Packing it all in: travelling hand-luggage only.

Packing it all in: travelling hand-luggage only.

Sunday, 1 July 2018

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Travelling is the done thing nowadays: everyone seems to be doing it. Flights, for the most part, are more than reasonably priced and enough planning ahead can get you abroad and exploring for very little cost. It’s only when you start adding on additional costs, like choosing your seat on the plane, breakfast at the hotel and that dreaded additional luggage charge when things start to get a little bit more expensive.

It is more than possible to travel abroad for both short trips and longer trips alike, you just need to be savvy about your packing and ensure that you’re only packing the essentials. Over the years, I’ve found that I’ve seriously over-packed and only worn half of the clothes in my suitcase – let’s be realistic, you don’t need 20 different outfits and 10 bikinis for 7 days in the sun! That’s without even mentioning the shoes… 

Pack strategically

Packing is probably one of the only stressful things about going away: ‘have I forgotten something?’ being the question on everyone’s lips upon arrival at the airport. Chances are, yes, you have but as long as it’s not your passport, your boarding pass or your wallet then you’ll be absolutely fine and nothing bad will come of it. Make a checklist of everything you need to pack and cross it off the list as and when you put it into your case to completely eliminate the risk of you forgetting something important! Pack a rucksack or bag that can be easily flattened – I find that my Fjallraven Kankenbackpack is perfect for travelling as when it’s empty it flattens down and takes up absolutely no space in my hand luggage and it’s roomy enough to store all of my handbag essentials, sunglasses, a book, my camera, a large bottle of water and a light jacket. I also pack a small Kate Spade cross body clutch for evenings. 

Buy toiletries when you get there

The temptation to stock up on those tiny little bottles of shower gel and shampoo before you go – not only are they a complete waste of money, they use up some of your limited liquid allowance, allowance you should be using on sun cream and makeup (if you wear it!) Believe it or not, supermarkets in Spain stock shampoo and shower gel just like they do over here in the UK and they’re not that expensive. Save your money in the UK and buy these items when you arrive. You can then just throw them away when you’re leaving, saving the hassle of having to cart them all back home. 

Plan your outfits 

One of the most exciting things about waiting to go away is checking the weather forecast for the time you’re being to be there and bragging shamelessly about just how hot it’s going to be. With this in mind, it’s easy to plan ahead and think about the type of clothes that you’re going to need to wear. Despite what you might think, if you’re going away for a week then you don’t need to pack your entire wardrobe. Think about what you’ll be doing whilst you’re there – if you’re planning on spending the entire holiday by the pool, then you’ll only need 3 or 4 bikinis and some loose dresses to throw over the top and then full outfits for the evening. If you’re more of a touristic type of holiday goer then pack loose and light clothes, the odd bikini and your evening outfits. Pack shoes that can be worn with a number of different outfits and shorts that can be worn with multiple blouses. Generally there is no weight limit across airlines for hand luggage, so as long as it fits in the correct-sized case and you can lift it easily into the overhead compartment, there’s absolutely no reason to worry about bringing additional luggage with you. 

To summarise, hints and tips:

-              Check the maximum hand-luggage dimensions of your specified airline. 

-              Think ahead about what you want to be wearing, based on your activities.

-              Make a list! Pack only what you need to take with you!!!! 

Travelling light is so much easier than it used to be and it seriously saves you money in the long run. Do you have any hints or tips for travelling lightly? Let me know in the comments and share your wisdom! 

A romantic (but budget) weekend in Paris

A romantic (but budget) weekend in Paris

Sunday, 24 June 2018

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Back in December when I was budgeting for the year ahead of me, I booked a spontaneous weekend break for my partner’s birthday. Treating Richard is something that I’d love to be able to afford to do on a regular basis but naturally, life only allows for so many treats. Richard’s birthday happened to fall during this year’s 2-week school holiday so timing was perfect – this time of year is usually when I’d take my annual trip to France so I thought “why not kill two birds with one stone and treat Richard to something memorable for his 25^thbirthday?” 

Booking the trip in December was beneficial – not only was the entire trip incredibly well-priced for two people, it also meant that I had 5 months to put small amounts away to pay off the package. I booked the trip through EasyJet Holidays for 2 nights, 3 days and the total cost for the two of us was less than I paid for a similar solo trip last year. 

WHERE TO STAY

Having a few friends who lived in Paris means that I was able to choose a nice looking hotel, check that the area wasn’t dangerous with aforementioned friend and then book, completely worry free. After a lot of deliberating over whether staying in Central Paris and travelling over to Disneyland was better than staying next to Disneyland, I eventually booked into the Mercure hotel located on Avenue Jean Jaurès, in the 19^thArrondissement. I’ve never stayed (or even visited) the 19^thbefore so wasn’t overly familiar with what was around there but I was reassured that that Avenue was pretty safe and in a good location for the metro. The metro was in a prime location across the road from the hotel itself and at no point did I feel unsafe walking around the area. 

In terms of things to do in the 19^th– the 19^thhosts the famous Parc de la Villette as well as the Philharmonie music hall, Conservatoire national supérieur de musique and the Museum of Science and Industry. I must admit we didn’t spend much time at the hotel, what with our trip to Disneyland and exploring central Paris together so as a place to stay, it was absolutely perfect. Location wise, it was ideal – the metro into central Paris was fast and the station was quiet, meaning that our journeying into the hustle and bustle of central Paris started off calm and collected.  

WHERE TO EAT 

Because of our incessant need to budget, we were very sensible about where we ate our meals. As we had two full days in Paris, we spread our spending money equally across these days– our trip to Disneyland was a gift from a friend so other than food, there were no touristic outgoings. We also both happen to be under the age of 26, meaning that the vast majority of tourist attractions were free to enter upon presentation of identification. Whilst at Disney, we chose to eat in one of the restaurants during the day but when we arrived back into Paris that evening we were able to pick and choose exactly where we wanted to eat. Having perused the menus of a number of restaurants in the 4^tharrondissement, we eventually settled on a pizza picnic in the park and set about finding the perfect pizzeria. Whenever I’m planning a trip, Trip Advisor is always my go to in terms of reading restaurant reviews (alongside blog posts, of course) and a quick search led us to Pizza Julia, a restaurant that is just outside the top 100 in Paris (out of tens of thousands of restaurants) and one of the top Pizza restaurants in the city. 

Pizza Julia was an absolute blessing and a place we will definitely return to on our next trip into Paris. Vegetarian friendly, purse friendly and absolutely delicious, we ordered our pizza quickly and it was made right before our eyes. We ordered a prosciutto and mushroom pizza, probably one of the best pizzas I’ve ever eaten and took it off with us to enjoy in the park. We found that a lot of young people had done similarly to us and found ourselves really blending in with the locals, talking and eating with a view of the infamous Place de la Bastille. 

Our lunch choice the following day was on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées – a small treat, but still relatively inexpensive. When I visited Paris last year to catch up with a friend, she introduced me to Pizza Pino. The food is nothing to cry from the mountains about but the environment is classy and sophisticated in the prime location for people-watching. Having eaten pizza the previous night, Richard and I both went for pasta dishes and our plates were piled high. With wine, beer, water for the table and two main courses, we spent a mere €40 between us. 

Honorary mentions:

Pizza Popolare – if you’re after cheap pizza but want a place to sit, check out Pizza Popolare. Get there half an hour before opening as the queues get incredibly long.  

If you fancy something a little bit fancy (but still on a budget):

Les Ombres. With a view of the Eiffel Tower, this place is absolutely ideal for those beautiful Instagram shops. Food is tasty but the offer of a set-menu means that it is also relatively affordable. 

WHERE TO VISIT 

I feel like this section may well be a little bit redundant considering the vast knowledge that people have of Paris even before they actually visit but there are still a few hints and tips I can share that will make your trip less stressful. 

Getting that perfect Parisian cityscape shot:

The obvious choice would be to climb the Eiffel tower to get that acclaimed shot of the city. Fair enough, if you fancy queuing up for hours and hours, but there is an alternative that cuts down the wait time and actually gives you a shot of the Eiffel Tower as well. Get a metro to the top of the Avenue des Champs Élysées and climb the Arc de Triomphe instead. The wait time, while still there, is much less and there are fewer steps to climb to the top. The view from the top is absolutely incredible, and there is a small museum inside the Arc if you need a rest-stop. Outside the Arc is the famous tomb of the unknown soldier, with the eternal flame lit above it. 

Saving some money on Paris attractions: 

If you’re under the age of 26 and from the EU (technically the UK hasn’t actually left the EU yet, so this still applies to us Brits) access to a lot of museums and attractions is completely free – check online for details on how this works. Otherwise, if you’re planning on visiting Paris and your inventory includes a lot of these museums – it might be worth buying a Paris Museums Pass.The pass allows you free access to over 50 museums and monuments within the city. Currently the passes are priced at 48 euros for 2 people which, considering access to the Arc de Triomphe is 12€ alone, is definitely a bargain. 

Finally, if you time your trip right and arrive in Paris on the first Sunday of the month, access to the Louvre is completely free between October and March, and on Bastille Day, although I imagine crowds would be much more busy. 

Paris is a beautiful city and there is so much to do. I would be here all day mentioning attractions that are worth visiting, because there really is something for everyone but my highlights include: Les Invalides, Tour Eiffel, Musée d'Orsay, Louvre, Moulin Rouge, Montmartre, Sacré Cœur Cathedral, The Shakespeare and Co Bookstore (next to Notre Dame Cathedral), Versailles and the Palais Royal. 

What are you favourite tourist sites in Paris? Let me know! 

SWITCHING UP MY STYLE FOR SUMMER

SWITCHING UP MY STYLE FOR SUMMER

Sunday, 13 May 2018

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I am very much a ‘play it safe’ kind of girl. I do my makeup in exactly the same way every time I get dolled up, using exactly the same products in exactly the same order – with the exception of a different lipstick, depending on the outfit I’m wearing. On a daily basis, when I’m not working, I stick to jeans and a nice top, making sure to go slightly overboard on a night out. I structure my days in the same way – I get home from work and have a ‘break’ until 7pm every day, then finish off whatever planning or resourcing needs doing for the day. We eat at a similar time each evening and I go to bed around the same time as well. I like my routine and, generally speaking, it works well.

IS THIS THE RIGHT WAY TO LIVE?

In spite of this, I know I can live in a much less restrictive way. I realise that some of my habits mean that I am a little bit too structured in how I act, and a lot of change stresses me out and makes me feel incredibly anxious. I love fashion and I love clothes, and buying clothes that are a little bit ‘out there’ is something that I like to do, then promptly return because I stress far too much about what other people think about what I’m wearing.

THIS STOPS NOW.

CO-ORD: Miss Selfridge (here) TOP: River Island (here)

One of my recent goals is to care less about what other people think, and concentrate on my own happiness. If I want to wear something that’s completely out of my comfort zone, then I’m going to do it. I ordered this absolutely gorgeous co-ord suit from Miss Selfridge last week and my initial reaction was to send it straight back. The colour is a beautiful lemon yellow that stands out like nothing I’ve ever worn before- which of course, was part of the problem. My instinct towards wearing black and neutral colours – aka, safe and boring – kicked in. Even my boyfriend asked when I’d have the chance to wear something so bold.

The answer to that question? Whenever I want to.

STANDING OUT OVER FITTING IN

I’ve realised that actually, no one really cares what other people wear for longer than a few seconds. I’m trying to approach life with a much more laid-back attitude and quite frankly, I’ve stopped caring what other people think of me, what I wear and what I do. It’s a hard attitude and stance to follow as it’s human nature to care what other people think but I do think that I am starting to see the benefits of it. By no means am I completely void of feeling and this is absolutely not a quick fix to the feelings that I have when I’m placed in unfamiliar  territory but my point here is that if I enjoy something and I like the way something looks on me, then it’s absolutely no one else’s business except my own. That’s the way I’m going to approach things from this day onward.

This suit? Yes, it’s lemon yellow. Yes, it’s definitely not something I’d normally wear. But you know what? It’s incredibly comfortable, it’s lightweight so would be absolutely perfect in the summer and to be quite honest with you? I think I look great. And that, my dear friends, is all that matters.  

Life: Making myself feel like 'Me' again

Life: Making myself feel like 'Me' again

Tuesday, 3 April 2018

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Over the last few months, I’ve not really felt myself. I’ve been feeling a little bit down in the dumps, I look tired and there’s been a serious strain on my social life. A lot of this – primarily the tiredness – is linked to the fact that I work A LOT and my job is incredibly demanding, both physically and emotionally – but I have really started to feel like enough is enough and I’ve put a number of things in place to ensure that I start feeling less like my current self and more like the happy, energetic, old me.

SELF LOVE:

Showing myself love has always been something I’ve found a little bit difficult. I find it hard to see the good things about my appearance and treating myself has always been a bit of a no-go because there’s always been something we’re saving up for, whether that be for the house, a holiday or just bills that need paying. As a consequence, my confident has dropped even more than usual and the ability to feel good about myself is proving impossible at the moment. I’ve made a sort of mid-year resolution to look after myself a little bit more and show myself the self-love that my body needs – whether that be with a relaxing bath at the end of the week, whacking on a little bit of fake tan to perk myself up or else just applying makeup for the hell of it, rather than because there’s a specific event going on. I’m going to start treating myself to massages when I’m feeling worse for wear and getting my brows and lashes done to perk myself up when I’ve had a particularly long week. Showing yourself self-love is never a bad thing; who’s going to love you if you don’t even love yourself, after all?

DOWN-TIME:

As a teacher, my evenings are usually spent prepping for the next day’s lessons, printing off worksheets and marking the day’s books for the next day. I usually leave school around 6pm having marked the vast majority of the books and then spend the next few hours going over lesson plans for the next day, planning for the next week and marking any books I didn’t get around to at school. With 58 English books, plus afternoon books to mark each day, my evenings are pretty packed and having down time usually comes at a cost. My new rule will be no work after 9pm and between 9pm and 10pm I’ll get stuck into a good book and try and stay away from technology as far as I can. Having this time to myself can only be beneficial to my happiness so I’m excited to see how I feel in a few weeks time.

DATES:

Having the time to go out and have a date night is something that Richard and I are struggling to do at the moment, with both of us working on different schedules and having different days off. We do have the benefit of having a home together, which means we can have time together whenever we’re both in, but we’ve decided that sticking to a routine and making plans to go out is something that we’re going to start doing more of. We have a few trips booked over the coming weeks and months, including a little break down south this week, so we’re definitely starting as we mean to go on.

TRAVEL:

I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t book spontaneous trips here there and everywhere. I’ve booked a surprise trip for Richard’s birthday in May (the surprise being that he doesn’t know where we’re going) and we’ve booked to go to Amsterdam in August and are going back to Nuremberg in November to see friends (said friends are coming to us at the end of April.) I want to get back into a habit of being more spontaneous and just deciding to book a flight somewhere bizarre, with time to deal with the finer details further along the line. I’ve missed travelling and this is definitely one of the things that make me feel like myself.

What do you do when you’re feeling a bit down and out of character? Let me know in the comments!

Goodreads: September to read!

Goodreads: September to read!

Saturday, 3 September 2016

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September is upon us and once again, I have a pile of books to work my way through. I’m sticking (with the exception of one book which I naughtily purchased for myself despite being on a book ban…) to my rule of only reading ARCs and review copies of books as I’ve still got an absolutely ridiculous pile on my TBR. Last month was quite successful and I mostly stuck to the books I was supposed to, but this month I’m determined to be good and finish at least 5 books.

My naughty purchase was one that I should have made a long time ago. I remember taking this book out of the library when I was much too young to fully appreciate it. I can’t have actually finished it as I have no idea where the story’s heading and I’m usually pretty good at remembering plot lines. I was in town, early for a train and nipped into Waterstones. There I found THE most BEAUTIFUL copy of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I wasn’t able to resist it and now it’s sitting pride of place on my bookshelf next to my equally gorgeous copy of His Dark Materials. I started reading it at the end of August so with a bit of luck I’ll have it finished pretty soon.

Back on my psychological thriller vibe, I’ve got Her Darkest Nightmare by Brenda Novak published by St Martin’s Press to sink my teeth into. I believe that it’s the first book in a new series by Novak so I’m quite glad of that as I won’t have to get to know existing characters or be confused by references to other plots. I absolutely LOVE the cover of this one so if the books anywhere near as good as the cover then I know I’m in for a treat.

The next book on my list is incredibly intriguing. The Secret is by Kathryn Hughes and was published by Headline Books. It’s written by the best selling author of The Letter, which I haven’t read myself but have heard absolutely amazing things about. The book sounds mysterious and intriguing but is also said to be incredibly heartbreaking so I’m very interested in getting through this one as soon as I can.

The final two books in my little to read list are books I’ve had for a few months now but haven’t gotten around to reading. The first is The Fortunes by Peter Ho Davies, a book which concentrates itself on the Sino-American identity. I don’t know an awful lot about the book but the cover is gorgeous to look at so hopefully it reads as well. It has a lot of positive reviews and great feedback so my expectations are fully raised. My final book for the month of September is Harmony by Carolyn Pankhurst. The book follows a family who have a child who is diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum. I’m just about starting a PGCE with a specialism in SEN (Special Educational Needs) so learning a little more about autism is very appealing to me. I’m excited to see where the book heads with its tale.

What are you reading this month? It’s an ambitious one for me, but I think I can do it! Leave me comments with some recommendations for next month!

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