The Aria Resort and Casino - Vegas

On the 27th November I woke up early grabbed my luggage and prepared to board a 10 hour flight to Vegas Baby!

But let me update you first on what's changed over the last few months...

I got a job! I've spent the last 2 and a half months working in marketing, travelling back and forth to Germany on business trips and meeting other graduates in the TTi programme.

I've also moved to Winchester and am loving it! Okay, the weather is British but I love living more in the country-side than a big city.

I've learnt Britain is completely overcrowded and you will find yourself stuck in traffic about 90% of the time.

I also bought a car! A little red Alfa Romeo and it is simply perfect and cute and adorable!

So back to my American adventures - I'd been invited to join my guy and his family on holiday in Vegas Baby (I feel the need to add Baby every time I say Vegas - don't ask why!).

We would be spending Thanksgiving and Black Friday there - how could I say no?

After a delightfully dinner and night's sleep at Gatwick's Premier Inn we were on our way!

We landed opposite the Vegas Strip, literally! We could see all the hotels and lights from the place - I was getting so excited!

Our big SUV taxis picked us up, handed us some nice cold American beer and we tried to stay awake with our 8 hours of jet lag.

Just off the busy strip is the new modern Aria Resort and Casino Hotel.

After queuing for what seemed like an eternity to check-in we walked through the noisy casino and got to relax in THE comfiest bed I have ever slept in in my life!

The mattress curved around your body like you were lying  on a cloud of candy floss.

LUSH

We also had Britney staring at us each morning when we woke up!

Not a bad site huh?

We were so excited to be in Vegas we wanted to go crazy: so we napped until dinner.

After Thanksgiving dinner in the hotel's (expeeensive) steakhouse we ended our wild night at 8:30 tucked up in bed watching Modern Family - jet lag, it's a bitch!

Next morning I woke at 5:30.

I slept in until 6:30 but we were out of the hotel by 8am!!

We had a HUGE breakfast at the Hard Rock Cafe

This is breakfast for one.

 ONE!!

You could feed a small army for this!

It's fair to say I didn't finish my quesadillas but it was bloody delicious!

We followed it up with a very long walk down the Las Vegas Boulevard.

This place is so crazy! It's just bizarre!

It's like an adult's Disney Land. 

Everything is so big and in your face - I can't quite decide what I think about it all!

That evening we had dinner with Margarita's and beer and went to see a very interesting Zombie Burlesque Show.

I've never been to a burlesque show before - it was quite entertaining. 

I think the boys enjoyed it a little bit more though... 

We managed to stay out a little bit later tonight - but my bed was a'calling!

We might not be staying in the Bellagio - but we have our own little water show right here at the Aria!

Cheat's Chicken and Bacon Pie

If there's one thing I hate, it's ready meals.

When the Mr offered to heat up a ready-made Chicken Pie for dinner I practically laughed in his face. You don't have to slave all afternoon in the kitchen to cook delicious, nutritious and yummy food.

So the following day I rushed off to the shops and picked up a few ingredients to make my very own pie.

I didn't tell him this was the first time I was making it...

It turned out pretty good though - what do you think?

Oven Baked Chicken Enchiladas

Have you ever had instant foodspiration from walking in to a shop?

That's exactly what happened to me the other day.

I was minding my own business in town when a bunch of flower pots decided to trip me up right in front of an independent greengrocers. Bloody flowers, I mumbled. I was about to walk buy but the colourful fruit and veg from within were calling my name "Chaaarlotte... Oh Chaaarlotte", not in a creepy Halloween-ie way though.

So I stepped in and was like a kid in a candy store.

"Over here, over here!" the vibrant peppers were calling. "Wanna check out our layers?" said the onion. Then the avocado in his deep Mexican accent sauntered over and said "Chica, I know what-chu wanna do. Take me home and lets have a Mexican fiesta!"

A Mexican fiesta indeed, I thought. A spicy, cheesy, Mexican and delicious one!

Cloudy Casares

On one of my last few days in Spain I decided to go on an adventure.

We jumped in the car and drove and drove and drove with no fixed destination or route. 

The uncertainty was all part of the fun. 

We drove along the coastal road towards Estepona, taking whichever road took our fancy, high up in to the mountains...

...until we reached Casares. 

We're not in Marbella anymore...

Casares is a little pueblo with cliff-hugging buildings looking over the entire coast, Africa and Gibraltar.

Too bad the weather was so poor.

It was a few degrees colder up here in the mountains, the wind was harsh and cold and we were blinded by a sea of low clouds.

We were in summer dresses. Trying to prolong the Summer as much as we possibly could.

Did I mention it was windy?

Mamma B and I had more than a couple of Marylin Monroe moments in our long floaty skirts.

I was mesmerised by the stunningly green trees that grew here. They looked almost fake, as if a painter had freshly created the green branches with a few swoops of his paintbrush this very morning. 

When our skin was positively covered in goose pimples and the cold breeze got to much we took shelter at a Venta to warm ourselves aaand eat. 

Venta Maricruz was a huuge restaurant with stunning views over the mountains. We were also about the only people in there eating.

A sweet little old man who could hardly hear served us our drinks and a sweet little lady, who must have been his wife, cooked us some grub. 

We shared a Sopa de Picadillo, a mixed salad, croquetas and solomillo de lomo (pork) between us.

And home-made Natillas de Oreo for dessert. Yum!

The place was rustic, old and typically Spanish. 

It's so easy to get caught up in the life on the Costa del Sol. It's face-paced, glamourous, expensive and so full of tourists that you forget what real Spain is like: slow, rustic, empty and full of traditions, like the ferias!

Over dinner my parents retold stories of when they first met and did exactly this. Jump in a car and drive into the country-side with no idea of where they would end up, only stopping when their tummies started grumbling or Mum needed a wee. 

Sounds like a pretty perfect day to me. 

That evening we went for dinner at El Olivo in La Cala. 

I can't say the photos were in tip top condition, because they weren't... But here are the ones that survived. 

We were too busy eating/chatting/drinking to take exquisite photos of the food. 

Oh well. I will just have to come back to El Olivo again for a truly scrumptious dinner. What a tire! It might not be for some time though, as I have moved to England now. 

I also had another milestones this week:

On the 29th September, I had my final presentation for my masters' dissertation, which I was super nervous about, but don't you always find that things are never as bad as you think they are going to be? I ended up with a 95% score (out of 100%) on my diss which I am very proud of!

Then on the 30th September, I moved back to England. On this very day 5 years ago I was starting my chapter at Durham. Flash-forward 5 years and I'm a postgraduate with a masters about to start my career in Marketing back in the UK. 

I'm very excited for what's to come!

Anything new or exciting to look forward to in your life?

Daddy's Lentil & Chorizo Soup

Don't underestimate the comforting nostalgia found in food. 

I used to have lentejas, or lentil soup in English, at school but I didn't particularly rave about them back then. Then Daddy made this recipe at home and BANG I was immediately transported back to my 17 year old school-uniform-and-knee-high-socks-wearing days. 

The arrival of Autumn is upon us which means snuggles in front of the fire in our onesies eating a big bowl of hearty soup. It also marks the start of a new chapter in my life. I'm packing up, moving out and starting a new job in England. 

So I'm taking this recipe with me for when I'm missing Spain and I literally can't feel my fingers and my toes and the thought of sun warming my skin seems impossible. 

It might not be the exact same Spanish recipe... but it's Daddy's and it's pretty darn good!

About B

My name is Charlotte. A Spanglish adventurer who loves food, cooking and travelling.

I was born in Málaga, Spain, but my parents are British.
Not only that, one is Welsh and one is English. So can you see I'm a little confused about where I'm from?

I'm a bit of a photography fanatic and needed a creative outlet to store all of my weird and beautiful photos, so I started blogging.

I have since become a little bit addicted to blogging.

I hope you enjoy reading my virtual diary as much as I love writing it and filling all these pages with my stories. 

I'm currently based on the Costa del Sol whilst I study towards my masters, so please feel free to leave me a comment as I would love to hear what you think or if you would like any information about life in Spain, I would love to help!

But as my Mummy says: if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!

Guacamole

Everyone needs a good party trick.

Some might touch their nose with their tongues, show off an impressive acrobatic trick or tell a funny joke.

Mine is Guacamole.

It makes an appearance at almost every dinner party we ever have at home. I whip it up about ten minutes before everyone arrives and is always met with uuhhs and aaahs of admiration.

Because nothing beats fresh Guacamole. NOTHING.

I'm a big fan of the 'making it at home' foods rather than 'store bought' ready meals.

Not only are meal times more exciting, but when you make it yourself it tastes inifinitely better!

Guacamole is surprisingly easy to make and tastes so much better than any Guacamole you will ever find in the supermarket. 

Dinner at Antonio's

Being away from Spain for extended periods of times makes me nostalgic for all things Spanish.

Especially when you FaceTime your parents sitting in 40ºC whilst you are wrapped up from head to toe in warm clothes, it's raining outside and it's August in England.

After a little research and endless days yearning for some fried calamares and gambas pil pil, I found Antonio's on TripAdvisor.

A kind Spanish expat named Antonio had opened up his own restaurant in Fareham serving the delights of Spanish cuisine right on the High Street's door.

It had some pretty good reviews and some authentic-looking-Spanish-food photos so my chap and I decided to go there for some early dinner on Saturday evening.

After about twenty minutes in the car, a few wrong turns and a few crossed words, we arrived.

We got a nice warm welcome from a nice man whom I assume was Antonio, who showed us to our table. 

*we later found out this was Carlos, but we met the actual Antonio too!

Our little tummies were rumbling and we couldn't decide what to have for starters.

So we ordered three.

Gambas al alajillo (garlic prawns), fried calamares and fried whitebait with alioli (garlic mayonnaise)

This is my 'hurry up and take the blinking photo, I want to dive in to this bowl of prawns' face.

For mains I had the solomillo de cerdo (pork) with melted cheese and tomato sauce and a biiiig helping of vegetables of course.

Oh it was heaven and the sauce reminded me of home!

He ordered the seafood spaghetti.

Not exactly Spanish but... it was filled with calamares and seafood and prawns so I will let him off (this time).

We waited an eternity for our dessert order to be taken during which time conversation got a bit silly...

Or maybe that was just me!

Eventually we skipped our usual Amaretto and Baileys fling and opted for a Ben and Jerry's ice cream affair at home instead.

I skipped, hopped (and tripped) my way back to the car, positively stuffed to the brim. 

The food and atmosphere is fantastic at Antonio's but I do think the food lacked a little bit of seasoning. We didn't even get salt and pepper on the table and the place got quite busy even to ask for some! 

I definitely want to go back though and savour their delicious tapas lunch menu. 

See you there?