Why Poland Should be on Your Travel Bucket List

When people think of holidaying to Poland, especially from the UK, what they're usually thinking of is the price. It is so easy to book weekend away to places like Kraków for buttons, but it doesn't mean you're skimping on your holiday quality! Although the exchange rate for the GBP is great (seriously, I was getting by on £20 a day - with change!) there are a lot more reasons why Poland should be part of your holiday bucket list.

Architecture

Whether you're interested in a short city break or a trip to the Polish countryside, you'll be in no shortage of beautiful structures to ooh and aah over. The tall, colourful buildings lined up together in Kraków looked like they'd jumped straight out of a postcard, but it isn't just the older buildings that are admirable. Modern builds, like Sky Tower in Wrocław, have certainly earned their place in the cityscape. Venturing out of the city, there are many interesting buildings to see - such as Moszna Castle pictured above. Have you ever seen a more fairy-tale like castle? It certainly is a work of art.

Art

Speaking of art, it must be something the Poles love. Whether you're admiring street graffiti, searching for Wrocław's mini leprechaun sculptures or admiring the insides of one of many beautiful cathedrals, there's always something interesting to see just around the corner.

Food

I regret not taking more pictures of my food in Poland, because it's some of the best food I've ever tasted (move over Rome and Paris!). I hadn't turned vegetarian or vegan before Poland, so I got to sample a lot of the local cuisine. The Polish love cabbage. Love it. Most of my meals had cabbage in it in some way and, for someone who isn't a huge fan of it, I thoroughly enjoyed each and every way. Really, it's in soup, salads, pastas, on top of meat, in wraps, used to wrap... and it's actually tasty! Congratulations Poland, you done what I thought was impossible. But if you aren't getting so excited hearing about cabbage, don't worry! Poland will serve you up many delicious dishes you won't have thought of before. Did you know the English word "dumplings" can apparently be translated into three different things in Polish? Apparently we were too lazy to give the extra two dishes a different name. Sounds like us.

Also, here's some advice: hot chocolate in Poland is not what hot chocolate is in Scotland. Hot chocolate is a thick, chocolate mouse and hot coco is the chocolate drink. Just letting you know as I ordered a cheesecake and hot chocolate and my stomach almost burst trying to finish both of them.

Scenery

I don't know if I was just lucky, but wherever I seemed to end up in Poland there was always gorgeous views as a backdrop. The Polish countryside in particular really stuck with me: in contrast to Scotland's green, wet and hilly glens, the Polish countryside I travelled through was wide, open and flat as far as the eye could see.

Culture

One of my absolute favourite things about travelling is experiencing new cultures. Admittedly I only managed to visit Poland for a short while, but as soon as I woke up on my first day it was go go go. There always seemed to be stuff going on, especially in the city. I remember walking into a square full of music and dancing, and as I looked around just about everyone had a smile on their face. I also visited an old Polish town that had been built hundreds of years ago and got to find out about Poland's interesting but tragic history. 

Also, the Polish people were so kind and helpful, especially when they seen that I didn't speak the language. I was also lucky enough to have my great friend, Anna, showing me around as Poland is her home country. She was basically my tour guide/translator for the holiday! Even her family were lovely to me, even though I'd just jumped into their house for the week and stole a bedroom!

Anyone who knows me will know how much I rave about this country now, and I can't wait for the next time I manage to visit. So I'd like to give a little shout out again to Anna, for inviting me and hosting me in this wonderful country. If you're looking for somewhere interesting to visit this year, please give Poland a thought. You won't regret it!

Ps. Keep up with me on Instagram here.

Visit Scotland - Fort William and Highlands

It can sometimes be hard to sell holidaying in Scotland with so many great destinations in Europe. France, Barcelona or Italy anyone? But in reality, despite our harsher climate, there are so many brilliant places in Scotland worth sticking on your bucket list.

Admittedly I haven't seen much of our famous and scenic highlands, so recently I took a trip up to Fort William with the family. We were blessed with beautiful weather almost every day and I saw so much breathtaking scenery.

On the way to Fort William we drove by Loch Lomond. I never realised how large it was until we drove the length of it and it did surprise me. Unfortunately I didn't get any good photos from the car.

A little while later we stopped at Glencoe. Me and my Dad (a photography hobbyist) took some pictures of the famous Blackrock Cottage. It's apparently one of the most photographed areas in Scotland.

We stopped at the Glencoe mountain centre for a while. The scenery was nothing short of breathtaking. I was also amused by the strange huts you could rent if visiting for an overnight.

We continued on our way, making the occasional stop to admire the scenery. One of my favourite spots was below, where we got a gorgeous view of Buachaille Etive Mor.

The views didn't stop when we reached Fort William. We spent the night looking around the area and we fell in love.

We also visited the Glenfinnan Viaduct, part of the West Highland line and famous for featuring in Harry Potter. Yes, this is where we all once watched the Hogwarts Express chug along the line on the way to Hogwarts. Sadly I didn't manage to get a great photo as it had became dark, but if you are ever in the area it's great to go and see. You may even be lucky and catch sight of the Jacobite Express!

The next day we went on to Plockton. Plockton itself is unusual because the north atlantic drift allows palm trees to grow there. Yes, you read that correctly, palm trees in Scotland! The town is small, but it is a tourist spot so we received a warm welcome. There are various restaurants, inns and local events on to visit. We caught a boat race and visited a local art exhibition in the town hall.

The day had started off a little overcast, but the skies began to clear as we made our way to Skye. This was my first time visiting a Scottish Isle, and I was keen to explore. Please excuse my messy hair, we'd been in a rush to leave in the morning.

We stopped at Armadale to relax, grab a drink and have a look around. There were a few shops and I had a nosey around Ragamuffin, a wholefoods shop and a photography gallery. It ended up quite hot and I was struggling to cope in my dark jeans and top. Scotland in August, who would have thought? We ended up catching the ferry back to Morroch before heading home.

The next day we headed over to Skye again to watch the highland games. As usual we made a few stops along the way to admire the scenery.

Overlooking Loch Garry.

Overlooking Loch Loyne. This area seemed to be a popular stop for hikers and travellers to build cairns. Cairns are piles of stones typically built as landmarks on hills and mountains. The tallest one here was just shorter than me (I'm 5ft4), but if you do a quick google as I did, you'll be surprised at how high some around the world have become.

We reached Skye later than we'd planned and the events had became busy. Struggling to find a good veiwing spot, me and my mum left my dad and brother to have a look around the town. There were many interesting shops and we ended up going for lunch in a cute inn. We ended up sipping gin and tonic whilst watching someone perform some traditional folk music.

The day ended up a little rainy towards the evening, which presented the opportunity for me to snap this haunting photo of Eilean Donan Castle on the way back to Fort William. So although I didn't manage to catch the sun or the games that day, I ended up thoroughly enjoying myself.

I spent most of the next day with my nose buried in a book as we said our goodbyes to Fort William and headed home to Lanarkshire. We stopped for a lovely lunch in Oban and were lucky enough to catch some beautiful weather once again.

We were definitely blessed with gorgeous weather on our trip north this year, but I still feel that I would have enjoyed it thoroughly even if it had been otherwise. I'd argue that the Scottish highlands have a beauty that can rival even some of the most famous landscapes across the world. 

I've made a promise to myself to start exploring more of my beautiful home country, which means I'll be sharing it here on my blog. To all my international readers, from Argentina to Russia (I know you're there!), next time you're looking to holiday do consider Scotland. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised! 

PS. Keep up with me on Instagram here.

10 Hours in Paris - What You Can Fit in a Day

Ah, Paris. Is there a way to say that without thinking of great food, cute boutiques, high-end fashion and, of course, the many world famous landmarks? 

I currently live a while outside of Paris, but I plan to visit as much as I can. At the time of writing that is currently three times (disregarding the day I arrived at the airport). Paris has so much going on that you can easily fill half a day doing many different things. So here is how I spent 10 hours in Paris:

I awoke at 5:30am to leave at 6am for the train. Why so early? Because I can get a lift to the train station that way. I was in Paris bright and early for 7am. I started the day with a hot chocolate and a croissant (could I be any more predictable?) and a wander round some streets. Almost every building is just pleasant to look at. 

Seriously, every corner you turn there's something impressive -big and small. So I started to plan my day, and firstly headed off to the Bastille monument.

Despite the clouds it was very bright. I struggled to get a good photo. I went a walk round some nearby streets and ended up outside a pretty impressive building. 

As I said, there's something interesting around every corner. I'm still not too sure what this building was... Next I headed to Musee d'Orsay. 

Of course I snapped some more pictures in the streets on the way there. Someone may have been playing "spot the tourist"!

Musee d'Orsay is the top rated museum in Paris according to Trip Advisor- even beating the Louvre! It was wonderful, and I haven't even checked out every floor yet. They just have everything in there - sculptures, classics, impressionism, graphic art, sketch books, architectural art, photography, caricatures, upholstery, even a mini model of Paris you can walk over! And I'm sure there's much more I've yet to see.  

Next up, the "Tour Eiffel". My Gran and Grandpa once visited France. When my Gran reached the base of the Eiffel Tower and looked up she said her legs went to jelly. It's a pretty accurate description of how it feels. I recently discovered that I have a fear of heights (after going to the top of the tallest building in Poland) so I definitely got shivers. It's one of those buildings that look a lot taller in person. It dwarfed everything. I've still to go to the top, but I'm waiting on my mum visiting. I'll need someone to clutch onto and remind me that I'm not going to die. 

Afterwards I headed back to Bastille to do a spot of shopping on one of the nearby streets. I chose there just because it had a "Lush". For followers of my skincare posts, you'll know it's a brand I'm pretty obsessed with. I left with a new body lotion, face scrub and shower gel tester. You always need to get a tester in Lush.

I then met with another lovely au pair for some lunch. We decided to head out to see the Sacré Coeur. There were lots of narrow, cobbled streets and cute cafés in the area. Not only did the streets climb uphill, but we had to climb around 270 steps to reach the landmark, but it was worth it.

Again, as you'de expect, Sacré Coeur was beautiful. There was a "no photo" policy inside (although I didn't see it being enforced!) so I will respect their wishes and only show the exterior here. The white stone walls shone in the sun, and although it's not as big as other places I've visited like Saint Peters or Basilica di San Giovanni, it certainly wasn't petit.

So we decided to pay €6  (main entry is free) to climb another 300 steps to the 272 foot high dome. For someone with a fear of heights, I'd say that was pretty brave! The views were astounding, sadly my phone camera is not. You could see a lot of Paris, including the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Opera House, the Pompidou centre and I think someone even spotted the Arc de Triomphe (although I never). It really puts the scale of Paris in perspective. Does it ever end? Sadly, yes, yes it does.

I'd love to say that my day ended enjoying this chocolate covered monster of a crepe piled with cream. Sadly I really ended the day sprinting through the Gare de Lyon underground trying to find my way from the metro to the train. Seriously, every line and hall was signposted apart from mine! Thankfully I did make it in time and I hopefully won't have to repeat that fiasco again.Oh, and the crepe was delicious - or at least the half of it I managed to eat was.

So there it is, my 10 hours in Paris. Paris is bursting with places to see, restaurants to dine in and things to do. Whether you're there for half a day, half a week or half a year, there will always be things to do. It's definitely a place to check of your bucket list - perhaps more than once.