How I'm Settling in With My New Job
Hello beautiful people! I am actually writing this article while I'm laid in bed with my legs propped up as they are pretty swollen and throbbing a lot from the long day of work. As many of you know, I just started with my new job last week after 4 months of unemployment and visa wait. After 6 years of nursing in different fields, I am pleased to announce that I am embarking again on a new journey on a new area of nursing and that is dialysis.
Dialysis is very new to me as I have either worked in the ward as a general nurse, a surgical nurse, and I also did a bit of aged care nursing. It is my first time to work in a specialised area of nursing and I have not a single clue about it. Luckily enough they gave me a shot and hired me despite my inexperience. I have been very transparent and honest to them about it but I did say I was very keen to learn.
Today was actually my 5th day of work and it's my 3rd consecutive shift of the week. Our shifts are quite long, lasting at 12 hours. But it is a lot less exhausting than ward nursing. I am happy and looking forward for tomorrow as it is my day off. I won't need to wake up too early. Yay!
I am happy to report that I have mastered lining and priming the dialysis machines! Yesterday we were short staffed, so although I was supernumerary they were forced to utilise me for drawing up intravenous drugs, blood pressure monitoring, cleaning the bay area, and documentation. It made me feel like I am a vital part of the work force than just a shadow or stick. I also had to baby sit a very confused patient who was trying to jump out of bed. Yesterday felt like war, but I felt like I won.
My preceptor was quite impressed with me and called me a fast learner. I am so relieved to hear that. I am a little afraid though, as she is trusting me way too much. Today she made me take off a cannula from an AV graft. Despite me not having my induction trainings yet. I have taken off normal IV cannulas countless of times and this is sort of a similar concept, but this ones are a bit special as they are known to bleed more. True enough I had a splattering of blood today. Thank goodness I had my personal protective equipment on, I did not end up having a blood bath. I was horrified but I hid it well and I asked my preceptor if I was doing something wrong cause it was like a fountain of blood and she said I did nothing wrong it actually quite happen often with grafts.
Anyway, she asked me if I was okay as apparently a lot of people gets put off after such event and I said I was coping. She then asked me if I want to take off another cannula for the day and I said yes despite my mind saying no 😂. The second cannula was an AV fistula and it came out beautifully with less blood. I was less shaky the second time too. I think I need to expose myself more to these .
So far so good I would say! I am enjoying the new job and learning a lot of new things from it. I realised that there are some things better learned experienced by hand rather than just by watching. I also learned that a hard job can be easier with the right attitude and mindset. Furthermore, I learned to laugh at my mistakes, take criticisms in constructively, and try again until I succeed. Lastly, I learned that it is never too late to learn something new again.
Casa de Tapas
Hello fellow read cashers and foodies. Be ready as this is another food post. Today I will be talking to you about mine and my boyfriend's favourite tapas place here in Bath. And that is no other than Casa De Tapas, well located at the city centre, on York Street, Bath. But first things first, what are tapas? Well according to the omniscient Mr. Google, tapas are small Spanish savoury dishes usually served with drinks at the bar. According to Miss Wikipedia it is a Spanish appetiser or snack. In simple terms, tapas are Spanish nibbles! Now let's proceed.
Casa de Tapas, literally translated as house of tapas, was established last year, 2021. They pride themselves for creating authentic and delicious Spanish tapas served in a contemporary and relaxed atmosphere. The venue is actually VERY Español! There are 2 floors in this establishment, the first floor is for dining whilst the second floor is for drinking. Casa de Tapas are open from Mondays to Fridays from 12 to 5 PM.
My boyfriend and I love this place because as foodies, this is the perfect place to go to if you want to taste multiple varieties of food in one sitting without going over the budget. They have a promo which is any 3 tapas for 18£. This is really good compared to ordering 3 mains which are too large to consume.
We actually remembered on our first visit, we ordered 3 tapas each and struggled so badly to finish them. What a feast! On the photo above from top left going to the right, we had: ***Torrezinos con mojo picon*****,** which was slow cooked pork belly served with spicy sauce; ***paella de pollo***, which was classic Spanish chicken paella made with garrofo beans, mixed peppers, green beans, and saffron; ***Alitas de pollo con miel y limon***, which is crispy chicken wings coated in a sweet and spicy honey sauce. From bottom left going to the right are: ***Pulpo con patatas y pimenton,*** which is slow cooked octopus served with fresh potatoes and finished with smoked paprika; ***Albondigas***, which is homemade pork and beef meatballs served in tomato sauce; and lastly, ***Pinchos de ternera con mojo picon***, which is marinated beef skewers served with a hot and spicy sauce.
During our latest visit there, we learned not to be too greedy. We only ordered 3 tapas to share but we were pretty full afterwards. We had the following: ***Croquetas de chorizo y Jamon Serrano; Mejillones al vino blanco***; and a repeat order of ***Pulpo con patatas y pimenton.*** English descriptions will be written on their consecutive photos within this article.
So if you're ever in Bath, don't forget that Casa de Tapas is quite a treat! Eating and drinking there feels like you are getting transported to sunny Spain. Even their dish menu names are in Spanish! They offer a really good selection of dishes including seafoods at a very affordable price. Spanish cocktails, cavas, sangrias, and more are of abundance too!
Anyhow, that's all for today and I am sorry if I made you crave and hungry. Believe me, I also make myself feel that way when I write my articles. But I do like sharing and documenting what I eat. The good thing about it is, it doesn't make us fat. Hopefully I will still see you on my next posts. Take care y'all and cheers! 😂
Sharing our deliciously organic and healthy meal from Gather Cafe and Bar in Batheaston, Bath. Very Instagrammably gorgeous meal!
https://read.cash/@flapiz/gather-cafe-and-bar-our-new-brunch-place-1e8da5ff
Gather Cafe and Bar: Our New Brunch Place
Hello dear readers! It is Monday and it has been a hectic one. I find myself thinking of the amazing weekend I had and wishing for the next one to come quickly. Last Saturday, my boyfriend and I tried a local food place here in Batheaston, Bath called Gather Cafe and Bar. This bar and cafe is known for its predominantly organic selections. This was as per recommendation of my housemate, Rosie. According to her, brunch there is lovely so we went to check it out for ourselves. Brunch was open from 9 AM to 3 PM, but since Andre and I do not wake up early on weekends, we got there at around 1 PM.
When we got there, I couldn't help but admire the interiors. It has a rustic and homey feel to it which I kinda love. A lot of the decorative pieces looked antique which gives the place more character and charm. I also love how there are so many plants inside the cafe giving it a more earthy look. We took a menu and sat at a two seater table and started deliberating on what we want to eat.
I ended up ordering a Salmon Benedict, which was comprised of smoked salmon, avocado, 2 poached eggs, toasted sourdough muffins, topped with hollandaise sauce, and roasted tomato on the side. The food arrived looking absolutely gorgeous and tasted perfect too! I like how juicy and creamy it was and how the salmon was fresh and not itchy. For drinks, I tried a winter drink called mulled juice, which I surprisingly enjoyed too.
Andre, on the other hand, ordered a Croque Madame which consisted of toasted sourdough sandwich made with a bechamel sauce, cheddar and gruyer cheese, mushrooms, and a fried egg on top. He had orange juice for drinks. According to him, mine was the better order but he still did like his order it was just a tad bit too dry in comparison to my juicy salmon benedict.
Since I love goat cheese, we ordered a third dish to share. We got Goat's Curd, which was made of goat's curd, currant, honey, sourdough toast, and some bacon. I absolutely enjoyed this meal too.
Overall, we had a really brilliant meal both palatably and aesthetically that we decided to come again next week. We are very happy to have found a good brunch place, which is only a stone throw away from where I live. According to Andre he will order the Salmon Benedict next time. 😂
After our meal, we decided to chill at the park, conveniently located, just across the cafe. That is all for now, and thank you so much for reading! I hope you guys had a great weekend as well. Cheers!
Dropped the Boyfriend Off the Airport
Hello everyone how's your Sunday been going? I have started writing this, on a bus, on my way home from dropping my boyfriend to the airport for his flight back to Guernsey. This is going to be our new normal now as I am now working in the mainland and he remains working in Guernsey. I really am not a fan of long distance relationships (LDR) but somehow my relationships always sort of end up this way as love is quite and unpredictable thing and it creeps up on you when you least expect.
Anyhow despite me understanding that it's not such a bad situation, as some people on LDR only manage to see each other in a monthly or even yearly basis and we see each other every week, I still feel quite gutted and sad. I am ashamed to admit that I unfortunately, am quite a clingy person when I love someone. Anyhow, as I was trying to hold back the tears, I opened read cash to divert my thoughts and wow so many notifications piling up. I am sorry about this guys, rest assured I will be clearing them up before the day ends.
I find that I feel less lonely when I keep myself busy. It will be easy today as I am working 3 days straight starting tomorrow so that means I have to prepare a lot of things. I didn't manage yesterday because I was trying to make the most of my time with my boyfriend.
So here's my to do list for the remaining of my Sunday:
Buy vitamins as I feel like I have very low energy. I suspect my iron levels are low. This I have just accomplished before I hopped on the bus. I got myself some iron supplements and also some vitamin C as iron absorbs better with it.
Catch up on my read notifications. I am on it! And pre-write and start some articles as I am trying to do at least one article a day. Pre-writing is a must if I want to be consistent despite the full time job.
Do some laundry as I do not have clothes to wear next week. And well the sun us still out so it can still dry naturally.
Do some online gold digging on my other earning sites, this was in pause as I said I was spending quality time with my Guernsey visitor.
A bit of groceries and lunch. Now heating up a chilli con carne.
Phone call with the boyfriend. Of course. And hopefully a mobile legends game too.
Do more walking to reach 15,151 steps in weward. I know it is oddly specific. It is one of the featured challenges.
I think that should be good enough to keep me busy and less lonely. Oh by the way, thank you guys for making me achieve 1000 views. I know it is nothing lucrative but it means a lot to me to reach this little milestone after a month and half being here. Still aiming for the big 10k but I will enjoy the ride! Cheers guys!
Hello everyone it has been quite a while. Sharing with you our visit to Heavenly Desserts in Bath ❤️
https://read.cash/@flapiz/heavenly-desserts-in-bath-91c42d1a
Heavenly Desserts in Bath
My boyfriend arrived yesterday from Guernsey! So it was a happy Friday for me. I was starving when I met him as I wasn't able to eat lunch at work, so we grabbed quick tapas for lunch first before we started exploring the city. We did not have an itinerary, just a leisurely walk. We saw a little garden and decided to stop there for a rest, and from there we spotted this dessert place called, Heavenly Dessert.
The funny thing we noticed, was that in a discrete writing, you can read on the sides of the building that this used to actually be a church. It was called Hope Chapel, which was once a United Methodist Free Church. So this really got us laughing and curious. We actually thought it was intentional but it appears that this was purely coincidental as Heavenly Desserts actually have several locations. This one in Bath is pretty special as you just might actually get to heaven as you dine there.
Since we wanted something to drink we poked our head in. The interior looked fancy and elegant. It was a bit intimidating. The server ushered us to a table and gave us a menu. But we took our time ordering, as we were busy taking photos of the fancy lighting like moths attracted to a flame.
We actually struggled to choose our orders as there were so many delicious options! Andrea and I both ordered a pistachio based drink since we both really love pistachio. He got a pistachio milkshake which had pistachio gelato, Sicilian pistachio sauce, and crushed pistachios. While I got a pistachio Spanish ice latte, which had pistachio sauce, steamed milk, condensed milk, and ice, served deconstructed. We were wondering how deconstructed looked like and we realised it is just unmixed so that the layers were quite distinguished. It looked quite artistic.
We only wanted drinks but since the menu had pictures a lot of things were calling us, so we decided to try out a dessert too to share. We decided to order their signature dish named "Grow Up" which cutely resembles a real potted plant. The ingredients were cookie cheesecake cream, soft cookie pieces, oreo cookies for the soil, and Biscoff milk syrup. We enjoyed this one very much not only because it was delicious but also because pouring the cream on it felt like watering a real plant. Andre had the honour of making it grow and I harvested majority of it. 😂
Overall it was an amazing food experience apart from the inattentive waiter who forgot to bring us water 3 times. We are still definitely coming back as there were a lot of interesting desserts left to try there. If you're a sweet tooth this is a must place to visit. Anyhow that's all for today since I am chilling for the weekend. Cheers guys!
How I Earn From My Receipts
Good day readcashers! Today, I will be telling you how I earn from my receipts. I am proud to say that I am a person who is good at making extra money from almost anything. And I will be sharing with you one of my favourite ways to earn money, taking snapshots of my itemised receipts. There are two mobile apps here in the UK that I use to do this, Storewards and Shoppix.
****Storewards****
Up to date, I earned over 73£ from this app and still counting. You can upload any receipts that has the list of item names on it, the date, and the store name. Receipts must be 2 weeks or less old to be valid. Each receipt is worth 600 coins irregardless if you've uploaded it on the day or later. You can upload up to 30 receipts per week. You earn 1000 coins a month if you connect it to your gmail account. And one off 2000 coins if you connect it to your Amazon account. The minimum cash-out is at 22000 coins which is valued at 2£ redeemable via paypal or amazon. The longer you wait for cash-out the cheaper the coin value of the reward so it is sometimes worth holding out your cash-outs.
****Shoppix****
Is very similar to Storewards but a bit stricter and harder to earn from. Unlike Storewards, it only accepts receipts 7 day-old or less. It also only accepts one receipt from the same store per day.
If you upload a receipt on the same day as your shopping, you get 30 points, and only 25 for none recent receipts. Minimum cash out is 3200 tokens which is valued at 5£. Earnings are redeemable via Amazon, Itunes, Love2Shop, and Paypal.
With shoppix you can also upload online receipts. And you can also earn from weekly quizzes and random surveys. It is not as good as storewards but I use them concurrently and submit my receipts in both platform so I double my earnings.
Both of these apps provide me extra pocket money from my shopping and that makes me feel really clever. My favourite between the two is Storewards, as it allows me to upload multiple receipts from the same store on the same day. Allowing me to earn more quickly.
These apps are what I call, Christmas apps, as my proceeds from these and some other gold diggings for the entire year, is what I send home to buy groceries for 20 families for Christmas. I do have to add on some personal funds for this too, as it is not really enough for 20 families. That being said, my friends have been helping me get more money by giving me their receipts too. Alone I only make a ripple, but together we make a big impact to the community. Last year we were successful with our Christmas charity. Hopefully, this year I can still catch up after being jobless for 4 months.
Anyhow, if you are living in the UK I would really recommend you download and try these apps so you can get some money back from your shopping. It is so worth it specially if you shop a lot of groceries and other items. I hope this article will help bring you extra cash. Cheers!
First Day At Work
Hey guys! I don't know if anyone noticed, but I have gotten pretty quiet today. It is because I started my first day of work today at Fresenius Kidney Care. It is a dialysis clinic with several locations around the world. To be honest with you I was so nervous to go to work today. Firstly, because I have no experience in dialysis and secondly, because I have been off work for so long that I feel quite rusty.
On the upside, since it was my first day, my manager told me to come at 9:00 AM instead of the early 7:00 AM. I have prepared my lunch and needs on the day before so that I won't be late for today. I am not used to having a structure yet, as I have not worked for 4 months, so I gave myself an ample snooze time. I snoozed the alarm 3 times before I got up. First things first, I texted my boyfriend to let him know that he's the first person I thought of as I woke up. Then I boiled water for my coffee and headed straight up for the shower. I didn't really have time for a proper breakfast as I snoozed too much but I packed a big lunch.
When I arrived work, it looked like no one was manning the reception. But a dialysis assistant spotted me and let me through. It seems like I've arrived at a busy time, so the manager told him to show me where my temporary uniforms were. After I changed into my uniforms, I then joined in for the handover. Straight away I was overwhelmed as they seem to know all the patients well. Because it is a dialysis unit they get to know their patients quite a lot. They were also talking about things that aren't normally talked about in general nursing. I was ready to run away.
Anyhow, after handover our manager, Gigi, showed me around the unit. She also printed the induction pack and we started going through it. We then had our break and I learned that they provide free snack bars and hot drinks. So grabbed a granola bar as I didn't have breakfast and chatted away. It is a very multicultural team and I was actually glad as my manager is Filipino like me.
After break was the busy time of day as the morning dialysis were finishing and they were now getting the afternoon dialysis patients in. I was shadowing Gigi as she was busily removing the dialysis lines. I felt quite guilty not being able to help, but I am not allowed to do anything yet until I've read some documents. I was not even allowed to help with the cleaning of the beds. I keep offering to help that Gigi gave in and taught me how to set up lines for the dialysis machines. It was a hard job. I have never seen so many lines and attachments in my entire nursing career. She showed me once and she let me do the rest. She was handling 4 patients so I did 3 machines. To be totally honest, I didn't know how I managed to do it but I did. Initially, with some reminder and prompting and on my own eventually. I am not sure I would remember it tomorrow though but I have got a week to learn it.
After the new patient's were hooked to their dialysis machine, it was back to being chilled again. We did the afternoon rounds and I was getting introduced to all the patients. They were quite curious about me as well as I am a new face but they were all lovely. After that, it was time for another break. After the break, my manager gave me things to read. They were mostly risk assessments. I read 3 of them, each 7 pages long. When I finished that I was finally allowed to go home. Thank God as I have so much headache after reading. I think it was a combination of knowledge overload and the oxygen deprivation from wearing the mask.
As I was walking home I was silently thanking God for this job and the opportunity to earn money again. I was also thankful that my new colleagues and patients were lovely and friendly, for now. My first day was not so bad. The walk home was pretty lovely too. I saw some scare crows along the way and I would write more about them when I've seen them all. Now just relaxing and waiting for my headache to subside.
Bottomline, being a newbie can be very stressful but with the right attitude and the right people it can be a good journey too. I look at this as an opportunity to grow career wise and to learn new and exciting things. Thanks for reading guys! Cheers!
Bittersweet Flight Back to the Mainland
The day started early for me today, actually I barely slept. My boyfriend finished his shift at midnight and I normally collect him from office to get more steps. Since it is my last day in the island, we decided to finish watching the Dahmer series on Netflix before bed time. We ended up sleeping around 2:00 AM. Set 3 alarms with 3 phones to ensure we wake up in 3 hours time.
We woke up at 5:00 AM as my pre-booked taxi collected us at 6:00 AM from my partner's house to the airport. To be honest, my flight was supposed to be 2 days ago but the separation anxiety was too strong I decided to delay the inevitable a bit more and moved the flight for today. I have gotten so used to living with my boyfriend these past couple of months as he was supporting me while I was unemployed. It dawned on me all at once how much I would miss his presence. Funny how you realise the importance of something when it is almost gone.
Andrea, bless him, woke up early too to send me off to the airport. It's a lot of effort for him considering he is a sleepy head. He prepared our breakfast while I did my shower and personal prep for the flight. Everything was almost ready anyhow as I prepared my luggage yesterday evening. Got to the airport quite early so we had time to spare for a game of Mobile Legends. We won it in 10 minutes! Yay!
At around 6:35 AM Andrea and I said our goodbyes as he needs to catch the bus back to his place and I still have to undergo airport checks. I am proud to say I only cried a little and did not end up smudging my mascara and looking like a raccoon. The checks took a while as my hair set off the x-ray scanner again. I really don't know how on earth. It always happens!
The boarding time was a little late but not as late as it usually does. Guernsey planes are almost always delayed. 😂 I hate travelling this early but on the plus side I was able to see a lovely sunrise inside the plane. Unfortunately I have not photos for that as I was sat on an aisle seat but it was majestic!
On the positive side of things, I am finally working again tomorrow after a long bout of unemployment. I can earn money just in time for Christmas and also can now resume sending money home to my family in the Philippines. Andrea is flying to see me for the weekend so I would only be without him for 2 days really.
Bottomline, in life there are sacrifices that needs to be done to achieve personal goals. It is important to find a partner that will support you through it even when it is hard. I am lucky with my boyfriend as he is trying his best to find employment in the mainland too so that we could be closer to each other. I definitely see the good effort he puts in this relationship and I intend to do the same.
Anyway here I am in Bristol, safely landed. It is my first time landing here so I am a bit lost. Now off to find the bus to Bath. I have a really busy day ahead of me so I am writing this blog in between transits. I do hope your day is going well in your side of the world. Cheers!
Rainbow Butterfly Pasta
Hello readcashers here is another food post from yours truly as we went to a local Italian shop here called, Vinoteca, and found something pretty and interesting. It is a rainbow coloured *farfalle*, by Pastificio Del Colle made all the way from Puglia, Italy. *Farfalle* literally translates to butterfly, but before dating an Italian, I honestly thought they were bow ties or a ribbon. Anyhow, in the English world, it is known as both depending on your perspective of things.
Farfalle pastas always catch my eyes when grocery shopping as I find their shape really cute. But even more-so today as it came in varying colours. So I clung to Andrea and begged for them and also some pastries for desserts. Of course, since my boyfriend is amazing, he happily obliged.
According to the packet, each pasta colours comes from different ingredients. The green ones are made from spinach. The orange ones contains paprika. The violet ones are made from beet. Lastly, the yellow one contains curcuma, also known as turmeric. This pasta has wheat and traces of shellfish so unfortunately it is not for our friends that are gluten intolerant and friends that are allergic to seafood.
Preparing the pasta was easy. Just put it in boiling water for 8/9 minutes and then drain the water when time is up. Add toppings and sauce of your choice and mix it well. Take note to be mindful when mixing, as the pasta is softer and breaks easily when cooked. We want to maintain its cute shape after all.
In our case, we decided to add tuna chunks in it, since it is a bit of a fishy flavoured pasta. For sauce, we opted for pesto sauce as we both love pesto. We added a lot of parmesan cheese afterwards to make it more creamy. And just like that lunch was ready.
It was really delicious and you could taste each varying flavours of the pasta. We had no trouble finishing it up. Although we were a slightly confused with the turmeric flavoured ones. After we gobbled up the pasta, we had some *aragostine alla crema pistachio* for dessert. *Aragostine* in English means lobster since this pastry is shaped a lot like lobster tail. We enjoyed the dessert too as we are both pistachio lovers and we both liked the texture of aragostine. It is deliciously crunchy and flaky.
That's my wonderful lunch for today. And I hope to try more interesting pastas in the future. Thanks for reading and see you again next time. Cheers!
Weward App Experiment
Hello everyone good evening. I am a bit late with my article today, as earlier, I had trouble accessing this site. It was saying that the traffic here was too high. So to pass my time productively, I went out for a post-dinner walk around town. I have noticed my fitness has not been so great lately and I've hit the 70 kilogram mark on the scales so I am a lot concerned. I used to be quite fit and active you see, it used to be pretty normal for me to reach at least 15,000 steps daily from working in the hospital. But for the past 4 months I was off work due to visa delays and it did a number on my fitness and stamina. Now I pant from climbing even just 10 flights of stairs. The autumn does not help either, as my Filipino body was not built for cold weather, and I find myself becoming sluggish by the day.
It's a good thing that my boyfriend @Andrea1511 introduced a new app to me that incentivise walking. No it's not sweatcoin as I have tried that one and it's really not for me. This app is called weward which like sweatcoin pays you to walk too. But instead of paying you things you do not need, it in fact, pays you directly through your bank account. It's nothing lucrative and it would approximately take you 4 months to get something out of it if you manage to walk 20,000 steps consistently daily. But I decided to try it as it sounds good to be paid for something you do daily and it keeps me fit too.
Apart from getting paid for walking, the app pays you to watch ads, for shopping, and for each referral that earns a certain amount of wards. If you live in France you can even earn more as it pays you for visiting certain places. Unfortunately, this feature is limited in France as this is a French made app. The currency of this app is called ward and 3000 ward is equivalent to 15 Euros. To start off with, you can earn 300 wards if you enter a referral code in the settings section when you sign up. Here's mine in case you need one: **FLxR-EZxwe 👍🏻.** You can also earn by completing fun in-app challenges. Such as completing a certain amount of steps in a day.
Apart from the earnings feature, the app allows you to donate to reforestation projects around the world. It also tells you how much calories you've burnt from walking. And my favourite feature, since I am a very competitive person, is that it allows you to compete among your friends and compare how many steps you made in a day. There is a daily leaderboard for it. Unfortunately today I cannot brag much as I have been quite lazy all morning, but I hope I can still put in some more steps before the day ends. I will continue my experiment with this app and will write again as soon as I have tried the pay out process myself. Cheers guys and see you tomorrow! ❤️
PS. If you are on this app can you please add me as a friend so we can compete against each other 😉
Bears VS Babies
Hello everyone this article is going to be a very fun and cute one as today I will be teaching you a card game called Bears VS Babies. I learned about this game from my cool and nerdy friends, Marsh and Joydee, a.k.a. my grandparents in Guernsey. This game is designed by Elan Lee and illustrated by Matthew Inman, these duo were also responsible for creating the popular card game, Exploding Kittens. Inman is also the creator of the famous online comic, Oatmeal.
The game comes in a fluffy faux-fur box. Inside is a deck of cards comprised of bears and babies. Bears and babies are of different kinds as follows land, sea, and sky. The babies are the enemies of this game. But before you start crying out brutality, let me say this disclaimer first, no actual babies were harmed during game play.
The bears, or more accurately monsters, as some of them aren't really bears, need to be constructed. They come in parts head being the most important one as it is a stand alone part, torso or body, arms, legs, power tools, and head accessories like hats. The more parts you add to your bears the stronger they get. The box also contains a game mat which tells you the rules and which serves as a play area to organise your babies and card decks.
So the game begins by dealing one bear head to each player in the game. Bear heads are very powerful in this game as it is worth the highest points(3 points) whilst other heads are only worth 2 points. But they are vulnerable too as they are rainbow coloured which means it is all kinds of monsters at once and must fight all battles. After dealing bear heads, deal 4 additional cards to each player. They can keep these cards secret until they play it.
The rest of the deck is then divided into 3 and is placed face down on the mat. If any of the players have a baby card on their initial cards, they must place it face down on the designated area on the mat and draw another card until they don't have any babies in their decks.
Each player can either: take a turn, which means to draw a card or play a card; provoke which means skipping a turn and picking a baby army to provoke; or dumpster dive which means skipping a turn and selecting any of the discarded cards on the mat. If a player draws a baby card, he must add it face down to the designated pile. The more babies on the pile the harder they are to defeat. Provoking these babies earns you a chance to fight them specially if you think you can beat them. Or you can also just provoke them to spite other players and make them lose their monsters. At the end of the game, the player with the most number of babies win.
In simple words, the goal of this game is to build adorable, quirky and amazing monsters to eat these weird and despicable babies. The player who eats the most number of babies win. It is a very fun game and sometimes you can get caught up building monsters for fashion show purposes.😂 If you are looking for something cute to do this Halloween this might be it. You're welcome. Cheers!😉
Sunday Lunch at Fat Rascal
Hello my friends! It's the last weekend for me as a bum as I finally got my visa and I will start to work next week. It is also my last weekend here in Guernsey for now. My friend Joydee and her husband Marsh, arranged for a luncheon double date today at Fat Rascal Craft Bar & Kitchen here in Guernsey. To be honest with you, I have been so excited about it since last night as I am a proper foodie and food is really a great part of my human existence. So despite the warnings of the weighing scale, my boyfriend and I set out too meet Joy and Marsh.
Fat Rascal is quite a hidden venue despite being located in the heart of St. Peter Port. It is set in a warm and cosy old cellar which gives you a very rustic yet homey vibe. Fat Rascal is known for putting a modern twist on traditional cuisines. Hence, almost always you would need a booking to dine there.
We started ordering drinks first. Joydee ordered a pot of jasmine dragon tea, I ordered apple loves mint tea, Andrea ordered a normal cappuccino, while Marsh, being the one with adventurous palate, ordered a super beetroot latte. The drinks were served with a meringue with fat rascal printed on it and initially I really thought it was just ornamental rock. It was yummy! I was glad we ordered tea as the food did take quite long to arrive.
For the mains we all ordered the same thing, The Rascal Beef Burger. Which was made of prime beef patty, shredded lettuce, crispy and streaky bacon, cheddar cheese, house burger sauce, and gherkin. It comes with a sides of skinny fries. This burger was amazing! I initially thought it was small when it arrived but we actually struggled to finish it. We did enjoy it so much as it was very juicy and cheesy! Marsh and Joy dissected their burgers to add ketchup on it as Filipinos love ketchup so much. Andrea on the other hand, dissected his burger to put fries on it. (I know, it is a bit strange, right?).
The appetising meal was paired with good conversations and talks of holidays and leaving. A little bit of work gossips too. Marsh and Joy are also relocating back to the mainland and they are rather excited with that. They've already booked 3 concerts to watch in London.
After the food, I received gifts from my friends. They were so lovely to get me a leaving do present despite me not being aware it was another leaving do. 😂 My lovely boyfriend, paid for my amazing and heavy Sunday meal. I feel so spoilt and loved really. I am blessed with wonderful people in life. We had a little trip at the grocery store and went back to our respective homes. That's all for today. I hope your Sunday has been as great as mine. Cheers! ❤️
Yesterday ❤️
Hello guys before I miss out my posting window for today I have come to write about my absolutely amazing day yesterday. My boyfriend, Andrea, was working 6am to 2pm yesterday. So I took the opportunity to sort out some work stuff since I finally got my visa! Woot woot! Hurray!
I was informing my manager at work about it, booking my flight back to the mainland, and sending HR some documents. As finally, after 4 months of being on forced unemployment, I can work again. Just in time before my boyfriend and my birthdays this November so I will have some money to buy him a present. 😂
When Andrea finally finished work, we walked towards my friend, Joy-joy's house. As she was baking brownies! We like visiting her for food and coffee as their household is never without it. We also like visiting her because, her and her husband, has heaps of games to play with. My boyfriend and I can be quite nerdy. But him more than me for sure!
Along the way, we saw freebies! This is a very Guernsey thing! Humanity at its finest. It was free pears that time. We quickly grabbed a few, as I love anything free. And also to bring as *"gasa, pasalubong"* or souvenir for our host, Joy-joy.
We buzzed Joy-joy and she did not disappoint, we could smell a whiff of something delicious coming from the kitchen. We gave her our free pears, which she quite graciously took, saying she will make bulgogi with it. She ushered us to the living room and we were fed with some delicious brownies with cashew nut on top and some extremely strong coffee.
After our little snack, we got down to business and started playing games. First game was Supermario Jenga! Very apt for my Italiano boyfriend, Andrea. It is just the same as the classic jenga with a capitalistic twist! You have to climb the tower with a Supermario character and defeat Bowser at the very top. You also have to earn money along the way. Anyway I won this one hands down.
Then we moved on to another game called Cobra Paw which was basically a test of your mental and physical reflexes by grabbing on to the right tile shown by the dice. Then we played Exploding Kittens, Bears vs Babies, and Here to Slay. I know, that's a lot of games. Have you heard any of them at all and have you played them? If so please tell me down below.
After losing so many times, I think I only won once, it was time for us to go home. We washed the dishes so we will be invited again. And we said our goodbyes and walked back home, stopping by to a little shop called, China China, which ironically sells Filipino silog which is a rice meal with egg and meat. Boyfriend got us both tapsilog take-away for dinner. So no cooking and no dishes for me.
Overall, I had a very eventful day yesterday, as well as, some fun and laughters. I will surely miss this when I fly for the mainland this coming Monday. I hope we can do it again someday since Joy-joy and Marsh is planning to relocate back to the mainland too and hopefully so is my boyfriend. That's all for today! Happy weekend!
Amazing Alicia Panoramic Park
Hello lovely readers! Good day! I have been in a lot of places around the globe, but I am embarrassed to say I have not wandered a lot in my own home country. Unfortunately, I was not so adventurous when I was growing up. Nevertheless, I did see some good places back home too.
So today, I will be talking about my visit to a place from Bohol, my home province in the Philippines. It is called Alicia Panoramic Park which is located in Brgy. Cambaol in the Municipality of Alicia. It features the awe-inspiring panorama of Binabaje Hills.
I actually went there with my younger sister's classmates, because although I am 4-5 years older than them, I am quite a cool big sis and I get on with them well. We departed early from Maribojoc and our driver dropped us to a meet-up point with our walking guide. We started our trek to the Panoramic Park at around 8:30 in the morning and reached the peak after 2 hours. The descent would be another 2 hour trek down the mountains.
One of our trek-mate,Tim2x, had heart conditions and honestly gave us a fright when she started turning blue midway. We did not expect it to be such a difficult climb. In fact, we were not dressed for climbing. We rested a bit to help her acclimate to the altitude. Happy to say we managed to reach the top where we finally found shelter a little nipa-hut with a lot of geckos. We drank our water, cooled our bodies, rested, and took millions of photos. That very instant, we saw a motorcycle climbing up the hill. All after all the hassle. 😂
The view at the peak was absolutely priceless! It was endless mountains and very lush greenery. It was so peaceful and quiet too apart from the rustling of the grass. It was like the whole world was on stand still. After we had our fill of the beautiful landscape we headed back down on a different route and headed home. My foot was quite sore and I ended up with 2 bruised big toes with the descent as my fingers dug on my shoes due to the steepness. But I have no regrets.
Back when I was younger, I often ask myself why people painstakingly climb mountains purposefully! If the reason was just for the stunning views, they can always just browse photographs and videos, they can even do so in high definition. By doing this, they can forego the sweats, pains, exhaustion, and hardships.
But then I've learnt after that climb, that human beings crave to aspire for something. I've learnt that the vista is always better appreciated when you've endured hardships along the way. The memories of the climb make the view more unforgettable and valuable.
Climbing mountains satisfies a yearning of the heart. Yearning to overcome obstacles and conquer the world. It makes us fall in love with hard work and appreciate life. Yes, we can always take the easy way out, but, we can also persevere for something truly notable!
That's all for this article. I do hope you enjoyed the photos. And I hope this maybe inspires you to climb your mountains hypothetically and literally. See you in the next one. ❤️
Went Home Like a Defeated Sumo Wrestler
I went to check on my visa again yesterday as it was being delivered to my previous accommodation. I really cannot stress my disappointment to the Home Office for getting the address wrong after making me wait 4 months for it. Here's my earlier post about my struggle waiting for this visa. https://read.cash/@flapiz/i-can-see-the-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-ce2a2caf
My heart did a back flip as I peeked on the pigeon hole saw my name on the envelope. Yesterday was the 4th day I have been coming to visit my old accommodation to check if there are any mails for me. Unfortunately, Guernsey Fedex are notoriously known for never following protocols. And as predicted they did not even email or text me to inform me of the delivery so that I could at least intercept them. It was supposed to be a signed package and the immigration told me I should be expecting Fedex to contact me when they are delivering it. Tsk, tsk.
Anyhow as much as I wanted to just fish it out of the pigeon hole it looks a bit too secure and too challenging. So I decided to buzz my old room. But no answer. I think we buzzed 3 times for it. My boyfriend and I decided to retreat for the day as I thought that maybe the new owner of the room was on a long day at work and isn't home. He did receive my letter the previous days, I assume, as it is gone from the pigeon hole. Unfortunately he didn't contact me to acknowledge if he's received it so that makes me anxious. I asked my friend who still works at the hospital to check on my mail again when she clocks off work but she had no luck as well.
I decided to visit again early this morning because I was worried the new owner of my room would put it in the return to sender pile. I got there around 7:30 before the post office comes. My mail was not on the return to sender box it was still on the pigeon hole. I was trying to be considerate so I waited till it was 9:00 before I start buzzing my old room again. No answer at all. At this point, I really just want to cry 😭. I am so frustrated. It is so close to me yet so far.
Anyhow, some of the old tenants I know from there told me to try asking the Porter's Lodge for help as they may have access for it. So I walked to the hospital to ask for assistance. Unfortunately they only have access to the rooms but not the personal letter boxes. He recommended I call the accommodations department of the hospital and a nice lady named Janet reassured me she will contact the maintenance to retrieve my mail for me and leave it at the porters' lodge. She asked for my contact number so she can inform me once this is done.
I went back again to my old accommodation for the last time to buzz the owner again. Still no luck. At this point I felt really dejected and I felt like a stalker too. I decided to walk home defeated and exhausted. The only thing I can do now is rely on the goodness of other people to get my visa. Now just staring at my phone waiting for a call. Maybe later I would try my luck again and walk back there.
I Can See the Light at the End of the Tunnel
I do not know how many of you know my back story but I actually joined read.cash out of desperation as I have been unemployed for 4 months waiting for my new work visa to arrive. I had an employer waiting for me too but I cannot commence work without the visa.
I think the UK Home Office had been too swamped with refugee visas that they thought my visa was not as urgent. Because normally if you are from the UK applying for a new work visa, you can still work while waiting for it. Unfortunately my situation was rather different. Technically I am from the UK, but also I am not because Guernsey is an independent territory. So I was not allowed to work while waiting for my visa.
I waited both patiently and impatiently for 8 weeks, which was the maximum processing time for a work visa. Then I waited more. On my 3.5 months of waiting, I broke mentally and financially. So I decided to submit a complaint letter to the Home Office as their customer support proved to be very frustrating and unhelpful. I indicated there that my situation is rather special as I was not allowed to work for 4 months due to different Channel Islands taxation. I also stated how difficult it is for a foreigner living in a foreign land to have no source if income and how my boyfriend have been carrying me these months.
I guess the complaint work, as after a week, I got an email saying my Biometric Residence Permit(BRP) is coming. But alas! They are delivering it to the wrong address. They sent it to my previous accommodation. But still it is at least on the way which meant I got my visa. I was a bit disappointed they got the address wrong but very grateful for this development. So what I did was write a letter to the new owner of my apartment stating my plight with my contact number. And also everyday I walk there with my boyfriend to check if any mail had arrived.
I am hopeful that I get it sorted by this week so that I can start working next week and hopefully get back on my feet and be able to send money home to my family again. It has not been easy for them the past months as my sister just told me my dad's car and motorcycle both conked out. And they are not broke but definitely struggling financially. My lovely parents did not even tell me this probably to save me from further stress.
Despite all the struggles, I am very grateful to God for giving me a very supportive and caring boyfriend who carries me until I am back on my feet. I wouldn't have survived this long without his help. Also grateful for his patience and understanding through my mood swings. I hope I can repay the kindness he's bestowed me soon.
Lastly, I am also very grateful to the read.cash community for making my waiting time less boring. I enjoyed all my interactions with you guys and I also enjoyed writing all my articles. You have been a great part in keeping me sane. Thank you.
Once I embarked on a planting journey and succeeded in it ❤️❤️❤️
https://read.cash/@flapiz/my-farmer-chronicles-2b12a8d8
My Farmer Chronicles
Good morning readers. My topic today is not my usual travel blog. Today I will be sharing with you the time my friend Ermy and I ventured out into farming! Yes you heard that right! The nurses became a farmer Joes. We did this during our first year in Guernsey as we were needing some past-time and hobby and because we figured why not have our veggies free. Ermy is from the Mountain Province, and I am a farmer's grand daughter and had some farm experience as a kid. That is about all our farming experience so far.
So the first thing we did was find an allotment for rent, as we were not land owners and cannot afford to be so. The cheapest one we could find costs 120£ for a year. That is 5 plots including free water and free horse manure for fertiliser as the owner's sister owns a ranch. Then we moved on to finding farming equipments, boots, plant tents, seeds and seedlings. Some we bought and some we asked from others.
When we got all the equipments we proceeded on to cleaning and weeding the plots which I would say was the hardest part of the whole farming process. As the plot we got was overgrown with weeds and some old root crops which were very challenging to remove. It was back breaking I tell you, but we finally saw soil! We tended to the soil breaking them down and making them softer and adding fertiliser on it so it is ready and optimal for planting.
We planted strawberries, blueberries, pumpkins, cucumbers, beans, onions, potatoes, herbs, rocket salad, pak choi, and other random things. We watered it every chance we got. Ermy and I were alternating depending on our work schedules and sometimes we both come together. And after a patient waiting period of 2 months our crops were thriving and ready to harvest. It was the best feeling seeing the literal fruits of our labour.
Initially, we harvested for our own consumption. We enjoyed beautiful organic meals and fresh mint teas to our hearts content. Then we realised we just cannot consume them all. So we started giving them away to close friends and also selling them for cheap.
The Filipino community in the island is very helpful. Someone was advertising our crops freely on the Filipino community group. They love our pak choi 🥬 or pechay as we commonly call it back home. It is very hard to find it in markets and shops Guernsey. In fact the odds are almost NEVER and they usually cost a fortune too.
Some people came to our plots to personally experience harvesting veggies and get pechays! And some just ordered via online messaging and texts. We harvest for them and deliver it by foot if they live close by, and we ask them to collect it from our apartment if they live quite far.
Unfortunately we had to stop farming as the weather started turning harsher. Winter was coming. Also, our work load became too hectic and exhausting that we just could not manage our time anymore.
Overall, we did love our farming experience. There is a certain sense of fulfilment from eating and earning from something you have worked hard for. It is not an easy job and it does not pay so well considering all the effort you put into it. That really made me develop a higher appreciation for the professional farmers who feed the masses after this plight.
I do wish to do this again in my own backyard when I am able to afford a house. I want to live sustainably off the land someday! That's all. I hope you enjoyed this article. Cheers!
Fermain Bay Memories With My Bae
When I was working in Guernsey I considered myself as a house cat who does not like going out much and then I met the real house cat, my boyfriend, Andrea. I can't believe he lived 4 years in the island and has not been to a lot of places apart from the restaurants. He's been to more than me on that area. Anyway I was surprised one day when he mentioned a place where I haven't actually been. And that is Fermain Bay.
We first went there via electric bicycles, which was a mistake as it was so steep, the climb back up was a feat! We decided to come back again on a weekend, on foot and had a better experience. Anyway before I blabber on let's proceed!
Fermain Bay can be found at the foot of Fermain Valley which is located in St. Peter Port. It is considered as a hidden or tucked-away beach. It is accessible via cliff walk either from Jerbourg or from St. Peter Port, or via cars from Fermain Lane. But you would still have to go down a fair bit from the parking lot on foot. The bay is consist of pebbled shores, pristine crystal waters, and a lot of greeneries. You can also see a lot of wild life in the vicinity such as birds and insects.
There is a WWII watchtower by the bay which is now also a bed and breakfast. I haven't slept there but I heard a rumour that people can stay there. I actually saw someone came out of it in one of our visits.
My boyfriend and I enjoyed a very long summer dip there. We also sunbathed and watched the private boats scattered all over the sea. It is after all a favourite place for boats to hang out on the summer months. After swimming we went to the Fermain Bay Beach Cafe.
Fermain Bay Beach Cafe is where foodies like me can go for our sugar needs. They also sell drinks and refreshments to keep you hydrated and cool. My boyfriend and I ordered smoothies there after our swim as we were quite dry. After our refreshment break, we proceeded to trek up the surrounding cliffside.
Andrea was practicing his photography skills with his fancy camera, and I was content on taking my usual nature shots with my iphone. It was a lot of walking, but we did not realise it as we were having a great time. We witnessed so much nature during the trek and we also saw Fermain Bay from a bird's eye perspective. We met fellow trekkers too, including this doggo on the photo below.
But alas! Just like every trip this one must come to a close too. We headed back down to the bay. Then proceeded our steep climb back up to the main road. We made at least 20,000 steps that day. One of our fittest moments. I must admit our visit to Fermain bay was one of the highlights for this year's summer season. Now I'm kind of missing it as the autumn brings in the rains and the cold winds.
That's all for now my friends and I hope you enjoyed this article and the photos with it. Thank you for walking with me today. More photos down below. Cheers! 😉
Sharing my herm trip to this community as it is a beautiful island to explore!
https://read.cash/@flapiz/fun-times-in-the-island-of-herm-f5924857
Fun Times in the Island of Herm
Hello everyone and happy Sunday! This island girl is here to take you to another island journey to an island called, Herm. An island which I have visited at least 3 times during my stay in Guernsey as it is only a 20 minute boat trip from St. Peter Port via the Herm Trident.
Herm is considered as the smallest of the Channel Islands. In fact, it is so small that you can walk around the whole island within 2 hours. Trust me it's true, we kept track of the time when we walked it.
If you need some peace and quiet Herm is for you. It does not have cars and it has only 65 permanent residents living in it. Although it does temporarily increase in number during tourist season. Let's begin our tour. The photo below is the dock where the trident dropped us off.
We slowly headed up to see more of the island and we saw their little prison and some other interesting things along the way. Herm prison is very tiny. It is in fact the smallest prison I have ever seen. It also does not look like a prison, to me it looks like a little eskimo house. I remembered locking my boyfriend inside that prison hahaha.
Since Filipinos love to eat, the first order of business in all our visits in Herm is food! We always head to The Mermaid Tavern for some drinks and food so that we have the energy to explore. This is probably the busiest place in the island as some people visit Herm just to drink in this tavern.
After eating the walking continues. Depending on the season, you can expect different activities. I went there on both spring and summer. In the spring time nature is aplenty and flowers are everywhere. It's ideal for treks and nature walks. If you are brave you can swim too but it is still quite freezing so I suggest to just enjoy the view.
In the summer the beaches are warm enough for a swim and you can also rent kayaks and do water sports. Some people come with their yachts and boats too. My friends and I tried kayaking there and it was great fun. Despite the fact that we needed to drag our kayaks a very long way to where the water was as it was a very low tide on our visit. We shared the kayaks as it was cheaper that way. 😂
My boyfriend and I enjoyed sunbathing and swimming at Shell Beach during an Easter Sunday in Herm. We both got sunburnt. They call it the Herm burn. Sunburns are to be expected as the sun is stronger in Herm due to the lack of pollution, which as I was told, helps lessen the effects of the rays.
At 4 or 5 o'clock the trident returns for the people who are not staying overnight and the trip comes to an end. By then, people are almost just ready to teleport home from exhaustion. It is a lot of walking and heat.
That is all for my visits in Herm. I had difficulty trying to fuse 3 visits in one but I did managed. I hope you enjoyed the beauty of this island and I shall see you all later. Cheers! Some more photos down below! ❤️
My article about chefan burgers. My favourite burger place in Guernsey.
https://read.cash/@flapiz/chefan-burgers-382b64e9
Chefan Burgers!
Hi guys and gals! Today I am going to be talking about my favourite burger place in Guernsey, Chefan. Just because my boyfriend, @Andrea1511 , got me some take away cheeseburger and fries from there last night, amidst the torrential rain! I showed my appreciation by gobbling it up like a starved python. He also very nicely got me a bottle of Orangina soda with my dinner. Isn't he a darling!
Chefan is located in the heart of St. Peter Port just at Market Street. They specialise on burgers but they also sell different sides and drinks. This humble burger place has managed to get popularity in Guernsey despite not having any variations in cuisine. It has competed against a lot of gourmet restaurants in the island. You know why? Because it is really amazingly good! If you are a meat lover, like me, then you must try these burgers!
Aside from that, the island of Guernsey lacks fast food chains and most people who moved from the mainland do crave their McDonald's, Shakeshacks, Burger King, and KFC. Hell I do too! But I crave Jollibee mostly as I have a Filipino palate. But don't be mistaken, Chefan cannot be comparable to those mere fast food chains as their food is way better and healthier than fast food. That's why it is Guernsey's favourite burger place. Me and my boyfriend's, as well.
Not only do they make amazing burgers, they also are quite socially conscious and active. They offer vegetarian burgers for our non-meat eating friends, they also participate in community events by holding pop up shops, and they also give away their unused buns for free every weekend. Truly helping the community and also avoiding the wastage of food.
My boyfriend and I managed to get a bagful of free breads from them and we made a lot of great sandwiches and burgers from it. We truly enjoyed their free high quality bread and enjoyed being burger chefs for a couple of days. They may not be as good as Chefan's but we were proud to be using a component ingredient from them. Photos of our handiworks down below.
Bottomline, I really do admire this burger place and will continue to advocate for it. Because despite this world being so cutthroat and capitalistic, they still manage to share and be generous to others. They make a mean burger too! Nomnom! That's all for now as I am going to chill and enjoy the weekend. Happy weekend everyone!
The Garlic Farm in Isle of Wight
The Garlic farm in the Isle of Wight is known for their great food and their shops, but to be honest with you I visited it for a different reason. Not even for their garlic. I went there with my friend Andrea in order to see their sunflower field. I am after all named Floraine which comes from the root word *flora* which mean flower. I was really prepared for that day, I even did my OOTD(Outfit of the Day) so I can get good photos with the sunflowers.
We followed google maps and took the bus to Newchurch. We reached the bus stop to the destination and we realised that it was actually in the middle of nowhere and that the farm itself is still a fair walk from the bus stop. Anyway instead of being dismayed, we pottered along enthusiastically as we were quite excited to eat at their restaurant as a lot of people are raving about it including the owner of the BnB we were staying in.
The terrain was interesting and well it gives you a forest feel. And it was actually pretty fun. It reminds us of the manmade forest in Bilar from our home province in Bohol. I was lucky to be traveling with a very funny and entertaining person so the walk felt bearable. We were the only ones walking that day as most visitors came with a car.
When we got to the farm we were actually quite tired already as we walked 30 minutes to get there. So we went to the restaurant to eat but I don't know how on earth it happened that on a weekday they were very packed and put us on a waiting list. My landlady definitely said no need to book. I think it was because it was post lockdown and people all wanted a meal out. The queue to get in was pretty full so we agreed to be put on the list.
We then decided to find the sunflower fields first. It was a fair walk to reach it. We had a map but we were not great in following directions. Furthermore, it was a vast farmland. We did eventually find the sunflowers but they were in a dying state. Unfortunately we came quite late in the year for it. But still we came all this way so we still took some photos with them. They were giant sunflowers so they were almost as tall as us. We marvelled at their size and beauty. By the way, you know that sunflowers are also called *Mirasol*, which translates to mirror of the sun, as their heads follow the sun.
After we saw the sunflowers we headed back to the restaurant but they told us that they cannot take further customers unfortunately. Since we were pretty famished we decided to grab something at their artisan ice cream shop. Any bit of sugar would do really. We tried their garlic ice cream because we did not want to be ignorant about it. Honestly I was expecting it to taste weird but it was rather delicious! They have masterfully made the garlic into a dessert! Thumbs up for that!
We then decided to call it a day and headed back to the bus stop. We had to wait 2 hours for the bus as we missed the previous one by a couple of seconds. By the time we found another bus, we were more than grateful as it was quite scary standing by the side of the road like that with no proper bus stop and also the heat was sweltering we were dried up.
To be honest with you, a lot of aspects in this trip didn't go as planned. We struggled to get there and out of there. We weren't able to eat a proper meal. The sunflowers were almost dead. But I learned a lesson from that. First, is to expect the unexpected and learn to manage my expectations. Second, make the most of what you're dealt with. And lastly, learn to laugh at your mistakes.
I think I would visit The Garlic Farm again but on the next time I will come more prepared and also at the right time of the year so that I will get a better experience. Hopefully we can also find someone who can drive us there next time. That's all for now. Cheers!
My Isle of Wight Adventures Part III: The Needles, Totland-Alum Bay, and Freshwater Bay
Hello everyone. I am here for another episode of my visit to the Isle of Wight. I didn't intend for a part III but my 3 day visit did amount to 500 photos and I felt quite bad not to share the rest of the journey with you lot. Also, this serves as my travel memoir so I might as well complete it. Here's the hyperlink for the part I and part II if you have missed it and are curious. Let's start another journey and hop on to the bus! https://read.cash/@flapiz/my-isle-of-wight-adventures-part-i-town-of-shanklin-66917d47 https://read.cash/@flapiz/my-isle-of-wight-adventures-part-ii-west-wight-alpacas-29e2dd9c
We literally hopped on to an open-top double deck bus for this journey because we wanted to have a proper touristy experience and get some tan in the process. Our goal for the day was simple, see The Needles Attraction and any surrounding area for any time we had remaining. It is good to have small goals when travelling so there is room for spontaneity and you don't stress yourself with itineraries.
***The Needles***
If you think Isle of Wight you might as well think The Needles. It is their most iconic tourist attraction. It is located in the area around Totland Bay And Alum Bay and quite close to Fresh Water bay, hence, we visited all these attractions in the same day.
The needles are popular for: the three white chalk stacks leading to the Needles Lighthouse; the chairlift that gets you there; the Needles Old battery; and it's breathtaking coastal views and multi-coloured sand cliffs.
So it was only logical that Andrea and I rode the chairlift to go down the hill. We thought it was going to be pedestrian and boring since cable cars aren't very exciting but boy we were wrong!
It was pretty scary as the hill was very steep. We kinda understood why people with heart problems were not allowed as we started closing our eyes halfway to our descent. We were so thankful to see land and relax after the chairlift experience.
At the bottom of the hill people have the option to be content of watching The Needles from afar or hopping on to a boat to see it up close. And of course we took the boat! There was an option between the quicker boat which was a RIB(Rigid Inflatable Boat) or the slow boat and we took the latter as we were not ready to get soaked as it was still midday and we want to see everything we can.
We enjoyed our boat ride and chilled by the foot of the hill for a bit then we decided to climb up using a different method, the stairs! But then we failed as it was a high climb and so we decided to take the chairlifts again.
When we got up the hill we grabbed some lunch and hopped on to a bus to see the rest of Totland and Alum bay, as well as, The Needles Old Battery.
***Totland Bay and Alum Bay***
As I cannot delineate between this two bays on top of a bus, I will just be showing to you some random photos I took from these two bays on top of our open-top bus. It includes photos of The Old Needles Battery as it is located in this area.
The Old Needles Battery were built from brick and flint in the 1860s for the purpose of guarding the Western end of the Solent from enemy ships.
***Fresh Water Bay***
The day was almost over but we did manage a little stop over at Fresh Water Bay too. The water was inviting and it was high tide too but we did not swim as we were knackered and we did not bring swim wear. We just cheered for the swimmers and enjoyed the view.
This ends my day 2 itinerary in the Isle of Wight and thank you for tagging along with me. I truly appreciate it. Please come back for more travel episodes with me. Stay inspired! Cheers!
Hey guys. Just recounting the first time I've met alpacas in real life ❤️
https://read.cash/@flapiz/my-isle-of-wight-adventures-part-ii-west-wight-alpacas-29e2dd9c
My Isle of Wight Adventures Part II: West Wight Alpacas
Hey everyone! As promised, here is part II of our visit to the beautiful Isle of Wight. If you've missed part I please click on the hyperlink to see what the town of Shanklin looks like. If you adore animals then you would swoon in this article as I am going to show you around West Wight Alpacas and Llamas! The home of the cute and the fluffy! https://read.cash/@flapiz/my-isle-of-wight-adventures-part-i-town-of-shanklin-66917d47
West Wight Alpacas and Llamas was opened back in 2010 and is owned an run by a couple named Neil and Michelle Payne. It started out just as a hobby which then blossomed into a thriving family business and tourist attraction. Initially the couple bought 11 alpacas, five of them were pregnant. Now it has become home to over 60 alpacas, some llamas, and other animals. The farm ethos revolves around impeccable animal welfare and bio security standards, and also, sustainable means of breeding alpacas for fibre and luxurious fleece, which is very widely known globally.
When I was googling things to do in the Isle of Wight, this farm came up and without hesitation I grabbed the opportunity to visit it as I have never seen a real alpaca in person. My friend Andrea was also very keen to visit so we hopped on a bus to the Village of Wellow. The farm is in the middle of nowhere and this is the only attraction onsite.
Before we were allowed to see and walk the alpacas, we had some refreshments at the cafe first as the bus trip left us parched and also we arrived earlier than our scheduled alpaca walk. After some cooler, we decided to check out the petting farm as we had time before our walk . So many cute farm animals within reach.
After the patient wait, our group was called in. And we were introduced to the walking alpacas by our walking leader. These alpacas are trained to walk with people and are sort of friendly. Well at least they have a friendlier disposition than the llamas. Most of the walking alpacas were white with the exception of the one I got which was brown. I have always been timid and shy but when the walking leader asked who wants to walk the brown one I raised my hand assertively. That was a proud moment for me.
Before we were allowed to walk them, the guide gave us short lessons regarding our walk partner. He told us how llamas and alpacas both come from the camelid breed which makes them close cousins of the camels. He told us about the difference between a llamas and alpacas too as they are often interchanged. Aside from the difference in temperament, they are different size-wise as well. Llamas are larger than alpacas. Llamas have banana shaped ears and longer faces, whilst alpacas have shorter ears and smooshed faces. Also, alpacas have longer and finer hair whilst llamas have coarse wool.
Our instructor also taught us how to walk the alpacas and how to hold the lead. First we must use two hands. One close to the face to help direct the alpacas' focus and one on the farther end as a security measure in case the animal decides to pull. We were warned not to establish direct eye contact as this can be a sign of confrontation and alpacas may spit on us. That terrified me a bit, a lot actually 😂.
We were also told to establish dominance by not being scared to tug and direct the alpacas to where we want them to be as if we don't we might end up babysitting it as it continuously poos/ pees to mark its territory or as it snacks along the bushes along the way. Another lesson was not to allow them to interact with the opposite gender as when they get rejected they spit on them or they get spat on too 😂.
The walk took 30-40 minutes to finish. We passed by the birthing fields and saw some baby alpacas along the way too. It was actually a long walk and the sun was killing us but we were all smiles to be able to walk alongside such amazing creatures. Happy to report, I came out unscathed and spit free.
We then head on to the gift shop to get ourselves some alpaca themed T-shirts for souvenir and one I still use to this day. That's the end of this article. Please let me know what you think about this and see you on the next one. Cheers! ❤️
My Isle Of Wight Adventures Part I: Town of Shanklin
Hello guys and gals! Today I am taking you to an adventure to the Isle of Wight (IOW), another island in the English Channel! And is the largest and second most populated island of Mother England! My friend Andrea and I visited it 2 years ago, but hopefully it is still as beautiful as I remembered and things on my visit still applies to this day.
We boarded a ferry from Southampton to reach the Isle of Wight and we then took a very long bus trip to the town of Shanklin where we opted to stay. We chose to stay in Shanklin because we were both from an Island in the Philippines and we kind of miss the seas and beaches back home. Shanklin is known for being a seaside resort in the IOW. It is also known for its sandy beaches.
Logistically, it was a bit of a bad decision as Shanklin is quite remote from everything and we both don't drive. So a lot of our trip was spent on buses to get to other attractions. But it was also not all bad since Shanklin itself is a beautiful paradise. Our bed and breakfast was a 10 minute walk to the beach so we were able to enjoy a plentiful of salt, sea, and beautiful sunsets and sunrises during our holiday.
On our first day, we arrived past noon so we decided to explore what's around us. We headed downhill towards the sea and towards Shanklin Esplanade. From atop the hill we could also see Shanklin's Jurassic Bay Adventure golf. Looks amazing but we didn't go in during our visit as we do not play golf. But we were lucky enough to see what's inside on a birds eye view. The IOW is known today as dinosaur island and is the place to go if you want to see some dinosaur fossils, hence, a lot of dinosaur themed attractions there.
Small Hope Beach has been our favourite hangout whilst staying in Shanklin. We visited it daily for the 3 days we were in the IOW. The array of colourful sheds appeal to my art loving eyes. And of course every opportunity to play with sea water was a treat. Andrea and I were quite lucky to have a swim during sunrise there during our last day in the IOW. It was magical!
Although most of the times during our stay we ate the fish and chips and gelato sold at Shanklin Esplanade, as we were budgeting, we had an evening where we indulged and ate at a Thai restaurant in Shanklin called, Thai Mukda. And there were no regrets there as the food were amazing and tasted authentic!
Before we went home we also paid a visit at The Original Old Village Rock Shop for some souvenirs for our friends. Well that's Shanklin folks. I hope you enjoyed the photos. Stay tuned for my part II of this article to see some cute alpacas and farm animals and other parts of the Isle of Wight. Bye for now! Cheers! There are some more photos below.
@flapiz
