Zizzi: St Pauls London

It is no secret that Zizzi is one of my favourite restaurants. This one on this day seemed particularly tasty and the decor was oh so beautiful! I'm not a big pink fan but I really like the edge it gives this what would look plain Zizzi signs. It also gets better as you enter. 

I'm sure this restaurant is normally bustling with people, and for it being an early afternoon on a saturday in a business district I can understand why it wasn't in this particularly moment. But the good thing about that is it allowed me to capture the beautiful inside without people's heads everywhere! Every Zizzi I have been into has an open kitchen, and I love the look of open kitchens! I first fell in love with open kitchens when as a small little I went to my best friends house and saw her mum cook whilst we were playing. Something about open kitchens that make the environment seem so friendly; and this Zizzi did not disappoint. 

Then what really captured my attention and further escalated my love for this particular Zizzi is the unexpected quirky paintings on the walls. London being a fun free quirky city and all this was a very complementary look to the traditional Zizzi look, and I hope you agree that they work together fabulously! I mean those trees do look a little funny, however it still looks elegant and different in this set up, and I still love it! 

Below is an image of my sister. Having difficult choosing were you? I was having the same problem, the endless amount of dishes that just make you slobber everywhere! They also have dishes marked specifically under 500 calories, so if you are on a diet it's the perfect place to come to still enjoy eating and company with your friends or family! 

It appears there are lots of images of my sister looking at the menu, she must be thinking really hard about what she wants. That or she was just avoiding asking the waitress to come over, which is usually the case. 

Our starter: Italian Bread Bucket

These are delicious, freshly baked out of the oven, nice and warm. What is better than warm bread? (Lots of things actually, but in that particular moment it seemed like a little taste of heaven) Lots of oils to accompany the bread but to taste it in all it's glory, it is best by itself. 

For my main, I had a mixed seafood risotto, called the Risotto Pesce, and Oh my for my first risotto did I enjoy it! Consisting of king prawns, squid rings and mussels it was just perfect in the slightly chilli and white wine sauce. I have to admit I ate every last bite of this, and boy did I not regret it. Something this delicious should not be put to waste, or left to cool and reheated at home. It just doesn't deserve it! 

My sisters main: Skinny Pizza Pollo Picante 

When the menu tells you something is skinny, believe them. This pizza is tiny, having warned my sister of this before hand she still went ahead with it. (Maybe that is because we gorged on some cakes and cookies before hand). Spicy chicken, mozzarella and chilli, it is delicious even if it is small; having had this dish before. The side salad was untouched, but appeared nice and fresh and bursting with colour, which on appearance is a perfect accompaniment. 

My Other Sister's Main: Tomato and Pesto Bread

In actual fact this is a starter, but it was larger than the skinny pizza. So if you're looking for a cheaper alternative with a similar taste to the skinny pizza, I suggest going for this. If you're like me you'll have no idea what pesto is, and have to be educated by your 17 year old sister. Pesto originated in Genoa, and traditionally has garlic, basil, pine nuts mixed with olive oil (according to Wikipedia). 

Overall this trip to Zizzi did not disappoint, and until I enter a really ugly Zizzi serving bad food and bad customer service; I will always be a loyal fan. This St Pauls Zizzi in particular was somewhere that I think I will go to over and over again, because the decor is just so beautiful I didn't get to have a close enough look! If you want to try a Zizzi for the first time, maybe this is the place! 

Marrakech

Early morning journeys to the airport are always difficult. They become even more difficult as you grow up, a tired yawning me driving to Gatwick airport was not a pleasant me I must admit. Having speeded along the motorway to get to our destination in the cold darkness we had finally arrived. aT 6:25am, all checked in and ready for our journey our stomachs began to growl. Leading us to EAT! Our stomachs were ready!

 Jessica ordered a BLT sandwich, typical sandwich lover. We shared a tub of fruit and I ordered a high protein salad. This salad was delicious, maybe it was my grumbling stomach falling in love too easily, but the ham and peas in this salad was just a great combination. 

Arriving at the destination we were hit by humidity, but not great enough to suffocate us. (Can anything compare to the humidity that smacks you in the face in HK or Greece?) Arriving at the airport we were not instantly greeted by our taxi driver, this made us panic like two fishes lost at sea. After a while our driver arrived, what was surprising was their use of french through out Marrakech. Almost everybody spoke French, which was a major disadvantage to us, but an enriching experience. 

Being transported into the countryside expressed views like the one above. The little hills across Marrakech were so beautiful, the vast deserted land just made everything so peaceful. Even more amazing was riding across these plains and going up the hills, like the one in the picture below. Seriously incredible and so peaceful. 

Our tour guides for this trip were incredible, extremely friendly (as we found everybody there was) Just so enjoyable to be around and so helpful. 

Now on to the food part! This mixed grill I can't say was the best I've ever tasted. Can be compared to the Wetherspoons mixed grill, which is probably saying something in itself. (However, who am I to judge? I love a good ol' Wetherspoons with my Uni friends). The layout makes it look so much more delicious and incredibly fresh though. 

 This little countryside retreat run by a lovely woman named Francoise made staying here just wonderful. (Despite the sunburn and gnat bites which just seemed to accumulate over the period of 3 days). The constant gardening of this lovely retreat really brings results. 

 On the left of this panoramic image you can see the little tables, in the evening this was a wonderful place to watch the sunset, have dinner. (Which came out as quite costly, although a three course meal was better value at 180MD, compared to one course at 130MD.) Every evening they set out candle lights and rose petals over these tables for couples and families to enjoy. This is a beautiful location to sit if you don't mind being eaten alive by gnats, being disturbed by peacocks during your evening meal, and most importantly if you don't suffer from hay fever.) 

Our first evening romantic meal, well if you don't have a boyfriend why not substitute with your sister, it is definitely the best alternative! Spaghetti bolognese on our first night probably was not the most adventurous, but hey this massive, I mean MASSIVE bowl definitely filled us up till the morning!

Heading into Marrakech the next morning was wonderful. Dropped out outside a famous square, (which I wish I knew the name of) and all the endless souks (markets) surrounding. The souks sell a lot of things, from jewellery to bags, to food, to traditional moroccan clothing. An incredible place, however people do not enjoy having their photo taken. (We made sure to buy something from this man before we took any pictures, seeing his disappointing glare at other tourists taking his photo wasn't part of our to-do-list)

Not the cheapest snack you could buy in Morocco, however the only traditional one we stumbled across and a lovely lay out. This must have taken him a while. 

Tricked into getting henna tattoo's after buying a leather bag in the souks. This was definitely the most expensive "product" we bought in Morocco. Supposedly lasting 2 weeks for 300MD for the both of us. Although very pretty it definitely isn't worth it's price, and one week on it is almost entirely gone. Just little specks on brown left on my fingers (which just look like dirty hands). 

Can I mention how amazing moroccan chips are? They are much much better than the fries and fat chips they sell in McDonalds and Fish and Chips shops here! A little grilled chicken on the side was the perfect accompaniment, and it seems if you love bread Marrakech is the perfect place to be! Literally with every meal they serve bread, no matter what you order! 

Moving on to the evening meal, this was the best thing that entered my mouth in Morocco, this portion isn't even a mammoth portion! (The next day at our trip on quad bikes and having lunch in a little village they offered the same dish but an EVEN BIGGER PORTION. The delight in my face was obvious to the guides who saw my love for cous cous, well actually I almost shouted it as I screamed COUS COUS.) Made with carrots, courgettes, squash, cous cous and beans this was the perfect ending to the day!

After quad biking all day through the mountains and plains, we came back to the hotel to indulge in this! After a 6 hour day on quad bikes this was definitely needed, especially due to my sister being a massive klutz and falling into a ditch in the hills. Leading into a whole other story of pain and Moroccan hospitals.