FYS Guest Post: The Wedding Files on Dream Days 5

It's a sad day because today marks my last guest post on Dream Days (for now). I've really enjoyed sharing Rosalyn's lovely space over the past few months as we've built up to our wedding days together. I have to admit that I got a little bit overwhelmed while writing this last one, as I flew back from Doha to the UK, so please excuse the emotional outpour!

You can have a read of the post here.

One week to go!

FYS Guest Post: The Wedding Files on Dream Days 4

This month's wedding guest post for Dream Days is a little more upbeat than the last, when I let loose all of my pent-up frustration about my wedding planning woes. Yup, today I'm talking about what I'm most looking forward to - and there's quite a lot! Head over to Dream Days blog here for a rather excitable A-Z.

FYS Guest Post: The things I love and miss most about London

London; it's kind of a big deal.

This week I'm honoured to be guest posting for the second time over on Big World Small Me, and this time it's all about the stunning city of London. Head over here to find out why I've been missing the Big Smoke so much since becoming an expat.

I am also linking up with The Lifestyle Diaries' #LondonLiving linky while I'm at it - click over to Lauren's lovely blog to find out what lots of other bloggers have been saying about the wonderful English capital.

Just over a month until I'm home again now and I can not wait!

FYS Guest Post: The Wedding Files on Dream Days 3

I can't believe that another month has rushed by. It seems like only yesterday that I was sitting down to write my last post for Dream Days about my wedding inspiration and ideas. Now we're a whole 30 days closer to the wedding and I'm not sure I'm feeling 30 days more organised!!

Today I'm chatting about my wedmin woes, which is rather fitting for my week of moaning! Head on over to Dream Days here for the post, and look out for Rosalyn's post a little later in the day.

FYS Guest Post: My Top 'Follow Your Sunshine' Travel Destinations

I've written another guest post - this time for the lovely Lauren from The Lifestyle Diaries. I'm talking about my favourite sunshiny travel destinations...you know, those places that just seem to be sunny aaaallll the time (so unfair!). There's a varied collection of recommendations, including useful further reading on each location, so head on over here for a read, and say hello to Lauren while you're there!

Guest Post: Five Fantastic Places To Eat In London For Any Budget

Hi guys, I’m Leanne and I’ve been writing over on Broke in the Big Smoke about my life in London ever since I moved there almost exactly two years ago. I blog about events, tourist attractions, hotels and restaurants among other things and I also recently started a travel blog Eat Love Wanderlust where I share more about my travels across the world and UK as well as the things I love and even more food, because everyone loves food.

With that in mind I thought I would share my London expertise with you today here on Follow Your Sunshine and give you a rundown of five excellent restaurants I’ve visited in London that will suit almost any budget.

 

Fire & Stone

 

 

Pizza, that crowd pleasing food that keeps almost everyone happy and Fire & Stone has the best pizza I’ve eaten in London made all the more interesting by their city inspired topping choices. Like London; Cumberland sausage, streaky bacon, chunks of roast potato with roasted cherry tomatoes and roasted field mushrooms, Lisbon; Peri Peri chicken, avocado, mozzarella, onions, sweetcorn, chilli & coriander and Tokyo; Chilli & lime prawns on a sweet chilli base, vegetable stir fry with egg noodles, spring onion, coriander & sesame oil – definitely something for all tastes.

The Breakfast Club

 

 

Breakfast is my favourite meal but I am not a morning person so I fully advocate brinner (breakfast for dinner) and the best place for this has to be The Breakfast Club. There are a few of these across the city and there is always a queue so be prepared to wait but that just proves the food is totally worth the wait if so many people are willing to wait out in the cold for it! You can get everything here from traditional brunch dishes such as pancakes and eggs Benedict to breakfast burritos.

Bunnychow

 

Bunnychow is a recent discovery (they’ve only had an actual bricks and mortar store in London for the last six months) but has quickly become my go to place for a quick bite to eat. A bunnychow is a South African fast food dish consisting of a hollowed out loaf of bread filled with curry, or in the case of here, lots of other delicious fillings which are bursting with flavour. The best part is how cheap they are, just £5 each or £4 for their award winning Full English Bunny, for that price you really can’t go wrong.

Jackson & Rye

 

Jackson & Rye do some of the best ever cocktails along with serving incredible food so it’s a great place to start your night it’s a mix of both a restaurant and bar so the atmosphere is lively. They specialise in American diner style food and nothing I have ever eaten here has been disappointed. I don’t tend to return to the same places in Soho multiple times given that there are so many of them but I’ve been here three times now and each time is as good as the last. A firm favourite.

Polpo

 

 

Ah the magnificent Polpo, still one of the most memorable meals that I’ve had since moving, it’s one of those places where you can’t make a reservation in advance but the food is so good you don’t even care about the wait for a table or a place at the bar. I can only describe this as Italian tapas which are perfect for people like me who end up with food envy as you wish you’d ordered whatever your other dining companions are tucking into as it means you can try a bit of everything. My must try recommendations are the fried stuffed olives and the chilli & garlic prawns. It’s bit more expensive than the other places on this list but totally worth it.

Obviously there are way more restaurants in London than I could ever eat at but if you’re interested in seeing reviews of other places I’ve been to be sure to subscribe to my blog. A huge thank you to Polly for having me guest blog this week it’s been really fun even if it was super hard just to pick a top five!

 

Leanne, thank you so much for such a super list of great dining options in the Great British capital! As I returned to Doha only yesterday, this post has definitely added to my holiday blues. Leanne writes not just one but TWO fantastic blogs: Broke In The Big Smoke which is a gorgeous collection of foodie and entertainment reviews for places in and around London, and Eat Love Wanderlust which is a foodie, travel and lifestyle blog about the wider world in general. I am in awe of anybody that can hold down a busy job as well as writing two blogs, but when both blogs are as good as these are, I can only conclude that Leanne is some kind of genius. Head over for a read and say hi!

FYS Guest Post: The Wedding Files on Dream Days 2

Last month I told you all about our love story on Dream Days to introduce you to a series of posts that we will be collaborating on in the lead up to our weddings. Well, it's that time of the month again and the next one's up!

Head on over to Dream Days here where I am talking about my wedding inspiration and ideas (and look out for a post about Rosalyn's gorgeous wedding later today).

Guest Post: Surviving Finland

Hi my name is Kirsty and I’m currently in charge of a little corner of the interweb called Effortlessly Excessive. I’d like to class myself as a serious blogger but when you’re sharing stories about baking a cake for your guinea pigs and setting your vaj on fire, I’m not sure how well I fall into that category, (and here’s you thinking you were in for something civilised today. I’m sorry guys!)

Like Polly, I've lived the sunshine dream in what is affectionately called, ‘The Sandpit.’ Qatar was my home for 18 months until I jumped ship and stumbled head-first into a very snowy and blisteringly cold Finland. A year on, I’m still wondering what the hell I was thinking.

As an ode to Finland, (and to throw a bit of contrast out there on Follow Your Sunshine) I thought I would dish out some snippets of wisdom if you will. My top tips for surviving the cold and coming out the other side a living, breathing, and most importantly sane human being. Let’s hop to it shall we?

1. Embrace the fact that you’re going to look shit for at least a month or two of the year. When the temperature is hovering around a brisk -18 degrees, your skinny jeans and leather jacket just aren't going to cut it. I own a coat made out of goose and thermal knickers that would give Bridget Jones a run for her money… and that’s saying something. That being said, it has its perks. No need to fear the bad hair day as a woolly hat is essential uniform and most people can’t actually see you as they've likely developed a layer of permafrost over their corneas anyway. Fabulous.

2. Any hobby is better than no hobby. When going outside requires more layers than a Tesco’s lasagna, the key is to find joy in staying at home and indulging in your latest hobby. Be it knitting, cross-stitching, playing the ukulele, nothing is off the table when it comes to beating the Winter blues. Blogging is an escape for me and one that has definitely kept my face from appearing on a Channel 4 documentary, surrounded by cats and handcuffed to my psych nurse.

3. Best served steaming. A piping hot cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate/vodka is your new BFF. Nothing melts my heart quite like a minty hot chocolate with half a can of whipped cream and sprinkles. You can always burn those extra calories off skiing later *ahem*

4. Speaking of drink. Nothing quite warms the cockles like a large, several large G&Ts with a slice and ice. 10 points to Gryffindor if you can scale a flight of steps knee-deep in snow, in your heels. Speaking from experience here, it can be done!

5. Fairy lights are your best friend. Remember, the key to surviving a cold, dark Winter is to surround yourself with happy things. I've yet to meet anyone who can resist the lure of twinkling lights, garnishing every available surface like a sprinkling of merriment – or that’s how I sold it to my other half anyway.

If you've made it this far and I haven’t managed to scare you away, then hats off to you! You can delve a little deeper into the madness that is living the Finnish expat life, over on my blog. I also occasionally try to do the sensible blogger thing and post about beauty and fashion too.

Massive thanks again to Polly for opening her doors to me and making me feel at home. She’s a fabulous host – I regret that our paths never crossed in Doha as I’m sure we’d have had a blast! Keep on shining girl! 

  

Hahaha (still laughing at the vaj on fire story!). Thank you for this fantastically funny Bear Grylls-esque post Kirsty. I think this will help the Brits, Americans and Northern Europeans amongst us to survive the Baltic winters of the Northern hemisphere a little better, and it has even, dare I say it, made me a little envious of your anti-follow-your-sunshine life (an excuse to cover up bed head with a hat every day? YES PLEASE!). For all of you that are new to Effortlessly Excessive, you should head on over to Kirsty's blog here without delay. It's pretty to look at, full of useful fashion and beauty tips, but the best thing about it? Kirsty isn't afraid to speak her mind and her honest posts on life and occasional rants have had me doubled over in stitches on more than one occasion. Wish we could have met in Doha Kirsty!

Guest Post: Recipe - Salted Chocolate Espresso Cookies

So these might just be the best chocolate cookies I've ever made. And I don't say this lightly. I'm a girl who loves chocolate, coffee and anything salted-caramel related. So when I found these on Pinterest, I knew it was something I just had to make!

Go on, I dare you. They really are as good as they sound. 

You'll need:

1 cup of dark chocolate

6 tablespoons of slightly salted butter

2 tablespoons of instant espresso

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup of white sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup of plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt + extra for sprinkling

Melt all of the chocolate, apart from a couple of squares, butter and espresso in the microwave or over a bain marie until it's all melted and deliciously oozy. Set it aside to cool a little.

Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl until they've combined and started to turn pale. Then add the chocolate mixture and give it a quick whisk.

Add your flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl and fold until all the flour has combined. Make sure there are no hidden pockets of flour! 

Then break up the remaining squares of chocolate into small chips and pop them into your mixture.

Your mixture should be fairly thick, but not completely a dough ball.

Spoon it out onto cling film, cover the mixture and roll into a long sausage shape. Pop it in the freezer for about half an hour until it's firm but not frozen! Heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. 

Then cut cookie shaped discs about 2 cm thick, roll them slightly so that they're a little curved and pop them on a prelined baking sheet. Make sure they're spread out otherwise you'll end up with a single cookie. On second thoughts... Maybe that isn't such a bad idea!

Bake them for about 10 minutes until firm and deliciously gooey. Then sprinkle with a little salt whilst they're still warm. 

Serve with a big cup of coffee and a friend (preferably with a side of good gossip!).

I've not looked back since making them. I'm a real fan of cookies, and of baking, but I really do think these are the best I've made! Perfect whether you're just looking for a Sunday baking session, or whether you're baking for the office. Word of advice: no cookie will ever compare again!

Thank you, Lauren for this mouth watering recipe! It's my first ever recipe post on Follow Your Sunshine, and it's certainly whet my appetite for more. I can't wait to get baking! Lauren is a student currently studying abroad in Rennes, France while packing in plenty of trips home to the UK and embarking on travels abroad. She writes a fun and informative travel, recipe and lifestyle blog called The Lifestyle Diaries. Head on over to say hello!

Guest Post: Brussels Off The Beaten Path

Hello, Follow Your Sunshine readers! I’m Sandy from S Marks The Spots where I share my favourite  foodie and fun spots from Brussels, the city I live in, and other places I visit due to my incurable case of wanderlust!
 

Brussels is full of hidden gems that usually don’t make it on a visitor’s itinerary, so I thought I’d share with you a few local spots off the beaten path.
 

Start your day at one of the best brunch spots in Brussels

 

 

In my books there’s nothing better than a great brunch to fuel up for a day of exploring a new city. ICI is one of the most delicious brunch spots in Brussels that also happens to be one of the most pinned restaurants in Belgium. Located in a residential neighbourhood away from the Grand Place, it’s off the tourist radar and retains its charm and calmness.

 

Enjoy free 360 views of the city

 

 

 

While most visitors pass by the  Cinquantenaire Park which is located in the heart of the European district in Brussels, very few know that they can go all the way up its beautiful arches and enjoy panoramic views over the city for free. Finding the entrance is a bit of a challenge but the scenery is well worth it! If you’re an art lover, don’t forget to make a detour to admire Maison Cauchie, one of the most impressive Art Nouveau buildings in Brussels. 

 

Follow the Comic Strip Route

 

 

Put down your tourist map and follow instead the Comic Strip Route in order to discover Brussels in a fun and original way. The “promenade bande dessinnée” feautures over 50 colourful mural paintings of famous comic heroes born in Belgium, such as Lucky Luke and Tin Tin. The whole experience feels like a treasure hunt game and takes visitors around Brussels’ iconic neighbourhoods.

 

Visit one of Europe’s most beautiful bookstores

 

 

No trip to Brussels is complete without a visit to the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, the spectacular 19^th century shopping arcades that house luxurious stores and lovely pastry shops. And although this spot is well-known, most visitors miss the secret that lies inside: Tropismes, one of the most beautiful bookshops in Europe.

 

Discover one of Brussels’ most secret cafes

 

 

I left the best and most secret spot for the end. There are even locals that have never heard of the lovely rooftop café of the National Library of Belgium, which can be found right next to the famous Mont des Arts. A great place with wonderful views for a coffee pit stop in between sightseeing.

So there you go – I hope I gave you a bit of inspiration for your next trip to Brussels! For more great spots in Brussels and beyond, hop over to my blog: smarksthespots.com and keep in touch!
 

This is such a wonderful post about a beautiful city which until now I didn't know nearly enough about. Thank you Sandy! If this doesn't have you reaching for your nearest Belgium guidebook, I don't know what will! Sandy writes a gorgeously descriptive blog on food and travel. She currently resides in Brussels, but describes herself as a 'citizen of the world' - which displays itself in her informed writing and special way of capturing the world around her through her descriptions and photography. Out of all my guest posters so far, I have followed her blog for the longest. Head on over here to find out why!

Guest Post: My Kind Of Luxury

I am a true believer that luxury is in the eye of the beholder, as someone Greek almost once said (they were talking about beauty)!  I wouldn’t like to be misunderstood though, my husband will no doubt read this and I don’t want him thinking that its ok for us to go camping on all future getaways so long as I have a lovely view when the tent door is unzipped… I absolutely love a few nights in a luxurious and fancy hotel where the staff dote on the guest completely, but that isn’t all that luxury means to me!  Fortunately my husband (Mr P) has a similar way of thinking, so we make great travel partners! We are all time poor – so the biggest luxury is having the time and money to get away, switch off and ‘ctrl alt delete’ effectively!  A 5* luxury hotel will of course deliver this pristinely (the Chedi Muscat, Qasr al Sarab, Round Hill and the Chewton Glen are masters in my humble opinion) but there’s more to it for me!

Space to ourselves

Privacy – it is such a treat!  Day in day out we sit on the train or stand on the tube in close proximity to other people that we don’t even know and that certainly won’t smile or chat!  So a little bit of time away from other people is a real luxury.  Travelling in the shoulder season is a great way of firstly saving money but secondly on having peace and quiet.  When we visited Jamaica a few April’s ago we were the only people staying in a little boutique property on the south coast.  It wasn’t posh by any means, but we did have a private pool and beach that a 2 person villa could never have offered.  We are also big fans of the UK staycation and there is nothing better than finding a gorgeous cottage near the sea and then splashing out on fine food and wine as a treat from the money saved by not needing flights or a hire car.  Again – shoulder season travel in the UK will always mean lower prices and less people, but it often means a shorter break can be booked.  Often a couple of days away from the office is enough to recharge.

Something simple there is never normally time for

I like Polly’s post about Valentine’s Day and just doing something different at home – a complete luxury in a busy life!  Home is where the heart is and so you shouldn’t need to look for luxury, just to spend time enjoying it!  For us most recently it was a sailing regatta in Sardinia.  Mr P and I are both fond sailors but haven’t had the time recently to do as much as we would like, when we both had the opportunity to join a scratch crew for a week of sunshine (champagne) sailing there was no stopping us!  We had the best week – if a doctor could have prescribed medicine for us this would have been it.  We were with great friends and new friends for a week enjoying our favourite hobby.  We laughed so much our sides hurt and as a result of the camaraderie the yacht racing went from strength to strength as the week progressed (notwithstanding some of the sore heads amongst the crew from ‘enjoying’ themselves too much)!

A unique and rustic experience

I always go looking for something different to the mass-scale rectangular room hotel options when I am researching a trip.  If they happen to be boutique and rustic then I’m a happy bunny!  These sorts of hotels are often locally owned and more so we’ve found that the owner is fully involved in running the hotel and cares about the guest experience.  I had long been nervous about visiting Greece as it seems such a busy touristy place, but then last year I discovered the Peloponnese where life goes at a much slower pace, less tourists take the 3 hour drive but for those that do the reward is the most gorgeous countryside and charming hotels.  We stayed a stunning property called The Kinsterna hotel and it was like a little piece of heaven!  Similarly in Jamaica up in the mountains is a haven called Strawberry Hill where the air is clear and the bird song is deafening and the only noise.  It is also nice to find something different be that a tree house in South Africa which we enjoyed during our honeymoon or a lighthouse off the coast of Maine where we are staying this June!

No wifi or 3G

Sit by a pool in any hotel and look around, how many people are fiddling with an iPhone or iPad and posting selfies of themselves in paradise rather than enjoying paradise and not needing to be constantly on the go and contactable?  Most people!  Not me!  I will be honest, I do love to lurk on social media and see what is going on at home, but you won’t catch me posting anything until I am home.  I love the idea of being away from it all (although I do read the news, depressing as it is) and I think more hotels and self-catering accommodations should actually make a point of advertising that there isn’t any WiFi by the pool or that there is no 3G coverage in the cottage.  When Mr P and I have had the luck to stumble across this it has been lovely – we actually have to talk to each other!  Clearly being in contact with the outside world is necessary – for emergencies at home or to stay in touch with a loved one that isn’t with you, but we’ve always made it work when needed.  Once Christmas we were in the middle of Pembrokeshire with no phone service and on Christmas day we went for an early morning walk to call our parents to send best wishes!  Another time in Devon I had to resort to standing on the kitchen work top to call home when a member of my family was ill.  But the rest of the time we were blissfully disconnected from social media!

Making the travel part of the experience

One of the most exciting parts of any trip overseas for me is the flight – I am fascinated by the fact we can ‘fly’ (I understand the physics but it still baffles me) and I love sitting with my nose pressed against the window watching the clouds go by.  More than that though, I like being able to travel in luxury – my 5ft10 frame does not like being creased up into a tiny seat so I love the airmiles I collect through work and credit card spending and spend them wisely on as much first class air travel as possible!  Getting to the airport and entering the sanctuary that is a first class lounge means the holiday starts the moment security has been cleared.  Being able to sleep en route or at least sit comfortably is even better.  And then homeward bound, as far as I am concerned the holiday hasn’t finished until we’re back on the motorway heading home from the airport (having slept well on the flight back to London).  We are very lucky to be able to amass airmiles as we do, but then again the amount of time that we spend away from home with work needs some making up for!!

Having the opportunity

In my dad’s father of the bride speech when we got married he said something that I still reflect on – that we are the first generation to have the sort of opportunities that we do and that we shouldn’t leave them for later if we can do them now.  The opportunities we have aren’t matched across the world, we lead privileged lives and there is no escaping that. But the opportunity that it brings is incalculable – I think of some of the things we’ve done that 30 years ago wouldn’t have been possible!  I am still incredibly annoyed I am too young to have flown on Concorde, to me that would have been the most incredible opportunity!

1.     The dictionary definition is “a state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense” – perhaps it is time for a rewrite as great expense doesn’t necessarily buy luxury!  We all know what we enjoy the most and I expect most of us plan any trip or treat with the expectation of finding something that we know we will enjoy and like.  That is a luxury in itself and that’s what I think it is all about!

Thank you so much Anna, for such a wonderful post, brimming with fantastic stories of your adventures, with some really important lessons on luxury for the travellers amongst us! For those of you that are not yet acquainted with Anna's blog Penelope & Parker's Travels, you need to get yourself over there for a browse! It contains a huge array of luxury travel treats and wanderlust-inducing posts. The last time I had a binge on the blog it convinced me to start planning my next getaway - which is testimony to Anna's engaging and convincing writing style and beautiful photography.

FYS Guest Post: Why Qatar Is The Perfect Holiday Destination

Today I'm guest blogging over on Big World, Small Me, talking about why I think you should all come and visit Qatar.

I love to have visitors but this isn't based on selfish motives, honest...Qatar really is a fun place for a holiday! Head on over to Sara's lovely blog to find out why.

FYS Guest Post: The Wedding Files on Dream Days - Our Love Story

My friend Rosalyn from Dream Days and I got talking about weddings. It was so good to offload to someone that understands: we are both getting married in the same month, doing all the planning from Doha and are experiencing the same wedding-related highs and lows on a daily basis.

With so much common ground, we decided it would be silly to miss the opportunity to jointly let you in a bit more on this subject (which I've largely kept quite private up until now, apart from here). From now on, expect a 'big reveal' once a month on Rosalyn's blog in the lead-up to both of our Big Days in July!

We start this collaboration with an introduction to mine and Rich's love story. Head on over to the post on Dream Days...and take a hanky with you!

Guest Post: Travel in North Africa and The Middle East

After a number of years of travelling around the world there is an area that still fascinates me and that I keep returning to; North Africa and the Middle East.  Reading Polly's blog has got me lusting over a return to this region again in the near future and I seriously feel the need to meet Polly for an afternoon tea and spa adventure in Doha.  I love reading Polly's blog, it's quite literally filled with pages and pages of sunshine (sometimes I need to wear my sunglasses and slap on the sunscreen as there are a lot of sunny photos).

I thought while I have hijacked Polly's blog for the day that I would share some of my favourite places that I've visited in the Middle East and North Africa over the past 10+ years 

Syria

Obviously Syria is in the news a lot at the moment however what people don't realise is just how beautiful this country is; from the gorgeous roman ruins scattered all around the country to the impressive Krak des Chevaliers, I was left breathless by the beauty of this country.  

I should point out that the people are amazing as well; my favourite story that I have from my travels through Syria is when we were visiting Resafa for the night and some locals came to say hello; I took a selfie (don't judge me!) and he was completely shocked to see himself on my digital camera - he asked if he could show a friend, the camera then promptly disappeared into a car - my tour leader almost had a melt down but I knew it would come back and it did along with a number of his friends and family as they couldn't see the photo any more on the screen and when I bought the photo up for them all again they were fascinated on how their image was showing on this tiny camera.  Travelling is all about having unexpected moments like these.

Libya

I travelled through Libya just prior to the revolution and the contrast between it's neighbours was an eye opener for me; no bartering and very calm.  The roman ruins are probably some of the best I've ever seen while travelling but I was disappointed by the jigsaw that is Leptis Magna.

Egypt

I have a great love affair with this country and am saddened by its recent decline in tourists as I saw first hand on our trip to Aswan and Cairo last year.  Make sure you visit the Old Cataract Hotel at least once in your life; the location and sunsets are worth splashing the cash.

Oman

We ventured to Oman back in 2010 just as the country was emerging to be the luxury travel darling of the Middle East and stayed at the Shangri La Hotel where the service is impressive along with the conservation work to protect the turtles.  Make sure you pop into the markets and buy some silver jewellery.

Morocco

I'm hoping to visit Morocco for a third time this year as this is the country that is a sensory overload - the smells, sights and colours are mind blowing.  Visiting in 2003 and then 3 years later, the changes to Marrakech were startling so I'm guessing my socks are seriously going to pop off when I see the changes that 9 years have bought.

Jordan

One word; Petra!  One of the most fascinating places to venture too in the Middle East and if you're planning a visit then I highly recommend reading Married to A Bedouin by Marguerite van Geldermalsen (Kiwi ladies like to travel!).

Turkey

I've done the huge loop around Turkey twice now (it's huge in case you didn't realise) and the country has so much to offer for every tourist.  Spending a few days people watching in Istanbul and getting up super early to do a sunrise hot air balloon ride over Goreme are definitely two of my favourite moments from our trip.

I've still got a few places in the Middle East and North Africa that I would like to visit; Algeria, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and of course Doha now thanks to Polly.

Thank you so much, Kelly for such a wonderfully informative post and for massively fuelling my wanderlust for the region! So pleased you now want to come to Doha now too. If you do, let me know when you're coming because I might be in Morocco, Oman, Turkey or Libya! Kelly writes an absolutely brilliantly witty, honest and informative blog about her expat life and travels, along with some gluton-free inspiration, called Around The World In 80 Pairs Of Shoes which has become one of my go-to daily reads. Head on over for a browse!