Tag Archive: weekend

May 6, 2020

Travelling corner: Cornish Delight. A Weekend away in South-East Cornwall

Oh Cornwall, it feels so good to be there, even for a weekend. Today, I’m taking you to South-East Cornwall and we’ll stay in Looe and spend the weekend exploring this part of Cornwall (aka visit my favourite places).

Friday afternoon

I would start with some sea-bathing time and my favourite place (not far away from Looe) would be Seaton Beach. The beach doesn’t have beautiful sand (it’s rather greyish), but the sea is usually warm and beautifully sparkles as the sun sets down to the horizon.

Saturday

I would start the day with a breakfast at Summink Different Café in Downderry. Their menu is rich in good foods, sustainable, often organic and simply delicious. My favourite is their 100 percent cacao soup with coconut milk (oh yes, that’s yummy!). From there, we’ll go to Freathy Beach which is a long stretch of sand with some amazing sea views (quick note that the beach is tiny when there is a high tide). You need to descend to reach the beach, it’s not very steep but may limit the amount of beach games and other necessities you take down with you 🙂

Sunday

Today we’ll go to Readymoney Cove in Fowey. But, we’ll go by boat from Polruan. Polruan is a picturesque village with some marine-like town houses (and a bit of a steep descent to the quay!). It takes around 10 minutes to get to the other shore by boat, and we’re in Fowey! We then walk another 10 minutes and arrive at this small, yet charming beach (with cold water!) where we can enjoy the views of the sailing yachts and boats. We can then go for a walk to see the ruins of St Catherine’s Castle or relax and enjoy the scrumptious Cornish ice-cream (or both!).

You can read more about my previous travels to this part of Cornwall here and here.

That’s a nice weekend, huh? What was your last weekend in Cornwall like? Do let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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March 18, 2020

Travelling corner: Cornish Delight. A Weekend away in South-East Cornwall

Friday afternoon

Saturday

Sunday

You can read more about my previous travels to this part of Cornwall here and here.

That’s a nice weekend, huh? What was your last weekend in Cornwall like? Do let me know in the comments below.

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June 28, 2017

Travelling Corner: 4 Ideas for a Weekend in Edinburgh

If you would like to visit a historic place with amazing museums, galleries, cafes, restaurants, green spaces and super kind people, you need to go to Edinburgh! I went there for a weekend and here are my highlights:

Royal Botanic Garden

Wow. It’s such a beautiful garden and the greenhouse is just breath-taking (look at the photo below). I don’t think I even walked through the whole garden, but I definitely recommend the terrace café where you’ll find a beautiful view of the city. The out-door space is free of charge, but you need to purchase a ticket to go to the greenhouse (totally worth the price!).

Walk on The Royal Mile

If you’re lucky to have nice weather (yes, blue sky can exist in Scotland!), I recommend a walk from The Royal Mile towards the Scottish Parliament building. You can either stop there or visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse. You could even visit Dynamic Earth just around the corner or continue towards Holyrood Park, then even further on to Portobello Beach.

Dynamic Earth

I was amazed by this science centre: the staff members were fabulous in making every step of the visit so easy and entertaining. Really great learning hub. I must mention that some expositions are quite loud, so it might be a bit too much for younger audience.

Portobello Beach

The perfect place if you want to have a long walk on a beach or simply sit down on the sand to watch waves and seagulls. At weekends, there are many joggers, walkers and children, but it’s never too crowded. There is a café-van selling delicious coffee, teas & cake. You can walk to Portobello Beach or take a bus.

Don’t forget to read my impressions of Edinburgh when I first visited the city. Have you been to Edinburgh? What were your favourite spots? Please share in the comments below.

Written by Kinga Macalla

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April 26, 2017

Travelling Corner: A Weekend in Lisbon

What was my weekend in Lisbon like? Warm, sunny and intense! Keep reading to find out how I spent my time in the Portuguese capital.

Thursday

I arrived in the afternoon and was welcomed by warmth and sunshine. What a treat! I took a tube to my place in Alfama: the old, beautiful, quite hilly (!) district of Lisbon, and the only area that wasn’t affected by the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755. The apartment I stayed in was on the third floor and had a magical view on the river Tagus and houses covered in azulejos (traditional ceramic tiles). After freshening up, I went to see the surrounding area and to find the best way to get to the tram stop, local shops and museums. But first, coffee! I adore Portuguese coffee and its variety: bica, carioca, galão… so I went to the nearby Portas do Sol (Sun’s doors) to admire the view and relax to the live music. Feeling relaxed and in a very good mood, I did some shopping in the local grocery stores and decided to go back to the apartment to do some cooking, eating, reading and sleeping.

Friday

Early wake up, as I’m heading to the beach. Yes, just 40 minutes from Lisbon you can have a very pleasant stroll on a beach or even go for a swim. I first took the famous tram no 28 and went to Graça where I did some shopping, had a very tasty pastel de nata (Portuguese custard tartlet) and a cup of meia de leite coffee. Feeling ready for the day’s adventures, I walked to the nearest tube stop to reach the Cais do Sodré train station. From there I took a train to the seaside town of Estoril. It was amazing to be able to walk bare-foot on the beach and observe the repetitions of the waves. I sat on the beach to have some quiet time and read. I then went on the promenade linking Estoril with Cascais. It started raining in Cascais so I decided to go back to Lisbon and visit the Museu do Fado (Portuguese melancholic song). This is a real treat for fado lovers, as the museum has a large collection of videos, concert and audio recordings. Feeling inspired, I went wondering around Alfama, the birthplace of fado, to admire the local architecture and listen to the singing coming from many of the tiny restaurants and bars there.

Saturday

Another early start, as today I want to visit the oceanarium: Oceanário de Lisboa. From my apartment I travel the steep path down to Santa Apolónia tube station and within half an hour I’m at the aquarium (the largest in Europe, by the way!). The visit is amazing, everything is so well-organised and the oceanarium has an impressive collection of different species of sea creatures. I give myself time to embrace this magical place and after observing the fish slowly swimming around, I feel peaceful and calm. The weather is warm and sunny, so I decided to walk back to Alfama which turned out to be quite an ambitious walk, as it took me more than one hour and a half to walk the whole distance! I had a quick lunch in Alfama and decided to climb up to see the cathedral, Sé de Lisboa, and to go even higher to the castle, Castelo de São Jorge to see the spectacular views of the capital and yes, it was worth all the effort! I spent long time just sitting and watching the sun setting, people talking & walking. Beautiful.

Sunday

It’s time to say farewell Lisbon and go home… Till next time.

Written by Kinga Macalla

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March 22, 2017

Travelling Corner: How to have a PERFECT weekend away

I recently travelled to Brecon Beacons in Wales for the weekend, as I wanted to slow down, think through certain aspects of my life and re-charge my batteries. Do you sometimes feel that you need to change your surroundings and just go away for a couple of days? I have the same feeling, especially if I work super hard and my enthusiasm is exchanged for tiredness. Then I need a perfect weekend away. But how should I plan it and where should I spend it? Let me share with you some of my secrets…

LOCATION It’s good to choose a location that’s beautiful, not too far away (up to a 2-hour drive away) and is not too commercial

HOUSE Rent a cosy, nicely decorated, but not too big, house or cottage, maybe with a fireplace. Take some candles with you, they will make every evening magical

GET READY Finish off all important work commitments before heading away, unurgent duties signpost for completion upon your return

INTERNET DETOX Yes, unplug from all social media and don’t check emails every two seconds, live the real life for a couple of days. If you need to send an email or post something, do it and then unplug. Trust me, it is so liberating.

ACTIVE If you lead an active lifestyle, be active, go jogging, hiking, swimming, surfing… whatever relaxes you and makes you happy

READ Take a paper, books and magazines, your favourite unfinished novel or that magazine you’ve mean wanting to read for a while

COOK Plan your meals and make them special, devote more time to cooking & eating, have your partner, friends and children involved in preparations and enjoy this time together. Don’t rush through your meal times, let the dinner last for a couple of hours while you chat about summer holiday plans or a newly published novel by your favourite author

BED TIME Try to go to bed a little bit early and wake up early to prepare a delicious breakfast or to have an early morning walk

How do you plan your perfect weekend away? Do you have any tips? Please share in the comments below.

Written by Kinga Macalla

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