Väike Kuuba | Tartu ♡ Probably the best mojito that I’ve ever tried ♡

The Cuban bar (nobody knew its real name until last week) aka Väike Kuuba in Tartu is a place that I’ve been hearing about for over a year now and last week I finally got to see what all the fuss was about for myself. This cute little spot wasn’t open during my Winter trip for one main reason, it’s an outdoor bar and like most others I’d rather not freeze my tits off and get pneumonia. Not even for a good mojito. Basically the only way I can describe this place is like a teeny tiny caravan-like bar (but glam) by the river with seats on top of it. We headed there this day last week and I must admit that it is totally worth the hype. I love a good mojito and I’m always on the hunt for the best and I think I may have found it here. What I liked the most was that they were massive and delicious, of course. They come served in these big mason jars and there’s a nice selection to choose from. I opted for the Raspberry one, which was divine, while Ode got the passion fruit flavour, which was equally as tasty. I think this place is super cool and chill and I’d definitely love to go back in the future. If it had been a warmer summer night I would have loved to have stayed for a while, chilling on the grass and tasting all their flavoured mojitos, but it was a little bit nippy, so we hit the road. Next time, ey ?

I went here with Ode, Annabel, Keit and Olari after a cute wee girly night of prinking, chatting and doing ourselves up. 🙂

If you’re in Tartu, check this place out at Vabaduse puiestee 2, 51004 Tartu, Estonia. I think Ode said that it closes in October, so there’s still time to grab yourself one of these bad boys. 😉 Gooooooo!!

Winter Wonderland ♡ Estonia | JANUary 2016 ♡

I used to always tell people that I’d never seen proper snow or experienced a real winter. I say proper snow, simply because I don’t think that the slush we get here in Ireland can be called real snow. Ever since I started going to Estonia, back in 2012 people have always warned me to pack warm clothes, even though I was going in Summer ?!?!? They seemed to think that this little Baltic country only had one season, a perpetual freezing winter. That isn’t the case at all. Once I even got sun burned in Estonia. Shocking, I know. Anyway since 2012, it has been my mission to visit Estonia while it was under a sheet of snow and this year I did just that. I remember telling Kaja, Ode’s mam one summer that I wanted to visit during winter and she just asked Why? 😛  I had only been back in Ireland a mere two-three weeks and I had already purchased my tickets for JANUary. I was excited, but slightly worried if I’m honest. I like the cold, much more than the sun actually, but I don’t think I had ever experienced anything under -10, so I was in for a shock. A big one.

Christmas and New Years festivities had come and gone, so that meant my trip was fast approaching, but so was the fear. THERE WAS NO SNOW. What? No snow? What was the point of going if there was no snow. I wanted the real winter experience and if there was no snow, it would be ruined. 😥 Thankfully a few days ( literally two days ) before I left Ireland, it bucketed down and I was greeted with a pile of beautiful fresh snow. As it was in the middle of January, Ryanair had stopped doing its seasonal one-way fares, so I had to use the trusty SAS Airlines with a short stop-over in Stockholm. (One of my favourite airlines). As soon as I stepped foot on Swedish soil for my 1hr layover, I made my way to the nearest Pressbyrån, which was conveniently located right by my gate, in order to get one of my all time favourite Swedish delicacies, a kanelbullar, more commonly known as a cinnamon bun. ❤ ❤ Oh sweet mother of baby Jesus on a bike!!!! If you haven’t tried one of these bad boys, then you haven’t lived. It’s that simple. Anyway I actually got one cinnamon roll and then a vanilla one too. Overindulging at its finest, ey? To my defense I didn’t think I’d be back in Sweden for a long time, but I went back a lot sooner that expected. You’ll find out in another post 😉 Anywaaaaaay, we boarded the tiniest little plane ever, which was too cute and I was on my way. It was also snowing in Stockholm, but the snow there was put to shame when I got off the plane at Tallinn airport. I slipped of course. It is me after all. The world’s most clumsiest gal. It was freezing. Like coldness on another level. I didn’t think I’d need my gloves for the short walk from the plane to the airport. I was wrong.

Packing for this trip was by far the most stressful experience of my life. Even worse than packing for a year in Spain. I knew that it was going to be cold, so I need clothes and lots of them. Ode taught me the importance of layers, so I practically packed my entire wardrobe for fear that I would need it all in order to survive. Once we arrived at Ode’s apartment block, I admired a massive pile of snow, which looked nothing like I imagined it would. It looked so soft and I wanted to touch it, which I did and I regretted it instantly. Stupid, I know. I just didn’t expect it to look so soft. I imagined a big hard block of snow, not this delicate blanket that looked like it would blow away in the wind. It was pretty and I liked it. As it was late we headed in, stuck on the kettle, caught up and ate some of my favourite Estonian food.

On my first full day in Estonia, we decided to brave the elements and head out on a walk to the beach. We got up at a leisurely hour, put our faces on and that is where I made mistake numero uno. As usual, I put a full face of make-up on, you know,  winged eyeliner, red lips, the whole shebang. I didn’t think that the snowflakes were going to be so big that they would get in my eyes and make me look like a panda. My solution to the problem? To wear sunglasses. Yes, I was that dick wearing sunglasses in Winter when there was no sun in the sky. Hey, it masked the panda eyes!! 😛 Anyway I didn’t let this little blip deter me. We passed a stable with the most beautiful horses on our way and stopped for some pictures. Instead of walking the traditional path down to the beach, I decided that I wanted to drag poor Ode through the forest, where the snow easily came up to our knees in some parts. No regrets though. It was so beautiful. Once we got down to the beach we wandered around for a bit and drank nice warm tea from our thermal flask. Ode had to keep reminding me that it was super hot because I kept forgetting and near scalding the mouth of myself with each sip.

Now if you’ve read my blog before, you’ve probably read many posts where I absolutely  swoon over Old Town. I didn’t think that it was possible for my favourite part of town to get any more beautiful. That was until I saw it under a sheet of snow. It transformed into this Winter Wonder Land. It sounds so cliche, but that is the only way I can truly describe it.

We also discovered that snow lighting is the best selfie lighting, like ever. So we not only snapped a million pictures of Old town (well I did) but we also took many selfies because yeah, that lighting. ❤

That day we also made a trip to Kompressor for brunch. ❤ This place had been on our Estonian-to-do-list for at least two summers, so it was about time that we actually went there for real. This place is renowned for their pancakes, which are so damn good. So much so that I have insisted that this place is on our Autumn-to-do-list too. You can choose between sweet or savory pancakes, but of course I chose a sweet one, probably the sweetest one on the menu because I have a massive sweet tooth. I got a condensed milk and raspberry one. I told you it was sweet. 😛 It was delicious. Ode got a savory one but I can’t  quite remember what her filling was. I remember having a taste and it was so good too. Ode told me that this place is always super busy and it’s no surprise at all. The food is good and it is soooo cheap. I remember paying under a fiver for mine and it was massive. I think in total, including my coffee I paid like €7 tops. You would not get it that good in Ireland. Let me tell you that!!!

❤

Kompressor: Rataskaevu 3, 10123 Tallinn, Estonia

 

Cake with a view | Tallinn 2015 ♡

Could it get any better? Delicious cake at Kohvik Komeet with a view of my favourite building in Estonia, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral!! ♡

Kohvik Komeet, Estonia pst 9, 10143 Tallinn, Estonia

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We arrived in Tallinn on the Saturday morning and hit the town that night because we are dedicated to the shesh. 😉 However this also meant that we spent much of Sunday in a very delicate state, recovering from a fun-filled (+ a rum-filled) night. I swear Tallinn nightlife gives me life! ❤ So when Monday morning came, I knew exactly where I wanted to go, Old town. I fell in love with this place from the very first time I set my eyes on it. It’s just so charming. No matter how many times I go back to Estonia I ALWAYS make time for an afternoon stroll through its perfect cobbled streets. It’ll simply never get old for me. 🙂

Summer in Tartu means three things: Cake, flowers and red lips ♡

It’s a well known fact that I love a nice slice of cake. Or two. One of my all time favourites is a Kringel à la Kaja (Ode’s mom), which is a delicious thing of beauty that consists of white chocolate and almonds. ❤  Oh look at me getting all distracted by the thought of cake. I wasn’t drooling. I swear. 😉 This post isn’t actually about cake. I found a few wee snaps from last summer and remembered the first time that I ordered something in Estonian. On my own I’d like to add (Ode was right next to me though. Just in case I unknowingly insulted anyone). Everyone in Estonia speaks perfect English so I actually don’t need to know how to ask for üks must tee piimaga palun, but I like to go the extra mile and be polite. Last summer we went to Werner, a cute little café in the heart of Tartu with a  terrace to enjoy your sweet treats. The girls working there were so sweet as I mustered up a few sentences in well, awful Estonian, but hey I achieved my goal. Every time I go to Estonia I make sure to learn something new. Who knows what I’ll learn this autumn when I go back. Anyway believe it or not, asking in Estonian wasn’t my biggest challenge. It was picking what cake to get. So I got two and I have zero regrets about it. One was savory and one was sweet. That justifies it. Doesn’t it? The coffee was divine too. I can’t remember what I got exactly but I remember liking it. I actually just asked Ode the name of this place and she kindly informed me that there’s also one in Tallinn too. So don’t be surprised if this place ends up on my to do list in September. 😛

After we felt as though we were about to explode we decided to go for a wee stroll in the park. You know, try and burn off some of those calories aha aha.

Street art in Salamanca ♡

Salamanca – España

#love

An Ancient Palace with a View ♡ El Badi Palace ~ Marrakech Morocco ♡

Another popular tourist attraction located in the heart of Marrakech is El Badi Palace. The ruins of this palace were built by the Saadian king Ahmad al-Mansur back in 1578 to celebrate their victory over the Portuguese in the battle of the Three Kings. The remains are surrounded by the most beautiful sunken orange groves and in true Moroccan style you can find the typical mosaic tiles that have impressively lasted for centuries.

The remains of this ancient palace are undoubtably beautiful and it was interesting to see something from such an important time in history, even though it was badly damaged during several different wars. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed my visit here, but it automatically went from a 6/10 to a 10/10 when we climbed the few steps up to the terrace.

One thing I regret not doing during my short Moroccan stay was not visiting the Atlas mountains or going to the Sahara (I really wanted a camel ride), but our stay simply wasn’t long enough. However, from the terrace of the El Badi Palace you get an amazing view of the Atlas mountains. If you look close enough, you can just about see the snowcapped mountain peaks in the photographs that I’ve inserted below, but honestly they just don’t do this spectacular view any justice. It was simply stunning .

We paid ten dirhams to enter, which is the equivalent of maybe one euro ( so basically nothing at all). I think you could pay an extra ten to access the museum but we were running on a tight schedule that day and just didn’t have the time. If I’m ever back in Morocco again, I’ll definitely be paying a visit to the actual Atlas mountains. You could say that this view was just a taster for the real deal. Also I plan on getting that camel ride through the Sahara, so it looks like that is high on my to do list too. 😛

Le Jardin Majorelle ~ Marrakech Morocco ♡

Located just outside Marrakech, le Jardin Majorelle is one of Morocco’s most visited tourist attractions. Basically, the garden was made in the 1920’s by the French painter Jacques Majorelle and after years of neglect it was then taken over and restored by the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner. The garden is also where the famous designer’s ashes are scattered.

 

On day two, we decided to check out this famous botanic garden and it did not disappoint one bit. If I’m honest, this kind of place would never have been high on my “to do list”. I don’t know, gardens and plants just don’t really do it for me, but I’m so glad that Nina suggested it. I loved the bold bright colourful walls, tiles and enormous plant plots, but my favourite part was definitely the pond in the centre with the cutest little turtles just chillin’ in the sun.

I can’t remember the exact entrance fee, but it was definitely one of the more expensive tourist attractions that we visited. But in saying that it was dirt cheap by European standards, maybe something like fifty dirhams which works out roughly at five euro. All in all, it’s definitely a must see for anyone taking a wee trip to the Moroccan capital.

My North African Adventure ♡

One drunken Thursday night myself and Flo decided that we fancied a wee trip to Africa and without much thought or planning we booked a mid-week vacay to Morocco. The return flights from Madrid to Marrakech were an absolute bargain, so props to drunk Kate and Flo because lets be honest, that could’ve been an absolute disaster. By the end of the week we managed to convince our mate Nina to tag along and the three of us set about roughly planning our African Adventure. Neither myself or Flo had ever visited Morocco before, but Nina had been there the previous Spring and looking back I don’t think we would have survived on our own. The two of us are pretty laid back kinda gals, but we probably would have had a fit trying to manoeuvre ourselves around the incredibly chaotic streets of the Medina. Lost tourists wandering aimlessly from street to street definitely became an everyday sight and even though we did our fair share of this, I can just imagine it being ten times worse without the help of our wee German Geographer.

As soon as we left the airport we were bombarded by different men trying to usher us into their taxis. These men didn’t turn out to be the actual taxi drivers, but instead the kind of middle man in the whole process. Their job was to negotiate the price and then drop us off with their partner who then brought us to our destination.  However, there seemed to be some sort of misunderstanding along the way about the price. I don’t even remember the amount or anything because it was over six months ago, but basically the driver wanted to charge us more that the agreed fare. He got a bit aggressive, but that didn’t faze us in the slightest. We had agreed on a fare and we were sticking with it or heading back to the entrance where there were many more men to choose from. I think he was a bit shocked by how feisty we were and as soon as we stepped out of the car and demanded our bags back he backed down and finally agreed on the original amount. I think the best advice I could give to anyone going to a country where they haggle is to simply walk away. At the end of the day, they want to make that deal as bad as you want that cashmere scarf or that silver teapot and usually they give in and take your offer before they loose sight of you.

Basically it was like entering a completely different world. We definitely were no longer in Europe, but it was a good different, an exciting different. The streets were hectic as hell and the only way you’ll survive is sticking with a local, even though at times you think you’re about to get run over by a moped, a donkey and cart or even a car. Let’s just say there were little to no pedestrian crossings and Flo’s hands legit started to peel from the stress of it all. Like everything else, we only really got used to it when we had to leave.

The cultural differences were extreme but as I said before this made the whole experience more intense and intriguing. We did so many exciting things, visited some amazing places, shopped till we dropped (literally) and ate enough tagines/couscous etc to last us a life time. Instead of including it all in this post, I’m going to do separate posts on the things I enjoyed the most and those that I didn’t enjoy at all. As a whole, I adored Marrakech, even though I spent the majority of the three day trip with my mouth hanging wide open in awe/shock/excitement. As our stay was so short, we didn’t get to venture to the sahara or see the atlas mountains but without a doubt I’ll be back one day.