A Trip to York

Last month my family and I spent a long weekend in York and I couldn’t think of a better way to share the highlights of the trip with you than a very photo heavy post. York isn’t somewhere which would immediately come to my mind as a weekend trip destination - in fact I think my brother randomly suggested we visit after watching Braveheart for the seventeenth time. It isn’t easy finding somewhere which has something for all of us- ‘culture-y stuff’, shopping, sports/ leisure, a nice hotel and good food but I was really pleasantly surprised by what a fantastic time we had.

My favourite touristy thing was the Castle Museum. It covered York’s history ranging from its prisons to toys to wars. Best of all though- there was a recreation of a Victorian street with people dressed as actual Victorian’s who spoke to you and told you about things! I was actually quite taken aback when the girl in her 1890s get-up turned around and told me how fashionable it was to be pale and how gloves were necessary to keep the hands delicate when I was in the tailor’s.

The hotel we stayed in, the Marriott, had big, beautiful grounds and looked onto the racecourse. It was around 30 minutes walk from the town centre but it was a nice area and I like looking at all the houses along the way (is that sad?) There was a tennis court at the bottom of the hotel gardens which was free to book out for an hour. My brother is the only one of us who plays tennis but we all had a go and it was actually really fun- as far as exercise goes anyway. I also loved the swimming pool because I’m a big kid at heart when it comes to being in water. The buffet breakfast was superb- so tasty and lots to choose from (or not choose and eat everything from). 

Talking of food, we had some delicious dinners too (see food photos and drool). I had a pepperoni pizza in Zizzi’s on the second night and on the last night we found an amazing Italian called Lo Spuntino. Sometimes chain Italians just can’t come close to a small independently run ones. The place was compact but the food was delicious and the service was great. 

Compared to my usual holiday spending sprees I actually bought very little in the town centre. I had a notion before we went to have a browse for makeup samples online and I downloaded a couple of vouchers and picked up a few freebies instead. There was a nice mix of high street staple shops like Boots and unique, independent ones. We also visited ‘The Shambles’- an old fashioned street of quirky little shops. It reminded me of the lanes in Brighton.

I found York to be pretty centralised so for only being there three days we crammed so much in. I had an absolutely excellent time and would definitely go back.

Thanks for stopping by and well done if you reached the end of this lengthy post. Be sure to leave me a comment telling me if you’ve ever been to York or any other places you like :) 

Adventures in Brighton

This year for our family summer holiday we decided to stay in the UK and spend the week in Brighton. It was absolutely amazing! And what made it even better was that my cousin who lives in New Zealand who I haven't seen in years came too- yay! We stayed in the Queens Hotel which was really lovely. The building was quite old but our room was enormous and most importantly, they replaced the biscuits and mini toiletries everyday (my family and I would give Ross Geller a run for his money when it comes to hotel freebies). I laid out all my makeup and brushes on my bedside cabinet- it was so nice to look at and very insta-worthy but I wouldn't have it at home as it would be a nightmare to clean. The hotel also had a lovely breakfast buffet and bistro/bar where we had tasty cocktails.

Brighton honestly has so much to offer. I don't know if its just because so many bloggers and youtubers go on about it but my excitement for visiting was so real and it didn't disappoint at all. It was as hot as when I visited Lisbon last year too because of the heat wave. Brighton scores top points from me with regard to food, shops, friendliness and general photo-worthiness. My favourite place to eat was an Italian restaurant not far behind our hotel called Al Duomo which had delicious food and reasonable prices. The selection of restaurants was amazing so the fact we went to Al Duomo twice for dinner shows just how great it was. Other tasty treats worth noting were MooMoo's oreo milkshake on the pier and Angel Food Bakery's strawberry and cream cupcake.

I done a heck of a lot of shopping too. Is it just me or is there something very enabling about shopping on holiday? I have an 'oh I'm on holiday I'll just spend £19 on a makeup brush' kind of mindset. Lush, as per usual, didn't disappoint. The lovely woman who worked there was telling us about their current campaign #gayisok, part of which was to share a picture online with their new 'Love' soap which is gold, glittery and gorgeous. The lanes were so interesting though quite hard to navigate. There are so many cute little shops selling jewellery, crafts, antiques, homeware, books, clothes, makeup and more. I saw a shop called 'Ju-Ju' which interested me immensely because that's what my family call me. Also- Sammi from BeautyCrush walked by me! Its the weirdest experience seeing someone from YT in real life because you feel like you know them, but they don't know you. 

On Wednesday we also went through to Eastbourne and the 14 year old inside me was squealing because that's where 'Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging' was filmed and I used to watch that film every night. We also went to the Toy and Model Museum close to the station- my family and I love that sort of thing.

Overall it was one of my favourite holidays ever- I can see what all the fuss is about now. If you get the chance to visit you should- its such an interesting place. I definitely want to go back.

Lisbon Photo Diary

Hey Everyone!

Last week was spent in with my family in Lisbon, Portugal: enjoying the sun, shopping and generally being a tourist. Its a stunning city and thankfully quite straight forward to navigate. I love the city and beach combination as I get bored just sitting around all day and like to pretend I'm cultured. 

I've decided to restart the little series I used to do of fortnightly picture diaries. Not only are they really interesting posts to look back on but they're easy to read (or skim) and I enjoy looking at other people's posts like this to see what they've been up to.

From left to right and down:

stunning view of the city on a boat trip | sun sea and sand :) | Jeronimos Monastery | when I was trying to be all artsy and take cool pictures | pretty blossom outside the Museu de Arte Popular (which is currently closed- maybe for renovations?) | the view from the Cristo Rei momument | amusing myself on the beach | the city at night | stumbled upon the cutest shop with heaps of these vintage inspired signs | sunset while boarding the plane | metro map | couldn't find a stand alone Sephora but the department store El Corte Inglés saved the day | hotel bathroom | freezing coke by the pool | heading up to the Olympic Stadium | sun lounger selfie | it looks so exotic | relaxing on the beach