Crumbs to Crunch

Summer has arrived at last which means time to go to the beach! If you cannot afford to fly to a sunny beach in Spain then you could go to the next best thing - the great British seaside. For my beach trip, I had a lovely day out in Barry Island which is only a 30 minute train ride away from Cardiff. You may know Barry from the TV series Gavin and Stacey. However, I associate Barry with my friend who is a local and knows an extraordinary amount of fun facts about the town. For example, did you know that... Barry was the largest coal exporter in the world or that Barry has the second largest tidal range in the world? Not bad for a humble British beach resort!  Barry Island Barry Island has a great sandy beach which can get quite crowed on a sunny day so if you are craving a bit of solitude, I would recommend walking over the headland to Jackson's Bay to find a beautiful sandy beach. Jackson Bay However it would not be a proper day out without a stop at a tearoom ...

Portmeirion is one of the strangest places I've ever been to! It is an italian style tourist village built between 1925 and 1975 by Sir Clough William-Ellis. He took parts of from old buildings and brought them to Portmeirion to fashion them into the ecentric pop coloured Italian buildings that you can see today.  Italian style Campanile I went on a rainy day so it was absolutely bizarre to step into a multicoloured Italian village set in the coast of North Wales! You can visit for just the day or even spend a holiday there as there are holiday cottages, hotels, a spa and places to eat. In keeping with the italian theme, there is an onsite gelateria where the ice cream is kept in a spinning freezer. As the tourist village is by the seaside, you can do some lovely walks along the beach to see the lighthouse and also a garden that resembles the bridge and the lillies in Monet's paintings. The Hotel at Portmeirion This was the final stop of my mi...

Tea and steam trains are a good combination! I was lucky enough to go on the Ffestiniog Railway which starts in Porthmadog and heads to Blaenau Ffestiniog. My great-uncle actually built some of the line when they were looking for volunteers to reroute the line as it ran along a reservoir. The railway was worried that the track would get flooded so many volunteers, including my great-uncle, built a complete spiral in the line so the train would gain height. Before I got on the train, I of course stopped off in the station café Spooner's for a quick cuppa and some bara brith. I would definitely recommend the Ffestiniog Railway as it feels like you have been transported back in time. Some of the engines are around 150 years old and there is some fantastic scenery from mountains to forest to lakes. Come back tomorrow for the final part of my mini welsh tour. For information on the Ffestiniog Railway:  http://www.festrail.co.uk/index.htm

Tearooms can be found in the nicest places such as in the regency town of Aberaeron.  Aberaeron By the pretty little quay, I had morning tea at Naturally Scrumptious Deli and Café. They had a great selection of tea and I particularly enjoyed the Spiced Winter which is rooibos with orange, cloves and cinnamon. I also had a very fudgey brownie.   http://www.naturallyscrumptious.co.uk/ I then headed to Aberystwyth to go on the steam train to Devil's Bridge. You may recognise Devil's Bridge if you have been watching the welsh crime drama, Hinterland on BBC Four. According to the legend, the devil came to Wales and met an old woman whose cow had crossed the river. She was unable to get the cow back so the devil built a bridge on condition that the old woman gave him the first living thing that crossed the bridge. The old woman tricked the devil by sending her dog over the bridge. The devil was outraged that he had been outwitted by an old woman, he never came...

Even though I have been living in Wales for several years, I have seen surprisingly little of the country so last weekend I went on a mini tour of Wales. Naturally, I visited a couple of tea rooms during my trip so I thought I would do a series of blogs about the tearooms and the beautiful places I visited.  My first stop was the lovely village Manorbier in Pembrokeshire. I headed straight to the Beach Break Tearooms for a spot of lunch. They do the most amazing Pavlova with fresh fruit and cream and I really liked the sea themed decor. The tearoom is just minutes away from the castle and the beach. Unfortunately I did not have time to go into the castle but I did go paddling in the sea and I enjoyed walking along the spectacular cliff tops. Manorbier After Manorbier, I headed off to Tenby which reminded me of a Welsh version of Balamory as there are many colourful houses clustered around the harbour.  Tenby This trip has made me realise that you ...

As we had a heatwave last weekend, I decided to compile a list of perfect picnic spots in and around Cardiff. 1. Roath Park You can hire a boat on the lake in summer and grab an ice cream from the kiosk or the ice cream van. http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=2%2C2868%2C2965%2C2991 2. Fforest Fawr - Castell Coch  We went for a lovely walk in the forest around Castell Coch and there is even a sculpture trail located  in the woods. The castle is also well worth a visit. You can get a bus from Cardiff to Tongwynlais. http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/castell-coch/?lang=en 3. Cosmeston    Not only is there a beautiful lake but also a reconstructed medieval village to explore. http://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/en/enjoying/parks_and_gardens/cosmeston/cosmeston.aspx 4. St Fagans National History Museum This is an open air museum that showcases Welsh buildings through the ages. It is free to get into and there i...

Given that I am a tea and cake fanatic, I cannot believe that I have never had a proper afternoon tea on a tiered cake stand until last week! I have clearly been missing out and I cannot recommend enough the afternoon tea at Waterloo Gardens Teahouse in Cardiff. Tea timers are a great idea to make sure that your tea is not over brewed! Waterloo Gardens Teahouse is ultra modern and chic unlike some of the cosier places I have reviewed previously on this blog. When I entered, I was struck by the sheer variety of tea, it was tea heaven! The menu describes all the teas in detail to help you make the difficult choice. What I enjoyed most about my afternoon tea was the fact that you could choose any cake and hot drink instead of being given a set menu. I was lucky enough to go with my family so I could try all of their cakes: - Squash, blueberry and orange cake - White chocolate and raspberry cake - Ginger and pear cake - Ginger, apricot and white chocolate blondie ...

Given that most of us lead busy lives, it is quite rare that we take the time to enjoy breakfast. I for one am guilty of hurriedly wolfing down some cereal before heading out. It is fun once in a while to take breakfast at a more leisurely place, therefore, if you are looking for an interesting alternative to a Full English then Thé Pot in Cardiff is the place for you!  Thé Pot offers an excellent Welsh Breakfast which includes scrambled egg, bacon, thick slices of toast and the welsh specialities: Glamorgan Sausages and Laverbread. Their names are quite misleading as Glamorgan Sausages are vegetarian and Laverbread is not actually bread! Glamorgan sausages are made out of cheese, leeks and breadcrumbs whereas Laverbread (or bara lawr in welsh) is in fact made out of seaweed called Laver found on the welsh coast. The seaweed is minced and formed into a patty. It may sound strange but trust me, it is delicious! You can see that I had a sneaky bite of toast before taking t...

Tucked away in the High Street Arcade in Cardiff above a Vintage shop, Cinnamon Sticks Tea Room is such a find! My sister talked about how elegant and refined French Salons de Thé are in her blog post  here  if you haven't read it. Cinnamon Sticks is on the opposite end of the scale, it's cosy and feels just like somebody's living room. For a start, it is tiny and is decked with leather armchairs, rugs and big bookshelves filled with a variety of old books. The compact feel of the place makes you feel like you're at home without being at home. They even play Marilyn Monroe films softly in the background to give it a vintage feel. Unlike the tiny but beautiful French patisserie, Cinnamon Sticks do thick wedges of the old favourites such as lemon drizzle as well as some more unusual flavours like Rosewater Cake. The slices are absolutely huge and the lady that works there was busy pouring icing on a Lavender cake as I was talking to her. I had some Bara Brith whi...