May Adventures

We are back with another installment of May Adventures! May was jam packed full of food, travel and a whole lotta margaritas!

MAY ADVENTURES!

This month was super busy, and super fun! If you follow our IG account, you'll know that the biggest thing to happen in May was our honeymoon! Finally, we got around to taking our well deserve break, spending two weeks away in Mexico and Cuba.

I am going to give you a write up on Mexico, but I'll give you a lil' sneaky insight into what we did, where we went and most importantly, what we drank!

MEXICO ||

Mexico was amazing, and by far the best part of our holiday! We spent our time in Playa del Carmen, on the Yucatan Peninsula and spend a week relaxing, reading, swimming, exploring, getting stuck in mad rain storms and eating with the locals.

I absolutely adored Playa del Carmen. I heard mixed reviews about it, yes it's touristy, but we opted to stay in an Air Bnb which was a total game changer.

Our Air BnB was set back from the popular 5th Avenue, and had a rooftop pool which was uh-mazing!

The best thing though, is that we weren't forced to eat in a hotel restaurant, which I assume would have happened, had we paid for an all-inclusive hotel.

We found some super chill, local cafe's with awesome vibes and felt like we got more of a 'local' experience!

Aside from eating, we explored the town, (I) bought a ton of beautiful fabrics, clothes, shoes and other little knick knacks, and of course, went on some little 'Clegg' Adventures.

If you didn't know, Adam and I are obsessed with bikes, (we have 8 in total between USA and Australia), and make it a mission to find bikes in every new place we visit! In true Clegg form, we hired bikes and cruised to the local beaches, and up and down the town.

We also went on a day tour to Chichen Itza - the Mayan ruin on the Yucatan which was incredible! Despite the fact we got stuck in an epic rain storm (with thunder and lightning), we were in awe of the ruins.

Probably the best day we had though, was our little adventure to the Jardin del Eden Cenote. If you're unfamiliar with Cenotes, they are underground swimming holes that usually have crystal clear water and really cool marine life. Basically it's a giant, cold, reef like outdoor swimming pool and it was AMAZING!

We also got to practice our Spanish, by catching a local 'collectivo' to the Cenote, a big win for us considering we are Spanish speaking amateurs!

I am going to do a more detailed post on Playa del Carmen for you guys, so if you're interested in what to see, and do, then keep posted!

CUBA ||

I had such high hopes for Cuba, and unfortunately was extremely disappointed. I try to keep THCK super positive, which is why I'm not going to be doing a write up of Cuba in the future.

In a nutshell, Cuba was difficult. It was hard to find a lot of tourist information. We would have liked to have booked a day tour, but couldn't find a trustworthy company. It was super expensive, ie we were paying American prices for sub-standard food. The people were mostly nice, but we were harassed a lot in the street from people wanting to come into their shops and restaurants, so bad that someone followed us at 9pm for three blocks before we could get rid of them.

I just found that we were scammed and ripped off a lot, and the level of harassment from people gave me anxiety every time I went outside. It wasn't a very relaxing place. In saying that however, we did only go to Havana, so I imagine the rest of Cuba is different.

Oh and I got food poisoning! It was an interesting 24 hours to say the least!

On the positive side, Cuba had excellent mojitos and the music was fantastic! The buildings were beautiful and it was so full of history! And of course, you can't forget the classic cars!

For every good experience in Cuba, we probably had one or two mediocre experiences, but Mexico definitely made up for that!

IN OTHER NEWS ||

ON THE BLOG ||

I've had some ups and downs this month with the blog. While I posted frequently, I felt being away for two weeks kind of took a toll on my traffic and engagement with people. The month started out super strong, with me smashing my last month's traffic goals, but I am definitely excited to have some down time over the summer to really get my ass into action and get some awesome content for you guys!

I launched my new section of the blog 'Come Dine with Me' which I am excited about getting up and running this month. We are so passionate about cooking for people, and really want you guys to feel the same way which is why I started a section specifically dedicated to entertaining, meal plans and helpful tips on how to entertain for a crowd!

I have so many awesome ideas that I can't wait to share with you!

MAY POSTS

Grapefruit Lime Margaritas - Cinco de Mayo celebrations!

Lemonade Scones - a classic British sweet treat with a twist!

'Come Dine with Me' - woohoo!

Chili Chocolate Ice Cream - no churn baby!

If you haven't seen it already, I guest posted on my gals Jess' blog 'Plays Well with Butter' with a beautiful shredded chicken spring roll recipe! Check it out!

We also sent out May's bonus recipe for an epic butternut squash, ham and mascarpone pizza! Remember to subscribe to the blog if you want your own bonus monthly recipe and updates on THCK! (sign up on the right side bar!)

FOOD ||

Food, the most important part of the day/my life.

While I can't think of any new food places we visited in Portland, I can definitely say something about the food we ate overseas!

TACOS!!!!!!!!!!!

Nuff said.

Nah, but seriously I ate some of  THE best tacos/Mexican food I've eaten in Playa.

THe first night we were there, our Air Bnb hosts took us to a local restaurant and I nearly died in food heaven. The tacos were so good...SO GOOD! Oh, and hello grande margaritas! I didn't realise that 'grande' also meant 'let's basically free pour the tequila to ensure maximum drunkeness'. #nocomplaints

We also realised that Mexican people do amazing breakfasts, excellent juices and coffee that is really good, and that is saying something given my coffee snobiness!

The Cuban food was interesting, it was very basic - meat, rice, beans and salad but we had some pretty good meals, and of course, the MOJITOS! Urgh, they were the best. We went to the Havana Rum museum and stocked up on Havana club for Mojitos and other cocktails!

LISTENING ||

Adam's monthly Spotify list was pretty good last month! We've had some new music from RAC and Asgeir. I've actually been loving listening to older classics however, like Queen and MJ.

I've also been trying to listen to more podcasts lately and have been loving Nicole Culver's podcasts on turning blogging into a business. She is a fountain of wealth and I'm really excited to be taking part in her Summer Blogging Camp.

READING ||

Don't judge me, but I've just finished re-reading the entire Harry Potter series for what is probably the 20th time! Yes, I am twenty-seven years old, no I will not stop reading Harry Potter.

It doesn't count so much as reading, but we've both been trying to learn more Spanish by practicing Duolingo and using Google translate. Duolingo has taught me how to say 'Luis is a duck', and 'the cat sits on the monkey' but hey, a little Spanish is better than none!

DOING ||

Apart from travel, we've been busy playing football, working, puppy sitting for a friend and generally just trying to get through the dreary week of what seems to be endless rain!

Adam was robbed. His bike pedals were stolen, which is a HUGE inconvenience. Seriously, who the fuck steals bike pedals? We noticed them missing when we got home.

We are also in the search for a new apartment too! Updates to come later!

NEXT MONTH ||

With school out, I will have a lot more time to focus on the blog, and I'm hoping to get things cracking over the next three months! I'm dreaming of long summer nights grilling, drinking wine, and chilling with friends! I'll be bringing out some entertaining tips, and my first fresh menu plan for you guys!

I'm thinking of salads, steaks, fresh fruit, and lazy weekends spent outside hiking, mountain biking and adventuring! We are heading to Bend for a food festival at the end of June, and am hoping to squeeze in a quick mountain bike ride.

So that is it for my folks! Keep posted for more detailed updates on Mexico! Much love - x x

Over to You!

It's been a while! What have YOU been up to? what are you listening to? reading? eating? travelling to?