Ballymore House

🇵🇹 48 hours in Porto was not long enough!

Anyone I spoke to about Porto (or Portugal in general) only had good things to say about the people and the vibe. I was worried we’d struggle a bit as vegans (especially as with a picky 12 year old) but actually there was plenty to choose from.

Vegan only restaurants were limited (but always better than in Northern Ireland) but nearly every place that we looked at had at least a vegan option, so progress! These were our top picks.

🥐 F O M E - padaria plant based we had two really huge sandwiches here for breakfast on our first day that kept us going right through to dinner! Ruans was like a cheese & ham. Mine was sausage and caramelised onion. Both on focaccia. Both delicious. We also took away some pastry. Highlight for me was the lemon matcha croissant. Divine.

🥞 NOLA®️ ALL-DAY CAFÉ this was a really cool little space that did sort of breakfast, lunch, dinner and wee treats. The staff were so friendly too. I loved the pancakes so much! There were options with eggs too, so not fully vegan, but a very good experience.

🍔 Kind Kitchen this is where I had the vegan francesinha, which is a Portuguese speciality. It was a toasted sandwich filled with sausage and mushroom, wrapped in cheese sort of floating in a tomatoey sauce. Flipping lovely. Ruan had a the double smash burger and he loved it. Highlight was the tofu sticky bites that we shared. And the portions were massive!

🥦 Verde Hut - Restaurante Vegano this was a gem of a find. All you can eat buffet. Really delicious and great selection. Highlight for me was the lentil dhal. The staff were also very friendly! Not expensive, and for €5 extra you can get a dessert. We’d recommend the banoffee. Such a treat!

✨ CLIENT SPOTLIGHT ✨

Jonathan arrived at one of our very first Pilates taster sessions and has been a regular ever since!

His timekeeping is perfectly imperfect — much like my own — which means our Friday 9.30am class has quietly become a 9.31am class as we all wait for Jonathan to make his entrance.

And in he comes, always with a smile and a nod to everyone. He’s such a kind, gentle person and has become a really loved part of the class.

What I admire most about Jonny is the effort he puts in every single week. He gives absolutely everything — I can often see his muscles trembling as he pushes himself right to the limit!

It’s been a real privilege getting to know him, and he’s a very worthy Member of the Month.

Well deserved, Jonny!

Read his answers to our questions in the next newsletter.

All the way from 🇨🇳

WELLLL it’s that special time... this is the timetable we have planned for August although for obvious reasons it may be subjected to change!!

Thanks all for your love and support at this time

- HOW TO BOOK YOUR YOGA CLASS -

STEP ONE - visit our website OR download the “fit by Wix” app, invite code OLLJJR (link in bio)!

STEP TWO - Browse our timetable of classes, events and retreats.

STEP THREE - Check out our class passes, day rates and block bookings.

STEP FOUR - Book into your class and we will see you on your mat!

Never hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries. We will get back to messages as soon as we can!

All the way from 🇨🇳

WELLLL it’s that special time… this is the timetable we have planned for August although for obvious reasons it may be subjected to change!!

Thanks all for your love and support at this time ❤️

- HOW TO BOOK YOUR YOGA CLASS -

STEP ONE - visit our website OR download the “fit by Wix” app, invite code OLLJJR (link in bio)!

STEP TWO - Browse our timetable of classes, events and retreats.

STEP THREE - Check out our class passes, day rates and block bookings.

STEP FOUR - Book into your class and we will see you on your mat!

Never hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries. We will get back to messages as soon as we can!

If you are new here, let us introduce ourselves.

As much as we love it, this is still very much something fun for us. We do this because we love to see you guys enjoying yourselves, and we are passionate about movement that feels good. We aren’t here to perform (although Ben might have you believe otherwise). We are here for presence.

Thanks to everyone who has given us a wee go and supported us so far. We appreciate you.

We will see you in the next chapter ✨

For the bank holiday we are offering 30% off our retreat this August… 24 hours only!