TRAVEL: The Cruise Diaries - Oranjestad, Aruba

Welcome to the third installment of The Cruise Diaries - make sure to read previous installments here first! Follow my journey from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to the Caribbean Islands, through the Panama Canal, up through the countries of Central America, and finishing in San Diego, California. New installments coming every few days so make sure to stay tuned on the blog and Twitter @CiarasCountry - on with the trip!

Day 5

Down in the bowels of the ship, I was woken the next morning by what sounded and felt like an earthquake, but was in fact just the engine working hard to bring us into the port of Oranjestad, Aruba. We had a quick breakfast in the Lido watching as tour groups headed off on their excursions and feeling slightly jealous for those who had a submarine tour planned for the day (note to self: add that to the bucket list!)

Before long, we made our way out into the heat of the Arubian sun and onto dry land again. Our intention had been to catch the local bus up to the California lighthouse, wander around and figure out what to do - so not much of a plan. As luck would have it, the buses were only once every hour and we had over a half hour until the next one, so decided we'd see what options the tour hawkers lingering around the port could offer us.

First to approach us was a stylish woman who told us she could take us around the western part of the island on a tour that was leaving right this instant. With little time to think, we decided to just go for it, and so she ran off to pick up her colourful open topped van for us and another couple to jump into. And then we were off, cruising down the streets as the wind whipped my hair all over the place. I actually enjoyed the open topped bus as not only did the constant breeze mean that we couldn't feel the heat but the view was so much better than if we'd been behind glass.

Every time our guide wanted to point something out to us, she would yell over the engine. "ON YOUR LEFT YOU'LL SEE THE AYO ROCKS" she yelled as we passed the huge limestone structures, "THIS IS A TYPICAL ARUBIAN HOUSE," and so on and so forth. Our little journey took us to the Baby Land Bridge, along the road to which I was nearly thrown overboard by the horrendously bumpy road and lack of vehicle suspension; the tiny Alto Vista Chapel; the California Lighthouse ($1 if you wanted to use the restroom); and back along Palm and Eagle Beach with their beautiful clear water and the occasional impressive shipwreck. All in all, our tour took about 2 and a half hours, which for $20 I don't think was bad at all.

We arrived back in time just to see the free trolley train fill up again with visitors. Hopping on, we squeezed past cars parked too close to the tracks and cruised slowly up the pedestrianised Main Street alongside all of the shops. At the end of the street, the trolley train stops for twenty minutes before turning back, so we decided to hop off and walk back ourselves.

Along Main Street, there were a bunch of signs with recommendations of what to do which I thought was great, with one of the recommendations being to try a pastechi. As it so happened, the only shop with a line coming out of the door was a pastechi stop, so that seemed like more reason than any to try one. We had to queue for about twenty minutes before ordering our pastechis filled with young Gouda cheese (see the Dutch influence) and continued on our way while munching the deliciously gooey empanada-like pastry.

Turning away from Main Street, we headed back down to the seafront, stopping to buy a snowglobe at one of the many souvenir shops and then heading in search of coffee. Thanks to free Wi-Fi in the area, we TripAdvisored and chose the Aruba Experience Bakery and Patisserie, which was slightly out of the way, but a beautiful stone building. They didn't have many pastries on offer when we arrived but the atmosphere was so nice it seemed a shame not to stop for a glass of fresh orange juice.

And just like that, we'd done all we thought there was to do in the little port town of Oranjestad. We wandered our way back to the air conditioned ship, again just in time for tea in the Dining Room (a hard habit to break). This time we were sat with an American military couple and a German woman, providing a nice break from talking to the people you already spend a lot of time with, and find out a bit about other people's lives and their experiences of cruising.

I had a bit of free time for reading and blogging before getting ready for another round of Total Body Conditioning in the gym, this time full of ab work that certainly seemed much more difficult than usual, although maybe that was just due to the extra layers of padding provided by the past few days of eating about four times as much as usual...

Speaking of food, that was next on the agenda with a little bit of variation from the usual as we decided to eat in the Lido due to the Caribbean Themed Dinner that would be taking place there. There was plenty of choice, although not too much catering for the vegetarian diet, so I opted for a delicious bean soup followed by make-your-own-pasta (very Caribbean) and key lime and coconut pie.

The nature talks had been upgraded to prime time so we headed down to the Mainstage for a fascinating talk on birds which told us everything we needed to know and more about birds of the neotropics, from parrots to toucans and hummingbirds. Talks and entertainment seemed to get more popular each and every day so we had a full house by the time we got to the night's entertainment.

This was quite different than those that came before it as we had juggler John Nations, who not only did very impressive juggling tricks involving balls, bats, tennis racquets and knifes; but was also very funny and personable. I'd hire him for a party anyday.

Day 6

The clocks went back over night so we supposedly had an extra hour in bed, but knowing that there's no rest for the wicked, I was up at 7am to face the day. With all that extra time, I decided to head to Just Breathe up on the Lido Deck, again in collaboration with Oprah Winfrey's O Magazine. This was pretty similar to our Stretch and Release classes but with a bit of meditation and yoga thrown in for good measure.

We ate breakfast whilst watching the tiny flying fish jump out of the water from down below, and then headed back for our daily Stretch and Release. Sometimes it felt like the instructor forget we were on a moving ship, asking us to balance on one leg, difficult enough when the ground's not moving below you!

If you've read by blog before or can guess based on my meal choices throughout this trip, you probably know that I'm a vegetarian. However, this didn't put me off attending America's Test Kitchen's demonstration of the perfect Steakhouse Dinner, as I truly find the demos very interesting and relaxing. What's the going rate for a television salesperson? Now that's a job I'd like to try.

Our next nature talk was at 11am and on amphibians and reptiles. We learnt about all the differences between toads and frogs, and a bit more about one of my favourite toads, the Pebble Toad (YouTube its defence mechanism); differences between crocodiles, alligators and caimans; no discussion on snakes to make sure not to trigger any guests fears; and the water walking basilisks.

Given that it was Sunday, brunch was on offer in the Dining Room, so I opted for yummy caramel corn pancakes, smashed avocado on toast, and apple crisp. Going hungry is definitely not a fear on the Volendam! I raced back to the theatre to catch the second America's Test Kitchen demo of the day on 'Everything Salmon', again more interested in watching the demo and the skill of the presenter in talking continuously whilst engaging the audience than the food itself.

At 2pm, we headed to the Mainstage for a talk on the History of the Building of the Panama Canal given that we would be passing through it the following day. We learnt about its origins as a French project, all of the issues that occurred with landslides, diseases and poor engineering that led to the failure of the project before it was reignited by the Americans who led the project to its completion. Admittedly I knew very little about the Panama Canal beforehand, but attending the talk made me excited to see it as well as appreciative of all the effort that had gone into its creation.

If you've read the earlier editions of this trip series, you'll know that we managed to win a voucher for the spa, so I decided to put this to good use with a special multi-treatment they'd concocted. This consisted of an exfoliating rub, full body massage and wrap. A hugely relaxing hour, but I was surprised to hear that days at sea were the most popular for the spa - I'd have thought not rocking back and forth would be more relaxing!

Dinner was back in the Dining Room with beet risotto and pineapple crisp. I rushed off to the small Hudson Room on deck to hear the tale of La Segua, a Costa Rican folklore about a woman spurned by her lover who then turned herself into a terrifying flaming horse headed lady terrifying other playboy men who tried to lure young women away. Very interesting story and read well, with sounds effects provided by the attendees (dun dun dun!)

It was then to the Mainstage for the second show of the Volendam singers and dancers, this time titled 'Variations'. We saw some great dancing include an interesting street dance to classical music; and beautiful musical theatre style singing of songs such as 'Amigos Para Siempre' and 'The Winner Takes It All.' Without a doubt, one of my favourite parts of cruising so far has been the entertainment - I'd pay good money to see this stuff any day.

TRAVEL: The Cruise Diaries - Willemstad, Curaçao

Welcome to the second installment of The Cruise Diaries - make sure to read previous installments here first! Follow my journey from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to the Caribbean Islands, through the Panama Canal, up through the countries of Central America, and finishing in San Diego, California. New installments coming every few days so make sure to stay tuned on the blog and Twitter @CiarasCountry - on with the trip!

Day 4

By this point, we'd gotten into our little rhythm of early starts, a mile walk around the ships promenade, and breakfast in the Lido. I opted for a heartier breakfast than usual as we were landing later that day and knew we probably wouldn't be coming back onboard for lunch. Breakfast had become a highlight for me not only due to the quality (and indeed quantity) of the food, but also the friendly nature of the staff who were so happy to chat to you and get to know you. Most of the kitchen staff were Filipino, and they definitely made me feel that the Philippines must be a happy country if everyone is like this.

Around 9am, we fast approached Willemstad, the capital of Curaçao so spent the time peering out of the window as we came closer. A local pilot boarded the ship to guide us into port and without so much as a bump, we were docked. We decided to let the hordes of people heading off on tours go ahead, although quite honestly it didn't look too busy from our vantage point, so decided to head off into the city.

We'd certainly achieved our goal of escaping the cold British weather as the weather was positively balmy as we stepped off the gangway. Walking a short while along the coast, we passed through Rif Fort and found ourselves pretty much right in the city - the benefit of a small island being that it doesn't take long to get where you need to go. We crossed over the pretty Queen Emma Bridge, which subsequently split in two to let a boat pass by, and into the Punda district.

This was my first experience of the Caribbean so I can't comment on what other Caribbean islands are like, but I'd say they're fairly different to this. Due to the Dutch influence, Willemstad was certainly quite European with brightly coloured buildings much the same (if not prettier) than you'd find in the Netherlands.

We'd printed out a walking tour and so began wandering along the colourful streets. It was easy to forget that it was indeed approaching Christmastime due to the hot weather until we stumbled across the occasional Christmas decoration. My favourite were the wooden slats shaped to represent a Christmas tree and studded with lights. A cheap and simple, and no doubt easier to procure in this Caribbean climate, alternative to the original.

Our walk didn't take too long, passing along buildings of every pastel colour until we found ourselves back in the main square - the perfect opportunity for a coffee and apple pie, again another example of the Dutch influence. In fact, sitting there as we were served by blonde haired and blue eyed waiters, you'd think you really were in the Netherlands.

Still having plenty of time left, we crossed back over the Queen Emma Bridge into Otrabanda, another of the city's districts. This was immediately more recognisably 'Caribbean' in terms of the shops and bars that we passed, and less touristy than the other side. Again, there were a bunch of recognisable buildings to pass and read up about which we happily did in the baking mid afternoon sun.

By this point, we'd pretty much seen everything that we could by foot, so headed back to the pleasant air conditioning of the ship - now I understand why they keep it so cold, so it's nice and cooling when you come back in from the Caribbean heat! We were just in time for 'Tea is Served' in the Dining Room, which was pretty much afternoon tea sans the three tiered platter. Dinky sandwiches, tiny scones and sweet cakes accompanied by a pot of Darjeeling. Luxury at its finest.

I took An American Marriage up to the Mix bar to ensconce myself in one of their Oceanside comfy chairs to breeze through its pages. At five, I made the decision to head to the Total Body Conditioning Class in the gym, thinking that it would be nice and easy so as to appeal to the generally older demographic on board. I was vastly mistaken, and spent the next half hour sweating profusely as we worked our way through squats, lunges, Russian twists and more. Probably helped to work off half of the pancake I had at breakfast...

Freshly showered, it was time for a dinner of ravioli soup, Mexican tacos and creme brûlée. We made our way down to the Mainstage slightly before the 8pm show as people seemed to have caught onto the quality of the nightly entertainment and so it was already pretty busy by the time we got their. Tonight's entertainment was Scottish vocalist and instrumentalist Matt Cairns. A very talented and lovely bloke, he serenaded us with John Denver, the Bay City Rollers, Scottish folk music, plenty of The Beatles, and more; backed by a full band. Even after two nights, I was already impressed by the high standard of entertainers - I'd love to be part of the team that chooses what we have every night.

TRAVEL: The Cruise Diaries - Fort Lauderdale, Florida, & the Caribbean Sea

Welcome to the first installment of The Cruise Diaries! Follow my journey from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to the Caribbean Islands, through the Panama Canal, up through the countries of Central America, and finishing in San Diego, California. New installments coming every few days so make sure to stay tuned on the blog and Twitter @CiarasCountry - on with the trip!

Florida is a beautiful place to spend Christmas. I say this having spent less than 24 hours in the state so far, but if you're looking to escape the cold winter weather back home, this might just be the place for you. We arrived in Fort Lauderdale in the early afternoon, and after breezing through immigration (rare for the states, but one of the benefits of travelling to a smaller airport) were shuttled to the DoubleTree Hilton for the night. 

Upon arrival, we were gifted warm chocolate chip cookies as is custom at the DoubleTree Hotels, dropped off our bags and headed out to explore the local area. Our local area pretty much consisted of an outlet mall and not much more, and yet wandering around the shops was a pretty decent way to pass the time, even if we were too tired to buy anything. 

We stopped for dinner in one of the food courts at Charley's Philly Cheesesteaks for a titular sandwich and sweet tea - the latter being one of my favourite things about the Southern United States. Then it was a case of returning to the hotel to watch a crappy/cringey Hallmark Christmas movie to stave off jetlag for another few hours before turning in for the night. 

Day 1

Time differences meant waking up super early the next morning so we went to the only place open at that time for breakfast, a Venezuelan bakery called Don Pan. Empanadas offered a unique breakfast option and were small enough to make sure we weren't already overeating as was sure to be the case once we got on the ship.

At 11am, we were ferried down to the Port, dropped off our bags and went through security before boarding the Holland America line MS Volendam. Having opted for one of the cheaper rooms, I was down in the bowels of the ship, but honestly my room was pretty decent with a small living room as you walk in and a bed towards the 'sea-end' of the ship with a small window above it.

What better way to start our cruise than how we meant to go on - eating. We headed to one of the restaurants onboard, the Lido Market, for a buffet style meal which offered everything from full main courses to pasta, salads and sushi. Plenty of choice and a nice surprise in the fact that servers went around offering free water, ice tea or lemonade, as we'd thought we would have to pay for all drinks during our trip. 

Nicely full, it was time to go exploring. Armed with my handy map of the ship (which is a small one in comparison to many, housing just 1,500 guests) we started on the top deck, which has a kids club, two sports courts and a Crows Nest bar. Moving down you find two small pools, a few restaurants, the Greenhouse Spa, Salon and Fitness Center looking out to sea. Two floors of staterooms sit atop the main two floors which hold the impressive looking dining room where our gala dinners will take place, a casino, shops, a cafe and bar, a cinema, and the Mainstage where much of the entertainment will take place. 

At 2pm, we made our way to the Mainstage where Cruise Director Justin told us a bit more about what to expect, including the ships intranet where you can message fellow cruisers via the internal wifi, and the various partnerships the Cruise is involved with including with BBC Earth, Windows Operating System, and Oprah Winfrey - an interesting bunch. 

After unpacking my bags given that this would be my home for the next few weeks, we headed up to the Greenhouse Spa & Salon for a raffle drawing. We never win anything, but this time we did - a $150 voucher for their signature treatments, not bad! The Spa manager had a great way of drawing the raffle too - she would reel off the room number, quickly count to three and if no one claimed the prize, it was on to the next one. Fair!

The next few hours were spent at the ships stern watching as we pulled out of the port and began cruising down the coast of Florida. The sunset was so beautiful I felt like crying at the fact that some people get to see this every day, if only... As the sky darkened, the skyscrapers of Miami lit up with lights on the horizon which gradually became smaller as we sailed into the dark void.

At 7:45 we headed to the Dining Room, the fancy complimentary dining option for dinner. The place was packed meaning service was quite slow, although you'd have thought the staff would be used to this kind of rush by now, but the food was really quite delicious. We had intended to go to the first show of the cruise to 'Meet the Entertainers of the Volendam' but jetlag meant that I didn't think I'd enjoy it even if I went. 

Day 2

For those who know me, or have read my travel blogs before, you'll know that I'm no good at relaxing, so the thought of days at sea filled me with a certain kind of dread. What was I supposed to do to pass the time? I'd brought George R. R. Martin's latest 700-page Game of Thrones novel, but would that be enough?! The ships clocks jumped forward an hour, which was actually better for us given the time difference back home, but it was still a too-early start for me.

However, this had its benefits as we took a stroll around the third floor deck - the only deck to have a promenade round the outside - with the orange sun lighting up the sea ahead of us. Breakfast was too much choice in the Lido Market, I opted for a healthy option of hash browns, French toast and a sticky bun. It was a quick change into gym gear for our 9:30am class of Stretch and Release to loosen up all those muscles, and then back to the Mainstage for a talk on What to See and Do in Our Ports. This was organised by the ships excursions team and was effectively a sales pitch of the excursions you could take, and whilst we'd decided not to do many of them, it was still interesting to see what options were available for each of the countries we would be visiting. 

As you can probably tell by now, there appeared to be plenty to do, and I ducked out for a Kitchen Tour which, albeit short and lasting little more than five minutes as we wound our way through the kitchens, was really interesting with tonnes of stainless steel surfaces and the different areas that we passed through. I'd say it gets a lot more hectic around mealtimes! 

At 11, I had my first engagement with Oprah, or her book club as the case may be, where we picked up a copy of Tayari Jones' 'An American Marriage' which we were set to read throughout the cruise for discussion at the end. I then went to America's Test Kitchen, based on the TV show of the same name, for a tutorial on Flavours of the Mediterranean where the TV chef showed us three recipes using olive oil. I'd never attended a cooking show before so found this really interesting, particularly given that we were on a ship currently passing Cuba at the time - stranger things have happened. 

Lunch was another healthy affair of chips and cheesecake courtesy of the ships burger bar The Dive-In before spending the next few hours back in the Mainstage for talks on Making the Most of Your Visit to Curaçao & Aruba, and Welcome to the Rainforest. 

The first was held by the same excursions team as earlier, but was not a sales pitch but more an informative talk on all the things to see and do in our first two destinations. This was quite useful to help us decide what non-organised things we might want to do as well as show off some stunning pictures of Willemstad and Oranjestad. 

The latter was really interesting in that it was basically a lecture on the neotropical regions, their different ecozones and how different species have evolved over time due to migration barriers. It brought me back to my university days and I was glad that we had something so educational on the ship - I really feel like I learnt a lot (for instance, why I no longer want to eat figs...) and I'm sure the other attendees did as well.

Days at sea also involved a Classic Afternoon Tea in the Dining Room. I had pretty low expectations based on our experiences aboard the Nile Cruise in Egypt but was pleasantly surprised when it literally was an afternoon tea - three tiers of sandwiches, scones and cakes. I said I had started the trip as I meant to go on, eating! 

Given I'd already had three meals during the day, I felt it was time to work off some of those calories by doing a few laps around the promenade which was pleasantly warm. I found it less boring than walking on a treadmill in a gym would have been, as the view was quite spectacular, sea on two sides, the boats trail behind us, and the faint glimpse of land in the distance. 

That night was the first of our Gala Dinners, so we dressed up in our finery and headed to the Dining Room. We'd expected to have to share a table with other guests but were seated on our own again. I was a bit disappointed as felt this made us quite insular, so hoped we'd have the chance to eat with others later in the trip, at least just to see what it was like. Dinner was delicious, including cream of artichoke and carrot soup, ricotta stuffed shells, and chocolate soufflé. Always better enjoyed when dressed to the nines. 

We headed on down to the Mainstage for a welcoming toast with the Captain which was all going fine until he accidentally spilled a tray of Champagne on the server (happens to the best of us...) This was followed by the World of Dance performance where ten performers executed different dance styles ranging from salsa to breakdancing, with some musical theatre type singing thrown in throughout for good measure. I was enraptured. It was just as good IMHO as a professional West End Show and totally worth seeing - I hope that the rest of the performances will be just as enjoyable.

Day 3

I woke up to choppier weather outside my window which made walking down the long hallways fun as you swayed from side to side. We started the day with a few promenades round the deck to get our daily exercise in before heading to breakfast to eat off all that hard work. The cruise staff were super friendly, with a number of the breakfast staff making an effort to learn my name and find out more about me - a lovely bunch of people.

After breakfast we were back for another session of Stretch & Release, again made more challenging as touching your toes is notably more difficult when the ship is trying to make you lose your balance, something not usually an issue in a normal gym! Next up was Meatless Monday Meals with America's Test Kitchen chef Maria where she taught us how to make a tofu rice bowl and bean burgers. I loved watching ATK as Maria was a great host, full of personality and not wasting a moment of 'airtime', chatting us through the process the whole time.

At 11, it was time for part two of 'Make the Most of Your Visit' with an informative chat on Costa Rica and its rich flora and fauna, and Nicaragua and what to do in Corinto. Lunch was taken at the Dive In with their flavoursome burgers and some more fries (of course) and then we were back to ATK for breakfast time, learning how to make fluffy omelettes and blueberry pancakes. In spite of only having eaten a half hour earlier, I was already salivating. 

Much of the rest of the afternoon was spent in the Mainstage as we started a follow up to Welcome to the Rainforest to learn about neotropical mammals including monkeys, bats and sloths; followed by a talk on The Real Pirates of the Caribbean aka the Flying Gang, Blackbeard's hearty crew of pirates. 

We took a few more laps around the deck before heading down for another absolutely delicious dinner of warming soup (necessary due to the ships freezing air con), beet farro, and sticky toffee and date pudding, quite unlike its British equivalent. One of my travel companions commented that his favourite part of the cruise so far was the food, and I'd have to say that I don't disagree, even if it's at the expense of my waistline. 

We headed to the onboard atrium at 7pm for the lighting of the Christmas Tree where we were offered complimentary apple cider or hot chocolate and Christmas cookies. Carols were sung and the little tree in the centre was lit. Definitely a benefit of travelling over the holidays in that we get to experience special events other cruises throughout the year wouldn't have.

The night ended with entertainment on the Mainstage in the form of comedian Brian Bradley. He promised a 'playful blend of stand up & improvisation' - I'm hard to amuse, and have to say I didn't crack a smile throughout the performance, but perhaps this is due to the fact that I'm not quite his demographic, as a fair few of the jokes revolved around aching joints and little blue pills... But alas, there were a fair few hearty laughs around the room so I'd say he was a good choice for this cruise. 

TRAVEL: Innsbruck, Austria - Christmas, crystals, and cold weather

It’s ever helpful to have friends in convenient locations. I have a friend currently working in the Austrian city of Innsbruck so decided I would go and visit somewhere I probably wouldn’t have found myself otherwise.

A few hours after departing from Stansted airport, I touched down in Innsbruck under the cover of night. Catching a bus to the main station, I met up with my friend and we headed for dinner at the top of the Adler Hotel, which offered pretty views across the city which I can only imagine were even more impressive during the day when you could see the mountains.

We were staying at the Leipziger Hof Hotel in one of their apartments which offered a pretty nice base during my stay. The next morning I was up early, ready for a full day of exploring. Armed with my trusty map, I wound myself through the city streets and over to the Imperial Gardens, which looked significantly bigger on the map, but were nonetheless pleasant to walk through. All I was thinking was just how quiet Innsbruck was – what a pleasant place to be on a cold winters day.

Walking down by the side of the glacial green river, I arrived at Congress funicular station. My ticket was fairly expensive at almost 30 Euros but I had been told that the view from the top was quite spectacular and worth the investment. We headed three stops on the funicular, including through a fun tunnel with multicolour lights flashing as you and the funicular coming the other way sped towards each other, before stopping at Hungerburg, the mid-point up the mountain.

Eager to continue my journey, I hurried to the cable car station to travel up to Seegrube. As we gained in altitude, everything became whiter and whiter until eventually we could barely see ten metres in front of us because of the snowy weather. Exiting the cable car, we were met with a blast of icy air. I wandered around the cable car station, enjoying the deep snow underneath my feet but not getting much of a view due to the heavy cloud cover. Perhaps check the weather before you cash out on the trip!

However, it was nonetheless nice to be up the mountain, and the views of the treetops as we headed back down were pleasant. This time I made sure to take some time at Hungerburg which, out of the cloud cover, did actually offer nice views of the city, from the ski jump to the river.

Back on the funicular, I hopped off at the Alpenzoo station to take a look at the station architecture, with all the funicular stations designed by famous architect Zara Hadid. Given there were 15 minute breaks between each funicular, I wandered around the alpine streets, admiring the cosy cabins perched on the hillside.

I continued back to Congress and began walking down the river before stumbling upon one of the city’s Christmas markets. Now this is a proper Austrian German Christmas market, with stalls selling plenty of Gluwein and other tasty treats. An Austrian friend of mine had recommended that I try kasespatzle, a potato type pasta smothered in cheese so I picked up a bowl and munched my way through it as I walked across the road into the Old Town.

One of the first things you see in the Old Town is the Golden Roof, the city’s most famous symbol. It’s quite small, but does what it says on the tin. I walked down Maria-Theresien Strasse to the Triumphal Arch (reminiscient of the arches I saw in Berlin and Potsdam, which you can read about here) and back up the other side.

At this point, I discovered Heaven, and that is the Innsbruck Swarovski store. One of Innsbruck’s claims to fame is as the birthplace of Swarovski, and so of course they have a huge shop of crystals which if you’re anything like me and a fan of sparkly things, is an amazing place to visit. I spent far to long looking at all of the jewellery and ornaments in each of the display cases, ending up with the most gorgeous necklace and bracelet I think I’ve ever seen.

Back in the real world, I continued my wander around the Old Town before deciding to take advantage of the hour or so of light I had left to traipse across the entire city to Ambras Castle. This was pretty much deserted bar me and a few peacocks strutting around, and again I was struck by that sense of quiet and calm as I ambled around the castle grounds. Certainly a pretty place to visit.

I returned to our apartment as I waited for my friend to come back from work, and we then headed out to see the Christmas markets. As it turned out, I had inadvertently already visited them all during my days adventures, but it was nice to see them all lit up at night anyway.

Day two began with a dusting of snow on the ground. My plans were a bit up in the air, but eventually I decided to catch the shuttle bus to Swarovski Kristallwelten (Crystal World) which according to Wikipedia is a museum but to me seemed more like an art gallery slash experience. The best way to describe it is a bit like Santa Fe’s Meow Wolf (read about that here)

Again, it’s not cheap but for 20 Euros you get a few hours of amusement and plenty of crystals to gaze at. Your journey begins behind a gaping mouth carved into the hill and into the main gallery where you walked through fabric curtains into room after room of sparkling crystal art installations ranging from a tree to geodes to the sun.

Of course there’s another huge shop, and a few more installations outside like a maze in the shape of a hand and a sea of crystal clouds. My main concern with Kristallwelten is their lack of shuttle buses, which only come every two hours. I had finished with about an hour and fifteen minutes until the next bus, so found myself waiting in the bar area, unable to go back into the exhibition and having seen everything outside.

I was in fact waiting for a call from a paragliding company to let me know whether I needed to catch the shuttle back into town if the weather was good enough, or decide what else to do. Unfortunately, there was too much turbulence so paragliding was a no-go, but at least this meant I no longer had to wait for the shuttle! I exited Kristallwelten to catch a bus to the nearby town of Hall-in-Tirol.

I was surprised to find they had a Visitors Information Centre given the small size of the town (or at least the Old Town) but I picked up a walking tour and noodled my way around the town for half an hour or so, past the old churches and quaint alpine streets. Apparently this town is home to the best Christmas market in Innsbruck and its surrounding areas, although I was there too early in the day to see it.

Having exhausted all there was to do in Hall, I bussed myself back to Innsbruck and ended up at that first Christmas market again as I had seen they were serving raclette and felt the need to indulge in the gooey cheesy goodness. A few hours later, we ate spinach knodel (dumplings) smothered in butter at the hotel restaurant before heading to bed for my last day in Innsbruck.

The following morning would have been perfect for ascending Seegrube as the sky was beautifully clear and the mountains easily visible. Alas, I wasn’t willing to spend another 30 Euro to go up again, so instead made my way to Audioversum, a museum of sound.

For 9 Euro, I was able to wander around the museums three interactive exhibits. The first was on sound, and included vast sculptures of bells and lightning bolts that you could put your hands on to feel the decibels they emit as well as sound walls which reacted as you walked past. Admittedly I was a bit confused by how to work some of the exhibits but it was quite fun that all of the exhibits were interactive.

The second exhibit was on the brain, and included a machine which could alter your voice so you could see what it would be like to speak with a stutter or on helium, and one you could play with a partner to see what you could hear if you were moderately or severely hearing impaired.

The final exhibit was on smell, and included about a hundred different smelling stations ranging from the nice (fresh madeleines) to the not so nice (beaver). Having experienced so many different smells I felt that my sense of smell was heightened for the rest of the day, and could smell coffee on the breath of people walking by me!

There was supposed to be an interactive room where you could experience what it was like to be in different places like the jungle, but it was being used for team rehearsal for the Christmas party, and I didn’t have time before needing to go to the airport, so I caught the bus back to the city’s tiny airport to return home.

Tips for visiting Innsbruck: Honestly, I think I did pretty much everything one should do when visiting Innsbruck, so this could be a pretty good guide for your trip. The Old Town and Kristallwelten would be top picks. Another option is to go skiing, although you might want a bit longer to do this, and check the weather on the slopes you’re visiting, as Seegrube appeared to be shut due to poor visibility. Finally, Christmas is of course a wonderful time to visit this alpine town, with its cute little markets and snowy scenes that help to get you in the festive mood. I’m always pleasantly surprised by the cities I visit that I probably normally wouldn’t have picked, and Innsbruck is certainly up there.

I hope you enjoyed today’s travel blog – I have a big Christmas holiday coming up so stay tuned to @CiarasCountry on Twitter to read that soon. If you’ve been to Innsbruck or are planning to visit, I’d love to hear your thoughts so drop me a message in the comments below!

TRAVEL: The Ultimate London Christmas Lights self-guided walking tour!

I firmly believe that London is one of the most magical places on Earth at Christmastime, and in no way is this more clear than the effort put into the city’s Christmas lights. But London’s a big city, right? Is it really possible to see the best of London’s Christmas lights all in one go? You’ll be pleased to know that the answer is yes – just follow the route below for the Ultimate London Christmas Lights Tour!

Duration: 2 hours

Our journey begins at Regent’s Park station. Walk west on Marylebone Road before turning left onto Marylebone High Street. As you walk down the High Street, you’ll see your first set of magical Christmas lights. Peer into the windows at Daunt Books to see their best books for Christmas.

When you reach the end of the road, you can turn right here to see Selfridge’s window displays. Otherwise, turn left and then a swift right just before Costa Coffee onto St Christopher’s Place to see more lights and the off the high street shops here.

At the end of St Christopher’s Place you’ll arrive directly into the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street, one of the most famous places to see the Christmas lights. Cross the road after Bond Street and onto South Molton Lane for their impressive lights. Pop into Claridge’s to see their amazing Christmas tree, designed by a different designer every year.

Back on Brook Street, retrace your steps past South Molton and peer at the lights up and down New Bond Street before crossing Regents Street (again, famous for its lights). Peek into Liberty London for a true British department store experience and then turn right onto Carnaby Street, which this year has a stunning lights display inspired by Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

Turning back onto Regents Street, make your way over to Berkeley Square (Conduit Street is your most direct route here). Walk around the top of the Square, taking a quick detour on Mount Street to see their colour-changing Christmas tree before turning back to Berkeley Square and past Annabel’s Clubs incredible decorations. Turn down Berkeley Street and you’ll find yourself on Piccadilly right opposite the Ritz Hotel.

Turn left up at the street, stopping to check out Burlington Arcade and Fortnum & Mason’s window displays. Wander your way up Piccadilly until you reach Piccadilly Circus – if you look left, here’s another opportunity to see the Regents Street lights.

Turn right onto Haymarket and then a left at the bottom of the road towards Trafalgar Square and its very large Christmas tree. Walk down Duncannon Street, across the Strand and down Villiers Street, through Embankment station and up the stairs onto Golden Jubilee Bridge. You’ll get some amazing views of London across the Thames.

Across the river, now is the perfect time to stop for something to eat at the Southbank Christmas market, before turning left and then across Waterloo Bridge for some more views. Turn left onto the Strand to see the Northbank lights before turning right onto Burleigh Street.

You’ll arrive right into Covent Garden where there are some pretty lights inside the covered area as well as a huge Christmas tree to greet you outside. Turn up James Street past Covent Garden station, left onto Long Acre and right onto Mercer Street. This brings you to Seven Dials which is pretty from any of the seven sides you look at it.

Take the second exit up Earlham Street and left onto Shaftesbury Avenue. Turn right up Charing Cross Road and you’ll reach our terminus, Tottenham Court Road. I hope you enjoyed my Ultimate Christmas Lights Tour – if you decide to test it out yourself, tag me on Twitter @CiarasCountry, I’d love to see your photos! Thanks for reading!

TRAVEL: Jerash & Amman, Jordan - centurions, Citadels, and Crown Princes

Before you start, make sure to read my last Jordan blog here! 

Having now seen wonders of the world, untouched desert, and salty seas, our journey through Jordan continued on the road, passing through coastal scenery, to desert, to Mediterranean landscapes filled with olive trees. After a few hours, we arrived at Jerash, somewhere we hadn't previously heard of, but should really be included as a 'should visit' when in Jordan. Jerash is a former Roman city, and today is filled with Roman ruins. 

We picked up another local guide as Ra-ed wasn't able to come in with us, and spent the next hour or so wandering along the Roman streets and through former temples under the hot sun. It was surprising to find Roman architecture somewhere that we wouldn't have usually associated with the Empire, but Jerash was in fact an important midpoint between Amman (then called Philadelphia) and Damascus in Syria. The tour was interesting, but unfortunately ignored a number of my questions, and then stalked off without so much as a thank you or goodbye after we'd tipped him, which dampened the experience somewhat. 

With Ra-ed, we headed back to Amman to visit the Citadel. These series of buildings lay high above the city and gave great views of the cluttered streets down below. Again, many of the buildings of the Citadel had become ruined over the years, but the central church was still in good condition and looked very impressive from the outside with its large domed roof and stone sides.

Afterwards, Ra-ed took us into downtown, filled with hundreds of shops selling watches, hats and wallets, kids toys and the like; and through the fruit market stuffed to the gills with fruit as fresh as can be and fragrant spices galore. The tour ended with some kunnafeh, a traditional Jordanian sweet made of a slab of goats cheese toasted with grains on top, and smothered in syrup and pistachios. It wasn't too sweet, and was utterly delicious. 

Towards the end of the afternoon, we headed back to the Hyatt we'd stayed on at the first night, but were met with a surprise in the form of a fleet of blacked out cars, which we'd previously seen racing through the streets of downtown with police officers blocking traffic to let them by. Ra-ed informed us that due to the dress of the soldiers surrounding the cars, this meant royalty. How exciting! Nonetheless, we headed up to our rooms, wondering who important might be in our hotel......

With a few hours until dinner, it seemed like a good idea to head down to the lobby for coffee, and lo and behold, a number of paparazzi were waiting down there, with security personnel waiting around the lobby. We took a seat, had our coffee and managed to catch someone walking by to ask who it was at the table behind us who required so much security. As it turned out, this was Prince Hassan, the former kings brother, and the current kings uncle. How exciting! We're clearly staying in the right hotels if they're okay for royalty too! 

Our last meal in Jordan, at the Hyatt, was very pleasant if extremely slow service, in spite of the pretty much five guests total in the restaurant. I started with a cold mezze of Jordanian favourites including hummus, moutabel, baba ganoush, dolmes, and fatoush, which would have been sufficient had there been no main as well! This was followed by a cream of mushroom pasta dish, and a chocolate lava cake, neither of which I managed to finish being so full of my starter! 

To conclude, Jordan was magnificent. My tips should you wish to visit (which I would recommend!) would be 1) make sure to see more of the country than just Petra. Petra is spectacular, but so is Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea, which are also worth a visit. 2) Go with an open mind - there's a lot going on in the Middle East at the moment, but from what we saw, Jordan is a safe and friendly country to visit. Granted, we were on organised tours so I cannot speak for how it would have been on a DIY tour, but safety concerns should not be a reason not to visit. 3) Try the hummus. 

I hope you enjoyed today's travel blog! I'll be back with more very soon so make sure to stay tuned on my Twitter @CiarasCountry, and drop me a message in the comments below with any comments or questions you may have about my adventures - thanks for reading! 

TRAVEL: The Dead Sea, Jordan - beauty is pain

Before you start, make sure to read my last Jordan blog here! 

 After our brief excursion into the desert, we jumped back in the van with Ra-ed and headed off on our four and a half hour journey through Aqaba and along the border with Israel towards the North part of the Dead Sea, stopping only for overpriced crisps and coffee en route. I'm pretty sure they have 'local' and 'tourist' charges in some of the shops this side of the world! The North is certainly more sea-like than the South part of the Dead Sea, and across the water you could see the cities of the West Bank ahead of us. I don't think I'd ever been somewhere where two countries separated by water seemed so close. 

Our hotel for the next two nights was the Crowne Plaza, a large resort with plenty of rooms which I'm sure were booked out during the high season, a massive swimming pool divided into six different depth sections, and the main appeal, a small section of beach leading to the Dead Sea. Due to all of our driving that day, we arrived just around sunset as they closed the beach, so headed instead for a buffet dinner (can confirm that the hummus was not as good as the Marriot) and then to bed. 

It was a buffet for breakfast the next morning, very manic with Saturday being the end of the Jordanian weekend. Once fed, we made our way down to the beach, expecting to have to fight for deck chair space, but finding only about ten other visitors there. The first step was to take a five minute dip in the sea to test the waters. You walk up to about waist depth, lift your legs, and bam, you're floating on top of the water. I had a few cuts on me, including the fresh ones from my camel handle and boy, talk about pouring salt into a wound! It was excruciating, to the point where I was gritting my teeth as I got in, but nothing would deter me from my Dead Sea experience. Maybe make sure that you have no open cuts on you before you opt to do the same! 

It's difficult to return to standing position due to the buoyancy of the water, meaning you have to scull your way around to get anywhere. I loved doing this (much easier than normal swimming) but some people didn't seem to find it so easy, and you don't want to make a mistake, as we saw when two lifeguards rushed in to pour water over someone's eyes after they'd accidentally flipped onto their front. After my initial five minutes to make sure that the salty water hadn't adversely affected me in anyway, I returned to the water to float to my hearts content and let the current carry me away - within the fifty metre confines of the private beach, that is. 

We'd been told this was the healthy amount of time to spend in the sea, and with the sun beating down I didn't mind floating my way back to shore, because there was more fun to be had. Pails of Dead Sea mud were attached to mirrors on the beach for you to slather yourself in, and so we did, turning into something of Swamp Creatures by the end of it. Go big or go home, right? After a further twenty minutes of letting the good mud nutrients set on our skin, we showered off and basked in our deliciously soft skin. 

For a change, we headed up to one of the six pools in the mega pool, which was so large we ended up having pretty much a whole pool to ourselves. The water here was colder than the sea, refreshing in the head of the midday sun. Knowing it's not everyday you visit the Dead Sea, I was keen to have another float, although this one didn't last as long as I felt all of the salty cuts even more keenly - even a scratch felt like torture, so I spent the next while watching from the sidelines as further tourists turned from humans into Mud Monsters!

And just like that, somehow we'd managed to pass the whole day 'relaxing', something I'd say I'm definitely not very good at. The sun set quickly again, and it was time for another buffet dinner, although quieter this time given that many local visitors had headed back home for work on Sunday. If you're into relaxing by the beach and getting your exfoliation on, this is the place for us, but I was keen for more travel and culture to come... coming soon to the blog! 

I hope you enjoyed today's travel blog! I'll be back with more very soon so make sure to stay tuned on my Twitter @CiarasCountry, and drop me a message in the comments below with any comments or questions you may have about my adventures - thanks for reading!