Honeymoon destination #2 - Malcesine

After four amazing days in Rome, we moved on to the next stop of our honeymoon... Malcesine in Lake Garda. I'd eagerly done lots of research on Pinterest and stumbled across some beautiful photos so I was very excited about seeing the famous Lake Garda in all its glory.

We caught the train from Rome to Verona which went without a hitch. I can confirm that Italian trains are much cleaner, spacious and punctual than British trains, and their stations are much better organised! Our transfer driver was waiting for us as we got off the train and drove us straight to our hotel, which took just under an hour. The car journey was a great opportunity to take in the scenery... we could tell straight away that we'd decided to visit an extremely beautiful part of the world.

Hotel Casa Barca was recommended to us by a friend who got married in Malcesine a few years ago. We were expecting great things after seeing the hotel's exceptionally high ratings on Trip Advisor and we definitely weren't disappointed. You'll already have seen their amazing breakfast in my previous post... it's possibly the greatest breakfast selection I've ever seen. I just loved everything about this hotel, including the bright and airy rooms, the tranquil roof garden, the secluded poolside area and the hotel bar. There was also a health and wellbeing area with a spa, jacuzzi and half price massage treatment. The hotel was only a short walk away from the town centre, and the staff were all extremely friendly and helpful. Perfection!

View from the roof garden

Outside the hotel

View from our balcony

Malcesine is such a pretty little town and a stark contrast to the grandeur and opulence of Rome. I loved the narrow streets and the unique shops dotted around the town, and there were countless restaurants and bars hidden in all the nooks and crannies. I've never seen so many bag shops in such close proximity before... this was dangerous for a bag addict like me! I also loved the coloured buildings... a pink building here and there makes the world seem like a much better place. 

The main attraction of Malcesine has to be the beautiful lake on its doorstep. I've never seen such a clear, blue and sparkling body of water in my entire life. We spent many hours walking along the lake, eating ice cream and taking in the striking view from various angles. Apparently this is a great lake for wind surfing... we didn't do that ourselves but saw lots of other people having a go! The lake really was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. 

The focal point of Malcesine is its majestic castle. I took hundreds of photos of the castle itself and of the views from different vantage points. Hundreds of people get married in this castle every year, and you can really see why when you experience its beauty. There were amazing views from every level and the castle itself was a fascinating mix of ancient stone and refurbished sections. I couldn't choose just two or three photos of the castle and of the views from it, hence the photo fest below!

We also went on a trip to Limone during our stay in Malcesine as it had been highly recommended to us and it was just a short trip across the river. We caught the boat over to Limone which was a lovely experience and we stayed there for a few hours. We walked around the lemon grove which was very relaxing and had an ice cream (of course) at the side of the lake. Limone was a real hub of activity and I loved all the lemon merchandise. Lemon soap, lemon chocolate, lemon tea towels, lemon liqueur... for someone who loves lemon, it was like a lemony paradise!

On our last day in Malcesine, we discovered yet another beautiful walk and view of the castle. There were just hidden gems everywhere, and I honestly think you could go on a different walk every day even if you stayed in this fascinating town for a month!

Malcesine really is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited, and it was the perfect honeymoon destination as it was so secluded and peaceful. I was very sad when we left Malcesine, but we did have a few days in Venice to look forward to... check back in a few days to find out what we got up to on the final leg of our honeymoon!

P.S. I apologise for the over-use of the word 'beautiful'... there are only so many superlatives in the world and there will never be enough to describe the beauty of Malcesine!

Favourite wedding suppliers #1 - Issy Boo Cakes

Now that the wedding is over and I have some more time on my hands (sometimes), I thought I'd write a few blog posts about my favourite suppliers as a thank you and to pass on my 'wisdom' to other brides.

Searching for decent suppliers can be so daunting when there's so much choice available, and this is something I spent hours and hours on as I wanted to find good quality suppliers at a reasonable price. The internet was both a blessing and a curse when it came to this task! However, I'm so glad I chose all my suppliers so carefully as I was hugely happy with every single one of them.

The first supplier I'm going to blog about. is... Issy Boo Cakes!

Let's face it, everyone loves cake. I love cake an abnormal amount, and so do a lot of my friends, so I was determined to have a wedding cake that both tasted amazing and looked amazing. This resulted in a military operation to find the best wedding cake supplier I possibly could.

I stumbled across Issy Boo Cakes when I was researching cake makers in Cardiff and was immediately struck by the pretty and unique designs on their website. I got in touch with my requirements and the lovely Laura contacted me within a few hours to set up a meeting.

Before I met with Laura, we needed to decide on four flavours so that some cake samples could be prepared in advance. After much deliberating and salivating, we chose rich fruit cake, lemon cake, chocolate mud cake and neopolitan cake. I was pretty amazed when I saw the effort that had gone into the samples...

I was only expecting a few little slivers of each flavour! They were all amazing, but our particular favourite was the lemon cake as the lemon curd buttercream was just beautiful and unlike anything we'd ever tasted before. After these impressive samples and such a positive meeting with Laura, I just had to go with Issy Boo Cakes for our wedding cake.

I knew I wanted a square three-tiered cake with three different flavours, decorated with teal/turquoise ribbons and flowers, and Laura was happy to go with exactly what we wanted. We settled for lemon cake on the bottom tier, fruit cake as the middle tier and chocolate fudge cake as the top tier. We decided to try a different chocolate variety to the sample we asked for as there was so much choice... this proves how much we trusted in Laura's baking skills! We also ordered two dairy and gluten free vanilla cupcakes for our guests with special dietary requirements.

Laura was so organised from the minute we made first contact. The final price was emailed over to me very quickly after our meeting along with a little sketch of what the final cake would look like. Laura then got in touch with the hotel independently to sort all the arrangements for the wedding day which I was very impressed by. I was juggling so many things the week before the wedding and I really appreciated the fact that I didn't need to worry about the wedding cake at all.

On our wedding day, I think you'll agree that the cake looked absolutely beautiful...

I was so pleased with the finished effect, particularly with the sugar roses which matched our colour scheme perfectly. Just look how pretty and bright it is! We served the cake with the evening buffet and everyone commented on how lovely it was. We had positive comments about all three flavours which made me think we definitely made the right choices. The 'free from' cupcakes were also decorated in line with the colour scheme and were really beautifully designed. We were secretly glad that there was some fruit cake and lemon cake left as it meant we could freeze it to enjoy after the wedding! 

I would highly recommend Issy Boo Cakes for your wedding, christening, child's birthday party... whatever the occasion, Issy Boo Cakes will deliver exactly what you need! 

I'm now off to have a slice of cake. 

Café review: Pettigrew Tea Rooms

If you've read my latest blog post on my hen weekend, you'll already know that I have a new favourite place in Cardiff... Pettigrew Tea Rooms!

I'd never heard of Pettigrew Tea Rooms until a few months ago when I started researching the best places to go for afternoon tea in Cardiff. It had excellent reviews on Trip Advisor and was rated the 9th overall place to eat in Cardiff (out of 873!) so I thought it was definitely worth a try for my hen weekend.

Liz booked a table for afternoon tea last Saturday at 3pm and we were seated upstairs. As I mentioned in my last post, I walked in to find a beautifully decorated table with lots of Disney Princess goodies, confetti and bubbles!

The lady who served us was very friendly and accommodating right from the start and explained what came with the afternoon tea package when we were all settled in - a drink of your choice, a selection of finger sandwiches, a scone with cream and jam, and a slice of cake of your choice. So much food!

It's well documented on my blog that I don't like tea or coffee so I went for a gourmet hot chocolate. I was not prepared for the sheer volume of cream on this beauty...

I'd like to think the others were jealous of my spectacular drink but they all seemed to be enjoying their vast array of exotic teas. I've never seen such a big selection of tea in my entire life.

Back to my hot chocolate... I was starting to wonder if there was any actual hot chocolate in the mug when I hit the copious layer of marshmallows underneath the cream!

The hot chocolate was so beautifully indulgent, rich and delicious... I'll probably never have one quite like that ever again (until I go back to Pettigrew Tea Rooms, of course). In the meantime, I should probably go back to ordering my regular skinny hot chocolate with no cream or marshmallows for the sake of my waistline. I do have a wedding dress to fit into, after all!

Around ten minutes after our drinks were served, the finger sandwiches were brought out on little tiered stands. We had three different stands between us, along with one stand of gluten free sandwiches. I sampled a beef sandwich and a ham sandwich... I didn't want to eat too many as I knew I needed to leave room for my scone and slice of cake! The sandwiches were very elegant with a generous filling and tasty dressings. We couldn't finish all the sandwiches so the waitress boxed them up for us so that we could finish them later in the day. A nice touch!

Our scones were on the top tiers of the stands, so I eagerly tucked into mine as soon as someone else started theirs. The scone was lovely and light with a generous helping of currants (just the way I like them), and the jam and cream were just perfect. There actually seemed to be two types of cream on the table... one was more runny than the other. They both tasted great so the consistency didn't bother me in the slightest. Are you a 'cream then jam' person, or a 'jam then cream' person? I'd genuinely like to know.

I didn't think I'd have room for cake, then I remembered that my stomach always has room for cake. The waitress showed us the wide range of cakes they had available and again I was really impressed with the variety of choice on offer. I eventually went for the lemon drizzle cake after being extremely tempted by the carrot cake and changing my mind at the last minute. Who isn't tempted by carrot cake whenever they see it on a menu? Anyway, when my cake arrived I was very pleased with my choice. The lemon curd and buttercream filling was absolutely out of this world, and the sponge itself wasn't bad either. I also loved the 'bride to be' icing detail on my plate... so thoughtful! Again, a few people couldn't finish their cakes so they were boxed up so that they could take them away.

The afternoon tea was £14.95 each which was well worth the price. Just look at the sheer volume of food we ate! The experience was so lovely and we were made to feel very welcome throughout. We stayed there for three hours and weren't made to feel rushed at all. It's worth noting that I also love the cosy atmosphere and decor at Pettigrew Tea Rooms. It won't surprise you to find out that I'm a big fan of pink floral bunting!

I'm already trying to figure out when I can justify my next visit to Pettigrew Tea Rooms... I can't recommend it highly enough!

Celebrating our third anniversary

Neil and I celebrated our third anniversary last weekend. This anniversary was extra significant as it's the last one we'll celebrate before our wedding in August! It definitely doesn't seem as if a year has passed since our second anniversary... time is moving far too quickly these days.

I decided to try out my new Barry M Limited Edition Carousel nail varnish on our anniversary as I'd bought it with my birthday money and it went perfectly with the dress I decided to wear. I love it!

We decided not to buy each other presents this year as we're saving money for the wedding and spending a lot on our new house. Both very expensive things, I think you'll agree. However, we did buy each other a card and, if I'm honest, we do have very good taste in cards. Who doesn't love a card with fluffy teddies/dogs on it?

I usually have Weetabix and semi skimmed milk for breakfast every day, even on weekends, but Neil brought big thick rolls and bacon from the butchers with him as a surprise so I had a bit more of a hearty breakfast on our anniversary. With lashings of ketchup, of course! 

After exchanging cards and eating our rather large breakfast, we headed in to town for our usual Saturday wander. However, we had a bit more of a purpose to our trip this time... we went to choose our wedding rings! I won't be posting a photo of my ring here as I want to keep it a secret until we're married, but I'm so excited about the beautiful wedding ring I've chosen. It'll definitely feature in lots of my post wedding blog posts in September/October, so keep a look out for it. We went for our usual Caffe Nero fix while we mulled over our wedding ring options, and I ordered my customary skinny hot chocolate. 

After deciding on our wedding rings and going to the jewellers to place our order, we popped to the Sidoli's hut in the Hayes for a cheeky ice cream. I've already blogged about my love for Sidoli's ice cream. They have such a wide variety of flavours! I went for Creme Caramel Fudge and Strawberries & Cream on this occasion. 

We continued to wander around town after eating our ice cream and I successfully spent the last of my birthday money... blog post to follow next week on what I bought! Unsurprisingly, the post will involve items from New Look and the Disney Store. 

I mentioned in my last restaurant review blog post that we ate at Prezzo last Saturday for our anniversary meal so I won't elaborate on that here, but our amazing bread board deserves to be featured again!

After finishing our food, we headed to the cinema to see 3 Days to Kill. I'll write about it in more detail in my monthly cinema round up, but I thought it was a great film. I shouldn't enjoy films with lots of shooting and bombing as I'm so paranoid about crime and violence, but I really do for some reason. I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day trying to analyse that. 

There was one more surprise on Sunday... Neil had bought a beautiful lemon cake from Costco! The topping was basically a layer of lemon sugary goodness and the cake itself was lovely and light. Although I do want to bake a cake again soon, Costco is a good alternative when we don't have time to bake! 

So, to sum up, we had a lovely anniversary and ate a lot of food, as is our custom. Next time we celebrate our anniversary, we'll be married! 

The Body Shop's never ending Satsuma shower gel

You might remember that I wrote a blog post about my Body Shop Satsuma Shower Gel back in April. In that post, I said 'I'm pretty sure this bottle will last for months'. It definitely did last for months... I've only just finished it!

I've used this shower gel pretty much every day for the last 8 months, sometimes twice a day. I used six squirts every time (I know, I have a very precise technique), so I wasn't even being stingy. These 750ml bottles are fairly expensive if they're not on offer (£12), but the longevity of this bottle proves that they're well worth the money. I've paid £3 for shower gel from Tesco in the past which has only lasted for 6 weeks or so, so it's worth paying more for a product which will last so much longer.

The Satsuma shower gel is listed as a best seller on the Body Shop's website... I can see why!

I'll definitely miss my amazing Satsuma shower gel and its beautiful aroma, but I'll be starting on the Lemon bottle from the Body Shop next. Look out for the review in a few weeks!

The Body Shop's Satsuma shower gel

I am madly in love with The Body Shop's Satsuma shower gel. I had a big 750ml bottle of it for Christmas and have only just started using it, and I want it to last for ever. I can't even describe how good it smells, but it definitely smells 100 times better than any satsuma I've ever had. It creates lots of bubbles too and makes my whole flat smell amazing for hours after I've used it.

As if the smell wasn't good enough, it also makes your skin feel beautifully soft, especially when you follow it up with some Body Shop body butter. Although I haven't got the Satsuma body butter in my collection, I'm seriously tempted to buy it if it smells half as good as the shower gel does.

My giant bottle!

I'm pretty sure this bottle will last for months, and I've got a Lemon one of the same size to use after I've finished this one. No need to buy shower gel for a while!

Has anyone else tried this shower gel? Do you love it as much as I do?