miss b loves .......guest blogging at 'You May Be Wandering'

Today I'm over at You May Be Wandering. I was so pleased when Sandy emailed and asked me to be a guest blogger. You all know that travel is one of my passions and I always enjoy visiting Sandy's blog where she shares her travel experiences. She has also recently become an independent travel advisor for the luxury travel company, SingerTravel. 

I thought it would be fun to write about the sweet treats I've discovered during my regular trips to Dubai.....from stylish cafés to quirky tea rooms ...... 'Delicious Dubai' ...... I hope you'll pop over there to join me on my tour. Here's a little preview .......

....and while you're there, check out Sandy's lovely blog...... I'm sure you will enjoy it ......her recent posts include Unique Book Stores Around The World, New York and the beautiful Ritz Carlton Hotel in Cancun, Mexico. 

Please join me here

miss b loves ......... stylish elephants in the Elephant Parade

              

Last Sunday, during an impromptu shopping trip to the Trafford Centre, Manchester we came across vibrant art creations on elephant statues dotted all around the mall.

The national Elephant Parade Tour has been sponsored by mall owners 'intu' to raise greater awareness for the plight of Asian elephants.

Top artists, celebrities and schoolchildren have created their own elephants.

'Forest'
by Claudia Schiffer

Alex Jones, presenter of BBC's 'The One Show' designed 'Spirit' with Mercy Delta. This colour combination and mix of patterns with the horse design is so creative and eye-catching.

'Spirit'

'An Elephant's Tale' by Katie Sollohub was inspired by childhood memories of Tarzan and Boy riding elephants in the jungle, Barbar The Elephant and other stories about these magnificent creatures.

'An Elephant's Tale'

One of my favourites was 'Sunday Best' by Anna Masters. Her pretty blue and white elephant was inspired by patterns on Chinese ceramics.

'Sunday Best'

miss b loves .......a stylish afternoon tea at Thornton Hall and a 'model village.'

Last Sunday was yet another birthday treat! The Red Letter Day Experience was one of my very special gifts which I received in June but I decided to enjoy it at the end of the summer...

The range of activities includes aerobic stunt flying, white water rafting and bungee jumping .......... but my experience was most certainly the perfect one for me! Did you really think for a moment that I'd been brave enough to bungee jump?

I finally selected the venue, Thornton Hall Hotel and Spa on The Wirral Peninsula, a beautiful area between Liverpool and North Wales ..........and what a great choice!

A glass of Prosecco was the perfect apéritif to sip whilst we perused the menu .....imagine how long it took to choose from the extensive list of loose teas, coffees and seventeen different jams and curds ..........

Just as well we didn't have to choose from the list of sandwiches and cakes (or we would still be there).......apparently we were going to be served all of them!!

Our tiered stand arrived with a quirky teapot each ......Organic Darjeeling Estate in the cupcake teapot for me ......

 .... and White Orchard in the toaster teapot for mr b......

miss b loves .......Istanbul markets and some interesting finds!

During our latest trip to Istanbul, at the end of May, we visited a local pazar (market) and I mentioned here that it deserved its own post......so here it is! 

Good markets fascinate me as they really reflect local life and culture. This was very much a neighbourhood market outside the city centre and we seemed to be the only tourists! We were amazed by the quantity and quality of the fresh produce .........

We've not seen garlic as fresh as this in the UK .... 

....and we just had to buy some to take home....

Stallholders offered us samples to try (which doesn't usually happen in our markets!) If only watermelon back home tasted as good as this one .....

....and this cheese actually reminded me of our own local crumbly Lancashire cheese both in appearance and taste!

There was so much choice ......the freshest herbs ......