Category Archives: travel

San Vito lo Capo, Sicily, Italy

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beach san vito lo capo sicily

In between my two jobs, I took a little trip to Italy for six days. We spent three nights and four days in Sicily, staying in Palermo but with a car to explore all of the surrounding areas before heading to Rome for two days.

On our first full day in Sicily (the previous day had been spent napping and getting lost in random backstreet markets), we got in the car and headed for San Vito lo Capo. I had heard many wondrous things about this place from friends and online and was pretty excited to go and check it out for myself.

The drive was about two hours and absolutely stunning. The thing about driving on an island between coastal towns is that you spend most of the time on the coast with some pretty amazing views. We got to San Vito around 12, found parking relatively easily (and cheaply) and headed for a drink before hitting the beach.

bikini shot san vito lo capo sicily

San Vito is a small touristic beach town in the province of Trapani. The beach is long and thin and full of chairs and parasols and overlooked by a big rock jutting out to sea. It’s really pretty. After months of freezing weather in the UK, it was so lovely to get my (albeit very white) legs out and feel the sun and sea breeze on my face. We bought a beach bat and ball, read a little, dipped our toes in the water (nearly as cold as a British winter…) and just generally enjoyed ourselves before wandering around the front part of the town looking at restaurants and little shops. We finally decided to just get a coffee and a crepe from one of the simple beach bars on the front – Nutella overload, but make sure you add gelato – before heading back to the city for a shower before dinner.

little street in San Vito lo Capo

It was a lovely day, I really recommend the town as a fun day trip if you are ever around Palermo.

Goodbye May!

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italian sunset new month new beginnings

May has been a huge turning point for me. I’ve done so much and come so far in so many aspects of my life that I felt that a round-up post would be a great idea.
So, if you’ve missed any posts from me this month, here you go:

texas cowboy boots

I went to Texas, where I ate at Austin Food Park. I also went to Italy.

cheeseboard european cheeses

We had a big Eurovision party!

flat tummy diet results

I finally reviewed my Clean and Lean 14lbs weight loss experience, plus I let you guys know about this awesome fat-burning pilates workout on Youtube.

I let you all know about The Wet Fish Cafe in West Hampstead. Oh, and also about the Transatlantic WiFi on the new American Airlines planes.

great hair schwarzkopf bc fibre force review

Plus, I let you in on a couple of little beauty secrets, such as my re-discovery of this. I’ve been loving my healthy hair, thanks to Schwarzkopf BC Fibre Force. More photos here!

And FINALLY, I hit 200 likes on my Facebook Page!

ready for new month on top of la rocca cefalu sicily

May was amazing. I’m so excited for June! Come back this weekend to find out what I’ve got in store. ;)

Back from Italy!

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Just got back from Italy! More blogs to come, but I hope you’ve all been following me on Twitter and Instagram for all of the updates!

a typical street in rome, italy

I’ve got the girls round tonight for cheese, wine and a catch up and then tomorrow, I’m planning on working out, eating clean (until dinner and a trip to The Albertine) and writing, as well as the usual flat-cleaning and post-trip laundry.

views from road trip in Sicily

Hope you’ve had a great weekend! Mine was the best!

Transatlantic WiFi on American Airlines

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If there’s one thing I look for above anything else on a flight, it’s leg room and the new American Airlines Boeing 777 has that in bucket loads. The photo above shows my normal economy seat on my flight from London Heathrow to Dallas, Texas (flight AA51) for my friends’ wedding at the beginning of May. At 5’10″, getting a seat like this was a real luxury.

The second thing I like to check for is good entertainment. American Airlines did well there too. The new planes have in-flight transatlantic wifi and a whole host of films, including relatively new releases. Did I watch many movies or did I spend 5 hours on Facebook chatting to people about how awesome it was to have wifi on this flight? It’s obvious, isn’t it?!

The new flights also include more alcoholic drinks. Always a plus. I don’t personally like to drink on planes because it dehydrates me, but for those who enjoy a glass of wine with their dinner, they no longer have to charge $5 to their credit cards for the pleasure.

It was a really good flight, just what I was looking for when I  was faced with a 9 hour journey.

Austin Food Park

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austin food park benchesaustin food park thai van

Last week in Austin, Texas, we were lucky enough to have our hotel positioned right next to the Austin Food Park. It is a small collection of trailers selling a variety of tasty treats but most of us opted for A Touch of Fire, (because it was open…) which has a great Thai fusion menu. I tried the spicy thai chicken tacos and wasn’t disappointed. They had more of a kick than I was expecting though, so be warned if you don’t like chillies! My friend’s little brother also tried root beer shaved ice from the shaved ice truck. I didn’t try it (not my style at all) but he seemed to really enjoy it.

austin food park cowboy boots

Just a touch of Texas…

For more info on the Austin Food Park, you can check out their website here.

Weekend in Texas

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texas trip photos 1

I just got back from a long weekend in Texas for my friends’ wedding. Austin was pretty cool. Texans are super friendly. It was great to lie out by the pool, check out the food trucks, go to a honky tonk bar and be in San Antonio for Cinco de Mayo. I was with a fantastic group of people, who really made the trip worthwhile. I have a lot of photos on the way, so this is just a quick ‘Hey y’all!’ whilst I get over jet lag and get back into work mode.

austin texas t-shirt

Rocking my newfound love for Austin, Texas

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Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! xx

4 UK Cities for Stylish Weekend Breaks

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*This is a guest post*

UK city breaks are a perfect way to spend a weekend, but it’s hard to know which city is for you if you’ve never visited before. We’re often afraid to venture to new places in case they aren’t what we expected, and we worry we’ll end up feeling like we’ve wasted our precious weekend time. If you’re interested in visiting up and coming, stylish cities, look no further than our list of the top 4 stylish cities in the UK for a great weekend break.

york, the shambles, england

Bristol

An up and coming city to watch, Bristol has all the style and culture of London with less of the hustle and bustle. Bristol is a melting pot of culture with a strong community feel, unique street art and a vibrant music scene. Soak up the culture of Bristol with a visit to M Shed, an exciting and innovative new flagship museum for Bristol with gallery space and a packed events schedule. Take in the distinctive architecture with a walk through stylish Clifton village to the Clifton suspension bridge, the iconic symbol of Bristol, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In the evening, enjoy a cocktail on the waterfront in one of the many lively harbourside bars.

York (above)

If you’re looking to visit a beautiful as well as stylish city for your UK break, York is the place to go. Absorb yourself in the history of York with walks around the beautiful Rowntree Park or Goddard’s Garden and visits the breathtaking buildings such as York Minster cathedral and the city’s many stately homes. If you fancy a flutter, take a trip to York racecourse or visit York dungeon for an insight into England’s grim and bloody past. York has a great selection of shops too, so before your day out you can put yourself together a stylish race day outfit.

Edinburgh

Venture up north to Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, for an unforgettable weekend. In August this vibrant, stylish city is home to the famous Edinburgh Festival, which comprises individual festivals of art, film, books, jazz and politics. If you’re looking for an action packed UK break, Edinburgh is the perfect city for you as one of its most popular experiences is a climb to the top of Arthur’s seat, the tallest of Edinburgh’s seven hills and part of an extinct volcano. If you’re less interested in hiking and more interested in drinking, visit the Scotch Whiskey Experience to become a Scotch connoisseur.

Cambridge

If you’re looking for all of the romance of Venice but in a stylish UK city break, then look no further than Cambridge. The famous university town boasts beautiful scenery and stunning architecture which can be viewed leisurely by taking a punting tour along the river. King’s College Chapel, The Wren Library at Trinity College and the Bridge of Sighs are just some of the famous Cambridge landmarks you can expect to see during a 45-minute chauffeured punt tour. Grab your picnic hamper and glass of Pimms, then sit back and enjoy the ride!

On a mini sabbatical…

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I woke up here this morning for the second day in a row. I’m at Paradis Plage Surf and Yoga Resort in Morocco. It’s absolutely amazing to wake up to sunshine. My life will not be complete if I do not end up settled somewhere with a balcony and a fantastic coastal view. (Future husband/ sugar daddy… You have been warned!)

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After a stressful break up, a long winter, a difficult month at work and too many late nights, I was in dire need of this trip. I wanted to lie-in in the morning, have long breakfasts in the sun (this morning it lasted 2hours!) and have early nights after good food. Currently, I am managing all of this as well as a lot of reading, which is magical. And the plan for tomorrow is much of the same.

Amazing. Have you been to Morocco?

Travel Envy

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Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
Playa Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

I am pretty sure that my friends are fed up of hearing me say ‘I want to be on a beach!’ I know I’m fed up of saying it. Living in London isn’t the most exciting when you consider yourself to be a total beach bum. Although I do love living in a city (and London’s one of the best!), I really miss waking up to sunshine and just randomly jumping in the car and driving to the beach for the weekend. That was one of the best things about living in Costa Rica.

Paradis Plage, Morocco
Lake Arenal, Costa Rica

I moved back to London a year ago and in 2012 alone went to Paris, Morocco, Belgium, Poland and the USA, but I haven’t been in the sun for almost 6 months now and I miss it. This year I have a few trips in the pipeline. I’ve been spending my weekend plotting how to use up my tiny 16 day work holiday allowance (It’s actually 20, but 4 days must be taken at Christmas). I have finally decided that the best thing to do is to break it up into little trips, so that I don’t have the winter blues again, having used up all of my holiday earlier in the year. It’s becoming an almost military procedure as I battle with getting dates, plans and finances all into one plan.

Agadir, Morocco

Do you have any trips booked this year?

We speak English in England

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TEFL class group Maximo Nivel Costa Rica

My hilarious TEFL class

I often tell this story to people when I talk about my time in Costa Rica and teaching English, but I’ve never told it on my blog. So here it goes…

Speaking English as an actual, real English person was hard enough in Costa Rica, let alone teaching it. This is because my accent wasn’t understood very well. Latin Americans learn English with American teachers and US television. So a British accent never really comes into it. In fact, I often had to pronounce various words in an American accent (like ‘where’). But I always presumed that people still knew about England.

So when my first teaching experience was to put together a ‘How to’ class lasting 10 minutes with 3 or 4 local students from the language school where I was studying , I figured that I may as well play up my heritage. After all, as the only Brit in a class of 15 US students, my accent and general decorum was pretty much the subject of most conversations pretty much every day.

My chosen topic was ‘How to make the Perfect Cup of Tea’. It seemed like basic vocabulary and I only really needed a kettle and some water, so it wasn’t too much prep. We had to teach our mini lessons at the front of the classroom with the rest of our TEFL class at the back watching. When it came to my turn, I went up to the front and introduced myself to the students, asking each of their names, before confidently asking, ‘So, wherrre am I from?’.
The first guess came. “United States?”
“Nope.”
“Canada?”
“No.”
“Umm, Australia?”
“No.” Silence.
“Try to think of some other English speaking countries…” I tried.
“Ah! South Africa!”
“Ermm, no.”
More silence. I gave in and wrote ENGLAND on the board.
“Oh! Not French?!” came the exclamation from one student. I silently despaired inside.
“No,” I said patiently, “ENGlish is from ENGland!” I underlined the E-N-G on the board as I spoke, much to the hilarity of my peers at the back of the room. Considering that the next stage in my lesson plan was to get the students to guess what we were going to learn how to do by listing common things about England (London, the Queen, drinking tea etc…), I wasn’t surprised at how poorly it went after that horrific start.

This was just a few months before William and Kate announced their engagement. Surely now the world knows that we speak English in England… Right?! Please restore my faith, readers!