The most festive city in the UK: YORK!

The city of York has been crowned "the most festive city in the UK" according to a study by Virgin Trains! The study involved looking at over 500,000 Christmas-related tweets by the general public, whereby York came out on top with 89% of Christmas themed tweets about York being positive, YAY!

From living in York for the best part of nearly 3 years now as a student, I can tell you I can't agree more with this study! York is a beautiful city as it is, so when it comes to Christmas and everywhere is covered in lights and Christmas trees and the markets are up, it really is stunning. There are so many festivities to enjoy in the city this year, and it seems that more and more things are popping up every year now! After there being some snow this year in York as well, it's made it feel extra Christmassy and winter Wonderland-like! 

This post involves allll things festive in York to show off just how wonderfully joyful it really is in York this Christmas, just to prove that it really is "the most festive city in the UK"!! 


St Nicholas Christmas Fair

One of the best things about York at Christmas is by far the Christmas markets, known as St. Nicholas Christmas Fair. They host a whole array of stalls selling local food and produce including: Christmas gifts, cheeses, meats and pastries, wreaths, paintings, brownies and Christmas decorations. There are also numerous food stalls as well, including the Shambles Kitchen German sausages which are a MUST have at the markets, as well as the infamous 'York Roast co.' wraps now selling Christmas dinner wraps! The markets are not one to miss in York and are lovely to walk around in the day or in the evening.

Thor's Tipi

Something for everyone to enjoy at the markets is 'Thor's Tipi', known for its mulled wine and Bailey's hot chocolates! It's best to go in the day if you get the chance as you're more likely to get a spot by the toasty fire! There are often queues when it gets later, but it's definitely worth queueing to get into to keep you warm in between shopping and eating.

Coppergate Centre

Another lovely spot for shopping is Coppergate. As you can see from the photos above, it is another area of York decorated beautifully with lights and baubles. There are also more stalls in Coppergate to wander round, and Fenwick have a festive gift shop open selling Christmas decorations, cards and gifts!

Stonegate & Kathe Wohlfahrt

York is a city full of quaint historic streets, and Stonegate is one of those not to be missed when you're Christmas shopping. This year it has been decked out with more lights and hosts its very own Christmas shop. 'Kathe Wohlfahrt' hosts all kinds of Christmas decorations, but it isn't the cheapest. I still highly recommend it however as it is a magical shop to wander round to keep you out of the cold!

Snowing down the Shambles

 The Shambles is the most famous street in York and was awarded the most photographed street in Europe! This year throughout December, every Thursday evening between 5 and 7pm, it has 'snowed' down the Shambles. Fake snow has been blown down the cobbled street making for some cold, but festive late night shopping!

Festive fairy lights

The festive fairy lights never end in York with St Helen's square boasting a rather big tree, covered in lights! York's historic walls that go around the city centre are broken up with arch ways known as 'bars'. Each of these bars is beautifully decorated with streams of lights making your entrance into the centre a Christmas delight. 

 

Christmas at York Museum Gardens

 This Christmas, a new attraction has opened in York, which as you can see from the photos above is pretty stunning! 'Christmas at York Museum Gardens' takes you through a magical light display in the Museum Gardens in the city centre, showing off magnificent light shows and features all around the gardens. I visited this with my Mum only the other night and thought it was a great attraction to be added to the Christmas spirit of York this year!

Snow in York

 Christmas in York was completed for me when it snowed a couple of weeks ago! The city became a Winter Wonderland for a day and made the city feel all the more festive! My university campus, York St. John, looked especially pretty coated in the snow with the sun shining down on it!

 If you get the chance to visit York this Christmas, then I hope you enjoy all of the festivities on offer! I haven't listed absolutely everything going on in the city for Christmas, so make sure to look at the 'Visit York' website to see all of the details, whether you're visiting this year or are interested for next year! 

 https://www.visityork.org/

I can't recommend York enough at Christmas time, and truly think it is a magical and beautiful city to visit to get into the festive spirit! If you can't visit this year then there is always next year and I know for sure that even when I finish uni and don't live in York any more, I will still always come up for a weekend to enjoy the Christmassy feels!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Tenerife | Travel Guide

Hello! It's been a little while since I've posted on my travel blog. BUT I have plenty of posts lined up so will be putting them up when I can :) 

I am now back at uni in my third year so am busy with coursework so won't be travelling again for a little while, but I still have travel guides and photos from Tenerife and Sicily from the summer to put up! I will also be posting about what's to come in York this Christmas and why it's a must see city at Christmas time. I am heading to Edinburgh for Hogmanay for New Year's Eve, so I will definitely be writing about that! I also have a trip to Krakow, Poland booked for January, so there's lots coming up this Winter which is excitingggg!

So to kick off my posts from my final two summer holidays, I have a travel guide about Tenerife, along with a video I put together to show what my family and I got up to there!

In this post I will be offering my own opinion and tips on what to do, where to go and where to stay in Tenerife...

Below is a link to my YouTube where you can watch my Tenerife video for more of a flavour of what there is to see and do there. Please subscribe to my channel whilst you're there as I will be uploading more videos of my travels :-) thank you!!

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tTlL1jsOnA

THINGS TO DO IN TENERIFE:

Mount Teide:

One of the main attractions in Tenerife is Mount Teide, the famous volcano and the highest point in Spain! 

We hired a car to drive round the National Park and up to the volcano visitor centre. I would highly recommend doing this as it was great to have the freedom to drive round the park at our own pace and stop at different points for photo opportunities as shown below...

We were then able to park at the visitor centre car park whereby the cable cars take you up to the top of the volcano. 

If you are wanting to go and get tickets for the cable car on the day, it is best to get there as early as possible to get your tickets to get onto a slot that day. We sadly arrived at 11am and the next available slot was 4pm! Luckily because we had a car we were able to drive away for a while and go back for 4pm. So in hindsight it is best to book online before you go! There is the option to go on a coach trip tour whereby you will be put on a slot that fits in with the coach times, however this would perhaps restrict you from the freedom of exploring as much as you'd like.

Here is a link for booking and to see prices:

https://www.volcanoteide.com/en/activities/teide_cable_car

Siam Park Waterpark:

If you love waterparks, Siam Park is THE place to go in Tenerife, regarded as the best waterpark in the world according to Trip Advisor!

My video shows how much fun one of my favourite rides was, where you come off of the lazy river and go onto a conveyor belt which takes you up to a higher part of the lazy river. Then it suddenly changes and becames a faster moving rapid, which was so much fun! The best part though was at the end where it calmed and slowly drifted you through a tank where sharks and fish swam above you! 

There is also a really fast slide which shoots through the shark tank too which wasn't my idea of fun, but certainly looked great for adrelanine seekers!

The park has a beach area which was great for relaxing, and has a huge wave machine in the 'sea' area. There are lots of restaurants available around the site, which you do need to make use of as you aren't allowed to bring food/drink into the park. The food was good though!

There are lockers on site which you need to get to as soon as you get there as they get used up quickly! 

Here is a link to the website to have a look for yourself: http://siampark.net/en/ 

Also note there is a free bus which you can get from many areas nearby, so take advantage of this.

Los Cristianos:

Los Cristianos is one of the most popular beach resorts in Tenerife. It has a harbour and beautiful pedestrianised promenade to stroll down, full of a variety of restaurants, bars, cafes and shops. 

One of my favourite things about Los Cristianos was the huge market there! It is open on Sundays and Tuesdays, 9am-2pm. With lots of bargains on offer, it's great to wander round to get some good deals.

Also don't miss the shop 'Ale-Hop', with a  big cow outside, so it's actually pretty hard to miss! It's lovely for girly patterned items such as flip-flops, anklets and bags.

https://en.ale-hop.org/

Playa de las Americas:

We went to Playa de las Americas one morning to walk along the promenade. It's a great place to come for food and drinks and maybe walk round some shops. There is also a Hard Rock Cafe there which we sadly didn't get the chance to go to! Overall, Playa de las Americas is more run down than Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje, but it is well known for its nightlife and bars, so is ideal if that's what you're looking to do in Tenerife!

Costa Adeje:

Costa Adeje was where our hotel was and was a great location to walk around day or night. There are lots of tourist type shops selling souvenirs, as well as plenty of lovely restaurants and cafes along the sea front. Cost Adeje is a lovely area with a black sand beach and promenade. The area is great to stay in as there are lots of hotels here, as well as restaurants, bars, cafes and shops. There's great public bus access meaning you can travel to other towns. Costa Adeje is also just round the corner from Siam Park which is ideal for getting the free bus there!

WHERE TO STAY:

I would very highly recommend the hotel we stayed at in Costa Adeje!

It is called the ' Hotel Best Jacaranda', set just a few hundred metres from the beach, restaurants and shops. It has 6 swimming pools, rooms with balconies, a gym, activities programme for children, several bars throughout the hotel, entertainment in the evenings and free wifi!

We were all inclusive which was amazing. We'd never done all inclusive so didn't know quite what to expect, but it was sooo good! The food differed every day with there being different themed cuisine nights each evening. There was a huge variety of food and definitely something for everyone! Being all inclusive also meant we could get drinks all day at the bars and snacks too, not that we wanted snacks because we were so full all the time from each meal!

We had requested two rooms and were then infact given a room with a shared living room area and balcony, but with two separate rooms within it with their own bathrooms. The rooms were massive and we all had a double bed each! 

Take a look at the link to Trip Advisor below to see reviews and more photos of the hotel:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g662606-d263429-Reviews-Hotel_Best_Jacaranda-Costa_Adeje_Adeje_Tenerife_Canary_Islands.html

Overall, Tenerife is a lovely island to visit and is ideal for a family holiday to enjoy relaxing as well as being a little more adventurous visiting the waterpark and volcano! I hope this helps anyone thinking of going to Tenerife, or even persuades anyone who hasn't been to go! Tenerife is warm nearly all year round so it's a great holiday destination in the summer as well as Spring and Autumn!

Thank you for reading, and remember to take a look at my video on YouTube to see what I got up to in Tenerife: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tTlL1jsOnA

Fun things to do in LONDON before the end of Summer!

London is a city full of variety and in the Summer there are so many things to do when the sun is shining! I've been to London twice this summer to see the sights and wanted to share some of the fun things I did to inspire anyone wanting to visit London soon!
 

• One of the best things to do in the Summer months is visit Kew Gardens. A little way out of the centre of London but still really easy to get to on the tube, Kew Gardens is a set in the quaint, quiet area of Kew in Surrey. The Royal Botanic Gardens are a beautifully relaxing place to visit for the day to wander around the different attractions, walkways, plants and gardens.

It's a perfect day out for people of all ages due to the vast amount of attractions and things to see.
I particularly enjoyed the 'Hive' which is designed to represent the life of bees. 

The Treetop walkway is also great, allowing you to see right across London from 18 meters high amongst the tree tops. 

Kew Palace is also free of charge to go into, which was the summer home of King George III, his wife Queen Charlotte and their fifteen children, therefore showing the way in which they lived there.

Overall it's a lovely way to chill out and explore all in one day!

• Covent garden is the ideal place for shopping and eating! Making it even more appealing was the 'Covent Garden in bloom' which has been on this summer, showcasing various floral displays dotted around the centre of Covent Garden. Sadly this isn't on anymore, but there's still plenty of things to see and do in Covent Garden to keep you amused. 

One of my favourite places to eat at, is 'Shake Shack' offering burgers, amaaazing cheesy chips and refreshing sweet lemonade.'Wahaca' is also great for food; ideal if you love Mexican!

Another reason why Covent Garden is great to go to is that it's very central and so easy to get to on the tube! Leicester Square is also a good place to visit as it's full of lots of restaurants, cafes and cinemas.

• An absolute must do in London is going to The West End to see a musical! Booking really early in advance to see a show will help to get cheaper tickets. Another way of getting cheap tickets is to head to the box office of the show you want to see early in the morning as they give out tickets as cheap as £10 at 10am, however they sell out fast so head down early to queue! 

If you miss out, there is a ticket booth in Leicester Square called 'TKTS' which offers on the day tickets to musicals for a discounted price. My Mum and I did this a few weeks ago as we wanted to see 'Annie' and we got amazing seats, however the tickets still weren't the cheapest unfortunately because it's a very popular show at the moment. However if you are interested in seeing a less popular show, it is definitely worth going to TKTS for cheap on the day tickets!

I would 100% recommend going to see 'Annie'! Currently Miranda Hart is in it who I love (so I'm probably a bit bias), but it's a great show and all of the children in it are amazing!
I also went to see Les Mis earlier on in the summer which was also incredible! I hadn't seen the film before I went so I didn't quite know what to expect, but I loved it and was amazed at how incredible the whole production was. 

 

Hope this is helpful if you're thinking of having a day out before the end of the summer! Kew gardens are ideal in the summer, but really all of these suggestions are great all year round and are must sees in London! :-)