which we were only to glad to hop on and rest our sorry feet. We didn't arrive home, battered and worn, until 11:30 but it was an interesting adventure no less.

Thanks for reading,

Ciara xxx