Zayna_Shaikh

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7 tips on having the perfect girls holiday

7 tips on having the perfect girls holiday

Pretty much all of my holidays are with my girls as we try to get away every few months! We’ve been on just under 10 holidays together we really get each other! There’s a saying that goes you really know someone when you travel with them and for me that is incredibly true so here are my 7 tips on how to have the perfect girls holiday! 1. Pack smartly We love a cheap getaway so we’re always on…

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Spending 3 days in Marrakech, Morocco

3 days in Marrakech, Morocco: How I spent it!

For the past few years, I’ve had a major freak-out ahead of my birthday at the thought of getting older, but this year I wanted to change that so I did what I do best… travel!

Instead of stressing about getting older, I was excited about visiting somewhere new and experiencing a different culture.

Morocco has been on my list for yearsss and given that it’s a very popular holiday destination for…

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Moni Malawi 🇲🇼

Moni Malawi: The tourist side of the country known as the 'Warm Heart of Africa' 🇲🇼

I know I say this about every place I go to but I loved Malawi ❤

Everywhere you turn, you’re surrounded by something beautiful. Be that the famous Mount Soche, Lake Malawi, Liwonde National Park or even just a forest of trees standing tall in the African landscape.

The deal✈

Dates: 17th – 26th June

Flights: Ethiopian Airlines

Hotel: Malawi Sun Hotel

Weather: It was winter when we went so the…

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Nottingham: Farro’s Grillhouse

Food review of Farro's Grillhouse in Nottingham

Birmingham is flooded with restaurants so last weekend my girls and I decided to venture out a little and try Farro’s in Nottingham.

It took us around an hour to get there and it was busy on arrival but we got our table within 10 minutes.

We were pretty hungry so ordered nachos as a starter alongside our main meal.

The nachos were mehhh – a positive would be that they use toasted tortillas and…

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Birmingham: Milan Indian Cuisine

Birmingham: Milan Indian Cuisine

Away from the hustle bustle of the main city centre and the ‘Balti Triangle’ (Ladypool Rd/ Stratford Rd/Stoney Lane), Milan stands on the corner of Newhall Street in Jewellery Quarter. It’s in good company as Asha’s, Lasan’s and Itihaas are all very close by.

Milan has been open for 20 years and has won awards for its food so I was glad when my friend Bal suggested we go for her birthday! There…

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Hope for Humanity deployment: Malawi

Hope for Humanity deployment: Malawi

This blog has taken me a long time to write because this trip was unlike my other holiday’s and meant a lot so I wanted to find the right words – I still don’t think I’ve been able to capture my emotions entirely but I hope they come through a little.

In July, I went to Malawi with Hope for Humanity on a charity aid deployment. There are plenty of charities who are all doing amazing work but for…

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Ciao Rome 🇮🇹

NEW BLOG ALERT: A long weekend in Rome 🇮🇹

Well as the saying goes ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ and if I can give you some advice, it would be DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO ALL THE TOURISTY THINGS IN ONE DAY 😂😂!

We did the Vatican City tour and the Colosseum on the same day and we were DEAD by the end of the day.

Rome is a beautiful city and we had a really really good holiday!

We picked the perfect weekend to go as the weather was absolutely…

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Birmingham: Alaturka Turkish Cuisine

Birmingham: Alaturka Turkish Cuisine

Sooo is anybody else obsessed with Turkey at the moment?!

I think pretty much everyone I know is watching a Turkish drama – thanks to Ertugrul on Netflix my dad has become the biggest geek when it comes to all things Turkey and Ottoman Empire. He’s so obsessed that any convo we have isn’t complete till he’s told at least one story or anecdote from the Ottoman era. Crazy!

As a result when he…

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Manchester: Scene Indian Street Kitchen

Manchester: Scene Indian Street Kitchen

Pani Puri

DELICIOUS!!

If I had to review Scene Indian Street Kitchen in one word then that would be it because the food is delicious! I’ve been wanting to go for aaages so my friends decided to take me for my birthday and I’m already looking forward to going back.

In the last few years, a lot of Indian street-food restaurants have opened up across the UK and whilst it’s not easy nailing the…

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Tanzania 2012: Family Bonds🇹🇿

Something I wrote a few years back, thought I would share it. Tanzania 2012: Family Bonds🇹🇿

A bit of a different blog from me today, thought I would share my other love in life!

In 2012, I went on my first ever charity aid deployment to the beautiful Tanzania. I signed up to this project with my friends in which we had to fundraise £15,000 between us which would be spent on various projects in Tanzania. Whilst there, I wrote this blog as I was affected deeply by what I saw so thought I…

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Netflix: What I've been watching

The hits and misses I've been watching on @NetflixUK in the past month or so! Yes I am addicted to #Netflix

Yes I don’t have a life

Yes I watch a lot of Netflix

Yes I need to get out more

Yes mum this is why I’m always in my room

Basically, I watch a lot of Netflix so thought I would answer all the questions that will come to your mind whilst reading this before I even start😂😂

People are always looking for something new to watch so thought I would share the shows I’ve been watching, let me know if…

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Manchester: The Crystal Maze Live Experience

Why @CrystalMazeHQ in #Manchester is an absolute must!! So much fun!

I’m just going to get straight to it… YOU HAVE TO DO THE CRYSTAL MAZE LIVE EXPERIENCE🔮

Growing up there were loads of amazing gameshows on TV from Gladiators to Blind Date to Dale’s Supermarket Sweep. One of the best shows though had to have been The Crystal Maze so when my friends and I saw that you could actually play it, we knew this was something we had to do.

They have two different…

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Budapest: Hungry in Hungary

Hungry in Hungary: Where to and not to eat in #Budapest

In our three days in Budapest, we ate at Italian, Mexican and Thai restaurants but not at a Hungarian place 🤔🤔🤔

Firstly, there are hardly any Hungarian restaurants (but an Italian every 10 steps) and secondly they eat a lot of meat and stews  which obvz isn’t going to be halal so we didn’t even attempt to look for one.

il Classico Italian

On the first day we ate at il Classico Italian. I ordered…

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Szia Budapest🇭🇺

Store BUDAFCKNPEST

OH MY GOD BUDAPEST WAS FREEZING❄️🌨️

It was a cold I’ve never ever felt before and at one point my hair was literally frozen! Whenever we would get into a restaurant, cafe or back to our apartment, my knees would hurt like an 80 year old granny. I’m guessing that’s the reason we got such a cheap deal because nobody in the right mind ventures to Budapest at the end of Feb when…

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Birmingham: Damascena Coffee House

Looking for somewhere to eat in #Birmingham? @Damascena_UK is a coffee shop you MUST try out! Read my blog to find out why...

I’ve been craving good Middle-Eastern food for so long that I just had to give in to my temptation on Sunday afternoon and go to Damascena for lunch. For this visit, Kaazi (my ride or die!) and I decided to visit the relatively-new branch in Birmingham city centre. Previously, I’ve been to the Damascena in Moseley village which was nice and quaint but from what I remember it’s quite small and…

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Leicester: Fernandez Grill House

What I thought of @FernandezGrill in Leicester!

‘Let’s do something!?’ ‘Yeah shall we go eat?? But I want something different’ ‘Me too, but I don’t know what! Where shall we go?’ ‘Let’s have a look and we’ll decide’ Who can relate to this convo ALL THE TIME?? When you wanna go out with the crew but  don’t know where?!??! A few weeks ago we decided to go to Fernandez Grill House in Leicester. The menu looked good online and I asked my friend…

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Why is packing so much stress?

Can anyone relate to the stresses of packing a suitcase or am I just stupid?

As much as I love travelling, I HATE PACKING! I hate it even more when there’s only a hand luggage allowance so I have to try and fit everything into a tiny suitcase! I wish I was one of those ‘chuck four outfits’ in and be done kinda people but I am the complete opposite! I always convince myself that I need a few more things just in case -which end up resulting in an overflowing suitcase and a…

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