Spring travels: Tallinn

The journey back to the UK was a pretty exciting one. Unlike normal people, instead of going directly back we decided to make the most out of our holidays and take the long way round visiting Tallinn and then flying to Ireland for 4 days. 

To save some time we took the night bus to Tallinn meaning we were there at 6 am cold (still -2 there ant this point) and hungry (not to worry, we had enough food packed for a small feast). As we were in money saving mode, walking to old town seemed to be the only option so we did, passing through what could only be described as a ghost city with its inhabitants still sleeping. We finally made it to the old town walls and as we passed though what used to be one of the gates to the city, we were there- a calm, cozy old town of Estonia's capital city.

Happy little penguins

We made our way to the hostel and were pleasantly surprised that a Lithuanian girl was working there (what are the chances!), Lithuanians are clearly taking over the world. Leaving our stuff behind we left to explore the town. As we walked around the smell of freshly baked cinnamon buns caught our attention and so surely we had no choice but to follow it to a small bakery/cafe - 'Matilda', where we ordered those delectable pastries and tea.

Fresh cinnamon buns and tea, the perfect... well... end to our morning :P 

We spent the rest of the day wondering around, going to museums, galleries, the basic touristy things and finished our night at an Estonian bar, where we sat at a table in what was made to be a giant beer glass while having a beer (beerception right there) and watched traditional dancing + live music which was quite a traditional end to our day.

Photography museum

Beerception

The next morning we were treated to pancakes, an excellent feature the Knight house hostel offers. We took a final stroll around town, climbing a defensive wall tower which seemed to be invaded with pigeons (like sneaky chameleons, pretty hard to spot if you're not looking for them) and finished our stay in Tallinn as we started, with a lovely walk (you know, for consistency) all the way to the airport this time. Had never walked to an airport so some experience points right there! :P

Made it to the sea!

All in all, enjoyed Tallinn, would recommend to visit for a couple of days as you do your Baltic tour ;)

Photos by Ieva Cesnulaityte.

Flashbacks: Glass slippers and pumpkins

What girl doesn't love dressing up and going to a fancy dinner, dance or in my case both combined into a lovely ball. I haven't been to many and each experience till date has been very different, fun and exciting. But I guess it all goes down to the people you're with and because I was there with a wonderful guy who made me feel like the belle of the ball that night is one I will never forget. 

After the somewhat strange experience of being served dinner the way I had been serving people all of first term at my part time job, the evening was pretty eventful. From trying to get an After Eight from my forehead to my mouth without using hands in a game, to attempting a few ballroom dances and somehow surviving extreme Macarena in heels. What's more, the DJ played a mix of songs from practically every stage of my life from kindergarten to this date which really took me down memory lane. So I think it goes without saying that I had an amazing time. The ball ended in a very Cinderella fashion, finishing just after midnight, luckily my carriage didn't turn into a pumpkin and I got home as quick as one can when you are trying to get a taxi on the last day of term.

Green xp

When being vegetarian and even vegan isn't enough, the next step is a raw food diet. This is when everything you eat has been made without using a higher temperature than 40 deg. Celsius. So basically, fruit, veg, nuts, seeds and anything you can muster up from those products. 

While I wouldn't have the will power to live on it even for only one week most probably, I have been very interested in trying something from that kind of menu (and no, not just a salad :P). And so opportunity came knocking when my mum suggested we go try out this raw food cafe 'Raw42' in old town the other day. And so we went, taking my Grandmother who apparently has been aching to try this interesting cuisine for a while now. 

I was anxious to try everything, the green cocktails, the peculiar salads, soups and main dishes. The benefit of not going alone was that I had that opportunity as we tried each of the dishes we ordered along with our special drinks. All in all, it was a good experience, is something I would recommend to try if you're looking for new and interesting meals. Would not recommend if you're a complete carnivore and can't survive without meat as there won't be any for m... eters? It's old town, probably a cafe next door has all those usual LT meat dishes if that's your thing ;)

Green cocktails. I chose to go for a berry almond milk (centre)

White salad

Carrot soup

Sushi! no rice though :P

'Lasagna'- letuce, tomatoe, seed spread, courgettes, tomatoe spread and seedlings

Getting hungry from looking at these photos, lunch break it is! :)

Home for Easter

Being at home for the holidays is always nice, the traditions, the atmosphere, the food...

Preparations started the night before with egg painting using wax. As this is the first time I've hosted such an event and didn't have any necessary equipment, we had to be quite inventive. The biggest challenge we had to face was improvising a container in which we would melt the wax and keep it from becoming solid. But with the ingenuity of my cousin we succeeded in our mission. Spending a quiet evening with close friends preparing for Easter is just one of those things that really put you in a holiday mood. 

Our amazing contraption

On the day we must have spent over 3 hours at the table trying all the various dishes, competing for the best egg and chatting. As it was the first time my brother couldn't join us, we made an effort to have a skype conference with him before we sat down to eat. The day ended with a family viewing of The Hobbit, an Easter classic :P

I'm glad I decided to come home for Easter, being with the family on this day is just one of those little things that can put things into perspective.