Lifestyle Review: Birthday Adventures

Lifestyle Review: Birthday Adventures

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Those of you who follow my social media would have noticed that, a few weeks ago, myself and Jack turned twenty six. As usual, this resulted in a few weeks of fun filled adventures round London. Naturally, I had my camera at the ready and thought I'd share our celebrations with you. 

As you may have seen in my Star Wars Identities post, for my birthday Jack surprised me by inviting my best friends to stay for a long-weekend of nerdiness and all the food. I had an awesome time but the following week, it was my turn to surprise him. Now, I think he may have managed to guess where we were going given our train route but I think he enjoyed it all the same. Here's a look at what we got up to...

Last year, part of Jack's present was a trip on a speed boat which toured the Thames at 70mph. This year, I wanted to keep up the thrills and so I booked us a go on the ArcelorMittal Orbit slide at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. Standing at 114m high, the ArcelorMittal Orbit is the UK’s tallest sculpture and offers 360 degree, 20-mile views of London at its peak. Luckily for us, it was an absolutely beautiful day (though a tad too hot for my liking) which meant, once up the top, we got a stunning view. Having donned our protective wear, we exited the structure via the slide - shooting us 50m down to the ground. It was SO much fun. Whilst I think it was very expensive for what it was (you only get one go at the slide), it makes for a great present and I was really glad we tried it out. 

Once we were back on solid land, it was time to leave Stratford and make our way over to Hackney Wick for Jack's second surprise. He's been really in to beers lately and, as a graphic designer, is really in to branding. Having done a bit of research, I managed to find this little gem - the CRATE Brewery. Located on the canal and once used as a print factory, the unit is now a popular pizzeria and beer brewery offering tours and a wide selection of craft beers and ales. In other words, pretty much Jack's haven. But after a few hours of beer tasting and stone-baked pizza, it was time for a final surprise and some grub in Shoreditch.

We'd been to Red's True BBQ once before and it was somewhere we'd been meaning to come back to. And so, Jack's birthday seemed like the perfect excuse. For those of you who have yet to try out it's splendour, Red's specialises in prime cuts, smoked and slow roasted joints, burgers and ribs. And, yes, those are definitely halloumi fries. And they were amazing. Naturally, we were pretty knackered and stuffed by the end of the day and headed home for an early night. 

Well, that's it for another lifestyle post. Have you been to any of the spots we visited in this post? Where are some of your favourite places to visit for birthday treats? As always, I love reading your comments so please do leave me lots of lovely ones below. 

Until next time explorers, 

Travel Diary: Postcards from Berlin, Part II

Travel Diary: Postcards from Berlin, Part II

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Well it already feels like a lifetime ago since I went away to Berlin but I'm still clinging on to my amazing trip for just a little bit longer. And so, here's Part II and my final postcards from Berlin...

So when I booked the trip, I purposefully booked our hotel in the centre of Berlin so that we would be close to all the attractions and sights. Stepping out of our hotel room, we could immediately see the world famous Checkpoint Charlie (pictured above) and fragments of the wall which are hugely popular tourist attractions throughout the city. We spent a great deal of our time in Alexanderplatz - home of Berlin's famous TV Tower which stands at 200 metres tall and gives you a perfect 360 view of the city. In case you're wondering, that's higher than the Eiffel Tower, y'all. I was fortunate enough to visit the top of the tower both at night and during the day and either is stunning. You can also dine at The Sphere - a revolving restaurant inside the tower which stands at 207 metres above the city. 

Before grabbing some dinner on our second night, we decided to head over to the Menschen Museum - a human body exhibit made famous by the controversial Dr Gunther von Hagens. The museum is a little bit tucked away but is immediately next to Alexanderplatz train station and well worth the visit. A word of warning however, all the bodies and parts used in this museum are genuine. As such, some sections of the exhibit are a little bit difficult to see and it's a little weird to think that you're looking at an actual person who has donated their body. That said, if you've got a strong stomach you can see what a real one looks like right in front of your face for €14.

Body parts aside, our third day consisted of some intense tourist behaviour. In the morning we headed over to the famous Brandenburg Gate, The Reichstag building and The Holocaust Memorial before a walk around Potsdamer Platz. We also managed to stop by the Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism in the park opposite The Reichstag which has beautiful but heartbreaking meaning and is well worth reading up on. After grabbing some lunch at the Sony Centre, Vanessa and I finished up our day at the Berlin Zoological Garden.  

As I mentioned in Part I of my Berlin Postcards, one of my favourite restaurants in Berlin was in the middle of a refurbishment and so we set out to find somewhere new to try. Thanks to a bit of browsing on Instagram however, we came across Lily Burger - a vegan-friendly bar and grill located just outside of Alexanderplatz. Go for the crazy decor and stay for the amazing menu and friendly staff. I'd definitely recommend this as a hot spot to eat in Berlin if you get the chance. Don't worry, I'll be sharing some foodie reviews from my trip soon so stand by for those. 

Well, that's it for the final part of my Berlin Postcards. Don't forget you can check out Part I of my travel diary here but tell me, have you been to Berlin yet? Where are your favourite places to see? As always, I love reading your comments so please do leave me lots of lovely ones down below. Don't forget you can still check out the rest of my Berlin adventures here.

Until next time world travellers,