Europe a la Carte Travel Blog

Walking Along the North Sea Trail from Eyemouth

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:08:45 +0000

One of our regular short day trips from Berwick upon Tweed is to the coastal town of Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders, for a walk along the North Sea Trail towards Coldingham. The views were particulary attractive one afternoon in mid April. Although there was a chilly wind, it was sunny and bright. The white heads of the crashing waves contrasted sharply with the colour of the rocks.

After our walk along North Sea Trail we had a late lunch at the Oblo Eyemouth.

Love UK

Walking Along the North Sea Trail from Eyemouth

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Review of Travelodge Dunfermline

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Tue, 15 May 2012 07:07:22 +0000

We stayed at the Travelodge Dunfermline on the first night of our budget break in Scotland during early May 2012. The room cost £19 for a Saturday night booked during the December 2011 Travelodge Sale. It’s quite hard to get cheap Travelodge rooms on Saturdays, so this was a good price. Travelodge Dunfermline is located close to the M90 Perth to Edinburgh motorway. The hotel is a bit out on a limb, near an industrial unit. There’s often a restaurant next to Travelodges; here it’s a few minutes walk to a Harvester Inn at Halbeath Retail Park, where you’ll also find an Asda supermarket.

Exterior of Travelodge Dunfermline

We were allocated a room at the back of the hotel which is very close to the access road from Dunfermline up to roundabout to join the motorway. Most of the traffic noise was screened out by the double glazing and trees. I did go back to reception to ask if we could change to a room at the front of the hotel, but was told that the hotel was almost full and the only rooms left were at the back.

Travelodge Dunfermline room

The room was of a good standard. Fortunately the traffic didn’t disturb our sleep. There’s no Bar Cafe at Travelodge Dunfermline, so no free WiFi on offer.

Travelodge Dunfermline is fine for a one night stopover between Edinburgh and Perth, but I prefer locations closer to some facilities and not quite so close to roads.

Keep It Real Travel Reviews

Review of Travelodge Dunfermline

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Is the Food at Gourmet Restaurants Better?

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:12:37 +0000

I am left wondering if gourmet restaurants serve better food, after eating at a variety of establishments during my recent visit to Portugal. I freely admit I’m no foodie with a refined palate. I really enjoyed lunch in Tomar which cost 13 Euro for two. Mary Goudie of Your Lisbon Guide and I both had the dish of the day, 2 pork chops with potato, served with tomato and lettuce salad and collard greens. Mary had a beer and a coffee and I had water to drink. The food was really tasty and the waitress a very pleasant young woman, who was working all the tables single handedly. I also had a good two course set menu meal which included a drink for 7.5 Euro in Faro in the Algarve.

The main course of the 13 Euro for 2 lunch in Tomar

Contrast that with the trendy Bocco in Lisbon, where you could easily pay more than 50 Euro per person for a meal including drinks and be served some pretty weird concotions, including the worst dessert I’ve ever tasted. The pork I had for my main course in Tomar was tastier and less greasy than the pork main course on the 35 Euro Executive Menu at Cozhina Velha in Lisbon. However, I may not be the only one questioning the whole gourmet/food porn thing, as you can see in the video below.

Of course, different grades of restaurants and styles of cuisine appeal to different diners on different occasions. However, has the whole gourmet restaurant thing gone a bit too far with chefs trying to outdo each other with increasingly outlandish combinations when simple dishes do often taste better and cost less?

Keep It Real Travel Reviews

Is the Food at Gourmet Restaurants Better?

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Do You Love the UK?

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:45:28 +0000

Do you love the UK? I do and I’ll be taking a UK staycation at least once a month over the next few months, as well as day trips from home. Yes, I know all you fellow Brits are muttering what about the unreliable weather plus going abroad seems more exotic. However, I want to illustrate that you can have a great time on home shores. Below are some recent and upcoming UK highlights.

Duddo Stone Circles – April 2012

In an example of discovering what’s on your doorstep, we’d driven past the sign for the Duddo Stone Circles on many occasions but finally made the decision to turn down the country road to see them in late April 2012. We couldn’t have picked a better time, as the rapeseed in the surrounding fields was in full bloom.

Duddo Stone Circle

Scotland Mini Tour – May 2012

Our budget break in Scotland was based on Travelodge Sale rooms, staying in Dunfermline, Inverness and Perth. The total cost was under £200 for fuel for our car, accommodation and food.

Loch Ness sculptures in Fort Augustus in the Scottish Highlands

Bath Fringe Festival: 24 – 26 May 2012

My first assigment as a member of the Best Western Year of Get Up & Go blogging panel is to visit Bath in the south west of England. There’ll be a stopover in Sheffield on the drive down and in Chester on the way home.

Glasgow: 10 – 12 June 2012

This short break is based on £10 rooms in the Travelodge Sale. If you’d like to be my guest for afternoon tea at the Glasgow Thistle Hotel, leave a comment on that blog post or a tweet with the hashtag #afternoonteaglasgow.

Harrogate Summer Festival: 20 – 22 July 2012

On my next Best Western trip, I’ll be staying in Knaresborough in Yorkshire.

London August 2012

I’ll be hosted by Roomorama for 3 nights in Mile End in east London.

Kendal Torchlight Carnival: 8 – 10 September 2012

The third Best Western trip is to the Lake District in north west England.

York Illuminations: 27-29 October 2012

Back to Yorkshire for my final Best Western Trip of the year.

Tips for the Best Places to Visit in the UK

Please leave a comment to tell us your favourite places to visit in the UK and tell us about your UK travel plans this year.

Alternatively you can tweet your tips with the #bestplacesuk

Love UK on Pinterest

Source: i.imgur.com via Karen on Pinterest

Do You Love the UK?

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Join Me for Afternoon Tea at the Glasgow Thistle

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Sat, 12 May 2012 09:48:39 +0000

Would you like to have afternoon tea with me at the 4 star Glasgow Thistle Hotel on Monday 11 June at 3pm? We’ll be tucking into freshly baked scones and cakes, accompanied by either tea or a glass of Prosecco. If you’d like to be my guest, you can:

Leave a comment on this post
Tweet with the hashtag #afternoonteaglasgow

I’ll pick my afternoon tea guest at random from the blog comments and tweets.

Groupon have asked me to roadtest their offers, so I wanted to share some the treats on offer with Europe a la Carte readers.

You can enter the draw twice, once by leaving a blog comment and once by tweeting with the hashtag #afternoonteaglasgow. The last date for entries is Wednesday 6 May 2012. The winner will be contacted by email or Twitter. The Editor’s decision is final. There’s no monetary alternative.

Join Me for Afternoon Tea at the Glasgow Thistle

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Watching the Filming of The Railway Man from Europe a la Carte HQ

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:34:31 +0000

Berwick upon Tweed was on the movie map today as Colin Firth & Nicole Kidman arrived in town to film some scenes for The Railway Man movie. The filming took place close the Royal Border (rail) Bridge over the River Tweed, directly opposite my office. The preparations started this morning.

The crew preparing for the shoot

We were able to watch the filming from the window with binoculars but it was hard to make out any individuals, as everyone seemed to be wearing dark clothing and it was dull & showery. I wished that we had a telephoto lens to get some better photos.

The Railway Man shoot in Berwick upon Tweed

Watching the Filming of The Railway Man from Europe a la Carte HQ

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Travelling by Train in Portugal

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Fri, 11 May 2012 07:00:04 +0000

I travelled from Lisbon to Faro on the InterCity train in March 2012. It was my first experience of trains in Portugal. I booked my ticket in advance online, at the same time I did my online check-in for my flights. The CP Portuguese train site is available in English. There weren’t that many trains between Lisbon and Faro, so I decided to take the 14.38, allowing me to have a leisurely morning in Lisbon. The first class ticket cost 27.5 Euro, around 6 Euro more than standard class. I wanted to have a single seat and a bit of space to work during the jounrey. I was hoping there’d be WiFi on the train, as most InterCity trains in the UK have WiFi, which is included in the price of a first class ticket. However, the InterCity train from Lisbon to Faro had no WiFi at all, so I ended up going over the 25mb data limit on my Vodafone Data Traveller package.

Engine of Lisbon to Faro InterCity train

I got on the train at Entrecampos, a rather grotty station in the city centre.

1st class carriage on Lisbon to Faro InterCity train

The toilets on the train were pretty bad; there was a big problem with splashback.

Interior of 1st class carriage of Lisbon to Faro InterCity train

Crossing the River Tagus after leaving Lisbon

River view heading south from Lisbon to Faro

The rail journey from Lisbon to Faro took around three and a half hours. I was a bit disappointed that the journey wasn’t more scenic; with a few exceptions, it was mainly hilly, dry looking terrain.

Typical view on Lisbon to Faro InterCity train

Village on Lisbon to Faro InterCity route

I can’t say my overall experience with trains in Portugal was very positive; Entrecampos station in Lisbon is in need of a spruce up, I thought there would be WiFi on the train and I certainly didn’t feel I arrived in Faro feeling very refreshed after using those awful train toilets.

Keep It Real Travel Reviews

Travelling by Train in Portugal

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Photo Tour of Dunfermline, Scotland

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:43:12 +0000

Dunfermline in Fife was the first overnight stop on our budget break in Scotland. We had a late afternoon walk around the centre of town.

View of Dunfermline Abbey from Pittencrieff Park

There are lots of grey squirrels running around the park on the lookout for titbits. They’ll come pretty close to you if you put down some food.

Squirrel in Pittencrieff Park

Rock Garden in Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline

Statue of Andrew Carnegie in Pittencrieff Park using San Carmen photo effects

Pittencrieff Park was gifted to the people of Dunfermline by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who was born in the town but went on to make his fortune in steel manufacture in the US.

Pittencrieff Park Dunfermline using Sage photo effects

Just up from Pittencrieff Park is Dunfermline Abbey & Palace.

Dunfermline Abbey

Dunfermline Abbey & Palace

Looking toward Dunfermline Town Hall Clock Tower from the Abbey

The imposing WW1 War Memorial is behind Dunfermline Abbey and Palace.

WW1 Memorial in Dunfermline

As we were walking back to the car, we spotted a yellow Buick Special.

Yellow Buick Special

I hope that you’ve enjoyed my photo tour of Dunfermline Scotland.

Love UK

Photo Tour of Dunfermline, Scotland

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

I’m on the Best Western Get up & Go Blogging Panel

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Wed, 09 May 2012 06:54:58 +0000

I’m on Best Western’s Year of Get Up & G0 2012 blogging panel. The idea is to highlight all that’s going on around the UK. I’ve written about how we Brits don’t always make the most of our country in my article on UK staycations.

I’ll be staying at several Best Western Hotels through the year, in order to review the hotels and write about events and attractions in the area.

My first trip, later this month, is to Bath for the Bath Fringe Festival. I’ll be staying at the Best Western Plus Centurion Hotel. I haven’t been to Bath for ages, but there are plenty of tips on things to do in Bath from recent visits by other Europe a la Carte authors.

The Roman Baths by Amanda Kendle

As it’s a fair drive to Bath from Berwick upon Tweed, I’ll be staying at the Best Western Plus Mosborough Hall Hotel near Sheffield on the way down and the Best Western Premier Queen Hotel Chester on the way back home.

In July, I’m off to Yorkshire for the Harrogate Summer Festival, with lodgings at the Best Western Dower House in Knaresborough.

September sees me heading to the Lake District for the Kendal Torchlight Carnival, staying at the Best Western Castle Green Hotel.

The final trip of the year is in October, when I’m off to Yorkshire again for Illuminating York, staying at Best Western Plus Dean Court. We’ve lots of ideas for what to do in York on Europe a la Carte.

York Minster

Love UK

I’m on the Best Western Get up & Go Blogging Panel

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Review of Clube de Journalistas Restaurant Lisbon

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:00:18 +0000

The Clube de Journlistas Restaurant hosted Mary Goudie, of Your Lisbon Guide and me for dinner in late March 2012. The restaurant is rated no 1 in TripAdvisor’s Lisbon restaurants, so I was expecting something very special.

It was a pity that we didn’t eat in the Tiled Room which was much more characterful than the stone clad area in which we dined.

In Summer most dining is done al fresco. However, when I was there they were in the middle of cutting down some large trees in the garden for safety reasons. I think it would be lovely to eat in the garden.

Ivan calls himself a cook rather than a chef and he had put together a Tasting Menu for us. Ivan and the other cooks bring the food to the table. As I explained in my review of the Panorama Restaurant Lisbon, I don’t consider myself a gourmet, I prefer a two or three course meal to several small taster courses.

We started with a selection of delicious breads baked on the premises, including Black Bread (no, not burnt toast), coloured with squid ink and it did smell a bit fishy.

I enjoyed the Prawn Rissotto.

My favourite dish was the Lamb served with Potato, Carrot & Parsnip.

The dessert was a strange mix of a Chocolate Cake, Egg Creme Myrtle, Mango with Yoghurt, Rice & Caramel topped with (a too hard to eat) Hazelnut Cookie.

I checked pricces on the menu; starters cost from 6 Euro and Rissotto cost 13.5 Euro. I’m not sure if you’d get a larger serving of Rissotto or Lamb if you ordered it as main course, instead of as part of a tasting menu, as the portions we had were quite small. I’d classify it as a mid range restaurant, as you’d probably spend around 50 Euro per person if you had three courses plus wine and coffee.

While Clube de Journalistes’ food was good and I think that eating in the garden would greatly enhance the dining experience, I’m not quite sure why it’s rated the No 1 restaurant in Lisbon by TripAdvisor, especially as the aforementioned Panorama Restaurant stands at No 189 in the ratings.

Keep It Real Travel Reviews

Review of Clube de Journalistas Restaurant Lisbon

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.