Wednesday, 30 July 2014

24 Hours in Paris

Paris is - without a doubt - one of my favourite places to visit in the whole wide world. From amazing artwork to spectacular food to inspiring architecture, this is certainly a city to suit a variety of needs.

Image: iD Bus Facebook Page
Accessing this wonderful city is something that can also be done to suit all budgets and needs - from taking an iD Bus from London to Paris* or jumping on a plane and flying to the Charles de Gaulle Airport. Then there's the accommodation factor, do you want a budget hostel or Parisian luxury - this something that you can choose to dial up or dial down at any point of your planning process.

Images: www.parisescapes.com
Personally, I think that three-four days is the perfect amount of time to spend in the wonderful city. However, if you are a little stretched for time. I want to show you my highlights to Paris and how to do it within 24 hours. The first thing you will need is a metro map and a day pass card (more info here) so that you are able to get around quickly to each destination.


Morning: Climbing Notre Dame Cathedral 

Not only is Notre Damn, one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen, you can also walk up to the top of it. After climbing through the (endless) spiral stair cases and ducking through the humongous bells, you finally come out onto the roof top balcony to look out onto the city of Paris and across the river Siene. 


All that walking should work up an appetite for a lunch time pit stop. The majority of restaurants in Paris are pretty epic, but make sure you stop off for a croque monsieur, followed by a yummy creme brulee.

Afternoon: Tour Eiffel 

Watch the sun set (depending on the time you get there) over the beautiful city of Paris by climbing the iconic Tour de Eiffel. You can save time by pre-booking your tickets here.


Evening: Montmartre for dinner and dancing


If you love the idea of dinner, dancing and the Moulin Rouge, then Monmartre is your place to go. We found a brilliant French restaurant - that from 6pm-8pm gave a 3 course dinner option for 30 euros and the food was out of this world. Starting with pate, which then moved onto a poached salmon, followed by a (addictive) creme brulee, for dessert. 

So there you have it, my 24 hours in Paris. I'd love to hear your perfect 24 hours in this epic city. 

Monday, 28 July 2014

Best Days of Summer with UGG

This is a pretty exciting post for me, as I recently spoke about my up coming travel adventures and not really doing a big one - like last Summer - but instead lots of mini adventures. So, when the guys over at UGG* got in touch with me about doing a Best Days of Summer Blog, I jumped at the chance.


For one, rather fabulous weekend with my some of my best friends, we decided to take a trip to the beach and idyllic Lake District. 


Armed with a comfy and practical pair of this summers UGG ballet pump style shoes, I jumped on a train and made my way back to the North.

Day One: 

With amazing sunshine gleaming over us, we headed to Blackpool beach for a traditional day at a British seaside. We started off by heading to the exciting Blackpool Pleasure Beach for an afternoon of thrill seeking fun in the sun! After getting - very - wet on their epic water ride, we chowed down on scrummy fish and chips and made our way back home for an evening of Thai food and beers. 


Day Two: 
After a pretty hectic day at the beach and fun fair, we decided to opt for a more tranquil and chilled out day. So we jumped on the car and drove to Lake Windmere to enjoy the day with my best friend (and awesome photography) Emma. 


Walking around her beautiful village of Kirby Londsdale we basked in the sunshine by the Devils Bridge, tucked  into some amazing tapas and finished off our day perfectly with scones, jam, cream and tea. 


Overall, it was a pretty epic weekend and something that will be my #bestdaysofsummer. I'd like to thank my best friends and UGG for making this weekend happen!

Saturday, 26 July 2014

Home Ramblings: California Dreaming

Last summer I spent two weeks in California visiting LA, San Francisco and San Diego. Whilst exploring all the breath taking sites - from the Bel Air Mansions in LA to the Painted Ladies of San Francisco - I have to say that if I could choose a place to live in America, it would be California. 




When looking for outdoor/garden ideas and inspiration over on Pinterest it suddenly dawned on me. If I can't be in California, then I'll bring California to me. 

California Dreaming: Home Ramblings

When I think back to my time in California, think of rich aqua blues and greens teamed with beautiful dark chromes/woods and neutral shades. 

Untitled
Image: We Heart It

So, I have decided to pull together a few simple garden ideas for this months home ramblings. 

To see more information on these products or to find out where to buy them, simply visit my Polyvore board. Enjoy. 

Thursday, 24 July 2014

3 Marvellous Mexican Munchies

Today I tucked into a taste of Mexico, as I went for lunch with one good friends to my favourite burrito and nachos place in town.


Whilst indulging in some guacamole and nachos I began thinking about all the amazing street food that we got to sample on last summers adventure, #ETLCA.

Mexico City is full of amazing local hang outs where you can indulge in tasty delights. So, I thought I would list my favourite Mexican munchies for you to check out or make at home.

1. Guacamole, Refried Beans and Nachos

Whether you are going to restaurant or just a bar, you will more than often be served up some complementary (not all places do this, but most do) guacamole, refried beans and nachos. A tasty and slightly healthy snack to keep you going - and great if you're on a budget...that's lunch sorted hehe.

Image: www.taste.com.au

2. Meat Tacos 

The best local food I ate in Mexico, we found a little restaurant off the Zocolo Square and for £1.00 you received 3 stuffed meat (I say meat as my Spanish isn't great and it was hard to decipher the actual meat content) Tacos and a drink - plus free guacamole. 

Image: theveganroad.com

3. Chicken Tortas

The day I  discovered chicken tortas was a very happy one, as I was craving a good old sandwich and this local delight did not disappoint. Costing us £2.50 with a drink, we tucked into carved roast chicken on a toasted bread roll. It did have a little too much spice for my tastes - but it still went down a treat!

Image: www.foodnetwork.com
Watching this video of  Mexican food stall (I'm pretty sure I ate at on the way to Lucha Libre) they explain about all the popular choices of street food in Mexico City...and yes I tried the meat of 'animal face' and it was pretty darn tasty.

 

A little more info on Mexico

From busy cities to tranquil beaches, Mexico is a great place to visit if you're looking for beauty, culture and great food. Flights and hotels may vary in price depending on your requirements - from cheap hostels to established tour operators, like First Choice*, there are lots of ways to enjoy a Mexican adventure, your way. 

Monday, 21 July 2014

Festival Season: Splendour Nottingham

It was our first festival back in in our hometown and it's safe to say it certainly didn't disappoint. Myself and my fiancee joined a group of friends to dance the day away in the pouring rain and sweltering sunshine - seriously we experienced severe weather through out the day. 


Friday, 18 July 2014

Let's get WIRED | Coffee & Cake

One of the best things about moving to a back to your home city, is that you get to experience all the new and exciting bars,restaurants and tourist spots.

After an epic evening at Annie's Burger Shack, I've been seeing a lot of people sharing the love for a local, family run coffee house called Wired

Image: Wired
Located in Nottingham's - newly named - Creative Quarter, Wired is an artisan style cafe bar that serves up some rich, tasty coffee and wholesome homemade food - but most importantly cake! So me and my mum decided to go and check it out one lunch time. 

Saturday, 12 July 2014

Welcome to a Secret Garden | Isabella Plantation

Whilst out and about in London, visiting numerous friends and family, we decided to take a trip to Richmond Park and walk around the Isabella Plantation. (Which is a free park/walk)

Recommended to us by my fiancées grandparents - you may think this a little boring - but if you love bright and exotic plants/flowers/birds, then this is a beautiful place to visit within the park. It felt like something out of the movie/book, the Secret Garden. 


We came to visit a little bit out of season, but if you head here in the months of April/May, you will see an array of colourful flowers sitting next to beautiful streams, ponds and lakes. 

We also walked a little further around Richmond Park and found a herd of wild deer and beautiful woodlands to walk through. 

(This doesn't look that high, but the grass was very long and my legs are very little)

For more information on visiting Richmond Park or the Isabella Plantation, then click here.

Sunday, 6 July 2014

Lunch time eats at The Wharf | Manchester

After a rather exciting/tiring day at Park Life Festival in Manchester, me and my best friends took ourselves for a lovely lunch time treat at The Wharf bar and restaurant.


Located in the Castlefield - one of my favourite places in the world - The Wharf is situated by the Bridgewater canal, close to the iconic Hilton (Beetham) tower. This is the kind of bar / resturant that is the perfect place to grab a bite to eat or have a glass of wine in the sunshine. 


The menu offers simple starters to light bites to hearty mains and ranges from £3-£20 for food. I opted for the bacon and brie ciabatta with grape salad(£6.95). Me and my friend also shared a side of sweet potato fries (£3.95) - which were amazing!


Whilst chatting away about life and many of our summer adventures, we also decided to go full-scale and order dessert - trust me the desserts do not fail either. I decided to have the £5.95 summer fruit pavlova with a side of vanilla cream. Well...I'll let you decide for yourself. 


The service here is also great, with friendly and smiling staff, will to help you with any menu recommendations.

If you're looking for a sunny day lunch time venue with beautiful views and in Manchester. Then this is your place. 
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