Natalie Lamb and the IWA journey to Toronto

I was fortunate enough to obtain a travel grant to attend the 2024 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition in Toronto, Canada, due to my position of Chair of the IWA YWP UK and the voluntary efforts I have put into IWA over the last 6 years (you can read more about my work with IWA here). 

Rather than using the grant to book direct flights from the UK to Toronto and a hotel while at the conference, I decided to make the trip an adventure and, fingers crossed, reduce my emissions at the same time. I used that same amount of money (and actually, quite a bit less) to go on a little overland East Canada road trip.

In the end, I travelled Manchester to Dublin to Halifax to Québec City to Montréal to Ottawa to Toronto to Niagara Falls to Halifax to London for a grand total of <£800. I travelled over 2500 km overland using 3 trains, 3 coaches, countless underground trains and a replacement bus service from 3 to 20 August 2024. I slept in University Halls, 3 x 6 bed hostel dorms, 1 x 10 bed hostel dorm, 1 x 12 bed hostel dorm, one >20 hour sleeper train, an old prison and had more than one nap on a Megabus!

My efforts were greatly rewarded! During my adventure I got to have a pint of Guinness at Temple Bar, ate my own body weight in poutine, hiked waterfalls even bigger than Niagara, enjoyed a solo rooftop spa, had a sleepover in an old prison (after just doing a ghost walk around it), shot a puck (badly) at the Hockey Hall of Fame, rolled my own maple taffy on ice and caught a rainbow at Niagara Falls. 

When I finally arrived in Toronto, my colleagues were bemused at me walking into the welcome ceremony on Day One of the conference with my giant hiking backpack. But I had a smile on my face, bigger even than my backpack!

This opportunity would not have been possible, had it not been for the kindness and generosity of the IWA UK and for my efforts working with the IWA YWP UK. I cannot thank the IWA UK enough and I strongly recommend volunteering with them! I am going to do all I can to ensure that similar opportunities are provided to other young water professionals. 

If you are nosey and want to check out my other blog posts, I have one of the whole trip here and then separate posts for each location I visited, including: Halifax, Québec City, Montréal, Ottawa and Toronto.

#IWA #Glasgow #WorldWaterCongress #roadtoglasgow #glasgow2026

Natalie Lamb and the IWA Journey

The IWA has provided me with many development opportunities to date. The first ever conference I presented at was the IWA UK Young Water Professional Conference in 2017. I was fortunate to receive the prize of “Best Presenter 2017”, the prize for which being an opportunity to present at the IWA YWP Eastern European Conference 2018 in Zagreb, my first international presentation. I was so impressed with the focused specialism of the event, as well as the opportunities it gave me as a young water professional, that I decided that the IWA is an organisation I should be a part of. I have used this membership since for a multitude of opportunities, from improving my mental resilience to helping the environment through beach cleans.

I first began volunteering with the IWA in 2018, helping to organise two IWA UK Online Twitter Competitions for the IWA UK Young Water Professional Conference. I formally joined the IWA UK Committee in 2020, with the intention of helping the IWA UK help to build on its online presence. During the ongoing pandemic, social media was of increasing importance to help connect people. I was so happy it worked well and that we were able to work together to give researchers the opportunity to share their work, despite the ongoing pandemic. I was also heavily involved with the Water Industry Film Shorts competition. This video competition aimed to build awareness about the challenges facing the world’s water systems ahead of COP26, tell water stories, help propel the water industry into the digital age, and show how the research community drives us towards solutions. The finalist’s video were shown in an award ceremony, which I co-hosted, at the 2021 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition. I also Chaired the IWA YWP UK Conference 2022, recruiting a group of 15 volunteers who I led to organise the conference, held in South Wales.

I obtained a bursary to attend 2022 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition in Denmark, through the first physical World Water Camp, a unique opportunity for students with an interest in current water challenges to meet and network with other students from around the globe in a strong learning community. This “conference within a conference” opportunity selected 50 students from around the globe to participate in lectures, field trips and extracurricular tasks during the congress, as well as a three month online course around the conference. At the camp, I was grateful to win a prize for Best Engagement. I was also fortunate to be selected to attend 2024 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition in Canada, through World Water Camp. This was a global opportunity for young water professionals aged 35 and under to build an international network among students sharing an interest in future water and to obtain an international perspective on water themes and the needs of different water stakeholders. I was also only able to travel to attend the camp and the 2024 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition in Toronto, Canada, due to my kindness of the IWA UK, my position of Chair of the IWA YWP UK and the voluntary efforts I have put into IWA over the last 6 years.

I became Chair of the IWA YWP UK in 2024 and was elected to become Global YWP Chapter Coordinator of the IWA Young Water Professionals Steering Committee 2024-2026. Through these roles I plan to enhance the integration of young people at the 2026 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition in Glasgow. To achieve this aim, I have written and refined a Terms of Reference for IWA YWP UK and will be holding interviews to recruit for YWP to join this committee. With this new committee, I intend to run my own World Water Camp, to sponsor and enable future young water professionals to attend the Glasgow IWA World Congress, as I myself have benefitted from this programme. 

#IWA #Glasgow #WorldWaterCongress #roadtoglasgow #glasgow2026

Natalie Lamb and the travel post: Canada road trip

I was fortunate enough to obtain a grant to attend a conference in Toronto, Canada. Instead of booking direct flights and a hotel, I used that same amount of money (and actually, quite a bit less) to go on a little overland East Canada road trip. I travelled Halifax to Québec City to Montréal to Ottawa to Toronto to Halifax. I have this blog post about the road trip experience itself but if you want further details on each location, I recommend you checking out the individual blog posts I have for each travel stop.

 

Short Version

• 02/08/24 1h flight Manchester to Dublin £60.76
• 03/08/24 6h8 flight Dublin to Halifax £395.99 return
• 04/08/25 19h43 train Halifax to Québec £121.89
• 08/08/24 3h8 train Québec to Montreal £31.64
• 08/08/24 2h1 train Montreal to Ottawa £41.07
• 11/08/24 5h50 bus Ottawa to Toronto £21.35
• 17/08/24 1h30 bus to and from Toronto and Niagra Falls £52.90
• 18/08/24 2h08 flight Toronto to Halifax £60.99
• 19/08/24 6h flight Halifax to London Gatwick £395.99 return
• Total £786.69

 

Long Version

Location 1 Dublin, Ireland

I started my road trip by flying 1h from Manchester to Dublin. In Dublin I had just enough time to visit the Guiness Factory Tour, have a pint of Guinness at Temple Bar and eat some soda bread before going to sleep in time for my 6h flight Dublin to Halifax. I really liked Dublin as a city, it had old-town charm but also so much vibrancy and life, with live music pouring out of every venue. I definitely made a strong plan to return.

• Travel:
• 02/08/24 12:10-1:10pm 1h Flight Manchester to Dublin £60.76
• 02/08/24 1:35pm-2:19pm Dublin Express bus to Dublin City Centre £8.80
• 03/08/24 5:40am-6:21am Dublin Express bus to Airport £8.80
• 03/08/24 9:30am to 11:38am (in local times) 6h8 Flight Dublin to Halifax £395.99 return
• Accommodation: 1 x night at Generator Dublin £50.70
• What I did: Guinness Factory Tour, Temple Bar

 

Location 2 Halifax, Nova Scotia

Next up was the official start of my Canadian adventure, as I arrived into Halifax. It was almost like a seaside, just without the beach! There were the nice colourful buildings by the water, everyone was chilling on the waterfront with a coffee or going for a run by the water. It was pretty chilled out. There were much rougher areas outside of the harbourfront but it’s generally a great place to go if you fancy a chill few days.

• Travel: 03/08/24 4:15-5:03pm bus Halifax Airport to Halifax Downtown £4.80
• Accommodation: 1 x night at Halifax Backpackers Hostel £33.67
• What I did: ate out at the brightly coloured huts near Salt Yard Social, went to the Halifax Seaport Farmers' Market, had a "fairy latte", ate a donaire (a gyro/doner kebab but a very popular food in Halifax), went for an excursion to George’s Island, tasted beer at a local distillery

 

Location 3 Train

I took the sleeper train The Ocean, to get me all the way from Halifax to Québec at a journey time of over 20 hours! And I took it with just a seat (not a cabin) to save on expenses. I recommend checking the train before you even check the flights because there was only one every 6-7 days! It was so much nicer than trains in the UK though, with free drinking water available, plenty of leg room and I had no-one sitting next to me. I didn’t sleep so much but it was free accommodation as I needed to travel anyway. I even had a “bus replacement service” from SFOY to QBEC but it was a luxury-type shuttle bus (just make sure it is going to the station you intend to arrive at because there may be multiple!).

•  Travel: 04/08/25 – 05/08/25 11:30am to 7:10am (local time) 19h43 train Halifax to Québec £121.89
• Accommodation: 1 x night on the train

 

Location 4 Québec City, Québec

Québec City was stop number two for me in Canada. I found Québec City to be very Parisian, very European. The architecture was beautiful. Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, which is the giant castle in every picture of the city that you see, is like a real life fairy castle. There were cobbled streets, artists painting caricatures on the streets, artwork hanging left, right and centre. It was my favourite place I visited in Canada on my road trip and I cannot recommend a visit enough. The only drawback is that it was heaving with tourists in August! The beauty of Québec City is not at all a well kept secret!

• Travel: 08/08/24 5:29am-8:37am 3h8 train Québec Gare du Palais to Montreal Central Station £31.64
• Accommodation: 3 x nights at Auberge Internationale de Québec £96.98
• What I did: Old Town, various views of Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, explored some very Instagrammable streets, a long walk to see some beautiful views, seeing the fireworks, visiting an almost private rooftop spa at Sky Spa and a hike and cable car at Montmorency Falls.

 

Location 5 Montréal, Québec

Montréal was stop number three for me in Canada. The overall vibe for me in Montréal was that it seemed like a big city. The port area seemed almost add odds with the city. There seemed to be quite a clear divide to me between the touristy parts and the city parts. There was plenty to eat and do but it could sometimes be very far away so I would take public transport next time instead of just walking.

• Travel: 08/08/24 6:50pm-8:51pm 2h1 train Montreal to Ottawa £41.07
• Accommodation: None £0
• What I did: La Grande Roue de Montréal (the Ferris wheel), Mont Royal for some great views of the city, a walk around the Old Port, saw the beautiful rainbow coloured building that is The Montréal Convention Centre, Atwater Market, Jean-Talon Market, ate a maple sugar pie from Succeries de L’erable and ate a bagel at Fairmont Bagels  

 

Location 6 Ottawa, Ontario

Next up on the travel itinerary was Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. The overall feeling in Ottawa surprised me. I had previously visited Toronto so I (wrongly) assumed with Ottawa being the capital, that it would feel bigger and even more city-like than Toronto. Ottawa actually has the 6th greatest population (after Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton). Queen Victoria way back in 1857 actually chose Ottawa as Canada's capital because of its defensible location. I actually found Ottawa to be kind of cute and compact. I really liked the Bywater Market area and it was chock full of beautiful Victorian architecture. Many Canadian questioned my visit there and recommended I go elsewhere but I’m glad I stuck to my guns! If only for my amazing accommodation, the Ottawa Jail Hostel, which I can’t recommend enough for people who like a spooky museum. 

• Travel:
• 11/08/24 Uber to Ottawa bus stop because it was far away! £11.37
• 11/08/24 2:30pm-8:29pm 5h50 bus Ottawa to Toronto £21.35
• Accommodation: 3 x nights at Ottawa Jail Hostel £68.13
• What I did: Ottawa Jail Hostel tour, Bywater Market, ate a butter tart from Rocky Mountain Chocolate, photographed the Ottawa sign, saw the spider at the National Gallery of Canada, wandered around the beautiful different buildings at Parliament Hill and saw more fireworks

 

Location 7 Toronto, Ontario

Toronto feels like the real capital, like a giant sprawling city. I feel like Toronto is properly lived in, with most people seeming like they were there for work, rather than for tourism. I feel like there is not so much to do there as a tourist because of that though. It’s really cool that there is the underground PATH system- I feel like you could totally miss it if you have not heard of it. It is a great system for when the city is both incredibly hot and incredibly cold.

• Travel: 17/08/24 bus from Toronto to Niagara Falls £29.44
• Accommodation: 6 x nights at Toronto University £230.35
• What I did: Mostly just visited my conference!, took photos with the Canada sign, visited Toronto Island, Hockey Hall of Fame, went on a Tour Guys free graffiti walking tour, scuba dived in Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, visited a Harry Potter bar, explored the Historic Distillery District, read at the beach at Sugar Beach Park, saw the Canadian Walk of Fame and ate a Peameal Bacon Sandwich at Carousal Bakery at St. Lawrence Market.

 

Location 8 Niagara Falls, Ontario

After my conference was over, I had a spare day before my flight back to Halifax but I felt like I had explored a lot of Toronto and was ready for something different. I booked a bus from Toronto Train Station to Niagara Falls for the day and a second bus that would drop me off straight at the airport, avoiding the Toronto traffic. Niagara Falls is such a beautiful place. I was so happy to see it with a rainbow! And I felt lucky but also very surprised to be able to roll my own maple taffy on ice (in August!) within Fallsview Casino Resort! This is for certain somewhere I would visit again and again, despite the tourism and tackiness.

•  Travel: 17/08/24 bus from Niagara Falls to Toronto Airport £23.46
• Accommodation: None £0
• What I did: viewed the falls, visited a vineyard (Tawse Winery) to try ice wine, the Hornblower Boat Tour, rolled my own maple taffy on ice in Fallsview Casino Resort, The Skylon Tower, Journey Beneath The Falls

 

Location 9 Halifax, Nova Scotia

I flew back to Halifax for the last couple of days on my Canadian adventure before then flying to London.

• Travel:
• 18/08/24 11:15pm-2:23am (local time) 2h08 flight Toronto to Halifax £60.99
• 18/08/24 taxi from Halifax airport to Halifax Downtown £24.84
• 19/08/24-20/08/24 11pm-9am (local time) 6h flight Halifax to London Gatwick £395.99 return
• Accommodation: 2 x nights at Atlantica Hotel Halifax £284.47

Natalie Lamb and the travel post: Málaga

I took a long weekend trip for the wedding of a friend who is from Alhama de Granada, a rural town in the mountains of the province of Granada in the South of Spain. This is the little road trip journey that I took, using public transport, around the dates of the wedding from Málaga  to Alhama de Granda to Torre del Mar and then back to Málaga.

Day One – Three: 2 nights in Málaga

First off was a flight from East Midlands Airport to Costa del Sol 5:40am-8:35am. A 13 minute walk later and we were waiting for the C1 train (which run every 20 minutes) to take us the 13 minutes and 4 stops to Málaga CA. You could pay for the train on the Renfe Cercanias app (tickets valid for up to 2h after purchase) or by using a contactless card, both for a cost of €1.80. I had plenty of time to take the train because the trains run until 12:54 at night (and they start up again at 6:44am). 

I stayed at Coeo Pod Hostel for two nights (€153.97). The hotel was the perfect location, right in the middle of town, although the air con did not work and, as the name implies, the rooms (or pods) were very small. The breakfast though was delicious and well worth the price. Every day we got included a hot drink, a juice, a small pot of fruit, yogurt or honey, muesli and a giant toasties serino ham pesto sandwich with all the trimmings. 

Four things I recommend doing in Málaga:

1. Visit Málaga Roman Theatre, a beautiful ancient Roman theatre. It is right in the centre of town and is completely free to visit. A great place to have a sit and do some serious people watching. It is closed Mondays though. 

2. A trip to Alcazaba (lower down the hill, a type of palace) and the Gibralfaro Castle (at the top of the hill). You might as well visit both because it is a cot of €5.50 to enter the two historic buildings. Entrance is free on Sunday after 2pm. They are open 9am-8pm. The castle is up a gigantic hill! But it does offer a beautiful viewpoint and is an especially great place to watch the sun set. 

3. Have some wine and tapas at Marcato Central de Atarazanas. If you arrive too early for tapas (the market is open 8am-3pm, with the fish market being shut on Mondays and the markets shut on Sundays), it is still worth a visit for the beautiful stained glass windows. If tapas are not your thing, the market is great for fish, meat and vegetables. 

4. If you have missed out on Marcato Central de Atarazanas, I instead recommend the waterfront market  Paseo del Muelle Uno. This market is very touristy, made up for the cruise ships, so are full of gifts and is quite expensive compared with other similar markets. It does make for a nice night market to wander around the bright lights, facing out to sea in the dark. While there, you can also see El Cubo, the rainbow cube, which is very pretty to see and actually hides an underground art museum, Centre Pompidou.

Day Three – Five: 2 nights in Alhama de Granada

On Friday I took a train from Málaga to Plaza Mayor, a shopping centre, were some very kind wedding guests were giving me a lift to Alhama de Granada. Once arrived, I checked into my hotel for the next two nights, Casa Rural La Seguiriya (€141.08). This was a really lovely hotel and I really recommend booking. If you book direct, you get breakfast included for free (coffee, orange juice, ham, cheese, toast, butter, jam, egg, tomato, cucumber and a muffin). It had a beautiful balcony/patio area with amazing views off the cliff face.

While in Alhama de Granada, I did a long walk around the Monumento Natural de los Tajos for some beautiful views.

Day Five - Six: 1 night in Torre Del Mar 

There was no direct bus from Alhama de Granada back to Málaga. You had to connect via Granada really to make the trip. It was also quite a long bus ride. Instead, I decided to break up the journey by travelling to somewhere new, Torre Del Mar for a little beach trip. A terrifying bus 2:50-4:25pm took me from Alhama de Granada to Torre Del Mar for €4.44. There was only one bus a day and they seem to operate on their own time but there were lots of people waiting so I knew I hadn’t already missed it. The mountain roads were very small and the mountains very tall! Not the best if you get travel sick! 

I stayed at Hotel Torremar, which was close to the beach (£75.27). The beaches were very nice and it was a cute little seaside area. I don’t think I would make this trip again though because Málaga itself has plentiful and equally as beautiful beaches. 

Day Six – Day Seven 1 night in Málaga

A bus 3:15-3:55pm back from Torre Del Mar to Málaga Port was quite difficult to work out (€2.62). I could not tell which bus stop it was leaving from and there were a lot of buses and confused people! I actually ended up getting on the wrong bus which was slower, but I was just happy it was going in the right direction! 

The capsule hotel this time was Futurotel Malagueta and I strongly recommend it for anyone who loves technology (£33.28). It had a very futuristic design and even a Japanese toilet! It was very cool to try out all the different facilities.

The next day, I took a Bolt taxi to the airport for my flight 5:45-7:40am. 

Costs

• Flights £48.23
• Public transport £10.88- I booked buses on the Alsa website
• Taxi from hotel to airport £19.32
• Food £77.11 – there was a lot of tapas, a lot of wine and a lot of croquetas! 
• Attractions £3.34
• Hotels £361.40 / 2 = £180.70pp
• Total £339.58

Future Visits

If I went again to this area of Spain, I would definitely head to a lot more museums in Málaga. They were so cheap and there was such a diversity of them. The Music Museum definitely caught my eye.

El Caminitio del Ray would be on my list too. This is a narrow hiking path known for it’s 2 mile stretch of man-made boardwalks and glass footbridges that hug the sides of sheer cliffs and hang over river gorges. There is a 3-hour hike which takes you on paths 350 feet above the Guadalhorce River, offering stunning views of the Gaitanes Canyon (Desfiladero de los Gaitanes), 8:30am-2pm Tuesday to Sunday.

Natalie Lamb and the travel post: Romania

I had heard about Therme Bucuresti, Europe's largest wellness and relaxation centre, but that the spa comes at a fraction of the costs of a regular spa in the UK, from many social media sources. I was haggled up from an extreme day trip to a proper holiday, by my partner, something I am very grateful for because we had a wonderful time travelling around Romania by train. 

In the end, we travelled from Bucharest to Sinai to Brașov and then back to Romania. The below is what we did and what I recommend for other Romanian adventurers. 

Day One: Sunday 2 March. Birmingham to Bucharest.

I took a 3h15 Ryanair flight from Birmingham International Airport (BHX) to Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport (OTP), arriving into Bucharest for 11:35am in local time. On arriving, there was a number 100 bus waiting just outside the airport to take passengers to the city centre, a journey of 30 minutes at a cost of 51p.

After arriving into the city, the first stop was for some grub. I went directly to Caru’ cu bere and I strongly recommend. The building is vaulted in a Neo-Gothic style, decorated with flowers, stained glass, mosaics and adorned with beautiful woods. It looked like you were eating inside a church! I recommend booking because it can get quite busy- I had maybe a 40 minute standing wait for a table. But the food was wonderful, with plenty of traditional foods and their own locally brewed beer on draught. There was an additional surprise too, with a quartet of string instruments serenading the restaurant! A really bustling and beautiful environment. I got a local beer on draught and a traditional bean and smoked meat soup in a bread bowl for the grand total of £9.41!

After lunch, it was check in time. The accommodation sent me a message at 1:20pm with an access code for the front door. This was a nice surprise because it has said online that check in was 3pm. Unfortunately, due to you receiving a code to check in, there appeared to be no luggage storage available, despite it saying so online. The accommodation was very centrally located in old town, with great bus access too (8 minute walk) and decent train access (40 minute walk). It had the most amazing free-standing bath, bath robes and slippers supplied free of charge and a mini bar supplied with a couple of beers, a couple of Fantas, a couple of cokes and some snacks- all for free. The only disadvantage was noise from the street outside and the noise of running water whenever others used their facilities but the trick is to be so tired from adventuring that you don’t even notice!  

Bellies full and rucksacks empty, it was time for a little wander around Bucharest, a self-made walking tour. Included on the walk were: Palace of Parliament, CEC Palace, National Museum of Romanian History, Stavropoleos Church, Manuc Inn, Carturesti Carusel (an Instagrammable book shop), National Bank of Romania, University Square, Macca Villacross Passage, CCA, The Umbrella Passage (a narrow street with umbrellas suspended above you), Revolution Square, Royal Palace and Romanian Athenaeum.

My thoughts on Bucharest were that it is a very underrated place to visit. Despite having a rough itinerary planned, beautiful buildings I had not heard about, cropped up all over the place. It is a lived-in city and so naturally there is rubbish and graffiti but there was also a lot of beauty to be found too.  

• Hotel: Vilacrosse Boutique Inn
• Day One Spend: £20.62
• Bus 51p
• Lunch £9.41
• Cake and coffee £10.70

Day Two: Monday 3 March. Bucharest to Sinaia to Brașov.

A train 8:24am to 9:50am from Bucharest North to Sinaia kicked off the most intense travel day of the holiday. Thankfully, there was a Luca on what felt like every street to full the journey with cheap pretzels, coffee and assorted snacky bakery goodies.

The train experience in Romania overall was absolutely fine. The stations did not tell you about delays so I recommend making an account on CFR and booking your trains on here, the official train website. Through your booking, you could easily look up your train and see what delays are expected. On one train there was a 30 minute delay, while others ran to time. The trains had toilets available but did not seem to have facilities where you could purchase food or drinks. They had no wifi but the signal was strong throughout the journeys. The seats were comfortable and, at my time of travel, carriages were relatively quiet. It could be difficult to find the correct carriage (they had a piece of paper stuck to the inside with the carriage numbers on), especially if the train was awaiting additional carriages to be added. Tickets were inspected by officers on all the trains travelled on and inspectors wore very official and smart-looking uniforms. At one point, I was approached by a man with a clip board with ID attached to it and a photo of a child- this is a scam and he was asking for money. Say no firmly and he should walk away. The train journey could at times be more bumpy than trains in the UK but overall I found the experience quite similar, although much cheaper in Romania!  

On arrival into Sinaia, the first anticipated stop was the cable car up to the top of the mountain. I was following the road signs for “Sinaia Gondola” and promptly got us lost! These signs are for cars only and you will end up hiking half the mountain if you intend to follow them! Instead of “Gondola Sinaia”, head to “Telecabina Sinaia” (106100 Sinaia, Romania). There should be a steep incline from the station and then a flat walk through downtown, an overall walk time of 17 minutes and not a 40 minute hike up a mountain!

I purchased the gondola tickets online on the official website but it was a little confusing to know which was the correct ticket. I purchased the tickets “Sinaia-Carp Up&Down”. In Romanian, this was written as “Urcare+Coborare Sinaia-1400-2000 Carp”. This consisted of a first gondola from Sinaia to 1000-1400m (the mountain mid point) and then a second gondola from 1000-1400m to 14000-2000m (carp or the mountain peak). To me, the gondola I took looked identical to a cable car. I would recommend checking the Facebook page of the cable car company to see the opening hours because it opened hours before I had expected it to (from times on the official website) on the day I visited. One thing to note is that the tickets were very difficult to scan on the ticket machines. If possible, I would recommend printing the tickets. 

I thought the cable car journey was worth it because the views from the cars themselves were breath-taking. On the first cable car, it was a journey shared with many others but on the way back it was easy for us to take a solo cable car, which was nice- that alone made the journey to the top worth it. The view from the mountain itself however was better on the lower site than the top, just because of cloud cover on the day of travel. It was nice to sit at a restaurant on the top, huddled in the warm with a hot chocolate, watching the skiers and snowboarders take off. Both skiers and people there just for the views used the same cable cars. If going to the top, remember appropriate clothes and shoes for snowy weather! It was -6 on my visit! Also don’t forget sunglasses and suncream- even though it is so cold, it is blinding and the sun reflects strongly!

In addition to the cable car, in Sinaia another stop that was planned was to see Peleș Castle. I already knew it would be shut because it does not open on Mondays or Tuesdays, but I was disappointed to also find that it was being renovated on the outside. The castle was hidden behind scaffolding. The walk from the castle back to town via the photo spot for Peleș Castle and water viel was quite nice, however.

My overall view of Sinaia is that it is a pretty little mountain town. It is very hilly to wander around but the cable car makes for a nice trip and it is something a little different to do while in Romania. I would recommend it as a quick stop for a visit but not an overnight visit.

After a quick stop at Restaurant Snow, a highly rated restaurant in Sinaia (I especially recommend the papanași, which were giant doughnut-like Romanian deserts, delicious and far cheaper than they had been in Bucharest), we headed to our train 4:55-5:55pm Sinaia to Brașov.

Once in Brașov, after a short bus journey from the train station and into old town, it was time to check in to our luxurious accommodation! We stayed at the beautiful Safrano Palace, which was right on the town square where the Pied Piper released the enchanted children of Hamberg! The room was very fancy, fit for royalty and completed with stately furniture, including a chaise lounge. There was a view overlooking the square and continental and cooked breakfast included.  

That evening, a lovely drink was had at Musik Café. It was a great find! The bar was full of a spooky eclectic mixture of decorations on every wall, very Transylvanian. It really reminded me of the Ruin Bars found in Budapest. I had a shot of a local spirit (blueberry paliska) and a local beer for £3.65! Night time was also a great time to see the Brașov sign up on the hilltop.

• Hotel: Safrano Palace 
• Day Two Spend: £49.98
• Breakfast £1.91
• Train Bucharest to Sinaia £8.15
• Cable car £19.83 
• Cake and coffee (on top of the mountain) £4.81
• Lunch £10 
• Train Sinaia to Brașov £1.63
• Drinks £3.65

Day Three: Tuesday 4 March. Brașov to Bran Castle to Bucharest.

After a bit of a lie-in the breakfast included in the accommodation, it was time to have a self-guided walking tour of Brașov. This included: The White Tower, The Black Tower, Catherine Gate, Strada Sforii (a tiny alleyway), The Black Church and a quick nip to Transylvania Bakery for a chimney cake to eat at Piața Sfatului. Unfortunately, both The White Tower and The Black Tower were shut during the visit but The White Tower offered beautiful views across Brașov, despite not climbing to the top of the tower itself.

My thoughts on Brașov was that the Old Town was very nice and picturesque. It is what you think of when you think of Transylvania, with the medieval architecture and little cobbled alleyways. I would visit again to visit the catacombs and caves if they were opened (they were shut during my visit). While it was a small place and could be seen in one morning, it would be a nice place to spend a few days relaxing, just drinking coffee and watching the world go by.

After the morning in Brașov, I called a Bolt (slightly cheaper than an Uber) to Bran Castle. To take the bus, we would have had to take one bus from Old Town to Autogara 2 then a second bus (which only runs hourly) to Bran Castle. Due to time constraints, I planned to take a Bolt there and the bus back later, to better maximise the time in the day.

The best view of Bran Castle could be seen from “Panorama view of the Castle Hill” at Strada General Traian Moșoiu 73, Bran 507025, Romania. At the foot of the hill there were nice views of the castle but from the higher up vantage point, the views were amazing! A warning though, the cliff hill to get up in a steep scramble, which is not for the faint hearted! Nice views could also be had from Bran Park, through a heart statue.

After the cliff scramble (!), it was on to visit the merchandise sellers at Bran Castle itself before heading to the bus stop. The bus stop is currently marked on Google Maps as “Bran Bus Station” and is actually a Pepsi Fast Food shop. If you look carefully, there are paper timetables attached to the outside of the shop. A warning though, the bus drivers do not accept card, only cash. There are some ATMs at Castle Bran but lots of them had reviews that unsolicited charges had been made from their account after using these machines. Another warning is that the bus only goes as far into Brașov as Autogara 2 i.e. not into the main bus station near Brașov Train Station. It looked very tight for time to catch a second bus so I opted to take another Bolt to the train station.

Thoughts on Bran Castle was that I was glad I visited because it was high up there on my list of things I wanted to see in Romania. It seemed a shame to visit Transylvania and not Bran Castle. I had already heard that the Castle was not worth going inside of so instead focused the afternoon of seeing the best viewpoints for the outside. I think Bran Castle is worth an afternoon, especially with the Peleș Castle exterior currently being disrupted by renovation works. The whole place does seem to go dead after the castle closes so I would not recommend an overnight stay. I would actually recommend visiting on a coach tour and not solo because the transport was a little tricky and I did not spot much to see beyond the touristy parts.

I made it back to Brașov Station just in time for the train, Brașov to Bucharest North 5:58pm to 8:42pm. Once back at Bucharest, it was time to check back into the accommodation and have a nice long bath to scrub off all the mud from the cliff scramble!

• Hotel: Vilacrosse Boutque Inn
• Day Three Spend: £25.64
• Chimney cake £2.41pp
• Bolt from Brașov to Bran Castle £11.84pp
• Bolt to Brașov Station £1.33pp
• Train Brașov to Bucharest £10.06

Day Four: Wednesday 5 March. Bucharest Spa.

A nice reward after so much travel, spa day! Another quick pretzel breakfast before grabbing the 100 bus from Bucharest town to OTP airport. One transfer later (to the 447 bus) and we were at the spa! The buses in Bucharest had contactless payment (although sometimes this did not work and came up with an error message) and each payment lasts for 90 minutes, enough for the bus transfers. Overall, it was a 50 minute bus journey and ran very regularly. The buses from the spa ran until 11:30pm (the spa shuts at 11pm and facilities close at 10:30pm). I had read reviews online that recommended getting there for the 10am opening time. I was very surprised to stay there until the 11pm bus! 

I recommend bringing with you flip flops or slippers (to be kept in your bag and not on your feet when entering the spa or they will make you rent new ones), a bikini or swimwear (to be kept in your bag and not on your person when entering the spa), towel (you could just sneak in the one from your hotel), sunglasses (it got very bright in the outside pools), suncream (for if you want to lounge on the sunchairs outside), a hidden bottle of water or two (this is not allowed but water is expensive at the spa and you will get dehydrated easily so will be forced to buy it otherwise), a cheap waterproof watch so you can keep the time of any activities you would like to go to and a book to read if you want to chill by the side of the pool a little. Bags were not checked when I visited. While I brought in a robe, I did not think it was necessary because it was warm in the building so I did not wear it. I also brought goggles but there was not a pool suitable for serious swimming so these went unused too. You were not supposed to take photos but some did, some got told off and others did not. When in the sauna, you were to keep all areas of your body- your feet included- on your towel. Just be sure to read the rules before entering each area.   

The first thing I did after entering, changing and storing our belongings in a locker was to place some items on a chair, a base for the day. Then it was time to scope out the full spa to decide what to do first.

My opinion on the spa is that it was fantastic, 10/10. There was so much choice and variety, even a giant waterslide area and not just relaxing spas. If I could change one thing it would be to have free tap water but even without this, it was an amazing day. The reviews I had read online were mostly very negative, about the spa being overcrowded and, at nighttime, turning into a party zone. I am not sure if it is because I visited on a Wednesday or because it was March during my stay, but I had the opposite experience. It was calm, it was relaxing and it was wonderful. At an access all areas for an entire day cost of £28pp it was also very cheap. We did not bother queueing for massage treatments on arrival and instead stumbled upon many of the free treatments provided, including a mud mask, a salt treatment, almond cream and an ice experience. I do recommend getting to the activities 5 minutes early- many of the popular ones get full and entry is not allowed after the start time. Timetables of the day are provided and are advertised on TVs inside the spa but clocks were few and far between. The time could be accessed in the turnstiles, where you scanned your spa watch for access, which was quite handy. I think these free activities were more than enough, I do not even feel like I would have had time in the day for a massage, I had so much to do! Overall, I strongly recommend. Go do it! And get the all access, all day ticket too!

• Hotel: Vilacrosse Boutque Inn
• Day Four Spend: £48.02
• Breakfast £1.40
• Bus 51p
• Spa food and drinks £46.12

Day Five: Thursday 6 March. Bucharest to Birmingham.

One last quick breakfast and then the bus to catch the flight 11:45am to 1:45pm Bucharest to Birmingham, sadly ending our Romanian train adventure.

• Day Five Spend: £1.51
• Breakfast before flight £1
• Bus 51p

Overall, I really enjoyed Romania and this little Romanian adventure. It is a very beautiful country. The people are very friendly and nice. There is a lot more to explore there so I will be back. I would like to visit the South, the coastal areas. I would also be interested in visiting Râșnov Fortress. There is no need to get an Interrail pass because the trains are so cheap. Food, accommodation etc are also cheap. While some areas are not very suited for tourism, it is relatively easy to get around. It was very easy to navigate as an English speaker. An enjoyable trip and one I would recommend to others!

Costs

• Flights: £65.63
• Airport Parking: £20.27pp
• Hotels £93.96
• Hotels in Bucharest (3 nights): £66.42pp
• Hotel in Brașov (1 night): £27.54pp
• Travel £34.54
• Trains £19.84
• Taxis £13.17
• Buses £1.53
• Activities £47.91
• Cable car £19.83 
• Spa entry £28.08
• Food £91.41

Total £353.72

Natalie Lamb and the travel post: Ottawa, Ontario

I was fortunate enough to obtain a grant to attend a conference in Toronto, Canada. Instead of booking direct flights and a hotel, I used that same amount of money (and actually, quite a bit less) to go on a little overland East Canada road trip. I travelled Halifax to Québec City to Montréal to Ottawa to Toronto to Halifax. I have one blog post for each location, plus one about the road trip experience itself.

An Ottawa adventure 

Next up on the travel itinerary was Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. The overall feeling or vibe in Ottawa surprised me. I had previously visited Toronto so I (wrongly) assumed with Ottawa being the capital, that it would feel bigger and even more city-like than Toronto. Ottawa actually has the 6th greatest population (after Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton). Queen Victoria way back in 1857 actually chose Ottawa as Canada's capital because of its defensible location. I actually found Ottawa to be kind of cute and compact. I really liked the Bywater Market area and it was chock full of beautiful Victorian architecture. Many Canadian questioned my visit there and recommended I go elsewhere but I’m glad I stuck to my guns! If only for my amazing accommodation, the Ottawa Jail Hostel, which I can’t recommend enough for people who like a spooky museum. 

Some things to do:

I cannot recommend the Ottawa Jail Hostel enough for accommodation- a stay in an actual jail! And included in your overnight stay, you don’t just get free breakfast included, you also get a free tour of the hostel! Spooky ghost stories and the history of Ottawa combined in 1h20. 

Bywater market was quite a small but quite a cool market. 

One thing I had been recommended to try while on my Canada trip was butter tarts. I got some delicious chocolate coated ones from the chocolatiers Rocky Mountain Chocolate.

Within the market I would also recommend the Moulin de Provence Bakery for some souvenir Canadian biscuits, or “Obama Cookies” as the bakery calls them.

The Ottawa sign is also close to the market, if that’s something you’re into.

I really wanted to see the spider at the National Gallery of Canada, just because I’m into spooky things! I did try and enter the museum but unfortunately I arrived too late. One thing I did notice about Ottawa is that the museums seemed to close early, around 5pm, except for Thursday where they stayed open late and maybe were for free on this day.

Wander around the beautiful different buildings at Parliament Hill. Apparently they have free yoga here every Wednesday too (I’m assuming just during August)! I will note though that there were lots of construction works happening so I didn't get the same views as I had seen online. Apparently road works and construction works are quite common in the city.

Make sure you Google what events are going on because I was told by people in my hostel about a free firework

Something to miss:

I did a free walking tour of the Rideau Canal and I didn’t really find anything interesting to look at. However, during winter it would be so cool (literally!) to skate on the canal!

Things for if I had more time or a car next time:

While watching the fireworks, I saw some kayaks at night lit up with rainbow-coloured lights, paused to watch the fireworks. That looked like a great experience and I would have loved to have got the opportunity to join. 

Image Credit: Ottawa Valley Air Paddle

Ice skate on the Rideau Canal.

Image Credit: Project Local Love

Visit Diefenbunker, the Cold War Museum. Unfortunately, this is very difficult to access without a car so I didn’t visit, despite how much I love a bunker.

Image Credit: Ottawa Tourism

Every Saturday and Sunday in the summer (and less frequently but still on weekdays) there is a free bus to Gatineau Park May until the end of October. You will find it if you Google “Gatineau Park shuttle”. I had been planning to take the free bus from town to Camp Fortune. There is a toboggan ride (known as a “mountain coaster” you can do there and included in the price is also a chair lift up the top of the mountain. It looked so cool! Unfortunately there was heavy flooding during my visit so the bus, the park and Camp Fortune were all shut down.

Image Credit: Camp Fortune