A walk around picturesque Castle Coombe

While visiting Sarah's family in Bristol, in the South West of England, we spent a long morning in the picturesque village of Castle Combe.  The village has been used as the setting in a number of films and TV programmes, including Dr Dolittle, Poirot and more recently Warhorse.

Visiting the island of Menorca

Which way to the beach please?

After our 6 and a half month trip around South America, we were ready for a holiday! So we went and surprised James' family who had rented out a villa on the Spanish island of Menorca. This also gave us the opportunity to meet James' new niece for the first time!

James' niece and sister enjoying the Mediterranean Sea
at the beautiful Arenal d'en Castell beach

They were staying in Na Macaret in the north east of the small island - a 25 minute drive from the capital Mahon. 

Being Vegetarian in Colombia

Like everywhere else in South America, vegetarianism isn't particular popular in Colombia and most traditional fare involves some kind of meat or fish. However, with a little shopping around, you can find vegetarian friendly Colombian food. And of course, in the bigger cities of Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena there are also a range of international options.

Here's what we ate:

Colombian food
1. Arepas: An ubiquitous lunchtime snack or side dish in Colombia, arepas are a type flatbread, made with a pre-cooked cornflour. They come with different types of filling and topping, some with and some without meat. I particularly enjoyed the arepas de choclo, made with sweetcorn, giving them a creamy taste. 

Favourite arepa stand in Cartagena

Photo Friday: Viewing the moon

Looking through our photos from our South American trip, I found these amazing pictures that we took of the moon! 

Where we stayed - Colombia

Bogotá: We'd advise booking ahead for hostels in Bogotá. We booked through hostelworld 4 days in advance and really struggled to find vacancies in those places we'd been recommended or which had the best online reviews.

Visiting the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal first opened over 100 years ago in 1914. Since then more than a million vessels have passed through.

Being vegetarian in Brazil

Like the Argentinians, the Brazilians do like their meat, meaning that for our just over two weeks in the country, we found that Brazil was not a particularly vegetarian friendly place.

As in Argentina, we found that 'by weight' self- service restaurants, where you are charged by the kilo for the amount of food you put on your plate, are a good option (particularly if you like beans and rice!).