Archive | Travel

Panemunė forest

By Rasa Pelham on March 13, 2015 in Lithuanian, Outdoors, Travel

I just came back from Lithuania and i could not wait until I can share about our forest. Me and my mum went for a walk everyday here because it is just outside my parent’s house. I know it may look dull as it is still an early spring but it is magical in winter or summer. Sadly, one thing I could not transfer into the pics is the smell of pines and oaks :-).Although there was a storm 4.5 years ago that destroyed 1/3 of forest, the consequences of it are still apparent today. Even if mini forest is growing to replace the lost one (It’s a looooong process) And there is a river! (the biggest river in Lithuania called Nemunas) I hope you liked our mini forest tour ;-)

Rasa xoxo

Seaworld in patterns

By Rasa Pelham on January 20, 2015 in Inspiration, Pretty patterns for crafts, Travel

One of the ways to get inspired to be creative is to look around you (especially in nature). At least this works for me! When we were visiting Florida it was hard to find something cultural or a place in nature. All you could find in Kissimmee is a lot of Amusement parks (I might love them one day when we have kids, but I hate them now)! So I ended up visiting the one with the least rides and more nature. In Seaworld I focused on texture colour and shapes. And this is what I got!

Some patterns I have painted myself after being inspired by all those underwater colours! I hope you feel inspired today and look around you when you go outdoors! And you can find patterns everywhere, even better than the ones I found in Seaworld :-).

Rasa xoxo

The Kennedy Space Centre and Cocoa Beach

By Rasa Pelham on January 17, 2015 in Daydreaming, Travel

Anyone who knows me or anybody who reads this blog regularly are probably aware that I love love the seaside (or the beach). I don’t have to have palms in it, but I certainly like some white sand dunes with a small amount of greenery in it. I like that, because it feels like unfinished canvas where I can imagine something colourful.

I also dream to go to space. In fact I share this dream with Joni. Maybe not exactly the same way, but this random dream of mine is the first thing that got me interested in Joni (in case I forgot to mention, he is an Aerospace Engineer). So why am I talking about Cocoa beach and Kennedy Space Centre? What do those two have in common? Well…my two major dreams (to open a cafe and go to space) don’t go together either, but I still have them and I know it sounds crazy, but I think I have them for a reason.

Same with the Kennedy Space Centre and Cocoa Beach, they sound random, but geographically close. They even share some history together! During 60’s this beach town was populated by many people involved in America’s space program. So basically this is where astronauts would come and rest when they are not in space! How amazing is that!Don’t you think that this car tyre imprint on the sand looks a little bit like the foot steps found on the surface of the moon!?Loved this Kennedy Space Centre star globe fountain with my reflection in it! Cocoa Beach in the fog look sort of dreamy… I hope I got the attention of some of the cosmic dreamers (or seaside lovers) out there ;-)

Rasa

Biscuits or scones?

By Rasa Pelham on January 15, 2015 in Lunch or Dinner, Recipes, Savoury Delights, Travel, Winter Warmers

We recently have visited States and I finally had a chance to taste a biscuit… for breakfast, with the gravy!!! What? If you come from America than this might not be that surprising to you. But here in England biscuit has a complete different sense and purpose. It even looks different! The biscuit that I had in States reminded me of scone that we have over here. Maybe we don’t eat scones with the gravy, but we certainly have cheesy types as well. I must admit eating the biscuit with gravy inspired me to try and marry the scone with the soup! Not just any soup, but the most british one: broccoli & stilton soup.I of course tried to determine the differences between american biscuit and british scone, but did not found that many. Although the ingredients are practically identical, the scone recipe might call for buttermilk, oatmeal or even barley (especially the most traditional recipes). So I guess the choice is yours how to call this baked delight ;-).I often bake these basic type of scones, because they are that basic that you can add any flavour you want to them. You want them sweet = add a 1-2tbsp sugar and handful of dried sultanas, you want them cheesy = add any cheese you want! I replaced butter with coconut oil, just because I believe that make the scones feel a little bit less naughty. And it works every time! Oh, I just love the consistency and the benefits of the coconut oil!

BASIC COCONUT OIL SCONES

150g flour
1 tsp baking powder
45g coconut oil
30ml milk (can be substituted with coconut milk)
1 medium egg (or add another 25ml of milk if you want to keep it even more basic)

1. Mix all the ingredients together (mix flour and baking powder separately first) until everything combines well and shapes non-stick dough.

2. Roll the dough 1 cm thick and by using cookie cutter cut the dough into the circles.

3. Bake the scones for about 10-15 in the preheated 180C oven. Enjoy!

Rasa xoxo

Our holiday in Florida

By Rasa Pelham on January 13, 2015 in Travel, Updates

Well… this was mainly my holiday as we were flying to Florida for Joni’s conference so I had loads of time on my own. Not my perfect type of holidays, but I appreciated the opportunity and I am glad I grabbed it as I did (with both hands :D). What I enjoyed the most is the change of weather from frosty England to sunny beach!DAY 1: To begin me and Joni had first two days together. So we visited what mattered most, the Kennedy Space Centre. We both dream about going to space: me mostly for experience and Joni just loves the technical part of it (he is an Aerospace Engineer after all). If you are into experience as much as me I would really recommend Shuttle Launch Experience! I like tasting different flavours of Ice-cream wherever I go. This time I tried this pretty root beer float, which was probably not a right choice for me. I think root beer has a very acquired taste and I am… well… not quite acquired to it (this was my first time trying this type of drink!). The other ice cream I have tried was freeze dried Ice-cream (otherwise called Astronaut ice cream). It may not feel like eating an ice cream, but it was certainly an interesting experience! DAY 2: While Joni had a chance to take an extra super special tour at Kennedy Space Centre, I decided to explore the beach. Cocoa Beach was the closest and it certainly made my day! I spend a day in the sun lying on the sand dunes (tiny to compare to Lithuanian sand dunes though) just relaxing and reading a book (a head start on my new year resolutions!). DAY 3: I wasn’t sure what to do with myself that day. Though I will check out the town, but have been told that there is nothing to be found. I humbled myself and checked out the SeaWorld (least commercial amusement park in Kissimmee). I am not quite keen on all those “parks” and my beloved beach is not an easy place to get to without the car. However I did like the aquariums with the underwater world (will post more pics soon!). DAY 4: A shopping day. I know I know, I generally don’t do much shopping (at least for clothes)! I promised myself long time ago that I would make my own clothes all by myself (well, except shoes maybe), but it turned out quite a fun day! I bought so many things for Joni. Who knew that shopping for menswear can be that much fun!?

DAY 5: With a little bit of planning ahead I managed to squeeze in another day of beach! Yey! This time it was a Clearwater Beach which suppose to be a better beach to compare to Cocoa Beach. However Cocoa Beach has that rustic appeal that I love so much more than clear water and very very white sand. Ok, I did like the sand better in Clearwater beach. I think that sand may even be whiter and finer that the sand in the Lithuanian Beach. Which is quite odd, because Lithuanian beach have really fine slightly beige sand. Anyway, still another enjoyable day! I hope you did not mind that I shared…

Rasa :-)

Lithuanian seaside in winter (minus the the snow)

By Rasa Pelham on December 29, 2014 in Lithuanian, Outdoors, Travel

We are back from Lithuania and I could not wait to share the highlights with you. My favourite place in the world still lies on the Lithuanian seaside, in Kuršių Nerija National Park. However this time I was hoping for snow. Why? Because snow on the seaside looks unusual and I like unusual things! Anyway, maybe I will catch the snow next year?

Getting to any destination begins with a journey and ours started with a ferry. I love how there is no other way to get to the other side than the ferry (unless you travel via a Russian enclave)! You basically get transferred to the other side while sitting in your own car. How amazing is that!Walking through the forest to get to the sandy beach feels fairytale like. However I found these squirrel trail signs hilarious :-D. And who thought we could find ready decorated Christmas tree in the middle of the forest? Trying to make sand angels (I somehow think snow angels are better). I hope you enjoyed your Christmas and getting ready for 2015 ;-)

Rasa x

Our weekend at Grannies (in Cley-next-the-Sea)

By Rasa Pelham on November 11, 2014 in English, Travel

Just came back from long and wonderful weekend in Cley-next-the-Sea. As promised I brought back more pics from this beautiful countryside (more pics than I could handle in fact!).

Breakfast did not always look like this. I had a hearty fried breakfast Saturday & Sunday but tried this overnight porridge on my last morning there and I absolutely loved it! Granny cooks this porridge in a low temperature oven, which makes the porridge taste heavenly. I will be experimenting with this in my slow cooker as I have bought myself steel cut (pinhead) oats to try this out!Going for a walk, beyond the Cley Windmill this time :-)Although Clay Windmill is no longer used for milling, we also visited Leatheringsett Watermill where I was able to get some flour. How exciting! So looking forward to baking with traditionally milled flour!Walking through the Marshes is a must do in Cley-next-the-Sea! We walked till Blakeley village this time!Loved the outdoor reclamation yard! Bath tap anyone? And vintage & antique shops/fairs….Got inspired by this crochet edge antique table cloth. I so could make this myself!

I could not help myself but buy some buttons (they just looked too cute!!!).

On the way back found some interesting bugs (that’s unlike me to look for them, but this one might be useful someday :D). And some blackberries!Some work done around Grannies house…

After all this, I am ready to face a week :)Have a wonderful week everyone!!!

Rasa xoxo

Day out in London

By Rasa Pelham on October 20, 2014 in Love London, Outdoors, Travel

I am so thankful that I get opportunities to visit London from time to time! I miss London even more when I no longer live here. For this reason I think it’s good to live close to London, but maybe not in London itself.

So yesterday me and Joni visited my dear friends and also had a date in the Regents Park. I love finding a piece of nature in the centre of the city! Overall, very good day! Sorry for such bad quality phone pics (had no camera on me, but could not help but share this with you!).

I hope you had a lovely weekend too!!

Rasa xoxo

Our weekend in Norfolk

By Rasa Pelham on September 8, 2014 in English, Travel

Last weekend we were really lucky to visit Norfolk! We stayed in Yarmouth (a seaside town) and the next morning we had an amazing time at Claire and Jason wedding (our first wedding after me and Joni got married!!). But’ lets’s stop there at the seaside. I am big fan of seaside, especially the ones that have white sand and are plain like canvas. Plenty of space for your thoughts!Next, on our last day, we visited our granny in Cley. Here we celebrated aunt Diana’s birthday. I was quite amazed by the countryside and a local town. most of the houses made out of flint stones (ha ha, almost like the Flinstones!) Have a lovely week ;-)

Rasa xoxo

Our apartment in Tuscany

By Rasa Pelham on August 15, 2014 in Budget £, Travel

We were on the strict budget when planning our honeymoon. If you have read wedding dress alterations post, you probably remember that most of our money went on the reception venue and caterers. But our holidays turned out amazing! Sometime low budget doesn’t have to be less enjoyable. Sometimes you just have to be more creative when it comes to money spending!

Instead of hotel we decided to go with Airbnb. I absolutely love the concept of Airbnb! No, and I am not being sponsored by them for me to write this. I used Airbnb on many occasions to rent out my London apartment when I went on holidays. This time it was my first time experience when it’s other way round! There are so many other holiday homes available for rent that are very unique and are cheaper then hotels. I especially look forward to trying out those tree houses in Sweden!

Anyway, coming back to our honeymoon apartment. Our little villa were surrounded by olive trees and vineyards in little village of Montefiridolfi. So we were surrounded by many very beautiful views!It is very cosy apartment that happened to have playing cards and some books in english.

We also had a Jacuzzi room! We used it well during few days of storms.

I loved rustic interior of our Tuscany apartment. It used to be a stable before it has been made into apartments! We had breakfast outdoors most of the mornings…. really missing that!Swimming pool is where we had most of the fun!

So, yes, Airbnb is my solution to frugal holiday. What’s yours?

Rasa xoxo

Florence of Italy

By Rasa Pelham on August 11, 2014 in Travel

While in Tuscany we visited Florence many times. Not only that our flight was from Florence, but also we visited for many cultural reasons such as architecture, theater (we went to see italian opera once) and some shopping. I personally loved tall, four/three storey buildings with beautiful long windows.If you are in Florence, prepare to walk a lot! And don’t miss out on the Duomo at Piazza Santa Maria del Fiore ;-).

If you are not on holidays already then have a lovely week!

Rasa xoxo

Visiting Thermal Springs in Italy

By Rasa Pelham on August 2, 2014 in Summery, Travel

If you are going to Italy sometime soon, be sure to visit thermal springs in Saturnia. We were lucky to stay in North Tuscany, so we reached this little town in two and a half hours by car. It was totally worth it! The only thing I would have done differently is to visit different locations of the hot springs instead of settling for a free one. In fact the setup is so confusing that we did not even know where to go once we are in Saturnia itself. We took at least an hour to actually figure this out. We used information listed on Discover Tuscany website, which have been quite useful in getting there and had some clues how to find this place. However I have recently found this comment on Trip Advisor that would have been useful if only… well, I did find it earlier before going to Italy!It’s quite amazing to dip yourself into warm waters while adoring a wonderful view of an Italian landscape. I suppose it would be much more interesting to experience the thermal springs in autumn or even winter when the air temperature drops. The only think I should warn you about however is that you will be smelling of rotten eggs (just slightly) because of sulphurous waters.

Have a lovely weekend!

Rasa xoxo

Our honeymoon in Tuscany

By Rasa Pelham on July 25, 2014 in Summery, Travel, Updates

It has been almost a week since we are back, but it feels like we are still on the honeymoon (this is probably to do with the hot weather here in Bedford). We have really enjoyed our time in Tuscany while eating (lots of delicious food including gelato everyday!!!), wine tasting, swimming in the hot springs (more about this later), sightseeing, participating in cooking classes and playing cards (Joni got me addicted to that) and many more. This is just a preview of our special time in Italy.

I think the only think I could not quite capture with the camera is the fireflies at night. We saw them one night and it was quite magical! It was our first time seeing flying little lights so hoping to see them again in the future :-).

Wishing you a warm weekend ;-)

Rasa xoxo

P.S really big thanks for my new sister, Nicola, for lending us a DSLR camera (so much better than my iPhone!!!)

Sunny Bedford, here we come!

By Rasa Pelham on June 25, 2014 in Travel

For those who don’t know, we will be moving to Bedford very soon. After spending sunny weekend here, I am getting really excited about this! Here it is the preview of the area we are moving to ;-).

Happy Thursday ;-)

Rasa xoxo

Going to the highest place

By Rasa Pelham on June 16, 2014 in Love London, Travel

Last weekend we had an opportunity to visit one of the highest hills in London (well, almost!). That is Pole Hill on the border of Greater London and Essex. My old friend Alex thought that it would be great to do a little cycle trip while I am spending my last weeks in London before moving to Bedford with Joni. I must admit I was feeling lazy at first, but I am happy we did it. The view of London City (from so far away) is unimaginably pretty!