TRAVEL: Birthday In Barcelona

Hey everyone,

So I spent my birthday in Barcelona.
My birthday in 2016.
I am the queen of procrastination.

It was sunny in Newcastle.

In Barcelona it was not.

However as birthday 2017 has just passed, I'd still like to share my trip as it really was wonderful and I completely fell in love with Barcelona.

It was my first time visiting the city - and indeed, Spain!
I know, I know right?
Pretty unheard of for a Brit, especially one who works in travel.

Usually when me and Claire go on our jaunts, one of us has visited before and can pretty much steer the other around.
But it was completely new for both of us, and it was so much fun adventuring.

I thought I'd share some of my favourite pictures and top tips for first timers.


DO: Stay on Las Ramblas.
It's the tourist central of Barcelona, but also means you're so close to everything. We managed to make it through our entire stay without having to use the metro!

We stayed at Hotel Arc La Rambla and can recommend it without hesitation if you are looking for budget, clean and central accommodation.

 

Overcast - wah!

But nevertheless still beautiful!

 

If you don't eat gelato at least once a day on holiday whatever the weather then what are you even doing with your life..? 

DO: Walk everywhere you can!

Even getting from A to B is beautiful and I loved getting lost in all the little side streets.
We stumbled across an adorable courtyard with orange trees which we would have otherwise missed!

  

DO: Do the hop-on-hop-off bus tour if it's your first time.
Touristy yes, but hey - you're a tourist!

It saves fannying on with metros and buses and will take you to everywhere you need to see for your first visit. You'll most likely get discounts on other places.

  

Go on the open top bus they said. It'll be sunny they said.

DO: Skip breakfast one day and eat your way around La Boqueria market.

Everything looked absolutely delicious - fresh fruit, smoothies, macarons, marzipan, empanadas and other pasties, falafel with salad, chorizo and other yummy, fatty meats and pretty much every form of seafood going.

  

  

Claire got a feta and spinach empanada (when, I pointed out, is the Spanish equivalent of a Gregg's pasty because she is common) and a fruit pot. 

I had a watermelon and strawberry smoothie and some meat on a stick for €1. 
Perfect for a pre-beer snack!



DO: Frequently stop for (lots of) drinks and people watch.

This is always one of my favourite things about travelling, and Barcelona was no exception.

We saw a group performing a castell - a Catalan tradition involving essentially building a human tower, a German stag party dressed as Minions, to a poor bloke who'd obviously overdone it on the plane and fell asleep head first into his steak.
Everybody clapped when he woke up, including the waiting staff.

Another night we we got chatting to a young guy who sat with us all evening and showed us card tricks!

  

DO: Splash out on an evening of flamenco.
This was one of the most special nights of our trip and we went as a pre-birthday treat.

The one we went to was Tablao Flamenco Cordobes on Ramblas, and I can't recommend it enough.
A bit pricey at €80 per head, but that includes a delicious buffet meal and drinks before the show, as well as a glass of Cava while you watch.

However, DO NOT overdo it on the free bar as Claire ended up getting overemotional and crying.

DO: Keep an eye on your belongings...but really just exercise common sense.

Las Ramblas has a bit of a reputation for pickpockets. Perhaps it was because we visited in May before the peak tourist season began, but we never had any hassle at all.

In all honesty, I've felt more unsafe in Paris, and someone once attempted to snatch my friend's bag at London Kings Cross so there you go.

And the locals really do watch out for you - at one point Claire forgot herself, leaving her iPhone out on the table (it's suggested you keep it in your bag) and the maitre d of the restaurant we were in gently nudged it towards her and indicated to put it away.

I find a sturdy cross bag works well and when you're walking around, casually keep a hand on it.
But you really don't need to go OTT with a fanny pack or safety belts as that'll just make you stand out as a tourist. Blending in is key!


DO: Wander down to the port.
It's absolutely beautiful. When we went there were two flea markets on as well as lots of street entertainment.

  

DO: Go down to the beach.
Well, I mean I'm sure it's lovely. But when we went it was raining. Bloody Barcelona.

DO: Prebook for the Sagrida Familia.
This can easily be done online in a few minutes. We smugly walked past a massive queue at lunchtime and went straight in.

  

And finally...

DO NOT: Order oysters when Claire is hungover.
The poor lass chundered everywhere.

  

I'm already planning on returning in March 2018 with my lovely pal Chris - I can't wait!

Muchos love

Carla 

THE JAPAN DIARIES: Capcom Bar

Hey everyone,

Tokyo has a bit of a reputation for out-there dining.

From a restaurant where you are attacked by ninjas, an Alice In Wonderland cafe, a Catholic cafe, animal cafes (not just cats - now also dogs, rabbits, owls and reptiles...), maid cafes, a Moomin cafe where solo diners receive a plushie to keep them company, Sebastian Masuda's Kawaii Monster Cafe (I actually visited here in 2015 - stay tuned!) the list goes on and on.

But being quite the Ace Attorney fangirl, I could resist seeking out the Capcom Bar in Shinjuku, where I'd heard offered edibles and drinkables dedicated to everyone's favourite spiky haired rookie lawyer.

I'm not going to lie, it took a bit of wandering around to find it - eventually I found it on a side street wedged between a pachinko bar and a particularly seedy looking hostess club.

It appears the ground floor is another restaurant entirely, and the Capcom bar takes up the second floor. 

I was the first person waiting and I didn't have a reservation so I asked a staff member if I was in the right place. He confirmed I was, and gave me a menu to browse and pre-choose options. 

This was all in Japanese, and mine is practically non-existent I signaled to the guy I would be ordering upstairs and he gave me a thumbs up.

A few other guests started queuing, a mix of tourists and locals. 

Then the door swung open and he were invited inside. 

Even though the bar was nowhere near full capacity as I was a solo diner I was shown to the bar seating which was a little uncomfortable but rules is rules is rules.

Inside is very cool and black and shiny.

The three huge screens you can see are hooked up to machines where you can play the latest Capcom releases.

And thankfully this ignorant gaijin was given a full colour menu with English. 

Unfortunately, as of 2017 the Ace Attorney section has been scaled down somewhat to make room for several other game series. 

However this is what was available when I visited in 2015:

      

 

Apollo's bracelet themed onion rings and a potato croquet gavel.

Cocktails based on prosecutors Franziska Von Karma and Klavier Gavin.

Also a black coffee for Godot, naturally. ("It's bitter today, too... Just like my destiny.")

 

I ordered the Klavier Gavin cocktail - he is a musician so check out the ice guitar!

The cherry red liqueur is the same colour as his jacket.

Along with this I had Miles Edgeworth's High Tea. 

This tickled me as Edgeworth is often localised by fans (alas not canon) as British.  

It's a freaking Blue Badger in powdered sugar!!

Delicious pastries and sweet treats - including this adorable 8-Bit Edgey cookie which was almost too cute to eat!

Noticing I was alone, the smiling waitress came over, explaining "friends for you" and put these next beside me:

D'awww. My lads.

Although I had my 3DS with me, I was also offered a Japanese 3DS with the then-unreleased Ace Attorney HD Trilogy loaded. 

The service really is second to none in Japan, and all these little touches were really sweet. 

 

The came the skits.

I speak barely any Japanese, but by then the Klavier Gavin cocktail had kicked in and I found the whole thing rather shambolic and therefore hilarious.

Suddenly the barman produced a gavel, and whacked it hard on the counter so hard I nearly fell off my stool.

The Ace Attorney soundtrack started blasting and there was a very random court scene involving a girl's "stolen" onion rings. 

Only in Japan.

"HOLD IT!"

"TAKE THAT!"

Just before he started shouting "IGARI!" and he caught me eye and added "Also...OBJECTION!"

There was also an opportunity at the end of the meal to buy exclusive merchandise. 

A lot of what I'd had my eye on was sold out, but I did buy a Blue Badger mug. There was also a daily raffle when I was there to win some pin badges. 

I can't see anything about this on the website, but I'm assuming the still sell merch. 

Overall, I had a wonderful experience.

A lot of love has gone into the place, and the cheerful staff seem to be having a ball too. 

Of course if you're not so much into Ace Attorney, many other Capcom series are featured including: Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, Biohazard, Devil May Cry and Rockman!

If you're a total nerd like me - it's definitely worth a visit!

Muchos love,

Carla.

OUTFIT POST: Glasgow Girl

Hey everyone,

Here's a birthday haiku:

Birthday in Glasgow.
I am 28 years old.
Carla is ancient.

However in typical Carla-style I am still not dressing for someone who is knocking thirty, and instead chose to look like an eccentric French child to go for birthday doughnuts.

TOP: H&M
SKIRT: New Look
JACKET: Primark
BOOTS: Clarks
BAG: Kate Spade
JEWELLERY: Glitterbomb
BERET: eBay
BROOCH: Gift from my work pal, Ashleigh.

We had a wonderfully chill weekend, which was mostly spent eating and binge watching Drag Race. (Poor Nadia is trawling her way through the snoozefest that is season 7. Bleurgh. Apart from Trixie and Katya, obvs.)

We also watched Eurovision. Sweden was robbed.

I was thoroughly spoiled by my family.
Italian Catholic Mother and Papi B bought me this beautiful Glitterbomb jewellery I asked for.
(Turns out the Sailor Moon necklace is a bit defective, but Glitterbomb's customer service has been 10/10 and a new one should be on it's way to me soon!)

They also surprised me with my favourite gin, Mara Wilson's book and an amazing Zelda notebook!

Nadia bought me Too Faced's Better Than Sex mascara and a kawaii AF makeup bag:

And naturally as Glasgow one of my favourite UK cities for scran, we ate all the food - including a stop at my favourite ever burger joint Bread Meats Bread.

It was a fabulous long weekend, and I bought myself an extra present - the special edition of Fire Emblem Echoes which is beautiful and amazing. 

I've been working all the hours I can lately to save for my Japan spending money, but can't wait to get stuck into the game when things quieten down somewhat.

It's somewhat bittersweet as it's the final game in the series to be released for the 3DS before the series moves over to the Switch.

 

Muchos love

Carla.

THE JAPAN DIARIES: Koyasan

Hey everyone,

I'm very excited to continue my The Japan Diaries series - you can read all the previous installments here.
Or skip to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

My plan when I arranged to go to Koyasan was to go to the mountains for a cleansing experience, to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city for a while. 

This turned out to be more difficult when I had to be up at 7am to start packing and get ready to leave. My head was throbbing. I should have turned down that last sake from Mr Yano. 

And to make matters worse, when I checked my phone - Hurricane Phanfone had hit again in the night. It had mostly gone over Tokyo and we got the backlog.
Trains had been thrown off a little. I was worried as I had several changes to catch.

My worries were unfounded however. Delayed trains are simply unacceptable in Japan.
By rush hour, everything was running as usual - like clockwork.

They say part of the adventure to Koyasan is getting there and that's certainly true.

I caught the train from Osaka Namba to Gokurakubashi, then caught the cable car up to the mountains. It really was beautiful, feeling miles above the trees.

Then unfortunately, as soon as I stepped off the cable car - the heavens opened.

The high altitude wasn't helping my hangover, so instead of fannying on trying to find the right bus and fret I was getting off at the wrong stop I hopped in a taxi and it was the best Y2,500 I spent.

I was both excited and also a little apprehensive about staying with monks in a temple.
But Hayley had recommended the Souji-in to me, insisting it was one of her favourite experiences in all her years visiting Japan.

I was greeted by a monk, who bowed and politely pointed at my feet. I'd forgotten to take my shoes off standing on the steps, whoops! 

He took me to the reception area and we sat opposite each other crossed legged on piles of pillows while he took down my details, advised meal and prayer times and explained the rules.
(Very simple and common sense: no raised voices, speaking in hushed voices, showing respect for the monks and others, no flash photography etc.)

Another little monk then gave me a pair of slippers which were absolutely massive on my size 5 feet and I kept slipping all over the place on the polished floor which was quite embarrassing.

He gestured to the dining room, prayer hall, onsen rooms and then to my room.

It was definitely suitable for several people - separated into two rooms with a sliding door.
On one side was a little table with a kettle, cup and saucer plus nori sheets and a sweet mochi to nibble. A yukata was neatly folded in the corner.

The other room was my bedroom with huge open windows with a beautiful view of the zen gardens and a futon with lots of heavy blankets. 

Unfortunately the rain showed no signs of stopping, spoiling my plans to wander around the grounds and the village so I fell into a deep, wonderful nap, and slept soundly under the heavy blankets.

I set my alarm on my phone (vibrate only of course so I slept with it in my bra!) to wake up in plenty of time for dinner, when I changed into the yukata.
I felt a bit immodest with just my underwear underneath, so I put on a vest/singlet and a pair of black shorts.

Just as I was wondering how I was going to find the dining room, or if I was going to be served in my room as a single guest - the little monk who showed me around came and let me to the hall.
(I didn't chance the slippers again and just wore my socks. I still slipped on the polished floors like a fool.)

The other guests were all fellow Westerners when I stayed, and we were separated by a small privacy screen which I appreciated.
Dinner was Shojin Ryori - traditional vegan food eaten by the monks.

Shojin Ryori

This was my breakfast, I unfortunately forgot to bring my camera along to dinner!

I'm not a particularly picky eater (surprise, surprise), and found everything absolutely delicious:
Miso soup, soft gelatinous tofu, pickled ginger, tempura vegetables, greens in a sweet sauce, soy beans, nori and rice.

A monk I hadn't seen before with trendy black glasses came along with extra nori and served me a huge pot of green tea. I thanked him as he set everything down in front of me. He paused and said:

"Excuse me miss, may I ask you question?"

"Of course."

"You are English girl, yes?"

"Yes, I'm from Northern England."

"Ahh very good. I enjoy the cooking of Jamie Oliver."

And there you have it.
50,000 miles from home, sitting in a yukata in a temple talking about Britain's favourite celebrity chef with a monk. That's one for the grandbairns.
I laughed and called him Jamie every time I saw him the rest of my stay.

After dinner the rain had weaned and I finally had a walk around the temple.
I considered going to the onsen but I couldn't remember which one the monk had said was the male and female and honestly couldn't cope with the embarrassment of choosing the wrong one, so I missed out.

I never did visit an onsen during my visit, which was a bit of a shame - I've put it on my list for my 2017 trip, however.
(My sister is not looking forward to this.)

The beautiful serene grounds which smelled especially wonderful after a night of heavy rainfall.

After an early night, I woke up refreshed and ready at 6:00am for prayers.
These are listed as mandatory in the house rules, but they're hardly going to come in and force you out of bed if you don't fancy it.

But I don't see why you would miss it out after going all the way there.
I walked to the prayer room myself - a large room full of gold Buddhas, incense, scrolls and a huge gong.
I got lost in the long, warbling chanting in the perfumed room lead by Jamie, a truly amazing experience lasting about an hour. 

Breakfast was served straight away - almost identical to the previous evening's dinner, but without the tempura and a smaller portion which suited me as I don't have the biggest appetite first thing in the morning. 

After being bowed out by the monks, and ensuring them I'd had a wonderful stay I started my long journey back to Tokyo.
It must have taken me about six hours and I was absolutely knackered after being on trains all day.

Mind and body cleansed, but you have no idea how fast this was shoved into my face as soon as I hit Shinjuku:

Muchos love,
Carla 

WHO?

Hey everyone,

It's been a year. Almost a year. Eleven whole months.
If I was pregnant (I'm not) I could have had a baby in this time (I haven't).

I don't know how I fell off the wagon, and I truly miss my little space on the internet.

I feel like I lot of people who have been blogging for a while (I've technically been blogging since I was 12 - and since I was 19 here!) I've been feeling quite burnt out.

The blogging bubble has burst. People are moving over to YouTube. Are we yelling into the abyss?
Is it over?

Who cares say I? I hate not writing.
I mean I've been journaling lots this year. Sort of. Well I missed for for the whole of March.
But I have been journalling nonetheless.

So hello!
Let's measure, measure a year. (Seasons of LOOOOOOVE... etc)

I'm still at my same job in travel admin. The lasses are loud and lovely.
We've celebrated engagements, hen parties, a wedding and three babies - plus another on the way!
And Rhiannah still thinks a quail is a baby whale.
 

  

I've also been lucky enough to go galavanting since the last time we spoke.
The perks of working in travel!

I've already mentioned we went to Barcelona last May for my birthday which was wonderful, but reckon I should mention it here too because WHY NOT.
I've completely fallen in love the city and am already planning a return trip next year.
 

  
It was rainy and overcast but me and Bradders still managed to eat ice cream every day.

Then me and my sister visited Budapest in August which was amazing.
It was one of my bucket list destinations, and did not disappoint.

It was also SO cheap which was a welcome surprise
I think I only spent £120 over five days, and that included eating out three times a day, drinks, public transport, souvenirs and entry to the thermal baths.

  
The most lethal margaritas ever.

Finally for his Christmas present, I treated me and Papi B to a long weekend in Berlin in January as Newcastle has just reintroduced a direct route to Berlin!

I got an absolute steal on an agent rate at the hotel which was about a ten minute walk from Alexanderplatz.

  

I ticked another thing off the bucket list - the Ramones museum!

I expected to only look around for an hour or so as Papi B hates punk, but they have a bar and we ended up staying there all afternoon slowly getting pissed on German lager and watching Ramones concerts on repeat.

Bury me there.

  

  

Me and Bradders are also going to Krakow in November!

She got engaged last month, and has already booked to get married in August 2018, so there will most likely not be an annual ~galz trippp~ next year as she saves for her wedding and honeymoon.

Nick got down on one knee in a park in Amsterdam.
I've been telling people it was outside the Sex Museum hurr hurr.

Family-wise, all is well.

Papi B celebrated his 60th birthday. He was thoroughly spoiled.
I asked him if he feels 60. "I feel about 19!" He said.
Goals.

Aww. Papi actually likes and wears the novelty t-shirts I bring him back from holiday!

It's also Italian Catholic Mother's 60th this year.
Her pals have cajoled her into having a big joint party with them all and she is trying everything possible to get out of it.
Again, goals.

My sister Nadia is finally graduating from uni in June after four years.
(Five years if you include her "sabbatical" - aka: a year of sitting on her bum watching Gilmore Girls.)

We're also booked to go to Japan this October, to celebrate her finally being free from the shackles of Dissertation Hell. Staying in Tokyo for a week, then a few days in Kyoto and Osaka.

It'll be my third time, her first and we can't wait.
I need to write up a few more Japan Diaries, as I've been really proud of that mini-series.

  
From my 2015 visit.

I've previously stayed in Meguro (above, right) but for a change we are staying in the Minato area, near the Tokyo Tower.

Somehow I've managed to book us in an AirBNB next to an Irish bar and the rest of the street is full of Izakayas.
I don't think I'm going to remember much of this trip.

I DIY-d these ridiculous shoes a few months ago and it's finally getting warm enough to wear them, woo!

I have so many posts planned: beauty, fashion, travel, food and of course our favourite around these parts - miscellaneous.

I'm planning a little quick series called TOP 5 which are quick little posts which should only take five minutes or so to read.
I have about twenty posts already drafted, I just need to pull my finger out and actually get started!

Again, I've missed you all so much.
So *puts mug down* how have you been...?


Muchos love,
Carla