Category Archives: Travels

Another travel essentials post!

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Hello lovelies!!

I’m currently blogging with my phone, via the WordPress app so I have no idea if the post will look ok once posted *fingers crossed*!

Right now, I’m “roasting” at my grandma’s place up north. It’s so hot (we arrived early today) and humid that I think I could actually melt and turn into a puddle of lard. It really is that hot!

Also, it’s lovely taking time off work and being away from home for a bit! I’m really thankful my grandmothers are still around, so coming to visit them’s a brilliant excuse, if you like to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city!

Again, I did my very best to travel light today, you can see my other travel essentials posts here and here :p

Lets start with skin care! Here’s what I packed:

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1. Guerlain Secret de Purete Cleansing Cream
I’m pretty bold this time round! I do not usually test stuff out while I’m on holiday for fear of breaking out badly. I shall report back in one of my Sampling Sunday post! :)

2. Origins Modern Friction scrub
I have reviewed this quite some time ago (here) and this came as a GWP. I now use this as a diluted scrub and it works really well when I’m on holiday as it gets rid of all those grimy bits of dirt left on my face. Believe me, coming to my hometown always makes my face feel rather greasy + clogged up so this is a lifesaver!

3. SK-II Cellumination Mask-in-Lotion

A quick and moisturising lotion that works wonder for me! It softens my skin like no other and it doesn’t break me out! :)

4. Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream
Light, moisturising, good price. Can’t go wrong with this one! I use it in the daytime only as the last thing I want is for me to be stuck with an oily T-Zone before noon!

5. Creme de La Mer moisturising soft cream
A sample I bagged from the lovely SA at Fenwick’s last September. Only giving it a go now and I think I am in love!

6. Shiseido Perfect UV protector

I never go anywhere without this. I have backups of backups of this product. Nuff’ said. ;)

7. SK-II Cellumination Deep Surge EX
I received a sample of this as the SK-II SA recommended it to me. Didn’t realise I packed more than one moisturizer! #badpacker

8. Clinique Even Better Eyes dark circle corrector
Still trying this out. Early days but I think this product and I can actually be more than just friends.

9. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence
Potent stuff, this one. Broke me out a few years ago but it seems to be working oh-so-fine for me now.

10. SK-II Facial Treatment Lotion
A need when I travel. This removes every last bit of makeup / grime I’ve got on my face.

11. Cellnique’s Soothing Hydrating Lotion (in little spray bottle)

I love this. Love, love, love, love love this. Thanks, soulmate!

12. SK-II Facial Treatment Cleanser
Another fav. I used to be the kind of girl who didn’t think pricey cleansers would be worth the money but this one changed my mind. Check it out here!

13. Clinique’s Take the Day Off eye makeup remover
Another deluxe-sized sample I never quite got down to using. This is the second (out of four) that I’ve got. I can’t say I love this as it does make my eyesight go a bit blurry but it does the job and doesn’t irritate my eyes.

Moving on to the fun bit now: Make up!

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1. Guerlain Parure de Nuit powder & blush

Again, using this for the first time. Don’t know what got to me early today! I picked it out of it’s box just as I was about to leave for the airport. It’s lovely. So pretty. I use it as an all-over face powder and blush!

2. Clinique Chubby Stick 04 Mega Melon

Goodness! What took me so long! I now have two Chubby Stick Intense-s and one regular one and I think I like the original formulation better! I need more of these in my life! :D

3. Guerlain L’or Radiance Concentrate with Pure Gold
Sigh. Looking at this makes me miss Fenwick’s even more. Jackie (my favourite Guerlain SA ever) gave this (and a couple other stuff) to me just as I was leaving the UK. :’) Again, first time I’m using this! I’m now a little worried I’ll go home with a face-ful of irritated skin!

4. Acqua di Parma Gelsomino Nobile edp
*smells self* this is seriously good stuff. Need to get more than just one tiny vial! :D

5. BareMinerals Ready eyeshadow duo

Another travesty! I can’t remember the name of this eyeshadow duo (I’m not with my makeup at the moment, sorry!) but yes, I will update it as soon as I’m reunited with it! Also, I didn’t bring an eye primer. The horror.

6. SK-II Facial Treatment Cream Foundation in shade 310
I wore this without primer in the morning. When I say morning, I mean before the break of dawn (5am). I was going to take a shower at 2pm when I looked at the mirror. No sign of any bits sliding off. Impressed I am.

7. Shiseido Perfect Mascara Defining Volume
I promised my grandma I would put in a little more effort into the way I dress when I’m visiting her. To be honest, I don’t really bother with any make up when I’m visiting the grannies as it’s so very hot here and I just can’t be bothered as there is little to no chance that I’ll bump into someone I know all the way up here! This time, I thought I should make it a point to brush some mascara through my lashes. :p

8. Shu Uemura eyelash curler
Still happily curling my lashes with this one!

9. Creme de La mer The Radiant Concealer in Light
My HG concealer. The one concealer that rules them all (in my opinion, at least). You may have a look at the review here :)

Finally! I hope you enjoyed reading this! :)

Thought I’d end the post with a photo of grandma and I (minimal makeup, just the Sk-II foundation and the Parure de Nuit powder with a quick slick of Clinique’s Chubby Stick!). This was taken in the afternoon without any filters. I look really hot and bothered but just so happy to see her! I forgot to take one with my other grandma +___+ but there’s always another time! :)

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Excessive packer.

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If you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed me flooding your timeline at about 7am (Malaysian time) yesterday. The last day of 2012 was a crazy one for me where my body simply had to kick the day off on a high note, temperature wise. It is frustrating for me as I only just recovered from a bad cold, and having this with another last minute piece of news sent my body into overdrive.

Then comes the reason behind me flooding Twitter with one too many tweets at once. I received a call from Mum while I was out yesterday asking me to book myself a ticket back to my hometown up north. Apart from that, I had to book myself a ticket out of that city the very next day and head to the Pearl of the Orient, with grandma in tow. Tickets also had to be booked for her to travel back to said hometown a couple of days later, this time the companion being an aunt.

Upon receiving the news (which is great news, by the way) I had to rush to purchase all the tickets. Thank goodness I had my Ipad with me or I would have gone a little bonkers as I was going to be out until late evening. Tickets were bought, words exchange, transportation arranged and here I am, telling you the story of how I can never, ever pack light.

I flew back to my hometown with Air Asia, Malaysia's famous low-cost carrier and I proudly proclaimed to mum the night before

“Yay I am so happy my suitcase's ultra light this time round!”

Mum happily agreed with me. I only carried a “few” items, them being:

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Dealing with Post-Travel Blues, and avoiding them as best I can!

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Of late, yours truly has been bitten by the travel bug. The bug certainly bit hard as I have not been spending much time at home since coming back! Now that reality’s finally settling in, I thought I’d share how I combat post-travel blues with you.

 

One of the hardest-hitting downside to this is bloating, a major pain in the backside for me. I suffer from Irritated Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and the open fact that I am a glutton doesn’t help when it comes to the cramps and all! I’m rather adventurous when it comes to trying out different types of food, hence activating my IBS when I travel! What I usually do when I travel is carry some Gaviscon tablets as they help with acid reflux and Peppermint Oil capsules soothe my cramped tummy when these attacks come round.

The above two cures have been my IBS-combating heroes over the last 5 years and sometimes I even carry some Peppermint Tea Pyramids. (I only ever purchase them from Teapigs because they make the best peppermint tea in my humblest opinion)

Even with these ‘back-ups’, I still come home feeling a tad bloated and slightly puffy-looking so Mum usually makes me ginger tea, made with crushed old ginger, dried longans and red dates to give the tea a natural tinge of sweetness. Ginger helps release wind in the body (read: fart) so beware! :D it is also advised to drink this concoction in moderation or too much will make you feel a little overheated due to the spiciness of the plant. I apologise for putting the next sentence in writing but this is something that helps me loads although it sounds (and smells) less than savoury: I pass gas quite a bit after drinking this but it makes my tummy look less big and I fit into my jeans easier. ;)

 

Laziness unveils itself post-travel. This, paired with Mr. Procrastination easily turns me into sloth after coming home from a holiday. Pre-travel, my life’s filled with the daily grind and you somehow get used to the routine of going to work, cooking, cleaning and washing. During your holidays you then forget about all your chores and Mr. Relax comes into the picture. After not being in touch with reality for a few days (3 is enough to throw me off the hook), your holiday takes on an anti-climatic end as you come home to undone chores. These chores, paired with the fact that you probably need to head back to work the next day never fails to throw me into my usual procrastination mode.

What do we do to avoid this from happening? Sort everything out before you leave and make to-do lists before you return! For example, I love clean sheets and nothing welcomes me home more than fresh, crisp sheets on my bed. So my family always makes this a point to change our bed sheets before we leave on holiday so we come home to freshly made beds, the same way a hotel room welcomes us the first time we set foot in one. Lazy to cook? Make stews, curries or even lasagne and freeze them before you leave! This way, you will not have to cook anything from scratch when you come home and there’s always something you can quickly defrost and eat, thus slowly easing you back into your daily routine.

Another reason why the blues hit me upon coming home is… The amount of dirty laundry you accumulate post-travel. Laundry and I do not go together. I do not mind putting clothes into the wash but the sloth in my detests putting them out to dry and worse still, ironing them. The horror! If I know I will be travelling for quite a while and will be based in one place, I will usually hand wash whatever I can (blouse, undergarments) so I will not have to wash so many clothes upon return and I travel light this way. The downside? I’m always photographed wearing pretty much the same clothes, prompting remarks such as these “gosh she never changes her clothes, that stinky poo!” In actual fact, I do wash my clothes. You do not need to bring any liquid detergent, simply use the free hotel toiletries provided! ;) This is also why I usually pack light and thin items of clothing whenever I travel as they are comfortable, do not weigh a ton and dry quick! Should I be travelling somewhere chilly, I just layer on thicker clothes. Easy-peasy!

Finally, unpacking is the last thing I’d want to do when I come home. A friend once said that if she doesn’t unpack her suitcase upon arriving home, it will never be done. I agree. Although I attempt to unpack as soon as I come home, the unpacking process usually lasts 2-3 days. The items I pick out first are usually dirty laundry and toiletries. Then comes the slightly painful part: where am I going to place all these newly bought items? Smaller items such as makeup make their way up to my bedroom but the larger items such as decorative items will sit in my suitcase until I find a spot to display them.

How do you avoid this? Make room for potential new items before you leave! I have a shelf that I keep empty for this purpose just so I can get everything in my suitcase out and be able to clean and store my suitcase away before deciding on how the items will be placed around my home. This way there will be less clutter about the house.

 

I hope this lengthy post did not put any of you to sleep! =D Do you suffer from post-travel blues?

A Travel Essentials Post!

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Having gone on quite a few weekend getaways / short trips, one would probably think I am quite good at packing light…..
NOT!! 
But I am still trying to pack as light as possible. =D I’ll be going on another short trip this weekend so I thought I’d post what I’ll be taking with me!

Note: as the destination of this short getaway can be reached by car, I am not travelling light. #cheating lol!

Let’s start with skin care!

From left to right:

1. MAC Cleanse Off Oil 
  • I found this in Mum’s skin care cupboard and since Mum doesn’t use cleansing oils, I nicked it from her hehe! Am currently testing this out and will probably feature this in one of my Sampling Sundays column! =D 
2. Kose Softymo’s Deep Cleansing Oil
  • My HG cleansing oil brand!! I thought it would be safest for me to decant some of this into an empty bottle just in case the MAC one breaks me out… Better be safe than sorry, right? 
3. Shiseido Aqua Label White Clear Foam
  • This came with a travel-sized set which consists of the clear foam, lotion and moisturiser. I’ve used this on two of my trips and it seems to be working okay for me.. Only gripe is that this cleanser has fine scrubby bits in it that are somewhat similar to Kiehl’s Rare Earth Cleanser.
4. Shiseido Aqua Label White Up Lotion R
  • Watery, slightly viscous texture. I haven’t used this enough to say if my skin loves or hates it. 
5. Shiseido Aqua Label White Up Emulsion R
  • Light, watery and non sticky moisturiser my skin has taken a liking to! Been using this instead of my Clinique Moisture Surge Gel in the mornings and this is a product I may consider repurchasing!
6. Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Eye Cream
  • My staple eye cream over the last 4 months or so. Currently, this is my only eye cream as I left my day eye cream in the UK. :s 
7. Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Serum
  • A must have for my sensitive skin! This is one of my favourite serums as it has helped with reducing the severe redness I suffer from. Something I cannot live without! =)
8. Estee Lauder Advance Night Recovery Serum
  • I love this paired with Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Serum, a technique I learnt from the lovely ParisB! 
9. Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Serum
  • A lavender-scented oil that leaves me wanting more after applying it! A divine serum that leaves your skin looking rejuvenated the morning after. 
I have a feeling this is the lightest I’ve packed yet! I usually pack a tub of my Guerlain Issima Happylogy night moisturiser but I don’t think I’m going to do so this time seeing I’m only spending two nights away and I want to test the Aqua Label products properly before reviewing them. =) 
Because I’m travelling light skincare-wise…. I’m bringing a little more make up this time as I want to practise my eye shadow application skills!! =D
From left to right:
1. Shu Uemura UV Under Base Mousse SPF30 PA+++
  • Perfect make up base for humid weather as this product is rather drying! I make sure I use a slightly thicker moisturiser before using this product as it does leave my face feeling tight and uncomfortable. 
2. Kose Medicated Sekkisei Sun Protector SPF50 PA+++
  • As the Shu Uemura Base Mousse is too drying for me, I do not use a lot of product which makes me feel I’m not getting enough SPF for my face so I always use this underneath the Base Mousse. =p Love, love, love this moisturising sunscreen!
3. Topshop Cream Blush in Flush
  • Powdery finish that lasts all day. Easy to apply and such a joy to carry around!
  • My go-to foundation for travelling as this goes on like second skin! Will be really sad when this runs out but I’m looking forward to trying other foundations.. why hello, Dior and Shiseido! ;)  
  • I love using this as both a setting powder and a foundation when used by itself! Oil control is not very good but I’ll be okay since I’m using the Shu Uemura Base Mousse! 
6. Estee Lauder Pure Colour Illuminating Powder Gelee in 01 Modern Mercury
  • Bought this during Summer last year and have only just brought myself to use it! It’s a gorgeous highlighter that will be reviewed soon! 
7. Dior New Look Eye Palette in 254 Bleu de Paris
  • I never thought I could wear blue eyeshadow. Now I know I can…. or can’t I? =D 
8. Inglot 3 colour palette
  • Bought this with the lovely Hanny and nope, I haven’t gotten down to using it yet. That will change this weekend!! =p
9. Etude House Eyeshadow Primer
  • A product that rivals the oh-so-famous Urban Decay Primer Potion and this does such a good job at holding eyeshadows together! 
I do not usually bring this much make up (especially not eyeshadows) but we are thinking of attending lovely dinners together so I thought might as well pack my underused eyeshadow palettes and try to get some use out of them! Haha! 
Do you travel light? ;)  

A Teeny Haul from Hat Yai, Thailand.

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What’s a little holiday without a beauty haul for beauty bloggers? Not quite a holiday, isn’t it? ;)  
I have a little haul photo for you! I’m not sure why my brother insisted I let him place toothpaste and the Doublemint sweets in this photo :s By the way, that Colgate in the photo tastes SALTY and according to my Aunt, salt is one of the natural ways to whiten your teeth. O.o 

I think that looks like a very sad looking haul which consists mostly of Whitening products. The Thais are obsessed with skin whitening! I was shocked to find Boots No7 WHITENING products in Hat Yai’s Boots and many if not all drugstore brands carry at least 3 whitening products. 
I bought the Nivea Sun Whitening Sunscreens – the one on the left in the box is for the face and the one next to it is for the body as the hot weather really got to me and the Sunplay sunblock I brought along with me was drying my skin out like no tomorrow so I hastily went to one of the supermarkets to get one when I was bombarded with whitening products as I walked down every aisle that stocked beauty products. This is not limited to the women’s range only but MEN’S TOO. 
+____+
Being the cheapskate person that I am, I chose the two Nivea Sunscreens as they were the only super-sized ones I could find! 40% more content and if I’m not wrong, the face sunscreen retailed at about RM30 and the body one at RM27 after conversion. 
The next product I got was yet another Nivea product: a UV Whitening Extra Cell Repair and Protect Body Lotion with 50x Vitamin C in it! This retails at 60 Baht / RM6 for 125ml and I bought this to moisturize my terribly dry arms and legs (thanks to the Sunplay Sunblock). Another reason for purchasing this was actually for my brother who has had a little too much Hat Yai sun and was really, really tan. =D I hope I don’t turn my brother into too much of a metrosexual! 
I’ve heard so much about these Pond’s Magic Powders that I had to get some to try! I bought one in Blue and two in Pink as one of these Pink Pond’s Magic Powders will be going into my giveaway that’s coming up really, really soon so do stick around to find out more about it! =D 
I have tried the Pink version of the Magic Powder and I like it for its so easy to use and this thing really mattifies your skin… To think it only cost me 29 Baht / RM2.90 each! Have yet to open the Blue Powder so I can’t really comment on them yet but I will review them once I’ve tried them out a bit more! 
So that’s my Thai beauty haul for now… Am hoping I’ll be able to do more impromptu trips like this in the future! 
Do you enjoy stalking the local drugstores / pharmacies whenever you travel?

Austria Trip: Linz, Day 1

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2As promised after such a long time (two weeks to be exact), I’ve finally managed to burst out of that horrible bubble that has been keeping me away from not just the blogosphere but the internet / my laptop in general. Much apologies everyone who was starting to worry about me, including my much beloved #crazyaunties. =D 
But I’m back now and I will get my lazy bum off the bed and start blogging frequently again! The bf and I headed off to Austria on the 29th of September and this was an unplanned trip, for me at least. We flew into Linz and spent one night there as it is cheaper to fly into Linz rather than into Vienna. 
We promised ourselves we’d travel cheap this time round and here’s a shot of my favourite place for food shopping – Billa. 
This is the amazing place where the bf and I bought most of our food with my favourite being the Leberkase (Liver Meat Loaf)!! They usually have two variants, the one on the left being the ‘original’ unflavoured one and the other being a Cheese flavoured one! The bf favoured the Cheese but I’m all out for Original! =D 
p/s: we didn’t even know it was made out of liver. I was like ‘gasp meat loaf I want some’ and only after we bought it the bf looked into his guidebook and went
‘it’s made out of liver.’
me: +__+ nevermind too hungry must try. 
Our first ‘meal’ in Linz!
I don’t know about this but the bf thinks it tastes like a more delicious version of luncheon meat. I haven’t had luncheon meat before (okay maybe once many many many years ago) so I can’t say if that’s true! 
As we were walking down the streets, this durian-like thing caught my eye but the bf refused to let me try it as he said
‘I thought we were meant to be on a budget’
T___T
It’s probably some chestnut thingy…. Can anyone please enlighten me? ;)  
We stumbled upon many things during this trip and the gluttonous me ‘stumbled’ upon this fat-filled crumbly cheese pastry sold at some very old, famous bakery that had a queue. =D Queues would mean the stuff’s good, right?
We spent €2,10 on this. The bf kept berating me for buying it as our Liver Meat Loaf only cost €1,95 and ‘it wasn’t that nice anyway’, according to him. Hmph at least it fulfilled my craving! =D
As we didn’t do much research on Linz, we decided to go wherever our legs took us. We came across one too many churches during our trip and were lucky enough to catch a pipe organist rehearsing:
This ignited a pipe organ frenzy in the bf who then insisted we’ve got to step into every single church in Austria in hopes of hearing another pipe organist play. 
+___+ 
Oh, churches in Austria are a lot prettier than churches / cathedrals in the UK as they have more paintings instead of statues that intimidate / depress me a little. If I’m not mistaken, churches in the UK are Anglican whereas the churches in Austria are mostly Catholic. Do pardon me if I’m wrong as I’m not a Christian and I am a sucker for shiny, pretty things =p 
We later discovered most, if not all of the churches we went into during our visit to Austria are pretty similar to the one above, as you shall see in many photos to come! =)
We lit candles in this particular church as I do like the idea of ‘lighting’ up one’s way. =) We paid 80 cents to do so =)

The map we got from our hotel with our already lit candles.

Here, you can see the Church of Saints Michael and Ursula in the distance. It’s also the same church where the pipe organist was rehearsing ;)  
Luckily for us, we purchased a 24-hour ticket so we could take any form of public transport around the city! 
Here’s a shot of one of the many trams we hopped onto:
We both found public transportation in Austria extremely efficient and well-connected. The tram cables that stretch across the city illustrates my point:
Actually, I took this shot because the dangling traffic light caught my eye. We don’t really have such traffic lights in Malaysia, do we? As I looked up I thought:
‘That would make quite a pretty pendant’ #random
LOL!!
We then scurried back to Billa for dinner! Not wanting more meat loaf, we asked the ladies working at the Delicatessen counter for recommendations and this lovely lady (who speaks English, thank goodness) recommended this ham:
She then recommended we try different buns so here are the buns we chose:
Hehehe a good chunk of the poppy seed with rock salt bun was devoured by yours truly before I thought I should take a photo! =D The two sandwiches cost us €3,00 and was surprisingly filling despite the size!
Here ends our first day in Austria. Nothing much was done other than walking around, surveying souvenir prices and buying food from Billa =D 

Wolverhampton + Coventry Trip!

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Hello darlings, I’m finally back and have settled down… For now! =) I think I’ve got to resort to blogging in the lounge from now on as I can never get any signal in my room, which is absolute rubbish. =( 
I suppose I should start with the first leg of my erm, adventures, starting with my emergency trip to Wolverhampton.
I didn’t get to take many photos in Wolverhampton as the weather wasn’t very good and it was raining on and off. This photo is actually the first photo I took as we got out of the Wolverhampton train station:

XH joked about how funny it would be if he managed to break into the headquarters. #lame

We mostly hung out at Asda (a supermarket) and around the friend’s home so we didn’t get to see much of Wolverhampton. Then again we headed up to Wolverhampton for a dear friend, not to sight see. =)

As accommodation in Wolverhampton is steep, we stayed at Hotel Formule 1 in Coventry which belongs to the Ibis Hotel Group. Coventry is a mere 45 minute train journey away from Wolverhampton and off-peak day returns cost £2.90 provided you have a Young Person’s Railcard and only travel on Virgin Trains. =p So many restrictions but the reasonable price made us decide to stay there!

Breakfast at Ibis Hotel costs a bomb. £6 for breakfast, anyone? So we headed to my much beloved Ikea for our usual 99p breakfast. The 4 days we were in the Midlands we had Ikea for breakfast everyday. =D Here’s a pic of our artery-clogging breakfast:

I had ambitious plans, wanting to drop by Birmingham as I miss Birmingham’s Roast Duck at the Peach Garden Restaurant (supersize portions, succulent and juicy Roast Duck) and my usual favourite Beef Brisket with Tendon at the Chung Ying Restaurant. If you are in Birmingham, they are just a 2 minute walk away from the Bull Ring shopping centre! They are both our favourite food outlets (the bf and I) when he was still reading law at the University of Warwick. =) Good time!
Unfortunately, I had to come back to Canterbury without my Roast Duck fix due to unforeseen circumstances. Instead of going to Wolverhampton everyday, we managed to get her down to Coventry and we smuggled her into the Hotel. Hehehe. 
We spent a lot of time walking round the Coventry City Centre which I’m really glad we did as I’ve never been to the Coventry Cathedral or the churches around it. We went into the Holy Trinity Church and did I mention I have a huge thing for stained glass? ;)
I love visiting churches even though I’m not a Christian (more church photos coming soon as the bf and I went into so many churches / cathedrals in Austria) as I love the architecture: High ceilings, beautiful stained glass which reveal much those who admire them and the calm collected feeling I get when I walk into the church is simply priceless. 
Next up, we went to visit the Coventry Cathedral ruins:
The remnants of a staircase:
The bf and I then had disgusting cream tea at Godiva’s at the Undercroft. They didn’t even have clotted cream, just really runny unwhipped cream. *barf* The cafe / restaurant lies here:
I’m actually glad I made this trip with the bf, bf’s bro and a friend as I actually got to spend more time with the bf than I thought. =) 

Budget travelling part 1

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As I type this I am sitting on a train jam-packed to the brim, heading to Wolverhampton as a close and dear friend is having some serious emotional issues. We decided to travel on a small budget this time (we normally do travel as cheaply as possible) but this is my first no-frills holiday. No frills being not having an en suite shower / toilet in my hotel room and…. Eating posh but cheap Boots Meal Deals. Costs £3.69 and tastes yummy. Better still, it covers my next day’s breakfast :p

When Cream Teas run loose in Cockington.

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Or should I say, when I run amok at the sight of cream teas in Cockington ;)  
To Cockington we go! We went on Day 2 (Saturday) and left immediately after breakfast at about 9. It was a gloomy day (yay!) but the sun came out later, which activated my heat rash +__+ 
We walked through the woods to get to this lovely place! Here’s me skipping along happily (oblivious to the fact that it’s getting sunnier)
 If you squint hard enough, you will notice I’m wearing a Batik wraparound skirt (bought from Penang at MYR18 which is about £3.60) because it’s summer and my pasty legs need some colour =p
The walk was really quite with a few old people walking their dogs! One old man came in the opposite direction, smiled at me and said
‘Bet you are gonna have some Cream Teas, eh?’
while winking at me before walking off…. which left me speechless and thinking (OMG THIS IS WHY YOU ARE FAT) 
LE SIGH.
Moving on, it took us 45 minutes to get to the village, blame it on my short fat legs and the boyfriend’s obsession with taking photos of trees, and with him sitting on logs. I’m just glad we made it in one piece without getting lost! The walk through the woods was extremely pleasant with signs along the way, gently nudging us in the right direction! =p 
I spotted two pheasants on the very first thatched roof cottage we saw! I suspect this area must have been a pheasant-hunting ground in the olden days. 
I then had a good nosy about The Old Granary Gift Shop & Country Store as it was the first shop to open around the area and I was looking for some souvenirs. I walked out empty-handed because we weren’t made to feel welcome when we were in the store. Yes yes, I am very picky person! I will not purchase something from a store if their customer service is non-existent! =p 
We then walked across the road to the Cockington Forge where horseshoes were made! The roofs here simply fascinates me =) 
There were two barrel-like thingys at the front of the shop. The bf cleverly proclaims
‘They must have hammered horse shoes on these barrels’
Anyone care to enlighten us? It looks like a tribal musical instrument to me… A drum, perhaps? 
Being the blind wanderers that we are, we wandered into Cockington Court! 
This quaint cottage greeted us at the entrance! 
So very pretty! Even the walk into the Court was really pretty and shady that I could keep my umbrella away! (yes I’m one of those crazy people who brandish an umbrella when the sun’s out)
It was such a pretty sight! So many families, so many dogs and children rolling down the hill:
There’s a horse-drawn carriage should you want your Prince Charming to whisk you off your feet and live happily ever after
There’s even an art studio and glassblowing centre deep within the heart of Cockington Court! I was really tempted to purchase a glass mushroom but the ever practical bf went
‘You aren’t gonna plant it in your garden, are you?’ 
T__T 
Purchase fail. 
HOWEVER! I bought a lovely Blue Onyx ring from Luke Ashby who is 
‘Inspired by traditional Celtic designs and patterns from nature’ 

 =) I have a huge thing for semi-precious stones so I jumped at the ring the moment I saw it =p 
Before I forget, here’s a side view of Cockington Court in all its grandeur:
We said hello to two resident horses, one being Libby the horse who kept sniffing at my camera
and Gypsy the Emo Horse who didn’t even want to look at us. =(
We spent over 2 hours in Cockington Court where we made a few video calls home (thank goodness for technology) and we gave them a guided tour about the area =) which I think made the old ones quite happy 
Naturally, we were hungry after all that walking / talking so I demanded some Cream teas. Before that, we dropped by Cockington Forge for some souvenirs (as it’s finally open!)
There are so many tea rooms serving Devonshire tea / Devon Cream Tea or just Cream Tea as I call it! 
Here’s one of them (psst you can see my obsession with them slopping roofs as I keep taking photos of them!)
And the one we went to… The Rose Cottage with a live pianist!
We ordered two Cream Tea sets (£4.80) and only one pot of tea (£1.60) because we noticed they provide an extra pot of hot water, which means you can have more cups of tea! *cheapo alert*
Just look at the size of the warm scones and the amount of clotted cream! *dies in food heaven*
There’s an argument going on how you should eat your cream tea. I just slather on a huge amount of clotted cream and top it up with strawberry jam like this
Before taking a huge bite, oblivious to the fact that this will make the already fat me even fatter :s
Pure bliss! The clotted cream was so creamy and thick that the boyfriend helped himself to spoonfuls of the lovely stuff. (okay I did too =p) We were filled to the brim after and didn’t have any lunch *pats belly and lets out a massive burp*
The trip went a little downhill after when I felt my body was on fire and I was itching all over =( It started getting really sunny and humid too so we decided to head back. The walk back through the woods was a nightmare for me as there were all sorts of insects flying about and the itching got worse. 
Again, thank goodness for our lovely hosts who saved our holiday from going down the drain =)