Temperatures to melt in

September 2022 - Abu Dhabi, UAE

When thinking about our next holiday destination, we wanted to visit a really warm country but also in an off-peak season. We decided to head to Abu Dhabi as the flights were quite cheap and the weather was looking warm with temperatures of 30 degrees. The issue with booking cheap flights was many for us, as we had to deal with flight cancellations and delays, so our advice would be, never fly with Wizzair :).

As a city, Abu Dhabi is like a small island, it reminded us of Singapore of how it was surrounded by water. The first thing we noticed when leaving the airport was how humid it was, even at night. The temperature was around 35 degrees during the day which wasn’t ideal when walking around but we had plenty of pit-stops inside malls including WTC mall and Marina Mall. One thing we needed, to enter malls and other touristic sights was a green pass entry from an app which is registered with the government, so we had to do a PCR test for this. During the day, the streets were mostly empty due to the extent of the heat, many of the locals came out late afternoon which was quite interesting.

Places to Visit

One of the first things you need to get when looking around Abu Dhabi is a bus card which was roughly £10 with a £5 top up on it which was useful as most trips would cost around 50p. The buses worked similar to TFL where you just need to tap in and out. There is also a free shuttle bus which runs between some of the tourist destinations. An alternative mode of transport would be using Careem (Uber of the country).

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is a must go to location when in Abu Dhabi, the architecture is breath-taking and an absolutely beautiful view. We reserved tickets online which made it easier for entry on a day. To enter the mosque, you will need to dress appropriately and for men ¾ shorts or trouser is needed. An ideal time to visit is around sunset as you can see the mosque lights being turned on.

Yas Waterworld was something else we were excited about visiting as it’d been many years since I’ve gone to a waterpark. The best part of going during off-peak season was that the waterpark was empty. We also visited Warner Bros Theme Park, which was the first thing on our itinerary to visit when in Abu Dhabi.

We also pre-booked a dessert safari which was an amazing experience and worth the visit. We got to try sandboarding and also go camel riding!! Other places to visit include: Emirates Palace, Heritage Village, Qasr Al Watan (evening light show). If you want a good view of the whole city, Tales of Twins would recommend visiting the Etihad Tower Observation Deck. Fun Fact: One of the scenes from the fast and furious movies was shot there!

Foods to Try

The local cuisine is must-not -miss when travelling, some of the food include shawarma, mixed grill, Manakkish, Luqaimat and the local Mcflurry (brownie flavoured). The prices were reasonable, we would say the restaurant prices were similar to London and local food costed under £5.

Overall, we found our trip to Abu Dhabi an awesome break and a much-needed area of the world to explore. Hopefully, next time to visit Dubai!

Tales Of The Twins

Porto-l to another world and tram-endous food

April 2022 – Lisbon & Porto, Portugal

Booking holidays in March was a great decision as one - the flights were really cheap, and two – less tourists. When we arrived in Lisbon, the weather was mixed, it was pouring down with rain, thankfully near the end of our trip it got much better with blue skies and the sun.

Lisbon

In Lisbon, we decided to stay in a hostel as it was in a convenient location close to transports and also tourist destinations. The downside of this hostel was that it was literally on top of a train station, so in the mornings we could hear train announcements.

One of the main tourist attractions near Lisbon was Sintra. To get there, we needed to get a train, they run hourly but you just need to buy the tickets at the ticket machine. Few of the places to visit in Sintra include: National Palace and Castle of Moors. If you want to travel around in Sintra, I would advice using the shuttle bus near the train station as it allows a hop on and off service for 24hrs, be wary of taxi drivers who try and scam for rides too.

Lisbon itself, could be split into many different areas, e.g. Belem, Alfama district, it’s a great way to split your days up. Within Belem, you have the Belem Tower near the riverside and the Jerónimos Monastery which is a must visit (visit early as there’s always queues). I loved the architecture and design within the monastery.

If you want a glimpse of the golden gate bridge in San Francisco, look no further than the Ponte 25 de Abril and the structure and colour makes it seem like it’s a copy. The bridge gets really busy as it acts like a connection between districts within Lisbon. Another ‘copy’ you can see in Lisbon is the Christo rei monument (saves you the cost of going to Brazil 😊) which is on the other side of the bridge. When sightseeing the touristy places, I suggest getting on Tram 28, as it covers a lot of the places and gives a relaxing feeling instead of walking everywhere.

One for the football fans - Benfica stadium tour – a great stadium inside and out.

Porto

We took a coach to Porto as it was convenient to sleep on the journey and also quite cheap, it took around 3hrs. The first thing we noticed about Porto was, it was less touristy and very different to Lisbon. The cost of food was also cheaper in Porto than Lisbon.

If you’re a big fan of Harry Potter, I recommend visiting the Livraria Lello, which is a book store used as the inspiration for the Harry Potter franchise. I really loved the design on the inside. Another thing I would recommend is doing a boat & wine cellar tour, as you get to see most of Porto by river around the Dom Luís I Bridge (great spot for sunsets) and also taste Porto wine.

Food

Portugal offered a variety of food, being a big fan of chicken, I had to try the peri peri chicken, it tasted really good. Pastel de nata is a tart pastry which you have to try at least once when visiting, I suggest getting it from Fabrica da nata. Other foods to try is the Bacalhau (cod), I’m not the biggest fan of fish. Near our hostel, there was the Timeout Lisbon Market which is like a Boxpark ,where they have various vendors and selection of foods to try.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Portugal and would visit again to go to the south and also islands close by e.g. Madeira.

Shugs

Hun-g-ary for adventures

March 2022 - Budapest, Hungary

So, this was the first time we decided to do a weekend getaway as the price was really cheap and missed travelling too. We ran into a lot of let’s say ‘inconvenience’ on our journey but most importantly had fun and enjoyed being in a new city.

As it was a Friday, we kind of didn’t assume the extent of London traffic which caused us to miss our flight (sprinting to the gates didn’t help..) but we luckily managed to get onto the next flight a couple of hours later. When we arrived it was actually snowing and cold at night, but the following day it got warm and sunny.

Budapest is quite a tourist friendly city as you can really walk between most of the places and take a tram which is really convenient. Some of the places you should definitely visit include: Hungarian State Opera House, parliament building (change of guards happens every hr) and St. Stephen’s Basilica. You can split your itinerary in half by covering one side of the river a day which is joint by the Chain Bridge which was sadly under maintenance when we visited. A stop on your walk should be at Molnár's kürtőskalács for their chimney cakes. They have various flavours but we went with chocolate topping, it tasted quite doughy but sweet at the same time.

One of the places which we got amazed by was the Fisherman’s Bastion, we highly recommend visiting before 9 and it’s totally empty and u get to take some great pictures of the scenery surrounding it. The Matthias Church is close by which has some great architecture.

There’s an island in the middle of the city called Margaret Island which was a great if you like a nice gentle walk in the park vibe. You get to see a Japanese garden, water tower and also musical fountain which lights up in the night.

Overall, we liked our mini weekend trip and would definitely do it again in another city.

Shugs