PACK THE SUITCASES

20 things to do in Brașov, Romania: a city of cobblestones and colour

1st Oct 2018 7 Comments

Things to do in Brasov, Romania | PACK THE SUITCASES

Here’s 20 things to do in Brașov, Romania – a list I’ve put together after enjoying two days there in summer. Brașov (pronounced Bra-shov) is incredibly pretty, with lots of photogenic pastel-coloured cobbled streets and a busy square where you can sit and people-watch against the impressive backdrop of mountains. It’s absolutely full of history (and of course the whole Dracula tale), and something that really struck me was the huge German influence from when it was a Saxon city. The buildings look really German and it’s very popular with German tourists (we even found a bar serving Munich’s Augustiner beer!) but it also has a very unique feel to it that is absolutely Romanian.

Like Bucharest, Brașov was very affordable for us Western European tourists. However, in contrast to Bucharest, it was very clean and well maintained, with neat and tidy parks and freshly painted shops. The café culture is equally thriving, but the bar culture possibly even more so. It may look like a sleepy little medieval city on the surface but it really comes alive at night. Some of the main streets become one long terrace full of both locals and tourists sampling the local alcoholic beverages.

Anyway, here’s what I enjoyed seeing, doing and of course eating in Brașov…

DESTINATIONS

3 days in Bucharest, Romania: things to do, see and eat

15th Sep 2018 8 Comments

3 days in Bucharest, Romania: things to do | PACK THE SUITCASES

We spent 3 days in Bucharest while visiting Romania and this was my itinerary, covering all the eating, sight-seeing and things to do in Bucharest that I particularly enjoyed. I’d never been to Romania before but I’d read that a lot of people seem to just use Bucharest as somewhere to fly into and immediately leave to head for the countryside. But I found that it’s very much a city worth spending a few days in in its own right, which is what we did before going to Brasov.

Often heralded as ‘the new Berlin’, Bucharest full of gritty architecture, surprising green spaces, and hip places to eat and drink. It has a real ‘alternative’ vibe to it. Like most of Eastern Europe, it’s very affordable for British/Western European tourists, which is always a big draw: we had three-course meals for <£20. Not going to lie, it's also pretty grubby and the train stations especially are dilapidated AF. But if you look past that, it has grand Parisian-style architecture lining wide boulevards, a thriving café culture, and a fascinating, unique history. I should also point out that our 3 days there were intensely hot. It was August and temperatures ranged from 33 to 38 degrees Celsius. I cease being able to function as a human at about 30, so that's why we both look on the shiny side in all our Romania photos. So here's how we spent 3 days in Bucharest, Romania...

DESTINATIONS

20 of the best Isle of Man restaurants and places to eat and drink

8th Sep 2018 8 Comments

The best Isle of Man restaurants and places to eat and drink | PACK THE SUITCASES

If you’re looking for places to eat in the Isle of Man, dig out all your clothes with elasticated waistbands because you’re in for a treat: there are loads of brilliant Isle of Man restaurants, cafés and so on. These are just some of my favourites – obviously I’ve not eaten everywhere on the island. Yet. I will happily accept a challenge…

I really enjoy visiting the Isle of Man and I also enjoy eating (far too much) so this is my personal guide to combining the two. I’ve listed my favourite restaurants in Douglas (the IoM capital), places to get vegan options, the best cafés for cake, my favourite chippy, and a few other places to eat that I’ve tried around the island and you might find handy on day trips. Like with most destinations, vegetarian/vegan food can be hard to find if you just wander, so if like us you very rarely eat meat, it’s worth doing a bit of planning ahead. Pescetarians will be fine though!

Oh and all this food needs washing down with some booze so I’ve sneaked a few bar and pub recommendations in at the end.

Anyway, on to the Isle of Man restaurants and my personal recommendations…

FEATURES

What to pack for a summer city break

2nd Sep 2018 6 Comments

Here’s a few tips for what to pack for a summer city break or general non-beachy summer holiday. I find summer really hard to pack for so have wasted many hours of my life thinking about this subject. A summer holiday is going to be warm, or you hope it is. But going to a city and doing day trips or visiting different towns isn’t like a beach holiday. You can’t spend the whole time in tiny dresses and flimsy sandals if you want to pack in loads of exploring, sight-seeing and of course eating. Just to add to the torture, RyanAir somehow expect you to cope with looking your summery best within 15kg so it’s not like you can just throw everything you own in and hope for the best…

I normally steer clear of writing packing guides but my what to pack for a spring city break one seemed pretty popular so I’ve now mentally committed myself to doing all four seasons. Like I said in the spring edition, if this helps even one other woman staring at her ‘floordrobe’ and wanting to burn it all the night before going away, I’ll feel I’ve done some kind of heroic good deed.

Right. Here are my summer packing tips…

DESTINATIONS

60 things to do in the Isle of Man

18th Aug 2018 19 Comments

Things to do in the Isle of Man | PACK THE SUITCASES

After a recent brilliant long weekend there, I wanted to share some of my favourite things to do in the Isle of Man with you all. As usual when I start writing a list, it got a bit out of control… It is just a list though, so if you like background and detail, I also have a more in-depth guide to visiting the Isle of Man from last year. And I’m going to write an itinerary for a long weekend without a car there because I didn’t half cram a lot in during my latest visit.

Like I’ve said before, the Isle of Man is a totally underrated destination. I don’t know why more people don’t know about it, although that’s part of its charm. The Isle of Man’s scenery rivals that of the Lake District and Highlands but it doesn’t have the same volume of tourists, which makes it much better. It’s often even quiet enough for you to get beaches or glens entirely to yourself. And as we all know, there is nothing better than being away from other people.

Anyway, onto 60 of my personal favourite things to do in the Isle of Man…

DESTINATIONS

One week in San Francisco itinerary: for 7 days exploring without a car

25th Jul 2018 2 Comments

One week in San Francisco: itinerary for 7 days | PACK THE SUITCASES

I’ve been raving to everyone about how amazing this city is since I visited in May, so I wanted to share my San Francisco itinerary for a one week/7 day trip. It was my first time visiting the USA (more on that here) and San Francisco was quite the place to start with. I have to admit I spent the first couple of days wandering around gawping and in a bit of a daze, which was a mixture of jetlag and the general overwhelming nature of the US. But after I’d adjusted and got into it, I was able to take it all in more. San Francisco is definitely one of the most interesting and unique cities I’ve ever been to.

We hardly ever drive and SF has public transport, which is one of the main reasons we picked it as our starting point for our first trip to the USA (Boston, MA was our second port of call). That and the fact it’s laid back, left wing and very cool with loads of stuff to do and a thriving veggie/vegan food scene. It ticks all my proverbial boxes.

So here’s my 7 days in San Francisco itinerary, featuring everything I did/saw/ate each day (with emphasis on the eating). I hope it’ll be handy as a general travel guide for anyone’s first time there or for anyone planning a week in San Francisco who is overwhelmed by everything there is to do…