Cyprus – Aphrodite’s Island

We’ve had a few family holidays to Cyprus in the last few years. One of our favourite spots being Paphos out on the South-West coast, in the Greek part of Cyprus.

The town is split into Neo Paphos (the old town) further in-land and Kato Paphos on the coast. Kato Paphos is what most people know as Paphos – lots of beach-front hotels, Euro-English restaurants on the strip & the lux harbour.

Cardiff – all good things come in small packages

Wednesday’s ‘World Day’ 🙂

But we’re not going quite so far afield to find awesome this week. For those that have never ventured to my home country, let me introduce you to our capital city, and my one-time home, Cardiff!

When looking for city-break locations, you wouldn’t go far wrong by choosing the ancient city of Cardiff (Caerdydd if you fancy learning a bit of the lingo).

My Favourite Beach Ever! So far…

It may seem as though I’m flitting from topic to topic on this blog, but there is method to my, quite obvious, madness (promise).

I plan to write on a different-ish topic every day of the week – let’s see how long that lasts!

So…

Wednesday’s post are all about the other gorgeous places I’ve visited on this lovely planet, near & far – this is the ‘vs the world’ part of the blog.

We all know I love NOLA, but I have a soft spot for pretty much everywhere else I’ve lived in or visited too. Recently, I revisited my favourite beach ever…

Praia da Gale on Portugal’s Algarve coast has a string of secluded beaches & coves leading up to a 5km stretch of golden sands running between Gale & Armacao de Pera.

Although the Atlantic is a bit rough (& cold) to swim in, the cliff path running along the coast-line is the perfect spot to sit & watch the surf crowd – laughing at the newbies & worshipping the proficient (and hot!).

This area is also a fantastic location for any budding photographers (I’m rubbish at photography & know it – so no comments about my happy-snaps, thank you!). Between the sailboats, surfers & stunning rock formations, you could spend the whole day finding new views, then come back tomorrow to find it’s all changed!

As blissful as sunbathing by the ocean is (and it is… you know it is), you do have to make time to head to one of the many beach bars for some of the local food.

By far our favourite was Restaurant Praia da Gale. Aside from the great food & friendly service, at sunset, this is the place to be! People line the deck to get a photo of that view!!

But I also have to put in a word for the Lourenco Beach Bar – it’s a true hidden gem, even if Faneca the bar cat has a shoe fetish!:

I always try to pin down 3 recipes that I want to recreate back home. My 3 from the Algarve are:

• Portuguese-style steak – melt-in-your-mouth steak braised in a red-wine reduction topped with bacon/Serrano ham & sliced potatoes. Stunning!
• Chicken Piri-Piri – chicken pieces rubbed with piri-piri seasoning and grilled until slightly charred. Whatever you do, don’t pour the piri-piri sauce on it if you value your tastebuds – the authentic stuff is sooo hot it will sear the skin off your tongue!
• Bifado – a sandwich made from rustic bread & pork steak pan-fried with garlic, and sometimes sprinkled with paprika. Devastatingly simple.

Another thing that I figure – I could try making each of these into a Po-Boy! NOLA is never far from my mind 😉

I’ll leave you with one of my favourite views, enjoy xx

Home win! But not in the rugby :(

So… I’m Welsh (although my family would disagree, but that’s a whole other story). This means that, whilst still enjoying watching NFL on Sundays, the weekends at the moment are for watching the Rugby Union Autumn Internationals 🙂

For me, the best part of watching Wales play at home is the pre-match sequence, especially when playing against one of the southern hemisphere teams as it’s highly unlikely the outcome will be good for us!

The initial commentary from the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff always gives me goosebumps – the BBC instils this gladiatorial vibe to their rugby union footage, and the Millennium Stadium puts on a pyrotechnic display that amps up the crowd to EPIC proportions.

Unfortunately, I missed the first hour of today’s match due to slight car issues (my poor little motor has completely baffled the mechanics & had to be brought back home on a low-loader). I managed to catch the last 20 minutes, though, and it was sooo close. The Aussies are winning, no wait… Wales have converted a try and are in the lead! Hold up… a drop-goal from the Aussies puts them back on top. And another! Rubbish 😦

Okay, so it really wasn’t that close. What can I say – I’m bias.

But, that feeling I get watching the Welsh team play, or any of the home nations really, definitely competes with my love for NOLA. I remember trying to watch the autumn internationals while I was out there (Finn McCools – best spot for rugby in the city!), and it just doesn’t compare to the atmosphere back home.

I’m sorry NOLA, but this round goes to the UK.

What was that? You want another video of the home nations? Oh, go on then 🙂

Cymru am byth! Enjoy x

RIP Chivalry?

I’m afraid it looks as though the ‘chivalrous man’ is on the endangered list. There are still a few in existence, but you have to look extremely carefully.

That said, I am privileged to say that I know some of that rare species – you know, the ones who will move you to the inside of the pavement/sidewalk so you aren’t next to traffic, the ones who will give up their seat for you in a bar and, on a very good day, the few who will open a door for you.

They exist, both sides of the pond, but it does seem as though they are more common in the epitome of southern hospitality that is New Orleans than they are back here in the UK.

Today, unfortunately, was not a good day for chivalry back home. Today’s example was so extreme, I was laughing by the end of it.

Part of my (current) job is to check that everything is in place and ready for events in a school, so I popped in to the auditorium to check that the stage had been cleared only to find that someone had left a grand piano smack dab in centre stage! Rather than chase around and disturb someone else, I started moving the piano off stage (it’s on wheels – I’m good, but not that good!), aiming for the room it’s usually in. Now, picture this: me – average female office worker in less that sensible heels – struggling to move your average sized grand piano (they’re heavy) when one of our lovely male teachers wanders past. ‘Perfect’ I think, as he smiles….and keeps walking. Out of the room. Not a word!!

Over the course of the next half hour I moved tables (up stairs), chairs and dropped the theatre curtains (which weigh a tonne), and all the while male members of staff walked past, stood chatting to each other, one even decided to start a conversation with me, which was nice, although I was slightly out of breath from carrying the table that was still in my hands!!

Now, I’m not anti-feminist and these staff members could just as easily have been women. Also,  I chose to do all of this rather than calling in help, but, if you happen to see someone (male or female) struggling to move furniture, or a piano even, it doesn’t hurt to ask if they’d like some help. Who knows, they might say yes!

Here endeth today’s lesson. Sorry I’m off to make some Brigadieros, so tomorrow’s post should be a little more light-hearted & chocolately 😀 xx

Sunday, Sunday

I was in NOLA for NFL season, so Sundays usually entailed heading to our local to watch back-to-back games, play a little shuffleboard and hopefully remembering to get some takeout.

I’m a rugby-girl at heart, so the first few weeks usually ended up with some ‘light-hearted’ banter (it’s difficult to have a serious debate with a bar full of Saints fans) about how the NFL is basically rugby with time-outs and a helluva lot of padding!! Safe to say, this did not go down well with the locals… but they were patient, and they converted me. As I write this, all cwtched up under my fleece in freezing-cold mid-wales, I have the Jets v Chiefs game on in the background (waiting for the Patriots to come on). So, chalk that one up as a success – I have brought a little of the Big Easy back with me 🙂 Granted, my living room isn’t quite Marky’s in the Bywater, and I definitely wasn’t drinking hot chocolate while I was there!

However, I can’t say that spending 12 hours of my Sunday watching Football was my ideal – although I did love it while I was there. I’m a bit of a ‘traditionalist’ so, for me, Sunday is usually a nice long lie-in, pancake breakfast then head out for a few games of pool before sitting down to a home-cooked Sunday Lunch with the family. Roast lamb today – with mint sauce & roast potatoes, nothing compares!

So, today’s been pretty much the perfect combo of NOLA & home, and will only get better cos the Beignet dough that I made first thing this morning should be just about ready to fry now. If this recipe works, I’ll definitely post it, promise. Fingers crossed, I’ll be watching the game while eating fresh cooked Beignets in no time – good times x

The reason behind this whole thing…

So… I never thought that I would be one to start my own blog. Most of my friends would say that it’s difficult enough to get me to text them, let alone tell them what’s going on in my life, and here I am telling anyone that will listen, sorry… read. That said, if you mention New Orleans (NOLA), or anywhere in that vicinity to me… well, good luck trying to get a word in edgeways!

I visited the Crescent City a couple of years ago & I fell in love… with the place, the people, the weather (it wasn’t hurricane season!) and the food – oh my god the food!!! That place has the most amazing mix of comfort food & decadence I’ve ever known.

Anyway, back to the reason behind the blog – I wanted to move back to NOLA. I loved my time there and have been trying to find a way to go back, but now I’ve thought of another option – bring NOLA to me! Work on recipes for the food I loved out there, turn my little place into a French Quarter townhouse (more likely a shotgun down in the Bywater, if not over the Canal – nothing against the Ninth Ward, I love you, you know I do!), bring some ‘bon temps’ to my 9-to-5… It’s not going to be easy, but a girl can try.

And the ‘vs the world’ part of the title? That’s because I know I have visited very few places so far, so I’m open to the idea that there are better cities out there. I’m going to bring the best bits of everywhere I’ve been back home.

Dorothy had it right – there is no place like home, that’s not to say ‘home’ couldn’t do with a little improvement, so, here’s to the ‘renovations’!