Category Archives: Reviews

Chester, England, Events, Experiences Abroad, My Life, Reviews, Steffi Says

Chester Christmas Market 2015

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During my latest travel to the UK, between the 19th and 24th of November, we came across the Christmas Market by chance. It was a lovely surprise as Christmas Markets have always been a pleasant memory of mine, of the time when I lived in Stoke-on-Trent and went to Birmingham year on year for this particular event.

When we made it to the Christmas Market, the place was already buzzing with people looking and buying items. The decorations and a sense of happiness from the people, really put me into the Christmas vibe. More so because the day was rather cold (it even snowed in the evening!). Cheese with cranberry bits and the cheeky mulled wine helped in all this too.

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This year, the Chester Christmas Market will last a week extra – In fact it will be open 7 days a week, from 10am to 6pm for just over a month. So make sure you make your way there any day between the 19th of November and 20th of December for some fantastic gifts, ranging from home-made stuff, to food and high-end items.

More information can be obtained by reading here and here.

Reviews, Series, Steffi Says

Jessica Jones: Accents & Villains

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If you are all of the following:
– Geeky
– Love British Humour
– Love TV Series
Then, you most likely adore Doctor Who.
IF this is all true, you must be a massive David Tennant fan.
You are most likely a Marvel fan, and pretty much into the whole concept of villains and heroes.

Now…. Add a British accent to a villain.
YUM.

The Result?

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Meet Killgrave; Aka as Purple Man.

 

If you have not yet checked out this new Netflix series, I suggest you check out the below trailer. The good thing is that the entire first Season is all available to binge watch:


Enjoy!!


England, Experiences Abroad, London, My Life, Reviews, Series, Steffi Says

Black Books!

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You are probably reading this, because you know my geeky self, and you have an idea what I’m about to talk about.

Second clue would be… Bill Bailey!

I suppose if you are still reading this, you are either aware of what I am talking about (fingers crossed), or otherwise you must be a curious cat. If you are the latter, Black Books is a British sitcom featuring Bill Bailey, Dylan Moran and Tamsin Greig. It is all filmed within a bookshop and it is hilarious.

During my visit to London in July, I made my way to Black Books of course… I was staying in a hotel within 5 minutes walking distance, so I could not miss out the opportunity.

Needless to say, I was delighted I finally made it:

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Some book that really caught my eye in the book shop display 🙂 steffisays-blackbooks-fandom-caught my eye

England, Events, My articles / researches, My Life, Reviews, Steffi Says

Remember, Remember

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…The 5th of November!!

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For those who are not in the know, the 5th of November is the night we celebrate Guy Fawkes.

But… Who was Guy Fawkes?
Imagine England in the 1600s.. Still under shock and divided between Catholics and Protestants; of course this goes way back since the reign of King Henry VIII. Four kings later, religion did not change and the pressure was still undergoing. The story of Guy Fawkes happened two years after James I was crowned as king. In fact, Fawkes was one of the main members of The Gunpowder Plot of 1605. A group of Catholics have attempted to bomb, or rather blow up the House of Parliament and kill the king. The idea was to protest against the rule of a Protestant King. Guy was the chosen one, the one to light the fuse on D DAY. Because of this reason, he got a lot of attention regarding the conspiracy story; and also a day named after him.

If the story sounds familiar to you… It is probably because you have watched the film V for Vendetta.
Join me tonight and make it a yearly habit; Join me by watching this. Lets remember this night of treason, together.

So, what are we celebrating on this day?
I would dare say, that for the Brits, this day is Thanksgiving Day. The tradition itself started on the same day and year that the Gunpowder Plot had the failed coup. It started as a joyful celebration of Londoners, relieved that their King was saved. This was done by the means of a bonfire.
As time went by, the celebration became more elaborate. Preparations for the Bonfire Night did not include just the bonfire, but also fireworks. Before this day, some would also dare making a dummy of Guy Fawkes, the Pope and some even of politicians. Guy’s dummy is placed on top of the bonfire, and once it is alight, people would throw into the fire the other dummies. Fireworks display fills the sky all over Britain, and some would also light their own fireworks from their home garden.

Bonfire Night is not just celebrated in Britain, as the tradition itself crossed oceans all over and has become popular in a lot of the British colonies along the years. Canada and New Zealand for instance still celebrate it.

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When I lived in England, I was very keen about this Day. I even got my own mask. X
About Malta, Events, Events Happening, My Life, Places to Visit, Reviews, Steffi Says

Qormi Air-Raid War Shelters

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Casal Fornaro is an event that happens in my home town Qormi, on a yearly basis. This is a festival which celebrates bread, and how it represented the town through the years, even during wars. During the time when the island was under attack, bread was made out of rice and tasted horrible, but at least it ensured that the citizens had something to eat. Nowadays the city of Qormi is still renowned for bread and together, we celebrate an event full of bread, pastries and culture.

On this day, the two local war shelters are open for the public, and to me, these deserve a visit every year.

In one of the shelters there is a re-enactment from World War 2, explaining the situation of the poor and the politicians. Then you are allowed to roam around the shelter and imagine for yourself what life was like during that time. The re-enactment happens in Maltese which is a disadvantage for any tourists visiting, however one can still visually appreciate the surroundings.

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In the second war shelter, there is a bread exhibition sponsored by the leading bakery ‘MayPole’ – One can find fancy bread available in the shelter just for viewing as can be seen in the images below.

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One is able to buy similar bread through the many stalls in the festival as well as from their bakery any other day of the year.

Movies, Reviews, Steffi Says

Pixels The Movie – Review

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After spending weeks debating whether I should watch Pixels the movie, I decided to give it a go. May I just say that it was the best decision I made today? ;P

Joking aside, this movie is not only hilarious, creative and fun to watch, but it made me reminisce my childhood.. The 80’s games… the gaming arcades… I used to spend hours playing pac-man and hating on the ghosts chasing it. What about Donkey Kong? I think it was the first game I played with the character Mario, and like the tradition goes, he is always up to rescuing pixilated women or princesses, in this case Pauline.

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Other video game characters and games which contributed in the movie are Galaga, Frogger, Tetris, Paperboy and Ceintipede among many more. Low and behold, Toru Iwatani; the creator of Pac-Man is also part of the movie. This is how awesome and geeky it is!!

Actors such as Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Peter Dinklage and Josh Gad makes this movie even more watchable. These actors are well known in the comedy genre, and with that pinch of nostalgia and nerdy vibe, it is just the cherry on the cake.

Have a look at the trailer:

Let me know your thoughts if you actually watched this 🙂

Cardiff, Events, Experiences Abroad, My Life, Reviews, Steffi Says, Wales

Doctor Who Experience

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It has been an awful long time since I wrote something on here… and I am blaming life and lack of inspiration on this. I have been finding it extremely difficult to find time to focus and write something interesting. More so, because in my free time I try to relax a bit, edit a few photos from my holidays in June and July or watch TV Series.

So, I thought, I should review one of the places I have been to while in Cardiff. Let’s start with the Doctor Who Experience… because, why the hell not? 🙂

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We made our way to the Doctor Who Experience on the first day of the holiday. Actually, it was oudw1r first activity after we checked into our hotel. We were staying in Cardiff Bay, so you would think that it was straightforward to locate the BBC venue. Truth be told, we were slightly distracted with the amazing views of the bay and the surrounding, and it took us longer than expected to get there.

But once we did, I had a huge grin on my face. I couldn’t believe I have finally made it… It has been five years since I made up my mind that I should visit this place! We had already purchased our tickets online, so we simply waited for our time-slot and off we went in. The first half of the experience was very interactive and fun. It was the best part of it, in my opinion, however we were not allowed to take photos or videos as not to spoil this for other visitors. Granted, it made sense… but I wish I have captured that moment when I walked in the Weeping Angel’s cemetery or when I flew the Tardis.

Some photos taken outside and around the museum:

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I would definitely return here eventually and would recommend it to all Whovians out there! 🙂

Music, My Life, Reviews, Steffi Says

Of Music Talents & Dreams

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Today I came across the coolest of videos. In fact, this was shared with me by a colleague since I am into rock / metal music. He thought, it was something I would appreciate.

Boy, was he right.

The video features a group called ‘Rockin1000’, which is made up of 1,000 rockers and metalheads; 1,000 musicians to be exact. The music video was aimed to 5 specific people: Chris, Nate, Pat, Taylor and Dave.
If you have not guessed already, these 5 people make up the band Foo Fighters. Yes you heard me!!

You are warned… this will bring you to tears…

Watch the video here:


Needless to say, this has been viewed more than 5 times…. In fact on day 4, they are already at 12,000,000 views!! Wow.

Lo and behold, Dave Grohl replied to their video (only 1 day later!)… and not only this, but he spoke in Italian (English captions available) because this is the nationality of Rockin1000! Isn’t he nice, or what?

This inspires me…
1) It is good to dream………
2) Dreams can come true……………
3) Work hard, you can achieve it!

England, Experiences Abroad, London, My Life, Reviews, Series, Steffi Says

Baker Street Lovin’

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When I was a teenager, I was fascinated by London.
I was even more overwhelmed when I discovered that in London, there was an alternative town by the name of Camden. Every time I visited England, I had to spend a day there shopping until I run out of money. When I moved to England in 2011, London become the least attractive place for me to visit. Sure there were a lot of shops and activities going on, but it was too busy and hectic for my liking. I would go down to London for a major gig or to meet friends who were visiting; but would not bother with it at all otherwise.

But this year, everything has changed.
I had to go back to London for one specific reason: AC/DC.
Any heavy metal fan would know that AC/DC are touring again, and considering their age, it would most likely be the last time (I hope I am wrong!). But this was the sole reason why I step foot in London again, after 3 odd years.

While I was there, I had to fulfill one huge dream which unbelievably I did not do even though I visited the city countless times.

Baker Street

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I would like to think, that if you are reading this, you know where I’m going with this.

Well, geeky Steffi… geeky TV Series.
Hello Sherlock Holmes:

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Did you know that 221b, Baker Street is the world’s most Googled address?

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Waiting for Sherlock outside the door
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Sherlock’s store
Movies, Other Reviews, Reviews, Steffi Says

Not so “Gone Girl”

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This blog post will include some spoilers and my point of view on the book/movie story line and this subject in general.

Finally I have got around reading the book and watching the movie. It is not that I have struggled to read the book, because it is very well written and it keeps you hooked on the story line. The problem is that I am no longer an avid reader as I keep getting distracted easily; with series, cooking, photography, cats and what not.gonegirl

I’d say that the movie was very appropriate and true to the story in the book especially since Gillian Flynn has actually written the screenplay herself. However, I feel it was very fitting to read the book beforehand as it has filled in some gaps and questions that the movie has left out. Case in point, the main reason why Nick has stayed with Amy after all she has done, was because she had further evidence to lock him up. Eventually he finds the evidence and throws it away and that is when Amy stepped the game up and got pregnant.

Psychologically, the plot is very effective, especially since the writer shows the two sides of the story. All the toying with the viewer has kept me curious and on the edge throughout. I do hope that they’d consider turning more of Gillian’s books into movies.

Favourite quote from Gone Girl:
“We have each other, and everything else is background noise.”
It is romantic as hell.

In truth,how many of us have pretended to be better than they actually are to impress someone who they have had a crush on? How many of us have kept the sharade going to salvage what is left of a relationship? In the end, reality catches with all of us, so I think it is better to fall for someone for who he/she truly is… I know, I wont settle for anything else…