Warsaw, Poland

I have mixed feelings about Warsaw, there were times when I felt very uneasy more so when I was being squashed on the tram heading into the city. Once I arrived I did manage to fight my way off the moving sardine can and have a wander around, I managed to find a quiet spot away from the hustle and bustle to grab a really quick shot of the "palace of culture" before my hands turned to ice.

I very quickly became so cold it started to physically hurt, bearing in mind it was -3/4, so I decided it was time to find Starbucks, not only did I need to warm up, but I wanted to buy the Polish mug for my collection.

Once I finally warmed up I decided to brave the cold again to go in search of the "old town". What a difference half an hour walk made, It really was like walking into a different country, just a shame the weather was the same. This part of the city is amazing, especially with all the Christmas lights and people generally having a great time. I think I lasted around an hour in the old town before I had to call an Uber and head back to the hotel. 

Dublin, Ireland

Dublin is such an amazing city, full of history and amazing people. It's just a shame winter is closing in fast as it's becoming increasingly difficult to explore and see everything. For the majority of the week, we actually had some decent weather, I no longer believe the Irish when you say "It's always raining in Ireland".

You really can't visit Dublin without having a Guinness from its birthplace, so we decided to pack ourselves into an SUV and head off into the city. The main objective was to find the perfect Guinness served in a traditional Irish pub. So where better than Ireland's oldest pub, dating back to 1198. The Brazen Head, with perfect Irish vibe, great food and my pint, was that good I'm convinced they had a line straight from the brewery. It's true when they say Guinness doesn't travel well.

Revolution Series Round 3, Manchester

After some time off my bike I've started to get the bug for cycling again (Thank you Laura Trott), but with winter arriving it's getting too cold for riding. So what better way to get your cycling fix than track cycling. Sat in the middle of the track with my trusty camera and a nice cold beer. 

Round 3 of the Revolution series was the final round of the UK championships, where team JLT condor won the UK championship. Seeing Ed Clancy in action was also very cool, although I didn't manage to get a photo of him in focus, either he was very fast or the beers were starting to affect my abilities to focus. 

Roll on the Revolution Champions league later this month. 

Frankfurt, Germany

Well, Frankfurt where do I begin? I've always imagined this huge city full of shopping malls and plenty going on. I was very much mistaken. Frankfurt really isn't a tourist attraction.

Even though I was disappointed, it was another city to explore. We came across the finance district, home of the Eurobank and a huge Euro sign. As amazing as it was I couldn't help but notice a man sleeping under a bush, the irony of it.

Cologne, Germany

What better way to get around Germany than driving as fast as you dare down the autobahn, but of all the cars to do it in, we ended up in a Fiat 500X. 

As we had the weekend to explore, we decided to stop off in Cologne for a couple of hours. Cologne is home to the Koln Dom cathedral. I'm not a religious man, but walking into the cathedral during mass was a real amazing experience. I even lit a candle saying a small prayer for all the family and friends that have passed. 

While walking around Cologne, we stumbled across some street performers called the Wooden Street Syndicate. Who really are amazing and suggest taking a look on Youtube or iTunes.

Ratingen, Germany

Ratingen is my first stop on a month-long tour around Germany, It really is a beautiful little town in the district of Mettmann, 12KM from Dusseldorf city. I don't actually know what this means, but the town is actually twinned with Cramlington, back home in the UK.

There wasn't a great deal to see or do, so we found ourselves wondering around looking for new places to get something to eat. We stumbled across an Irish pub so decided to give it a try.

The food was delicious when it finally arrived after a long wait, just a shame the same could not have been said about my Guinness. I was actually told by my Irish colleague that If that was to be served in Ireland, It would've ended up being thrown back at the bar tender. It was cold and wet so I ended up finishing it.

2016 Spa F1

Spa F1 has to be the best track of the season, and I'm so glad that I can finally say I have been. Spa is well known for bad weather but this year seems to be the exception, and if I'm honest the heat was brutal day and night. We decided to do the free pit walk for all 3 day ticket holders in the hope I would meet Lewis Hamilton, so we started at the end of the pit at the HAAS garage. After some pushing and armpit sniffing we arrived the AMG Pertronas garage, and I think I could've stayed there all day watching his mechanics working on his car. After some time and countless pictures of the same thing, the crowd began to get excited and my heart skipped a beat "OMG it must be Lewis" so I turned around and to my disappointment -  it was Nico Rosberg!

It was inevitable at some point in the season Lewis would need to take some penalties for new engines. After FP1, 2 & 3 I discovered that he had a 55 place grid penalty for three engine changes during the weekend - Surely this was tactical, and not a mechanical issue?

Race day arrived and in all honesty I didn't hold much hope that he would be able to score a single point. To everyones amazement he managed to get through the chaos up into fifth place on the eighth lap. It was then that the thought came that he might actually win this race, but after an amazing race he managed to finish third. What a result for the weekend and he now continues his fight for a fourth championship, with three new engines. This really is hammer time! 

The Horse House, Vilvoorde, Belgium

So it's finally happened.. I've tried horse meat. So the place we went to was this tiny little restaurant called the horse house in Vilvoorde where they only had one dish available but you did get to choose the size. I opted for a rare 350 gram so a little over 12 once and that was the small one! the largest was around 22 ounces so a monster steak. Hard to describe but horse meat did have its own taste but it was a very slight difference to beef, If you didn't know it was horse you would just assume it was beef in looks and taste. So if you're ever in the area get yourself down to the horse house and try it! 

Mechelen, Belgium

I was really looking forward to trying horse meat for the very first time, but unfortunately the restaurant was closed, So we decided to head over to a city called Mechelen that is home to the brewery Het Anker where they not only brew the famous Gouden Carolus beer they also cook with it, I can honestly say the mussels i had were amazing. Prior to stuffing my face we had a walk around the city taking in the sights of the St Rumble's cathedral and The Cells Almshouses home to the 15 needy women. The mixture of historical and modern architecture never fails to amaze me, they really have got that spot on.

Vilvoorde, Belgium

Technically, this is my second visit to Vilvoorde but this is the first time I've had chance to have a good walk around and take in the local atmosphere, unfortunately for me it's a bank holiday here in Belgium so there really wasn't much happening. Even so, just walking among the beautiful architecture from the church and horse in the main square to gorgeous little town houses being highlighted by this amazing weather i got a real calming feeling even though i was kicking myself I didn't pack any shorts. Vilvoorde is well known for horse meat so looking forward to trying that.. watch this space.