Travel Diaries: Amsterdam August 2017

Amsterdam

I’ll be the first to admit that I had pre-judged Amsterdam. I’d been before about 5 or so years ago with a group of friends, on our way to Groezrock (a festival in Belgium), and during that particular trip my friends wanted to center most of it around ‘coffeeshops’ and the like, as most group trips to Amsterdam do. I got a brief glimpse of the canals and a couple of bars. I was also less of a savvy traveler, not doing as much research as I do now ahead of a trip. When my girlfriend mentioned that she wanted to visit the city, I wasn’t instantly as enthused as I was about some of our other options, but after the 48 hours we spent there this August, I’d happily go back at the drop of a hat. It’s a city rich in culture, with a vibrant atmosphere, pride in its own traditions & history and an absolutely thriving food scene.
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Where I Ate: November 2016

The Black Penny

With the high chance of over eating in December I should probably have taken November slightly lighter than I did. But hey, it’s a chilly autumn, so why shouldn’t I load up on comfort food and eat out a lot? I mean in actuality, there’s a whole host of reasons, but I’ll rarely say no if someone mentions an activity that involves food. The month included a trip to Oslo, where I sampled the likes of Døgnvill Burger, Night Hawk Diner and the incredible cinnamon buns from WB Samson plus a couple of pizzas from a local Walthamstow favourite; SoDo Pizza, who I’ll undoubtedly feature properly at some point. Annoyingly, my camera decided to delete a couple of hundred photos from November, so I’ve had to go with some iPhone shots. Below I’ve picked out a few of my favourite bits and pieces that I’ve eaten from the month though, and it wasn’t until I started writing this that I realised how brunch heavy it was…
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Travel Diaries: 36 Hours in Paris

Paris Euro 2016

It’s just past mid day on a Saturday and I find myself sat on a train emerging from a dark tunnel onto the shores of France, giddy with childlike excitement about what the next 24 hours is going to hold. I’ve already filled up on breakfast at Dishoom in Kings Cross (bacon & egg naan and more bottomless chai than any human should probably drink) and resigned myself to activating the roaming ‘deal’ (in the loosest sense) EE have offered me, which’ll allow me to use data and texts while abroad, in the knowledge that after so many reports of fan violence coming from the south of the country my family will want me to be in constant touch. We’re sat planning how we want to spend our fleeting visit to Paris, which a core focus on football. With the huge increase in security, partly due to the devastating bombings at the Stade De France last year, and now the disgusting scenes of hooliganism, we’re having to build in ‘getting through all that extra security’ time into all of our plans. Before all that though, we’ve got to check in at our AirBnB, actually see a bit of Paris and eat five million pastries.

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Baileys Espresso Bundt & Martinis

Baileys Bundt Cake

So for those that follow me on instagram or twitter, you’ll have noticed that I’ve been up in Scotland once again at my parent’s house over Christmas. I’ll be covering that and posting in more detail once I return, as I’ve still a few days left. In fact, right now I’m sat waiting (with my fingers crossed that their ferries won’t be cancelled due to storms. Edit: they made it!) for friends to arrive for New Years Celebrations. And that’s where the Baileys comes in.

Ben More
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Cinnamon & Walnut Buns with Coffee Glaze

Cinnamon & Walnut Buns with Coffee Glaze

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve left my old job. I started my new job (a new shiny role as a Content Marketing Manager at a different agency) this week. My previous job is the one that got me down to London and I’m thankful for that. I met some great people and it gave me more experience to add to what I already had from my time at Epiphany in Leeds. As a farewell I decided to bake them two separate things to remember me by. I opted to re-bake the Caramel Filled Choc Chip Cookies (replacing the Galaxy Caramel with Lindt Salted Caramel, my new fave) and to finally make cinnamon buns again after a long while without trying them. Most of my office is addicted to coffee so making cinnamon buns with a coffee glaze just made sense.
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