Category Archives: travel

Themed Travel Tuesday | April ’15

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Next week will be our next themed Travel Tuesday. One of our amazing co-hosts, Caity, has chosen:

“Where You Came From & Why You Left”

Next week you can share a bit about yourselves through where you come from and what you love about it.  Then also share what prompted your decision to leave, travel, move, whatever it may be!

We look forward to reading and sharing your posts next week!

 

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Where You Should Live Based on your Myers Briggs Personality Type

WHEREYOUSHOULDLIVEMEYERSBRIGGSHave you ever put in any thought that your personality could be pointing you to a specific location on the globe?  As a nomadic child by birth and with the label now as a Third Culture Kid, I do not find one specific place my ‘home’.  I instead take all the places I have ever lived or spent a significant part of my life and hold ownership in them.  Before I knew what a Third Culture Kid, or TCK, was I used to say I was from ‘no where’ and now as an Adult TCK, or ATCK, I say I am from ‘everywhere’.  Still I wish there was some place that we all without homes could feel at home.  Though my quick answer to that has always been the airport.  A place of comfort.  Then I stumbled upon this website that took your Myers Briggs personality type and paired it up with one place on the globe.  Of course I had to know where I was destined.

I had previously taken the the personality quiz in University back in 2001 and then had taken it again 2013 for my Blogtober post, both times getting ENFP.

As I scrolled down for answers I started getting sad that I was not getting the other cities I was seeing listed. My personality type ended up being at the end and as I drew close I was actually dreading what would be there waiting for me.  What could be left?  That sounds really silly, but it shows how much I was holding on to this personality matched with a city idea.

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ENFP – San Francisco, USA

“ENFPs barf rainbows. San Francisco barfs rainbows. It’s a perfect fit. But in all seriousness, the liberal values of San Francisco have been attracting NF types for decades. Known for its hippy-dippy attitude and intellectual focus alike, the city is a perfect fit for the idealistic, liberally minded ENFP. This type enjoys exploring numerous avenues of self-expression and personal growth, which San Francisco provides ample opportunity for. This buzzing, vibrant city mirrors the attitude of the effervescent ENFP in almost every way possible.”

After reading about ENFPs in San Francisco I felt very happy to get this as my answer. Yes, it was found on the mainland USA and not Hawaii, somewhere in Europe, or a place I had yet to be in perhaps Asia.  It was quite fitting with my personality.  Not to mention I do love San Francisco and had lived not to far away in Monterey for a couple of years with our first born as a baby when my husband was in the military. If I was to move back to the USA it would have to be the west coast all the way.

How about you?  Have you taken the Myers Briggs personality type test yet?  What are you and where should you live?

You can take the Myers Briggs personality type test here.

You can find out where you should live here.

Then join the link up below and see what other travel and expat bloggers have posted about today!



Cotswolds, England

Hello everyone and welcome to Travel Tuesday! My name is Amanda and I blog over at Rhyme & Ribbons. You can also find me on Instagram. In the fall, I was lucky enough to travel a bit through the Cotswolds, and I’d like to present a small picture of the area to you today!

The Cotswolds are a famously beautiful part of England, and the village of Bourton on the Water is no exception. (It’s even an official “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”.) I happened to arrive in the town just as they were starting their Remembrance Day ceremony.

The area is also famous for it’s predominantly stone homes. These beautiful villages were built in the time when English wool was king and they were racking in the big bucks. Bourton on the Water has about 4,000 inhabitants and is therefore considered a “larger” village for the area. It has a really picturesque High Street with the River Windrush running alongside it. Maybe I wouldn’t have loved living there as a teenager, but I’d certainly love to live there now!

Also if you are obsessed with “Buffy” or “Angel” like I am, you might recognise the area from an episode of “Angel” called “A Hole in the World” where Spike and Angel are looking for, predictably, an ancient demon in order to save Fred.
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Have you traveled through the Cotswolds before?



Columbia Road Flower Market in London

Hello everyone and welcome to Travel Tuesday! My name is Amanda and I blog over at Rhyme & Ribbons. I’m originally from America, but I live in London now. Spring is in the air and I  thought I’d introduce you to one of the blogging epicentres in London: Columbia Road Flower Market.  It’s a combination of all things twee: puppies, vintage clothing and furniture, artisan pastries, babies, bicycles and most importantly lots and lots of flowers. I love every minute of it.

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The first of many photos of flowers. If you don’t like flowers, click away now.
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Despite the early hour, it was still packed.

 

In east London there exists the market of my dreams: Columbia Road Flower Market. A market devoted solely to bunches of flowers, flowers for planting, plants, bushes, shoots and sprouts. And it’s only open Sundays from 8am-3pm. Breaking with our usual Sunday sleeping-in tradition, Sam and I set alarms to head out early doors on Sunday in an effort to beat the the worst of the throngs in the market. Despite only having been open for a little while, the road was already packed. (But that was nothing compared to the crowds that came later in the morning.) 
Columbia Market was originally opened in 1869 as a food market and then started making the transition to focus solely on gardening in the 1960s. In the 1980s the road began garner international press and is world famous today.  While some criticise the prices, I’d have to say that personally, I found them really reasonable. To clarify, I am not a flower expert at all. All my bouquets come from Sainsburys or Tesco. Marks & Spencer if I’m feeling really middle class. And the flowers I bought at Columbia Road were significantly cheaper than any bouquet I’ve bought at the aforementioned places. (I spent a total of £10 and took home a bouquet of hyacinth, a bouquet of ranunculus, and a bouquet of anemones.) 
The surrounding shops are open and are selling equally beautiful wares; the smallest of alleys is turned into a temporary bakery- there’s hardly a square inch of space that isn’t being utilised to sell something.  We decided to really make a morning of it and visit the famous Lily Vanilli bakery since it was right there as well and I’ve been keen to go for ages.

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As you can see, the bakery is absolutely tiny but adorable.
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Sunday funday, right? So brownies and coffee for breakfast is okay?
Despite the fact that the brownies were a bit rich to have at breakfast, they were delicious. Dense, moist and fudgey with chunks of chocolate. The flat white coffee was really great as well.
The market is very crowded but the street itself is quite small. So before buying anything, I fought the crowds twice walking up and down sizing up what exactly I wanted to buy.
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This was the stall where I ended up purchasing my flowers.
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Trench: Kenneth Cole (old, similar seen here.) Dress: Modcloth. Boots: similar (on sale). Bag: Longchamp Le Pliage.
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I was fascinated by these black roses but they weren’t the kind of flower I’d like to have around the house.
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A selection of delicious pastries that are for sale tucked into a small alcove in a nearby building.
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I loved the rose stalls with their big swaths of colour.
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The flowers I ended up going home with.
Follow along for more of my adventures: Twitter & Instagram

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I like Lyn’s post on Chile



Blood Miracle of San Gennaro

The first Tuesday in March and that means it is our next themed Travel Tuesday post.  The theme for March is: ‘Local legends’ | The urban myths and stories you have come upon while traveling, in your expat, life, or ones from your hometown.  I have heard about some while living and traveling abroad but there is one that came to mind quite quickly.  

The Blood Miracle of San Gennaro.

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Naples, Italy was my ‘home’ twice growing up for a total of six years.  In the background the sleeping volcano, Mt. Vesuvio was supposed to erupt when we lived there the first time.  Nothing happened.  So when we moved back, the thought of it waking up was in the back of my mind off and on.  It still has not woken up from its sleep.  However there is much going on in Naples, Italy to keep people entertained.

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The country is very much steeped in religion and tradition.  Which makes it even more clearer why the Miracle of San Gennaro is a beloved legend believed by many.  It is the belief that the blood of San Gennaro (Saint Januarius) miraculously liquefies from solid form.  This miracle of the church has allegedly occurred up to eighteen times each year for the past 600 years.  People show up in crowds just to witness this miracle taking place.  You can read more about it: http://www.miraclesofthechurch.com/2010/10/blood-miracle-of-st-januarius-gennaro.htmlnaples-italy3

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If you would like to see more photographs and hear more about the Fontanelle cemetery in Napoli, Italia you can click the image above.  Better yet visit the beautiful city and see it for yourself.  If you do I’d love to read your post about your visit, send me a link.

——–traveltuesday

I really enjoyed this explosive post from the Travelling Lindfields blog last week.  This is the Waiotapu thermal wonderland. Click above to read more about this active geothermal area of the Okataina Volcanic centre in New Zealand.

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Jamie’s Italian in Bath, England

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Family night dinners become a special place in your life once you get married and have children.  For my husband and I, who rarely get a date night without the kids, choosing a great location is key.  Choosing where to eat out with the family can involve many decisions that may include:

– What distance is it from the house?
– How easy will it be to get there?
– Will we need to make a reservation?
– Do they have a kids menu?

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For food lovers like my husband and I, we really want to go somewhere that not only has a great menu but somewhere that has been talked about highly by our friends and coworkers.  Jamie’s in Bath has been one of those places we have been excited about trying out.  A few weeks ago we were invited to have our family night dinner at  Jamie’s Italian Bath.

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We really liked the atmosphere and friendly staff upon our arrival.  While it was a busy time of night and looked like they were fully booked, our waiter was very attentive and helpful.  The boys really liked the over head lighting which striked a resemblence to the Pixar lamp. It gave great lighting for our food for all of our instagram photos of our expat life and travels to share with family and friends around the world. I had a difficult time choosing just one thing to order off the menu.  It was not for the lack of enticing options and I ended up choosing a couple of half sizes with the promise that my husband would share his choice too.  I like to keep my options open. A nod to my father who would change his order if anyone ordered the same dish.  Sharing is caring and with that let me show you the coolest kid menus by far.

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You are seeing correctly.  The view masters, a popular toy since the 1960’s, have replaced the paper menu at Jamie’s Italian resturant in Bath.  While they still get a tried and true activity placemat with dining options, the view master was a huge hit and stole the show. The retro toy gave a futuristic experience to the family night dinner and displayed what each main course looked liked on the plate before they made their order.  Plus while they kids play with their menus it gives us time to focus on our menus too.

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We decided to order both off the main menu and from the specials.  After splitting half of Ryan’s dinner, it was clear that was a perfect choice.

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We began with our starters of cured meats and seasoned vegetables.  The antipasto boards contained a selection of fennel salami, pistachio mortadella, prosciutto & schiacciata piccante, chargrilled & marinated vegetables, mini buffalo mozzarella, pecorino & chilli jam, pickles, olives, and crunch kale slaw. It was one bite after another of satisfying tastes and was truely delicious.

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For my main selection we chose two half portions of the following mains from Jamie’s Italian pasta menu.  Pictured above is the Squid & Mussel Spaghetti Nero. It contains a flash-fried squid & mussels with slow-cooked octopus, capers, and anchovie in a tomato and white wine sauce.  I almost wished I had just ordered the full size until I tried the equally yummy Penne Carbonara, pictured below.  With crispy chunks of smoked pancetta and sweet buttery leeks, this was a comforting dish that reminded me of my years growing up in Naples, Italy.  I would definitely reccomend both dishes, or even say try something I did not order off the menu.  Just remember to tell me how it was so I might try it next time too.

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Ryan ordered one of the specials, the pulled pork, which made me want to break my father’s cardinal rule of ordering food.  It was so good I could have easily had my own plate so that I did not have to share.  Since family dinner night is all about sharing and having a good time, we did just that and saved room for dessert too.

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Ice cream was had by all. Since it was a special night out I had my ice cream on top of a brownie.  This epic brownie was served warm with vanilla ice cream and topped with caramelised popcorn.

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Of course Ryan and I had to finish it all off with espresso and some final dinner conversations.  When you are enjoying a night out you definitely have to make the most of every moment.  We really enjoyed our selves and left with full tummies and smiles on our faces.

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After going to Jamie Oliver’s Italian resturant in Bath I know we will have to return again.  Not just for another fun family night dinner, but so we can try some of the other things that looked so good but did not get to order this time around.  It is a great place for a date night or with the family and it does not disappoint.  Until next time, ci vidamo!

 

Q: Have you been to Jamie’s yet? If yes, where and what did you order?  If no, what are you looking forward to trying?  You can see their full menu here:  Jamie’s Italian Bath

 

 

Paris Opera House

Next week will be the themed Travel Tuesday for March and the theme chosen by Amanda is:

‘Local legends’ | The urban myths and stories you have come upon while traveling, in your expat, life, or ones from your hometown.

I have Amanda guest posting a few times this month as co-host for Travel Tuesday. Without further word from me here is Amanda!

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Hello everyone and welcome to Travel Tuesday! My name is Amanda and I blog over at Rhyme & Ribbons. I’m originally from America, but I live in London now. I’ve been lucky enough to go to Paris several times now. One of the attractions in Paris that sticks out in my mind the most, was a tour of the Paris Opera House (Palais Garnier). I was blown away. I haven’t been in a theatre that beautiful before. And I’ve been in some stunning theatres. Although it’s important to keep in mind that at the time the Opera House was built it wasn’t about seeing the opera, it was about being seen AT the opera.

The Palais Garnier was commissioned by Napoleon III in 1861, and was completed in 1875. It was designed by Charles Garnier, and seats 2,013 people, with many of the seats being private boxes.

One of the most stunning things about the auditorium was the contrast of the ceiling by Marc Chagall with the heavy gilding and detailed 7 ton chandelier. Chagall did the ceiling in 1964 to cover the old one by Jules Lenepvue (which was preserved intact). It’s one of the largest stages in the world (the largest in Europe) and I would have loved a chance to run around on it; perhaps giving my female Hamlet.

The Palais Garnier is the setting for the Phantom of the Opera, and in 1869 the chain holding up the massive chandelier snapped killing one audience member. And while I didn’t see any ghosts, it was easy to imagine Christine Daae running around up and down the many beautiful staircases.

Today the Palais Garnier is used primarily for ballet.

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Corner of Rues Scribe and Auber. 75009 Paris. Tickets cost 10€ and students get a discount.

I could just imagine being Christine Daae here!

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Amanda chose Under the Ash Tree’s post in Florence for her favourite post in the link up from last week!