48 hours in the most beautiful parts of England with MGallery by Sofitel

I am often asked about the best day trips from London. This trip was slightly longer than a day but it should give you plenty of ideas for a day trip or even for a week of travel around England. As I am based in London I usually travel only for a day but thanks to MGallery by Sofitel this time we had an opportunity to stay a bit longer and explore more.

The first stop of our trip was Windsor for an afternoon tea at Castle Hotel Windsor.

On Sunday Windsor was incredibly busy so we were glad to find a moment of calmness over a delicious afternoon tea in the Castle Hotel. The pale green elegant Georgian building is located right in the centre, just around the corner from Windsor Castle. The hotel has been in service since the 15th century and has been awarded eight Royal Warrants.

After savouring all the treats we headed to the Cotswolds and, of course, we couldn’t miss a quick visit to Castle Combe. The day was a bit rainy but the village looked even more authentic with an overcast sky. If you haven’t been to Castle Combe yet, you definitely need to add it to your list as it’s surely one of the prettiest villages in England!

We got there in no time thanks to our trusty companion, Mini 3-door Hatch that was kindly provided to us for the trip. We had so much fun driving this little beast!

You don’t need more than couple of hours in Castle Combe as it’s so tiny.  And it’s only 30 minutes away from Bath where we were staying for the night.

We arrived in Bath just in time to see the lovely Francis Hotel in the daylight. The hotel is located in the very heart of Bath and occupies seven of the original 18th-century townhouses on the Queen Square. The city of Bath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the hotel is Grade 1 listed. Throughout the 18th century, Queen Square remained a residential district of Bath. Soloman Francis, a local builder, first opened a hotel at No.10 in 1858. Later, the hotel has expanded.

Taking the advantage of staying overnight in the city we decided to pop in the Roman Baths, a well-preserved Roman site for public bathing. It is now open as a museum, you cannot bath there anymore but there are plenty of other spas in the area if that’s what you are after.

If you are planning to visit Bath you can also check out this post from my previous trip.

I can talk about Bath forever as it’s one of my favourite cities in the UK (and if you are visiting for the first time you need to allow at least a day to see everything) but it was time for us to head further.

Having initially planned to spend more time in the Cotswolds, we realised that we could also visit Frome and Wells in Somerset so we decided to make a little detour.

Packed with historic buildings and lovely independent shops, Frome is worth visiting for a few hours.

I loved Frome but a real discovery of this trip was Wells. Most known for its Cathedral, Wells had city status since medieval times and is now considered to be England’s smallest city.

After admiring Vicar’s Close, claimed to be the oldest purely residential street with original buildings surviving intact in Europe, it was time to head to Cheltenham where we were staying for our second and final night of the road trip.

Passing through the pretty villages of the Cotswolds we have arrived to the Queens Hotel in Cheltenham.

Impressed by the grand white (Grade II listed) building of the hotel we had a really warm welcome with cocktails waiting for us in our rooms. The hotel has recently undergone a complete restoration but it still retains many of its original features including the wallpaper designed by Augustus Pugin, a key feature in 19th century architecture and design. We loved the gorgeous Georgian staircase too!

That was the end of our exciting girls’ road trip but I will surely return to those beautiful areas of England and will hopefully stay at MGallery by Sofitel hotels again.

In partnership with Mgallery by Sofitel and Mini. All opinions are my own.

2 days in the French part of Switzerland with Nespresso

A couple of weeks ago I was invited by Nespresso to spend 2 days in their headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland to learn everything about their coffee production process and sustainability initiatives. 

I am very excited about the opportunity to work with Nespresso over the next 6 months as I've been an active user of their products for a few years already, and it's always fascinating to know more about the brand you encounter with on a daily basis.

For me coffee drinking is a serious business - I usually only drink one cup a day (2 cups max when I'm on holiday) so I want to make the most out of it! 

We started the trip with a tour of the campus that has this gorgeous view. We then learned about the sustainability program that the company has implemented on all levels - starting from the coffee farms to the factories and finishing with the packaging - Nespresso capsules are made of 100% aluminium which is fully recyclable (more on it later).

After a delicious lunch and coffee, we set to explore the factory where the capsules are produced. No pictures at the factory are allowed but I can assure you it's made up to all the possible standards of Swiss efficiency - the factory is a closed loop system in terms of energy consumption. Factory tour followed by coffee tasting and we even had an opportunity to channel our inner baristas (not as easy as it seems!).

The day finished with a wonderful dinner at Lausanne Palace Hotel where we stayed for the night. It was really interesting to try the whole menu inspired by Nespresso coffee.

Next morning I set my alarm early to have some me time to wander around the beautiful Lausanne. I stopped in the old town and then made my way to the lake.

The morning officially started at Nespresso boutique with a coffee recipe workshop. We tried a few coffee cocktails based on unexpected flavour combinations and saw a latte art demonstration just to realise once again that it's not as easy to make as it looks.

The day continued with a visit to the capsule recycling plant in Moudon where we saw with our own eyes that not only the aluminium capsules are fully recyclable but the coffee grounds are too - they are being separated at the facility and are later used for green energy and compost, so nothing goes to waste. 

When I shared stories from the trip on my Instagram I received many questions about the capsule recycling. There are a few options that are currently available in the UK:

- take a full recycling bag to your local Boutique

- request a collection when placing an order online 

- drop off your bag at any CollectPlus point (in case your Boutique is far away) with a dedicated label - more information here.

Did you know that Switzerland produces some delicious white wines? During the trip, we had an opportunity to meet Blaise Duboux, owner of the vineyard in Lavaux region and 8th generation winemaker. Blaise uses recycled coffee grounds to fertilize and nourish the soil in his vineyard. Not only the wines taste amazing but the views are incredibly beautiful too!

I was a guest of Nespresso. All views are my own.

What to see in Japan in March - my trip highlights

Japan is charming, exciting and overwhelming. You visit once and become a fan forever.

It's impossible not to fall in love with its traditions, temples and people. No matter if you prefer discovering cities or nature - Japan has it all. 

This trip was my second time in Japan and I'm really hoping not the last one as I still have a long list of places I'd love to see. There's a lot to cover so in this post I'm going to share the highlights of my recent trip to Kanto region. 

As my trip started in Tokyo here's a photo of the beautiful Imperial Palace - a separate post on Tokyo is coming soon. 

Sadly, the weather wasn't great on arrival but that view from Tokyo City View in Roppongi hills is still amazing - offering wonderful skyline perspective of this buzzing city.

Shousenkyo Ropeway

Having left Tokyo and moving further north we got lucky to be able to see Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan and one of its well-known symbols. This view is from Shousenkyo Ropeway, where you go up on a funicular to get to the top of the observation deck.

Matsumoto

The following night we stayed in Matsumoto and couldn't miss an opportunity to take an early morning walk to Matsumoto Castle, the oldest castle donjon remaining in Japan. Because of the elegant black walls, Matsumoto Castle is sometimes called 'Crow Castle'.

Jigokudani monkey park

Our next stop was the famous Jigokudani monkey park. Jigokudani means "Hell's Valley". The name derived from the very steep cliffs surrounding the area with the steam and boiling water coming from the hot springs.

The park is famous for its wild Japanese macaques, more commonly referred to as snow monkeys, that come to bath in the hot springs. It wasn't snowing when we visited and not very cold so there were not too many monkeys bathing but they were still so fun to watch!

Zenkoji temple

It was sad to say goodbye to the monkeys but we had to move on with our packed programme. Zenkoji Buddist temple is located in Nagano, the city you might remember as 1998 winter Olympics host. With Olympics coming back to Japan in 2020 (summer Olympics in Tokyo this time) it was even more interesting to see this city. 

I love visiting Japanese temples and shrines - it's so great to see how Shintoism and Buddism peacefully coexist together with many people following both religions at the same time. Next to the temples you can see omikuji - fortune-telling paper strips that can range from having a great blessing to a great curse. Many Japanese people carry the good ones with them but leave the bad ones hanging on the trees or next to the temples.

Plum blossom

Japan is famous for its sakura blossom but not many people know that plum trees bloom before the cherry trees and are popular in Japan too! 

We got lucky to visit Akima Bairin plum farm in Annaka that has 35000 plum trees. As you can see, the flowers were just starting to appear but it was still impressive to see. Plums are grown to produce plum wine, to be eaten pickled or in those sweets that we tried in the plum farm's shop (pictured below).

During this trip, I got to try a lot of traditional Japanese food I haven't tried before. It's very common to have lunch or dinner consisting of a few small plates. Pictured below is okkirikomi - hand-kneaded flat, wide udon noodles and seasonal vegetables, simmered in plenty of broth seasoned with soy sauce or miso that are popular in Gunma prefecture. I loved this lady working in the restaurant and asked to take her portrait. She didn't speak any English but our guides helped me to translate.

Another interesting experience was the stay at the traditional Japanese hotel - ryokan Nikko Hotel Seikoen. There are many ryokans across the country and they usually include a hot bath (onsen), sleeping on a tatami on a futon bed on the floor and set traditional Japanese breakfast and dinner menus. I loved the colourful kimonos we all got to wear too!

Nikko Toshogu

It was raining and the trip was almost coming to an end, but one of the most wonderful places was still waiting for us to be seen. Nikko Toshogu, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a beautifully decorated shrine complex consisting of more than a dozen buildings set among the old cedar trees. The atmosphere there is truly magical and I highly recommend adding this place to your travel list. 

Tips before you go

If you are planning a trip to Japan I recommend downloading Japan Official Travel App that is packed with tips on places to see, best ways to travel and loads of other useful information.

The best way to travel across the country is with the JR Rail Pass, available to tourists only, it has to be purchased before travelling to Japan. You can buy it for 7, 14 and 21 days and it's valid on most trains, Tokyo Monorail, some buses and ferries.

Not everyone speaks English but public transport signs and announcements are available in English - so I didn't find it a problem. Most restaurants have menus with pictures so you can always point out a dish you'd like to order. I'd recommend taking the medicines you know you might need as finding your regular medicine in Japan might be a little tricky. 

I was a guest of JNTO, all opinions are my own.

The most beautiful castles in Scotland you have to see

If you have visited Scotland but have not been to the Highlands - you are missing out. If you haven't visited Scotland at all - you are missing out even more!

I've met so many people living in the UK for years and never venturing out to Scotland. Yes, it can be very wet but if you are dressed for any weather you'll surely have a great trip.

Autumn is my favourite time to visit Scotland - the leaves and the grass turn the most amazing golden colour. This time we only stayed for 3 days but I'd like to show you how much you can see in this limited time.

Stirling Castle

After arriving to Glasgow and picking up our car we first made our way to Stirling. The Stirling Castle is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland but I wouldn't call it the most beautiful (=instagrammable). It was one of the two castles we managed to see from the inside so it was still interesting, plus the view from the castle's walls is just great.

Blair Castle

Without wasting too much time we headed to Perthshire to visit the Blair Castle. Sadly, the castle was closed to a private event but we had a lovely walk in the area and tried to make friends with the hairy Highland cows. To our disappointment, the cows decided that the grass was too irresistibly tasty to pay any attention to us.

Ballintaggart Farm

In the evening we stopped for the dinner at Ballintaggart Farm (booking required) where we were overwhelmed by the hospitality of the owners - Rachel and Chris. It was dark, so pictures don't do justice but this kind of food and attention to detail can't be found anywhere else in the Scottish Highlands. We did not stay overnight but the farm has two rooms for the guests, they also run cookery masterclasses that you can book in advance online.

Dunnotar Castle

Next day we drove to yet another castle, the Dunnotar - a ruined cliff top fortress. As you can see all the castles we visited are very different so it doesn't get boring. We got really lucky with the weather in terms of rain but unfortunately, it was too windy for the castle to stay open for visitors.

Craigievar Castle

You won't be surprised to hear that our most anticipated visit was to Craigievar Castle. Does it even look real? As you approach it from the distance you can't miss this pink fairytale building peeping between the trees. It is said to be the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle and you can see why. The castle was already closed for the season (even when it's open you can only visit as part of a guided tour) but we were lucky to have it for ourselves to photograph from the outside for almost half an hour.

We had dinner and spent our last night in the Pierhouse Hotel in the quiet village of Port Appin which is located in Argyll, on the shores of Loch Linnhe. In the morning we admired the picturesque location of the hotel followed by a quick walk to the lighthouse where we were greeted by those furry locals.

Castle Stalker

The Castle Stalker is surrounded by water making it look very special. It is privately owned but a tour can be booked in advance (we didn't do it).

Oban

Back to civilisation for a quick lunch in Oban, it was almost time to head back to Glasgow airport for our flight back to London.

Inveraray Castle

On the way to the airport, we managed to squeeze in another stop at Inveraray Castle and even had a quick look inside (finally, a castle that wasn't closed or needed prebooking). The castle is surrounded by a beautiful garden that must look wonderful in spring and summer as well.

That was the end of our trip but I hope to be back to Scotland again soon as there are more castles to explore and more places to visit.

More information on Scotland can be found here.