Life of Jana

This is a follow up to my last post on our Edinburgh trip ( click here to read ). We s pen t over three hours in Edinburgh Castle a nd continued our day afterwards wi t h more sight-se eing . We also popped in to St Giles' Cathedral - it is famous for its spectacular stained glass windows, artwork and beautiful architecture. The b uildings in Edinburgh are all quite interesting and unique but some of them really stand out. Holyrood Palace is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland and is located at the edge of the city centre , basically next to Arthur's Seat. T ickets to get in were a little pricey ; the full package was £21. We went for just a standard ticket and skipped the The Queen's Gallery and Garden Tour. We circled around The State Apartments and saw all of the important rooms like The Throne Room, Morning Drawing Room, Evening Drawing Room and the Dining Room with all of its furniture, cutlery and decorations. We also got...

I'm a bit late with this post but I wanted to share with you the trip Tristan organised for my birthday. He surprised me and booked a weekend away in Edinburgh. I have visited Edinburgh before but only there for a few hours, so I have always wanted to go back and discover the city a bit more. We stayed in the Apex Waterloo Place Hotel which is very central and basically next to Calton Hill. We stayed in a lovely rooftop room and with a nice city view from the window - we could see Edinburgh Castle! Calton Hill was our first spot to visit. It has an amazing view all around the city and of Arthur's seat, so it is worth going for the beautiful pictures. There are many interesting historical buildings and monuments but as it's a hill be prepared for wind and rain! National Monument of Scotland I and National Monument of Scotland Tristan and National Monument of Scotland View to Arthur's Seat The next day we started our day at the famous Edinb...

I was on holiday in Estonia towards the end of May this year and tried to visit as many places as I could for the short time I was there . I found out a new cafe had opened in Tartu so I decided to check it out! The cafe is called Tassikoogid which means 'cupcake s' in English and is located a short distance from the city centre which makes it even more worth a visit. The cafe itself looks like a house from the outside and has a vintage feel to it . All of their cupcakes are handmade and prepared on site . I took my mum and dad out with me for a sweet lunch. There were quite a few options to choose from but we decided to go for cherry and chocolate cupcakes . They tasted very light and fluffy, even though the icing was very buttery. I recommend a visit - especially if you are craving a cup of coffee or tea w ith a cheeky cake . 

There is one special place left that I've not posted about from our Estonian travels , the historic little town of Viljandi. It is only an hour drive away from my hometown and we chose to spend my mums birthday there, wandering around the r uins of Viljandi castle. I also wanted to show Tristan more of Estonia and even though it was a windy and rainy day, I think he enjoyed our day trip! Viljandi Suspension Bridge leads straight to the ruins.    Dad is testing out the strength of the bridge. I mad e Tristan stand next to the r uins of the Viljandi Order Castle for proof of how massive the ruins actually are.   All that ' s left are just a few stone walls.      View of the lake St. John's Church After our walk we headed to an Italian restaurant called Cassata to celebrate my mums birthday. My mum ha d never had Tiramisu before and wanted to try it because I 've talked about it so much . Sadly it isn 't sold in...

In September, Tristan and I visited Estonia and this time we got to do a bit of travelling. We visited Tallinn, Tartu, Viljandi and my hometown Valga (where we spent most of our time). I thought I'd share some of the pictures we took in Tartu, where we spent a day with my mum and brother. I know the city quite well; I lived in Tartu for 3 years when I was attending university. While I was living there I didn't really appreciate its history and architecture. It is a nice, quiet place and there is so much to see! Tartu seems to have the tiniest 'old town' in the world! There is a little square with a city hall and a fountain in the middle. The sculpture standing there is called 'The Kissing Students' and is one of the most recognised symbols of Tartu. Just a few minutes away is the University of Tartu. As the town is so small, the white university building looks very impressive and stands out! This university is one of the oldest in Europe an...