Oxford

Getting time to do some blogging is quite difficult, then I end up going on to my camera and realizing I have millions of old photos that I need to share with the world!

I'm not one for making future plans, so when it comes to last-minute plans I'm the queen!! You don't always get the deals but it's also exiting to decide to do something the day before.

This time, Oxford it was.

Malmaison is a company that restores old buildings and turns them into quirky 4*/5* hotels and their offer ^Sunday stop over^ is a huge reason to go. Malmaison Oxford is a, wait for it, restored prison!!

Let me explain the offer, so if your like me and you get Mondays off work because you work Saturdays, if you spend £75 at their Brasserie, which is easily done with a few cocktails, you get to stay in the hotel for £25!! So that's dinner and hotel room for £100 for two people! And the venue is great! Excellent offer if you ask me! Mind you, breakfast isn't included but you can pay £15 extra for that, I wouldn't say it's worth it though, I've stayed at Malmaison Oxford before and had the breakfast, it isn't buffet, you chose from a list of options, which if you ask me, the whole point of a hotel breakkie is the lovely chopped fruit, and having what you fancy!

So, dinner time it was, I went for a tuna steak with Pak Choi and a beautiful desert of sticky toffee pudding, one of the faves! Gulped down with post dinner cocktails! No pictures to follow I'm afraid! But food is good and at reasonable price!

Good nights sleep and ready for a bit of Oxford snapping. The most beautiful things to see in Oxford are of course the collages and universities, but I will say most of them are either closed to the public or you do have to pay a fee to get in! Didnt have a huge amount of time so decided to mooch around popping our heads in the ones available! There is something amazing about imagining yourself studying here, lucky students!

 

Lewes Carroll, author of one of my favourite stories, Alice in Wonderland (which celebrated its 150th anniversary this summer!) was maths lecturer at one of the main colleges here at Oxford, so Alice is an important character all around the city, including the cutest little shop! Which i managed to take a snap of the inside before getting told you couldn't take photos! Woops! I did spend a little time (and money) in the shop, everything from mirrors, mugs, books, aprons, tea cloths, pens, magnets, stamps, calendars, you name it! You get the picture...

The mad hatter and his tea parties are scattered all around the city, so when in Oxford, grab a cream tea! And what a place! It was a lovely afternoon and was able to sit outside!

Few more snaps for today! and that's all chucks!

Acropolicious Athens day 2!

Even though it was about weeks agonow, still hadn't got round to carrying this one on! But so much more to see and explore!

Great, so near the hotel (hotel fresh, Athens) found a good area FULL of the best cocktail bars, restaurants, I'm afraid the names in Greece are a bit mad and can't even remember what it is called now! oh well it will come to me... have a look!

  

So during the day walking around spotted this restaurant, Eat at Miltons, had to be visited at night, the food and everything turned out to be amazing! Food by Michelin star Chef Alain Parodi, but the prices were very affordable!

Calamari

Yes, got given this tray with bread, a tomato and oil, had to peak at the Greeks on the table next door to make sure we were allowed to just chunk it up and eat!! Yum!

And then of course, the all famous Moussaka,

There was also a lobster ravioli we ordered that went down great with cocktails!

Scattered back to the roof top bar at hotel...

The roof top bars in Athens are the best way to take in the amazing view of the Acropolis. Speaking of wich, its day 2, and so Agora it is.

 Now this is really something else, so glad got to do this, for me definitely the highlight of Athens

On to the Acropolis museum, which is literally down from the Acropolis. This was a separate entrance fee of arround 5/6€. 

Tehee! I do love Greek/Roman coins!! :)

Athensss!

Hadn't got round to this, busy time of year with work and also lots going on, but time to reminisce and show you a part of Greece. At the end June went over on the nearly 4 hour flight to mainland Greece first, Athens, and then to Chania in Crete.

Photographic Summary and what I got up to in Athens!

Very early flight, had to get taxi from Brighton I think it was something like 3 am!! Oh dear, anyway. After long tube ride to city centre from Hotel (allow at least 50 minutes!) Charged into getting some grub, was much past lunch time when this happened and it's always grab first thing you see on day 1!

This is what we were presented! Actually most people were sitting and eating this. Souvlaki. Not like the greasy after-hours kebab that we all know too well and wish we hadn't eaten! Kebabs and Souvlakis in Greece are another story!

After lunch done, time to try to get our bearings!

Have a walk around the small streets of Plaka and enter the Agora, of course number one attraction in Athens. Actually the way they charge you the entrance I thought was pretty good idea, all the archeological areas, that are scattered around the city, you buy one ticket that is valid for 4 consecutive days, the cost of this ticket is 12 euros and free for students and then every time you enter they just tear a section of the ticket off, so they are all included in one ticket valid for 4 days!

 

One thing I discovered in Athens is OH MY GOD HOW ABOUT THAT FOR A COCKTAIL BAR!! The best rooftop terraced cocktail bars!! On top of the Monasteriki square lies 360, a must visit!

So hows this for a view!!

More to come folks!! Wish was back there now, what is up with this UK summer this year!! Help us... Night :)