Lithuanian dumplings Cepelinai

Posted on 30/06/2025 by ainarsbl

If we talk about national dishes, Lithuanian cepelinai and sakotis are obvious representatives of Lithuanian cuisine. I wrote about the Lithuanian dessert sakotis before, so in this post more about their main dish – Lithuanian dumplings cepelinai.

Every time I have a chance to stay in Lithuania for a few days, I try to include Lithuanian dumplings cepelinai in one of my meals at least once. So what are Lithuanian dumplings cepelinai? They are large-sized dumplings made from potato dough, which have a shape similar to an airship or zeppelin. The honour of the inventor of the airship goes to the inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Zeppelins (cepelinai) as a food were already known before the invention of the airship, and before that they were called didžkukuliai (something like grand dumplings) in Lithuanian. It is said that this dish originated in Germany, but was originally made without filling.

Potato dough is made by mixing fresh grated potatoes with mashed boiled potatoes. The length of ready-made dumpling is usually between 10 and 20 centimetres. When Lithuanian dumplings cepelinai are placed on a plate, they are poured with a separately prepared fatty fried meat (fresh or smoked) sauce and soured cream. As an option, fried meat may be immediately prepared as a cream sauce. I personally like it better when the cream is separate.

The most popular type of the dish is cepelinai with meat, although they may often be filled with cottage cheese as well as with mushrooms (kind of vegan version). There will not be a complete recipe below here, as there are many of them widely available on the Internet. I will try to describe the most important things about the preparation process what should be taken into account in order for cepelinai to turn out well. It should also be taken into account that the cooking process is time-consuming and you all the time have to keep an eye on what is happening.

Ingredients

A serving for one person usually consists of two cepelinai, the quantity given here is what is needed for approximately two servings.

8 potatoes
250 grams of minced pork for the filling
150 grams of smoked bacon (can also be fresh) for the sauce
1 onion
1 teaspoon of potato starch
a tablespoon of salt
ground black pepper

Preparation

And here it is – the cooking process and technology are the most important things for cepelinai to appear and taste as they should be. Here are the most important things to keep in mind.

Three potatoes are boiled, then mashed into porridge. Grate the rest of the potatoes on a fine grater, the potato mass must also have fibres.

When the juice is squeezed out of the grated potato mass, it should be left in a separate container for the starch to settle. After that, the starch will need to be added to the potato dough when the grated fresh potatoes are mixed with the boiled and mashed ones. The starch mentioned above as ingredients should be added to the water in which cepelinai will be boiled.

When the juice is squeezed out of the grated potatoes and the boiled potatoes are kneaded into a uniform mass, they are placed in a container, the starch separated from the juice is added and kneaded into a dough.

Half of the onion is for the filling (with minced meat) and the other half for the sauce. Finely chopped onion, salt, pepper are mixed together with the minced meat. Divide the potato dough and the mix of the minced meat into four equal parts.

The potato mash is made into a scone, something like a thick potato pancake, into which minced meat is then placed. The process is somewhat similar to making dumplings, just the size is something much larger.

When the water is boiled in the pot, add salt and dissolve dry potato starch in the water. The formed cepelinai are carefully placed one by one in the hot water when it starts to boil again. After a while, they will rise to the top and from then on you have to cook them on low heat for about 20 minutes.

From time to time cepelinai need to be rotated, but this should be done carefully so as not to damage them. Take cepelinai out of the pot with a large spoon when they are ready.

While cepelinai are boiling, prepare the sauce – fry the meat what is cut into pieces with finely chopped onions.

Presentation

When Lithuanian dumplings cepelinai are placed on the plate, pour the sauce over them and put a spoon or two of soured cream on the plate. You can also add some greenery – more for the look rather than for the taste.

Agadir Inoumar

Posted on 24/06/2025 by ainarsbl

Many of you may know Morocco’s coastal city Agadir, however, there are many places in Morocco with the name agadir. In general, the name agadir in the Berber language means wall, enclosure, or fortified building. Those usually were used as granaries and storage of another different kind of goods.

About Agadir Inoumar

There are lots of these old buildings all around Morocco, although most of them are almost collapsed and forgotten. One of these buildings, Agadir Inoumar, was our destination during our trip to Morocco.

We were told by people living in Morocco to go to visit Agadir Inoumar. At that time we did not have any idea about where are we going to see. We just got some guidance regarding the route to go. Have to mention that often Google Maps are useless in Morocco; I even contributed by drawing a new route after we returned from this trip, however, for some reason, it was not accepted by Google.

After our visit we got excited about this topic and we found a good article about Berber Granaries of Morocco – it may be worth reading it if you fancy visiting one of them.

Getting there

There is a very good recently built road if you wish to visit Agadir Inoumar, which is located near Afaïane; precise coordinates of Agadir Inoumar are 30.163274, -9.108826. If you drive from Taroudant, there is only one place where driving might be a bit difficult when you have to cross a riverbed near the Ciments du Maroc plant (coordinates: 30.196085, -9.176542). Here is the major part of the route on the map; after you reach the end of the route in Chtouka, simply continue towards the east; although not marked on Google maps, the road is excellent. Similarly, when you arrive from Agadir.

Normally, there is no water in this river, although, after a heavy rain, you may not be able to cross the river here at all as the bridge collapsed some time ago after very heavy rain. Arrival from Agadir via Biougra and Imi Mqourn (R105) must always be completely safe – you would not have to cross the river as you just pass it.

Visiting site

You may park your car near the site and will have to walk about two thousand feet (600 metres) downhill towards the south-west; you will not see it from the parking (parking place coordinates: 30.166697, -9.107983; it is not an official parking, just a place you may leave your car).

A large part of Agadir Inoumar has recently been renovated and well preserved. There is a guide (who does not speak English) who would show you around the place and explain its usage and history (with our very little knowledge of French we got some understanding).

After the visit, you may wish to leave some 50 MAD for the guide’s assistance and entry into the site. There is still a lot to be done and they would welcome your donations (there even was well well-equipped WC on site which came as a real surprise for us). They also have the Agadir Inoumar website where you may find some additional information in English.

Tafraout

Posted on 23/06/2025 by ainarsbl

I am reposting this blog to my new website in 2025. It still may be interesting to read about our Morocco trip in 2020 during COVID lockdown. After visiting Agadir, Paradise Valley and Taroudant, we went to Tafraout to spend the rest, or at least the major remaining part, of our trip in Morocco until we get a chance to travel back home.

Lockdown in Morocco

Although we were in quarantine near Taroudant for two weeks and had a document allowing us to go outside, our arrival was not straight forward at all. Despite all difficulties, we managed to get there and were requested to self-isolate for two weeks again.

During our stay in Tafraout, additional measures were introduced in Morocco, for example, mandatory wearing of face masks. I am not sure if curfew was introduced while we were there or before our arrival; in any case, from 10pm until 6am everybody had to stay inside, and police was patrolling in town every night to enforce the rules.

It was only around Ramadan when curfew was cancelled and later some less essential shops and market shops started opening, though wearing face masks on the streets was the requirement even after we left Morocco in June.

About Tafraout

From the very beginning of planning our trip, Tafraout was our last destination before returning home. Lockdown in Morocco made some changes in our plans, however, with some delay, we managed to get there anyway.

Tafraout is located in a beautiful valley of Anti-Atlas Mountains. It is a small town with around five thousand inhabitants and belongs to Tiznit Province of Souss-Massa region. It is a Berber town; not many Arabs live there, although all people are Muslims as it is common in Morocco.

To get there, we had very exciting road trip. We did choose some narrow and difficult mountain roads to cross the mountain range, although it was really worth it because of amazing landscapes around.

Accommodation

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, we had to find a place where we could live independently. That means we wanted to have a kitchen to be able to prepare meals, bedroom, at least some kind of living room and internet connection. At that time, we both started working remotely.

Our employers supported us by all available means and were happy to wait until we return home, however we wanted to do something – the second time of self-isolation was becoming tough.

After those first two weeks we were allowed to go shopping, so we had much more physical activity and were able to see around. Later, as situation improved, we had a chance to spend more time outside and slowly returned to more or less normal life.

So, for more than two months, we enjoyed living in accommodation of private guesthouse Maison de Vacances Tafraout. It is located on the main street of the town, near to souk and all other amenities. In the same time, as the town is in a valley, going for hiking in nearby mountains was as easy as going to a shop – just a few minutes and you are there.

London – Battersea Power Station

Posted on 22/06/2025 by ainarsbl

Every respectful tourist destination offers travellers a wide variety of entertainment, from exhibitions, museums, and art galleries, to amusement parks and even shopping centres.
After a while, something new has appeared in London and that place is worth visiting – Battersea Power Station. And this site may not even been included in all tourist guides yet.

One of the well-known categories of these objects is landmarks. Along such famous landmarks as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Statue of Liberty in New York or the Colosseum in Rome the Battersea Power Station looks quite impressive.

The methods of building and presenting these objects as well as their offerings to visitors can be very different, but they have one thing in common – they are all well known internationally and become symbols of those places they are located.

From the second half of 2023, a new object in London has been opened for viewing and visiting. Battersea Power Station complements such existing attractions as the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Kensington Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral and others. Battersea Power Station offers a historical insight into London’s history, as well as many opportunities to eat, relax and shop. And you get a chance to see the London skyline from over 100 meters above sea level. In addition, all this is created in a modern style using the latest technologies. Recently, as of early 2024, 11 million people have visited this site.

The story about Battersea Power Station

Battersea was a coal-fired power station which became a National Historic Landmark when it was decommissioned in the second part of the 20th century. The first stage of the station was built between 2029 and 1935, and the second stage was put into operation in 1955. Accordingly, the first stage of the power plant ceased operation in 1975, and the second stage was three years after that.

The architecture of the power plant was made in the style of a brick cathedral, of which there are not many examples. Apparently for this reason, in 1980 the entire complex of buildings was given the status of a listed building. Despite repeated attempts to rebuild the area, for a very long time, nothing new was started due to lack of funding. While all the buildings were standing empty and abandoned until 2014, it led to the situation that they started looking like ruins.

The situation finally changed after investors from Malaysia agreed to renovate the buildings and nearby structures. The intention was to create a business and entertainment centre, as well as a new residential area. However, it was also required that the restored complex retain its historical appearance.

Since the money was found, the reconstruction of the main building of the power plant was completed in 2022, and the entire complex with a total area of 17 hectares was put into operation in 2023. The total investment in the reconstruction of the complex reached almost 9 billion pounds (10.5 billion euros).

There are other noteworthy facts associated with the restoration of this place. For example, the London Underground’s Northern line was extended by 3 kilometres and two new metro stations were built. Total investment in the development of the metro network exceeded £1 billion. It was the first major expansion of the London Underground network since 1999, and the new section opened in 2021.

Getting there

Unlike most London attractions, Battersea Power Station is located on the right bank of the Thames River.

We headed to Battersea Power Station after visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum, so it was most convenient to take a bus to Chelsea Bridge. When you get off at the bridge on the left bank of the Thames River, you will have to cross the bridge, walking a total of less than a kilometre. It’s worth doing this way as you can observe the surrounding area from the bridge.

The easiest way, of course, is to take the Northern Line underground line to the Battersea Power Station stop, and from there walk about 400 meters to the station. Just be aware that not all southbound Northern Line trains go to this station. If you miss the correct train, your last chance to change is at Kennington Station (near the Elephant and Castle – if you’re there, it means you have to change trains).

Attractions

In total, the site has about 140 establishments of various types: from shops and bars to a cinema.

Upon entering the power plant complex, you will immediately notice the fact that the whole interior does look like an industrial facility. Even individual rooms have retained their original appearance. For example, if you enter the bar in Control Room B, from the bar tables will see the power plant’s control panel.

The prices overall are not lower than the London average, but in some cases, they can be a little higher. The main reason for this is that this is a fairly new and relatively posh area of London. This is evidenced by the fact that such a company as Apple has chosen this area as the location for its central London office, where around 3,000 employees are expected to work across six floors.

Shopping mall

The shopping centre features such famous brands as Apple, Boss, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Jigsaw, L’Occitane, Lacoste, Lego, Mango, Nike, Omega, Ralph Lauren, Superdry, Tag Heuer, Tommy Hilfiger and Zara.

Entertainment

If you add to the entertainment such establishments as a cinema, an exhibition hall and mini golf, food and refreshments in bars, the choice is also quite impressive. Including such well-known brands as Pret a Manger, Starbucks and Wagamama, in total more than 50 different venues for entertainment are available.

Other attractions

The complex has a virtual reality zone where you can visit Egyptian pyramids, fight dragons or meet zombies. Just to add that I haven’t been there yet, so cannot comment on those.

However, the most impressive place is Lift 109. You can take the trip on an elevator to get up inside one of the station’s pipes to a height of 109 metres and to watch the London skyline. I recommend this and it may be an even better alternative to the London Eye.
It’s best to book your tickets in advance as this attraction is in high demand. The adult ticket cost £17, in my opinion, this was a very reasonable price for what we got. Various multimedia effects are used to make the entire journey even more exciting.

Why to visit Battersea Power Station?

If you have already visited enough museums and exhibitions, then this is a place where you can have a good time, eat good food, watch a film and observe London from above. What I liked most was the fact that being in a historic building it feels in every way that you live in the twenty-first century – history, heritage, technology and the opportunity to relax as you wish.

Marrakesh 2023

Posted on 19/06/2025 by ainarsbl

After a a few years, we returned to Morocco again and this time our destination was Marrakesh again.

Flight to Morocco

Marrakech’s location in central Morocco is quite ideal for visiting other places outside the city, but of course staying in the city itself and visiting its market is always exciting. I mentioned the Marrakesh market because we are very keen on using Moroccan spices and take every opportunity to renew our stock with fresh ones.

Although this time we flew from London Gatwick Airport and not from Glasgow as previously, we flew with EasyJet again. The reason is quite practical – the flight times offered by EasyJet are much more convenient than those offered by Ryanair. If you search hard enough and find the best offers, the price differences between airlines are minimal.

Another interesting observation – London Gatwick airport costs are lower, so even when flying from Riga to England, we first look to see if AirBaltic offers competitive prices. Unfortunately EasyJet does not fly to Riga.

Hotel

So we arrived at Marrakech Menara airport around midday and after relatively quickly passing through all the controls, we went to the chosen hotel. It should be noted here that this time we wanted to simply relax, so we had booked a hotel that offers an all-inclusive option. To be honest, the hotel transfer and, as it turned out, some other things (one bar, restaurant and also SPA treatments) were for a separate payment.
But, in the end, it was not a problem, because all what was included in the price was quite enough for lazy holidays (three meals, relatively good Spanish drinks, beer, alcoholic cocktails, pool bars with snacks and drinks, various activities, etc.).

A few more words about the hotel Kenzi Club Agdal Medina. It is located in the south of Marrakech, closer to the airport than the city centre. The buildings and surroundings are very interestingly designed – people thought well when designing. There were, of course, some cons as well.

For example, when we go to Morocco, we always plan to go to the hammam at least once (it’s a kind of Moroccan sauna, where the body is thoroughly soaped, then the old skin is scrubbed off with a scrub, washed and finally the process ends with relaxing tea drinking).

However, the hotel’s SPA complex was obviously much too small compared to the number of visitors. As a result of all this, we could not find free time to visit the hammam during the week – either everything was booked or we had something else planned.

Marrakesh market

As I said, we love Moroccan spices, so a trip to the Marrakech Central Market was a must.
There was a free bus service from the hotel to the Marrakesh city centre (round trip), which we decided to use. To be fair, it must be said that the bus does not take you to the centre itself, you have to walk at least a kilometre or so. This does not cause any problems if you do not mind walking around the city.

We even took a route a little off the tourist trail and found more secluded market squares. It must be said that tourists are everywhere in Marrakech, but there are places where there are more locals.

They call the market “souk” and there are a lot of them in the city (Arabs are traders, so that’s not a big surprise). There are markets like Souk Fekharine (pottery), Souk Attarine (spices), Souk Zrabi (carpets), Souk Dhabia (jewellery) and so on.

Bahia Palace

On the way to the central market (Jemaa el-Fnaa) we decided to visit the Bahia Palace. This palace (built between 1866 and 1867) is one of the best preserved and most interesting historical sites in Marrakech. The castle has a total of around 150 different rooms and some of them also have small exhibitions.

Tourists have different opinions about the price of the entrance fee (it costs about 7 euros per person, which seems to be quite a lot compared to Moroccan prices), but I think you should not be a nerd and go inside to see it if you are interested in the architecture of other cultures.

Visiting the castle doesn’t take much time, about half an hour plus expect at least a 10-minute queue for entrance tickets if you’re there in the morning; the wait time can be longer when everyone is awake and in the mood to enjoy the culture. Remember – everywhere the payment is only in cash – even in such a popular tourist destination!

Well, that’s all this time, I hope you got a little more interested in Marrakech. You can also read other travel notes I have written after visiting and even living for a while in Morocco.

The gate to Scottish Highlands Stirling

Posted on 15/06/2025 by ainarsbl

Central Scotland

Stirling, known as the coronation place of the Scottish kings, is in central Scotland. It is often called the gateway to the Highlands because the famous region of the Scottish Highlands begins not that far from there.

The city is one of the most popular tourist destinations and in the past has even been the capital of Scotland. Stirling was established as a royal city in 1130, although people have inhabited this area for about four thousand years.

Stirling is around 25 miles north-east of Glasgow and less than 40 miles north-west of Edinburgh, forming a kind of a triangle on the map between these three Scottish cities; they are all well connected by modern motorways.

Although Stirling has city status, it is only nineteenth of the 51 towns and cities in Scotland with a population of less than 38,000.

Medieval Stirling castle and old town

As the city is not too big, the old town is not large too, however, Stirling Castle, which is located at the top of a steep volcanic rock and can be seen far from the surrounding plains, makes it impressive. There is even an old saying – who owns Stirling owns Scotland.
If you are travelling by car, there are parking places at a reasonable price available near the train station, close to the Vue Cinema (see the link to the route on the map further in text).

You can, of course, park in the courtyard of the castle, however, the price will be much higher and there will not always be free parking spaces available. From the parking lots near the station, you can walk down the streets of the small city centre and walk up to the castle – it will not be too much effort, although the streets may sometimes be quite steep.

Wallace Monument

On the outskirts of Stirling, there is a monument, a symbol of Scottish history. The name Wallace may be familiar to many after the 1995 film The Braveheart, in which American actor Mel Gibson portrayed the historical image of the Scottish independence leader William Wallace.

For some time, a statue of an actor was even placed near the monument, but because of local opposition, it was removed. The main reason – the film is an artwork, and it cannot claim a full reflection of historical facts. And in the end, William Wallace was Scottish.

Some more tips if you are in Stirling

One of the largest institutions in the city is the University of Stirling, where I have worked for several years. Its reputation in some specific areas such as aquaculture is highly valued not only in the UK but also worldwide; students from all over the world go there to study. In fact, the university is not located in the city, but in its suburb town Bridge of Allan, about two and a half miles from the centre of Stirling.

The above-mentioned Wallace Monument is located right next to the university.

Stirling has many places to eat and various accommodation opportunities. It must be said that there are a lot of Indian restaurants and not everyone may enjoy it, but without huge effort, it is possible to find other types of restaurants and cafes.

One of the restaurants I can recommend is right next to the castle – Port Cullis. It is a cosy restaurant bar, where you can sit both indoors and in a small garden, and the prices (in August 2021, when we were there) are reasonable considering the location. In any case, after visiting the castle, having lunch there can positively complement the impressions gained in the castle.

Other places of interest for travellers to Scotland in addition to the above are Edinburgh, Glasgow, Isle of Skye, Loch Lomond and Loch Ness, the Hebrides, and a range of national parks for those seeking physical activities.

Mount Etna in Sicily

Posted on 11/06/2025 by ainarsbl

Visiting the Etna volcano was a part of our longer trip to southern Italy and Sicily.

Location and basic facts

Mount Etna is an active volcano located in the eastern part of the largest Italian island Sicily, near Catania city. Like many other active volcanos, it is located in the area between two large geological plates, the Eurasian Plate and the African Plate in this case. Etna is active almost all the time. The last eruption happened while I was writing this post in early June 2025.

The height of Mount Etna is 3350 metres (10,900 ft) above sea level, it covers an area of around 1190 square kilometres and is the biggest active volcano in Italy. Etna is a stratovolcano, which means it is a typical conical volcano with a caldera built up by many layers of hardened lava. Another Italian volcano, Vesuvius, is also a stratovolcano, although it is not as active as Etna and is only half of the size of Etna.

Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanos in the world, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2013. The last most serious eruption of Etna followed by a serious earthquake was in December 2018.

Getting there

If you visit Sicily, visiting Mount Etna should be on your list. After seeing quite a few beautiful places in the eastern part of Sicily, we spent a night in Acireale, had a morning coffee and started our way to Mount Etna.

There are many hiking trails in Parco dell’Etna (Etna Park), however, we decided to go directly to the main attraction – reaching the volcano as close as possible.

You can recognise the lava field already on the way to Etna, driving on serpentine roads before reaching parking where the main adventure begins. There is a huge parking place at Rifugio Sapienza for cars and buses where you would leave your car before going up. There are many souvenir shops around, however we kept visiting them for later. There is also a bar with a panoramic terrace (Bar Funivia dell’Etna) higher up on the mount after you exit a cable car.

If you arrive in Sicily by ferry in Messina, it will be around 100 kilometres to reach Rifugio Sapienza from there; the place is located some 35 kilometres from Catania and almost 250 kilometres (more than three hours drive) from Palermo.

Getting up

After arriving at the parking, you will see where the majority of people gather. To get to the top (the place allowed for visitors), you will have to board a cable car from the Cableway Station, located at an altitude of 1900 metres above sea level, and afterwards change to a 4WD coach, which brings you from 2500 metres to 2920 metres above the sea level.

You may choose only the cable car, which was EUR 27 per person at the time we visited Etna. The full return package (cable car and coach) was EUR 51 per person and you would spend about three hours for the whole return trip.

Both the view to the top of Mount Etna and the feeling of walking within lava and volcanic ash fields were incredible and worth the money we paid and time spent. Steam and smoke coming from the crater, hot ground below your feet and smaller craters all around you make you both feel a bit stressed and proud that you did come here and saw all this fantastic impressive creation of nature.

Spa hotel in England

Posted on 07/06/2025 by ainarsbl

Late in May we went to relax for a weekend, the destination – SPA hotel in Buckinghamshire, England. Hotel name Crowne Plaza Marlow.

For those who have been to SPA hotels in countries such as Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic or Hungary, a Spa hotel in England may seem different from what they use to imagine about this kind of establishment, although overall, things look quite good there.

About Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a county in the south-east of England, but to make it clearer, it is located to the west from London. It borders Greater London to the south-east, Oxfordshire to the west and a few other counties in other directions.

Because London is relatively close by, many people who work in London live in Buckinghamshire, making the region quite expensive to live in. In total, the county is home to just over 800,000 people and covers an area of less than 2,000 square kilometres.

Buckinghamshire is the 32nd largest of England’s 48 territorial units (the largest being North Yorkshire, which is more than four times the size). In the south of the county is located the officially recognized Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, where people go to relax and enjoy nature, especially during weekends.

Spa Hotel

The hotel itself surprised in a positive way. Firstly, it has a large area, not the usual lack od space as it’s used often to be in England. Parking spaces are spacious, both just outside and around the hotel. Well-maintained driveways and greenery all-around with three-storey hotel buildings located in a fairly large area.

The rooms are also very large compared to what is common in other hotels. So a very good rating as the first impression.

The receptionist was professional, we checked in quickly and happy went to our rooms. However, everything else did not follow so smoothly. It was planned that a bottle of prosecco would be in the room after our arrival, but it did not arrive even after a number of repeated inquiries. After seven in the evening it was finally brought to our rooms. Of course, it’s better late than never, but it really can’t be recognised as a four-star service.
Of course, this did not prevent us from enjoying our stay in hotel’s bar and Spa located in another building.

Spa complex

The size of the spa complex was a bit surprising. It was definitely not as big as you might think, although in other places the spa complexes may even be smaller.

The complex has comfortable changing rooms, although we failed to make lockers work. It was not important though because we could leave all the valuables in our rooms in the safe that worked.

The pool has two relatively wide paths for swimming, where three people can swim freely in one and another for two people. There is a small children’s pool and a hot tub by the pool. However, it was impossible to sit in hot tub for longer time, because the water was heavily chlorinated.

The next day we visited the procedures (massage), the rooms of which are located in the same building next to the pool. Treatment rooms are relatively small, just as much as a massage table to install and to take off clothes. The procedure itself was normal, punctually executed – nothing special, but generally good.

Hotel restaurant

Apart from the rather chaotic service, the best thing about the hotel was the restaurant, where we had dinner and breakfast the next morning – all respect to the chef.

All the dishes we ordered were really tasty. Since we got our sparkling wine delivered in the room just before dinner, we took it to the restaurant and the staff did not object us drinking it there during the dinner. On some occasions some of the staff did not seem very professional, however they were nice and we were very happy about the dinner.

Overall, our late May weekend in Buckinghamshire was a success.

Good food in Rome

Posted on 04/06/2025 by ainarsbl

Good food in Rome – it is just the title of this blog. In fact, this blog is about excellent and even fantastic food in Rome you may get there. Italy‘s capital Rome is a very busy tourist city and you may often get average-quality food for a high price. We were lucky to find quite a few excellent places; this is an experience I write about here.

Earlier we had a trip to Rome which included Italian cooking classes in Rome. This time it was only about consuming food not preparing.

All this was experienced during our trip to Rome in the autumn of 2021. This was a short stay in Italy’s capital during mid-October weekend. The main aim of the trip was to visit Rome’s historic centre once again, although to experience of eating nice food in Rome was an important component of the whole trip. So, this blog is entirely about where to find good places to eat in Rome.

A place for a good breakfast

Close to Termini station, we found a nice breakfast place – restaurant NOI Roma located on the corner of Via Gaeta and Via Volturno. This was not a cheap place for breakfast at all but worth of money we spent there. Unlike in many other south European countries, we paid about 40 Euro for two of us each having breakfast dish, coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice – everything was really tasty and service was good too.

Fresh and tasty pizza

If you think about food in Rome and Italy, pizza may be the first thing that comes into your mind.

On our way from the train station to the hotel, we popped into a simple takeaway pizzeria located somewhere between Termini train station and the Colosseum; they also had a couple of tables outside if you wish to eat your pizza immediately. The name of this place is Pizzeria Mediterranea, address is Via Agostino Depretis 76.

We paid some 8 Euro for two decent-sized slices of freshly baked pizza and it was very tasty – that is the reason I am mentioning this pizzeria here in my blog.

An excellent casual dinner

Before deciding where to go for dinner, I searched for an interesting location and found one – Isole Tiberina, an island of Tibra River. The island is small and there were not many places to go for dinner, so it was easy to choose Tiberino Ristorante Bar, which has good reviews on Google. Address of the restaurant Via di Ponte Quattro Capi 18.

Everything was excellent – homemade-style main dishes, dessert, Italian drinks and cappuccino at the end. We spent around 40 euros for the two of us – almost the same amount we paid for breakfast near Termini station.

Food was exactly as needed for proper dinner – strong enough but not too strong, excellent flavours with that feel of dining at home.

Lunch for a special occasion

As we visited several really good restaurants in Rome, we decided to find a special place for our lunch before leaving the city.

There is a restaurant Clorofilla Cucina & Distillati, address Vicolo Delle Grotte 17. The place is hidden in a small street near a market located in Piazza Campo de Fiori and may come as a surprise when you find it – nothing around tells you that you are approaching an exceptional place to enjoy fantastic food.

This restaurant has a concept of the way they prepare and serve food for their customers and it looks like it works well. From outside you would never guess that there are many people enjoying food and relaxing inside.

We did not see the Chef but it must be a person enjoying preparing food. Every detail on the plate was like a masterpiece and the taste was amazing. The same as the drinks we had with our meal.

For a two-course meal of two people (including drinks, espresso and dessert) we got a bill of around 120 Euro (not including tips) and I have to say that the meal was worth every cent we paid. Our huge and sincere compliments to the Clorofilla Chef!

Historic centre of Rome – day two

Posted on 03/06/2025 by ainarsbl

It’s so cool to wake up in the morning in the heart of the Italian capital Rome after a night’s sleep, when the delicious breakfast, which is included in the price of the accommodation, is already waiting in the restaurant on the rooftop terrace. You can also read about our first day in Rome.

Amazing feeling and you are in Italy! All you have to do is get out of the huge bed and get dressed so that you can show up on the terrace.

Colosseum

On the first day in Rome, we visited a museum, so on the second day we wanted to enjoy the sunny day and fresh October day in Rome. The first thing we did right after breakfast was going to the Colosseum – after all, what would be Rome without the Colosseum?

We had even been inside before, but to take a selfie in the background of the coliseum was a must. What made thing seven easier was that the Coliseum is located less than a ten-minute walk from Monti Palace Hotel.

We had a plan of going from the Coliseum subway station to our next activity – walking through the park on the other side of the city centre. However, we had to go back to the hotel because the metro station at the Colosseum was closed due to Covid restrictions. But since the weather was just fantastic, it was not an issue and we soon reached our next destination by subway departing from another station.

Gardens of Villa Borghese

We had already planned to take a longer walk through the gardens of Villa Borghese, located in the south-east of the Rome centre. The gardens began by replacing the previous vines in 1605, but in their current appearance, they have existed since the end of the eighteenth century.

Villa Borghese’s gardens are set in a landscaped park of around 80 hectares. It is also home to several buildings, museums and, of course, a variety of attractions. A trendy way to relax there is renting different types of bicycles. The area is huge, it is the third largest park in Rome, and if you want to see it all, it is quite difficult to do it just by walking around.

After a good walk, we went from the western part of the park towards the Tiber River. From the terrace of the park (the park is located on one of the hills), you could see the Piazza del Popolo (it means something like a people’s square).

Piazza del Popolo

Then we walked down to the square. There is a beautiful fountain in the middle of the square, although there are a lot of fountains in Rome that look beautiful and impressive. This one is special because in the middle of the fountain is an obelisk of the Egyptian pharaoh Rameses – a tall tower in the shape of a narrow and tall pyramid. On one side of the square is the church of the same name, Santa Maria del Popolo – not too big, but a beautiful building.

After a short walk around Piazza del Popolo, we went south through the narrow streets of the centre of Rome. It already was afternoon and we had to go home soon. We wanted to eat and also to buy Italian delicacies to take home. Therefore, the next destination before returning to the hotel was the market in Piazza Campo de’Fiori.

Piazza Campo de’Fiori

We did not intend to shop in the market, but there are several famous Italian shops in the area selling Italian food, which is mainly dried meat in various ways.

That’s what we did. We spent quite a lot of money in the shop at Piazza Campo de ‘Fiori, 43. The shop is recognisable with its wild boar’s head above the entrance. The shop is small but full of meat products. As a result, the backpack I took was now full of different types of dried meat and we went for lunch before going home.

There is a restaurant near the square where we ate and you can read more about it in another blog about our gastronomic adventures during this trip.

That’s all for this time. It should be noted that from the same Termini station where we arrived, we took a bus back to the airport. When planning your trip, note that the company SIT Bus we used for the airport transfer offers the last transfer to the airport at six in the evening.

So, you may have to spend a few extra hours at Ciampino Airport, where, to be honest, there is nothing special to do as it is a very small airport. There are other transfer options available and we will probably use one of those next time.