My trip to Oxford and Cambridge

Known for the unique and stunning architecture, Oxford and Cambridge are home to prestigious and enormous universities which are famous internationally.

For these reasons, these two cities were on my list of places I wanted to visit. In April of last year, during Easter break, I finally had the chance to walk around Oxford and Cambridge.

I started off my day at Oxford University Museum of Natural History. This museum holds collections of geological and zoological specimens and the best part of all of this is that is free.

The afternoon was spent in Cambridge. Most of the pictures I took was in the River Cam near the university.

Unfortunately, I could not see much of these places because I visited the two cities on the same day (stupid idea, I know) but I hope to come back in the near future. I want to explore the city centres and I also want to take a guided punt tour in Cambridge. The tour will allow me not only to get to know better the city of Cambridge but also to take better pictures. After I visit these cities again, I will write another post in more detail and with better quality of content.

I hope you have a lovely day! 

Jesika x

My ride to Porto Moniz - Madeira

  In today’s post, I decided to do throwback until a date that took place last year in the Summer. On that day, my family and I did, well, precisely a family outing. Such an occasion does not appear often, but when it occurs, we make sure to make the most of the day. With this in mind, how memorable was that day, that I am here, almost a year later, remembering those moments?

  As my holidays and my sisters' vacations were coming to an end, at the beginning of September of 2017, the family decided to take a day to be all together, and have a ride to Porto Moniz. Notably, if you are not acquainted with Madeira’s map you probably don’t know that Porto Moniz is a municipality in the northwest corner of the island, being located quite far from my little city, on the east coast.

  To begin with, Porto Moniz is one of the oldest parishes in the north of the island, constituting the royal charter of March 12, 1574, one of the most archaic diplomas in which it is mentioned. The name of the municipality suffered some alterations over time: at the beginning of the Discoveries was nominated by the place of Ponta do Tristão, being the riverside part of the settlement called Janela da Clara and the upper area, between Lamaceiros and the Achadas da Cruz, by Ponta do Tristão. The actual name is associated with one of the most ancient colonisers – Francisco Moniz – a nobleman from Algarve, Portugal. First, the people dedicated to livestock raising, grain planting and timber extraction. In a second phase, to the potato crop, which in the nineteenth century constituted the productive and food base. Today, Porto Moniz has a much more diversified economy, where, in addition to the activities of the primary sector, there is a strong increase in the tourism sector.

  Namely, Porto Moniz is very known for his natural pools, and they were the first stop of that day. These natural wonderful pools are, without a doubt, a gift from nature: they are formed by volcanic rocks, allowing the sea to come naturally. I guarantee you that is such an amazing and unique experience to swim in these pools, a huge feeling of freedom. Furthermore, the sea was a little bit rough that day, however, I and my sisters felt safe and sound all the time.

  Having said that, I and my sisters stayed in the pools all morning while my parents went for a romantic walk, and probably enjoy some time as well without their three girls talking all the time Ahah. Then it was time for lunch. Likewise, at this point, I can share with you two entertaining stories. First one: if you want to enter in the natural pools in Porto Moniz you have to pay one euro (which in my opinion is not expensive, principally if you are going to spend all day in there. By the way, you don’t have to get out to drink some coffee or have a snack, there is a snack bar inside the place), and after you pay, you receive a ticket that you have to use in a machine. Smartass as I am sometimes, I was making some jokes while I was approaching the machine, and the ticket never made the connection to the mechanism. My sisters rolled their eyes at me and said that I was putting the ticket in the wrong place. The worst part is that the right place was signalized with a giant red arrow! They laughed at my embarrassment, yet to my benefit, when Raquel was passing her ticket afterwards, she didn’t advance on time, so it was too late to pass it again. She had to walk anyway through a little space to pass. "Who laughs last laughs best", I thought. The second story took place at lunch when I was once again acting as an audacious fancy idiot. I decided to not ask the same old classic of steak and chips for lunch, demanding another plate, because "I am an adult, and I have to start varying my meals". Provided that, I did not like it, and spend the rest of the meal muttering and distributing the food for my family. It is obvious that everyone mocked me… "Why am I still here?", I thought while dreaming with my no existing chips. The dessert was good though…

  Moving on… after lunch, we went to the Aquarium Of Madeira, in Porto Moniz. This one was installed in a replica of a fort invoking St. John the Baptist. Curiously, the original fort was built in 1730, in response to the attacks of pirates on the town. This marvellous Aquarium was inaugurated on the 4 of September in 2005, with the aim of preserving and making known to the visitor the marine biodiversity of the seas of the Madeira Archipelago. You can see more than 90 native species, distributed in 12 exhibition tanks. I liked going there and watch so many species of sea creatures. It's a lovely space. Nevertheless, let me warn you in advance: you have to pay seven euros to enter the Aquarium, and, although, yes, the visit is phenomenal, I personally think that the price is a little bit too much considering what we see. I mean, the place is not that big.  

  Furthermore, after the visit, we spent some time taking pictures (I took a lot of pictures thinking in advance that I could do an article about Porto Moniz, but I realised that none of them was decent, and that's why none of the pictures that I used here have my credit), and walking through the municipality. Without being aware of it, the day passed at a blink of an eye, and it was time to return home. It's always entertaining to spend the day with my family, we are always left with stories to tell later. Whether you are from Madeira or not, I advise you to visit Porto Moniz, and to spend some quality time - either alone or with those you love - strolling through the Municipality, swimming in the wonderful natural pools, drinking a refreshment on the seaside esplanades, admiring the aquarium with its diversity of marine species, experiencing the best of Madeira gastronomy in local restaurants, among others ... Anyway, in general, it is the ideal way to spend a tranquil and unforgettable day.

  In conclusion, here is a video of the Natural Swimming Pools of Porto Moniz, if you are interested in seeing the space in more detail.

Nb: I do not own any of these pictures and video and I am not trying to infringe copyright here.

I hope you have an amazing week!

Mariana Nunes

Durdle Door

Author: Saffron Blaze

After my sister insisted for so long, my family and I finally had the opportunity to go and see the Durdle Door. To be honest, I’ve been wanting to visit this place after I saw some cute pictures on Instagram some time ago. However, I was waiting for the perfect weather and when I say perfect weather I mean no rain. I knew that waiting for a hot sunny day in the UK would be impossible especially in Winter but thankfully on the last Saturday of February, the weather was okay for us to finally check out this amazing place.

Durdle Door is limestone with a gorgeous arch located on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, the southwest of England. For those who may not know, Jurassic Coast is England’s first natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. The place was named Jurassic Coast, after being discovered that the rocks were from the Jurassic period and also from the Triassic and Cretaceous period. Covering 95 miles of coastline, these rocks record 185 million years of the Earth’s history.

Focusing on the Durdle door again, the word ‘Durdle’ in old English means drill.  10,000 years ago the sea pierced the limestone creating the beautiful and famous arch. Even though the site is privately owned, it is open to the public and dogs are allowed as well.  In fact, I saw a lot of dogs when I went there.

If you’re planning on travelling by car, there is a car park near the Durdle Door. From April to September, it’s open at 8am and closes at midnight. From October to March, the car park it’s open at 8am and is locked at 4pm. However, the last entry in these months is at 3pm. You can pay by cash or card. The positive aspect of the car park is that all the money from the car tickets will be used to improve the visitor facilities and also to fund education and other event programmes for children and adults. As for facilities, there are toilets located in the car park.

From the car park to the actual site you have to walk a few minutes. There are some stairs along the way and if you are going with kids, make sure to hold their hands to avoid any accidents. Of course, the best days to see this place is during the summer, when it’s sunny and warm and the sky is blue.

For clothing, I recommend you wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Jeans, t-shirt or a long-sleeve shirt and trainers is the best option. In addition, bring a jacket with you in case it gets cold or if you decide to stay until the sunset, of course, this depends on which season of the year you are planning on visiting this place.

Here are some of my pictures and videos:

Although you can see the blue sky from the pictures, the weather was really cold. I had to cover my head with the hoodie of my coat and my hands were red. I should have brought my gloves, but I forgot…

Sitting near the sea and hearing the sound of the waves crashing filled me with inner peace and serenity.

I was really grateful to be able to enjoy such an astonishing place with my family. Sometimes we take for granted the little things in our lives but just being able to wake up every day it’s, in fact, a blessing. I’m truly thankful for having my family by my side and being able to create good memories with them such as this one.

In conclusion, I highly recommend you visit this place. It’s not only stunning but it’s also a good way to have a nice time with someone you like. Plus, you can take some amazing Instagram-worthy pictures.

What do you think about Durdle Door? Would you like to visit this place someday?

I hope you have a lovely day!

Jesika x

4 Museums to visit in London

London is a capital of culture. It is an amazing place to learn more about history, music, art, science, among others. There is a vast array of museums to choose from and the best part of it, is that some of them are free.

Therefore, I decided to list four free museums that I have visited:

Natural History Museum

Address: Cromwell Rd, Kensington, London SW7 5BD

Established in 1881, this museum exhibits life and earth science specimens. It features 80 million items within five main collections: entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology, botany and zoology. Furthermore, the museum is famous for the exposition of dinosaur skeletons. Interesting fact: some specimens were collected by Charles Darwin. In 2017, 4.4 million people visited the museum.

The museum is organised in four zones: blue zone, green zone, red zone and orange zone. The blue zone is dedicated to dinosaurs, mammals, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, marine invertebrates, human biology and images of nature. The green zone features birds, minerals, treasures, The Vault, Hintze Hall, Creepy Crawlies, Fossil Marine Reptiles and Fossils from Britain. The red zone exhibits volcanoes, earthquakes, lasting impressions, restless surface, Earth Hall and Stegosaurus, Human Evolution, From the Beginning and Earth’s Treasury. The orange zone is dedicated to the Darwin Centre and the Wildfire Garden.

Science Museum

Address: Exhibition Rd, Kensington, London SW7 2DD

Founded in 1857, the Science Museum comprises a collection of over 300,000 items. The museum is a popular tourist attraction, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually.

On the ground floor, you can learn more about the British industry and technology, explore the medical and human impact of the WW1, explore the space, see iconic objects that have been created in the past 250 years and so much more. The first floor focuses on the unexpected properties of different materials. The second floor is dedicated to India, Medicine, Mathematics, Information Age and Atmosphere. The third floor is mainly about aircraft.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Address: Cromwell Rd, Knightsbridge, London SW7 2RL

The Victoria and Albert Museum is also known as V&A and was established in 1852. It is the world’s leading museum of art and design and it has a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects. Named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the museum attracted around 3.4 million visitors last year.

V&A has six floors. The ground floor focuses mainly on Europe (The Rise of France, The Masquerade, City and Commerce, among others). The first floor is dedicated to Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Islamic Middle East, etc), Europe (Inside the Church, The Treasury: Metalwork, among others) and Materials and Techniques. The second floor is about Europe again (Portraiture, Public Entertainments, Chinoiserie, etc). The third floor focuses on Europe & America and Internationalism and Modernism. The fourth floor is dedicated to Europe (Neo-Classicism, etc). I can’t remember what the fifth-floor exhibits but the sixth floor is about furniture and ceramics.

British Museum

Address: Great Russell St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG

Established in 1753, the British Museum documents the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. It has a permanent collection of around 8 million works.

The ground floor is dedicated to Ancient Egypt (Egyptian sculpture), Ancient Greece and Rome (Athens and Lycia, Greek vases, The world of Alexander, etc), Americas (North America and Mexico), Asia (China and South Asia, Korea, India: Amaravati, among others) and Middle East (Assyrian sculpture and Balawat Gates, etc). The upper floors focus on Europe (Medieval Europe 1050–1500, Roman Britain, Britain and Europe, etc), Ancient Egypt (Egyptian life and death, Mummies, Sudan, Egypt and Nubia, among others), Asia (Japan), Ancient Greece and Rome (Greek and Roman life, Roman Empire, Ancient Cyprus) and Middle East (Mesopotamia, Ancient South Arabia, Ancient Levant). The lower floor is mainly about Africa.

Although I’ve said these museums are free, some temporary exhibitions may incur an admission fee.

These museums are huge so be ready to walk a lot. Plus, since all of them are popular you may have to cue for a bit of time to get in. Also, the museums have facilities such as cafes, toilets, receptions, among others. Unfortunately, I can't talk about how expensive the cafes are because I always bring food with me whenever I visit new places. 

For more information about the museums, check out their official websites:

✦ Natural History Museum

✦ Science Museum

✦ Victoria and Albert Museum

✦ British Museum

I have learned some cool things after visiting these museums so if you are planning on visiting London I highly recommend you check out these places!

*Most images are mine except for the ones of the Science Museum*

What do you think about these museums? 

I hope you have a lovely day!

Jesika x

Festa da Flor

With the arrival of Spring, there is no better place than Madeira Island to spend the blooming season. The island offers an endless variety of flowers to explore that will leave you mesmerised. This year, from the 19^th of April to 6^th of May, one of the most famous flower festivities is celebrated in our lovely island: the Flower Festival.

The Flower Festival (Portuguese: Festa da Flor) is a Portuguese cultural event celebrated in the city of Funchal in Madeira Island which originally started in 1954. Back then it used to be known as the Festival of Roses (Portuguese: Festa da Rosa) where the best flowers were awarded.

The Flower Festival is a tribute to Spring, rebirth, fertility and diversity of flowers that characterise the beautiful Portuguese island. During the 4 days of celebration, the streets are filled with parades, displays of tropical flowers and floral carpets and music. The Wall of Hope Ceremony which aims to raise awareness for world peace by relating childhood innocence with the delicateness of flowers is also part of this colourful festival.

We do not own any of these images and we're not trying to infringe copyright.

We hope you have a lovely day!

Jesika & Mariana x