Sunday, 30 July 2017

Montreux, Switzerland | Part 1

  Hello everybody!
  I'm very sorry for not posting last week, if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you will know that I had a bit of airport stress last Sunday, as you will hear about next week in part 2 of this blog post. From the 17th to the 23rd of July I had my family summer holiday in Montreux, Switzerland for 7/8 days (kinda; read on to find out why...). I haven't done a travel blog in a year! So I thought I'd come back with a summary of my holiday in Switzerland...

Traveling Day:
On day one I was travelling until I finally arrived in Genève Aeroport (Geneva Airport) and from there I got the train. It was a direct train to Montreux from Geneva and the views were beautiful. I was always in awe looking at the shining lake. The train journey was one and a half hours. Once I arrived at the train station in Montreux I walked along the lakeside to the stunning hotel called Hotel Eden Palace au Lac. It was very hot so luckily there was a pool which was nice after a long morning of travelling. In the evening I went to one of the best restaurants I've ever been to, called Palais Oriental. They served middle eastern, Iranian and Morrocan food which all looked delicious but I had the Iranian menu which was mouth-watering! The setting was beautiful too because I had a breath taking view of the lake and the sunset.  

  

Day One:
 On my first full day I started the day by going up the funicular to a small village called Glion and had a walk around. It's all very high up on a mountain so the views were stunning. I spent about two hours looking around the village of Glion, but it was very hot that day so I went back down the funicular to Montreux and got a bus back to the hotel. For the rest of the day I went round the pool to relax and keep cool and I decided to go and swim in the lake, as I'd seen other people do it and it looked too good not to. When I got down to the lake it was very slippery, but the lake seemed warmer than the pool!! I spent about one hour swimming around and went back to the pool. It was soon dinner time so for that day I decided to go to La Brassiere where I had veal escalope which was absolutely divine. That ended a very enjoyable day one!  

        

Day Two:
 On my second day I went on the CGN boat, which was incredible, and sailed from Montreux to Lausanne and spent the day there. I discovered the town and had a picnic-lunch in a park. After having a very tasty lunch and feeding the birds in such beautiful scenery, it was time to head back to Montreux. The boat trip back was just as lovely as the first time. Once I arrived back in Montreux it was time to relax at the pool. For dinner I had a delicious pizza at La Rouvenaz which ended day two.  

 

Day Three:
On day three I took a long, leisurely stroll to Château de Chillon which was breath taking, I always enjoy a bit of history on my holidays and this was certainly a good landmark to visit for that. A fact that I found very interesting about the castle - it was the inspiration for Prince Eric's castle in The Little Mermaid (1989 version)! Cool, right? Well, whilst exploring the huge castle I was thinking; how didn't people get lost in here? It was really that big! But every step I took in there, I was in awe. After finishing in the Château de Chillon I took the bus back to the hotel where I went to the pool to cool off after a long morning of exploring. For dinner I went to Chez Bilia an Indian restaurant where I enjoyed some exotic food. After that I found a really cute Gelateria and had some very delicious ice cream! And that rounded off day three...   

    

...That also rounds off this blog post! I did have a 7 day holiday, including travelling, but I don't want to make this post any longer than it already is so I'll finish telling you all about my journey in part two! I hope you enjoyed! I will see you next week for another travel blog post! Love you all!   
Byyeee!!!!
   
     

Sunday, 16 July 2017

My Enamel Pins

  Hello everybody!  
  This week's blog post is about enamel pins, one of my new obsessions! In case you don't know what an enamel pin is; it is a small pin worn on clothing, often worn on the lapel of a jacket. Enamel pins can be ornamental or can indicate wearer's affiliation with an organisation or cause. I absolutely love them and I sure you will too. Most of mine are from Ale-Hop with 2 exceptions.    

In this set there are...
  ▪️Sombrero
  ▪️Pending speech bubble
  ▪️Red lips
  ▪️Blue cocktail
    

  In this set there are...
 ▪️Pink retro car
 ▪️Margarita cocktail
 ▪️Colourful stag  
   

In this set there are...
 ▪️Toucan
 ▪️Yellow airplane
 ▪️Pink flip-flop
 ▪️Not really sure what this is, lol!... any ideas...?   
    

This an individual pin...
 ▪️One Love Manchester        

These are antique pins... 
▪️Coca-Cola
▪️Heart design
▪️Glittery purple, blue & white target
▪️Cancer support
▪️American flag
        

  That's all for this weeks blog post! I hope you enjoyed! Let me know which one your favourite was in the comments below. I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!  
  Byyeee!!!!              

Sunday, 9 July 2017

Coconut and Raspberry Loaf

  Hello everybody!  
  This week's blog post is another baking post. Since it is now officially summer, I thought I'd do a summer bake! As you can see from the title of this post, I'm doing a Coconut and Raspberry Loaf. I haven't done a loaf in a while so I enjoyed making one again.    

   

Serves: 8 - 10  
Prep time: 30 min, plus cooling  
Cook time: 55min - 1hr 5min    

Ingredients:
 175 g (6oz) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
 50 g (2oz) desiccated coconut
 175 g (6oz) caster sugar
 3 medium eggs, beaten
 175 g (6oz) self-raising flour
 150 g (5oz) raspberries    

To decorate:
 15g (1/2oz) coconut flakes
 1 medium egg white
 175 g caster sugar
 Pinch cream of tartar
 1 tsp Malibu, optional
 Freeze-dried raspberries, optional, ground  

To store:
  Un-iced cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Once iced eat within a day (as the icing becomes granular).     

Method:
 1. Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan) mark 4. Grease and line base and sides of a 900g (2lb) loaf tin with baking parchment. Spread desiccated coconut thinly on a baking sheet. Cook in oven for 20min or until very lightly toasted (it can catch quickly). Empty into a bowl; set aside.
 2. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar with a handheld electric whisk until light and fluffy - about 5min. Add eggs, beating well after each addition.
 3. Fold in flour and toasted coconut. Fold in raspberries gently. Spoon into prepared tin; spread to level. Bake 55min-1hr 5min, or until a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean. Cool in tin for 10min; remove; cool on a wire rack.
 4. Meanwhile, spread coconut flakes on a baking sheet and cook in oven for 2min, or until lightly toasted. Set aside.
 5. Transfer cooled loaf to a board; remove parchment. For the icing, put egg white, sugar, cream of tartar, pinch of salt and 2 tbsp water into a heatproof bowl; mix with a handheld electric whisk. Put bowl over a pan of simmering water; keep whisking until mixture is thick and sugar has all dissolved (9-10min). Whisk in Malibu, if using. Spread quickly over cake. Sprinkle over coconut flakes and freeze-dried raspberries, if using. Serve in slices.

       

That's all for this week. I hope you enjoyed! If you make this make sure to tag me on Instagram (@ISayBell_blog) or on Facebook (@ISayBellblogOfficial). It tasted absolutely incredible and it was definitely a pleasure to make. I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!  
Byyeee!!!!

Sunday, 2 July 2017

Summer Outfits

  Hello everybody!
  This week's blog post has a similar theme to a post I did in March. Last time I did Special Occasion Outfits, but this time I'm doing Summer Outfits!! What I do in this type of blog is find a fashion website or brand and pull together an outfit based on the items I like. For these outfits, I'm using River Island with the exception of some Wellington boots in the 'Festival Look' from Hunter.  

Beach
 

Barbecue
         

Summer shopping  
   

Festival  
   

Cruisin'
   

Pool party
    

Sleepover  
   

Summer nights
      

That's all for this week's blog post! I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what your favourite outfit was- my favourite was Cruisin'. Also let me know what theme of outfits I could do next time! I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!
  Byyeee!!!!