Killer Day Trips from Manchester, England

Last summer on our England adventure we spent a week stationed in Manchester City (see our Manchester trip here). With Manchester as our home base we had a lot of great options for day trips once we were satisfied we had explored Manchester enough. First up was York, which we featured on the blog a few months ago (read article here).

Liverpool

The second place on our day trip list was Liverpool. Neither of us had ever gone, and seeing as it's the birthplace of the Beatles, we knew we couldn't miss it. The train from Manchester to Liverpool was super simple and under an hour long. The only thing we planned was an afternoon tea at Panoramic 34. 

This was a perfect way to start our day in Liverpool as we got to enjoy one the best afternoon teas we have encountered all while enjoying the Liverpool cityscape! Each table in the lounge had binoculars so you could get a closer look at the sights from the 34th floor! Simply spectacular!

After stuffing ourselves with the delightful sandwiches and cakes, we took a stroll along the Liverpool waterfront. The Port of Liverpool is where many people from all over the UK and Ireland boarded ships to migrate to America. Recently we even found out that our 4th great-grandmother migrated to America and left from Liverpool's port to head to the New World back in 1854. Really cool right!?

Liverpool has a lot of great museums, the Tate Modern museum being one, but since we were limited on time, and the fact that Ivy is not the biggest fan of museums, we didn't make it. (Funny, since museums are one of Eve's most favorite things - so much so that she works in one!). Instead we visited the Museum of Liverpool and later the Beatles Museum. Eve plans to come back another time for some serious museum hopping.

Then we wandered over to The Beatles Story- Liverpool. We like the Beatles, but to be honest we are not diehard fans. Don't get us wrong, we love "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and all that, we just grew up listening mostly to country music. The museum is one of the few in the UK that charges admission (£15.95) so make sure you really want to go.

Tip: Be sure to take the audio tour guide because without it the whole museum is pretty pointless, we repeat POINTLESS. The gallery guide didn't suggest them and the museum itself is a fun visual experience, but without the audio you miss most of the history behind the band. Definitely take the headphones.

Chester

The third day trip on our list was Chester. Chester is a very old Roman city rich in history. The only thing we had planned here for the day was a ghost tour that evening (Ivy loves ghost tours) so we spent most of the day leisurely exploring this little city. 

 Since it was a beautiful warm day we spent most of it wandering the streets and walking the Roman walls surrounding the city. 

Cheshire Cat along the wall

In the afternoon, we spent some time in the Chester Cathedral. Founded as a Benedictine abby in 1092. This cathedral is a wonderful place to soak up some history, architectural beauty, and faith. There was a military service that day as well so the whole cathedral ground was full of people!

Cool stained glass windows inside the cathedral

Colorful doors

After walking the some of the Roman wall and visiting the Cathedral, we stopped at Dinky Donuts for some sweet treats! Literally a hole-in-the-wall shop built right below the clock tower, they serve up some of the most delicious creamy ice creams we have ever tasted made by Cheshire Farm Ice Cream. Eve got the boozy Rum 'n' Raisin, Ivy got the classic Strawberries and Cream while P-man, Eve's BF, got donuts. YUM! 

Later, we grabbed coffees to recharge at Jaunty Goat Coffee. We would recommend coming back for breakfast or lunch or even a bakery item because their menu and bakery case was drool worthy!

After coffee we wandered the lovely antique shops Chester has to offer. We love visiting antique shops in Europe because they have so many more old objects to peruse and purchase. Once we had our fair share of shopping, and P-man was ready for a break, we wandered into a wine bar called Taste at Corks Out. With a few dozen wines on tap it was the perfect place to take a break before heading to the ghost tour that evening. We even saw a local wine from our hometown Monterey County, Hahn!

After sipping on some tasty rosé, we headed to Town Hall, where we met our guide for The Original Ghost Tour of Chester. The tour took us around Chester's most haunted buildings and other locations of hauntings. Since Chester was an old Roman fort, the sinister stories and tales of hauntings date back to the 1st century A.D.! Chester claims to be one of the most haunted cities in England and we don't doubt that claim after going on this tour!

Overall we loved visiting both Liverpool and Chester. They are manageable day trips from Manchester and are a great way to get a sense of local history in a short time. We do plan to visit both cities again to explore more!

xxx Ivy & Eve

Cambria Girls' Weekend

We are so excited to announce we are Cambria Ambassadors! Thanks to the great people at Visit Cambria, we were able to take another girls’ weekend getaway a few weekends ago. 

On this trip to Cambria, California, we stayed at the lovely J. Patrick House. Tucked away in the pine forest above the town, this B&B was the ultimate cozy base for our Cambria adventures. The hosts, Linda and Ron, were extremely welcoming and gave us a quick tour of the place before showing us to our room, the Dublin, where we happily called home for the rest of the weekend. The J. Patrick House is wonderfully decorated with antiques Linda has collected from all over yet still has a nice contemporary feel to. This is NOT your grandma's B&B. Another feature we loved about the J. Patrick is that each guest room has its own fireplace. We found ourselves turning it on every time we went to our room. There is something so comforting about a fireplace, don't you think? After we settled in, we joined the other guests for happy hour in the main house (more on that later) before whisking away for our first seafood dinner of the weekend!

On our first night, we enjoyed dinner at the Sea Chest Oyster Bar and Seafood Restaurant.  We wanted to eat here the first time we visited Cambria (read about that here) in December, but they were closed for their yearly break, making us even more determined to visit this time around! The Sea Chest doesn't take reservations, and we have heard that a line starts to form outside the restaurant even before they open!

We lucked out as we went there around 7:30, so the dinner rush had died down a bit. We put our name on the list, grabbed a glass of wine from the bar, and waited outside by their giant fire-pit. Before we finished our first glass of wine, they had called our names, and we headed in for a smorgasbord of seafood.  We love oysters, so naturally, we ordered half a dozen and decided to try their escargot as well. For mains, Ivy chose the seafood linguine, and Eve went with the cioppino. Everything was delicious, and we had to practically roll ourselves out to our car.

FYI: This is also a cash-only restaurant, so bring cash or your debit card (they have an ATM) and be prepared to wait for a table. Definitely worth the wait!

In the morning, we dinned at the J. Patrick House. We were warmly greeted by Linda and Ron and the smell of freshly brewed coffee. The first course was a delicious fruit bowl with thinly sliced apple, red berries, homemade granola, and yogurt. We could have eaten 12 bowls of their fruit salad!  The main course was the JP blueberry pancake, mini banana muffin, and sausage. SO DELICIOUS!!!

After stuffing ourselves, we headed for a guided tour of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve. We went on the Bluff Trail walk led by Docent Gil. They offer three different tours in the springtime on Saturdays (for more info, click here).

The weather couldn't have been more perfect for a walk along the coast.  While we walked, we listened to Gil as he taught us about the property's history, the importance of the ocean for the people and animals that call this coast home, and identified plants and animals along the trail. We even did some bird watching and saw some ancient mortar holes from the Playano tribe. We couldn't imagine a prettier place to grind acorn flour and prepare meals. 

After all the walking and learning, we had quite an appetite, so we headed to Indigo Moon for lunch. We sat on their covered back patio and ordered their artisan cheese plate, which had a trio of cow's milk cheeses (Midnight Moon, Cotswold, and Mahón) accompanied by caramelized walnuts, and pears. We enjoyed a refreshing glass of wine while discussing what we wanted to do next.

For our main dishes, Eve ordered the pistachio-crusted goat cheese salad with greens, ruby grapefruit, chicken, cucumbers, and a lovely Meyer lemon champagne vinaigrette. Ivy ordered the grilled chicken sandwich with brie, onion jam, apples, and focaccia. This is sure to become one of our go-to spots for lunch. Everything is so fresh and delicious!

After lunch, we stopped by our favorite shop, JunkGirls! We met the owners and masterminds of the JunkGirls shop - Jenny and Melissa. These ladies are seriously amazing people, and we could have spent many more hours with them sharing stories and wandering the nooks and crannies of the shop. We knew we wanted to bring home at least one of their unique creations, and we ended up leaving with custom spoon rings Melissa made for us and a set of ladle board wall art pieces designed and created by Jenny! We especially loved picking out our spoons and watching them do their magic to create us unique, beautiful rings. Nothing is impossible for the Junk Girls!

After perusing the other shops, we headed to Cutruzzola Vineyards for some afternoon wine tasting. The tasting room is located at the very north end of town, right off Highway 1. They had a lovely variety of wines to taste, and we bought the 2015 Chardonnay and 2013 Gloria Estate Pinot Noir to bring home and share.

That evening, we headed back to J. Patrick House for their happy hour (which should never be missed!). Linda and Ron have a fantastic selection of local wines (red, white, and sparkling) to pick from to enjoy while chatting with the other guests. They also have appetizers set out for you to snack on before you head off to dinner.  Our first night featured an Italian appetizer selection, while the second night was Mexican! We loved the happy hour because it was a great time to meet the other guests, get recommendations on where to go, and enjoy a glass of local wine. 

Update: Due to Covid, JP happy hour is on hiatus. We hope it comes back soon!

After enjoying a little downtime at happy hour, we were ready for dinner at Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill. Like Sea Chest Oyster Bar, they do not take reservations, so make sure to plan ahead. They have a large beachfront patio with plenty of heat lamps as well as inside dining. We ordered half a dozen oysters and fried jalapenos (very spicy!) to start. We think their oysters are some of the best we have had on the west coast; that's saying something because we love oysters! Ivy had the New York steak served with a side of smashed potatoes and a garlic cream sauce, while Eve had the Moonstone's Best Catch served with Spanish rice and a delicious lobster shrimp cream sauce. The food was delicious, and the service was superb! We definitely see ourselves coming back and enjoying a glass of wine, oysters, and more on the patio at sunset during the summer. 

The following morning, we had another lovely gourmet breakfast at J. Patrick House before our morning Flow Yoga class at GYM 1 with Kristina. For breakfast they had a beautiful (and delicious) fruit bowl with grapefruit, tangerines, and blackberries. The fruit was dressed with Linda's family poppy seed dressing recipe. It went perfectly with the sweet berries and citrus fruits. For the main dish, we had a personal skillet breakfast with eggs cooked any way we wished. We had our eggs sunny side up, and they came with delicious homestyle potatoes, a side of bacon, and toast with delightful bacon jam. After breakfast, we reluctantly packed our bags, said goodbye to our lovely room, and checked out. We were sad to leave but know we won't be able to stay away for too long! We left our hearts at J. Patrick House!!!

After yoga, we headed to Moonstone Cellars for some much-deserved wine tasting (yoga is hard!). Moonstone Cellars is located just behind the main street in downtown Cambria. We enjoyed their wine flight because they have some exciting varietals like the Gewurztraminer, which does not typically grow back home in Monterey County. We bought their Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Sauvignon Blanc to bring home. 

Before heading home, we decided to stop at the Cafe for some lunch. The Cafe was an impromptu stop but so worth it! We decided to try it out because, over the weekend it was hands down the most recommended place to eat. We are no sandwich connoisseurs, but this place is GOOD! We had their famous hot pastrami sandwich, which came with a side of coleslaw, a pickle, and a pickled pepper. The Cafe is seriously delicious and completely lived up to the hype!

After enjoying the Cafe, we headed to our last stop, Linn's, for their famous olallieberry pie. Freshly baked every day, this pie is truly dreamy. It is served with whipped cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. We sat in the sunshine as we devoured our slices, reminiscing on the weekend's adventures. It was the perfect ending to our lovely girls’ weekend in Cambria. 

We also wanted to mention a new company we recently discovered, Brakitty. With all the traveling we do, it's great to have a case to hold your bra's and undies without crushing them. Brakitty cases are super cute and really well made (they are water-resistant too). We brought them on our trip to test them out and ended up loving them and know we will be using them on our upcoming trips. Not only do we use them to stash our bras and undies- but we also keep our jewelry and other small things that would get lost in our bags. We have the Pastel Supernova and Vintage Florals (on sale right now!). Buy your own Brakitty here!

There is so much more to explore in this little beach town we can't wait to visit again! Have you visited Cambria? Let us know about your trip!

xxx Ivy & Eve