Wednesday 30 November 2016

Photo of the Week - Lonely Lighthouse


Photo of the week comes from the ferry trip from Oban to Isle of Mull, on our way I saw lots of fantastic scenery. I really like lighthouses, although I have not seen that many! I would certainly have liked to visit this one!

Monday 28 November 2016

365 Photo Challenge - Days 32 to 40

Day 32: Tuesday 8th November - I really enjoyed this book

Day 33: Wednesday 9th November - I bought chestnuts for Alessio but he doesn`t like them

Day 34: Thursday 10th November - Turnips lanterns made by parents and kids

Day 35: Friday 11th November - Deco at home

Day 36: Saturday 12th November - Candle making in Zurich

Day 37: Sunday 13th November - I am really liking to eat soup at the moment

Day 38: Monday 14th November - Bakery in Kilcberg

Day 38: Tuesday 15th November - Lovely skies 

Day 39: Wednesday 16th November - Lake Zurich

Day 40: Thursday 17th November - Colouring in book I bought for Alessio

Hope you all had a great weekend! Alessio and I visited the Christmas market at Bellevue twice over the weekend. There are some great food stalls there and Alessio was keen to try some of them, so we had a Himalaya burger which Alessio was not so keen on the bun but liked the meat. We also had Dutch fries which were really yummy.

We also went to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to find Them, it was really great movie and look forward to the next one.

Wishing you all a great week!

Friday 25 November 2016

Postcards of Porto Part 2


















So awhile back I posted the first part of our trip to Porto in August, so here is the last part. We ended up in Porto after our week in the Azores with my father. This is a gorgeous city and well worth a trip. We planned to do a day trip to Coimbra but unfortunately I did not plan it so well, so we did not make it.  Here are the other things we did:

1) We visited Porto Cathedral, it is one of the city`s oldest monuments

2) Sao Bento Train Station, you might think why would you visit a train station apart from to leave the city but this train is beautiful. The historical station is know for it tiles (azulejo) which depicts scenes of the history of Portugal.

3) The Serralves Museum, this was a lovely museum and it had a great big park. In the park there were sculptures to find which of course Alessio liked to do!

4) Hop on/off bus this is normally not what I do, but for one day we thought and Alessio really wanted to go on it too!

5) The fantastic houses/flats with there coloured walls and balconies which I really liked to see

6) Port tasting, I really wanted to do this but with Alessio I decided not too. So the next time I visit Porto that will be on my list.

So if you have not been to this city then you really must, it is beautiful!



Here are some more blogs about Porto!

Caroline in the city

Food. Travel. Fun

I Heart My City: Maria

Monday 21 November 2016

Pavilion of Reflections







During the summertime here in Zurich there was something called Manifesta 11, it is a non-profit organization based in Amsterdam. It stands for The European Biennial of Contemporary of Art, this was the 11th year and it was held in Zurich. There were a number of events on over the summer period, the focal point was the Pavilion of Reflections which was an island on Lake Zurich. It was made in co-operation by 30 architectural students from the EFH Zurich. led by Studio Tom Emerson.

It had an open- air cinema, a swimming pool, a bar/cafe, areas to sit and meet other people. During the whole summer you had to pay an entrance fee, but once Manifesta 11 was over the Zurich Film Festival took it over and aired free movies. I visited it on the second last day to see what it was like inside, I had a coffee and sat for a while watching what was on the screen.

It was certainly an interesting building and a good place to have as a central meeting area. I have to say that I did not go to any of the events that were on over the period, so cannot comment on that.

It was one of the many events that took place in Zurich over the summertime!

Friday 18 November 2016

365 Photo Challenge - Days 25 to 31

Day 25: Tuesday 1st November - Shopping in the Migros

Day 26 - Wednesday 2nd November - In Zurich on a course which was next to a church

Day 27: Thursday 3rd November - Stocking up on fruit

Day 28: Friday 4th November - Evening dinner in Luxembourg

Day 29: Saturday 5th November - Walking around Luxembourg

Day 30: Sunday 6th November - Another part of the Luxembourg City

Day 31: Monday 7th November - Gourds in the local supermarket

It has been a quiet old week, with not too much happening unlike last week. There is a Christmas market at Jucker Farm this weekend and I may go and visit it but not sure yet. There are a few movies I would like to see at the cinema too.

What is everyone up too this weekend?

Have a good one!

Wednesday 16 November 2016

Photo of the Week -


This week the photo is from Ponte Delgada, the Azores, this beautiful flower I spotted on the island. I have no idea what is the name of the flower, maybe one of you guys can let me know!

This weekend I hope to catch up on some movies at the cinema and hope my cough will be gone by then.

Like many people the world over I was really upset about the US elections and am still horrified that Donald J Trump will be the US president in January. Here are some links:

Protests in America about the result!

There are lots of topics to worry about but climate change is one of the bigs ones as far as I am concerned!

Fiji PM says visit Fiji and see!


Monday 14 November 2016

October Reading List




Hello folks, hope you all had a great weekend! I did not do much just trying to get rid of a sore throat and a cough.

Anyway time to do the October reading list and I got through 9 books and the major reason for this was because as you may remember I was off work due to my foot.

I will just list the books and say if I liked it or not since there are so many!

Death of a Demon by Anne Holt, I am not reading them in order but still a good series to check out.

A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson, I did prefer the first book, although this book is not a sequel, it is about the brother this time.

Dead Men`s Bones by James Oswald, this one was set in partly in Fife Scotland which was what drew me to it.

Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear, one of the latest books in the series about Maisie Dobbs. I like this character a lot and will try to read earlier ones in the series.

Journey Under The Sun by Keigo Higashino, I really enjoyed this crime novel set in Japan. I would really recommend it.

Jar City by Arnaldur Indridason, this crime novel set in Iceland I really enjoyed too.

The Husband`s Secret by Liane Moriarty, this is a good novel and should not take long to read.

Summer by the Lake by Erica James, also a good novel, set in England and Italy.

How To Find Love In A Bookshop by Veronica Henry, any novel set in or around a bookshop will always one I want to read.

For my reading challenge I got two more countries Japan and Iceland, not doing so bad and will carry on for next year too!

Friday 11 November 2016

On The Way to Isle of Mull















While I was in Scotland we took a trip to the Isle of Mull with my parents, the journey up was fantastic!

We saw lots of wonderful Scottish scenery, lochs, mountains, hills, bridges, castles and towns. We stopped for lunch at The Hollow Mountain cafe which is part of the Cruachan Power Station. We didn`t visit it as we had no time, but I would definitely like to visit it.

We had another stop a little later on at Dunstaffnage Castle and Chapel which is very near to Oban. The castle was built in 1240 by Duncan MacGougall and is one of Scotland`s oldest stone castles. In 1746 it had a famous prisoner Flora MacDonald who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape, she was held in the castle for her troubles and later taken to the Tower of London.

After our visit we continued the short journey to Oban, found the hotel and had a walk around. I have been here before a few times and it is a lovely looking town. Oban is one of the gateways to many Scottish Islands and the next day we would be talking a ferry to Mull.

The Isle of Mull was beautiful and will be posting about our time there soon, hope you all have a great and fun weekend!