Author: Louise Hogan

April: This Month I’m . . .

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Backyard Travelling So my wanderlust-induced whinging will finish soon as I’m off to Berlin next weekend! This month, I went on a couple of mini-adventures to Galway and the Burren with work. If you’re in Clare, I so highly recommend visiting Kilshanny House! Their signature dish, the Burren Béilíní is an amazing selection of fresh, local sustainable produce that is absolutely delicious! With lots of events happening- music, walks, talks, singers clubs etc- and an unbelievably warm welcome from Mary and Aidan, I really couldn’t recommend a stop here highly enough! Eating Clean-ish I had a few off weeks where I was still working out 4-5 times a week but not being very careful with my diet. Predictably, I ended up feeling a bit sluggish, bloated and all round not very attractive. It’s also a frustrating way of training, feeling yourself getting stronger but not seeing the results as there’s a layer of carb bloat surrounding your new gains! Small goals always help get back on track so I set myself 5 weeks to up my training …

The Best At Home Workouts

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Working out at home is really time and cost effective. If you’re a great self-motivater, there are so many resources online- free and paid for- so there really is no excuse for not building your own, fully fledged fitness routine at home! I started at home workouts because I was a student and money was tight but also because I was too intimidated to go to a gym when I first started working out. Then I got into a good routine, found some online workouts I loved and was just hooked. I do the odd class or gym session but in general, I work out at home 5-6 hours a week! But with so many online fitness videos/e-books out there, it can be hard to know where to start! So here are my favourites; the ones I return to again and again, the ones that are easy to follow and really work! Yoga Yoga With Adriene Adriene is an actress and yoga teacher from Austin, Texas. She posts completely free yoga videos on her amazing Youtube …

My 5 Favourite things about Cambodia

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Cambodia is often overlooked in favour of its heavy hitting neighbours Thailand and Vietnam, but the Khmer Kingdom is an amazing holiday destination. I spent almost a month exploring the country and I can’t think of one thing I didn’t enjoy! With gorgeous beaches, delicious cuisine, a burgeoning economy and genuinely friendly people eager to welcome tourists, Cambodia should be your next Asian holiday destination! Awe Inspiring Temples The iconic, sprawling complex of Angkor temples was voted the world’s No. 1 site by Lonely Planet and it’s not hard to see why. Exploring the world’s largest religious site is an otherworldly experience but be prepared to battle the crowds; last year over 2 million tourists visited the 1,000 year old temples!  Don’t miss Ta Prohm, aka the Tomb Raider temple, or Bayum (below). Chilled out Siem Reap The nearest town to the Angkor Temples, Siem Reap is a laid back traveller’s hub. Skip tacky pub street and spend your time scouring the markets for souvenirs, exploring the meandering streets and sampling Cambodian cuisine. For an …

Armchair Traveler: The Best Food Memoirs

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I love food memoirs. I love to read, travel and eat so this literary genre ticks all the boxes for me! I have a constantly growing cookbook collection I’ve been to know to casually read rather than actually cook from- Yotam Ottolenghi’s Jeruselm being a favourite! But a food memoir is a lovely book to curl up and enjoy with a cup of coffee. Food is never just food. It’s also a way of getting at something else: who we are, who we have been and who we want to be. When we fall in love with a certain dish, I think that’s what we’re often responding to: that something else behind the fork or spoon, the familiar story that food tells. A Homemade Life, Molly Wizenberg   Food is a great way to learn about another culture and cooking is a great way to tell stories. In fact a cooking class or food tour is one of my favourite things to do when on holidays! But if you can’t jet off right now, curling up …

Bored of the usual European City Breaks? Try these 5 instead!

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So you’ve done London, Paris and Rome; Barcelona, Amsterdam and Dublin too. You’re looking for a cool European city break and wondering where to go next? Here are my top picks for some less obvious European city breaks, including some of my favourite cities in Europe and one city I can’t wait to get to! Marseille, France One for. . .seafood lovers, maritime buffs and urban cool seekers. Marseille has an urban, gritty cool that will appeal to lovers of port cities. I’m a big fan of its multicultural vibe and maritime history. Try down by the Marina for some classic south of France cool and amazing seafood, then venture further into the city for some culture, history and atmosphere. Marseilles had a long held reputation for being more than a little unseemly but being European City of Culture in 2013 inspired a big clean up and a huge architectural makeover; there’s no need to be more cautious here than you would in any other European city. There’s some great museums to visit, innovative new architecture …

My Favourite Things About Rwanda

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Perfect for tech buffs, digital nomads, wildlife lovers, caffeine fiends and outdoors-y types!   For me, Rwanda is perfect for every visitor to Africa, whether first-timers or seasoned travelers. My 2012 trip to the Central African country rates extremely high on my ‘Top Holidays’ list and from what I hear, things have only gotten better since! Here’s why you should visit this beautiful, innovative country! It’s Safe Rwanda is one of the safest and most economically prosperous countries in East and Central Africa. Forget about its history, the streets of Kigali are much, much safer than Nairobi or Kampala. I don’t want to get into the political reasons why (lets just say President Kagame runs a tight ship) or the implications of this, but for visitors, there’s no doubting Rwanda is ridiculously safe. Kigali is an efficient, well serviced city with a good road network. Even the motos (motorbike taxis) are incredibly regulated, registered with the proper authorities and always carrying helmets for passengers. It has a Vibrant Capital The capital Kigali is a beautiful …

March: This Month I’m. . .

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Staying Local In January, I visited Belgium and Luxembourg and I have upcoming trips to Berlin and Portugal planned for May and June. But that leaves me with three full months of no travel in between! February and now March are nearly finished and I really am itching to get on a plane! But I’ve been trying to explore more of Ireland too with mini breaks to Lahinch, Limerick and Galway. Not quite as exciting but still. Obsessing over Zara Gymwear I’m a Zara obsessive anyway and now they do gymwear, my obsession is complete! As you would expect from Zara, their first activewear collection is full of hardworking basics and muted tones that fit really well. Even though I spend all my time online, I somehow missed the launch  and three days later, a number of the pieces were already sold out. However, to Zaras credit, they were restocked within a few days. To start with I got two pairs of running tights- in black and navy blue- which are super flattering, with a …

Flashpacker Weekend Edition: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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KLis one of my all time favourite cities. I love absolutely everything about the place- the vibe, the food, the people, the architecture, the markets! The city is big enough to feel buzzy but compact enough to get around easily. Public transport is excellent too and taxis are cheap- if you know how to haggle. It’s a popular stop off route for Europe/Middle East-Asia flights or vice versa so why not book a long layover? Just 36 hours is enough to experience the very best of KL! I had a quick trip en route to Bali but I managed to fit in a lot! Here’s my top tips: Travelling Solo? Stay Here Back Home is everything a hostel should be these days. Cool, welcoming, functional and stylish. It’s a bit hipster with industrial chic styling but it’s got a great location, helpful staff and an excellent cafe, Lokl Coffee Co. attached. The free breakfast is a bit miserable but I loved having the pancakes from Lokl in the beautiful courtyard!   Must See? Thean Hou …

Visiting Vietnam: Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh?

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For a lot of people hoping to visit Vietnam, an epic end to end  journey encompassing the whole country is the dream. But sometimes money, time  and simple geography are not on our side. Ideally, you should try to fit both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) into any Vietnam trip but if that’s impossible and you really must choose one, which do you go for? For me, it has to be Hanoi! Here are the reasons why.  The Atmosphere Hanoi is the perfect introduction to Vietnam. It’s busy and hectic, with an old city full of tree lined narrow streets, Chinese temples, Catholic cathedrals and cool shops. There’s tonnes of cafes, great street food and the chilled out Hoan Kiem lake for when you need a break. I adore how the city is equal parts crazy and calm. At night, there’s lights and noise and buzz and scooters and people walking everywhere. By day . . . well actually it’s pretty much the same until suddenly you turn a corner and there’s a …

#NoExcuses: Insta-obsession and staying mindful

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Sometime last Spring, fresh from a Bali yoga retreat and doing my best to stretch that post-holiday positivity into a daily mindfulness habit, I was watching Richard Quest on CNN. I have a strange affection for Richard Quest; I love his old school manner, his suits and how he makes global economics intelligble for the every person -the ‘every person’ in question being me, of course. Oh and I also love the fact he managed to bounce back from a very public fall from grace circa 2008 involving crystal meth and a sex toy in Central Park. Seriously. Anyway, Richard had fellow CNN anchor Anderson Cooper on to discuss a book for his ‘What I’m reading’ segment; Wherever you Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. I liked the title and mentally filed it away . A few months later, on a rainy day back in Ireland, I spotted it in a bookshop and bought it.   Then I left it on my bedside locker for seven months before finally opening it. The title alone is …