#travelpost - Cartagena, Colombia

With a five hour drive from Santa Marta and a loooong hour bus journey with my backpack and small day pack on my lap on a crowded bus from the bus terminal, we arrived in Cartagena.
We got to our hostel, Papaya Getsemani, sorted our bags, had a shower and left for a wander. The hostel isn't in the old town centre, instead it's in an up and coming neighbourhood popular with backpackers, 10 minutes walk away from the main tower. I read the area used to be quite dangerous and a hotspot for crime but nowadays it's bustling with locals, backpackers and street vendors and has the perfect square for people watching. Right next to a police station!

Day one:
After getting in late from a long, hot journey we decided to have a short walk around the centre of the old town... We were immediately distracted by arepas con queso! The man persuaded me to try it with a fluorescent pineapple sauce and it was actually really good; we've seen the same arepa man now about 4 times in the old town with his little cart... He gives us a nod and a big smile. On our wander we spotted a super cute bookshop/coffee shop piled high with stacks of books, we had a peek in the window and told ourselves we'd come back tomorrow but tomorrow came and we tried to find it again to which we failed miserably.

That night we hung around the main square near our hostel, people watched, caught a wedding and fireworks, had some beers on the steps and ate something called plata con todo...TODO. It was intense. I'm pretty sure I didn't actually like it and kept eating anyway but Harry says it would be the perfect drunk food. Feast your eyes on this....

Day two:

On day two we hit the town again with our walking trainers on and cameras ready... 10 minutes out of the door and we were already walking like snails because of the heat. I think I said I was hot every three minutes, Harry stopped responding after ten.

Within the first half an hour we'd already hit up an ice lolly shop that we'd read about and soaked up the air con for as long as possible before it was obvious what we were actually there for. We walked some more, looked in a few shops and sat in some squares and ended up in a little old restaurant crammed with people for lunch... 8000 cops for two courses and a drink. Cheap and old school. On the walk home we stumbled upon Portal de Los Dulces, a tunnel in the made square full of sugared sweets, we got some coconut sweets to take away.

After a long siesta and FaceTime catch ups we headed to the popular La Cevicheria for dinner (another Bourdain spesh!). We got there just in time, as we grabbed a table a whole load of people flooded the place... Some were still waiting when we'd finished. I ordered shrimp ceviche and Harry had a fish, squid and snails with a coconut milk based sauce, it was so so good! After we headed back to our local square for even more people watching and cervezas.

Day three:
I'll keep it short and sweet... We had a lazy morns with a freebie breakfast and some internet time (doing those rounds) and finally found our bookshop/coffee shop. *applause emoji* . We had lunch at a cute little cafe and did a crossword.... We were two words short!!! Ben and Sinead you would have been proud! In the bookshop earlier we found a cool magazine that had the top five views of the city and we found that a chain called Crepes and Waffles had a balling venue in Cartagena so we went there for a crepe that we probably didn't need but a rooftop spot that we definitely did. The Museum of Modern Art followed and then home time for an afternoon nap.

#travelpost - Santa Marta

We almost skipped over Santa Marta as it's most commonly known for being one of the uglier cities on the Carribbean Coast used only as a route to the havens that surround it but for two nights, we're glad we didn't.

Most travellers head straight to Taganga, the neighbouring hippy beach used mostly for parties, diving or both, and most Colombians head to the opposite much wealthier end, filled with hotels and yachts. For us, we stayed in the centre in the sister hostel to our Bogotá place, Masaya Santa Marta, just five minutes from the beach and surrounded by food stalls and markets. When I read about Santa Marta on blogs before we came I read time and time again that Santa Marta had lost it's charm and was a crumbling town... The crumbling was about right but I think it has some charm left up it's sleeve. Don't forget, it is the oldest remaining colonial city in Colombia and is said to be the place where Simon Bolivar, the leader of the Latin America’s independence from Spain, took his final breath.

We spent two nights here and we'd watched the best sunset we'd ever seen , help to collectively drink 5 bottles of aguardiente with strangers turned friends, ate great food for surprisingly cheap prices and soaked up the Carribbean heat in our rooftop pool that cost us just £8 a night. And don't forget, I finally bought a mochila... The dreamiest set of bags you'll ever see on a market stall. Por fin!

I can see why people would assume Santa Marta doesn't deserve a stop over when you use hearsay as your guide as people looking for parties and booze filled nights probably wouldn't make the most of what the old town has to offer but if you keep an open mind and give it a chance, you'll be pleasantly surprised just like us.

#travelpost - First thoughts on Valencia, Spain

My posts are starting to become few and far between but after a loonnngg July/August of summer school, home to Manchester and a move to my new city I think I'm back on track.

We've been in Valencia for a little over two weeks now and I'm not missing home just yet.

From the chilly, old, Castille town of Aranda de Duero two years ago and flower-pot filled Cordoba with it's winding Andalucian streets.. Valencia feels the closest to home out of all of our moves so far.

It's home to rows and rows of 6-7-8 floor art deco apartment buildings in the centre of town, nested above supermarkets, health food shops and I'm sure if not more four Zara stores... all within walking distance from each other. On top of this, there are some smaller, more independent shops in the area to the right of Plaza Ayuntamiento and some bigger names in the area around Mercado de Colon... Maje, Sandro, COS, Hoss.

Shopper's paradise.

Money hasn't really allowed me to do any shopping so far so I've been sticking to the coffee bar hangouts in the bohemian labyrinth of El Carmen, 'hip' Ruzafa and a couple of rough and ready café filled spots in between.. It's a bustling, energetic, working city... with a beach 20 minutes away.

I still haven't had bags of time (or money) to test out all of the bars and restaurants that I've found just yet and will add some posts accordingly when I get round to them. 

For a quick low down of Ruzafa visit GUIA RUSSAFA

                                        

   

    

#travelpost - Lisboa, Portugal Feb/March 2014

After a beautiful weekend in Lisbon, I thought that posting some of my favourite photos on here would kill my back to work blues... Oh how wrong I was.

I'm currently craving a Bifana (pork sandwich) topped with mustard and hot sauce and a creamy pastel (an egg custard that dreams are made of) sprinkled with cinnamon and icing sugar.

There's plenty to see and do in the city, in fact I don't think I've ever seen so many museums, and although a lot of people say that Lisbon is quite an expensive city we found as long as you stay off the tourist track and hit some of the smaller (old man) bars then you can get a lot for your money!

If you do go to Lisboa, don't miss out on a cosy corner in a restaurant/bar listening to fado, Barrio Alto for cheap, super sized drinks with a lively atmosphere, shops dedicated to tinned fish all shapes, sizes, flavours and the pastels in Belem....

The steep streets might be merciless but I promise you they're worth it.