travel

Cambridge

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 00:20:16 +0100

The Blank Page Girls Guide to...

Cambridge

Summer in Cambridge is fantastic because there are so many outdoor activities such as the Shakespeare Festival or of course punting, but even just walking along the river and the backs of the colleges in the sunshine is absolutely divine.

Punting

If you decide to go punting, (which you really of course must, if you’re visiting) then make sure you go with Scudamores, they are the only licensed punting company on the river, they will give you a complete tour with fully trained punt chauffeurs, complete with straw boater hats and waistcoats. Sharing a punt with a group of strangers can be really lovely as you can meet new people or if you’re feeling brave hire your own punt for an hour and mess about on the river (just try not to fall in or drop your stick). If the sun doesn’t hold out all of the punts tend to be equipped with umbrellas and blankets so you can snuggle up and still enjoy the tour.

http://www.scudamores.com/

Cambridge Shakespeare Festival

A real highlight of the summer for me, each year the Cambridge College gardens open themselves up to play host to a troupe of actors performing a selection of the Bard’s greatest works. No bending to trendy new historicism just great performances in stunning settings. Take a picnic with you and if you don’t mind sitting on the floor and getting a little closer to the action then take a picnic blanket, a bottle of wine and snacks and you’re set for the evening. Tickets are available in advance or on the door. Each play is performed for a week in the same college and the festival lasts for most of the the summer so there is a great selection to go and see, from the most popular A Midsummer Night’s dream to lesser known plays such as As You Like It.

http://www.cambridgeshakespeare.com/

Ice Skating

Come winter it can be hard to find things to do but Cambridge put on an ice rink on Parker’s Piece from November to January. A great way to amuse yourself, or to keep children entertained for an hour in between shopping or as a main activity followed by a mean in one of Cambridge’s many great restaurants, conveniently located in proximity to Parker’s Piece.

http://www.northpolecambridge.co.uk/

Midsummer Common Fireworks

There are a lot of fantastic firework displays on Bonfire night but it is worth making the trip to Midsummer Common to watch the display, the impressive bonfire and enjoy the fairground. Traffic can be hell getting in and out so I would recommend to go into Cambridge early, find a restaurant for dinner, wrap up warm and watch the fireworks and then spend an hour or two enjoying the fairground before you attempt to leave, essentially make the most of the night to avoid being sat in your car for the majority of it instead.

Craft’s Market

In All Saint’s Garden on Trinity Street there is a craft market every Sunday, where artists and makers sell their ware. From jewellery to photographs there is a great selection of quirky and individual items available.

http://www.cambridge-art-craft.co.uk/index.htm

Fitzbillie’s bakery

A Cambridge institution if ever there was one, Fitzbillie’s bakery is famous for its sticky Chelsea Buns, and they are indeed sickly and glorious. Hidden away out of the busy city centre, you may require a quick google maps session to find the bakery but it is well worth the searching.

http://www.fitzbillies.com/

This is certainly not a definitive list but a few ideas and some of my favourites of the city I’ve grown up with and love so much.

Follow @AnnaMolly2012

New York, New York

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 15:18:21 +0100

Ah New York, New York, how I pine for thee. It’s been 9 months since I came back from the Big Apple, but I still miss it. I just don’t know what it is about that city, I know the saying is I left my heart in San Francisco, but I think if anything, that should be reserved for New York too.

So many people I have spoken to have said there is just something about New York. A friend said to me before I left, “make sure you don’t leave your heart in New York City,” to which I firmly promised that I would not, and which I promptly did. Like so many people it’s something I can’t quite put my finger on. It has such a multiplicity about it; it’s not just one New York. It’s so many New Yorks: from the stately buildings of the Upper East Side, to the greyish ones of Harlem, and that’s just the borough of Manhattan, there’s another three more after that! There are so many different cities which make up that famous Manhattan skyline and beyond; some parts more Law and Order than Sex and the City, yet all still so very enticing. The Big Apple is the shifting constant city that you see on TV, right down to the fire escapes and the sound of honking taxi horns (it’s not just the Europeans who like to blow their horns).

The majority of New York’s tourist sites can be done in a few days, such as Ellis Island, the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock (which F.Y.I, gives much better views of Manhattan than the Empire State Building), but to really see New York you need more than a week, you need years.

I developed a bit of an obsession for not seeming like a tourist, a concept which led me to some of my favourite times in the city. Once you’ve gotten Times Square and the Statue of Liberty (which unimpressively small) out of your system, New York opens its doors to you. They often say that the majority of people living in New York weren’t born there, which lets you easily slide into life in the city. The bars are so involving, I think the best experience I had as a non-tourist was on the final night, when we ended up at a college bar called the Underground in the Upper West Side, where there was a karaoke night going on. It wasn’t British style karaoke with middle aged women singing I Will Always Love You; it was real musicians, jamming together, impromptu. In fact we got so involved we made friends with the barmaid and the musicians and got some free drinks. To be honest I think the accent helped, so not entirely blending in.

New York does have its flaws, which are sometimes glossed over on TV, such as poverty, such as on the subway where there are people actively canvassing the trains to beg for money. Although harmless it is quite distressing, because British poverty is just not that vocalised.

New York like with any city is about knowing where to go. For example, don’t get an expressway to Harlem at nine ‘o’clock at night, don’t then get lost in Harlem, and whatever you don’t bother haling a cab unless it pulls up next you. I was there a week; I still don’t know how to hail a cab. I understand that maybe there is a knack to it that the locals seem to have down, but I don’t even think they get it. You see in films people just flicking their arm and a cab magically pulls up next to them out of nowhere, maybe they’ll even shout “taxi” if its tad further away. But the reality of it is nothing like that, and it’s even less fun discovering that all New York taxi drivers hate you in the pouring rain. The films lie.

Watch out for my post-Sandy return trip review of New York, also including reviews of the surrounding states and Canada.

Follow@AlysonClaffey on Twitter

Belgium, Bruxelles, et Bruges: Forgotten gem or the airport waiting room of Europe?

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 13:18:57 +0100

Belgium is unfortunately one of those countries that is predominately and continuously overlooked. It’s one of those in between places that people either pass through, or stop off in briefly on a tour of the WW1 trenches. It’s like the airport lounge of Europe, where everyone goes through but rarely stops for long. The thing is, is that there is so much more to Belgium than just this. Mostly, when people hear about Belgium the main thing that springs to mind is that its capital is Brussels.

From a tourist’s point of view Brussels isn’t the most thriving holiday resort, in spite of its’ new Eurostar links making it speedy and easy to get to. It is very much like a less attractive blend of Paris and Amsterdam. It has the unfortunate reputation among natives as being a little bit seedy and among tourists as a little bit boring, so naturally it is not everyone’s number one choice of destination. It’s more of a business city than a holiday destination, it being the home of the European Parliament.

But don’t let that put you off, it just means there’s more of Belgium for you to keep to yourself and selfishly enjoy the culture. Although Belgium is relatively low key, everyone has heard of the obvious associations such as Belgian chocolate and mayonnaise and chips. Perhaps the lesser known aspect of their culture is the production of Belgian lace, for which it is famous. If you’re like me and slightly less cultured, the main place you probably heard about Belgian lace was via Friends in the one where Rachel and Ross make up the story about their wedding. Note Rachel’s fictitious veil was supposedly made “by blind Belgian nuns”. In fact, there is an abundance of lace shops in Bruges, the Belgian equivalent of Oxford in relation to London, and one of Europe’s lesser known, but most beautiful cities.

To quote, the film In Bruges “where’s Bruges”, “in Belgium”, “why would I want to go there?” Why would you not? It’s glorious; it’s an old medieval town and supposedly one of Europe’s most romantic locations, perhaps second to Paris. I can definitely see why; the city is interspersed with quaint canals hung with ivy, beautiful old churches and through every street there runs horse and carriage rides, (although romantic on paper, can actually be a tad annoying when trying to cross the road). The main thing with Bruges is that like the rest of Belgium, although more tourists orientated than Brussels, it is still relatively low on everyone’s radars, which means that it’s not swarming with tourists. Some of the best places to go in Bruges are some of the best hidden. Obviously in the centre is the Belfry which you can climb and see some spectacular views of Bruges, which although a little expensive (around €8) is said to be well worth it. As well as this, there are some better hidden places not as high on the radar, such as The Church of St Basilica of The Holy Blood. This church is said to hold a vial with the blood of Jesus Christ; not only is it an intriguing attraction, whether you are religious or not, but the church itself is a hidden gem. Completely stunning and so incredibly intricate the church is covered in murals and paintings and hung with gold plate. The blood is on display during the day in a closely guarded glass case and they have a continual service where visitors can walk up to the case to pray over the vial.

As well as the church, in the same square is the famous statue ‘Lovers’ complete with small bronze frog, which supposedly when kissed by the 100,000^th visitor transforms into a handsome man who will follow you around carrying your bags, so naturally you have to kiss the frog. The best bit is that this legend is not very well known to tourists. One of Bruges’ other claims to fame is that it is the only other country and city outside of Italy which holds a statue by Michelangelo. Not the easiest thing to find, it’s definitely worth the quest to find the ‘Madonna and Child’ statue. Here’s a clue, it’s not outside...

Bruges is definitely a beautiful city, well worth a visit. Unlike Brussels, Bruges holds a lot of things to visit and see. I’m not anti-Brussels; it is a lovely city, although having seen Paris I tend to find myself unfairly comparing other European cities. As cities go, there is not an overwhelming amount of tourist attractions apart from Manneken Pis, and if you are only there to see ‘the things you should,’ then these can be done in pretty much a day and the only place for this really worth going is Grand Place. Grand Place is the main square in Brussels and contains the majority of the cities’ most spectacular buildings. It the only main tourist attraction, unlike Paris there are very few tourist enticing places, which perhaps explains why a great many people have repeatedly told me that Brussels is boring. Sure it’s not the most wild of places, it has a shortage of those ‘quaint little coffee shops’ that Paris has, which you know are only there for the tourists, and the real Parisians never attend. Instead it has understated landmarks such as the golden statue in Grand Place, which when stroked is supposed to give you luck. Even its’ most famous statue, Manneken Pis, although recognised, is still difficult to place for some people. That is not to say that the Belgian locals don’t have fun with their most famous landmark, dressing up the statue around seasonal holidays, such as giving him a Santa hat during Christmas and making him produce Belgian beer (for which they are well known) on national holidays. Brussels is not a bad place, it’s very relaxed and all things said and done it is a lovely place for a quiet weekend city break. With not much to rush about see it is fine to take things at a slower pace, the city is a brilliant place to take it easy. There is an abundance of quaint cobbled streets to lose yourself in, plenty of coffee shops and my favourite place in the whole of Brussels, Parc du Cinquantenaire. I won’t harp on about it too much, but in the summer it is a truly lovely place to go, with families and youths quietly enjoying the surrounding greenery well into the night, to the impressive backdrop of the Cinquantenaire Museum. Both way Brussels, Bruges and Belgium are well worth a visit.

In many senses I can see how many people have managed to overlook Belgium. The countryside is very close to the French countryside. It is mostly comprised of large flat farmer’s fields, and vineyards and small villages and towns made up of quaint red brickwork. France, Belgium and The Netherlands all share this very similar terrain, all closely resembling one another. In fact, speeding through the landscape of mainland Europe on the Eurostar I was only able to realise I was in Belgium by a lovely text from my network provider welcoming me to Belgium and then promptly trying to rob me as a result of roaming charges. Perhaps it’s the position Belgium inhabits in mainland Europe, People, just don’t seem to know much about the country. Although the ignorance of its’ past is a negative, it isn’t necessarily entirely a bad thing; as it isn’t high on the radar of travellers, which means that there’s more of a chance to see the culture, without some annoying British or American tourist’s head craning in your line of vision.

Follow @AlysonClaffey

Sydney

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 13:15:33 +0100

The Blank Page Girls Guide to...

Sydney

I spent three weeks in Sydney over the Christmas/ New Year’s period of 2011/2012 and it was absolutely fantastic. Whilst this does not aim to be a definitive guide this is a couple of things I would recommend if you go to Sydney.

Max Brenner Chocolate Restaurant

Why anyone would want an overwhelming amount of warm gooey chocolate when the sun is trying to melt you is perplexing, and yet I still went to Max Brenna and felt like a small child, excited by the menu. I ordered a chocolate pizza, the guys behind the counter assumed that other people were coming to help me eat it, sadly they were mistaken and after a few slices I was defeated. They came and gave me a takeaway box, which meant the next morning I had chocolate pizza for breakfast with a cup of tea (breakfast of Princesses) Max Brenner is a great novelty to visit just be prepared for the crazy amount of chocolate.

http://www.maxbrenner.com.au/

Sports Girl

I really wish that Sportgirl existed in the UK, Australia’s answer to Topshop but a little less crazy, a lot more chilled out and great weather orientated. Sportsgirls are everywhere but considering how many rubbish women’s shops there are in Sydney I’d recommend checking out Sportsgirl.

http://www.sportsgirl.com.au/

Australian Hotel

If you get a chance to walk to Australian Hotel which is in the Rocks area of Sydney City, underneath the bridge, then grab a Scoona and try out either the Kangaroo or Thai Crocodile Pizza, such an unusual flavour and bazaar combination to be on Pizza but it really is great.

Pancakes on the Rocks

I did not cope well with the portion sizes in Oz, Pancakes on the Rocks a perfect example of such. The Rocks is such a lovely area and we had to queue up for a little while, but a restaurant dedicated to pancakes is too good to pass up. Serving savoury and sweet I opted for Blueberry heaven which involved two pancakes, blueberries, butter cream and vanilla ice cream. Delicious but way too much for me to handle, a long walk around the Rocks was required to ease the nausea!

The Argyle

The Rocks has The Argyle which serves amazing cocktails, we tried out the following:

Tea House, I’m not sure why we don’t have T2 over here in the UK I think it would go down a treat. A pot of creme brulee tea with raspberry scones (which naturally come in threes accompanied by clotted cream and raspberry jam, a contemporary twist on the cream tea) was a personal favourite.

New Years on the beach, an absolutely incredible experience

2011/2012 New Year’s Eve was the first year that Sydney banned alcohol consumption on the streets for New year’s and after a day of confusion trying to find the best place to watch the fireworks, we set out to get onto Milson’s point near Toronga Zoo, however finding a check point which was searching for alcohol and tickets to get through onto the point we decided to take a little walk around the outskirts of the zoo and found a little secluded beach where we spent from three in the afternoon until one in the morning. We sunbathed, watched the sun set. Sydney put on a set of fireworks at 9 o’clock for the kids and another set at midnight and the whole experience was incredible. By the time we got back to the bus point to get home a load of buses were running for free taking people back into the city and although the underground system was packed the whole transport system worked really well, much better in fact than the experience I’d had the prior year spending New Year’s Eve in London on the embankment where many tube stations closed down and police were out in force.

I also recommend finding yourself a 'Manly Lifeguard' on Manly beach, but avoid the crowds and wander round to Shelley Beach for a beach day.

Follow @AnnaMolly2012