A Visit to Winchester Christmas Market

Another Christmas market that's worth a visit, this time it's in Winchester!

This is a quaint city that is trendy yet historical at the same time, and by the cathedral are little market huts where you can browse the gifts and do a little spot of Christmas shopping.

The best way to visit the market is by going into the city via the Park and Ride. This way you get dropped off right at the beginning of the market.

If you've ever seen the film 'The Holiday', the part where Cameron Diaz is shopping in the local village in Surrey, this is what Winchester reminded me of!

The lights were magical as Christmas lights usually are, and there was a cute ice rink in the centre of the market that was on the grounds of the Cathedral.

You could find all sorts of unique gifts, from super cosy scarfs to scented candles and bath bombs.

One part I did love was watching the brass band play traditional Christmas carol songs in front of the Christmas tree. It bought back so many nostalgic feelings of when I was in Christmas carol concerts in primary school.

Me and my dad couldn't resist helping ourselves to a cup of hot mulled cider. This was delicious and definitely my drink of choice this Christmas.

I finally got to try a Bratwurst German sausage as well, which is basically a giant hot dog. They seem to appear at every Christmas market though so I felt that I needed to try one for myself.

To end the festive day, I treated myself to a Greggs Christmas tree cookie, which was so cute!

Winchester is the perfect place to visit if you are down by the south coast in the UK even without the Christmas market, so make sure it's on your bucket list!

BBC Good Food Show

Last weekend I got the chance to go to the BBC Good Food Show as well as the Bakes and Cakes show.

Now these are two of my favourite things: Baking and Food.

So as I arrived in Olympia in London, I was immediately greeted to free samples of kinder chocolates! From then on, I knew I was going to enjoy this!

The Good Food show has a huge variety a stalls, selling everything from local food to the latest culinary products. The main motto of this event is try before you buy! There was no need for lunch as I filled my stomach up on everything from fudge, chocolate to curry and falafel. Don't forget the vast array of wine, beer and cider to sample as well!

Of course these food stalls are selling there products, many of which aren't easily available in supermarkets. Also, they are all of high quality and are not excessively priced which means you are getting your moneys worth.


Unfortunately I was too full to fit anything in, but the things that caught my eye were the homemade sausage rolls which looked amazing, as well as the unique flavours of fudge. Also, in the smaller yet still amazing cakes and bakes section, there were so many delicious cake stands selling everything from giant donuts, cupcakes to macarons. Think borough food market but all sweet things!

The ticket also included a chance to watch many well known TV foodies participate in cooking demonstrations and interview panels. It gives you the chance to find out their tips and tricks, as well as gaining an insight into their favourite foods and how they got into cooking/baking.

Of course, the main man of the show was Paul Hollywood, who showed us how to bake bread and make a chocolate and cherry roulade in the supertheatre. I believe Mary Berry was there on the other days it was on, so if you are a fan of the Great British Bake Off, this is definitely the event to attend!

If you are a foodie, this is the place to go and I highly recommend it. I love baking so this was the part I enjoyed the most, seeing all the decorated cakes that looked like pieces of art! It also gives you the chance to receive so many discounts on baking equipment and accessories from independent brands as well as bigger companies like Lakeland.

You could easily spend the whole day here and it was a really valuable experience for anyone who has a passion for cooking or baking. The BBC also hosts a winter and festive show, as well as various other themed ones around the country. And best of all, they are great value for money.

That Sunday Post...

Ahh... there is nothing in this world that beats that chilled Sunday feeling. I love Sunday mornings. It's a chance to forget about the stress of day to day life, and to spend the last bit of the weekend doing nothing without feeling guilty.

With the changing of the clocks, I arose from my bed feeling refreshed with the extra hour of sleep, and was greeted with the autumnal sun shining through my window.

After a lazy morning spent eating breakfast in bed, it seemed only fitting to do a tiny spot of Sunday baking. Being a student at university, I don't have the luxury of being able to use my mum's range of baking equipment that she has accumulated over many years. Instead, I go back to the basics when baking at Uni.

Something I hadn't baked in a while were brownies.

Nothing beats the smell of them baking in the oven, and the first taste of warm, gooey chocolate brownies that seem to melt in your mouth.

So, armed with tesco's basic baking ingredients, I managed to create the perfect (well, to me) chocolate brownie with a hint of orange.

The orange gave it an autumnal, almost christmassy kick, as well as providing a way of using up any leftover fruit I had lying around.
Seriously, when I was baking them, the kitchen smelt like Terry's Chocolate Orange. It was the perfect addition to spice up the simplest of recipes.

Speaking of the recipe, I followed the BBC Good Food Best Ever Brownie recipe (found here), but as I'm baking I tend to meander away from the steps and add my own little additions. You can do this to, creating it to your own taste by adding nuts, raisins, more chocolate, whatever! It doesn't have to be perfect, just as long as it tastes delicious!

So, when you're feeling lazy and in need of a cosy weekend treat, give these tasty little brownies a go!

Review: A Day at the Spa

As a middle of exams treat, today I visited the Imagine Spa at the Hilton Heathrow hotel (T5). It was part of a groupon deal which included 4 hours use of the spa and a mud bath treatment. Now four hours in a spa is a lot so we didn't actually end up spending that long in there, but we spent a good four hours overall (including about an hours worth of the mud bath treatment). The spa was small and only included a hydrotherapy pool, sauna and a steam room as well as a salt mineral room (my favourite).

Altogether with the deal, it cost around £30. I wouldn't recommend paying full price for the spa as it's not that big and there was no proper swimming pool. 

However, with the treatment included in the deal, it was ok and the mud treatment is great for your skin, as well as smelling amazing! Seriously, it smelt like chocolate so it was hard not to eat it! Plus you do it yourself which gave you time to relax by yourself and go at your own pace. Other treatments available include massages and beauty treatments. Take a look at the range of treatments from the link below!

As a treat this is a good place to go, however I know there are plenty of spa's set in nicer locations and with bigger facilities. The hotel was a heathrow one so there was issues with accessing it. We ended up driving but it is hard to get to via tube. Also, we got there early to eat before but the hotel cafe and restaurant was majorly overpriced and although there were a few local pubs around, it is not near any town or central London meaning there was a lack of choice.

These sorts of deals come up on Groupon on a daily basis, however I would recommend you choose a location that is either pretty and has bigger facilities, or is in a central area. Head over to Groupon to see the latest deals, but one this you have to be is quick as they don't last long!

http://imaginespa.co.uk/thamesvalley/beauty-treatments/

Saturday Treat

I thought it would be nice to post discoveries that I have made in case anyone lives nearby and would like to check them out for themselves.

After a hungover Saturday there is only one cure and that is to eat cake! My friends and I ventured to a local cafe by the sea that we had heard good things about. The cafe is called the Tenth Hole and is located in Southsea. First impressions were good, it was oozing with cuteness. It was also very busy which means that a lot of people have discovered this amazing cafe.

I ordered a cappuccino and a cake. I went for the massive chocolate fudge cake as I needed a sugar fix and it was amazing! Best chocolate cake I have ever tasted. It was a little too big for me so eat in one go  but the best part is that you can request a box to take it home with you for later. The prices are not bad at all, once in a while this is the perfect treat. Their selection of cakes are so good. There was scones as big as your hand, giant macaroons, every kind of cheese cake, chocolate, sponge cakes and loads more.  They also do breakfast and lunch and the menu looked very good. Will definitely be making another trip there.

If you are ever in Southsea/Portsmouth and want a little treat, go to the Tenth Hole. I highly recommend it and you won't be disappointed. 

Meanwhile, enjoy this picture I took :)

http://www.thetenthhole.co.uk/