Asia trip part one: Bali

I feel like being back from the dead on here! I thought I would be able to keep this blog running regularly but apparently I am not getting much better. I'll try to do my best now :)
Here I am back to school in Melbourne for the second semester of my exchange. But before that I was lucky enough to get a (very) big summer break during which I ended up doing a trip to South East Asia with some of my friends. It's really exciting for me to tell you about that first trip in a new continent!!

Monkey Forrest (Ubud)

Our first stop was Bali, one of the isles of Indonesia. We stayed there for 5 days, and I must say that I remember saying how much I liked it but now that I've seen the other countries I'm going to tell you about soon I am not so sure. Don't take me wrong, it was great! Problem is it was really touristy, lots of Australians going on holidays there and acting as "kings of the world" because yeah you have a bit more money in that country than what you have in yours by comparison. And that's the kind of behaviour I don't like to see when I'm on holidays.
Anyway, we had really great time over there, trying watersports that we could not even think to afford in Oz. Parasailing was just incredible, a great memory! and I might say the food was great and (as I was about to discover) being vegan in Asia is pretty easy, way easier than in France or in Europe in general I'd say.

First meal in Kuta

The centre of Bali was also really nice, a different atmosphere and more peaceful than crazy Kuta (but crazy is good sometimes ;)). If you have time in Bali I would definitely recommend Ubud and the Kuntamani (one of the volcano in the centre) for the beauty and peacefulness, and Kuta for the night life and a bit of shopping. Don't forget to bargain, the first price is never the "real" one.
Oh and Balinese massage... What I would give to go back there just for a massage!!!

"In Dublin fair city..."

Fleet Street

"...where the girls are so pretty". I have this little song in my head, sung by my friend we visited in Dublin! I was really looking forward to discover Ireland, even if I knew it was "just" Dublin (not the country) and for only 2 days. It was worth it anyway!
I'm really late to tell you about it as I was there around the 18th of December but well never too late to talk about a new city I guess. That might be because I was born and grew up kinda by the sea that I always feel so good when I am near it. Dublin has that special "vibe" that only coastal places can have. As in every other big cities, there are different districts (neighbourhood? don't know how you would call this in English) that all have a different atmosphere. Must dos would (for me) definitely be:

 Grafton Street for the bands that are playing for free outside, whatever the weather apparently. 

O'Connell Street because it is beautiful.

Christchurch Cathedral, you have to pay to enter, which my friend and I didn't do but even seeing it from outside was impressive.

Trinity College, old stone and amazing architecture

Dublin's Castle

Fleet street for all the crazy looking pubs

and of course Temple Bar... And don't forget to go in a Irish Pub! We went to the O'Neills (on Suffolk Street) a classic and famous pub, where there is an Irish band playing every night.

one part of the Castle

Concerning the food, as in the UK, it was not as easy as I expected to find vegan things (I think Melbourne definitely made life too easy for me) but not impossible either! The traditional fish and chips let you just stick to the chips, better than nothing! I think it'd be hard to eat in a pub maybe. But as always Mexican restaurant would do it! and the second day we went to an absolutely amazing place, mixture of a café, tea room an cake shop. It's called "Queen of tarts". There is one on Cows lane and one on Dame Street, if you can go for the first one which is slightly bigger and with a nicer atmosphere I think. Well, I have to say first the big disappointment is they don't have any vegan cakes or sweets.However, even if my choice was limited for lunch, it was absolutely delicious! I had a mexican bean soup (one of the soup of the day was vegan, the other not, so you have to check) with a hummus and vegetable sandwich. The bread is home made and fresh and you can chose the one you prefer. Simple, but good and quality food that makes you want to go back. As a "desert" I had a slice of their home made brown bread with the raspberry jam; home made as well. I hope they'll start making more vegan options soon, but even if not, I'd be happy to go back if I go back to Dublin!

The Liffey by night

French version to come...

A week end in Leeds

I had time to stay in Manchester just for a day but I was able to stay in Leeds for 3 whole days. One of my friends lives there so I had the best guide ever! I must say I was really surprised by this city, surprised in a good way. It has everything I love about England and yet it also has a small city feeling (which I love if you don't know it already). Three days were more than enough to do some sightseeing, restaurants and tea room visiting and shopping of course. We went to one of the most amazing tea room I've ever seen: The Marvellous Tea Room. A tea room with all those yummy looking English cakes and sandwiches and of course beautiful teas! Unfortunately no cakes were vegan but you can still have some English Muffins with peanut butter or jam. Considering how much I loved the atmosphere (and the tea pots and cups!!) this was more than enough for me :) Plus there are some vintage shops on the other floors!

What I loved too was the Market where you can find lots of different things at a reasonable price, and also find something to have lunch. Nearby there is an organic shop called "Out of this world" which sells lots of good and cheap products and also sandwich or hot lunch to take away and lots of them are vegan. I was happy to discover this. We also went for lunch at Millies, same kind of shop but where you can seat and have lunch. Good deal for really good food! Vegan option there would be the salads (you can make your own from the buffet) and soups. I tried both and it was amazing. I ended paying 5£ for a soup (and bread) a salad and a dairy free chocolate bar.

Leeds Market

Contrairement à Manchester, j'ai eu le temps de rester un peu plus longtemps à Leeds et de découvrir un peu mieux la ville. Une de mes amis vit là-bas donc j'ai eu la meilleure des guides :) Trois jours étaient suffisants je pense, entre nos pauses dans des salons de thés, nos sessions cuisines et bien sûr le shopping! Il faut dire que j'ai vraiment été agréablement surprise par cette ville. Pour moi l'Angleterre se résume à Londres (ville à laquelle je voue un peu un culte) et finalement Leeds était vraiment un condensé de tout ce que j'aime dans ce pays. On a eu la chance d'aller boire un thé dans le plus incroyable des salons de thé que j'ai jamais vu: The Marvellous Tea Room. Il y avait là une atmosphère très anglaise avec tous ces gâteaux et sandwichs et puis bien sûr les couleurs et les tasses de thés dépareillées! Malheureusement aucun cake vegan mais il vous reste l'option des English Muffins qui peuvent vous être servis avec du beurre de cacahuètes ou de la confiture! Pour moi c'est amplement suffisant quand on s'assoit dans ce cadre atypique et qu'on goûte à leurs superbes thés. Et en plus, pour ne rien gâcher, il y a des fripperies à l'étage!

J'ai aussi adoré le marché de la ville où on peut trouver tout et rien, des légumes aux gadgets. On peut aussi y manger toutes sortes de spécialités. Pas loin de là, il y a une petite boutique bio qui s'appelle "Out of this World" où je me sentais un peu au paradis. Plein de produits géniaux et pas chers, mais aussi une partie épicerie (seulement à emporter) où vous pouvez trouver un grand choix de rolls, sandwichs, pies et autres... vegan! Nous avons aussi mangé dans une autre boutique du même genre mais où cette fois il est possible d'y rester pour le déjeuner: Millies. Vraiment pas cher et nourriture de qualité! Les options vegans sont en gros le buffet de salade (on se compose sa petite "barquette" soit même et c'est 1£ les 100 gr) et les soupes. Pour ma part j'ai testé une petite salade, une soupe (accompagné de leur pain) et une barre de chocolat vegan le tout pour 5£ donc j'étais aux anges :)

Manchester!

Town Hall

When I knew I was going back to France for Christmas I thought It would be nice to try and visit my friends spread throughout Europe for their study abroad year. That's why I went to Manchester. Well also because you can't fly directly from Brussels to Leeds, so why not visiting another city on the way! 

I was lucky enough to have one of my housemates giving me advice on what to do in Manchester if you're just there for one day. The Christmas Marlet in front of the Town Hall was very nice, it's a shame it was raining so much... We also went to a great Vegan place for lunch: Earth Café. It is in the Northern Quarter (Turner Street) and next to a Buddhist Center. It's a buffet and you can have 4 different things in your plate for 6 £ and that's more than enough! There's also some cakes and sweets, vegan again! It was nice to be out of the rain and in a warm place. Then we also went to Afflecks Palace, a mixture between vintage and alternative shops. There is also the Art gallery, which is free (but you're expected to give a donation), and quite nice :)

Next destination to come...

Earth Café

Earth Café

Quand j'ai su que j'allais rentrer en France pour Noël, je me suis dit que ça allait être l'occasion pour visiter mes amis éparpillés en Europe avec le programme Erasmus. Me voilà donc dans l'avion en direction de Manchester, aussi parce qu'il n'y a pas de ligne directe entre Bruxelles et Leeds.
J'ai de la chance qu'une de mes colocs de Melbourne soit de Manchester et ait pu me conseiller sur quoi faire en un seul jour dans cette ville. Le marché de Noël devant l'hotel de ville était franchement sympa. Dommage il pleuvait... Mais nous avons pu nous abriter dans un super petit café, 100% vegan! Il s'appelle Earth Café et se trouve sur Turner Street, dans le Norther Quarter. Il est affilié à un centre boudhiste. Là vous pouvez choisir jusqu'à 4 plats du buffet, et l'assiette vous revient à 6£. Une assiette est largement suffisante pour un déjeuner! Il y a aussi des desserts, là encore tous vegan. Bref, un endroit vraiment sympathique pour se protéger de la pluie et manger bien et pas cher.
Ensuite nous sommes aussi allées à Afflecks Palace (pas très loin du café, sur Church Street), un mélange de frippes et magasins d'habits neufs mais dans le style vintage ou "alternatifs" disons. C'était un peu la caverne d'Ali baba pour moi, ça vaut le détour!
Il y a aussi la gallerie d'art de la ville, gratuite (mais une donation est attendue) qui est sympa, malheureusement nous n'avions plus beaucoup de temps.
Prochaine destination à suivre... :)