Tips for visiting Santorini, Greece

As you may know, a few weeks ago I jetted off to the beautiful Greek island of Santorini for a one-week holiday. We had an amazing time and the views were just stunning. When we arrived it was in the middle of the night so everything was pitch black, I was so excited for the morning so that we could see everything. When we opened the door in the morning I was taken aback. The view looked like something from a postcard, but it was real.

Anyway, instead of doing a day-by-day of what we did on our holiday I thought I'd provide some tips and suggestions if you ever find yourself on the island. Oh and of course a couple of snaps below for you to enjoy.

1. Be prepared for walking and STAIRS - If you are on the caldera side you'll quickly find that you are going to have to walk up and downstairs quite a lot. To get the best view, you should pick a hotel that is further down as this will have the least obstructive views but to get this you have to walk down many stairs and ultimately, you'll have to come back up.

If you want to see other areas of the island there are lots of easy routes to walk. However, it's not the flattest island so you'll be going up and down across lots of uneven surfaces.

2. Make sure you bring sturdy shoes - Leading on from point one, make sure you bring some proper footwear. Although holidays are all about sandals and flip flops if you want to go walking you should really bring some trainers. It makes the walk so much easier and more enjoyable rather than trying to get around in flimsy shoes. I speak from experience after nearly being trampled by donkeys because I couldn't walk quick enough up the stairs in Oia because I had sandals on!

3. Eat away from the views - Again if you are on the caldera side I'd recommend trying some restaurants away from the beautiful views, off the beaten track. Although it is hard to walk away from the coastline (because it's so darn pretty!), the food that you'll find beyond this is most of the time better! Restaurants have to work harder to gain custom as they can't rely on the footfall, so the food is on the whole much more delicious. We definitely found this when we visited as a lot of the coastal spots weren't as nice as others such as the Chef's Garden in Fira which is way away from the views.

4. Use your hotel reception - This is probably something everyone does wherever they go, but particularly on our holiday we found this very beneficial. The staff at Agali Houses, where we stayed, were so knowledgeable about the area and the things we could do. We booked a sailing boat trip through reception which turned out to be an amazing day. As well as this they were more than happy to give us recommendations for restaurants in the area. So if you are in doubt, ask the people who live in the area.

5. Try the local cuisine and ales - Before I went away I was desperate to eat all the Tzatziki and Greek yoghurt to get the authentic Greek experience. Santorini didn't disappoint and by the end, I was sick of the stuff! In Santorini, two dishes you couldn't get away from were Gyros and Souvlaki. These are both meat dishes - one being meat on a kebab stick and the other meat in a pitta wrap. Both were accompanied by salad with Santorini tomatoes and lots of Tzatziki. Both were delicious and I'd recommend you try them but make sure you get them from a nice restaurant to ensure they are good quality. Also, I had Mousakka which was delicious.

Established in 2011, Santorini has its own brewing company with three products; Red Donkey, Yellow Donkey and Crazy Donkey (an IPA). Each has their own distinct flavour and are very good, or so I've been told by the other half. I didn't actually try these but the fact that Santorini has its own beer is amazing and also the branding is so cute! Most of the restaurants we visited sold this beer so I'd definitely recommend you try some whilst you are there!

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I hope these tips prove helpful to you. Let me know if any of you are planning a trip to Santorini as I'd love to share my experience and help make your trip better.

Also if you have any Santorini posts I'd love to read them - please link below!

So you've had a bad day...

Everyone has bad days. Days you get home from work and want to crawl into bed. Days when you can't be bothered to make dinner, do any chores or even get into a conversation. To go some way towards helping, I've come up with a list of things that make me feel better when I've had a bad day that are sure to cheer you up. - Dressing down. When you get home, take off your stuffy work clothes and get into something cosy and snug, like PJs, your dressing gown and a pair of slippers. - Relax in bubbles. Getting into a warm bath filled with bubbles and surrounded by candles is the dream. To just sit with your own thoughts for a while surrounded by warmth is lovely. -Comfort food. Whenever I feel down I turn to sweet treats even though I probably shouldn't. I'm talking about cake, chocolate and sweets! It's not wanted, it's needed! -The perfect accompaniment. Once in a while, it's nice to have a cold alcoholic beverage to de-stress, followed by a marshmallow filled hot chocolate to make you feel all warm inside. -Take yourself somewhere else. Put your favourite film or TV programme on, or simply pick up a book and transport yourself to another place. Feeling like you are in someone else's world for a few hours is an easy way to forget about your troubled day. -Express your emotions. If your day has been exceptionally bad and you feel the need to cry, just do it. It will make you feel 10 times better to just release all your feelings. -Time for bed. At the end of the day, there is nothing better than slipping into some new bedding. It may take a bit of effort and a few minutes to change them, but when you are in your bed you will feel the benefit.
Like I said, everyone has bad days, the trick is to not let them take over your week. Shake them off and start the next day afresh. I hope these go some way to making you feel better on a bad day! Let me know what you do to perk yourself up on a bad day!

Why I Meal Plan

Recently I came across an article that said that healthy food was expensive and that the person in question had to eat junk food. Um no, I don't think so. For me, eating junk food would be more expensive and most of all terrible unhealthy. When I moved into my house I was easily spending £60+ on a weekly shop for two people, but what on?!  Rubbish, that's what. Biscuits, crisps, bread, sweets and too much food.When I started trying to be healthier and eat 'cleaner' I decided to meal plan and only buy what I needed for that week including a few treats of course. Now my food shop costs around £40 a week dependent on toiletries and kitchen essentials I need to pick up.
How do I meal plan?

To start my meal planning I look at what shifts Matt is on, next to if I am out any day that week (to see how many meals I need to plan) and then I decide what I fancy cooking. It does take me a good 30 minutes to plan but that is because I like to do something different each week and I search recipe books and pinterest to find new ideas. I've started recording all my meal plans so I can go back over previous weeks plans to get ideas for future weeks. This way I know what we've had and what we liked.

Why should you meal plan?

• You know exactly what you will be picking up in the shopping. As you know what you are cooking you can search your cupboards to see what staples you already have and what you still need. This makes shopping easier, quicker and stress-free. In the past, I would be stood in the fruit and vegetable aisle for ages stressing out as to what I needed. Now I simply go in and follow my list.

• It can make your weekly shop cheaper. If you know exactly what you need to pick up at the supermarket then you aren't adding unnecessary extras to your trolley. Now don't get me wrong I pick up the occasional pack of biscuits, crisps and cheese snacks but that doesn't really add a whole lot on to the total price. Be reasonable and if you want a little treat, pick one up!

• When you plan you have more time to consider your diet and how to get more fruit and vegetables into it. I look over Pinterest to find healthy alternatives to my favourites like chilli and spaghetti and incorporate them into my weekly plans. I find planning like this gives you less room to deviate from your plan as you don't have bad foods in the house!

When I tell people I meal plan for the week they do look at me like I'm crazy, but I think it works! It saves us money, makes us healthier and shopping is less of a hassle!

What do you think? Does meal planning help you? Could it?

Tips to make following recipes and cooking that little bit easier!

In our house I'm the one that cooks the meals so I've had to get savvy in order to save time. I  do love cooking, but sometimes it can get a little too tedious which has meant I've wanted to find some short cuts. Here are a few of my tips to spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying your food.
Four tips to spend less time in the kitchen!

1. Get everything prepared and ready before you begin. Basically pretend you are on a cooking show. Get lots of little bowls and plates out so that you can prepare all your ingredients ready to throw into your recipe. This means you won't get half way through your recipe and realise you've forgotten something!

2. Get your measuring spoons out ready next to your spices. Line up your spices behind the spoon relating to how much you need. It makes it much easier than having to peer at your recipe each time you pick up a spice then having to find the right spoon!

3. Clean up as you go. Get the sink full of soapy water ready to wash dishes as you go. As well as this make sure to chuck packets and extra bits of food in the bin so you have less to clean up at the end. It makes sense really as you will have time to chill whilst your food is cooking away because all the clean up will be done.

4. Take the easy way out. Okay who else cries when they cut onions, have fingers smelling of garlic for days after touching one and huge vegetables get the better of their strength? Well I know I can answer ME to all those! I've found supermarket products that make my life so much easier. For years I've been using frozen onion, but only now have I discovered other kitchen hacks. You can buy garlic and chillies already chopped from Very Lazy which is so much quicker and easier than cutting it yourself! Then just recently I found butternut squash cut and frozen! My life was made as I always struggle to cut them and then having to scrape out their seeds.

Hopefully, I've made your life a little bit easier with my tips? Some you probably already know and do, but oh well! It's nice to spell it out sometimes!

Do you have any good tips for me?