Medieval Banquet

For one of my friends  Christmas  pressie I took her to the Medieval Banquet at Kathine's dock in London!  I didn't know what to expect as I am not really into history  as much as my friend but it was wonderful!! We were the first ones there which was good and from the moment we stepped in it was like time had turned back and we were in a different era. The staff definitely played the part using the right vocabulary, body and face language to show as well.

When we arrived to where we will be eating it was an eye opener, down the whole room were arches on each side where 2 long tables of each side of the arch sat. When we were shown where we were sat the table was like it would have been in the olden days, 2 large pieces of bread placed in the middle down all the tables for us to enjoy as we pleased, the décor around us was all historical as well! My friend was loving it so much  recognising all the symbols and writing on the wall and knowing about them.  It soon began to fill up and the man himself Henry V111 came to join where we all took pics with him!

When we were all sat, our waitresses came by and introduced  themselves  and said they want to be called "wenches", which felt so weird because I wasn't  used to it and it felt rude!!  The food came soon after starting with  a vegetable soup which  we had to it with bread or pick the bowl up and eat it like that, followed my cheese and cooked meats, the main was chicken, potatoes and veg and dessert I had sorbet (but should have been fruit  tart).

In between  each meal there  was entertainment for us all to watch. It was really nice to see it and just relax. We made friends with the people next to us, they were really cool  and talkative  which was nice.  When the banquet came to an end there was a disco and we stayed for an extra 30 mins before heading out!

A WEEK IN ITALY- PART THREE

                                                                    VENICE

On Thursday  our first full day  we went to a few museums, St Marks square  and St Marks Basilica!

We didn't know that the water levels rise in Venice, so when we first started walking around the square there was water everywhere and didn't know why. After we came out of one of the museums the water level had risen a lot so we had to buy these water boot things! They were so cool.
To get around in the centre of  Venice you go by ferry bus! It was very strange at the beginning  especially  not seeing any cars! We had to do that a few times especially  when we went to visit another  island called Lido  which had a beach but by the time we got there it was pitch black!

On Friday really early we went on a gondala ride which was really nice especially as we had such a lovely man guiding us round.  We then had a long walk down towards this hidden bookshop, which was my favourite thing ever. There were so many different kind of books that were both English and Italian as well as postcards around.  The place itself was so unique at one end of the bookshop it opened up and there were couches right in front of the water and at another end of the bookshop it led outside to this stairway made out of books!!  Later we decided to head on over to Murano island where it  is known for glass making.  We wanted to find a back work shop as we heard they give away broken bits of glass.  We were really lucky and got a love book stopper thingy which I will treasure for the rest of my life!  As it was still early, we went back to Lido beach and we made it there for just before sunset which was so nice to see because we got to walk on the beach and see the views. We stayed there till the sun set, we had some pancakes in a restaurant nearby before heading back home.

On Saturday which was the last day of our trip we visited a food market, which was a good experience.  There was so much fresh fish, meat, vegetables, nuts and fruit as well as stalls selling pasta and fashionable goods.  It was cool to walk around get a real feel to what Italian life is like. It was really busy, swarmed with people looking, haggling, and buying; we really enjoyed ourselves.  We walked around the area as we were there and wanted to explore before going back to the main square. We made a last minute decision to visit another small island called San Giogio Maggiore, we didn't do much there other than walk around as we didn't want to be late back.  We had dinner by the canal on St Marks Square before collecting our luggage and heading on to the airport where we had a long wait... and there was not much to see either as it was soo small! We arrived back in London late evening and had a lift back to our homes.

This was one of the best holidays I have ever been on, it was the first away from my family and even by myself ever, so learnt a lot from it and I am so happy to have spent it with my bestie Milly!!

A WEEK IN ITALY- PART TWO

                               PISA AND FLORENCE

We got the train to Pisa and went to see the  Tower of Pisa.  It was a sight to see, with a lot of other tourists trying to get those iconic pictures with it- including us!  It was really funny trying to get the pictures as it was so hard, and we tried so many different poses.  We walked around the grounds but decided not to go inside and walk up as there was a while to wait and I don't think I could have walked those stairs! We went inside a cathedral that was there and it was small but had lovely designs.  As we left to go on the bus back to the station it was quite rainy.

After our look around we traveled by train for about 30 minutes to Florence where we spent most of the day looking around, exploring and shopping.  We went to Museum Ferragamo which was all about the designer and his shoe designs in years.  We went to this other museum called Museo Galileo, which was a really interesting museum about science, life and other facts in that area. We went to the main square looking for the cathedral we came across loads of shops, there was a lindt shop with all types of flavours  to taste that you could ever think off! We came across a gelato  shop and decided to have some as  we hadn't  yet, and Italy can be known for its  gelato. While walking around  eating, we came across the grand cathedral in the middle of the  square, it was so big!  We headed back to the train station and hung a round there till it was time for our train.  We had mini pizzas with hot chocolate while we waited.

Our last trip of the day via train was to Venice.

A WEEK IN ITALY- PART ONE

In October 2015 I went to Italy with my friend Amelia for a week. We started off in Rome for 3 days, then spent one day in Pisa to begin with and than Florence, and than the last 3 days were spent in Venice.

                                                                            ROME

We flew  to Rome  early morning Sunday  so we could  have the whole day to ourselves to explore. We tried to see the Vatican but turns out it is closed on the last Sunday of every month... our luck! So we went to see Piazza Navona which is this really  nice area and by the time we arrived it was early evening.  We  sat by the fountains had a walk around the square before sitting at one of the many restaurants nearby got dessert.  There was street artists nearby, playing music and instruments which was interesting to see.  There were not that many people around so wasn't too busy which made it a nice atmosphere.
   

DESSERT TIME!

On the Monday, we visited the Vatican quite early as we managed to get a tour the day before for a really good price. Our tour guide was so good and informative and I am very happy with we decided to go with one.  The Vatican itself was extraordinary such beautiful architecture, painting and history that goes with it, I could not fault anything.   Straight after we went to the Colosseum using the metro.  As we had a Rome pass which entitled us to free transport for 3 days and 2 free museum entries.  We used the Colosseum as one of our free entries and this also entitled us to go the Roman Forums and Palestine Hill.   It was interesting walking around the Colosseum where it held gladiatorial contests, it was also very strange to think that many years ago people watched these contests where we were now standing.  The Roman Forums were opposite and we had a nice wonder taking our time too look at all the ruins that were left there.  We made it just in time to the Palestine Hill before it closed; there were lovely views of Rome especially as it was getting late, the sun was beginning to set!  In the evening, we visited the Spanish steps and Trevi fountain that were both under construction unfortunately but looked nice from the outside we had some lovely dinner we found in a lovely side street before heading onto a bar for some drinks!

ROMAN FORUMS

PALESTINE HILL VIEWS

COLOSSEUM

LOVED OUR TOUR GUIDE 

BEAUTIFUL PAINTINGS AT THE VATICAN

OUR YUMMY FOOD 

On Tuesday, to begin with we had breakfast outside of the hotel/apartment for a change and then walked to see some of the shops and what fashion was like,  We walked to a park called Villa Borghese which was so big!  We hired this bike/car thing and had a ride round which was so fun and we both had so many laughs!!  It was nice to see the big park at a pace as we would not have seen it if we were on foot.  We walked to a museum nearby and used our second  free entry pass there! It was a cool museum, one we wouldn't have done usually so happy we did it there!

LOVED THESE