1-day trip: Weston-super-Mare

Weston-super-Mare is a seaside town located on the Bristol Channel coast, 18 miles south west of Bristol. First group buses cover the route between Bristol and Weston-super-Mare for £6.50 return ticket. Bear in mind that week and month ticket holders will be able to travel for free during the weekend. It takes around one hour to get to town and the bus stops in front of the Wheel of Weston. From there, we could already see some people...

Caribbean Cuisine @ Turtle Bay

The other day I had lunch at Turtle Bay, in Broad Quay. The restaurant group was founded by Bristol-based Ajith Jayawickrema in 2011 and has other restaurants in Milton Keynes, Nottingham and Southampton. This has been my first experience with caribbean food.  Although it was Friday lunch time, the place was not busy. Some curious people approached and checked the menu, but did not make up their mind. Customers inside on the other...

Spotted Cola Cao in Town

Nesquik VS Cola Cao: eternal battle. Ever since I was a child, I considered myself member of Cola Cao team. When you are a kid back home, depending on which one of them you had for breakfast along with the milk and cereal, then either you belonged to Cola Cao team or to Nesquik team. It was as simple as that. It is not easy to find Cola Cao here in the UK. I know they sell it in the big Tesco in Eastville, in the International...

The Big Market: Highlights

The Big Market located in Corn Street and surrounding roads gathered all type of organic food and crafts. I would like to highlight a couple of interesting stalls starting with the smelly organic body oils two women from Opulentia Organics were selling. You can see their business card and you might be able to appreciate the softness of my hand after applying Ylang Ylang and Lime oil in the second picture.  I felt in love with another...

Countdown to St Pauls Carnival: 14 days!

Early in the month, the artwork covered the wall on the Blue Mountain Nightclub, in Stokes Croft, as a reminder of the upcoming event. St Paul's Carnival will make its long-awaited return next July and the date is getting closer and closer.  The event was cancelled last year as the City Council and the Police decided 'they couldn't ensure the safety of revellers due to increasing cost in health and safety'. The traditional event...

A Midsummer's Night Dream

Saint John's Eve (which is called San Juan or Donibane where I come from) coincides with the June solstice. I used to celebrate the longest day of the year along with my parents and neighbours back in the Basque Country. Kids from the neighbourhood used to meet up and spend all afternoon gathering things to burn in the bonfire. At night, each family had to bring something to the table and we used to have a dinner altogether before lighting...

Green Day

Bristol's biggest market day is here. Next 22nd June, 200 stalls will invade Corn street and surrounding streets. Anything will be selling there: food directly from producers, local artisan products, crafts, vintage and ethical stuff,... The open air event has it all. The BIG market will start at 11am and it is part of the BIG Green Week. During the week, there will also be numerous activities related to art, music, family events, walks and tours,...

Bike VS Bus

I was sitting in the bus when I heard someone shouting from outside: an old man. He was riding his bike home and was almost knocked down by the bus. When the bus reached a bus stop, the man approached the bus driver and started cursing. Even though this time it was nothing more than a scare, cyclists are not that lucky all the time. Bristol, also called Britain's First Cycling City, received £11m pounds from the Department for Transport to...

Guess Who?!

Man. 54 years old. Born in Oxford, 11th June 1959. The youngest of four children. Scottish descend parents. His father was a doctor. Do you know who I am talking about? Not yet? What if I say he pretended to be a doctor for 8 years?  Yes, I am talking about Hugh Laurie. The famous Dr. Gregory House. He may be in Bristol at the moment. Or he might arrive tomorrow, who knows. What is certain is that he will be in Colston Hall tomorrow...

Second star to the right

The most misterious meteor shower in history might have returned this morning. Known as Gamma Delphinids, the meteor shower had only happened once before on 11th June 1930, and yesterday nobody knew for sure if it would happen or not. They were predicted to peak at 9:28 BST. This phenomenon is called "mystical" as it was recorded for the first time more than 80 years ago and had never been observed ever since.  Projections show...

Chocolate!

As Joanne Harris' novel Chocolat whets you appetite, the exhibition currently in the MShed does the same. Tastiest exhibition called Chocolate! has been extended until 23rd June due to popular demand. The exhibition unwrappes secrets and stories of chocolate makers who lived in the city over the past 300 years, exploring the history, mystery, magic and science of the product. But... why do we like chocolate that much? There...

Uthanda ukudansa nami? (Would you like to dance with me?)

My friend and I had the pleasure of witnessing a spectacular voice performance at The Canteen on Sunday afternoon. Teachers from Project Zulu performed some South African folk music and dance while everybody was enjoying the sun at the terrace. Dressed in colourful outfits, they sang around 8 songs, together with the noises they could make with hands and feet. They were raising money for some solar panels for an...

Beyond the pale

I have been living in the UK for more than a year and a half already, and my skin colour started to blend into the environment and turning white. I have my graduation day coming up next week and I wanted to have a healthy  (no offense, British friends!) skin colour in the pictures. My girl friends and I have been considering all the posibilities: tanning wipes, lotions, spray tanning, sunbeds... My skin gets tan very easily so I...