First Emergency Visit of the Year
Hello guys. I am really sorry for quite an absence. A lot of you know I have been suffering from C7 Spine injury and it has really been getting worst lately. Saturday last week, I finally gave in and went to my doctor to ask for some proper pain relief for nerve pain as I desperately needed my sleep. I have been sleep deprived for weeks it was affecting my work performance. I tried chiropractic interventions and physiotherapy but only had minimal relief.
She kindly prescribed me some Amitriptyline which is majorly an antidepressant but on low doses causes relief of nerve pain and can make me drowsy for sleep. I was really hopeful about it but at 2 AM Sunday last week the pain woke me up again and this time it was not pins and needles but more of an electric shock. I waited for it to go away as it usually does when I stand up and get out of bed but after 4 hours it was still there. So I woke Andrea up and called 111 because I wanted to go to the hospital.
On 111 assessment they classified me as an ambulance emergency but said the waiting time was 3 hours. I declined it and asked if I can go via taxi instead as I know 3 hours is an optimistic prediction. My boyfriend and I headed to the hospital and I was really dreading it as horror stories been told of how busy the emergency department is. Luckily I picked a none busy day to be sick. The wait was only an hour.
The ED Doctor assessed me and said to me what I am feeling is basically like sciatica but on the upper extremities. She was concerned as it has been going on for quite a while and I am starting to lose some function on my hands. She prescribed me a stronger nerve medication called Gabapentin and asked me to see my GP again to ask for a referral for an MRI. I breathed a sign of relief as I have been wanting an MRI for a long time but the GPs usually try to leave it as last option due to its expensiveness.
Andrea and I went to the pharmacy and got the new medication and had breakfast and headed back home for some snooze. The medication is proving to be quite effective and I haven't slept so well in ages. I decided to call in sick the next day to recuperate and to visit my GP. My GP has been marvelous and referred me for urgent MRI.
After 3 days I had it scheduled and now just awaiting for the results which will be in 3 weeks time. Part of me is wishing it is nothing sinister and can be fixed without surgery but part of me just wants it to be fixable instantly by surgery as I do not want to rely on medication all my life.
Despite this ordeal, I am still pretty thankful for having such a supportive and kind boyfriend who was with me through it all. And for God for putting me in a country where healthcare is free. Hoping that the rest of my 2023 would be healthier and more pain free. Hope you guys have been on a better state health-wise this year. ❤️
Andrea Saves the Day
Good day guys! Sorry for my silence. The work force is proving to be more tiring than I thought. In fact last Friday, I did my first overtime of the year. Also, last Saturday, was the first time I was working on a Saturday in this new job. I was pretty upset about it as the weekends are mine and Andrea's couple time as we live apart and he can only come on the weekends. My boss knows this, but I think there was no one else to put for yesterday, so since I am a professional, I came in for my 12 hour shift leaving my boyfriend to his own demise.
In the spirit of solidarity, Andrea had breakfast with me at 5:30 AM and walked me to work. Then we parted ways. So while I was working Andrea was snoozing, studying, and cooking me lunch. He made me carbonara and delivered it to my workplace which was really touching and sweet. He then headed to the city and had his much awaited haircut. It looked good on him! At last 18:30 came and it was home time for me. Andrea, came to collect me from work too. I was really tired after 12 hours of toil but I did not want to waste the golden moments I have with him so we both went out. Despite the pouring rain.
We didn't book anywhere so we decided to wing it. We ended up at our favourite tapas place, Casa de Tapas and luckily they had a spot for us. I was really happy as I was expecting to end up eating at McDonald's considering how busy it is these days.
We decided to try their ***Tabla de embotidos*** which was the Spanish counterpart of the French charcuterie and the Italian tagliere. We were not disappointed as it came in a big serving and just like other Spanish food it came out looking extra and artistic too. It has more character compared to the other boards from the French and Italian. (Oopsie sorry Andre).
Apart from the Tabla, we ordered some calamares a la Romana, pulpo con patata, and some chorizo al vino tinto as well. Our usual favourites there. We paired it with red wine called, Tempranillo. For desserts we had cream Catalana for Andre and torta de queso for me.
Overall, I had quite an exhausting day but I would say really, Andre saves the day. I am happy we went out and made the most of the time we had. I did speak to my manager about not putting me on too much on weekend shift as I do prioritise my relationship over work. I can always find new work. But I cannot find another Andre. He's a unicorn. ❤️
Sharing our Stonehenge trip. It's been long overdue as I have been an unmotivated girl due to the cold weather. It is a thing I swear. I think I'm going into hibernation.
https://read.cash/@flapiz/part-il-visit-to-stonehenge-2a4750ac
Part Il: Visit to Stonehenge
Hi guys I am sorry I haven't been present much because I was busy making the most of Andre on his annual leave last week and also because I have not been well and the weather has been making me sluggish. I have missed all of you! As promised, here is the continuation of our Stonehenge visit. If you haven't read the part I yet please click the hyperlink. https://read.cash/@flapiz/part-i-visit-to-stonehenge-9368df9f
From the Stonehenge Visitor Centre, we took a shuttle bus to the main attraction, the Stonehenge Cursus which apparently receives more than 1 million visitors a year. It used to be accessible for everyone but due to its fragility and in order to keep it preserved at a good condition it is only accessible to limited number of people outside normal visiting hours and it needs prior authorisation to do so as well. But I'm happy to walk around the perimeter as long as I can see it in close proximity.
When I saw the Stonehenge Cursus from afar, my heart did triple back flips. This is it! One of my bucket list getting ticked. For the longest time I have been content of seeing them in photographs. Some people say these are just rocks but to me it is ancient mystery and an architectural marvel. To think prehistoric humans managed to make such a structure in the absence of modern day technology is quite amazing to me.
Each silicified standing sand stones at the outer ring are around 13 ft tall and 7 ft wide. They weigh around 25 tons. The inner circle, on the other hand, is made of smaller blue stones. The whole monumental ruins is said to be aligned to the location of the sunrise during the summer solstice. Archeologists believed that the Stonehenge was built around 3000 to 2000 BC. It is also believed that it has been a burial grounds from its early beginnings up to 500 more years. Human bone deposits were dug around the site and surrounding areas. In fact some of this digs can be found in the Stonehenge Visitor Centre to this day.
Some folklore claims that the Stonehenge was actually created by the legendary wizard Merlin who magically teleported stones from Ireland where giants had assembled them. Others say it was built by Danish invaders. Some say it is a Roman temple ruins. While the more modern generation are convinced it is a spaceship landing for aliens. Take your pick on whichever you want to believe. I would stick to the boring side of it being a burial site as I am a realist.
Andrea and I walked around the whole structure and took loads of photos along with tons of tourists too. Long walk I would say as it was massive. We attempted too many couple selfies too as we did not have a tripod and we were to shy to ask others to take it for us. We were lucky as the cloudy weather dissipated when we were there so our photos turned out pretty great! When we finished walking around, we decided to head back to the shuttle bus as we have come quite a long way from home.
It was such an exhausting day due to the commute. But I was really very happy with it. I am very much grateful to my lovely boyfriend for taking me all the way to Stonehenge even though he has been there already and also for sponsoring the trip. Hoping for more adventures with him in the future. That's all for today. I hope you enjoyed our little tour! Cheers!
`PS: Photos are all mine taken with Google Pixel 6 ❤️`
I was staying with my cousins for the weekend and here are their cute but feisty dogs who didn't stop barking at me even as I left after 2 nights.
Happy Birthday Uncle Danny
I am not a very social person, I am actually quite timid but I really took annual leave to attend a Filipino party for yesterday as it is for family. I am currently outside my comfort zone as I am mingling with a crowd for my cousin's husband's birthday. Current time stamp while I'm writing this is is 1 AM. But will probably be continuing this later in the day.
It was 1 hour and 40 minutes travel from Bath to their home in Bristol and I was getting hangry (hungry and angry) but when I reached their house and saw my cousins I felt better. I also felt even so much better after seeing all the Filipino food. They had lumpia/ Shanghai rolls, lechon/ roasted pork, Filipino style spaghetti, cordon bleu, kare kare, shrimps, yema cake, leche flan, pancit, and more.
I grabbed a plate and started nibbling on everything. I think I managed 3 rounds of main meal and a whole plate of desserts like a glutton who hasn't eaten for a year. I love Filipino food and they all tasted so legit. After dinner the drinking started. My cousin gave me a glass of cranberry with vodka. Then the glass turned to couple of glasses. Then the karaoke started.
I am proud to say that despite my shyness I managed to sing 3 songs. Also managed a dance after a tequila shot. Someone forced me to dance. I did my twig dance as I cannot dance while I sang "Sway" by Michael Bublé. I was struggling with the singing as I actually have not sang in a long while. I couldn't reach my notes but no one was fussed and everyone was singing irregardless of their singing skills. I feel quite happy to reconnect to my roots.
I ended up staying over for 2 nights with the fam instead of the 1 night planned as my cousin wanted to hang out with me the next day. Which was pretty great as I was preparing myself for a lonely weekend as Andre was in Italy for his mum's birthday. So jealous I cannot come, for now.
Overall, I had more fun than I expected and I got to meet new people from different walks of life and from different countries too. And I got to hang out with the cousins. It has been a long while. What I learned from this is to keep an open mind and sometimes try to go out of my comfort zones. Shout out to their cute doggos, Princess and Loki, who kept barking at me up till the day I left.
How has the weekend been for you guys? I hope it's been fantastic too. Cheers!
Part I: Visit to Stonehenge
Hello readers. In this article, I will be sharing to you my first ever visit to the iconic Stonehenge (hopefully not the last). In my almost 4 years of being in the UK, I have never been until my boyfriend Andrea finally took me there last weekend.
We took the Stonehenge tour bus from Salisbury City Centre and began our journey to the henge. The bus fare was 34£ per person which included the entry fee to the Stonehenge, old Sarum, and the Salisbury Cathedral. It also came with tacky orange earphones to be used on the bus to hear the commentary about some sites we passed by along the way, including of course, the Stonehenge.
The bus took around 30 minutes to reach the Stonehenge Visitor Centre. Andre and I first went to the cafe to get some coffee as we were both very sleepy and cold. We then headed to recreated model houses of the Stonehenge builders. What interesting structures they were. They kind of remind me of hobbit houses. I could live in them. Inside it was very minimalist. There was a bed that is made of wooden wick but looks comfortable Andre had a lay in one of them (I am not sure that was allowed). 😂
There was a big stone there called Stone 60. Well at least a replica of it. It's a stone that stands upright Sarsens of the inner horseshoe. It is said to weigh at least 28 tonnes. To create the Stonehenge, the stones were moved using simple machines comprised of a wooden sledge, rollers, and ropes. Andre and I both had ago at tugging it to see if we could move it. Along with other mighty tourists. It did not even budge.
After trying to move that humongous stone we went inside the little museum at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre. We were in quite a hurry due to time constraints so we didn't dwell much there but oh so many things to see.
There was a mini exhibit there called Circles of Stone which featured Japanese archeology at the time of the Stonehenge. Andre and I quite enjoyed it simply because some of the pieces were rather cute. And some really intricate ones too. The display was of course popular to the Asian visitors.
Well I think this article has run too long. I will have to promise you a part II where we can have a look at the Cursus Stone. Which is the main highlight of the show or the Stonehenge that we all know of. See you in my next article. And I hope you've enjoyed this one. Have a splendid day! Cheers!
A Day in Salisbury ❤️
Hi guys! TGIF! My boyfriend and I started the day right by waking up early to do a morning jog/walk. Today is my day off and I am pretty psyched because we are heading to see the Stonehenge. But first, we had to stop by at Salisbury as it is the closest town we could get the bus to the Stonehenge from. And also because we needed some breakfast after such rigorous early morning workout. 😂
Salisbury is quite an interesting town to me because they have a lot of 15th Century buildings and even earlier dated ones. It is considered as a medieval cathedral city. I kinda liked the ancient vibe and the fact that it is surrounded by water as it is a confluence of rivers Avon, Bourne, and Nadder.
First stop, food. We had brunch at Cosy Club as we wanted to look at the interior but we were a bit disappointed as we were sat right next to the cashier and the cashier and the waitresses there loved to gossip so we had a noisy meal we cannot even hear each other. But I quite enjoyed my food despite this. Poor Andre on the other hand didn't as he was right next to the cashier.
Anyway, we moved on from our disappointment pretty quickly and set out to the beautiful Salisbury Cathedral. Unfortunately, we only had an hour to kill before the bus to Stonehenge depart. Not a lot of time so we only saw the facade and the bits near the entry point. The Cathedral was very gothic in design. Apparently there are 4 copies of the Magna Carta document in there.
Around the Salisbury Cathedral were some artworks and sculpture. And I quite enjoyed taking photos of them. Some of them are below with their respective titles and artists.
**Walking Madonna** by Dame Elisabeth Frink 1981. Made in bronze. Life size.
**Formation I (The Dappled Light of the Sun)** by Conrad Shawcross 2015. Material weathering steel.
**Sky Station** by Peter Newman 2005. Material: Fibre glass with gel coat.
**Angels Harmony** by Helaine Blumenfied 2011. Material: Campaccio Marblel.
Some other interesting random things we saw were the artistic fudge house called Rolly's Fudge Pantry which had some fudge models of the Stonehenge and The Nativity. I wanted to go in but Andrea said later and later never happened, as usual. 🥲😂
Shout out to this cute doggy sculpture outside the tailoring shop called Regent. He is such a cute pawper. He is not a tourist spot but I adore him. Kyah! ❤️
Overall, I was happy to see a new city here in the UK. I always enjoy seeing new things even the most mundane of things. It is even more enjoyable as I am sharing the experience with someone. We then headed to Stonehenge for the main highlight of our trip. Which would be a story for another day. That's all for today. Cheers guys!
A Lovely Surprise From Ireland
Hello everyone I hope you are as happy today as I am! I got a surprise parcel today from the postie and it really made my day! Our lovely@tired_momma here on read had kindly sent me some birthday presents from the Philippines but bought in Ireland. I recalled in one of our conversations here on read that I mentioned to her that I missed eating misua/vermicelli noodles but cannot find a Filipino store near me. I did not expect her to offer to send me a parcel full of them. She also packed it along with other Filipino goodies! I am really to the moon right now.
I knew when I read the box label that it was from @tired_momma as she used my username here on read. I hurriedly opened it and inside was a beautiful and girly birthday card with a lovely message written in a very neat and beautiful penmanship. I love flowers so this card really fits my personality. It has now found a place in my little card shelf.
Also inside the box was my most coveted misua. Misua is a very typical meal to Filipinos and other Asians too. Back in Bohol, we used to have it for breakfast with sardines and egg. It is a simple meal and nothing grand, but when you are overseas you do tend to miss the taste of home and the comfort it brings. I think @tired_mommaand other immigrants can empathize with my sentiments. Procuring these native goods can become a challenge and can be quite expensive too as it is only sold in specialty shops which tend to be overpriced. These products basically paid airfare.
Jo has also kindly sent me extra goodies such as sinigang mix, bagoong (also another favourite as very good with green mangoes), gulaman, tinola mix, and nasi goreng. Some of these goodies I haven't used in my entire life yet. But will definitely try using and hopefully it can elevate my current cooking skills. My Italian boyfriend Andrea is on annual leave and is in Bath for a couple of days too so I intend to let him try some of these goodies. Hopefully I can impress him with the Filipino cuisine.
Although I have not seen @tired_momma in person yet, I feel that the friendship is genuine. Her kindness and generosity definitely touched my heart and I could really say that read is more than just a money making site. It is a community where you can meet genuinely good people. I hope I can return the kindness as well. Also I hope I can do my own ARK (Act of Random Kindness) too. Thank you sis @tired_momma you have definitely made my day. May you be blessed more so you can continue being a joy to people. Sending love from Bath to Ireland. Maraming salamat. ❤️
Luxmuralis in Bristol Cathedral: Space Voyager
Hi guys, today I will take you to church and share with you something beautiful and mesmerising. During my birthday, after all the fireworks excitement, Andrea and I were headed home. The only last pit stop we wanted to make was iced coffee as I was craving for one. However, we ended up doing a totally different and totally spontaneous thing.
We noticed that there was a long queue at the Bristol Cathedral. And as curious creatures we nosed around and decided to queue too without knowing what the event was called. Lucky enough they were still selling tickets as apparently this was their last night in Bristol. Entry fee was £9.50 for adult, £6.00 for child, and £8.00 for concession. We are both adults unfortunately with no concession. 😭😂
When we entered the Church, we saw quite a scene. The church was completely transformed to look like a galaxy filled with beautiful psychedelic lights that were projected on its walls and ceilings, we did not even feel like doing the cross sign as it did not feel like a Church.
This light show is actually part of the pop-up projection art gallery called Luxmuralis, which showcases their arts in iconic buildings in the UK. And this one is called, **Space Voyager Light Show** which aims to take you on a journey of light and sound to the edge of the universe and back.
The church was actually quite a good venue for this show as its architectural arches provides a smoother flow and transition for the lights. Also, it gives a very nice acoustic for the background music. I really felt like I was in outer space! The only thing that reminded me that I was not in space was the fact that there were quite a lot of people that evening. As I am quite short on height, I asked Andrea to take the taller photos where there aren't any people heads.
Our favourite part of the evening was the end bit because we were allowed to sit down and watch the space lights at the nave of the church. It was absolutely stunning. Although we were warned that it is not for epileptic people as these strobe lights may trigger it. Since we don't have that condition, we stayed quite a long time just feeling the space vibes before we decided to head out. Although I must admit, I did feel a little dizzy towards the end.
Overall, that immersive light show had been a very good experience for me and Andrea. We both from the Catholic faith and we were quite amazed and happy how science and the church has melded in harmony even just for that one night. In fact, we enjoyed it so much we are now planning to see another Luxmuralis show in another city this weekend. I hope you enjoyed the lights guys. And see you in my next article for more spontaneous wanders and adventures!
Guy Fawkes Day Fireworks
**"Remember, remember the 5th of November!" -Guy Fawkes**
Lucky for me I get free fireworks in the United Kingdom for my birthday as I was born the same night as the Guy Fawkes Day or more commonly known as the Bonfire Night. Now you might be asking, "Who on earth is Guy Fawkes, Flo?"
Guy Fawkes or Guido Fawkes is the gutsy guy who tried to blow up the Parliament House to assassinate the then king of England James I, but failed and got executed. Sounds a little familiar? Yes it is! As it is slightly where the movie, V for Vendetta got its inspiration from. It is popularly known in history as the failed Gunpowder Plot Revolution of 1605. The Parliament considers the 5th of November a national day of thanksgiving from then on.
To this day Every 5th of November, all over the UK, fireworks displays, bonfires with straw effigies or replicas of Guy Fawkes getting burnt, and parades are to be expected. And if you happen to be on a higher ground you can expect to see them all over the place.
My boyfriend and I wanted to see the fireworks in London but we heard there was going to be a train strike that day so we opted to watch it in Bristol instead as it is closer to Bath where I live. We did not even book the fireworks in advance as we were not sure where to go to watch it as there were so many options. So my expectations were low.
My friend Jennifer suggested to watch it at the Clifton Observatory. And I did thought it was a good idea as Andrea has not seen the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge by Brunel yet. So we walked there and arrived an hour before the scheduled show. We had time to walk around and admire the iconic bridge too. It was said online there was an entry fee of 10£ per person but when we arrived it was free. Yay! Lucky day!
It was quite cold and rainy so we almost actually did not wait for the fireworks. But I am glad the curiosity got the best of us as we were able to witness such a mesmerising sight at such a close distance! I really felt special on my birthday despite the fireworks not being intended for me. I am also glad to be able to share such romantic moment with my special someone.
I took so many photos with my amazing new phone so I could show it to you guys. So I really hope you enjoyed the photos as it really did exceed my expectations. That's all for now. Cheers!
PS: I have been pretty busy lately so please be patient and bear with me as I catch up with all my notifications. I will see it all soon. ❤️
Life At 32!
***"Remember, remember the 5th of November!" -Guy Fawkes***
Hello everyone! I hope all is well on your neck of the woods. Last Saturday was my birthday and we did so many things so I got a plenty of things to write about for the next couple of days. This article would be just snippets of it as I'm afraid I won't be able to do the day justice if I force them all in one article.
I woke up with a nice surprise. My boyfriend's present was laying on the foot of the bed which was quite dangerous considering what was in it. He got me a very good phone for my online gold diggings. He got me a Google Pixel 6! I have always wanted a Google Pixel due to it's amazing camera so I was really over the moon. You can now expect even better photos from me from now on. 😂
We headed to Bristol yesterday because we booked lunch with my friend Jennifer at **Under The Stars** which took us months to book actually. This was my low key birthday celebration as I am still recovering slowly from being unemployed. The food was great but for a tapas place it ran quite on the expensive side.
In the evening, we went to see the fireworks display at the Clifton Observatory. It was so up close and beautiful despite the freezing cold. I had so much fun shooting photos of it with my new phone. We were glad we waited to see the main fireworks instead of giving up. We then had a comforting dinner at Fujiyama Japanese Restaurant which was absolutely delicious!
We were heading home after this, when we came across the Bristol Cathedral and saw a long queue to it. We got curious and spontaneously just bought a ticket to see what's inside. It was the Luxmuralis Light Show and it was absolutely beautiful! The Cathedral was turned into the galaxy and I was in awe! After the live show, we headed back to Radisson Blu to call it a night.
We had troubles with the WiFi so we complained about it and since they couldn't fix it they decided to upgrade out hotel room instead. So we've been moved up to the 8th floor instead of the 5th. We had an amazing view there and the WiFi worked on that floor.
That was my 32nd birthday in a nutshell but please don't be surprised to hear more of it in details for the rest of the week. As it was a blast and I want to share it with you guys.
Let me take this moment to thank you for being part of my human journey in this world. I am grateful to all people who have been with me for this 32 years of existence. Back pains or not I could say I have lived quite an adventure. I have been blessed with wonderful people. I am happy to be alive and old. Ciao 31! Welcome 32! 😂
My Boyfriend to the Rescue
Yesterday was not a great day for me despite it being my day off. I know people are probably tired of hearing about my bad back but I was suffering yesterday. I had so many things do do but I settled for a lazy day as even the weather was just miserable. We had a thunderstorm brewing the past couple of days and it was making my spirits down.
I was intermittently sleeping the whole day during the times when the pain dissipates as I really needed sleep. My eyes are quite sunken from the lack of it. At the moment I find that "snail position relieves the tingling and numbness fractionally so I have been laying like a snail when I am in pain. I was supposed to go to the city centre today to find a print shop for my proof of address so I can register to my GP but my body really just didn't want to leave the house. Fortunately enough, my boyfriend offered to print my papers as he is coming to visit me tomorrow. That's one task off my list.
I proceeded with my mountain full of laundry as I am running out of things to wear. Then talked with my boyfriend on the phone for a long time. We had time to play Mobile Legends too. What would I do without him? Life would probably be really boring and dull. Then came lunch time and I absolutely have no groceries to make anything to eat. I started crying. As I am very frustrated with my back and I felt unproductive and lazy because of the pain. Also felt really helpless as I really miss and long for my mum when I am sick. So now I am wallowing in self pity and loneliness. My boyfriend then jumped in to the rescue and ordered me food from KFC via Deliveroo.
He got me a Box Meal which had a chicken fillet burger, fries, hot and spicy chicken wings, original recipe chicken, and some Pepsi. I was so grateful for it. And it was finger lickin' good indeed! It actually made me feel better afterwards. The pain was making me forget about my appetite. The junk food was actually quite comforting.
I really thank God for this beautiful man. How lucky I am to be the recipient of his love and care and that he could still take care of me despite the miles. Technology has come quite a long way too. Providing people with jobs and a means to get fed when they are unwell and alone. My day off was not so bad at all. Thanks to my Andrea. Looking forward to seeing him after work today.
Thank you guys for being patient with my whining. I hopefully would be fixed next week. I have found a physiotherapist close to my work place and hopefully they can squeeze me in for an appointment and fix me. Have an amazing day everyone!
Dessert Tapas!
Hi guys! I have skipped a writing day yesterday because I really do feel unwell. The back pain has left me very exhausted and hungry for sleep and my CPR refresher training did me no favours yesterday. I was in excruciating pain after doing 3 lots of compressions on a fake person. Anyway here I am trying to get back on track with my writing. And today is another food blog, since food does make me happy in a lot of degrees! I will be talking about our second visit to the dessert place called Heavenly Desserts.
During this visit, we were already quite full, as we binged ate too much at Franco Manca prior to coming there. Also quite sleepy due to all the blood circulation going to our tummy from the pizza pig out. But full as we were, we wanted to eat dessert and not just one but many! It's a good thing that Heavenly Desserts offers dessert tapas for those who cannot choose. Pricing was 3 tapas for 12£ and 5 tapas for 18£. Andrea and I opted for the latter as we really wanted to try a lot of desserts that day.
We ordered: Duo of Macarons (rose and raspberry flavour); Caramel S'mores mini tart (torched marshmallows, Biscoff crumb, milk chocolate sauce); Baklava and Honey (three pieces of mini baklava, honey, and crushed pistachios); Warm Chocolate Brownie Bites with milk chocolate sauce; Roasted Pistachio Mocchi (3 pieces of mocchi made from Sicilian pistachio sauce and pistachio).
For drinks, I tried Saffron Iced Spanish Latte which was quite interesting and delicious. I've never tasted anything like it! While Andre tried luxury cafe mocha which I trust was very good as he had a satisfied smile when he sipped it.
Everything overall was as delicious as they looked! I think mine and Andre's favourite tapa was between the S'mores mini tart and the baklava. They were equally spectacular so we're settling for a tie! But we just couldn't finish everything. So to avoid wasting food, we asked for a take away box which worked out pretty well so that we had desserts for dinner that day!
There are still plenty of desserts to try so you can be assured guys that this is not our last visit at Heavenly Desserts. So far the food has not disappointed us yet. It really felt like we had little slices of heaven in every meal. That's all for today and I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Cheers lovely people!
Living in Chronic Pain
Good morning guys. Today is another one of those days where I woke up at 4 in the morning with numb, tingling, and painful arms and hands. This is due to an injury I sustain last year from nursing an MS(Multiple Sclerosis) patient. I am not quite sure of the nature of this injury. It feels like nerve impingement but it could be other things. All I know is it originates from my shoulder and it somehow messes up my arm circulation. Sometimes unilaterally and sometimes bilaterally. Sometimes it causes my fingers so much numbness I can barely control them. I did try to have it fixed last year. 3 expensive sessions with a chiropractor and some acupuncture which seemed to have worked temporarily.
Unfortunately, the nature of the nursing job is not very good for a mortal human's back. If you remembered a couple of days ago we had a work place accident and l was taking care of that lady who dislocated a shoulder. While I was busy immobilising her arms and shoulder, I somehow unknowingly caused strain to my past injury. And now my tingles are back with a vengeance! It has been 4 days in a row now of disturbed sleep. And my body is really feeling the exhaustion.
I really want to see the GP doctor as soon as I can, but my work schedule is in conflict with it. Tomorrow was supposed to be a day off, which I badly needed, but my manager wanted me to come for an important training, which I also did not want to miss. Hence, pushing back my GP visit dreams. Since I am new in this part of town I would need to register to a GP first before I can even book an appointment. So if I manage to register on Thursday, the soonest I can be seen should be next week crossing my fingers. I am really hoping it can be fixed properly this time around. I am still 31 turning 32 but I have aches of a senior citizen.
On the upside, UK healthcare is free. In Guernsey, every visit to the GP was 55£ and the GP does not even do a lot of tests there. With the NHS here in UK it is free. Hopefully, my future GP can diagnose me properly and get me the cure I deserve so I could nurse for a couple more years and serve humanity.
Bottomline, I really feel for people who suffer chronic pain. It is not easy to have pain as a norm. It takes a toll not only physically but emotionally too. So I really understand how some chronically ill people are more grumpy. It's the pain, the hopelessness, and the lack of sleep. I know there are some worst cases than mine out there and I do feel bad whining about just a none deadly shoulder pain. I hope modern medicine can advance further that we may rid of these chronic illnesses better and more effectively.
Batheaston Scarecrow Trail 2022 ❤️
Hello read cashers good day and happy Halloween! This article will be showcasing to you some of the scarecrows here in Batheaston as part of their Halloween Scarecrow Trail to raise money for Batheaston Church School. The theme for this year is "Best of the British". My boyfriend and I tried to find as much as we can but unfortunately we missed some despite us having a map. Here are a few of our discoveries.
**1. B is for Bananaman**
I do not know him but apparently he is a fictional character in a British comic book written by Dave Donaldson. It is a parody of traditional superheroes. He is a school boy who transforms into a muscled caped figure when he eats bananas.
**2. Mr. Badger**
Well he is my personal favourite but I do not know his real name. So I will just call him Mr. Badger. He was reading a book by Robert Gibbins so I wonder if it is actually him as a scare crow. This scare crow is my favourite among all the scare crows as he is very vibrant and colourful.
**3. The Beetles**
This one was very clever. They had beetles with the name tags of each band members from the band The Beetles. Plus some references to their songs and music. For instance: strawberry fields; I want to hold your hand; and Abbey Road.
**4. James Bond**
Well at least we think he is. Man in a suit doing dangerous stunts with a gun, who else could it be apart from the famous British secret agent Mr. Bond?
**5. Shaun the Sheep**
Baaaaaaa! We struggled to find this scarecrow as Shaun the sheep's body was the whole bush. Shaun the sheep is a British animated TV series about a sheep who tries to act like a human and if you have kids I know you know him well.
**6. Mystery British Musician**
I do not know a lot of musicians but I know he is one as he had a musical composition tucked in his trousers. Andre kind of looks like his twin on the photo below. This scarecrow is very smart and posh looking.
****The Ones We Cannot Even Guess****
Could the one on top be Robin Hood? He's got a green hat. But then the face looks more like a woman. Also there is no bow and arrow so probably not. The one below a lot of people say is Jack the Ripper. An infamous serial killer but I beg to differ as in google images he seems to be wearing a coat all the time and not a jacket.
It was a lot of fun walking and trying to find these scarecrows. It was a bit exhausting too. Most of them did not look scary at all. They were more cute really. I hope they earned a lot of money selling the maps for these scarecrows to help improve Batheaston Church School. And I am looking forward to more community events here in Batheaston in the near future.
That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed this article. Can you recognise any of the above scarecrows? If you can, drop a comment below and let me know. Feel free to correct our guesses too. Cheers!
Pumpkin Carving Cats
Hello read cashers! It's 31st of October and you know what that means, it's Happy Halloween! My boyfriend and I wanted to carve pumpkins for Halloween but we didn't have enough time to do so in the weekend. So I will be writing about my past pumpkin carving experiences, as I am unfortunately working on this glorious day as well, so I really can't carve this year.
Pumpkin carving is not common in the Philippines so I've only ever carved pumpkins when I immigrated here in the UK. Why you may ask? Well first, because we don't really have pumpkins in the Philippines, we have squash. Second, it seems wasteful to carve them instead of eating them. And thirdly, Halloween is not as big of a deal there as here in the West. We do have All Saints and All Souls Day to honour our deceased relatives back home. We visit the cemetery and bring food and meat up with other relatives during the 1st and 2nd of November.
Anyhow since I have been in the UK for over 3 years, I have assimilated some of their culture and that includes celebrating Halloween. So for the past 2 years I have carved pumpkins every Halloween and it has always been cats since I love and adore these feline friends. I always get my inspiration from google and happy to say it has always turned out well despite my lack of expertise and experience.
The first time I did it was with my ex housemate, Jennifer. We actually just shared one pumpkin which was given to us by our British colleague. So what you must do first, is cut the top portion of the pumpkin so you can scoop out the seeds and make it hollow. Second, you can draw an outline of the design you want using a pen or a marker. Third, carve according to your outline which for me is the trickiest bit as my knife skills are almost none existent. Lastly, put a lighted candle inside the pumpkin and put back its lid. Turn off the lights for a more dramatic effect.
The second time I did pumpkin carving was when I was in Guernsey. I did it with my friends, Marsh and Joy. It was special to me as the pumpkins we used were freshly picked from my allotment. It's my own grown pumpkin. It is again another kitty pumpkin which I made with Joy. While Marsh decided to do a Tim Burton inspired one.
Pumpkin carving is a fun activity which enriches ones creativity and knife skills. Definitely worth trying! Part of me think it is a bit wasteful food wise but hey it's a once a year thing. I hope you enjoyed this article. Happy Halloween!
Sunday Fly Day: Graffiti, Yakinori, and Jo's Tea
Sunday is time for boyfriend to fly back to Guernsey. Luckily enough, he is not flying at 11:00 AM today, he is flying at 4 PM. That means we have more time together and also some time for a proper meal! Yay! And it's a double yay as Andrea said we can have Asian food today!
We left bath to Bristol at around 10 AM instead of the usual 9AM. Interesting enough someone decided to sleep on the train occupying 3 seats for herself. She looked very drunk. Tsk, tsk. I do not like irresponsible drunks but it is what it is. I'm worried for her as she's a lady and she's putting herself in a dangerous situation really. I cannot help but judge her really.
When we arrived Bristol Temple Meads Station, we decided to walk 28 minutes to Yakinori, a Japanese Fast Food restaurant. I love eating here as even though it is fast food, it is quite healthy. During our walk, we passed by some murals. Which made my day as I collect mural photos. This is why I love Bristol. It is filled with mural art! Some of them are inserted in this article. I may have to write a proper Bristol art edition when I get the time soon.
At Yakinori, Andrea and I each got a seafood bento. The bento had some salmon sushi, calamari, takoyaki, and rice in it. It also comes with Miso soup thank goodness for that as I needed something warm. Because we were greedy, we also got some California sushi geta to share. For drinks, we both had a healthy slushie called goapp, which was a mixture of mango and apple. It was a delicious and filling meal. Our tummies were on the verge of exploding.
But I still wanted one more thing from Bristol and that is Jo's tea. Andre kindly got me a black sugar caffe latte with boba on it. I asked him to buy it large as I wanted him to try it too. It was good as usual and that's my tummy really grateful and satisfied for the day. We then headed to the bus stop to take the airport flyer bus. On the bus, we got to see more murals and I tried to shoot as many of them while the bus is running.
That's Andrea off and me writing on the bus and train home, as usual to not feel so sad about sending him off. I try my best to make the most of my time these days as the full time job is proving to be a hindrance to my writing. Now looking forward for the next weekend to come as it is my birthday next week! Turning 32 and out of the calendar soon. Anyhow that's a wrap. Thanks for reading. Hope your weekend's been well my friends?
Saturday Pig Day: Franco Manca Lunch
Hey guys! Today is another Saturday with my lovely boyfriend, Andrea, and that means it's another pig out and feeding program day! Since we didn't sleep well last night we again set out late for brunch at **Franco Manca** since they have been sending me Halloween promotions and I wanted to try it. **Franco Manca** is actually the first place we ate at when I first moved in Bath.
**Franco Manca** is widely known for their freshly made sourdough pizza made on site daily and also for their affordability. They dubbed themselves as *"the slow fast food"* as they believed that good food takes time. They had their first branch in Brixton Market back in 2008 and ever since then spread all around UK. They pride themselves for slow-rising sourdough pizza with properly sourced ingredients from small suppliers. So when you eat at Franco Manca, you feel good knowing you are supporting small farms in the locality.
So for starters we ordered, Nocellara green olives and the cured meat sharing platter served with sourdough bread, Franco and Cantarelli Grana and wild rocket. For drinks, I had the **no logo** cider, while Andre had the **no logo** lager.
Then we ordered one pizza each, which I would say was quite too greedy of us. I got the Halloween meat special of course which was made of mortadella bologna IGP, ricotta and spicy nduja honey base, Colston Basset stilton, butternut squash, and watercress. They didn't put tomato base on it as I suppose they wanted it orange for Halloween 🎃. Since I love strong cheeses, I enjoyed this interesting pizza very much. But it was not Andre approved as he does not like strong cheese. Oh well that means all mine!
Andre ordered Pizzaiolo's favourite which was yellow fin tuna, organic tomato, wilted spinach, Kalmata black olives, capers from Salina, shallots, and a creamy tuna dressing. It is his favourite pizza there. Which I personally loved too. Thankfully he gave me a slice. Loving is indeed sharing! By the end of the meal we were so full but we still wanted dessert so we paid our bill and headed to Heavenly Desserts which is another article perhaps as I am talking too much again.
Thanks for reading and see you in my next article. Big shout out to my new sponsors @fantagira and @Ling01. Thank you so much for trusting in my writing. I really appreciate you guys. And well to my long time supporters @Ayukyukyu2 and @Moooniac you guys are awesome!
Work Place Accident
Yesterday, has been an extra challenging day for me at work. I was not really conditioned for it as I somehow slept badly the night before. I went to work expecting to have an online training day as my manager promised me before my day off, but unfortunately, one of our staff was sick so I had to forego my training to work on the floor. Anyway the morning was not as bad as I expected as we were managing so well and the team work was good. But the afternoon shift was a different story.
***For legal purposes, I will not be mentioning the real names of the people involved in this article*****.**
After lunch time our consultant suddenly rushed in the treatment area asking for a hand. An accident had happened in the consultation room. Apparently, our patient's wife and chaperone, who I will call Josie had a fall and dislocated her shoulder while trying to break the fall with her hand. The main reason was because the consultant did not provide her a chair during the consultation as there was not plenty of room for it and she tripped on the examination bed pedal as they were about to leave.
Because we were already short staffed, my manager of course asked me, the new joiner, to stay with Josie as we waited for an ambulance. Josie was sprawled on the floor and refused to get up when we arrived so I gave her a pillow and I had to sit on the floor with her. Being a private dialysis unit, we were not equipped for orthopaedic problems and we also weren't allowed to give none patients any medications from our stocks. Luckily, the consultant had some ibuprofen 400mg to give to the patient and one of my colleagues had a personal paracetamol which he kindly gave 1 gram to the patient. This was not good enough of course for an injury of such extent.
Unfortunately, since a shoulder dislocation, no matter how painful it is, is not classed as a life threatening situation the ambulance said they will collect her after hours as they were pretty slumped too with life threatening emergencies. This made Josie really upset and she started demanding for a private ambulance which was also unfortunately booked up. That's when all the screaming, yelling, cursing, and wanting to die speech started coming out. I could really empathise and see the pain she was going through, bless her. But unfortunately there was nothing I can do. She started screaming in Italian and I tried to distract her from the pain by trying to tell her about my Italian partner. It only worked briefly and she starts screaming again to get attention specially when she thinks we are calling the ambulance.
The ordeal took at least 4 hours. We did manage to sit her on a chair and improvised a sling with a blanket with a lot of screaming. And through her agony, poor Josie kept on worrying about how her diabetic husband with dementia and kidney disease will manage on his own without her. And who was going to stay with him overnight in case she ends up staying in the hospital. Thankfully, she had a sister who agreed to cancel her remote work to come to the rescue but will take time to arrive too. Josie verbalised to me that the most frustrating part of the situation was how long it was taking the ambulance to respond to her needs. She said it is barbaric and she even said in Italy if you have money you get attended as soon as possible. Anyhow, my colleague offered to drive her to the hospital just in time when the ambulance also arrived.
That situation took a lot out of me. I felt helpless as a nurse. The screams and cries took a toll on my spirit. I also feel sorry for the patient for how the healthcare system has failed her. I could only imagine how many Josie's are out there. The UK government has got to do better. I was trying not to cry as I went home. My colleague gave me a pat on the back and told me he was happy I was part of their team but I really felt like a failure today. I called my boyfriend and had a proper cry as I walked home. I hope Josie is now alright and sorted. And I hope her family can cope with this accident. I also hope this does not happen to anyone at all.
My Asian Cravings Satisfied Today
Hello my friends. Today is my day off, and I went for another 45-minute walk towards the city centre, as day off for me equates to self-care and exercise. I have been gaining a lot of weight lately as I do understandably love to eat and when I am working I do not really have the energy and strength to do exercise after a 12 hour work. Sounds like an excuse I know. But I swear it is not, as I do truly love exercise and fitness although after I had covid last January my fitness levels aren't as good as pre-covid days.
Not to be counterproductive but my purpose to go to the city centre is to actually EAT. I guess I have to kiss my skinny dreams away. 😂 For a couple of days now, my palate has been craving something, I am not sure what. But I was guessing it would be Asian food as living with my boyfriend for 4 months has made me ditch rice for pasta. So today I went to **Thai Weir**, which is an Asian restaurant by the beautiful Pulteney Weir. As far as the restaurant name goes, I am guessing its owner is Thai, but they do sell food from different parts of Asia.
The food there is really great, but the customer service is an aspect they need to work on more. I am not saying the staff were horrible, all I am saying is that they need to be a bit more attentive. Anyhow I had quite a happy meal.
I ordered a Thai lemon iced tea and a vegetarian Vietnamese spring roll to start. Which arrived looking beautiful and healthy. I need this actually as I have not been eating much vegetables these days. I finished it rather quickly as it was delicious despite the lack of meat.
For the main meal I had Japanese beef udon ramen. I desecrated it by eating it with spoon and fork as Filipinos are Asians who aren't actually chopsticks trained. We are used to spoon and fork. But I do not speak for everyone as some Filipinos are really good with chopsticks. It was very delicious and the broth was perfect although it did tasted a bit more Thai than Japanese. Unfortunately, my tummy ran out of space to finish it up.
Anyhow, by the end of the meal I was missing Andre so I decided to go to **The Real Italian Ice Cream** for desserts. A little Italian won't hurt. I got a scoop of Oreo Gelato and a scoop of dolce latte. I ate it in front of Bath Abbey as I listened to a busker playing his trumpet. I really wished Andre was here. I miss him when I eat.
The gelato at the end I think finally satisfied my craving. I headed to Lululemon to buy some work out clothes to atone for my pig out. It was real atonement as my wallet left the shop weeping after my purchase. Two tights and a sports top costed me several meals I think. I would not even dare to say how much as it hurts. But I am considering these as an investment to my health and well being.
Day off today. Observing the rain drops on the fallen leaves. They are pretty cute ❤️
First Pay Day After 4 Months of Unemployment
Hello everyone good day! I am really knackered today, more mentally than physically, as week 2 at work entails me having to take on one patient. This patient loading is actually not bad but for a person who is very new to dialysis it can get a bit overwhelming. I have not been properly introduced to the machine yet. There is a very long module for that, and I do feel like we should start with that before the hands on, but I think they trust me too much. Anyway, I struggled but survived the 13 hour shift. Yes I had to stay an hour extra to help out with the paperworks.
Despite the very tiring day at work, I went home feeling very fulfilled and I gave myself a self hug and a tap on the back for a job well done. I could have done better but I did manage to fulfil the task even with great difficulty. As I was walking on my way home I opened my mobile banking app to check if my salary has arrived as my colleagues said we get paid every 25th of the month. And lo and behold! I got money of more than 3 digits after being on boyfriend pension for 4 months. My happiness seeing that money in my account is to the moon! It is not a lot as I only got half the salary as I started working half way through the month but it has been so long since I've seen this kind of money in my dried up account. It is just in time for mine and my boyfriend's birthdays. Thank God!
I rewarded myself with a convenient store microwave easy dinner as I really can't be bothered to cook or eat out. My legs are throbbing in pain from prolonged standing and my brain is fried. I have plans for this money but I don't really want to do it today as I am exhausted. In fact, I am actually struggling to keep my eyes open to write this article.
So I made a mental note of all the bills that I need to settle for tomorrow. First, pay house rent for this month. Second, make sure my credit card is fully paid. Third, grocery shopping. Fourth and most important, laptop hunting for my boyfriend as I promised to get him a new laptop for his birthday. He absolutely deserves it as he has been such a good boy. 😅For my techy friends on here any recommendations? He plans to use it for coding I think and I am the wrong person to ask regarding computers. My budget is max of 500£ and I would really love some sound suggestions. Please do drop them in the comments.
Overall, although I am very, very tired today I will sleep with a happy heart knowing that I am able to be financially independent again. My unemployment had taught me the value of work and money. This time I will try to save more for the rainy days. But first, I must pay what needs to be paid first. And hopefully by Christmas I would be financially recovered enough to give my family back home lovely Christmas gifts.
Appreciation Post to My Amazing Boyfriend ❤️
Hello guys I hope today is a good day for you! Before you read on, I would like to warn you that this post may be cringy to some of you. I am so sorry for being corny but I hope you guys will indulge me with this!
Today marks another milestone for me and my boyfriend's relationship. It is our 6th Monthsary and unfortunately we are celebrating it apart. But we did manage to have an advanced celebration last weekend. To be honest, I did not expect to find love too soon, as I met him when I was recovering from a heart break. I truly didn't want to fall in love too quickly and was not really looking for it. But cliché as it may sound, I somehow did. I think I now believe that God indeed blessed the broken road as the song by Rascal Flatts goes.
***"That every long lost dream led me to where you are. Others who broke my heart, they were like Northern stars. Pointing me on my way into your loving arms. This much I know is true. That God blessed the broken road. That led me straight to you. Yes, He did."*** -Rascal Flatts
It's not been a long time since we became a couple, but I would say my boyfriend and I had surpassed a lot of hurdles together. I have not been very lucky for the past couple of months but I have been blessed with him. I guess looking back at it now, the hardships I have faced had been a blessing in disguise too, as it has drawn me closer to my boyfriend and it has made me really see his worth in gold. No, I am not talking about his money but his golden heart. I have been so lucky to have found such a kind hearted man.
During my 4 months of joblessness he readily supported me financially and emotionally without any complaints at all. Also, he has been very patient and endured my countless mood swings, bouts of insecurities, and frustrations during the trying times. He always make sure to resolve our problems before bed time so I do not sleep with a heavy heart. He makes me laugh when I am sad. He has truly kept me sane in a lot of instances! Furthermore, my boyfriend has never tried to change me and had always accepted my flaws and imperfections allowing me to feel comfortable with myself. And I have never felt more loved.
So here's a toast to my food trip partner, my teddy bear, my travel and walking buddy, my rock, and my comfort! Happy monthsary amore! I could really say that my love for you only grows stronger as the day goes by. Thank you for fixing my heart and making me believe in love again. Thank you for being you. ❤️
Respect Begets Respect
Hello guys! First of all, forgive me for my serial posts, as I did miss my daily post last Friday due to my busy schedule, so my OCD wants me to catch up with that as I made a promise to myself to publish one article a day and I intend to keep that. I also have some realisations and nuggets of wisdom to share today after quite a terrible train ride from Bristol to Bath.
Today the train from Bristol to Bath was quite chaotic and full around noon time that some of us passengers were forced to be on a standing trip near the entrance of the train. We felt like sardines in a can. An elderly lady, realising this had a change of heart and wanted to get off the train as she too had no seats and the seating passengers were not really very polite and chivalrous enough to offer her one.
On the process of getting off the train she inadvertently lightly pushed a girl on her mid 20s and this girl rudely screamed at her, "Can't you see there's no more space?!" I could tell you everyone on the train was quite shocked and appalled by her outburst but she didn't even seem to care. Now this girl was a fellow Asian but I quite was a bit embarrassed to be standing next to her and to be associated to her in anyway.
Clearly, she is not local to the UK too, like me she immigrated to this foreign land. We always cry when we are subjected to racism but we sometimes do not introspect what are some reasons why people have bad impressions about us. I was brought up to be respectful of elders so seeing this impoliteness made me cringe. I could see some British nationals with their judging gaze at this imprudent girl. And even fellow Asians who were petrified. Can you blame them?
Anyway I was glad her friend spoke up and told her off and told her to calm down. But despite that she was adamant she was right. Well perhaps this girl was having a really bad day. And perhaps getting pushed by a towering lady was annoying but there was no way screaming would solve anything. The moment she became rude and disrespectful was the moment she lost others respect. She could have still been polite when delivering her message. You can speak up without having an attitude. Sure the situation is annoying it was so cramped in that train but she's not the only one cramped we all had to endure it too.
With this event I just wanted to point out a couple of things. First, respecting the elderly and respecting other people in general is imperative. Second, being assertive does not need to be corrosive. You can get your message across without being rude. Third, patience is important. Something said in anger cannot be taken back. Fourth, have empathy and consideration towards others. Fifth, be kind and excellent to each other. We are all in this together in this life. We don't need to fight unnecessarily. Instead of spreading hate be kind.
We had an amazing early monthsary dinner yesterday evening at Amarone Restaurant. The food was absolutely splendid! ❤️
Advanced 6th Monthsary Dinner at Amarone Restaurant ❤️
Hello readcashers! Good day! Today I will be talking about our advanced 6th monthsary dinner meal at Amarone Restaurant yesterday. My boyfriend and I have our monthsaries every 24th of the month. But since we only have the weekends together, and he is flying back to Guernsey at noon today, we decided to celebrate it yesterday.
As usual or as per norm, Andrea picked another Italian restaurant. 😅 It was actually not because he was being biased but mostly because the highly recommended ones online are usually Italian. And it is quite understandable why.
Amarone is a distinctive independent Italian restaurant. It is located in the stylish Georgian establishment that was once home to Richard ‘Beau’ Nash, the renowned fashion socialite and a master of ceremonies in Bath back in the days. It is also conveniently situated next to Theatre Royal in Bath, so it is quite known to the patrons of the arts.
We secured a booking at 20:45 but we were allowed in early. The wait staff were Italians so Andrea got to showcase his native tongue. I do love listening to him talk in Italian. We got the menus and didn't waste time ordering, as we did have an idea in mind of what we wanted already.
To start we ordered Montepulciano d'Abruzzo red wine, our favourite wine for a secret reason. Then we ordered starters. We had ***tagliere della casa***, which is an Italian charcuterie and cheeseboard with artisan bread. We enjoyed this so much and as per Andrea, the meat on this charcuterie were very high quality compared to some from other restaurants. It was authentically Italian. And also we ordered, ***la caprese***, which was made of buffalo mozarella, vine cherry tomatoes, and basil. It was quite simple but it was very tasty.
For the mains, I got a ribeye steak 12oz cooked medium well with blue cheese sauce and a side of chips as I do need my iron. And Andrea got some ***Brasato D'agnello*** which is braised lamb served with a classic grilled polenta. To be honest, Andre won this time as his dish reminds me so much of a dish back home called ***kaldereta*** and my steak turned out a little bit on the chewy side. I think the chef was teaching me a lesson to next time order medium rare. Nonetheless, I still did enjoy my steak despite the chewing difficulties.
We ordered another starter, oddly, as we wanted to try their calamari. And then we finished up with a delicious ***pannacotta alla banana*** for dessert to share as we actually barely had space for it. It was made with burnt banana pannacotta with caramelised walnuts and chocolate ice cream. We also ordered some espresso to pair it with as we were quite drunk by the red wine. Super yum!
Our dinner experience at Amarone Restaurant was a little bit on the pricey side but definitely remarkable and we definitely would come back again. Andrea said so far it is the best Italian restaurant he's tasted in Bath and that actually counts a lot considering how many Italian places we've been to. That is all for now my friends. Ciao! ❤️
Sark Tales Part I
Hello my lovely readers it has been a while since I have posted some of my travel diaries as I have been quite slumped with work. So here is one today. I am taking you to an adventure in an island called Sark!
Sark is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey which is a British Crown Dependency. It is located in the southwestern part of the English Channel. Sark has a land area of around 5.4km2 and an estimated populace of 500. It is considered as a Dark Sky Preserve (DSP) as it is one of the few areas in the globe that prohibits cars from roads. Hence, minimising light pollution and keeping the night sky as dark as can be and perfect for stargazing. Let's begin the tour!
**Sark Port**
This is the main port where the ferry from Guernsey will land. You can find the ticketing office here as well. You can also find the "Welcome To Sark Tunnel" here. When you walk through that tunnel, you will find the tractors for hire to take you in the town proper. But if you do not have cash then you will have to walk a fair way.
**Creux Harbour**
This pebbly harbour is known to be one of the smallest working harbours in the world. People do bathe here during high tide. When we went there it was low tide so we can see the boats kissing the sand. It was quite charming and looked so calm and peaceful.
**La Coupée**
Well people call La Coupée several things: isthmus, causeway, ridge, and etc. But since I am a simple person, I call this a bridge. La Coupée connects Little Sark to Big Sark.
La Coupée is 3 meters wide and 90 meters long with a drop of 80 meters on each side. Some people actually have trouble crossing this bridge as it is quite too thin and on a windy day, it can be quite fatal and dangerous. But on a nice weather it is relatively beautiful as long as you don't have phobia to heights.
It gives you a nice vantage view of La Grande Greve Beach. Also if you happen to be there on the evenings, a beautiful sunset is guaranteed.
**La Grande Greve**
My boyfriend and I had a very fun time at this beach. The access to it is a steep stair path from La Coupée (which I really hate as it killed me). But it was worth the steep descent.
It was a pretty beach with a lot of interesting cave like rock formations. It was also white sand instead of pebbles so I loved it as it does not kill my feet. My boyfriend and I made some art using the awashed sea weeds during our visit. I have very fond memories there.
I have only ever been to Sark twice and unfortunately I haven't done the stargazing bit yet. But as always, I look at this as an opportunity and reason to come visit some other time. Watch out for part II of my Sark Visit. I am sorry I cannot be concise as travel blogs make me waffle on too much 😂. Thank you for reading. Much love! ❤️
I had quite a lovely day off. I'm quite gutted that it is ending. 💛
https://read.cash/@flapiz/how-i-spent-my-day-off-today-64b13223
How I Spent My Day Off Today
Hello guys today is my day off as I mentioned from my article early on. I have so many plans for today as I want to make the most of the day before I come back for work tomorrow. Anyway I woke up later than expected but hey it is my day off I deserved an extra snooze. First agenda was put my clothes in the washing machine as I really want to wash them so it can dry naturally since the weather now is not as great as before. Then I ran the bath and ate my lunch whilst it was filling up. Having a soak in the bath is one of the highest form of self care for me. Unfortunately, that didn't work out too well. The bath seemed too hot and I was actually palpitating so I ended up stopping it early and opting for a shower instead.
Made phone calls to my family back home today. As I have not spoken to them for a long time since the time difference does not allow it. I'm working when they are awake. 🥹I found out that my sister caught covid AGAIN. This is her second time but thankfully she looks well. I suppose she got it from the hospital as she is a doctor. Apart from her sickness everyone in the family seems to be doing well. Praise God for that. Called my boyfriend, Andrea, and played Mobile Legends with him. I look forward to our telephone dates. I miss him and can't wait to see him tomorrow evening after work.
I did some gold digging online while waiting for my washing to finish. When it did, I hanged my clothes to air dry and decided to head out to town for grocery shopping. I need to do this otherwise I will starve tomorrow. Since I had time and I was intending to excercise, I decided to walk to the city. That is 45 minutes walk my friends but I did it. Saw a lot of pretty things during my walk as autumn brings out the beautiful colours of nature. I took photos like a tourist so I could show them to you guys. Pulteney Weir looked extra stunning with the yellowing tree leaves by its side.
In the city centre, I got hungry despite my brunch so I decided to eat at my favourite Asian fastfood, Itsu, before I start grocery shopping. I had some chicken katsu and miso soup with an aloe drink. After that I poked around Primark for some cheap warm clothes for me and my boyfriend. Then I headed for groceries for some food for tomorrow. I decided for some easy cook gyoza for tomorrow's lunch. I got some spaghetti ingredients too. Now it's time to go home. It is getting a bit dark so I decided to wait for the bus. It's a long wait cause I just missed the last one so I bought some happy meal from McDonald's in case I get hungry again later.
I am happy that today is an eventful day. All I need to do later is cook my lunch for tomorrow and have my good night phone call again with Andrea. Maybe another round of games! Proud to say that at the time of writing I made 11,500 steps today! I hope your day is well too and I hope you like the photos. Cheers!
@flapiz
