I think this was the part of the trip so far that we were both the most excited about. We were to board the Trans-Siberian train in Moscow, and would not be getting off for over 5000km, a journey which would take 86 hours, spread over 5 days. We had a 2nd class 'Coupe' compartment, meaning we had a small room with 4 beds in it, basically a set of bunk beds at either side of a small room. During the day the bottom bed is used as a seat, there is a small table and storage space below the bed. Apart from that there is nothing else in the room. The compartment measures around 6 1/2" x 5 1/2". We had no idea who we would be sharing this with. There is a restaurant car to escape to if you fancy a break every now and then. Also the train stops every few hours for 20 minutes or so. During this time you can hop off and buy various foodstuffs from people on the platform. It's not a great idea to flash laptops and other expensive items around on the train, so this post will be a little different from the rest. ...

Here's a lovely recipe for a quinoa salad I got from Scrumptious a random food blog I stumbled across while wondering what to do with the jar of quinoa that's been sitting in the cupboard for well over a year. I've been a bit scared of these small grains ever since I saw them, not sure what to do with them, how to cook them, what they would taste like blah blah blah, but it turns out they're pretty easy going little chaps and they assisted in making this very tasty, hearty but fresh tasting salad. Apparently it's very good for you too. A 'Super Grain' no less. Wooo. I wonder if that's a bit like Super Gran. There's only one letter in it, must be. Maybe super grains turn you into Super Grans?! Now, I said I got the recipe from a blog, but what actually happened was I'd seen it and decided I was going to make it after I'd been to the shops, then got part way through and realised I was missing several of the key ingredients, so I would say this was influenced by rather than a direct cover of the original. I'd also intended to ...

The weather has finally caught up with us, it's pretty miserable outside and Andy is ill, so we've booked ourselves into a lovely B+B on Islay, one of the islands of the west coast of Scotland. I thought I'd take this opportunity to update things a little as it's nearly a month since I wrote anything. Where to start? The randomness has continued. We began our Scotland leg of the trip on Arran. Beautiful 25ish mile long island, "Scotland in miniature" it says in our guide book. It does seem to have it all. Beautiful beaches, seals, deer, eagles, lots of ancient sites, standing stones, forests, rivers and mountains, the tallest of which, Goatfell (2868ft!) we climbed for Andy's birthday. Anyway when we arrived we took a wrong turn looking for our campsite, stopped to ask a lady for directions and she told us we could camp the garden at her B+B for the same price as the campsite if we wanted, but then decided that as it was raining and the para-gliders who were meant to be staying hadn't turned up we'd might as well just stay in the house! She showed us around the house, which was ...

Check this out! We made halloumi! A couple of weeks ago now Andy and I spent a few days WWOOFing at Canon Frome Court, a community of around 45 people in Herefordshire. As part of our UK tour we've been trying to fit in a bit of WWOOFing, as well as it saving us a few pennies (a few hours work in exchange for accommodation and food) we also wanted to experience different ways of living, both from the ideas of having a small holding, and also living as part of an intentional community. This was our first stay in a community and we really didn't know what to expect. We has just spent a week entirely by ourselves, doing very little, house sitting in Devon, so as you could imagine it was a bit of a shock to the system to drive through the 15ft gates topped with a statue of an eagle with a bloody torn off hand in it's mouth and then down a half mile drive, to a beautiful, though rather daunting, Georgian mansion where we were to join the whole community for dinner just 20 minutes after we arrived. Luckily everyone was very nice, no one tried ...

So today is our last full day at the farm house in Devon. What a lovely week it has been, so relaxing. We've done very little other than sleep, eat, read, sit in the sun and hang out with the various animals there are around. As much as we love the tent and our two hob camping chef it's been amazing to have a real kitchen, and the chickens have provided us with a huge amount of eggs which have contributed to some very tasty meals. Quiche recipe coming up. I'm going to really miss the chickens. They're so funny. The way they walk is ridiculous, and the way they run even more ridiculous. It's as though their head is attached to their legs by a string through their body and it wobbles backwards and forwards faster the faster they go. They hear you coming out of the back door and if they're not already there by the time you have got outside they'll come racing across the yard sliding to a stop by your feet. Bwoooooooaaak! Can't wait until I have some of my own. Despite their cheeky bean eating behaviour I'll also miss the cats. In fact I'd rather they ...