4 Things to do in Coventry

When I began University at Coventry University, I didn’t really think or research deeply into the local culture or what was on offer for the local people or students. As two years have passed, I’ve come to find out a lot more about what there is and thought I’d share especially if you’re thinking about studying, visiting or even live in the City of Coventry.

I’ll start with shopping in The Lower Precinct. Now this may be a basic idea and all towns and cities have them but Coventry boasts many shops and restaurants too. There’s LUSH, TopShop, Boots, Superdrug and so much more which caters to all your shopping needs. In terms of food, there’s a Las Iguanas, Wagamamas, Cafe Rouge and Cosmo so no matter what cuisine you fancy, there’s always a choice.

Another great place is Fargo Village, located nicely near Dominos on the more student side of Coventry on Far Gosford Street. It hosts interesting shops that are very aesthetically pleasing such as Astral Gypsy and have great food shops such as Bubble Boba and even a Vegan Cafe! They hold really cool events that I’ve always wanted to go such as Gin Fairs and Vegan Fairs but they’ve always been on days when I’m busy. Check out what’s on here!- 

Visiting the Coventry Cathedral is definitely one of the most important tourist items you should check off your list! It’s such a genuinely beautiful cathedral and there’s always people wondering around. There’s also the opportunity to climb to the top of the cathedral which you do have to pay for but there are student rates so it’s not all bad.

Last but not certainly least is the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum. This Museum showcases local history, have collection displays and holds art shows too. It’s a quiet place with beautiful work but there is always a visitor walking through the corridors. With prop boxes for young kids (or even adults) this Gallery and Museum would be a great day out for everyone! 

I want to experience as much as I can in this City before I graduate and leave because I won’t know if I’ll ever have the opportunity to come back. I think it’s important to immerse yourself in local culture and I want to be able to say that I took every sight seeing opportunity that was offered to me.

Thanks for reading,

M x

Yo!Sushi Cambridge – Review

Last week, me and my friend paid a little trip to Cambridge with full intentions of having a bona fide touristy day out. However, due to miscalculating bus times and routes, we were only left with a couple of hours to spare. Before doing anything else, we agreed on finding a spot for lunch so after checking the restaurants available, we decided on Yo!Sushi as neither of us had been before!

Even though it was the lunch rush, we didn’t have to wait too long, probably around 5-8 minutes for a table which was great. We sat down and essentially, we could start to eat whatever caught our eye which was ideal as it minimized how long we would have to wait for food and reduced any chances of being ‘hangry’. I opted first for a pumpkin pattie type dish which was incredible! It even had a dipping sauce which complimented the dish perfectly. I ended up having two of those and two rounds of cucumber sushi which is my absolute favorite. We happened to be there for Blue Monday which meant that a lot of dishes had been reduced to the price of the blue plate (2.80) which meant an even bigger bargain for us. 

It was a really enjoyable experience for us as it meant we got to try a new restaurant, new types of food and it was great to see the food being cooked in front of us as well. I would definitely recommend Yo!Sushi, especially on a Monday but if not, keep an eye on the plate colours as it’s so easy for the price to rise on the bill!

Thanks for reading,

M x

5 GUYS EXPERIENCE

So, it had been a while since I had met up with one of my closest friends and without much luck wondering about where we should visit to grab some food, she came up with the idea of visiting 5 GUYS. Now, both of us have never been and it seemed like such an incredible place to get American food which is such a novelty in the UK so this is what we agreed on. Prior to going, I was constantly checking the menu and deciding what I wanted even though there’s only one menu and a set list of food! That’s how excited I was!

On the day, I got:

• Grilled cheese with added jalapeños
• Small Cajun chips

When we opened up the food, it seriously did not excess our expectations! 😦 The grilled cheese was just an inside out burger when I’d seen pictures online of an actual sliced bread concoction so it seems that the British chains have altered it slightly which is disappointing. The fries however were a little better but didn’t have a lot of taste and were just better with ketchup. I did however like how they put a bunch of chips at the bottom of the bag which means you get a lot for the price you pay for the chips.

All in all, I enjoyed the experience as well as the customer service and décor. It’s just some fun and I’m critical of the food because I was expecting more in terms of flavour but I’m glad I did visit! Out of 10, I would give a 5 because like the American system, they charge VAT at the end so be careful 🙂

Thanks for reading,

M x

A Rainbow Breakfast

After a few weeks of researching and wondering about the best route, my sister opted to turn to the vegan lifestyle after 4 years of being a pescatarian which is a bonus for me as it means that there is an increased amount of fruit in the house (while I’m still here of course)

One day I was watching Pretty Little Liars all night and decided what’s the point in going to sleep at 7:00 in the morning? I then chose to go downstairs and think about getting my breakfast sorted and this was the morning after a Sainsburys order so I had a lot of choice!

What I had for breakfast:

• Ripe mango
• Two clementines
• Handful of strawberries

I chopped the mango up into small squares, quartered the strawberries and just peeled apart the segments of the clementines. Of course, this was also because I wanted my food to look Instagram worthy and of course it was 🙂 This fruit turned out to be quite a lot so for the next time, I would half the amount of strawberries and one less clementine.

I love having lots of fruits and vegetables during the day and feel terrible about it if I’ve eaten lots of bad food and no fresh veg. I feel as if I can physically feel my body deteriorating which is never the best feeling. On top of lots of fruit, I like to have lots of water throughout the day because I’m one of those people who need to drink water every one to two hours.

What’s your favourite fruit?

Thanks for reading,

M x

Indian Recipe Book

Results day has passed and now it’s onto properly planning for when I begin university in a couple of weeks! I got this little cook book on the ferry back from France and I just love it! I’m not Indian, I’m Sri Lankan however I love flavorful food with lots of herbs and spices and I thought this would be great to practise making food as well as giving my some pointers and guidance on how to make good food!

Even though I’ve had this for a while, so far I’ve only made the onion bhajis (which turned out pretty great by the way) but there are so many great recipes I can’t wait to try out.

I got this for £2.99 as it had been reduced so that was a good deal for so many recipe ideas!

Thanks for reading,

M x

France Day 1| European Trip 2015

First stop on our European trip: France for just two nights. On the way to the place we would be staying at, we visited Cathedrale Notre Dame de Reims and it was beautiful. We ended up first having some *expensive* breakfast overlooking the cathedral and it was a lovely day – not too hot or cold.

We stayed at Chateau de Touhans and it was an incredible, isolated area with a huge ground, a swimming pool and really clean, toilet and room. There were four of us and me and my sister ended up having to share a pull out sofa bed which was not what we were expecting but the staff and cleaners were lovely and helpful! They also have an old doggy there that goes by the name of Robin and is eager to become friends and likes a good belly rub.

The staff speak English and are extremely helpful; gave us names of nearby and English speaking restaurants, addresses of the supermarkets, wifi and are generally very lovely. Their customer service alone makes me speak so highly of this place to visit as it’s just such a calming area as well.

That first day, we arrived around 2/3pm, me and my mum went swimming in the pool for an hour and tanned a LOT.  Later one, we went to a seafood restaurant right near the river called Auberge de la Marine and it was rather pricey probably as it overlooked the river and me and my sister shared poached eggs and salmon. Following the meal, we walked up to the bridge and even managed to catch the sunset which was pretty incredible. This also meant a lot of family photos, a few selfies and then we went back to the house.

That was what we did on the first day, I was going to include the second day in the same post but there was way too much and I didn’t want to crowd it all together! 🙂 There’s more coming!

Thanks for reading,

M x

M x

3 Benefits of Lemon Water

The first time I got a full body massage, my masseuse, a lovely lady told me the benefits of drinking hot lemon water on a daily basis in place of fizzy and caffeinated drinks. It’s been a while now and hot lemon water is a daily drink for me however, I still do like to have the occasional cup of tea and recently, English breakfast tea has become my obsession!

3 BENEFITS:

1. Lemon water is very beneficial to the body as it allows the toxins in your body to be flushed out. 

2. It aids in reducing of blemishes on the skin and even wrinkles.  

3. Hot lemon water gives you more energy.

I never realized how great hot lemon water is but now I’ve had it so consistently, I don’t think I could stop drinking it because alongside these 3 benefits, there are tons more! 🙂

Thanks for reading,

M x

Weekly Edit #9

1. A couple of weeks back, I got really angry when I saw the little dinosaur on Google Chrome which means no internet connection and I slammed my keyboard and didn’t realize that is was a game for when there’s no connection. Next time you see it, try it out! 700 was the highest I had gotten since I started playing it.

2. I love my little heart plate from Wilko, it’s so cute! I made a little fruit plate with apples and grapes. I always try hard to have 5 fruits and vegetables a day as well as drinking 2 litres of water!

3: I saw the Instagram update and I really like it. I’m trying to really up my game so I would love for you to check it out and follow me? My account is: @manekaajay 🙂

4. I started watching the TV show, Grimm this week and I am so hooked! When I watched the first episode, I wasn’t sure if I’d like it much but it is so good! And quite funny! My favorite character HAS to be Monroe, he is ultimate friend goals and Rosalee is incredible. She makes me want to become a fictional healer.

5. I went to my friends house who I hadn’t seen for ages because of exams and we had pizza from Pizza Hut. The cookie dough was the first I’ve ever tried but it was kind of disappointing. We both got plain pizzas because sometimes the toppings list is not great…

6. I am so addicted to the dinosaur game that sometimes I don’t even get angry when the internet stops working. That’s probably the whole point! I topped my score of 700 with 1141!

7. I’ve put up some new things onto depop and I’m just hoping that they get bought quickly 🙂 I find that it takes people a long time to come onto my profile and buy items, ah well!

8. I walked into Morrissons and just thought this display would make a cool picture and I wasn’t wrong. I did put it on Instagram but I felt like it wasn’t quite right so I deleted it. Oh well, at least it could make it onto here!

9. This was the beginning of Fridays sunrise and it became so much more beautiful as time passed. This shot was at about 3:50am but it became a lot lovelier at  around 4:30am.

Thanks for reading,

M x

Weekly Edit #5

1. My new favorite Costa drink of choice has become Iced Lattes! I used to absolutely hate them and opted for sugary drinks like Belgian chocolate dreamy coolers but I tried it recently and the bitterness of it is something I love. I don’t add sugar because I don’t like drinking it and would probably ruin the drink as well 🙂

2. This bunch of tulips are such a beautiful color and buying these yellow ones means that I’ve had purple, white and yellow tulips as well. My favorites have to be yellow – looking at them makes me feel so happy!

3. I loved my make up in this picture – I’m wearing Sin by MAC!

4. I’ve been getting into homemade cappuccinos lately as I want to be really awake during my revision times and they are so good! I think the brand is Nescafe and they have a little pack of chocolate powder in the box which is super cute.

5. My current savory revision snacks came from the world food aisle in Morrison’s and if you ask me, the best aisle in the supermarket.

6. I’ve been trying hard to up my contouring game as I feel it’s so hard for me having a darker complexion to find a contour that looks good and is dark enough for me. This picture is from last night when I was getting ready for a birthday party. It’s a mixture of Stila Custom Color Bronzer and Natural Collection eye shadow in Crushed Walnut.

Weekly Edit #3

1. I’ve seen this brand of peanut butter used by nearly everyone on the blogosphere and they all say how good it is and I just wanted to try it out for myself. I am in love. It’s not sweet at all, no added sugar – just raw and it’ tastes so good!

2. I straightened my hair after weeks of just letting it air dry after washing it and I kind of missed how easy it is to maintain in the wind.

3. Look at dis cookie. I’m so glad I went for white chocolate and raspberry rather than triple chocolate. If you can try it out, it’s from Sainsbury’s! 🙂

4. I was in Waterstones the other day and I saw a lot of books with Oscar Wilde in and this quote is what really stood out to me. I feel it’s so relateable especially in correlation to the political landscape in England.

5. My sister actually got this for herself but I asked for one (giving the money later) so I can use it the night before exams. I find it really hard to sleep the night before exams, even more so than on normal days so I think I’m going to cut this into sections, right before every single exam I can use a piece whilst in the shower because I hate baths.

6. My photography exam is a 12 hour one and it starts this Monday. I’ve got all the planning down and I’m nearly ready for it!