Monthly Archives: November 2014

Best and Worst Cruisines

298235_931680518321_601660091_n (1)

November’s themed #TravelTuesday post is brought to you by my lovely co-host Courtney of  Adelante blog: ‘Best and Worst Cuisines’.  As an avid lover of food myself, who loves to write blog posts about where to eat, I have been looking forward to this prompt all week.

From my nomadic upbringing I stand behind the fact that a great way to experience a new place is to try the food.  So with that I begin this post by sharing the worst cuisines I have tasted.  Do not worry I do not have instagram pics to share with this portion.   I do have a big tip when traveling: Eat where the locals eat.  By pass the resturants near tourist locations.  Ask locals where their favourite places are to eat.  Find those hole in the wall places off the beaten bath.  From experience I have tasted just how the ‘tourist traps’ water down their food for the tourist palate.  Not to mention the prices on said cruisines also go up.

The best cruisines. Honestly my eyes light up when I talk about places I have been and the subject of food is not far off from my lips.

  • There are the fresh strawberries I had when my family first arrived in Oslo, Norway.
  • The germknodel up on the slopes in Austria in between my snowboarding adventures.
  • The spaghetti and house wine at the resturant on the marina in Sorrento.
  • Mama’s Thai fried rice around the corner from where we taught English in Bangkok, Thailand.

32696261 (1)

(source)

Those are certainly not the only best cruisines I have had around the world and I know they will not be the last. However the important fact to me is that they have been experienced.

For that reason I love to try new places in my backyard in my expat life to share with you to experience too.  Some of my favourites have been:

BRP_0306sm

The Tiroler Hut, an Austrian restaurant in London, England

20131104-BRP_0376

The Cosy Club here in Bath is where I love to escape for a cup of tea and brunch.

20131101-BRP_0188SMOutside Bath in Bradford on Avon is the Lock Inn cafe which I love for all the details while you eat food that satisfies the tastebuds.

20131101-BRP_0016sm

Another must try place in Bradford on Avon is the Bridge Tea room.  My photos from this post were also featured on BuzzFeed with 21 Absolutely Charming Tea Rooms You Have To Visit Before You Die

 

———–

 

traveltuesday

 


 

Girl Gone International & Instagram

Welcome to #TravelTuesday and next week will be our next themed prompt!  Courtney has chosen it this month and it will be: “best and worst cuisines abroad” If you have not participated in our themed posts before, I will share a bit on how it works.  You take the theme and run with it.  We do a themed travel tuesday post once a month.  You do not have to do a themed post to still link up.  On the last Tuesday of every month you can hop around and see everyone who has written about the theme.  We love it because it is a great way to get out of the norm, break writer’s block, and can help bring us together on a subject in an interest we share. 

Today I wanted to share another aspect of Travel that I love to participate in and that is Girl Gone International’s Instagram.  With girls from around the world doing weekly take over’s you you never know what photos to expect to find on the photo feed.  It is proven to fuel that wanderlust and help you meet new travelers around the globe.

Screen shot 2014-11-18 at 7.49.25 AM

Screen shot 2014-11-18 at 7.49.58 AM

Screen shot 2014-11-18 at 7.49.53 AM

There are now monthly photo a day challenges that are going on and you can participate too.  Do not feel like you have to share one photo EVERY day, but definitely share when you can. All you have to do is use the hashtag #girlgiphoto #girlgi and let us know what theme you are submitting the photo towards.  You may then see your photo highlighted as one our recaps for that day!    What are you waiting for…check out Girl Gone International on Instagram!
traveltuesday

Caught up in the Whirlwind

Bonnie Rose Photography © 2012 All Rights Reserved

A year ago I was closing in on a year of blogging every day.  Every morning I sat down with my laptop to write and share photographs.  I had organized my week into themed days to give me a constructive outline of what to share with the world when.  I knew not everyone who came to my blog would read every day.  However with wanting to share the many facets of myself knew that what may not appeal to one reader on one day, may appeal to them on the next.  I spent quite a bit of time connecting with readers, who became friends, through various social media outlets.  I even got away from my computer and to blogging events and blates (blogger dates).

 Then in the late Spring of this year my presence online became quiet.  Which is not a new thing for my blog to experience.  A few times since the creation of it in 2005, have I had to step back for a while.  I honestly believe it can be the best thing for bloggers.  If you have ever had a blogging break than perhaps you understand.  I had not meant to be quiet for so long and time just kept getting away from me.

Caught up in the Whirlwind.

This is a term we use at work from the book The Four Disciplines of Execution.  It is a great visual about how we can easily lose sight on goals when trying to keep up with everything at once.  I have recently found myself much like Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, swept up by everything going on. In the end it has left me feeling quite lost.

With unneeded stress in just one area of my life it has had a rippling effect on to all the others.   Reflecting on it all I felt as if it left me starving creatively. I had not picked up my DSLR camera in months. I had not written any stories, poems, and hardly any blog posts aside from the weekly #TravelTuesday linkup.  I have not devoted much time to art at home and work has been so busy with day-to-day clients. I feel like I have been grasping at anything to stay grounded.  In the last few months I Luckily had the opportunity of being in another theatre production, which gave me a lifeline to my creative spirit.  Yet my life and my schedule stayed ever busy and the whirlwind has just kept spinning.

Fast forward to about a month ago when I suffered a shoulder injury. Not sure how it happened but it impacted the whole length of my arm and has resulted in missing some time off of work. I would love to say that I have spent every moment of it writing for National Novel writing Month, doing yoga and mediation, taking photographs, and spending time with my family. However the lack of being able to use my arm fully, the pain, the fact that my family is at work/school it has been less on the side of a vacation from the whirlwind and more so like experiencing cabin fever.  I greatly look up to anyone who has to work through pain on a daily basis because it can be so deabilitating and frustrating to say the least.  I look forward to having a relaxing vacation in a sunny climate sometime in the future. But for now  I cannot wait to get back to work.  To get back into a better and healthier rhythm of life once again.  To have calmed down and tamed the whirlwind.

Off the cusp of this moment I have found the time to write out this post and share that I do miss writing here in this space.  The outlet and being able to connect with all of you has been something I have missed.  I more likely will not be blogging every day again at this moment.  I do aim to share more as I regain balance in my life once again.  Thank you for all the messages and for coming back to A Compass Rose again.

I am trying to touch base more often on Twitter/Facebook and you can always find me on Instagram and Pinterest as well.

New #TravelTuesday Cohosts!

traveltuesnov14

Now is your chance to meet and check out the blogs of the lovely new co-hosts for #TravelTuesday who are living in Spain,  Czech Republic, and South Korea. Courtney blogs at Adelante, Cynthia blogs at Adventurings, and Yalanda blogs at Laugh Anyway.

————-

Sharing an Instagram photo for this week as I play catch up with things going on around here.  The sun has definitely decided to give up the long summer we have had in England and the cold weather has returned.  However with the rain I have already seen amazing rainbows on two different days. Rainbows always remind me of my father, who passed away while we were living in Hawaii.  Despite the gloomy rainy sky, the rainbow just coloured the day full of hope and promises that the future can bring!

10352268_10100330252304241_4667872805174081810_n

traveltuesday

Travel Tuesday Cohosts | August-October

ttcohosts

If you have been reading up, hopping around, and/or linking up with us these past few months than you may know these ladies quite well as they have been keeping Travel Tuesday running.  Before they go I wanted to highlight them here on the blog so you can get to know them better and make sure to know where to find them on their blogs and across the social media scene.  Plus each wonderful girl has chosen one of you to take their place for Travel Tuesday over the next three months! So have a fun read as I let these amazing cohosts take the lead today.

DSCN2347

Hi! I blog over at Amy and the Great World (http://www.amyandthegreatworld.com). I started my blog a year ago as a way to chronicle my travels so I wouldn’t forget them, and to consolidate past blogs into one. It has evolved as a way to keep my family and friends updated on my new life abroad in Prague, and includes plenty of advice on how (not) to travel, a few travel-themed games, other life thoughts and random travel tips. Now that I’ve discovered the blogging community and the plethora of travel stories out there, I’m hooked! Come follow along as I try to make a life in Prague, explore as much of Europe as I can, and reminisce about my experiences in Asia, South America, and beyond! 
DSC_0384_2

FIVE FUN TRAVEL FACTS

1. I am a travel fiend–to date, I’ve been to 23 countries.

2. I am currently fulfilling a lifelong dream of living abroad by teaching English as a Second Language in the lovely Prague.

3. I had never flown until I was 15. My first flight was overseas to Switzerland!

4. I accidentally ate congealed pig’s blood in Thailand thinking it was tofu. It was actually not as gross as it sounds but certainly was not tofu.

5. On my travels, I have been given nicknames in different languages, such as “MacGaw” in a northern Thai dialect which (supposedly) means “sweet pomegranate” and “XiaoMi” which in Mandarin means “small piece of rice.” My new names usually involve food…

Amy horizontal

Bloglovin': (http://www.bloglovin.com/amygreatworld)  Instagram: (http://instagram.com/amygreatworld) Blog: (www.amyandthegreatworld

unnamed-2

Two Feet, One World is the travel blog of the adventures of Jessi, a Kiwi now living in London.  She loves exploring, good coffee, and beaches in any form.  Her favourite adventures to date have been Oktoberfest in Munich (two years in a row!), an incredible trip through Turkey, cramming as much as possible into weekends in Copenhagen, Paris and Barcelona, and of course the crazy madness that is life in London.

unnamed

Fun facts:
1. I love trying new food wherever I go, and have only had memorable backfires a couple of times, like when I ended up with a whole octopus on my plate!
2. I have now visited 28 countries and so am well on track to see 30 before I’m 30.
3. I’ve run nine half-marathons and I’d love my tenth to be somewhere exciting overseas.
4. I’m a beach bunny and will always opt for sun over snow.
5. I hate being forced to choose, but my favourite country that I have visited so far is Vietnam.

unnamed-1

Twitter: @2feet1world

camila photo 2

The Things I Am Crazy For is a travel and lifestyle blog dedicated and inspired by Camila’s life as an expat and traveller. Posts range from her experience living and studying abroad, to tips on what and where to visit, to recipes and book reviews.

camila photo 3

5 fun facts:
-I first travelled internationally at age one.
-I have flown to 5 continents.
-I’ve met my boyfriend and best friend while travelling.
-I speak and/or have studied 5 different languages.
-I collect fridge magnets from all over the world.

camila photo 1

 

traveltuesday

 

The nominated new Co-Hosts for Travel Tuesday are:

Cynthia of Adventurings – http://www.adventurings.com

Yalanda from Laugh Anyway http://welaughanyway.blogspot.com/ 

Courtney from Adelante http://www.adelanteblog.com/

 

If you have been nominated can you send me an email at bonnie{at}bonnie-rose{dot}co{dot}uk  or comment on here with your email if you have trouble getting in contact.

 

On another note I have been forced to take the week off of work to take care of an injury so I eagerly await to see all the travel and expat posts for this week! Thank you for linking up!