Tapería Yuste, Cáceres

This weekend Fiona came into town from Madrid so we though it'd be the perfect opportunity to try out a new restaurant and bar hop around the town. 

We decided to go to Taperia Yuste. We looked over the menu and made our decisions, with help from the waiter, we were pretty confident in our decisions. However, when the food arrived we were taken rather by surprised as it wasn't necessarily what we expected. Talk about lost in translation! While different, this isn't to say the food was bad. A particular highlight for me was the spinach stuffed crepe with a trout cream sauce. Sounds strange, but it was delicious! I just wish there was more of it. The prawn cream cheese tostada went down well. but we came to the conclusion that that was all it was. A prawn and cream cheese on toast. Next we tried the 'Pizza Artesana' and this was the one we were most underwhelmed with. More of a deconstructed pizza with a strange cheese spread and some sort of jam. Definitely not a favourite and something we probably wouldn't order again. 

Next came the main; steak served with a delicious courgette garnish. Unfortunately we were so excited at the prospect of meat that I didn't manage to grab a snap. 

Then it was time for dessert. I had been eyeing up the desert menu since we arrived so was thrilled when the girls suggested we order 3 and all share. 

We plumped for a warm chocolate brownie with ice cream;

Sacher torte;

 and a toffee mousse. 

They were all brilliant and we ended up practically licking the plates clean! 

After we'd finished eating we hit the town and headed to a local bar brimming with people, spotted a table and nabbed it. 

Ordered some drinks and happily started chatting away. I was clearly telling a story that I found highly amusing…

It got later and the bar started emptying so we decided to move on and go for cocktails at one of my favourite bars in Caceres; La Traviata. I like this place because it has a fun interior and loads of little nooks you can snuggle yourself in with your drinks and have a good catch up. There's a mix of sofas and comfy chairs so it's easy to settle down and while away the hours. 

After a couple of drinks a feeling rather merry, we decided to head on elsewhere. This is where the night gets a little blurry and the camera was put away.

Oops, we're in Valencia

Last week, a few G&T's down, Penny and I found ourselves looking at places to stay in Valencia for the weekend. Fast forward a few hours and we'd booked a hostel, 2 buses and were already planning what to wear. We knew we had to make our decision quickly, because Las Fallas was that weekend. 

Las Fallas is an annual festival where millions of euros are spent creating enormous structures made out of wood and papier maché ready to be burnt at the end of the festival. 

The sculptures are dotted throughout the city and so due to the stumble-upon nature of the festival I thought I'd share it with you a mixture of photos we took with both phones and cameras! 

We spent our last night on higher ground enjoying a few drinks with friends watching the nightly firework display. 

It was a great weekend and, despite the 9 hour journey across the country, was well worth it! Hope you all had a great weekend, too. 

A weekend in Lisbon

This weekend Penny and I popped to Lisbon. Our flatmate was driving down anyway so we thought we'd accompany him for the ride! 4 hours later and after some dodgy driving in the city centre, we had arrived. 

We stayed at Travellers House, on recommendation from Penny's brother and it didn't disappoint! An inexpensive, well-located friendly hostel with an amazing breakfast included in the price! You can choose between bacon and eggs or chocolate pancakes, I went for the eggs but both looked amazing.

We arrived late afternoon and, after checking in and finding somewhere to park we headed straight down to Praça do Comércio just at the end of our road just in time to watch the sun set over the sea.

That evening we went for dinner and then drinks with some friends, none of which I took any photos off (sorry!). But if you're looking for somewhere to go, Bairro Alto is the obvious choice, a road full of bars that you can hop between until the early hours!  

When we stirred the next morning (just about), we were very much in need of breakfast, we wolfed it down and hopped on a tram to Belém in search of the famous portuguese Pastéis. Not only did we find them, but also a stunning monastery;  Mosteiro da Santa Maria de Belém and its beautiful grounds that we wondered through. Stumbling across the most bizarre and out of place oriental style pagoda! 

The Pastéis, the main reason for our trip up to Belém are a traditional portuguese pastry, think an individual custard tart but instead of shortcrust pastry, puff. A delightful little treat that you can adorn with extra icing sugar or cinnamon if you wish. 

Penny and I then decided to walk back into the centre, a decision we then started to regret as after about an hour of walking we weren't even half way there, so we jumped on the next passing tram. We then moseyed around the centre and came across Santini's a little ice cream shop with a queue out the door, and seeing as we're both ice cream fanatics we couldn't not stop in! Penny went for raspberry and chocolate chip, both were amazing especially the raspberry! Would definitely recommend. 

Sunday was our last day in Lisbon, so we got up had breakfast a decided to walk around Alfama the oldest district in Lisbon built on the hill between the Castle and the Tejo River. It was so nice to soak up the sun and take a wonder through the older parts of Lisbon. Penny and I were constantly amazed at the beautiful tiles that covered all the houses. And, as we climbed, we reached some amazing view points. 

We hopped back on one of the trams to where we left the car and said goodbye to Lisbon, promising to come back again soon. 

A walk in the sun

Since the New Year kicked in i vowed to myself that would get fitter, not just for summer but to be a bit more active all the time. Now that i'm living in Spain and the weather is getting warmer, I really want to make the most of it before it get's unbearable. And so keeping all this in mind, Penny and I decided to climb up to the church on the hill where there are beautiful views of the city and the surrounding countryside. And climb we did. 

Half way to the church we came across this lion king-style rock and despite the fact it was a little out of our way, we couldn't not stop and channel our inner animal all the way to the top. Where we decided to lay and basque in the sun for a while. 

When we finally reached the top, the sun was at it's warmest so after briefly taking in the view we slumped into the nearest chairs and sipped on some water. And rather unbelievably after lugging my camera all the way to the top I didn't actually take any photos! 

But I did stop to snap the view on the way down, so those pictures will have to do! 

I'm sure we'll be climbing up again and that time i'll make sure to get some pics from the top.