Paris | 2015

eiffel tower
Paris is a city that I’ve always wanted to go to. Despite it being only a two hour train journey away I had never been to France before let alone its capital. Back in June Lucy and I took the trip for four days and long overdue, this is our travel diary.

On our first day in Paris we arrived late afternoon after spending two and a half hours on the Eurostar from London - much to Lucy’s annoyance as she couldn’t get comfortable to sleep on the train, a true first world problem. After checking into the hotel and freshening up we decided to wonder down to the Eiffel Tower to get dinner. I had never been to Paris before, or France for that matter, so was very excited to see the tall standing building. 
We stopped off for dinner at a small cafe/restaurant with a view of the tower on our way back to the metro - side note: the cheapest way to get around Paris is via the Metro, if you’re used to the Underground, like me, it can still take some getting used to though despite it being a similar deal mainly due to the lines not having directional points like the Underground. This quaint spot wasn’t the most luxurious place to eat in Paris however the food was nice, the service was friendly and if you’re more interested in the tourist side of Paris opposed to living the high life, its perfect and budget friendly, which its hard to find a budget anything in such an expensive city.

Tips for planning a trip away

holiday
Summer is on the horizon, and with that many of us will be jetting away on holiday whether it be to the beach for a week, a city trip or a long weekend escape. Either way planning a trip can be stressful especially if you have never been where you going before so I’ve put together some tips that I’ve found helpful whilst booking my trips away.

Set a Budget | To prevent overspending set a budget. It doesn’t matter how big or how small that budget is but making sure you stay within your means will prevent you wracking up a large credit card bill and you can also easily track what you’re spending.

Research the Area | If you’re visiting somewhere you’ve been to many times before or are familiar with this step can probably be skipped - unless you want to discover somewhere new which you may have missed before. But if you’re visiting somewhere new it pays to do some research about where you’re going. What the big tourist attractions, where are the best restaurants, is their public transport or do you need to get taxis, where is your hotel or where your staying in relation to all of this. It can be quite easy to get whisked away in the excitement of visiting somewhere new that you miss a lot of what is going on and come away having only seen a quarter of what you could’ve seen and done.

Look Around | This is helpful in terms of saving money but also finding exactly what you want. Don’t just book the first hotel you find, or the first flights etc. Not only could you save yourself money that way but you may find a better hotel that may be closer to what you’re doing, offer more etc.

Read Reviews | Reviews are your best friend. Want to know what the staff is like at a hotel? Read reviews. Want to know whether a tourist attraction is worth it? Read reviews. Want to know what restaurants are the best? Read reviews.

Read Travel Blogs | Just like beauty blogs are the place to go for beauty advice, travel blogs are the place to go for travel advice. With reviews of everything from restaurants to hotels and everything in-between often with condensed posts based around one city or place showing all the best bits. They are also excellent at recommending places that are off the beaten track and not recommended in guide books.

Make a List | List everything you want to do whilst your away, from day trips to tourist attractions to restaurants. This makes is easier for you to plot down what you want to do whilst you’re away, don’t make a concrete itinerary though as this will take away your ability to truly enjoy the trip as you’ll be more focussed on how much time you have where and how to get to the next thing you want to do.

Do you have any tips for planning a mini break or holiday?

~ Jade xx

Three days in Dublin

dublin
Back in March Lucy and I made the short plane journey over to Dublin for a few days to explore, partly for my birthday which was the week previous but also because instead of going on a beach holiday this year we decided to take lots of small trips to places we haven’t yet explored as to us, that’s much more exciting - although I will miss lazing around on a beach in a foreign country drinking cocktails but there’s always next summer for that.

Dublin has been top of my list of places to go for a while. Having Irish family I’ve always wanted to make the trip over to Ireland but just never had the chance to. We were only in Dublin for three days but we managed to accomplish nearly everything on our list of things to do. It was also our first trip completely in charge, we booked everything ourselves, made all the arrangements, everything. We are now officially adults, which is a scary thing to say - *runs away from responsibility*. 

A Lazy Sunday | The Saatchi Gallery with Afternoon Tea

afternoon tea
Lucy & I took a trip down to London this past Sunday, partly to visit Lucy’s sister who moved to London last year but also so I could take Lucy for afternoon tea as part of her Christmas present, and to have a look around the Saatchi Gallery as neither of us had been before. 

The Saatchi Gallery is a contemporary art gallery situated in Chelsea - although it has also been located in North London and on South Bank previously. It houses many artists which are unknown to both the general public but also commercially so its a great place to check out if you want to see something new and interesting. The exhibitions change frequently too so its a place you can visit again and again without seeing the same thing a hundred times over. If you happen to be near the Sloane Square area its a great place to wonder round for an hour if you have some time to kill as well as it doesn’t cost anything to get in.

Before we went into the Saatchi Gallery we stopped for afternoon tea at the Gallery Mess restaurant which is attached to the gallery. Lucy & I both love afternoon tea so we were more than excited to try out a new spot. We both opted for traditional English breakfast tea and our cake stand arrived with a selection of sandwiches, a scone each and a selection of cakes - the dark chocolate torte was mouth wateringly good. The setting of the restaurant is really nice too with exposed brick work and antique look mirrors - I didn’t get a picture though as the restaurant was busy. The staff were welcoming and it was very reasonably priced considering the area of London it’s situated. I would highly recommend reserving a table though to avoid a long wait.

How did you spend your Sunday?

~ Jade xx

A look back at 2014

2014
Today I thought I’d take a look back at twenty fourteen before the new year appears at our door steps next week. This year has been a roller coaster of ups and downs for me. I had a clear plan of what I wanted to achieve this year however sometimes things don’t always go as planned. The biggest thing that changed was my plans to go to university. I ended up deciding that I actually didn’t want to go to university this year and so have taken a year off to reapply to different universities as something just didn’t feel right. However, 2014 has all in all been a good year for me. I think it's important to look back at your year before the new one rolls around to appreciate what happened, the bad times and the good times, in order to make the most of the next year ahead.


Blackpool | The forgotten post

Blackpool
Today, let’s take a step back a few months to summer - I was going to write this post a while back but for some reason just never got around to it. 

Back in July my family and I decided to take a 'mini holiday' to Blackpool. As my Nanna had many happy memories there and my Dad was born there we wanted to take the trip up north with my Nanna to see it all - which was quite the task I must say. As we only went for 3 days we stayed at The Imperial Hotel, which was truly stunning but was under construction and covered in scaffolding so I couldn't get a good picture. The hotel was just across from the beach so was only a short walk for a - rather chilly - paddle in the sea, minding the trams on the way! I would highly recommend a stay The Imperial Hotel, the food was amazing and the staff were so friendly.
A night time trip down to the beach to see Blackpool tower lit up - although unfortunately the tower was under some construction work so it wasn't as spectacular as it usually is
We took trip to the UK's most famous Theme park- Blackpool Pleasure Beach (including the most famous ride from the park 'The Big One'...which I didn't have the courage to go on). The Pleasure Beach Amusement Park was a really fun day out with all sorts to do whether you enjoy rides or not.
Light effects in the jellyfish tank at the Sealife Centre Blackpool
I found Nemo!
The picturesque sights of  the Blackpool Tower, one of the piers and the beach

If you’re looking for a fun beach holiday in the UK, Blackpool is at the top of my list. It has something for everyone and there's always something to do. Blackpool has such a great atmosphere to it. I really love it there and I’ll definitely be going back.

What is your favourite beach to go to in the UK?

~ Lucy xx

A day at the beach | Bournemouth

beach
Last week Lucy & I went on our first road trip down to Bournemouth beach. Over the summer we wanted to go to the beach at some point, however we never got the chance. Recently though, the sunny weather has returned to England so we decided to take the opportunity and drive the two hours south. As we live in the country side we don't often get to see the coast so we took the opportunity to do everything. We obviously had fish & chips and ice cream, went for an obligatory paddle - although the water was very cold, had dinner at a beachside restaurant called HotRocks (I had a red Thai curry - along with a piña colada - & Lucy had Fajitas, which were both mouthwatering but not expensive), had a look around the Oceanarium and had a lovely walk along the waters edge - there's something very relaxing to me about sand between my toes and a sea breeze in the air, it just makes me happy. The weather was also surprisingly lovely for September in England which made the day even better.

A trip to Wollaton Hall | Nottingham

lifestyle
Lucy and I recently took a short trip up to Nottingham. As mentioned in my ‘Plans for twenty fourteen’ post - which can be seen here - I wanted to visit more of Britain this year with Nottingham being part of the list of places for me to visit, as Lucy has family in Nottingham and regularly mentions how much she loves it there. This trip we were only in Nottingham for just over 24 hours so Lucy didn’t have much time to show me around however we did squeeze in a trip to Wollaton Hall. Wollaton Hall is an old country house built in 1588 and was used as Wayne Manor in the Dark Knight Rises, its set in a large deer park and is currently the Nottingham Natural History Museum.

Mallorca | 2014

Alcúdia 

Last year I shared with you all a few snaps from my holiday to Mallorca - which can be seen here -, so I thought it only right to do the same thing again this year. This year however our holiday was slightly different despite us being in the same place. On and off we've been coming to Mallorca for eight years and as you would've seen from last years post we tend to very much have a 'water holiday' of jet skiing and boating. This year however we decided that we were going to see more if the island, since we only ever go to the same places and never explore. We visited two previously unexplored places this year, Sóller and Alcúdia.

A day at Longleat

birthday
Since Jade and I have finished our A levels- and it had been my 18th birthday the previous week- we decided to have a celebratory day out at Longleat. We had such a lovely day with the drive through safari in the morning, a tasty picnic and then explored the house and its grounds in the afternoon. For me, a huge animal lover, Longleat is the perfect day out- and of course we took full advantage of Jades bad boy camera lens!

Here are some pictures that we took throughout the day.
We dared to drive through the monkey enclosure where the monkeys are free to go wherever they want... luckily Jades car came out undamaged.
What I loved about Longleat is that they provide the rare chance to see an elephant - which isn't common in most zoos/safari parks in England - Anne, Longleat's elephant, was rescued from a circus.
I would definitely recommend Longleat as a day out for everyone.

What would your ideal day out be?

~ Lucy xx

Photography information

Canon 600D with 18-55mm lens, Canon 24mm lens or Sigma 70-300mm lens. Canon EOS M with 18-55mm lens or Canon 24mm lens. Any edited photos are edited using Photoshop CS6. Picture source is given for any photo used that is not directly ours.