Eating Vegan in Madrid

Please note, this post is part of a series. Click here to read from the beginning.

If you are looking for a European city to visit on a vegan diet, and you have at least a moderate budget, I would highly recommend Madrid. I could easily live there, eat out every day, and not get bored of the food. However, I would unfortunately be overweight and broke as a result! Here are some of the places I got to try in my few days in Madrid:

Vega

Vega is the vegan restaurant that everyone raves about, and now I know why. Great tasting food, unusual and inspiring recipes, a very comfortable atmosphere and all at reasonable prices. Make sure you book a table in advance so as not to miss out, this is a very popular restaurant that books up quickly.

Chillin’ Cafe

If you’re the kind of person who’s day doesn’t start until you’ve had a decent cup of coffee, Chillin’ Cafe is the place to go. The food is also very tasty, although portions are only small. If you’re looking for a breakfast to fill up on, I’d suggest trying somewhere else and then popping back here for a mid-morning cake.

Loving Hut Madrid

I’m a big fan of Loving Hut, I’ve visited quite a few in various locations around the world. I love the business model that guarantees you quality, affordable food in an ethically-conscious environment designed to educate about veganism, but with the potential for a totally different menu at every restaurant you visit. Loving Hut Madrid offers simple, traditional comfort foods like curry and goulash. My friend had never visited a Loving Hut before, but I think I’ve converted her.

Fresc Co

Just a short walk from Plaza Major, Fresc Co is a great place to stop for a bite when you don’t want to miss out on any exploring time in Madrid. It’s an omni, all you can eat buffet, but there are plenty of vegan options. The staff are also super approachable, so just ask if you’re not sure what’s sfv.

Yerbabuena

As we were in Spain, my friend and I wanted to eat tapas for at least  one meal. Yerbabuena is a vegetarian restaurant that offers a variety of vegan dishes. Our food was delicious, and there was plenty of it. The service wasn’t great, but I have a feeling that was more of a language barrier problem.

Ice Cream

One of the frustrating things about being vegan is not being able to find sfv ice cream when it’s hot and sunny outside.. Everyone else is walking around with the most insane looking flavour combinations, and the most you can hope for is a tub of dairy free sorbet. You definitely don’t have to worry about that in Madrid, though. There are lots of ice cream chains, all listed on Happy Cow, that sell vegan ice cream. And I’m not just talking one vanilla option stuck at the back of the freezer. All the ice cream shops I visited (admittedly quite a few, but my excuse is it was very hot) had numerous flavours on  offer. And it tasted so good! Look out for Amorino and Mama Elba shops.

Advertisement

Eating vegan in Jersey

Please note: this post is part of a series. Click here to read from the beginning.

Before I flew to Jersey, I had visions of myself living off rice cakes and fruit from the supermarket. Usually, when visiting anywhere with a sizeable population, a quick search on HappyCow and a couple of questions on Facebook results in a fairly lengthy list of options. With Jersey, though, I was a bit worried. The limited recommendations I was getting from people were generally not good for a gluten-free diet.

I needn’t have worried, though. The few options on HappyCow were very good, and I was also lucky to have a friend on the island who did lots of research for me before I arrived. Most of my friends are omnivore, but I am extremely lucky that they are very supportive of my vegan diet and understanding about my gluten allergy. My friend not only managed to find restaurants with vegan and gluten-free options for me, by the time I left for the next part of my trip in Guernsey I’d eaten so much good food I could barely walk onto the boat!

Breakfast

Usually, my friends and I like to book Airbnb type accommodation when we travel together. There are lots of benefits to this, including that we usually have access to a kitchen and I can prepare my own food if I need to. Unfortunately, we were unable to find suitable options in Jersey that didn’t cost a fortune. Instead, I found the Stafford Hotel on booking.com. Most of the accommodation options included breakfast, and I figured that if I have to pay for breakfast I should at least find a hotel where they have vegan options. Admittedly, I didn’t contact the hotel in advance, but I chose the Stafford because all the reviews said they had an excellent breakfast buffet. So, unusually for me as I practice intermittent fasting and don’t normally have my first meal until after 11am, I started everyday with hash browns, beans, fresh fruit and coffee from the hotel. For a 2 star hotel, we were very pleased with the Stafford. It’s a rickety old building with very thin walls (I could hear someone snoring very loudly from another room, and was kept awake by creaking floorboards in the corridor outside), but it’s exceptionally clean with good facilities and very attentive staff. The team at the hotel seemed very eager to please, and I’m sure if you contacted them in advance they would do their best to provide more vegan options for breakfast.

Moo

Whether you are vegan, omnivore or part-time flexitarian (?) you have to stop at Moo for lunch. I bought mine to go and ate it in the sunshine in Royal Square. Moo aim to offer as much local, seasonal, organic produce as possible. They have lots of vegan and gluten-free options, and the staff are the coolest people to have a chat too whilst they’re preparing your food. I had the beetroot and mint rice paper wrap (I’d advise you to pick up cutlery if you choose the wrap, it got a bit messy) and a sloan ranger juice. I also tried some of their juice shots whilst I was in the cafe.

Cafe Spice

Handily located right opposite our hotel, Cafe Spice offers excellent Indian cuisine and great customer service. The entire vegetarian menu, except the korma, is vegan and gluten-free if you order with the boiled rice. Poppadoms are also vegan and gluten-free. The manager got very excited when I asked about the vegan options, telling me they’d had a large vegan group in the night before and proudly showing me the Viva card they’d left.

Banjo

For a more upmarket night out, Banjo is a great restaurant, although make sure you book in advance. There are 2 dining rooms, decorated in different styles, and a cocktail bar. If you have a passion for interior design, you should definitely check out this restaurant. As well as the cool eating and drinking areas, the bathrooms have also been designed in a very unique style. They have a couple of vegan options. I chose the lentil curry, which was lovely. My only disappointment was the poor selection of vegan and gluten-free spirits. The bar is known for it’s cocktails, but unfortunately I couldn’t try any of them.

El Tico

I think El Tico is probably my favourite spot out of everywhere I ate on Jersey. They have a separate vegan menu with gluten-free options, huge portions and the food tasted amazing. I chose the tico super salad (see picture above) which I can highly recommend. My only disappointment was that my fruit smoothie (ingredients vary depending on fruit available) was served in a plastic cup with a plastic straw, and not particularly big for what I paid. The use of plastic was a shame, as I’d noticed lots of bars and restaurants around the island using paper straws and trying to discourage customers from using them at all. If you are easily offended by the smell of seafood, El Tico might not be the best place for you. Most people in the restaurant were eating mussels as this is the local delicacy.

Big Vern’s

Big Vern’s is the restaurant I was least impressed with. It looked really hopeful. They had vegan options clearly marked on the menu, including a vegetable curry which I went for. The menu clearly stated that it’s vegan if you ask for it without the yogurt, but when I tried to order none of the serving staff knew what a vegan is. I patiently tried to explain, and also said I didn’t want the naan bread that came with the meal because I’m allergic to gluten. Not once, but twice I was served the curry with naan bread and yogurt. Having said that, once I actually received the meal I ordered, it did taste really good. It’s just a shame that the staff don’t know their own menu.

Pizza Express

I’m sure you are all aware of Pizza Express, but I have included them here to show that there are chain restaurant options on Jersey as well. We went to Pizza Express one evening for a meal, and it was lovely. I had the Vegan Giardiniera with gluten free base.

Jersey Zoo

We opted to take a picnic for our day at the zoo, but there is a cafe there. I don’t know about the meal options, but I thought I’d include it in the post because I noticed they had a vegan and gluten-free cake on the menu.

Guernsey/Herm

As I mentioned above, I felt like I ate my own body weight in amazing vegan food whilst I was on Jersey. For that reason, and also because I was travelling alone once I left Jersey and trying to cram in as much as I could, I just lived off snacks whilst I was on Guernsey and Herm. The Co-operative in St Peters Port has a great selection of vegan and gluten-free options, including the Savse smoothies pictured above which I found to be a handy breakfast option.

 

Eating Vegan in Ireland

Please note, this post is part of a series. Click here to read from the beginning.

I only have one word to describe all the vegan food I tried while I was in Ireland – wow! The same as when I travel anywhere, I searched every destination we stopped at on Happy Cow to find out where the best vegan food was to be found.

Here are the restaurants we tried, and I would recommend them all. There are lots more to choose from, and I wish I’d had the time to try them too. Just another reason to return to Ireland I guess.

Quay Co-op, Cork

There is so much to choose from at this great eatery. And make sure you leave room for dessert, including gluten-free options. They also have a HUGE health food store on the ground floor.

Box of Frogs, Bantry

Tell the chef what foods you like, and he’ll whip you up an amazing dish from the delicious components he has in his fridge. They also serve incredible smoothies and great coffee.

Dish, Tralee

Great tasting vegan alternatives to some comfort food classics are on offer at this great little restaurant in Tralee. Burritos are their speciality, but if you’re looking for a vegan cooked breakfast this is the place to go.

The Grove Veggie Kitchen, Limerick

Tell one of the lovely ladies behind the counter what you dietary requirements are, give them €10 and they will exchange it for a huge plate of satisfying, plant-based deliciousness. They’d unfortunately been victims of a break-in the night before we visited, but that didn’t slow them down at all and we were still greeted with that great Irish welcome.

Momo, Waterford

Right in the centre of Waterford, eating at Momo is an amazing experience. Lovely food, lovely people and a great atmosphere. The chef even came to our table to ask if my vegan, gluten-free dessert was OK.

 

Vegan Food in Amsterdam

I have a confession to make. Although I travel solo a lot, when I am travelling with other people I tend to be the one who just follows everyone else. When I was in Amsterdam, as part of a group of 18, I ate a lot of great vegan food but I couldn’t tell you where some of it was from as I don’t know. I would like to say thank you to my non-vegan friends for picking some tasty eating spots though. Here’s what I do remember about eating vegan in Amsterdam:

Vegabond – This tiny shop and café on one of the narrow side streets is a must for any vegan visitor to Amsterdam. They have an impressive selection of groceries to keep you going (including gluten-free beer 🙂 ) and the café serves the most delicious lunches. The open gluten-free sandwich with vegan cheese and pine nuts is delicious, and I washed it down with a refreshing red juice.

Candy Freaks – I’d seen this shop on Happy Cow but wasn’t going to go there. Then I stumbled upon it by accident whilst I was exploring (ie lost) in the city. This is the most vegan-friendly sweet shop I have ever been in. Most of the sweets are part of one huge pick & mix, and they are all labelled as to whether they are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and a whole host of other dietary requirements. The guy running the shop is also super nice, and very keen to direct veggies and vegans around Amsterdam and recommend places to eat. When he told me they also do mail order, including to Wales, I knew me finding Candy Freaks was just going to be dangerous.

Intercontinental Amstel – Most of the recommendations I make on my blog are for travellers on a budget. Just to warn you now, this one isn’t. To cut a long story short, I thought I was going to Amsterdam to celebrate a 30th birthday but the hosts surprised us by getting married whilst we were there! It was a true honour and privilege to have been included as part of their special day, and to top it all off they took us to the 5 star Amstel hotel for an out-of-this-world dinner in their wine room. My friend had informed the restaurant that I am vegan and gluten-free, but none of us expected the meal I got. Every course was as equally thought through and presented as my omnivore friends’. Anything I write here could not do the food justice, and I really appreciate that the hotel staff did not make me feel different or awkward for one second that I was there. This is the first time I have blogged about 5 star luxury, but if you really want to treat yourself I would strongly recommend the Intercontinental Amstel. If you are vegan, gluten-free or have any other dietary requirements, simply let the staff know and trust them to deliver the best meal you have ever tasted.

Vegan Food in Frankfurt

Germany is one of the most welcoming countries for vegans. A search of any German city on Happy Cow will give you a long list of not only vegan-friendly restaurants, but many options for dedicated vegetarian and vegan eateries. As I tend to do when I travel, I booked self-catering hostel accommodation in Frankfurt. This means that, should I have trouble finding vegan and gluten-free food, I always have the option to cook for myself. Self-catering can also work out a lot cheaper, although not always. As there are so many vegan options to choose from in Frankfurt, I treated myself and ate out for every meal. Well, it’s only my duty as a vegan blogger right? 🙂

Here are all the restaurants, cafes and coffee shops I managed to cram into my few days in Frankfurt:

Elia (Greek restaurant) – This was actually the one place I ate where they had no vegan options on the menu. Once I explained my dietary requirements, though, the friendly Greek staff were more than happy to request a vegan and gluten-free meal from the chef for me. I enjoyed a plate of rice with vegetables that was beautifully cooked and presented and tasted delicious.

Saftcraft – On the day I arrived in Frankfurt, I sought out Saftcraft because I thought some fresh juice might perk me up after a long night of travelling. The café is 100% vegan and they have a lot of gluten-free options. The staff were super nice and helpful. Their quinoa Bolognese pot is one of the best vegan lunches I have ever tasted. I’m not usually a fan of iced tea, but as their homemade version was part of the meal deal I thought I’d give it a try and I’m so glad I did. It was so refreshing and tasty, and along with the Bolognese pot just what I needed to restore my energy. I loved Saftcraft so much that I went back for a breakfast smoothie the following morning. The first floor of the café is also a really nice place to chill out with a coffee, and I was happy to hang out for an hour or so whilst I checked my emails and caught up on admin. Wi-Fi connection is far from functional in Frankfurt, which I found strange for a business hub. Saftcraft is a Wi-Fi hotspot, though, which is really easy to sign up for and offers better than average service.

Coffee Fellows – This chain of coffee shops makes a mean soya latte, and seems to hire some of the happiest baristas on the planet. They do also offer vegan sandwiches if you’re OK with gluten, and their ice-cream bar has an impressive selection of vegan options. You can just about make out the list of vegan flavours on the glass in my photo, but the real reason I took this picture was because of the cute step they have in front of the counter so that children can see all the ice-cream flavours. What a brilliant idea!

Vevay – As someone who travels solo regularly, I’m used to eating on my own. It can feel like you are a burden to restaurants, though, as they are missing out on the money from the extra seat at the table you are taking up. I’ve had restaurants admit me only on the condition I eat at the bar, crammed in next to either the glass collection point, the bathrooms or both. This was  far from my experience at Vevay, though. I was welcomed with a friendly smile, invited to sit where I wanted and not pressured at all to rush and vacate the table. I opted for the protein bowl, which had so many components to it I wouldn’t want to list them all here for fear I would forget some and miss them out. Needless to say it was delicious, and totally different from the food I would prepare at home so a nice treat for myself.

Pho Ngon – This Vietnamese restaurant is a hidden gem in the heart of Frankfurt, and I almost don’t want to tell you about it in case it becomes too popular. A friend who works in Frankfurt took me there after it had been recommended to her from a colleague. They have a few vegan and gluten-free options on the menu, and the young man serving us was happy to advise on what I could and couldn’t eat. We shared the vegan tofu summer rolls to start, which can be made with rice paper. They were huge, and I’m glad we decided to share as a whole portion to myself would have left no room for my main course. I opted for rice with fried tofu and vegetables, which was also a very generous portion. The food was delicious, and the restaurant a really nice setting to eat it.

Kuffler & Bucher Asian Restaurant – Frankfurt airport is either the second or third largest airport in Europe after Heathrow, depending on what information you read. Once you get through security, your options for food depend on which departure area you are in. Kuffler & Bucher is one of the options in Terminal 2B, which is where my flight was departing from. There are two totally different sides to the restaurant, which is a surprising but actually very clever idea.  While one side caters to very traditional German tastes, the other side offers all Asian food. Presuming I had more chance of finding something vegan and gluten-free to eat, I went for the Asian side. They have vegan and vegetarian options clearly labelled on the menu, and the lovely waitress swapped the udon noodles for rice noodles to omit the gluten. She also kindly put the chillies on the side of my dish so I could make it as hot as I wanted to. I could not have asked for a nicer airport meal to finish off my trip.

 

Vegan Skiing

There are 2 reasons I am not a food blogger:

1. I don’t have a camera phone, so if I wanted to take a photo of my food I’d have to pull out my full size SLR camera. This can be slightly awkward in restaurants, especially when you’re eating with other people.
2. On the odd occasion I have managed to take a photo of my food, I’ve always forgotten to take the shot until I’m already halfway through eating it. So, the photos don’t do the food justice to say the least.

With that being said, as a gluten-free vegan who likes to travel, probably the most common question I get asked is ‘what are you going to eat?’ So, I try to include some posts on my blog about what I’ve eaten and where on my trips.

Ski trips in particular seem to confuse a lot of people. I guess they have assumptions about what there is to eat in ski resorts. And, if it’s all pasta, fondue and pastries then I will surely starve!

When I’m the one planning the trip, I tend to opt for self-catering accommodation unless I’m staying somewhere that is specifically aimed at vegans. That way, I have much better control over what I’m eating. Unless I’m staying miles away from the nearest supermarket, preparing my own food is the easiest way to go. On my recent ski trip to Les Arcs and La Plagne, however, I was travelling with omnivores who did all the booking. I made sure to check out our hotel’s website before we left, and I was pleased to discover that the L’Aiguille Rouge serves all buffet meals. This is the next best option for me after self-catering. L’Aiguille Rouge is part of the Belambra chain, and there was plenty of food for me to choose from on the buffet at every meal. Apart from checking the ingredients a couple of times, I didn’t have to make any special requests for my meals. I’m sure, though, that had I needed to ask the restaurant staff for suitable food they would have happily obliged. They were all super nice, and nothing was too much trouble for them. They even had soy milk on the breakfast buffet, so I was able to get my morning coffee!

Out on the slopes, I would recommend the vegetable stir-fry with rice noodles at Le Sanglier Qui Fume in Les Arcs 1600 and Le Chalets de l’Arc at Les Arcs 2000 for their quinoa salad.

PENTAX DIGITAL CAMERA

PENTAX DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Surviving as a Plant Eater on the Alaska Marine Highway

Please note, this post is part of a series. Click here to read it from the beginning.

On my journey from San Francisco to Seattle, I had pretty much stuffed my face with amazing vegan food. I’d searched Happy Cow for the best restaurants and grocery stores to try, and visited as many of them as I could. I knew, though, that eating on the ferry would be a very different experience. I was heading to Alaska, the land of fish.

As we boarded the boat, I could hear other passengers excitedly talking about how much salmon they were going to eat. I avoided these conversations. Before leaving Seattle, I’d made a dash around Wholefoods to pick up some hemp milk, protein powder and gluten-free snacks. I wasn’t going to starve.

On board the boat, there were two options for eating. I could have gone for the buffet in the restaurant, but it seemed a waste of money to spend $19 when all I would eat was rice and vegetables. The other option was the snack bar. They offered the standard American diet of burgers and pizza. And, of course, some fish. There was a vegan burger on the menu. I couldn’t eat it anyway because of the gluten, but I did wonder how vegan it was when the chef informed me that he cooked the fries in the same fryer as the chicken.

I went for the safe option. The snack bar had some pretty good fresh, raw veggies and fruit. It wasn’t exactly a gourmet meal, but teamed up with my emergency snacks (which I topped up when we stopped in Ketchikan) it was enough to keep me going  for 3 days.

Cardiff to Sacramento

Although it sounds miles away from Cardiff (another capital city in another country!?!), Heathrow is actually only a two hour drive from where I live. Even at peak times, the M4 is never anywhere as crazy as the M25 (otherwise known as the London orbital car park). Unfortunately, although getting to Heathrow is easy, you have to tack an extra hour on to your journey to find the long stay car park. I swear if you follow the road signs you double back on yourself at least twice and end up somewhere close to the motorway exit you just came off.

Note to car battery – please, please do not die during the four weeks you are parked at Heathrow airport.

When did the Virgin Atlantic check-in procedure suddenly get more complicated than your passport application? I love flying with Virgin (especially if the option is them or British Airways, who I only fly with when walking is my only other viable choice), but having to give them my mum’s contact details and a brief summary of my planned trip seems a bit extreme just to board a plane.

My early morning start was soon forgotten when I popped into Pret for breakfast. Oh my god I love those guys! Soya milk decaf latte, gluten-free and vegan porridge (yes!!!), fresh fruit salad and a protein salad. What a great healthy meal to start my trip.

If only my plane food had been as successful as my breakfast. I’d contacted Virgin Atlantic via email the previous week and asked if they could provide me with a vegan and gluten-free meal. They’d replied no, I had to choose one or the other. I chose the vegan option in the hope that there would be something I could eat. Other than the fruit snack, there wasn’t. It was all pasta, sandwiches and wraps. I’d taken my own food on board, so I didn’t go hungry. And the cabin crew were very understanding, giving more of the things I could eat and even offering to make me a jacket potato. I was annoyed when one of them told me you can pre-order a bespoke meal, so if anyone finds themselves in the same situation I’d recommend pushing the subject with customer services before you travel. And take some food with you just in case.

When I was at school, we used to argue with our maths teacher that the subject was useless. On the off chance that he might be reading this, I’d like to apologise. I have found a genuine use for GCSE maths – trying to buy a ticket for the BART in San Francisco. The Bay Area Transit is a great mode of transport, but I don’t remember it being so weird to use. Never before have I seen a ticket machine where you have to find the fare you need from a list, put in what money you have and then subtract off what you don’t need. But hey, as the lady next to me who was also having trouble with the machine pointed out, people from San Francisco probably find the London Underground strange.

I caught the BART to Oakland, and then dashed through the city (as much as I could dash with 2 backpacks on) to the Greyhound station. Oakland looks nice, I’d like to go back some time and see it properly.

The Greyhound I travelled on from Oakland to Sacramento has the slipperiest seats I have ever been on. I’m glad I’ve been keeping up with pilates training recently because it took all my core strength just to stay on the damn thing. I also heard the funniest introduction ever from a bus driver – ‘I don’t like to be called Driver, Miss or Ma’am. My name is Nesha, if you can’t remember that then just walk up to the front of the bus and start talking.’

We pulled into Sacramento on one of the hottest days of the year. I decided to power through and walk to my hostel, which in hindsight probably wasn’t a good idea. Don’t listen to the directions on Hostelling International’s website. They are for the old Greyhound station, which was really close to the hostel. The new station is miles away. After sweating out what felt like half my body weight, I arrived at my first proper bed and vowed to take a cab back to the bus station when I left Sacramento.

One of the reasons I love staying in hostels is that each one is unique. Sacramento HI is housed in a beautiful (rumoured to be haunted) old mansion house. It is an incredible building to stay in, made all the nicer by the super friendly, welcoming staff. Plus, they have free use of towels, great kitchen facilities and cheap laundry facilities.

Useful Info:

BART San Francisco airport to Oakland: $8.95

Greyhound Oakland to Sacramento: from $7.00

Dorm beds at HI Sacramento: from around $30 per night

Sacramento

Anyone following me on Twitter and/or Facebook will know that I arrived in the US safe and sound yesterday. I’ve decided that, whilst I’m actually travelling, I’m just going to post highlights of my day. Once I get back to the UK and have a chance to sort through my photos properly, I’ll write more in-depth posts about each destination. That way I won’t miss anything. Plus, I know a lot of my family and friends are now following this blog because they want to see what I’m up to while I’m away. They’ll hear all the stories from me anyway, so all they want to see on Sasieology is photos 🙂

With that in mind, here are my highlights from my first day in Sacramento:

I started my day with an epic all-you-can-eat vegan brunch at Garden to Grill. Hash brown, tofu frittata and, my favourite, gluten-free waffles. This is the first time I’ve been able to eat waffles since I went gluten-free and they were amazing. I also ate some fresh watermelon and pineapple to balance out the waffles (I’m pretty sure that’s how it works).

     While I was in the area I popped to the Gluten Free Speciality Market, where I met Melanie. She’s trying to start a blog to connect local food producers, so she’s a useful person to speak to and super nice.

I spent the rest of the day in Old Sacramento, including an underground tour and river boat cruise.

Vegfest Brighton 2015

Brighton is one of my favourite places that I’ve ever visited. Known for being a lively, gay-friendly beach resort on the south coast of England, it’s also like the mothership for vegetarians and vegans. I would move there, but the huge selection of vegetarian restaurants and shops would lead me to eat too much and be in a lot of debt. However, I need no excuse to visit Brighton. So, when I found out that I was free the weekend of Brighton Vegfest 2015, I immediately booked my train ticket. And, the two day extravaganza of everything vegan you could ever imagine all under one roof did not disappoint.

Due to it’s location on the south coast, Brighton is usually one of the few places in the UK to get some sunshine. Unfortunately, that was not the case on this visit. This was the ‘sea view’ from outside my hostel on the Saturday morning…

That blurry, vague shape that you can see in the background is Brighton Pier by the way! Booking a hostel right on the sea front also suddenly didn’t seem like such a good idea when I had to traverse along the edge of the building to get anywhere due to the incredibly strong winds. Lucky for me, and the other 12,000 people who attended, Vegfest was entirely indoors. My one piece of advise would be to get there early, or chill out in Brighton for a while and wait for the queue to go down as it was very long…

Still queuing…

When we did eventually all make it inside, it was definitely worth the wait. Hundreds of stalls advertising, selling and advocating everything from the world of veganism. Loads of charities and other great causes spreading the word about how we can save the world by living plant-based/vegan. A comedy festival with back-to-back vegan comedians for the whole two days. Two rooms with back-to-back presentations about lifestyle and nutrition. An entire room of fresh, tasty, vegan food. Performances, kids’ activities, vegan wine and a pedal-your-own smoothie station. Basically, heaven for vegans all under one roof. Here are my highlights from the weekend.

By far the best thing about visiting Vegfest was all the lovely, interesting and knowledgeable people I got to meet. Where I live in South Wales, we are lucky to have vegetarian restaurants and I live in a vegan-friendly neighbourhood, but I don’t often get the chance to mingle with so many people who have the same beliefs as me. I pestered nutritionists, charity workers, activists, chefs and many other experts with soooooo many questions. And they all patiently listened to me, answered what they’d probably already been asked a hundred times and expanded my knowledge.

There were so many talks and presentations, it was impossible to attend all the ones that I was interested in. So, I decided to divide my time between subjects that I already had some knowledge of and subjects that would push me out of my comfort zone, surprise me and help me to move closer to living completely vegan and be more environmentally conscious. As a result, I listened to experts on children’s nutrition, vegan body building, hunt sabotage, eating raw and the Vegan Society.

After all the listening, asking questions and shopping (lots and lots of shopping), the food court beckoned. There was so much delicious food to choose from, but it was so busy in the Brighton Centre that the queues were massive and lots of vendors quickly ran out of food. In fact, that would be my one criticism of Brighton Vegfest in general. From listening to people who had attended n previous years, this year’s festival was a lot bigger and a lot busier. It was overwhelming, especially on the Saturday.

Whilst in Brighton, I also found some time to visit the North Laines. This is my favourite part of Brighton, and I filled up on some yummy food at vegetarian restaurants Wai Kiki Moo Kau and Iydea.

I would definitely love to go back to Brighton Vegfest next year, by which time I’m sure I’ll have a hundred more questions. I’m also seriously considering dropping into Bristol Vegfest to see some of the talks I missed.