Apparently the resort area of Jurmala is one of the most popular beach resorts in Latvia. We dropped by for a quick day trip on Sunday (a 30 minute train ride from Riga, €3 return – no idea why anyone would take a tour to there which can cost up to €50, as its so easy and cheap to get there with public transport). It was almost like a ghost town, with rain bucketing down in long bursts causing us to jump into several cafes to avoid getting drenched or share porches with poofy cats bristling with animosity. The beach was gorgeous in the grey hazy light where we were joined by very few other people walking along, several birds bathing in the sea and the odd person swimming (brrrrrr)! The cafe De Gusto Konditorja does lovely pastries and cakes, while further along the way there’s a little old hut hidden behind rows of wooden tables and benches. Once inside you can sit down beside the roaring fire (if you want to share the seat with a cute ginger cat) and have a Gluhwein – first of this year, may it be the first of many yay! The landscape looked pretty haunting shrouded in mist which wrapped its way around the slightly run down wooden homes.

Since it was my sisters last evening we decided to treat ourselves and dine in Desiderata. We went quite early as my sister had to be at the airport so we were left to dine in pretty much our own private restaurant. The food was really nice and presented beautifully by the lovely attentive waiter. Along with what we ordered we were served several tasty amuse-bouche. The chocolate fondant we shared for dessert was wonderfully gooey in the centre and cooked just right – sadly I couldn’t say the same about my main, salmon in a delicious marinade served with veggies. Thankfully I like sushi so the slightly under-cooked center wasn’t a problem. Its a pretty elegant restaurant and therefore more on the expensive side of things. It was quite nice, but I preferred the restaurant from yesterday!

Gloriously full the twin left for the airport and I crawled back into my hostel bed.