It's Better to Travel than Arrive?

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive"

Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque, 1881.


"Robert Louis Stevenson speaks utter tosh and has

obviously never flown long haul economy class"

Kristy, first ever blog post, 2011.


Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Travel In Your Dreams ...


I'm a huge fan of the store Anthropologie - it's full of lovely things that you don't necessarily need, but actually quite want.  Their clothing is whimsical and cute, and bedding is gorgeous too; it's not terribly sturdy, and it's not terribly cheap (do what I do, and wait until the sales), but it is just beautiful and very cheery.

They've just released a new range of bedding called "Tradewinds" which I think is rather lovely.  So, if you can't afford to buy that air ticket right now to take off to your dream locale, maybe just laying your head on a travel inspired pillowcase will take you travelling in your dreams ...



Check out the gorgeousness at http://www.anthropologie.eu/anthro/index.jsp.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Photo Gallery : Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy

Cagliari is incredibly photographable, and these are all taken on my old iPhone
with Instagram (I love Instagram!).  They're just random shots around the town.

Enjoy!















Wednesday, January 22, 2014

I've Got Money In Nigeria ...



You know that I get a giggle out of scrolling through my spam every now and then, and I've just received a lovely helpful email from 26 year old Marian Green in Nigeria.  She's thrilled to inform me that I'm nearly entitled to some serious dosh (but she can't tell me how much), and the reason that I've not received the cashola yet is that the Nigerian Mafia (which I wouldn't understand, because I'm not Nigerian) aren't going to hand it over.  But she can help me with that!  So kind.

Apart from the obvious upside of being mega-rich after I hand over all of my personal details, she's going to run away from Nigeria to be with me once she's sure the money has come through.  Winning!



 am Miss Marian Green. A computer scientist with C.B.N
I am 26 years old, just started work with C.B.N. I came across your filewhich was marked X and your released d isk painted RED, I took time to study it and found out that you have paid VIRTUALLY all fees and certificate but the fund has not been release to you.
The most annoying thing is that they cannot tell you the truth that on no account will they ever release the fund to you. Please this is like a Mafia setting in Nigeria; you may not understand it because you are not a Nigerian.
The only thing I will need to release this fund is a special HARD DISK we call it HD120 GIG. I will buy two of it, recopy your information, destroy the previous one, and punch the computer to reflect in your bank within 24 banking hours. I will clean up the tracer and destroy your file, after which I will run away from Nigeria to meet  with you.
If you are interested. Do get in touch with me immediately, You should send to me your convenient tell/fax numbers for easy communications and also re confirm your banking details, so that there won't be any mistake.for phone converstion,please call me on +2348115354496.
Regards,
Miss Marian Green

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Restaurant Review : Crackers, Cagliari, Sardinia



This is a great, and very popular, family restaurant in the old town of Cagliari.  Granted, the name "Crackers" is a bit odd, but you will enjoy having a meal here.  It's owned and run by a brother and sister, with sisters hubby cooking in the kitchen - and the food and service are fab.  Everyone is friendly and the menu is comprehensive.

We were a group of 7 women and we had a varied selection from the menu - everything was really good.  A few of us were craving Veal Milanese (click HERE for a recipe, just in case you want to make them - YUM!) and it wasn't on the menu, but that was no problem at all for the lovely staff and they whipped them up for us - they were scrumptious when served.

We were celebrating the birthday of one of our group and a gorgeous cake had been organised by the restaurant.  There was a candle and singing, pretty much the whole restaurant joined in "Happy Birthday".  The people at the surrounding tables were very friendly and everyone was enjoying themselves.

We had such a good time there that we booked again as we walked out the door and went back the following night.  The prices are VERY reasonable and a lovely big bread plate was provided whilst we mulled over the menu.

You'll need to book, especially in high season, and you won't be disappointed.  Just one note, dining in Cagliari is done late, and most places don't open until after 8pm - Crackers is no exception.


Crackers Ristorante
Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 195
Cagliari
Phone:- 070/65.39.12

They don't have a website, but click HERE
for a link to all the reviews on Trip Advisor.



Wednesday, January 15, 2014

45,000 Visits?



Wow!  I can't believe it.  Thank you so much for dropping by to check out my ramblings, reviews, recipes and random pictures - I'm just thrilled that you do. 

Some of you have been with me from the start, and some of you are new, but I just want to take the opportunity to shout THANK YOU SO MUCH from the roof tops.  You guys rock.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Restaurant Review : Da Giancarlo, Pula, Sardinia



Okay, so we'd all been out on a fun mini-bus tour organised by the family who owned our hotel.  Papa was driving, with his son Luca doing a vague bit of translating.  We'd been to a few beaches, helped to empty one little seaside bar that was closing that day for the season (sacrifices, sacrifices), and had a good look around.  We were hungry, and being off season, there wasn't much open.

We kept driving around and couldn't find anything, and then Papa stopped the van and asked a passer-by where we could find something that'd be open.  He directed us to Da Giancarlo, which looks absolutely nothing from the outside, but is big and quite nicely set up inside.

I say again, this is the off season, and this restaurant was half empty and you would have thought that they would have welcomed a table of 7 with open arms, but no flipping way.  They very grudgingly gave us a table and, from the manager down were astonishingly rude to us the whole time we were there.  They were also rude to every other person in the place.  I've never experienced such blatant rudeness anywhere in the world.

The menu was okay, when we eventually got it, and the food was okay when it finally arrived.  I asked for some grana (aka parmesan) and it was as though I'd asked for some sort of occult sacrifice.  I was told that parmesan isn't eaten in Sardinia (seriously?), but when I gave him "the face" I was bought a small bowl of it with very bad grace.

We had a carafe of house red and another of house white, and they were okay, but the whole experience was just so disappointing and I wouldn't recommend anyone visit EVER.  Don't give these grumpy people your patronage.

I know I usually put the address and contact details at the bottom of my reviews, but I'm not going to do it, because I don't want you go to there.  If you're desperate to be insulted, I'm sure you can find all the details you require on the web.

When I got back home I looked them up on Trip Advisor and it appears that they're rude to almost everyone.  Click HERE to read some reviews from others.





Wednesday, January 8, 2014

True Story!

Sometimes, with the way I butcher cake recipes,
licking the bowl is better than eating the cake.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Hotel Review : Sa Domu Cheta, Cagliari, Sardinia


My little room.

It was off season in Sardinia, hotel prices were down, there were cheap flights on Ryanair, and Halina was having a birthday -  bring on the girls weekend!

After a few of us doing some research, we settled on Sa Domu Cheta, a small family run hotel fabulously located in a narrow little street in Cagliari old town.

We had a mix of shared rooms and I grabbed up a single room so that no-one was bothered by my bonkers sleeping issues.  My comfortable little room, with air-conditioning, large single bed, full bathroom, wardrobe and reasonably priced minibar came to about €45/night and also had lovely big shuttered glass doors that opened to a juliet balcony looking over the interior courtyard (which, if I'm honest, could have done with a bit of a clean).

The only negative to my room was that the shower was teeny tiny and I could barely bend over to pick up my shampoo from the shower floor (no shelf).  If you were tall or a bit "well padded", you'd be stuffed.  Good water pressure though, and plenty of hot water. 

Part of the breakfast selection.

Breakfast was included in the room rate and was pretty good - cold meats, bread, cereal, yoghurt, a fab egg boiling machine (I'd advise 7 minutes to a perfect egg), and really good coffee made by the friendly staff.  Either Mama or Nonna make the morning cake and they all looked good, but one strawberry blancmange made an appearance every morning we were there, looking a little worse for wear each day - maybe steer clear of the milky desserts …

Reception isn't manned 24/7, but you get a key coded for the front door and your room door, so there's no problem coming and going.  The hotel can organise airport pick-up with no problems, and I arrived at 11pm to find Papa there waiting for me - obviously no issues with strange arrival times.

The hotel is in walking distance to the harbour and everything else you might want to see.


Sa Domu Cheta
Via Portoscalas 30
09123 Cagliari
Phone:- +39 070 655 002


Breakast room.