New York

May 2017, my family and I went on our holidays to New York! We went for 5 days, in which we managed to explore a lot of the sights we wanted to see. Our first day was wasted purely on travel, we flew from Glasgow to London, London to Newark on British Airways which was a decent flight. During the flight to Newark, I was bumped up from Economy to World Traveller Plus which was great as the seats had so much more room and were a lot more comfier. By the time we got through security at Newark and got on the bus to New York City, we arrived at the hotel around 5pm which was 10pm to our body clocks as New York is 5 hours ahead. We were staying at the Crowne Plaza on Times Square so we decided to just go for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe then call it a night as we were absolutely shattered.

The next day we got up really early to explore the city, we decided to do a bus tour as it is the quickest and best way to see New York. From the tour we were able to see some very famous sights, such as the Empire State Building, Flatiron Building, The Statue of Liberty, One World Trade Centre, The 9/11 Memorial and Museum and many other great stuff. Most of the day was spent walking and hopping on and off of the bus as there is so much to see. We visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum that day and it was an amazing experience, such an emotional place to see that I will always remember.

The following day, we decided to jump on the bus to Brooklyn and do some more sightseeing. It was cool to see the differences in Brooklyn compared to Manhattan, it is a lot less busier in Brooklyn! We then got back on the bus and headed to Central Park, where we decided to hire out bikes to get around the park with. The park is absolutely massive and we ended up cycling the whole of it which was exhausting! We also stopped at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The American Museum of Natural History where I found ‘Dum Dum’ from The Night at the Museum which was funny to see.

The other days we mainly walked about shops and just explored the city, along with going up the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Centre which was amazing but slightly scary for me as I am afraid of heights! However I am glad I done it. New York is an amazing city, it is probably the best place I have ever been hands down. Everyone always says it is amazing but I never thought it would be that good but it was truly a great place and I cannot wait to go back!

Here is an article about things to do whilst in New York, if you are going I consider you read this for some tips on where to go! – New York Article

Also check out this blog by my friend Leah to find out more information on New York and the experience she had! – Leah’s Blog

Pizza Punks

One of my favourite places to go for pizza in Glasgow is Pizza Punks! Located on St Vincent Street in Glasgow, Pizza Punks is a great place to go to get exactly what you want on a pizza! There are also restaurants in Belfast and Newcastle. Their menu is simple yet accommodating to everyone. The menu consists of great options including sides such as salads, garlic breads, chicken wings and mac ‘n’ cheese. The main attraction to the restaurant is its create your own pizza section which they call ‘punk up your pizza’ which is £10. Customers are given 5 steps into creating their pizza, these are; choosing from their base, picking their sauce for the pizza, choosing a cheese they would like on their pizza, picking an oil and finally choosing as many toppings as you want!! For those who aren’t fussed or simply cannot choose what they want, there are options for pizzas that the restaurant has already put together, such as Messy Mexican or Hot Punk! The menu also has desserts for those who would like a sweet after if they have any room… These are milkshakes, ice creams and nutella & banana pizza. The restaurant also has a great drinks menu that has many tasty cocktails, would highly recommend the Sherbet Cherry which is gin, raspberry liqueur and cherry sherbet foam!

During my visits to Pizza Punks, I always create the same pizza as I am quite fussy and just love what I pick. My pizza is Domino’s inspired Texas BBQ pizza with some slight changes; BBQ base pizza with mozzarella cheese, along with chicken, bacon, pepperoni and grilled peppers! I love this pizza and the food has been great every time I have went!

Barcelona

September 2018, my boyfriend and I went on a city break to Barcelona! We went for 3 nights in which we managed to explore quite a lot of the city in. On our first day, we mainly explored the city to get our bearings, look for places we could try for food and figure out what we were doing over our trip. Our first day was definitely the warmest, it was so warm it must have reached around 27 degrees which we suffered in! We were staying on La Rambla, it is a very busy street but is a great location for metro access and has many restaurants to try.

On our second day, we decided to do as much as possible with our time. We started off the day by going to Camp Nou, which is the grounds for Barcelona Football Club. It was a great experience that allows you to see the history of the club, with all their trophies that they have won. You are given access to take pictures from the dug outs of the pitches, walk through the tunnel the players come through and pose for pictures with one of their famous trophies! After Camp Nou, we then trekked to Park Güell. Park Güell is a public park composed of gardens and architectonic elements! The park was huge and took us a few hours to get through, it was all uphill which we payed for the next day. Despite all the walking, the park was great and gave us a beautiful sight of the city.

On our last day, we took our time and went to some of the shops as our flight was later in the day. We also bought tickets to go into Sagrada Familia, which is an unfinished Roman Catholic Church designed by Antoni Gaudí and is set to finish in 2026! The church is huge and beautiful but it is even more amazing from the inside, it just makes you feel special for being there. Underneath the church is a museum in memory of Gaudí, which has pieces of his work and timelines of when the church started and when it is set to finish. An attraction that must be seen if you are in the city!

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Tenerife

June 2018, my boyfriend and I went on our holidays to one of my favourite holiday destinations, Tenerife! We stayed in Costa Adeje at a great location near the beach, at the GF Fanabe hotel.

During our time in Tenerife we done numerous activities along with a few lazy days by the pool. We were there for 11 nights and the weather was so warm! For the first few days of the holiday we relaxed by the pool trying to get our tan started. A few days in we then went to Siam Park which is a waterpark, voted the best one in the world for many years! It is a great waterpark that is worth every penny, there are lots of flumes for everyone to enjoy, along with having great food options for lunch. It is that good I have been 4 times!! We also went to Kaluna Beach Club, which is a beach club located in Costa Adeje. The beach club has a panoramic view over the ocean, along with an infinity pool for people to cool off in. The beach club offers lots of different types of drinks, cocktails and even food to accommodate its customers, along with very comfortable sun loungers and beds. During our holiday, we also went up Mount Teide which is a volcano on the island. The volcano is 3,718 metres in height and is the highest point in Spain. It is an active volcano which last erupted in 1909, which was quite scary to know when you’re about on the island never mind up at the top of it!

Tenerife is one of my favourite holiday destinations as it can accommodate anyone whether it be family, couples or friends, there is lots to do on the island for everyone!

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Halloumi

Last week I visited Halloumi, a Greek-Cypriot restaurant located in Glasgow. The restaurant has both a lunch and main menu at different prices, which recommends visitors to pick 3 mezes per person to be adventurous and creates a good opportunity to try out new things whilst sharing with friends or family! The menu consists of amazing foods from the Greek and Cypriot culture, from Greek dips, salads, sides, seafood and food from the grill.

During my visit to Halloumi, I was unsure of what to order from the menu as I am quite the fussy eater, but I was eager to try some stuff out! My boyfriend and I shared the chicken souvlaki, garlic bread and hand cut chips with grated halloumi, along with having a chicken gyro each which consists of a toasted flatbread wrapped up with tzatziki, chips, salad and chicken inside. The food was great and it was amazing to try new things! My favourite dish has to be the chicken souvlaki, it had a great chargrilled taste to it which I love and was just amazing overall. I also really enjoyed the garlic bread and hand cut chips with grated halloumi, such simple dishes tasted really delicious and it was my first time trying halloumi which was tasty. Despite the chicken gyro being the main dish, I must admit that I preferred the other dishes but I think that is because I didn’t like tzatziki dip within the gyro!

Overall, I would recommend this restaurant as the food is great to try out and the mood is very chilled and relaxed, along with quick and great service this place is worth a try!

Skyline

October 2016, I went on a family holiday to Dubai/Abu Dhabi. It is a beautiful place and I would recommend it to anyone that they should go there! It was extremely warm with temperatures rising to 40 degrees, which was great for me as I love to sunbathe. For the first 4 days of my holiday I was in Dubai before going to Abu Dhabi for 3 days.

During my time in Dubai, I visited many places in the city such as The Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab, The Palm, the desert and the Dubai Mall. Despite being scared of heights, I managed to put my fears behind me and go up the tallest building in the world, The Burj Khalifa. It was a scary but great experience that I will never forget. The Dubai Mall was the biggest shock to me, I have never seen a mall like it. It has over 1,200 shops in it and even has its own aquarium! The Mall attracts lots of people from around the world, it is visited by millions of people next year but this could be due to the Burj Khalifa being right beside the mall. If anyone goes to Dubai, they should definitely take time out to visit this mall.

During my time in Abu Dhabi, I was staying on Yas Island. The island has its own water park called Yas Waterworld, its own mall and has the track in which the Grand Prix takes place on. This part of my holiday was a chilled out few days in comparison to Dubai, we stayed in the hotel most of the days and visited the mall at night, this was also a great mall but nothing compared to the Dubai Mall! One of the days we visited the water park which was good fun.

Below here are some pictures that I had taken during my holiday. For more pictures of my holiday keep up to date with my Instagram page!

Dolphins at Sea

6th of July 2016, I witnessed a wonderful moment on my family holiday in Tenerife. My family and I were on our trip out to sea on a catamaran, where we witnessed a pod of dolphins swimming around the boat, just shortly before this we also seen a pod of bottlenose whales not far from the boat. We seen this amazing moment happen just off the south side of the island near Costa Adeje. This was a stunning moment that I will never forget!!

 

About the blog

This blog is about food and travel.

My name is Leigh and I am an 18 year old marketing student from Glasgow. My blog will feature posts and pictures of the good food I eat and the great places I have been.

I also have an instagram page where I will be posting pictures of my experiences, if you have any questions let me know!