A Thirsty Thursdays for you all from Bran in Transylvania, Romania. Dracula country conjures up all sorts of gory images. Vlad Tepes, best known as Dracula is the character who impaled his victims back in the day, before Irish novelist Bram Stoker began to write about this lunatic vampire in deepest Romanian countryside. Fictional or Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: Dracula🧛Blood🩸Beer🍺in Bran, Transylvania, Romania🇷🇴[…]
North East England is a pleasant surprise for the backpacking nomad. After crossing the border from Scotland (where I backpacked through Edinburgh , tried haggis and stayed in the trendy Baxter hostel), most backpackers get their fix of Hadrian’s Wall, the city of Newcastle and then head to York. Something in that itinerary was missing – Read more about Backpacking in England: Exploring the City of Sunderland[…]
This post requires a “wee bit” of an introduction for those not aware of Tayto. It’s a review of my tour of the Tayto crisps factory in Tandragee, Northern Ireland. First of all, I come from Northern Ireland – I grew up in Bangor and one of the joys of childhood was “getting tore intill Read more about The Best Crisps🥔in The World: Touring Tayto Castle🏰in Tandragee, Northern Ireland🔴✋️☘️[…]
I’m pretty busy at the moment trying to go through all my unwritten posts, but it’s still nice to reflect on a top 12 travel moments of the year – something I did a similar post on in 2012 and 2013. This year I started off in Iraq on New Year’s Day and I have Read more about Top 12 Travel Highlights of 2014[…]
“In Dublin’s Fair City where the girls are so pretty I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone.” I’ve been to Dublin a fair amount of times down the years. Rock concerts (including Oasis in 1996 and 1997), nights on the town and more Guinnesses than Arthur ever expected to sell. These days I Read more about Staying at the Abbey Court Hostel in Dublin, Republic of Ireland🇮🇪[…]
“Take me to the magic of the moment on a glory night” – Scorpions Moldova’s Chisinau (previously known as Kishinev) intrigued me, surprised me and overwhelmed me over a four day period in and out of the city, across the border into Tiraspol, Transnistria and a countryside jaunt to Orheiul Vechi and Butuceni. I have Read more about Backpacking in Moldova🇲🇩: Top 12 Sights in Chisinau[…]
“I’m a lucky man” – Richard Ashcroft. I never had any idea that Bulgaria would be a popular spot for food. But I was proved wrong time and time again. The chefs here know how to cook meals with flavour, meals that are memorable and cooked to perfection. So while Bulgarian national dishes specifically may Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Walnut Chicken🍗in Shtastlivetsa, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria🇧🇬[…]
“That’s why, you should keep on aiming high, just seek yourself and you will shine.” – Heather Small, 1994 This particular edition of Thirsty Thursdays will be a slightly stripped down version for you all – I’m saving a lot of the good stuff for the Don’t Stop Living book. A quick paragraph of perspective Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: The 20 Year Paddy Campbell Reunion in The Bridge Tavern, Newcastle, England[…]
When I decided to spend a couple of nights in Sunderland instead of Newcastle, a few people around me raised eyebrows. This only made my heart grow more eager to visit Sunderland, without doubt the stronger beast of the two north east cities in terms of exceeding expectation. We all know about Newcastle – the Read more about The Chaise: Staying in the Best Guesthouse in Sunderland, England[…]
Montenegro’s capital city of Podgorica was my final stop on my recent Balkans and Eastern European adventure. I had heard that it was very much a capital city with “not a lot happening” (quote from other backpackers). This reason alone sold the place to me and I found a great cosy hotel for my final Read more about Backpacking in Montenegro🇲🇪: Exploring the Capital City, Podgorica (Poddy, Monty)[…]