Our final adventures in Havana

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After the events of the previous day our final day in Havana was filled with a hop on hop off bus tour, amazing cocktails and an evening in an art gallery.

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Our day began with a Havana Bus Tour which we picked up from Revolution Square. The square itself is MASSIVE and could fit thousands and thousands of people, mainly used for state speeches, and the occasional public mass by a Pope! It really is a space to see.

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More famously are the images of the revolutionaries in the walls of the surrounding buildings – Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos and the statue commemorating Jose Marti.

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The Jose Marti memorial consists of a 358 ft tower and 59 ft statue. Marti looks out into the square with the government building behind. Pipped as the father of modern Cuba, Marti is held in almost as high regard as Fidel. I’ve since learnt that you can go up the tower for an amazing view over Havana – one for the next trip I think!

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What to do with 36 hours in Brussels

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Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the home of the European Union, consists of a historic centre and a range of additional regions around the edge.

Home to around 172,000 people it’s pretty small as capital cities go which definitely has its advantages as you can get a good feel for the city in a short space of time.

Of course you cannot do everything Brussels has to offer in 36 hours but you can tick a few good items off the list!

For the purpose of full disclosure I will say that Brussels wasn’t my favourite European break. Unfairly for Brussels we visited on one very very cold February weekend where a freak storm had travelled in from the East as basically froze most of Western Europe.

We did however travel in on the Eurostar which is perhaps my favourite way to travel. Big comfy seats, good views and a pretty quick travel time. Winning!

Due to the cold we didn’t do as much as I would have liked but here are my top things to do in 36 hours – especially if it is cold!

The Grand Place

I don’t think any trip to Brussels could be complete without visiting the Grand Place. With buildings dating back to the 17th century it quite often gets piped as one of the most beautiful medieval squares in Europe.

The square itself is surrounded by guildhalls from carpenters to boatbuilders to brewers. The two larger buildings are the town hall and the King’s House which now contains a museum.

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Adventures in Havana

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Our second day in Cuba began much like the first with a lie in at our casa but today we decided to skip breakfast and caught a taxi collectivo into central Havana.

This required a bit of help from our casa owner Cary as catching a local taxi is a bit of an art. It was well worth it when a 1950’s battered old car pulls alongside so we could scramble in alongside other local Cubans to go to where we wanted. It cost us 2 CUC for the 10 minute trip.

We headed to Obispo Street in the hunt for some coffee, we found a small cafe and had a quick coffee before wandering around the streets of Havana. We walked all through the old town shopping in small street markets and wandering into a hidden art gallery.

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Our introduction to Havana, Cuba!!

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It’s been a while and I have LOADS to catch up on, lets just say life got in the way. I’m pleased to introduce our Cuban coverage starting in Havana! 

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The first morning in any new place is always a little bit daunting, especially when you don’t really speak the language and you’re staying in someone’s home! Despite this we had to get up and get going as we’d agreed for breakfast at our casa that morning, so after a small lie in we appeared not really sure what to expect.

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I’d read a lot before travelling to Cuba about the cuisine – or lack of – so wasn’t sure what to expect. To be honest and fair it was okay as breakfasts go, better than the one we had in Brussels a few weeks earlier! Mainly consisting of eggs, fruit, very crunchy cold toast and a ham & cheese toastie it was pleasant. The coffee was good as was the fresh guava juice. The overall experience was a little strange as there were two Slovenian (or Russians as the casa host explained) who spoke some English and zero Spanish plus looked to be a tad worse for wear!!

The plan for our first proper day in Cuba was a half day walking tour of Havana Viejas, followed by a classic car trip and mojito making lesson however this wasn’t booked until the afternoon. This left us with a block of time and nothing to do! I’d assumed we would have been more jet lagged then we were so hadn’t really planned anything. We opted to head out towards to Malecon for a wander into the city.

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7 Days 7 Experiences – Our time in Tanzania

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It’s taken some time to feel ready to write anything about Tanzania. I think some of it was I didn’t know how I felt about it once we returned home and some of it I just wanted to keep it all to myself. I also didn’t write notes, which was stupid. But, now is the time, so here are my 7 top experiences from 7 days on an African Safari.

KatiKati Camp – two nights under canvas in the middle of the Serengeti.
Definitely the best experience we had in Tanzania and perhaps of my life if we’re being honest. Part of our Hemingway Tour from SafariHub we had 2 nights in the Serengeti KatiKati camp, a series of posh canvas tents right in the thick of the park. There are no fences, no barriers and no guns. You are one step away from immense nature.

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Thought of the day

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It’s been a bit quiet round here again recently hasn’t it!? I guess the lack of motivation hit me for longer than I hoped. The winter is always difficult for me, I find the lack of sunlight, ability to go outside and general warmth hard to deal with. It affects my mood and makes me particularly prone to being a bit apathetic.

I’ve invested in a daylight lamp, I’ve also recently just got back from Cuba so I’m feeling a bit more on a level playing field. Hopefully that will kick the writing back into shape which I’m looking forward too!!

I’m also picking my twitter feed back up so go and have a follow if you’re around! @nonbackpacker, or follow me on Instagram @amyisabella12!

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Thought of the day

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It’s funny isn’t it when you say to yourself that you’ll get back on top of blogging, you enjoy writing, you enjoy reliving your trips and you fear you will start forgetting those moments and then you don’t get back on top of it.

I’m not sure why, perhaps it’s the miserable weather.

Here’s hoping I get the flow back soon!

2017 Review – What a year it was!

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2017

We did a lot in 2017 and boy can I feel it now. It’s probably the first year I haven’t got frustrated about where we are going next or have time for the wanderlust bug to really hit as there was always something around the corner. Which I appreciate makes us very very lucky!! I’ve still got some content to come around our amazing safari in Tanzania as well! 

It’s been hard to narrow down our favourites of this year but after much deliberation I’ve managed it!

2017 Top Experiences:

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Seeing Northern Lights – This was one of the most spectacular things we did this year, the aurora is incredible. We prayed and hoped that we would get to witness them, especially after our failed attempt in Iceland. Standing out in the cold was well worth it!

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A Squash Festival and the Old Town of Esslinger

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Squash Festival Stuttgart Ludwigsburg

One thing I really loved about Stuttgart was it’s accessibleness. You could get anywhere really easily, either by walking or the S & U bahns. It meant we could easily get out to Ludwigsburg within half an hour and back into town in no amount of time. I love German transport and Stuttgart really makes the most of it.

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One of the draws of heading to Stuttgart, other than the beer festival, was a squash festival. As in, pumpkins. Yup, you read that right, a pumpkin festival. The annual event is held at the Palace of Ludwigsburg and this years theme was Romans.

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Every year wooden structures are built and are then adorned with hundreds of pumpkins. All different shapes, sizes and colours. There were also large pumpkins and a showcase of lots of different squashes.

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