Liverpool

As school only started on the 16th, Topo and I wanted to make the most of our break and travel before the dreaded routine of readings + lectures started again - and so we decided on Liverpool and the Lake District! 

Liverpool was quite a disappointment :( We should have done more research before booking our airbnb for 4 nights because by the 2nd day, we had ran out of things that we wanted to do and see. The highlight of our trip was finding Busaba, a Thai restaurant which had a 50% offer for the duration of our trip! The food was simply amazing (and of course affordable because of the generous discount) and it took no longer than 10 minutes to come - and we found ourselves having lunch there every single day!☺

I got a vegan pad thai - I can just remember how amazing this dish was looking back at it  

After lunch, we headed to the Tate and Maritime museum both of which we did not particularly enjoy (especially when we had to lug our suitcases around in the Maritime museum as the lockers were too small)

Wee bit of mismatched architecture 

One of my fav photos, sunsets are just gorgeous ♥

Headed back as the sun was setting, but before getting on the bus back to our air bnb, we did a food shop at Tesco and had a curry for dinner that night! 

The next morning, we did The Beatles Tour - just in case you didn't know, The Beatles originated from Liverpool :) 

This one was definitely more interesting than the museums that we visited the day before and prior our visit, we listened to a playlist of Beatles songs on Spotify just to prep and get in the zone hahahah

Back at Busaba for a red curry this time!! Was soooo flavoursome and creamy - a perfect combination with white jasmine rice that would soak it all up, but unfortunately we did not check the fine print on the discount card and realised that the discount was only valid from Sundays to Thursdays and so we had to pay the full price for it. But no regrets because boy was that curry delicious 

The restaurant looked lovely as well! After lunch, we walked around for a bit more and then headed back and had left over curry from the previous night for dinner! 

The next day, we lazed around in the air bnb till about 11am till we decided that we should probably head out. We headed to the waterfront just to have a look around and as we were walking, we were playing the 'Guess the capital of the country' game which I really enjoy! It makes you feel knowledgable (if you do know your capitals) and also makes you want to be more knowledgable about countries who's capital cities you are unaware of :) (My dad started this when we were younger and I always got so excited when we played this game and Justina and I would just be in awe of how much he knew :') ) 

We managed to catch this breathtaking sight of sunlight just peaking through a thick band of clouds (and 2 seagulls symmetrically on 2 lamp posts) - it was almost glorious 

After this we headed to - you guessed it, Busaba!!! 

I had the same vegan pad thai I had on the first day and this time we shared a side of sweet potato fries which was a perfect accompaniment to our delicious food! I love the hints of lime that you get amongst the sweetness of the noodles and crunch that comes from the peanuts ☺

We then headed to the World Museum and the Walker Art Gallery after lunch. The World museum was really more for kids but the exhibitions were still rather interesting (Topo really enjoyed it!!) and the Walker Art Gallery was - ok. We called it a day and headed in the direction of the bus stop, but cheekily stopped by Five Guys and shared a packet of small fries. I almost did not feel guilty because the fries were really quite good and it made me so happy after another not-so-exciting day in Liverpool. At the end of the 2nd day I was already counting down to the day that we had to leave for The Lake District - it was that bad. 

So anyway, we decided that since we've exhausted our options of things to do, we'd go cafe hopping the next day!! (well just to 2 cafes, but it still counts ok) 

Went to the Brunch Club which had a lovely interior design

The 2 black looking patties are their home-made falafels which were delicious!

Lunch here was really good and I absolutely loved the atmosphere

We stayed at the cafe after eating for about an hour, just chatting and relaxing and I found myself finding so much enjoyment in doing that. I guess when you're on holiday you don't always have to have activities planned and for you to be out and about all the time, which is something that I'm really used to and almost conditioned to think that if I wasn't doing just that, then I wasn't utilizing my time wisely because you have to see as much as you can whilst you're in a foreign place. However, I'm definitely more open to the idea now that sometimes it's a lot more exciting to just go somewhere with no concrete plans in mind and see where that takes you (Thank you Topo ♥) ! In this case, we were brought to The Brunch Club and it was honestly my favourite day of our trip!! 

After the Brunch Club, we headed to Rococo for tea and to read - I was reading The Pilgrimage whilst drinking hot chocolate and Topo was reading Catcher in the Rye whilst sipping on chai tea ☺ I may have fallen asleep on the sofa for a bit but I had such a great afternoon that day!! It felt amazing to just go to a cafe, have a drink and read, amongst the buzzing conversations that other people were having and the sounds of clinking as people stirred their drinks. 

I honestly felt so contented and in my mind I was thinking 'This was by far my favourite day of our trip', and with that we headed back to the air bnb and had pasta with potatoes in a curry sauce mmhmmmmmm

The next morning - HALLELUJAH it was time for us to leave!! We headed to the station and hopped on our 9:06am train to Oxenholme, Lake District!

✹Pentland Hills!!✹

Feeling much better after having rested so much on the 1st of Jan, Natascha and I headed to the Pentlands! I was so so so glad that I was well enough to go trekking because I would have felt horrible if I wasn't able to show Natascha how breathtaking the Pentlands were and also spending another whole day in the flat was a big no no . So we got the bus 44 at Princes Street and in about 35 mins, we arrived! We were incredibly blessed with amazing sunny weather for the entirety of our trip!

* Note: All these photos are taken by Natascha so all credits go to her and she's got other photos as well which you can check out on her blog ☺

Isn't this just picture perfect!

☀ It was a beautiful sunny day!! ☀

We sat down by a lake with our feet handing off the banks, sunlight warming our faces and enjoying the delicious almond chocolate coconut cookies that we baked the day before! This was before we figured that we might as well have lunch here (cheeky dessert before lunch) and so we had salad boxes that we got from Graze at the grassmarket on our way to Princes Street 

All wrapped up and ready to continue our walk - unfortunately the cold from the strong winds completely cancelled out the warming effect of the sun ☹

After walking for about 2.5 hours and with numb fingers and toes, we called it a day and walked back to the bus stop to head back home. The entire walk was just so peaceful and calming and each person we met along the way either greeted us with a friendly good morning or hello or just gave us a warming smile! Dogs were just having a blast and running free without leashes, families were enjoying their quality time together and couples were happily holding hands, all finding comfort in this serene and beautiful regional park. 

Looking back at these photos honestly puts a smile on my face because it takes me back in time and I can just visualize all these sightings so clearly!! 

Later that evening, we had dinner with Topo, Kristiina, Lyn and Ella (Topo's other flatmate) at 10-to-10! The food was amazing & really affordable and of course the company was great :) 

I'm glad Natascha managed to meet some of my friends that I have met at uni and to also have a glimpse into my life here in Edinburgh! We've discussed plans for us to hopefully meet in Germany in the coming years and I'm pretty sure, well I'm positive, it's going to be another amazing memory that we would share as friends ♥

Thank you once again for visiting me in Edinburgh Natascha, this spontaneous trip has been filled with so much laughter, baking, pictures and most of all meaningful conversations that have shown me yet again how blessed I am to have such a dear friend :') I simply cannot wait till the next time we meet in sunny Singapore! 

New Year's Eve and an uneventful New Year's Day

We had such bad luck on the morning of NYE

1. Woke up at 7:45am to make it to Moon & Hare (for vegan waffles!!) at 8:30am just as they opened only to find out that they were closed - and had to walk 30 mins back to the flat 

2. Had breakfast at the flat and decided to check out the grassmarket as they have Saturday markets only to also find out that it was not put up that day :( 

I was so bummed that Moon & Hare and the Grassmarket were both closed on NYE because I really wanted to bring both Justina and Natascha to these places!!! But I was comforted by the fact that both of them did not show a single sign of negativity towards the situation and looked at our situation in an "oh wells, there's nothing we can do about it so no point feeling down" manner - that made me feel a lot better :') 

We then settled for a salad box at Graze - well the both of them did whilst I got an acai smoothie at Hula's ! We then headed back to the flat and Justina started doing last minute packing as she was leaving that afternoon :(((((( I then sent Justina to the bus stop at 2pm whilst Natascha rested in the flat as she was not feeling too well 

I am really soooo grateful for the fact that my sister managed to visit me in Edinburgh to see my flat and to taste my cooking (which she enjoyed!!!) and to see this beautiful city that I call home till 2019! Her presence was so comforting and took me back to home in Singapore and I just love how we are equally happy being adventurous outdoors exploring the city and chilling at home. We have such similar interest and it just makes deciding on what to do together so much easier!

Thank you Justina for being the greatest sister I could ever have ♥ 

After returning to the flat, Natascha and I had sweet potato chips wrapped in sweet gem lettuce with tahini and maple syrup again!! Unfortunately Natascha was still not feeling any better and could not join my friends and I to see the fireworks that night :(

This was in Nic's flat and we have Topo, Kristiina (Topo's flat mate wearing glasses), Lyn (Kristiina's friend visiting from Germany), Nicholas (behind Kristiina and Lyn), John (Nicholas's younger brother) and me! 

We headed up Salisbury's crags to catch the fireworks! It was amazing being up here at night and being able to see all the city lights and also because we were at an advantage point, we could see fireworks going off at different parts of the city, but of course, the Edinburgh Castle displayed the most extravagant fireworks 

I feel like many people hype up New Years and almost expect everyone to have really grand plans for the evening and party really hard and if you weren't out and about on NYE then you weren't celebrating it right. But the best celebrations - any celebration in fact, I believe, should just be about doing whatever makes you H-a-p-p-y!! ☺☺☺ 

This could be you heading out and partying with your friends, or just being with family and watching the fireworks on the television, or even just being by yourself in your own quiet time (or even celebrating New Years on a plane like what Justina wanted to do!) - If people hear about your (anti - what society constructs your New year plans to be like) plans and go ' oh that was all you did for New Years? ', well you can just confidently say that you had a great time and that's all that matters!! 

I'm just gonna swiftly move on to one of my life goals (since it's kinda related) which is to just stop caring so much about what other people think of me. It's really so hard with social media making it so easy to compare your life to others with the the artificial construct of their oh-so-perfect-and-infinitely-happy lives that they portray. A simple example would be all my cousins thinking that I don't study and all I do is climb Arthur's seat and have fun because that's all they see on my social media, and I always reply: Who would post a picture of them studying??  

It is hard but it is crucial that we constantly bear in mind that everyone has their own struggles and nobody in the world is perfect and that's just how it is! So we cannot be caught up in the constant comparison of one's life to another and I believe that once you've achieved this state of mind/way of thinking, you will feel so liberated!!! And that's really one major thing that I wanna achieve ☺

Ok now swiftly moving on to continue my post of New Years day ! 

Both Natascha and I were feeling weak and ill and accomplished close to nothing as compared to our intended plan of a full-day's packed worth of activities: 4 items to bake, watercolour painting, movies! We did leave the flat to get groceries, and we both much appreciated getting some fresh air, and baked almond coconut chocolate cookies (deeeelish!!) and made sushi for lunch!

If I do recall correctly, we both had a cheeky nap after lunch but after waking up, we had sushi again for dinner whilst watching Jane Eyre. The movie was meh but the cinematography was impressive! After the movie, we chatted for a bit and both got ready for bed. I was surprised how easily I fell asleep despite having slept so much earlier in the day - but I guess that's what the body is craving when you're ill! 

Despite New Years day being uneventful (in comparison to our original plans), looking back at it now, I really did enjoy it - of course not the feeling ill part, but just being in the company of an amazing friend and having a very relaxed day with yummy food was really all I needed to be happy! 

I can't believe I'm already into the second half of my second year at uni!! 

✨I will try my best to make 2017 another amazing year✨

A spontaneous visit!

27th Dec 4:21pm - I was lying in bed watching Love Actually with Justina when Natascha texts me in caps: OMG I FOUND REASONABLY PRICED TICKETS TO EDINBURGH AND MY PARENTS SAID YES  

28th Dec 9:11am - Natascha sends me her flight details 

29th Dec 12:55pm - I pick Natascha up at Waverly Bridge!!! 

Even after embracing Natascha in a hug and squealing in excitement, I just still couldn't believe that she was actually here in Edinburgh after having confirmed her flight details just 2 days prior to coming! We've actually discussed the possibility of us meeting a few months back but were both disheartened on the 24th of Dec when Natascha found out that tickets were rather expensive from Munich to Edinburgh, but I guess lady luck was on our side as Natascha managed to find reasonably priced tickets just 2 days later and another 2 days later - here she was in person standing before my eyes! (Some of these amazing photos were shot by Natascha and I'll link her blog posts of our time together here and do check out her photos on flickr as well linked at the bottom of each blog post!) 

I must say, Natascha did get lucky with the weather for the entirety of her trip and she fortunately (or unfortunately?) did not get to experience bleak and rainy (but nonetheless beautiful) Edinburgh which is characteristic of the weather here for most part of the year! Natascha actually said that Edinburgh might be a top contender with New Zealand as her favourite place she has travelled to in the world, after just having arrived an hour ago - I was so pleasantly surprised and felt so incredibly proud to be able to call this amazing city my home after hearing that :') 

After having walked back to the flat to drop Natascha's bag off, we (Justina, Natascha and I) went to Hulas Juice Bar for lunch! An acai bowl, Avocado Sourdough toast and a vegan wrap was shared amongst the 3 of us and boy was the food delicious - as it always is :)

After lunch, I brought Natascha up Arthur's Seat whilst Justina got her ears pierced!

I could never get tired of this view

This was after Natascha nearly got blown off the top of Arthur's Seat which was captured in her vlog (go check it out!!!)

We descended just as the sun was setting, giving us just enough natural light to get down safely and returned to the warmth of the flat after being exposed to the insane winds at the top of Arthur's Seat which one can never truly know how it feels like until one has actually been to the top - no personal description or picture of hair flying could capture just how crazy the winds can get up there! 

We then had a simple but delicious dinner of sweet potato fries wrapped in sweet gem lettuce with a drizzle of tahini and maple syrup - this has become one of my favourite meals and dressing!!  

After dinner, we baked Natashca's apple cinnamon granola which were deeelish!! and we also did a recipe chat which you can check out here :) 

The next morning, after visiting the Royal Mile market, Justina unfortunately had to head back to the flat to rest as she was not feeling well :((((( It really sucked so much that Justina fell ill on her trip here but there was nothing that could undo it so in times like this, tip: rather than feeling super bummed the whole day, be positive and pray for a speedy recovery!! 

Natascha and I then continued on our way to the Edinburgh Castle

Passed by funky mirrors outside Camera Obscura on the way to the castle!

I love how the small boy is looking at us with a grin on his face - it's almost as if we (the grown up ones) were showing him how to have fun by taking goofy pics (I sound so lame but that's how I truly feel hahaha)

We then went to the Christmas market and got on the flying thing (honestly cannot remember its name)! Quick story: Before knowing what the price of a ticket was, Natascha and I agreed that anything above £8 was not worth a ride and when we got to the ticketing booth, we both squealed in excitement after seeing that the tickets were £7.50 - just under our budget! and so we embarked on our what felt like a 4 min journey, 60m up into the sky!!

After flying over the city centre, we headed to Hendersons for an amazing lunch of a pizza slice, salad and a chocolate nut cake with coconut cream (to die for!!) 

Hendersons really never fails to please the taste buds :')

A close up of this delicious goodness

Next and last stop before we called it a day - Calton Hill! 

On the way back to the flat, we saw a sign that read "Free Personality Tests" and decided that it'd be a fun spontaneous idea to take one but it turned out to be a bad decision because they were simply trying to sell us a book about Scientology. I mean there isn't anything wrong with trying to sell a book but it was the way they did it that I just made me feel so uncomfortable and even annoyed and angry. Natascha and I were just going on and on about how bad that experience was on the way back to the flat but we turned the evening around into a happy one when we baked healthy sticky toffee pudding!! and also coming home to a much-better-feeling-Justina made us feel much better! 

Here's Natascha's post on Day 2 :)