travel – sarah fynn

Budapest Baths: Rudas Thermal Bath

On the penultimate day, we went to the final bathhouse, Rudas Thermal Bath in the Buda area. This place is actually not too far from Gellert Thermal Bath. We went here because we found a good offer: they have a brunch and wellness combo ticket. The deal allows you entry into the wellness area of the bath plus a 3-course meal.

The wellness area had indoor pools, a steam room and saunas. They also had an ice bath which Yas loved. I loved this bath the most, the wellness area felt more like a leisure centre but it was extremely clean. They don’t have a separate changing room here as well.

We got the tickets online and you redeem them at the bistro which is next door to the bathhouse. You have to book a table for brunch which we did but it wasn’t too busy after we finished with the spa portion so we ate a bit earlier. The bistro has an outdoor area which overlooks the Danube river.

I loved how clean and calm this place was and I thought the offer was really good. The menu was limited but still had enough choice for and we had no issues with the service or bill afterwards.

I would definitely recommend this bath and the offer

That’s all folks. The 3 bath houses we visited in Budapest. To summarise

Szenchynhi Bath- cheapest and biggest outdoor pool, indoor pools not as clean

Gellert Thermal Bath- posher vibes and better indoor pools, outdoor pool quite small

Rudas Thermal Bath- we didn’t go into the traditional bath area but the wellness area was well kept and very clean. Loved the indoor pools and steam room. Beautiful views and panoramic pool upstairs as well. Bonus- you can also purchase a combo ticket for wellness area and lunch.

I hope you found these posts helpful.

Catch you soon

The best things to do in Budapest

Hey guys, I hope all is well! I have just returned from a super relaxing getaway in Budapest and whilst it’s still fresh in my memory I thought I would work on my Budapest travel guide! I will split these into 4 parts so that each post isn’t extremely long.

This part will focus on most of the things we did and how to get around in Budapest. The next 3 post will deal with the baths: because it isn’t a trip to Budapest if you dont visit at least one bath right? We went to 3! For variety and so I hope those will help you choose a bath to go to.

The best things to do in Budapest

My trips are usually jam-packed with activities and day trips where possible but going to Budapest was different. I was feeling ill when I left so I had to do less and chill as much as possible. We stayed in the Six Inn Hotel, it’s a little outside the city center but it’s well connected with trams, buses and metro. It’s also walking distance to most places. It’s your standard hotel, our room was super clean and cleaned daily and bathroom was spotless. The customer service we had was top notch! Front desk staff were lovely and helpful and always smiling and ready to help. I would recommend this place. The only issue we encountered was the air con working intermittently but we did have a fan as well so it didn’t get too warm during the night.

You have to do a free walking tour and the company we used was Free walking tours. We did two tours with them, the Original walking tour and the Jewish Quarter walking tour. The guides were knowledgeable and enthusiastic but walk a little too quickly. The original tour takes you to most places in the city and ends with beautiful views. The Jewish Quarter walk is definitely rich with history and if you are interested in Jewish history I would definitely recommend this. Both walks were quite long actually, I would say the longest I have been on but they were interesting nonetheless.

We also walked a lot around the Danube River. I would definitely recommend a cruise but 2 days before we arrived there was a tragic boat crash which meant our cruise was cancelled and most cruises were suspended. But it was still nice to be around the area and walk across the bridge. We also visited West end shopping center, probably the biggest mall I have ever visited

Food & restaurants

Been ill with zero appetite kinda sucked on this trip (I couldn’t finish a meal smh) but we did go to some nice places. Hard rock café (I’m making this a challenge any country that has a hardrock café will be eaten in), Ruin bars in Jewish Quarter, Street food market in Jewish Quarter and a few others I can’t remember.

A few notes

There is no Uber in Budapest, their equivalent is called Bolt, and the cars that come will have taxify written on them. If you want to order a takeaway, download Wolt which will give you the menu in English as well. Their metro ticket is probably the cheapest I have ever paid in Europe. Its 350F roughly 94p! You have to validate each ticket which lasts about an hour and get a new ticket each time you change mode of transportation. Its 450F on the bus. A lot of places may accept Euro. In Budapest, pink caps on the water bottles are still, blue caps are sparkling- no matter the brand!

That’s all for part 1. We had amazing weather (I run out of SPF on the penultimate day). The next 3 posts will deal with the 3 baths we visited, each bath had a different feel and look so hopefully those posts help you decide which ones to go to.

If you prefer a book guide, I found this Budapest+Hungary guide on the Lonely Planet*

See you soon!

*affiliate link used.

Things to do in Bristol

In addition to the many challenges I set for myself, travelling around the UK is among them. This challenge is particularly important to me this year as I am trying to save more but I don’t want to give up my love for travelling. Another challenge of mine is to visit 3 new places each year so I have simply substituted travelling aboard to travelling local and I am happy because the UK really does have some amazing spots! So with that in mind, I visited Bristol over the bank holiday weekend and this post is all about it and why you should plan a trip there!

Yass & I left a bit later than planned and with heavy traffic, so it took us just under 3 hours to get there! Luckily we had warm weather so we decided to park in the city centre and walk around the city. We headed first to Castle Park right by the Galleries shopping centre. It was a small castle but still quite pretty and a good place it looks like to have lunch. We then walked down to the harbourside which slightly reminded me of Nyhavn in Copenhagen!

We went to M Shed, a museum with the history of Bristol and it was also free entry. We went up to the roof of M Shed and we got nice views of the area. After this, we walked around and discovered centre promenade, a popular area for food drink and play. It was sunny and it was quite busy around. We went on the funfair ride (with a lot of coxing from Yass, girl I wasn’t about to lose Ashleigh ( it’s the name of my wig lol) with a lot of bars and 2 for 1 offers on cocktails, we had a drink at Pitcher & Piano. If you love your sweet drinks, you have to taste the Almonds & Cream cocktail!

It’s not a visit to Bristol without walking across the Clifton Suspension Bridge! Clifton is about 15 mins drive away from the city center. The area has more greenery compared to the city centre and it’s just as beautiful. The bridge as a toll charge of £1 (we didn’t know) but it was ok because we actually wanted to walk it which I would recommend! It takes approximately 7-10 mins but rewards you with the most beautiful views! On one side you will see the high rocks and the river Avon and on the other side, you get views of the city. Tip, walk towards the observatory after the bridge and you also get amazing views of the bridge. We decided to go and have dinner and come back later when it was darker to see the lights!

Clifton has a lot of restaurants but we decided on the Giggling Squid, a quint Thai restaurant that has a lot of good views. It was super busy so we couldn’t book a table but they managed to fit us in. Amazing service plus good food! The Thai chicken wings looked interesting so I went with that for a starter and of course, Yass went for the squid (cant go Thai without having squid). The chicken falls off the bone, the squid wasn’t too salty either! For mains, I have the Beef with chilli and basil Gra Pao and Yass went for Duck. After dinner, we went back for the bridge lights and it didn’t disappoint!

Bristol is a great city and I am so glad to have visited and crossed off the list! I’m sure there’s plenty more to do but half the day was good enough for us and I honestly think you can do this in a day. Definately visit, now that I think of it we should have stayed overnight and went to Bath which is not to far off, hmmm

Copenhagen- Cool & Laid Back

For the longest of times, Copenhagen has been on my European list of cities to visit. Ryanair’s black Friday sale last year made this possible, with a return ticket only costing about £35 ( read my tips on how to organise a trip here) so Nancy and I booked our tickets and before we knew it, it was time to fly!

This post will be short and sweet and focus on what we did, ate and slept. Before we get into it, Ryan Air has an updated cabin bag policy, check it out here

We went for 4 days 3 nights and decided to spend a day in Malmo, a town in southern Sweden, all about that later! We also got the Copenhagen Card, which gave us free public transport, free entry to a lot of tourist attractions and discounts at selected restaurants! It’s slightly expensive but when we calculated the prices for all the places we wanted to visit + public transport and food, the card worked out slightly cheaper. We got the 48-hour pass which can be picked up from the airport and it can be activated and used straight away!

We stayed at the Copenhagen Mercur Hotel which is in Vesterport. The location was perfect! Right opposite the metro, which is a stop away from Stroget, city centre (takes about 5 mins) or a 15 min walk. Copenhagen Central Station was 8 mins away and the area itself had lots and lots of restaurants. I chose this place because of how close it was to Tivoli Gardens but gurl guess what? It was shut for winter! Our room was clean and spacious, and the bathroom was clean too. We had a few issues with the shower- gets hot way too quickly and not enough pressure. Our stay came with breakfast which I must say had a good choice of foods.

Copenhagen

Our plan was simple: make use of our Copenhagen card and visit all the places we get free entry to! Also eat at the restaurants we get the discount at. We had no issues with the attractions, all we did was show our card and they scanned it and provided us with our tickets. We went to Glyptoteket Museum, Round Tower and Christainsborg Palace. We could not do Copenhagen without seeing the Hans Christian Andersen statue and the little mermaid statue. We also did a canal tour (free as well) which was so good! It went past a lot of important places and the commentary helped too. we also walked around the city center and the lakes by our hotel. We had to visit Nyhavn, such a beautiful area of town with colour houses and boats.

#4hrsinSweden

We decided to visit Malmo, a town in Sweden. It was only 30 mins by train from the Copenhagen Central Station and about £17 return ticket. Getting the tickets were super easy, just use the ticket machines in the station and search for Malmo Central (it works out cheaper if you buy a family ticket for 2 adults). Remember to take your passport/ID as technically you are crossing the border.

Malmo is beautiful, very quiet, literally, there wasn’t a lot of people about but big on architecture! Bougie KFC anyone? We didn’t go to see the Turning Torso as it was further out, but we went to the Emporia shopping mall & cathedral and took a stroll around the city.

I can’t remember all the places we ate but we went to Bonjour Vietnam, XO Steaks & Burgers and Vapianos

Copenhagen was so beautiful and peaceful but gurl it was COLD! Layering was essential! Copenhagen wasn’t what I excepted it to be, I thought it would be very similar to London, but it isn’t: its super laid back Their public transport is clean and regular!

That’s all folks! I’m hoping to visit a lot of European cities this year all because of this Brexit nonsense and a lot of other places in the UK. Speaking of which, have you checked out my Lake District post? Come back for more

And of course to finish this post off, a Danish whirl OR just a whirl in Copenhagen

Love

Sarah

Why I Travel

Happy New Year!

I want to start the year sharing somewhat of a testimony and the reason why I travel so much (according to friends and family lol, personally I think I’m an average traveller but well..). I actually wrote this post back in October but I have been hesitant to post it until now

So I’m sitting here in Nice waiting for my delayed flight back home to London. I’ve been contemplating why I love travelling and I feel blessed to have visited so many beautiful places and for some reason I can’t let go f the thought that I need to put this into a post so here it goes.. Stay tuned to the end where I will share some tips on money & planning

I remember back home in Ghana, I was either 10 or 12 years old and my mum had sent me to get some stuff from the market. It’s about a 10 min walk from home to market. As soon as I stepped out, I remember looking down and for rest of the journey my head stayed down. I felt ashamed that I was going to the market alone because I was thinking people would look at me and say she doesn’t have any friends. I would see people laughing and think oh they must be laughing at me. And that feeling of been alone stuck. Been the overthinking child I was (and still am) I thought of the future etc etc. If I would be alone, get a job etc etc and it’s funny I should feel like that because in school I was actually very popular and a teacher’s pet.

Fast forward to ages 16 to 20 and a lot of things happened to me I moved from Ghana to London when I was 13) which forced me to actually be alone. From failed relationships to realising personal truths, I had to be alone and in those moments I sought God. In those moments, when I could do nothing but cry, I began to learn a lot about God and myself and I began to love been alone! I didn’t see it as a negative anymore. At 20 I decided to step out of my comfort zone and travel, on my own to Thailand! I decided to volunteer for 1 month in Thailand teaching English. I met so many people that after two weeks, I decided to go travelling. Again by myself made my way from Phuket to Bangkok by bus at night, I couldn’t speak Thai AND I had no internet. But I safely made it to Bangkok. The very next day I met Jess a fellow traveller from Australia and we decide to go travelling together through northern Thailand. Just like that.

Me?! someone who couldn’t even leave home by herself

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Post on Thailand here

I came home and a month later in the same year, I found myself in Madrid Spain, on a year away from uni, where I was working and studying (I always had this dream where I would do this but only remembered after I came back home after the year was done). I have been to so many other places since then and now sitting here in Nice, after a really good weekend with my friend’s family (a friend I met back in Madrid and we kept in contact). I’ve been blessed and sometimes I take it for granted but in conservations, with other people, I realise it’s not that easy for some to travel even though money and timing is not an issue and they actually want to travel. I guess it’s hard to step outside your comfort zone esp if nothing has forced you to be out of it.

I guess I’m writing this to anyone who feels they will be alone forever or feels they need the validation of others’ company. God has a way of getting through to you, in a way you would understand and know it’s Him. That thought of loneliness or dependence on others is a lie straight from hell. It could be that your very calling is the exact opposite, to stand or minister to millions but if the devil could get fear in first he knows he could stop you from reaching your full potential. Why else would an 11/12 year old feel so lonely when been sent to the market when literally I knew a bunch of people in the neighbourhood? I am also reminded of the story of Moses, how he wasn’t an eloquent speaker and this made him afraid when God called him to work however his calling was literally to speak to kings to free a nation!

So Why Do I Travel?

I travel because I want to continually prove to that 11-year-old me that I can do anything I put my mind to, even if it was impossible to me at one point.

I travel because I see my life as a bank of experiences and in those experiences I try to seek God in them. Travelling gives me new experiences to add to that bank. And every new country allows me to see the variety of God’s workmanship.

I travel because I don’t want to settle. In routines, same knowledge same experiences. I want to push myself to seek new and exciting experiences

And I travel because after catching the travel bug and buying a map, I now want to cross every single country on that map! My personal challenge is 3 new countries/cities/places every year

Now that’s out of the way, I want to share some tips on travelling. It’s actually not as expensive as people think

Incognito mode is your friend. Google is very smart and after a quick search of a place on your laptop, you will begin to see things related to your search everywhere else e.g. phone and even on Instagram! Have you ever noticed you randomly search for something on Google and in the next couple of days, you begin to see it as ads on other websites you visit? This is because of cookies. When you google hotel/flight prices I believe it increases with every search because it thinks you are thinking of visiting there hence an increase in prices may force you to purchase because you want the cheapest deal. girl, I search for all prices relating to travel in Incognito mode, that way no cookies are placed on my device and the true price comes up every time

If you can, sign up for the airline’s email newsletter so you are kept up to date on sales/discounts going on

Flexibility- try as much as possible to be flexible with dates and destinations and be open to visit countries off the beaten track! For me, I want to visit every single country so it’s just a matter of where I go first and price

Travel buddies- I believe there are some places that are safer and easier to travel with a buddy. Choosing the right travel buddy is super important because it can make or break the trip. Finding someone with similar interests and budgets is super important e.g. imagine you want to eat local mid-range food on holiday but your buddy just wants the full blown 5 star restaurant experience? Hotels? You may want a cheap and cheerful one, they want a 5 star hotel with room service?

Sites like TripAdvisor is your BEST FRIEND!

That’s all I will share, for now, I don’t want this to be a super long post! I hope this has inspired someone to travel and just get out there and do something you have always wanted! I will bring back my travel posts- I stopped due to pure laziness lol but I will bring them back from onwards! I think I will do it itinerary style as I find posts like that super helpful when I am researching a new destination!

Happy New Year once again and I hope your 2018 is your best year yet!

Xoxo

Paris

Post birthday celebration post!

I actually never realised it’s been 5 years since I started talking about going to Paris! I just don’t know why I left it that long. So this year I made it my prerogative to go there and what better time than my birthday?!

Paris is hella expensive lol but it’s a beautiful city, it’s not called the most romantic place for nothing, I mean did they really have to have seats in pairs in the park? Lol

The food! The baguettes! The croissants and that hot chocolate with loads of cream! Lool! It’s also the only country I have been to where they prioritise wine over water lol, how can wine be the 1^st thing I saw when I went into the convenient store and water was downstairs lol. It’s also the only place that has a whole building dedicated to women shopping lol and the thing is every floor was busy.

Paris is that European city you just have to visit and it’s also worth mentioning it will probably be better to speak a bit of French if you do. I am so lucky my girl was French lol. I took LOADS of pictures, too many maybe but hell my Galaxy S7 camera is the BOMB! I finally shopped in Sephora! I went to one in Madrid but the hype wasn’t real back then lol.

But anyway I am super happy I finally went and I don’t mind going back! (I don’t like to go back to places I have been to before because I feel I can use that money to discover a new place( my goal is to visit every country so if you want to sponsor just holla at me lol however Paris and Thailand are places I will definitely go back to). I stayed in the Mercure Gare Du Nord which made transport SO easy. I went to most of the usual touristy places, two thing I really wanted to do was river tour and go to Disney but that can be done another time!

For now this 23^rd year can start probably!

Germany travels: Düsseldorf

Hey guys! I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying this warm weather. its officially summer!!!! Yay. So this update is a much needed break from hair updates lol even though it will have some hair elements to it but I will keep it short. So my last travel update I think was a year ago in February, although I did travel to Amsterdam last summer but did not blog about it. This time I went to Germany to visit a few people I met in Spain and I went to two different cities: Düsseldorf and Munich so I will split them into two parts. I am so bummed I could not go to Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne and Hamburg: time and money! (hey if you want to sponsor me to travel to these places for my blog I would appreciate it lol)

Let’s get started. I have a lot of pictures! Hair element (lol) I decided to go with a hassle free hairstyle as I did not want to travel with a lot of styling products or hot tools (mainly because I could not find my travel adapters and did not want to buy new ones lol), so I went with my short wig already straightened like 3 to 4 times ( as if that meant it would be straighter for longer lol and I would later find out that it would be rainy and there would be no point to it lol. Only products I took was a little bottle of spray leave in conditioner for my hair underneath and some gel for my edges although I never seem to care if they are laid or not when I’m travelling lol). DONE

Rant: OK. So I flew with German wings and never again. First the flight was delayed by about 25 minutes then when we actually boarded we had to wait for another 30 to 40 minutes then when we actually got to Germany we then had to wait another 20 minutes before we got off the plane! My journey time was prolonged about an 1hour and a half! And guess what the compensation was? A free alcoholic beverage (LOL) but hey I got there safely the end. But never again.

Anyway so I got there and met up with my friend and later went for our 1^st night out. We went to an afrobeats bar/ club in the city center (Please don’t ask me the name lol I can give you directions if you want lool). So anyway the 1^st night was good although it drizzled a bit and my hair got ruined lol. We spoke and did a lot of catching up and I also met her another friend. Somehow all the guys in the place were from Cameroon or spoke French and I spoke the same words all night: I don’t speak French/Dutch. (Lol I just remembered this one guy who was German, an older man staring at us for what seemed like the whole night. This man was literally sitting right across us. After he was tired of staring (I guess), he (lol) offered me his drink (LOL) very confidently (LOL) which I declined lol. After dancing for like 10 minutes he goes away lool.).The next day we went round their city center, of course Germany been the hometown of VW, BMW and Audi almost everyone drove one of those cars and the very latest models. In the center they were test driving jaguars and because I had just passed my test I got to drive one too!!!! (Lol jokes!)

I love the buildings there. Every corner had a mall honestly lol. And designer shops everywhere. The city is really beautiful. Of course been in Germany I had to have sausages lol although they served it in round bread lol. I didn’t drink any beer though hahaa. I saw the tower and did a lot of walking around, I wasn’t there for long so I did as much as I could in 2days 2nightz. We had lunch in Maredo I would recommend their ribs (so nice but I didn’t even finish it lol). I was lucky to go on the weekend of the Japanese festival in Düsseldorf so the costumes and people were in full gear. Apparently Düsseldorf has a large Japanese population, to think about it I actually saw a lot of sushi places. Although at the festival itself I didn’t see a lot of Japanese maybe they were hiding in costume (hehe). Anyways there was the most amazing fireworks show I had ever seen! The place was packed out I mean, I think everyone in the city was there lol. We were standing on a bridge which I honestly thought could fall. Next time we should get a boat lol (or Diane move to the harbor lol).

DSCF2177 — Yes that was part of someone’s outfit. and they were speakers!

So I had a really lovely time in Düsseldorf with my friend and I just wish I could spend more time there but hopefully I will back to visit. There is supposed to be a boat show in January hopefully I can make it there. I left Sunday afternoon for Munich in the south. I booked tickets via the DB website. The whole journey was about 6 hours: 12. 30 to 6.30 pm. Stay tuned for part two of my Germany travels.

See you soon

P.S I used my very handy 40L mountain warehouse backpack. A review I did for it can be viewed here >> http://wp.me/p1uQOd-ng. Please consider investing in a backpack if you travel a lot, it will make your life easier!

At this point everyone was like awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Munich Travels up shortly

MOUNTAIN WAREHOUSE 40L BACKPACK REVIEW

Hey guys, happy new month and hello summer! I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine and having a good time. For me, June marks the end of my time in SPAIN! 10 months have gone by too quick! Anyway, more on that later

This post is long overdue but better late than never. I promised the review of the backpack I used for my Spain travel and so here is i

I purchased the Mountain Warehouse Ventura 40L Litre Medium Walking Hiking Sport Rucksack Backpack Back Pack Bag Lime One Sizefrom Amazon for £39.99. I remember the shipping was fairly ok (standard if you ask me).

Details

I love the colour. A basic lime green and grey combination. Nothing special but I really like it. I had doubts the backpack would be enough for a 2-week trip as I tend to overpack, nevertheless, the 40L was adequate for everything! When it comes to compartmentalisation, this backpack does it for me! I love the shoe compartment at the bottom. Handy so that your clothes are not dirty from your shoes. There is also a ‘sleeve’ inside the main compartment which was handy for travel docs., t was easy to reach when I need to take out a document!

There are also pockets on the sides where I kept small sized clothes e.g. bikinis, underwear, socks etc.

Extra pockets on the top cover, both inside and out. handy for smaller items or travel plugs/accessories.

Compression- The placement of the straps worked for me. After packing and strapping, my pack was very compact and not too bulky!

I love the hip belt and the location is perfect- right on the hips. The mesh back allowed my back to breathe whilst carrying the bag in that heat!

Two water bottle holders on each side.

space inside- handy for your travel documents

Verdict

I love this bag! It also comes with a waterproof rain cover which can be used to cover the whole bag. I haven’t used this yet as I didn’t encounter any rain whilst travelling

Its worth it!

UPDATE- 9/3/2018- The bag is in excellent condition which no signs of wear. I have used it quite a few times since travelling in Spain and I still love it the same. definitely recommend this bag.

Cadiz: little town Great beaches

Located in the south of Spain. Cadiz is one of the oldest cities in Spain. Thanks to its location, it boasts of some of the most beautiful beaches I have been to. Its all about weather and if youre lucky enough to catch the sun whilst here do not miss that opportunity to go to the Tk3 bar in El puerto de Santa Maria where you can get some really good cocktails famous within the town. Stroll along the beach which is right opposite the bar or sit by the fires and reminisce of all your travel adventure. This is where good company is needed. (Or if you are a solo traveler you will love the tranquility)

Eat fried calamares and drink tinto de verano in another well known restaurant I el puerto called Romerijo’s. Also try tortillita de camarones .Dont forget to visit los italianos in the center of cadiz to taste some good icecream to cool down in the sun. (Try the strawberry! )

Also try to visit Puerto sherry and have lunch by the beach in one of the resturants. I had lunch at an italian restaurant called blanca paloma.

The city of Cadiz is good for history. Dont miss the wall in the center and the castle. Visit the park Genovés opposite the university of Cadiz. Notice how most of the houses are white.

I think that as this was the last city and bad weather I didnt really get a sample of the place, however I do plan on going back there soon. Hopefully I can get more pictures and better ones too.

Granada: small town with rich muslim roots

Make no mistake as you walk through Morroco I mean Granada,( see what I did there). Thinking youre in Morroco! I was pleasantly surprised on how similar some patterns and parts of the town was to Morroco. So it was no surprise when the main attract in Granada is the la Alhambra.

Granada was apparently the… wait you want the best features of the place not the history( thats Wikipedia’s job)

Stroll along the river outside the las Alhambra. Its a sort of hill with pebbled ground so wear sturdy shoes. Go into the Alhambra if you can.

Take a walk into tge center and enjoy more muslim influenced architecture. When you get to the plaza de carmen there is a road that has a lot of restaurants. ( so bummed I didnt get a picture or the name of the place I ate at but I do have a picture of what I ate :))

My time here was very short. First i missed a day because the only tickets available from Valencia to Granada were overnight, therefore I only had one day there, however I was lucky enough to see the Paso de semana santa ( which I did not enjoy!)