New York with Keds

A few weeks ago I was sat in my friend’s house with him, his girlfriend, and dogs soaking wet and feeling rather sorry for myself after getting caught in the rain when I received an email asking if I’d like to go to New York with Keds to celebrate Taylor Swift’s world tour, which coincidentally coincided with her new Keds shoe range. I cannot quite express in writing just how I reacted, but needless to say I was very excited. 

Outfit post coming soon!

I discovered Keds after they collaborated with my favourite high street brand Oasis - you can read about that in this previous blog post - and I can honestly say that they are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn. Usually flat pumps and shoes aren’t really my thing but I have pretty much lived in my Keds since I wrote that post. They are so cushioned making them incredibly comfortable but they come in so many different colours and patterns that there truly is something for everyone whether you describe your style as girly, edgy, preppy or anything in between. 

I flew out there with blogger Liv Purvis of What Olivia Did and she was just so lovely it made the trip so enjoyable. I also have the biggest envy of her instagram - this girl knows how to take a good photo!

I am now on the long(ish) flight back from New York and can’t believe what an amazing trip I have had in the city that never sleeps - my smugness is intensified by the fact I have not two but three seats to myself and I’m watching Boyhood. Winning! 

Shopping 

It would be sacrilegious to go to New York and not dedicate at least a day to shopping, right? So that's exactly what we did. 

Reformation

Starting the day in Soho we popped into Reformation, a Californian brand that creates eco-friendly clothes, shoes, and bags. I must admit that I'd never heard of it before but Liv is a big fan and I'm so glad she introduced me to it. The stores a bright and spacious, which made the shopping experience so much more enjoyable. There was a wide selection of clothes from bohemian dresses, suede and leather jackets, to basic crops and patterned tops. Most items were quite unique in their style and there is a really high quality and feel to them. We spent hours trying things on and I eventually settled on a very Dolly Paton-esque top and a basic black crop. The clothes definitely aren't cheap but I feel the quality and sustainability of the pieces make it good value. Plus they only have stores in California and New York so it’s unlikely many people will have the same clothes as you. Oh but don’t worry, they ship worldwide on their website if you want to check them out. 

Sak’s

Next we headed over the Fifth Avenue to Sak’s. It’s a department store that I suppose is New York's equivalent of Harrods and has 8 floors of designer clothes and shoes for men, women, and children. 

We kicked things off inside with a Nails Inc manicure on the fifth floor. Known as the paint box they offer both normal polish and gel manicures. I browsed through the Alexa Chung and Victoria Beckham selection of polishes before deciding on a classic nude, the Montpellier Walk.

The manicurist was possibly one of the best I've had in terms of how good a job she did the only problem was she was alone and overbooked meaning a half hour manicure actually took her 90 minutes.

On the eighth floor I found a Mungo & Maud closing down sale so I managed to get my dog a Snoop a really cute dog lead and collar for 60% off! I spent hours browsing the shoes and handbags before deciding to take advantage of the American prices and headed over to Apple to treat myself to an iPad mini and case - I'm actually writing this blog post on it as we speak! I've wanted an ipad for ages as it means I won't have to carry my big modelling book with me to castings anymore, plus it means I can carry it round instead of my laptop and work outdoors :)

Refinery 29

One of the greatest experiences of our New York trip was getting a tour of the Refinery 29 offices with the Keds team. We went round the whole office meeting loads of the staff that work there from their talent team, video, creative and even the editor. Everyone was so laid back, friendly, and gave so much of their time to talk to us about their roles within the company even though they were clearly super busy!  

For those of you that don't know, Refinery 29 is an online lifestyle destination for fashion, beauty, health, and news. You may have read my blog post on girl power (you can read it here) and know it's a topic I feel really strongly about, so it was so refreshing to hear that they are big supporters of all women. When asked who the typical Refinery girl is we were told that she could be any age or size, just a creative girl with a millennial attitude looking for lifestyle inspiration.

As you'd imagine the offices were so fabulously stylish and made me want to work in an office, well specifically that one! It even had amazing views overlooking the city! And the most exciting news is that they're opening an office in London soon!

Priv

I have written about the beauty app Priv before when it launch in the UK, so I decided to try it out in New York. It’s like Uber but instead of cars you can order makeup artists, hair stylists, personal trainers and masseurs to your work, hotel, or home. I had the pleasure of getting a hair stylist (Shavaughn Byrd) and makeup artist (Joann Solomon) who have both worked with big American actresses before. 

I got my hair naturally curled and my makeup was also quite natural with some natural cherry lips. It’s such a good service, I can totally recommend it if you want to get ready for something special. 

Accommodation - Hotel Americano

We stayed in Hotel Americano, which is based in Chelsea by the highline - which is an amazing place to walk or run. From the outside the hotel is somewhat unimpressive except from perhaps the huge neon sign attached to the building, but on the inside this boutique hotel was a hidden gem. The room was spacious, the deco very cool and modern, the staff flawlessly helpful, the food incredible, and on top of that there was an outdoor rooftop with a pool overlooking the city.

For breakfast there was a choice of healthy, hearty, or mexican food allowing you to have anything from acai granola, to poached eggs with salmon, to quesadillas! They also had delicious fresh juices and smoothies including the amazing Green Machine. 

We also ate lunch in the hotel on the second day and all had the kale and avocado salad which it was honestly so good I would eat it everyday for ever. 

Probably the greatest thing about this hotel were all the extra little details: an umbrella in every room with a cute note to let you know you could borrow it, notes attached to the water to let you know you'd be charged if you drank it so not to waste it, and a bathroom full of nice quality toiletries, cotton pads and other essentials. When I was back in England I even received an email thanking me for my stay and informing me that if I ever wanted to return they'd give me a complimentary upgrade - now that’s customer service!

Food 

Other than eating in the hotel we got to try out some amazing places for food. 

Lunch - the Park

Located in Chelsea, the Park's interior was super cool, very light because of the large windows and  spacious. There was also the most incredible outdoor garden you could eat in but as we were not accustomed to city heat we opted for air con - something I must admit I usually hate; it chills me to the bone! 

Liv and I ate an amazing avocado and poached egg salad, whilst Jess, Ked's UK PR manager, ate calamari. It was light but delicious and the perfect meal after a long flight. 

18 10th Ave, New York City, NY 10011

Dinner - The Cook Shop

We were invited for dinner with the U.S. Keds marketing team in Chelsea as both our which was really love to meet them. We dined in Chelsea as both our hotels were nearby. We got loads of small dishes to share before getting a mammoth chicken main that I couldn't finish. The food was good and we ate loads of small sharing dishes (my favourite way to dine) but the service was a little chaotic.

159 10th avenue at 20th street

Breakfast - Malibu Diner 

I woke up early to have lunch with my friend, a New Yorker called Adam I met on yacht week a few years before, at a typical American diner in the city. 

The food arrived very quickly after ordering and was deliciously indulgent. The coffee was also bottomless which was ideal due to jet lag! Interestingly the soya milk I was give stateside was different to what we get in the UK - it's thicker and darker - perhaps it has chocolate in to?

163 West 23rd Street 

Dinner - Omen 

If I could eat one type of cuisine forever it would be Japanese so I was really excited when Jess's friend recommended we go to Omen for our last meal. The menu was very extensive offering everything from sushi, meat and fish dishes to noodles. 

To start I had a delicious avocado salad whilst Jess and Liv shared beef carpaccio then for main I ate the most delicious sashimi, which is raw fish. I'd say this restaurant was reasonably priced given I had about ten pieces of sashimi for $35. Liv had a chicken salad and I’m not sure what exactly jess ordered, it was called Sabu Sabu, but her meat and veg came raw and she was given a stove and bowl of boiling water and she had to cook it herself. She loved it!

113 Thompson Street

Cocktails - Edition Hotel

Afterwards Jess and I decided to go for a quick cocktail at the Edition Hotel, the menu was very experimental. I had a gin based drink whilst Jess had a milk and whiskey based one. They were really well presented too with Jess's coming in an old school milk container and mine arriving with rush flowers. There was a nice crowd of young people around us but when it closed we decided to give in to jet lag and called it a night.

5th Madison Avenue

I had the best trip with the Keds and blogger Liv Purvis and the most exciting part of it was being told at the end that we were going to go see and meet Taylor Swift in her UK leg of the tour! I’m too excited to shake it off! 

Other tips and nuggets of wisdom I learnt on my trip:

Weather: having gone at the end of May the weather was muggy, hot, sunny and occasionally stormy

Cabs: yellow cabs can be difficult to hail down and you know if they're free cause the number at the front will be lit up. Lots of drivers refuse to take you so,we here if it's not the direction you want to go in but there are Uber cars out there and I found that to be the reliable service.   

Until next time... x

A weekend in Marrakech | Morocco

When my friend Jas asked me if I wanted to escape to Morocco for the weekend, I decided to just do it. Living in England we are so lucky to have so much on our doorstep and I definitely do not take advantage of it enough.

Weather / Currency

When we visited Marrakesh at the beginning of March, the weather was about 24 degrees celcius - kinda amazing considering it's only a three hour flight from London.

The main currency is Dirham, but people also accept euros. I’d recommend googling the conversion rate as this obviously changes all the time. 

Flights and accommodation

We went onto lastminute.com and booked a 4 night stay in a Riad in Marrakesh with flights for just under £200 each. I love my job, but one of the real cons about being self-employed is the inability to plan my schedule, so it was just typical when I got booked for a shoot on the Friday, which was the day we were due to take off. 

I contacted lastminute.com to try and alter our flights and accommodation, and whilst the staff were friendly, the flights and accommodation were non-refundable and unchangeable; this was kind of frustrating and meant I had to buy an extra pair of flights through easyjet.

I actually love flying with easyjet because it’s quite literally very easy. They have an app that allows you to check in online and have your scannable boarding pass on your phone so there’s no messing around at the airport. The flight may not be luxurious, but it’s simple and clean making it perfect for affordable short haul travel.

Riad Sidi Mimoune 

We found the Riad Sidi Mimoune through a very cheap deal with flights lastminute.com, and had a really lovely time here. The staff - an older Mohommed and a younger Mohammed - were so kind to us and made us feel really welcome. We were greeted by a very friendly Mohammed (senior) when we arrived and he helped us chase off the gaggle of men that were annoyed at us as we didn’t have any change to give them for carrying our suitcases. We were given mint tea in the beautiful entrance before being shown up to our room - the room was small but simple but clean. 

The rooftop of the Riad has a pool, a really cute chill area for drinking tea, and also a big table where you can have breakfast or dinner at night (breakfast was included, but we were told dinner was €17 which seemed rather expensive given that we ate in the square for about £2 per head). Admittedly the breakfast was a little disappointing consisting of cakes and pancakes, I would have liked some fruit or a healthier option, but that’s just me. 

The Riad is located about ten minutes from the medina, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it meant that we had a little further to walk to get into the hustle and bustle of the city, it’s not necessarily a bad thing I just wanted to make you aware of that. 

One other thing worth noting is that we were charged an extra 30 dirham each when we checked out because of a ‘city tax’ - again, we weren’t aware of this until the very end of our stay. 

Check out the Riad Sidi Mimoune here.

Riad de Joya

Unfortunately we didn’t stay overnight at the Riad de Joya, but after spending the day there for hammam, I would definitely recommend it and I got to have a good old snoop around. We honestly could not have asked for a more welcoming reception and attention to detail to make our time there relaxing and enjoyable.

Admittedly we found it really hard to find the Riad because it’s tucked away down a side street right in the middle of the Souk and even google maps doesn’t know all the side streets in the medina apparently! But the moment we arrived we were greeted by the friendliest staff and manager - they thought of everything including the immigration cards we needed to fill out for our return flight to avoid queueing at the airport! They lent us a mobile phone with the number of the manager for us to have during the day in case we got lost on our way back to the Riad, and they even walked us to our taxi as there’s no access to cars in their part of the Medina. 

We stepped through a door from the busy hustle and bustle of the market into what appeared to be a mini paradise. There was a water feature right in the middle of the square courtyard with lots of flowers and plants everywhere. We were shown into the reception room where we were given fresh mint tea and some delicious Moroccan biscuits (they have spices in them, which I love!) before being shown up to our room. 

The room was so clean and spacious  with high ceilings, and it looked onto the courtyard. I asked to view some of the other rooms too, and each one was totally different. I particularly loved the gold bathtub! 

The Riad has a spa where you can get hammam, but I will tell you about that later in the post. 

My absolute favourite part of the Riad de Joya is it’s incredible and tranquil rooftop. It was the most peaceful haven surrounded by plants, and the perfect place to chill in the sun and have some mint tea. Guests staying at the Riad can have breakfast up there too. 

Hotel les Jardins de la Koutoubia 

We unfortunately didn't stay in this hotel, but went for a drink here one night. It's located just next to the main square and is so beautiful! I can't recommend it enough. I'd love to have stayed here one night as it looked very luxurious, but we sufficed with a very satisfactory glass of red wine as the sunset. 

You can check out the Hotel les Jardins de la Koutoubia here. 

Safety. 

After booking our flights a few of my friends were surprised to hear we had booked a trip to Morocco being only two girls, and many said that without a boy in our group we would get harassed a lot on the street. Another friend told me she was wanted to go on a trip to Morocco but her parents told her it was unsafe. 

It was worrying when we arrived at the airport and were charged €30 for a ten minute taxi to the the city centre (we later found out this should have only cost us about €7 - grr), and then the taxi driver handed our suitcases to some people in the street who took us to our Riad then demanded we pay them for this service. 

And so we learnt very quickly that in Morocco nothing is done for free and people will take you out of your comfort zone and impose their services onto you so that they can get money out of you. When crossing a river in the dessert two children took each of our hands, despite our oh-so-British polite protests, to help us get to the other side. Once at the safety of the river bank they demanded money and were very rude to people who didn’t have change to give. When we were trying to find the second Riad we were using Google Maps and people were trying to find out where we were trying to go and lead us there so that they could get money for it. If you tried to take photographs anywhere, the owners of the shops or stalls would come and demand money for the photograph. It was a blogging nightmare as I couldn’t take as many photographs as I would have liked!

Despite all of this, we felt very safe on our trip, just be prepared to haggle and be very stern if you do not need help from someone. 

Wardrobe

Morocco is a muslim country so bring respectable clothes making sure your knees and shoulders are covered. There are many tourists in Marrakesh so people are relavtiely relaxed there and I did see men and women walking around in T-shirts and / or shorts, so you could if you really wanted to, but for me it’s more of a respect thing, plus you may get unwanted attention! I’m going to do OOTD posts from my Moroccan adventure so do check those out for inspiration. 

Food

The food in Morocco is amaaazing! Couscous, tagine - there’s something for everyone whether you’re a meat eater, pescetarian, or vegetarian. 

I would really recommend eating street food in the main square of the medina, the Jemaa el-Fnaa, at night. The square is transformed into hundreds of restaurants with long tables and stools, and the charming waiters charm you into their restaurant to eat. It’s amazing to be sat down and watching how they pull people into their place, celebrating when they attract large groups, and using colloquial English such as “come have a gander”, “It’s just like Sainsbury’s”, and “well jell”. We chose lots of small dishes and tagine to share - the aubergine was incredible!

For lunch on our final day we were recommended to eat at Cafe l’Arabe by the manager of the Riad de Joya. The restaurant is located right in the middle of the bustling market, but as we entered we were shown up to the roof where we enjoying tranquil views over the city. 

The menu contained lots of Italian dishes, so I flicked straight to the back-page for the Moroccon specialities and ordered tagine, surprise surprise! The meat was so soft it literally melted in my mouth, and the vegetables were amazing too. 

Activities

We spent the first day just walking around the market and the main square of the medina, Marrakesh’s old city. There is honestly so much to see and take in that you can easily spend a whole day lost in its cultural offerings. 

The main square, the Jemaa el-Fnaa, seems to be the central point for both tourists and locals and I loved its transformation from day to evening. In the day time the square was full of stalls selling orange juice and dates - I tried both, which were exceptional! There are also lots of entertainment, from snake charmers and monkeys, to live bands; just make sure you’re prepared to part with your cash if you want to watch or take photographs. In the evening the square is totally transformed to an outdoor restaurant, with hundreds of stalls competing for your custom. There are also lots of activities going on in the square - with locals playing games, socialising, and performers and monkeys for the tourists! I loved the buzz!

The souk, or market, carries on for miles and miles and we got lost aimlessly wandering it. There’s everything imaginable from shoes, clothes, pictures, jewellery, sweets, argan oil (famously from Morocco and great for dry skin and damaged hair), and natural remedies and cosmetics. I bought my friend a natural migraine cure - you just have to sniff the grains and it’s meant to keep them at bay. I hope for her sake it works! It’s rather frustrating that I wasn’t able to take as many pictures as I’d have liked but I think they show you the real flavour. 

Desert

On Sunday we woke up super early to take a trip to the Sahara desert, paying €30 each for a twelve hour round trip - this was arranged by Mohammed at our Riad. There were about 12 of us in the minibus and as we set off into the Moroccon desert we stopped off at various places along the way to take in the views and soak up the culture. 

The highlight of this trip for me was when we arrived at the Kasar Ait Ben Haddou, which is a very old city (kasar) along the former caravan route between the Sahar and Marrakesh. Whilst most residents now live in the new city on the other side of the river there are still five families that live here, and it was amazing to witness this fortification - it’s so old it’s a World Heritage Site and it’s also been the location for many films including Gladiator, Troy, and Game of Thrones. 

Despite having paid for the trip in advance we were told on entering the Kasar that we had to pay an extra 30 Dirhams, an entrance charge, but it was totally worth it.

Next we made our way back to the other side of the river and enjoyed lunch - I had tagine, of course!

After lunch our next stop was the Kasbah de Touret, where we were told we could pay to go into the Kasbah or to the Musee du Cinema. We payed 20 Drh to go inside the Kasbah, and it was very underwhelming. We walked through the empty corridors into empty rooms that had paintings up that we could buy looking around for what the thing to see was. Apart from some nice views on dissimilar to the views we got from the bus there was nothing. If you end up coming I’d recommend spending your time drinking some fresh mint tea in a cafe. 

We then made our way back to the hustle and bustle of Marrakech. I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t see the desert, as that’s what we’d paid for, but I think that was miscommunication and I’m so glad we did the trip. I’d say if you have longer then it would be worth doing the two or three day trip - I would love to have ridden some camels through the desert! 

Hammam 

For our final day in Marrakech, we wanted to experience Hammam, otherwise known as a Turkish bath. We decided to go to the Riad de Joya after reading some good reviews online, and I am so glad we did. 

Jas and I were told to put on a bikini and put on a dressing robe in the room then make our way down to the treatment room. We were greeted by the lady who would do our hammam or told us to take off the dressing gowns and enter the room. The room was a little bit like a steam room, but rather than steam it was water, and the lady split her time between us both applying the different products to our skin. Cleansing, exfoliation, and massage were all incorporated into the treatment - I'm not sure exactly what was in the products apart from argan oil, spices and eucalyptus but my skin, which is often very dry felt amazing afterwards! The only thing I found weird was that after the treatment was over we were given moisturiser or oil for our skin - it's always great to moisturise when your skin is soft and supple! That said, what an amazing treatment - apparently Moroccans do it once or twice a week. It was the perfect end to what was an amazing weekend away in Morocco! 

I can't believe it's so close and easy to get to from London. I felt like I'd been away for much longer because there was so much to do and it was so very different to London or other European cities. 

I'm already excited to plan my next trip away with Jas - where would you recommend?

Until next time... x

A Caribbean Cruise | Travel

It's almost a year to the day since I left rainy England to go on my first ever cruise around the Caribbean with my parents and gran. It was my first holiday in about three years, the joys of self-employment, and also the first time away with my parents for about five years so needless to say I was very excited. 

We left the port at Fort Lauderdale to take a seven day tour of the Caribbean visiting St Maarten, St Thomas, and Princess Cays, a private island in the Bahamas owned by the cruise company (mental). Our ship was the Royal Princess, which is one of the newest ships in Princess Cruise's fleet.

My parents go on cruise holidays every year, and after my first trip I can totally see why. To say we were treated like royalty is a total understatement, we could not have been more accommodated for.  There truly is something for everyone and that means everything from the food, to the activities, to the excursions. 

The People

The ship had people of all different ages from all around the world. There was everyone from elderly couples, to party groups of friends in their twenties, to children. The ship is big enough that you can live very different lifestyles without stepping over each other too much. 

The Food

If you lack will power and have a big appetite then be warned - you will put on weight! I am such a foodie and felt like I was in heaven - every meal was a feast! Breakfast and lunch are served in the different buffet restaurants and are open from morning to evening. You get to eat as much as you want whenever you want - food is all inclusive with the ship. There were foods from every continent - Indian, Italian, American, English, Chinese, Japanese - as well as a huge assortment of desserts, cheeses, and salads. 

Dinner is slightly more formal, and on entering the ship you get given a set time for your meal that you stick to everyday. I must say I struggled with this because my parents like to eat late whereas I like to eat early so I would often skip the more formal meals and just eat at the buffet, which is also open in the evenings for a more casual dinner. 

There was a different theme for dinner every night too such as American night and black and white night to name just a couple of the themes, and so people would dress up accordingly. My mum loved the opportunity to be able to dress up as she doesn't get to often at home, whereas my dad, being a typically northern man, hates the fuss and so would go eat at the buffet.

The Gym

Possibly one of my favourite areas of the ship was the indoor gymnasium, which had panoramic views of the sea! As well as the indoor gym there were gym apparatus lined along the top deck of the ship alongside the running / walking path so you could workout in the fresh sea air! With so much excess eating, I forced myself to hit the gym or go on a run every morning, and I have to say it was a treat with those views! There were people of all ages in the gym, and different classes on too - such as sunrise pilates on the main deck. Bliss! 

The Daytime

For the days spent on the ship, I would spend my time lounging by the pool area on the top deck. Straight after breakfast there was a morning film; this was definitely one of my favourite parts of the day (after the food!), and me and my dad would usually watch it together before I would head to one of the quieter pools away from the noise of the entertainment (games and live music). Don't get me wrong, the live music was great, and the games and competitions looked fun, but for me I wanted the trip to be relaxing. 

On the days we docked, we would leave the ship to take excursions around the island and take in the local culture. My gran would always stay on the ship in the shade because she found it tiring to be walking around all day. 

I loved seeing the islands, and there were so many excursions and water-sports you could book from the ship before arriving, or you could just do your own thing. There were also BBQ lunches at different locations on the island which were free to us too :) 

The Evening

My absolute favourite part of the night would be the Movies Under the Stars. There were two different show times every night - at 7pm or 10pm, and you were given blankets and popcorn and could lay on the deckchairs (or in the hot tubs) to watch a film. Depending how tired I was or if I ate with my family or not I would watch either screening. I remember thinking to myself that I was actually living the dream. 

My parents and Gran loved all the performances happening on the ship - there'd be dances and singers covering every genre of music imaginable. I went to the big band night, which was amazing as I love the classics by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. 

Some nights I would head to the casino with a couple of friends I made on the ship. I never gamble in the UK, but a friend I made from Texas was a semi-professional poker player so it was fun to go down with him and be taught some tricks. I actually made some money that I used as my spending money on the islands!

Some nights I would also venture into one of the nightclubs or bars - I had so much fun one night learning to line-dance to Pitbull songs until the early hours! Yeehaa!

There were also shops where you could buy jewellery, clothes, and even art - my mum liked to browse the shops in the evenings. And there were professional photographers dotted around the ship so they were always on hand to professionally capture your holiday. 

I had such a great time on the ship, writing this post has made me nostalgic. The greatest thing about going on a cruise is that you can truly have whatever type of experience and holiday you desire!

Have any of you guys been on cruise ships? I'd love to hear about your experiences. In the mean time, I'm just going to dream of where I might go next.

You can find out more information on Princess Cruises on their website. 

Until next time... x

Hanbury Manor | A Country Break

A couple of weeks ago I decided to escape the stresses of city life and escape to a stately Jacobean country house just 43 minutes away from London's Liverpool Street on the train. I think I paid £36 pound for two return tickets, and the taxi to the grounds was £8. 

Described as London's 'Original Country Retreat', Hanbury Manor is an absolutely beautiful estate and boasts a PGA championship golf course and spa. From the moment we entered the very grand drive, I knew this would be the perfect retreat from London. There are acres and acres of land, the red brick of the Manor itself is so beautiful, and it was very quiet and peaceful.

We entered into a a very impressive reception area - there's a room with lots of sofas and a fireplace in front of it and guests were in there relaxing over a drink and the daily papers. It would be the perfect place to relax if you were waiting for your other half to finish a round of golf or their spa treatments.  

We were greeted by a very friendly lady on reception who showed us to our room and gave us time to settle before coming back to us for dinner. The room was very large with the bathroom completely separate to the bedroom area - something that is quite important to me if you are staying in a room with the opposite sex. It's nice to have some privacy. The room was clean and practical, and we were offered the option of breakfast in bed and the daily papers. It was great to have a sofa in the room so I could do some work in the morning. 

I did feel that the interior of the building was slightly more corporate than the grandeur of the outside, but there were definitely some nice homely features.  

After freshening up we made our way to the dining room. The staff were very friendly although I felt they lacked a bit of warmth and efficiency - we had to ask three different people if they had a phone charger as no one got back to us. One waiter told us they didn't have one when we double checked with him, then another waiter we'd already asked told us they did have one - so that was disappointing. But alas! The delicious food made up for it. We were served bread in a very cute basket whilst we awaited our starters of scallops and crab meat. I absolutely loved these dishes and the presentation was amazing. For main we kept it simple and had steak and chips with a side of spinach. My one criticism was that I ordered my steak bloody and it arrived medium, but otherwise the food was amazing. We drank wine, and they had a nice selection. 

The next morning we came back into the dining room where we were treated to a very large buffet of cooked and continental breakfast, and fresh fruit. I like the rustic presentation of the buffet - although I would have loved to have seen this carried out with fresh juices. I think I'm probably fussy having been spoilt in London. It was otherwise faultless and we started the day with a full belly.

Unfortunately due to the dismal weather we were unable to enjoy the incredible grounds, but I did relax in the jacuzzi and pool before we packed our bags and returned to the big smoke. Next time I would definitely like to book some spa treatments in advance and try to hit the golf course (even though I'm an amateur!). 

Hanbury Manor is definitely the perfect destination for a quick getaway from London, and I would recommend it. I'd love for someone to take me away for a surprise romantic break there. 

Until next time... x

Romanian Rescue | The K9 Angels

Having a dog opens you up to up to a whole new community. In the three months that I've owned my toy poodle Snoop dog we have gained two close friends, Liz and Gary who own a pet shop called Nutts4Mutts in West Hampstead; London had become a friendly place - commuters talk to us, people in the street stop to play, and passers by smile at us; it's also opened my eyes up to to the huge and tragic problem with dogs.

Getting a Puppy.

I've wanted a dog for years. When I had a full time job I was unable to look after one, but since turning self-employed I was desperate for one. I grew up with dogs, and never have I felt he need for one more than last year when I was at my lowest point of depression. 

My boyfriend and I decided to start looking for a dog after a few months of consideration (and a lot of persuasion skills on my part). We wanted a cute puppy, and found a pet shop in Kilburn that sold them. We were very close to getting one but the puppy they wanted to sell us was sick, so we decided to wait. Thank god we did, knowing what I know now.

I discovered that it was bad to buy dogs from pet shops - they often come from puppy farms and are often shipped from overseas in cramped conditions with many dying on the way. Despite being very cute, buying one does not save them, it encourages the business. You might also end up with a very sickly dog, which can result in very costly vet bills.

So I decided to go to a responsible breeder via the Kennel Club and made sure I met the breeder and the dog's mum. We ended up buying a gorgeous little toy poodle boy, which we named Snoop. 

Snoop!

Pup Aid.

Feeling confident that we'd purchased our pup responsibly it took my cute little puppy to Pup Aid, a dog festival in Primrose Hill, and it was here I met Marc the Vet and the K9 Angels and started to realise just how bad the situation is.

When I approached the K9 Angels stall the first thing I noticed were the beautiful blonde founders, who I now know as Pola and Victoria, and their cute fluffy dogs. I suppose I stereotyped them and so I was shocked to learn that these dogs were rescue dogs who were saved from awful conditions in Romania. Despite their glamorous appearance, Pola and Victoria have literally sacrificed everything to dedicate themselves to improving the conditions in Romania and educating people back home. They don't take any money from the charity and Pola works two jobs to be able to pay her bills. 

Snoop and I with Marc the Vet

We got chatting and they invited me to go with them to Romania, and even though part of me thought that perhaps I wouldn't care about dogs so far away, I decided to go along and see the situation for myself, as Whinnie Williams and the Daily Mail's Liz Jones did before me. And I am so glad I did.

L-R: Victoria, Whinnie Williams, Matt Johnson, me, Pola

The problem in Romania.

There is a huge stray dog problem in Romania, everywhere you go there are dogs. On the side of the road, on ditches, one I saw with my own eyes lying on the roundabout just waiting to be hit. They are seen as a nuisance by many people and are beaten or killed in their millions. There are dogs that are so badly injured it's amazing they survived. Dogs are not seen as man's best friend, but as vermin. 

Public shelters.

The dogs that are 'lucky' enough not to be murdered are captured and taken to public shelters where we visited as soon as we arrived in Craiova. The only way I can describe the public shelter is a dog concentration camp. It's not a shelter, it's a doggy death camp. There were rows upon rows of kennels with dogs crammed into each one. Dogs of different sizes, ages, and breeds, ridden with ticks, distemper, and up to their knees in their own faeces. Whilst I was there I noticed dogs throwing up processed meat that they are fed by people who work at the shelters - they don't even bother to peel off the plastic and rope that the meat comes in. 

I fought back tears walking through the rows of dogs all balking, some coming up to the fence hoping you'd take them away, some so terrified they ran into the kennel, some so weak they were unable to stand. 

We promised ourselves we would pick one dog each to rescue and foster, but we left with seven. How could we leave dogs there to die? The K9 Angels don't have the funds or space for 7 - the injections, food, space in the shelter etc. We are hoping you will donate, I did. The worst part of rescuing them were the way in which the staff took them out of the kennels - with no emotion, glazed eyes, and a pole with wire which they brutally put round their necks. For them it is just a creature, they do not care about the dogs, that much is clear.

A selection of the dogs we saved

Victoria with the dog she named Nelson

Aurelia with a rescue dog.

I picked a dog that was so afraid she wouldn't come out of the kennel. She was covered in dirt and was screaming in a way I can only compare to a fox - that piercing shriek of terror when they fight. She had a beautiful face and looked a little like a husky - my boyfriend likes huskies so I thought perhaps he'd be more willing to foster that dog whilst we find her a loving home (what do you say Matt?)! I named her Felka, which I tought was the Polish word for lucky - it turns out it isn't but I think she suits that name anyway. She has had all her injections, and her first proper meal. and will be waiting in Romania whilst she gets her passport sorted out. I love her. 

FELKA

Felka being mishandled for the very last time.

Aurelia and Felka

Felka doing tests at the vet

Felka with some other dogs from the shelter enjoying their first proper meal :) 

Here are some of the poor dogs we had to leave behind:

The Vet.

Victoria rescued a very sweet black dog Nelson and he was the only one we could take away immediately as the others need to be spayed. These remaining six were put into a cage so small that the dog workers refused to allow us to take photographs. But soon they'd be out.

We took Nelson straight to the vets so he could be tested for distemper - If a dog tests positive it's unlikely it will survive and it's contagious so it would mean they would be unable to be saved. Thankfully Nelson tested negative, although he did have a temperature, giant fleas, and another disease which will take a month of antibiotics to clear, but he is safe, and will go to the shelter the K9 Angels built whilst he awaits his jabs, passport, and finally a home. But more on that shelter later.

Nelson getting his tests

L-R: Me, Victoria, the vet, Pola, Madalina

Operations.

Whilst at the vets we assisted with the neutering and spaying of dogs, funded by the K9 Angels. The more dogs on the street the greater the problem, the more that end up run over, murdered, or left to die in public shelters. The K9 Angels strongly believe that the best long term solution to the problem is having dogs spayed - no breeding, no more dogs. Whilst we were in the vet 5 puppies were brought in that had been found and were so sick four died. 

It takes ten minutes and costs 23 euros to neuter a dog, which when you think about the £200 you pay in England is nothing. But the minimum wage in Romania is 200 euros per month. It is a poor country. People cannot afford to do it without our support. 

Victoria, Pola, and I helped to shave the dogs, stroked them as they were injected with the anaesthetic, then assisted the vets as they performed the operations.

One 26 year old woman came in with ten dogs. She explained that she looks after 180 dogs in an unofficial shelter she created herself. She doesn't legally own the land but she loves them and so gives up her time to save them and try find them homes. She was so grateful to the K9 Angels for funding her to neuter the dogs. 

Another dog owner dropped her dog off to get spayed, we would later name the dog Grace. The vet told us that the owner was concerned about her paw, as it was swollen and damaged, but she couldn't afford to pay for the x ray. It looked like it had been run over by a train, or crushed with wire, so the K9 Angels told him to do it (50 euros) and they'd find a way to fund it. The vet then told us she needed her whole leg amputated so we paid the extra 50 euros and the operation went ahead. We went to see Grace afterwards and she looked so sad, as you'd expect. What made it worse it that her owner rang to say she no longer wanted it, but was going to keep her litter of one month old puppies. No leg, no puppies, and no home. It broke my heart. Grace is now looking for a loving home. 

Grace pre-operation

Grace post-operation :(

The K9 Angels shelter. 

Next we went to the shelter that the K9 Angels funded and built. This shelter homes dogs who have been rescued and treated and are awaiting for homes. They are put into homes according to their size and temperament and are looked after; the homes have heating, beds, and food. Some dogs are so traumatised that the shelter's manager, Aurelia, is still trying to rehabilitate them before they will be allowed to be adopted. Some already have homes across the UK and Europe and are just waiting to be transported to their new homes, others are still hoping for their forever home. The faster the dogs find homes, the faster we can rescue more dogs from the atrocious conditions of the public shelters.

Aurelia runs the shelter single handedly, although the K9 Angels are now looking for people to help her as she has too many dogs to look after alone - they need to raise 200 euros per month. 

This little boy is looking for a home

Victoria fell in loge with this little boy, but he needs to have his leg amputated before he can be rescued

A selection of dogs rescued from the street and public shelters

Both these puppies are looking for their forever homes

gorgeous puppies.

The Angels want to build more shelters so that eventually we can remove all the dogs from public shelters so they can at least live in humane conditions, without being beaten or attacked by bigger dogs. 

Whilst the K9 Angel shelter was the loveliest part of the trip, it still made me sad to think of the dogs without a loving family. I thought back to Pola and Victoria's rescue dogs, not only cute but just so grateful to be loved. 

I thought ofSnoop, something I love more than anything in the world. I thought how lucky he is, but also how sad it is that I went to a breeder after seeing what I saw. Do I regret it? Well I can't, because he's my baby and I love him. But having seen what I've seen and knowing what I know I will rescue going forward. I can't have two dogs, I couldn't because of my flat and I wouldn't be able to take more than one dog to work with me.

I understand people who want puppies, but until we ensure more dogs are spayed and neutered there are always unwanted puppies waiting to be rescued. I hope this post opens your eyes as it did mine and you bear it in mind, whether you rescue from abroad or home. 

How can you help?

• Adopt a Rescue Dog, you can view the dogs available to adopt on the website.
• Donate to the K9 Angels. You can give a monthly sum of money or make a one off payment. All the money you give will go to the dogs.

To give you an idea of how far your money will go:

Neutering / Spaying : €23

Feeding a dog for a month: £15

Adopting a dog (covers neutering/passport/vaccinations/rehabilitation and transportation): £230

Building a K9 shelter: £9000

Employing someone to run the shelter 200 euros per month

• Buy some of the incredible merchandise the K9 Angels have on offer - the bags are gorgeous. 

Finally, I must say thank you to the K9 Angels, to Aurelia, and to Madalina who let us stay at her house and gives up her spare time to look after the dogs despite working in a pharmacy from 8am-midnight. The work you ladies do is inspiring, I know I couldn't do it, and I hope this blog post helps to encourage others to donate, adopt, or just think twice before going to a breeder. I couldn't do what you do. 

The say a dog's a man's best friend, so let's help our friends.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. 

Until next time... X

Shocktober Fest | Halloween Attraction

I had the best night ever on Saturday night, we all did. By we I mean Matt, and our friends Ania, Steph, and Joe. The best thing about it? We woke up on Sunday WITHOUT a hangover! 

Photo Credit: Stephen Candy Photography. Please visit: www.saveavampire.com

I LOVE Halloween. It's my favourite festivity because you can dress up and be sociable, or be anti social and watch scary films and eat orange food and it's ok. I love horror films. It's my favourite genre of film. 

Anyway, we went along to Shocktober Fest which is the UK's number 1 Halloween Attraction, and it was amazing. It's near Crawley, which is not far from Brighton and about an hour and fifteen minute drive from London (a very traffic dependant time). It's like a theme park, but without any rides, and scarier. Instead of rides there are haunts, 6 of them to be precise, each is a different attraction, each with real actors inside to terrify you.

There's a clowns, cannibals, haunted hay rides, and even one haunt where you are made to put a sack over your head, and get blindly lead by the person at the front who is holding a rope whilst people sneak up on you. I have honestly never screamed so much in my life, and was exhausted and exhilarated by the constant state of adrenaline that rushed through me.

Photo Credit: Stephen Candy Photography.

Photo Credit: Stephen Candy Photography.

Photo Credit: Stephen Candy Photography.

There are even actors in the food areas and as you wander between haunts to keep you in the zone and on edge.

Photo Credit: Stephen Candy Photography.

Matt' was greeted by dead nurses to fix his broken leg... he left with a dead leg. Wheyyyyyyyyy! 

On top of the haunts, we paid a bit extra to do some zombie paint-balling, which in theory sounds fun, and was, but it didn't last very long (I don't even get to finish all my bullets), so don't feel like you will miss out if you don't spend the extra money.

One thing that is worth the extra money is the Hell Raiser (I think that's what it's called, but it's basically the tallest attraction. It's got a massive drop and spins you round and round, and up side down, and forwards and backwards. I think Matt and I's faces say it all.

The event is open until the 2nd November, and I couldn't recommend it more if you are looking for something fun to do for Halloween. It's open until midnight, so even if you come from work you have time to enjoy the night. I would recommend going fast track as the normal queues were quite long.

You can find out more, or book tickets to go here! Let me know if you go there, or have been! 

Until next time... x

Shocktober Fest: http://www.halloweenattractions.co.uk/shocktoberfest/

"Best Summer Ever" | Ibiza with Malibu Rum | Day 2

If you haven't read what I got up to at the first day of Ibiza you can check out the post here. 

After a late night at Pikes, we had a late start. Ania and I went for breakfast on the beach front by our hotel because we missed breakfast in the hotel - oops! We picked this place cause it was brightly coloured and served fresh juices. 

Afterwards we went to go meet the rest of the Malibu team at Pikes hotel, where we'd been partying the night before. It was honestly like stepping into Alice in Wonderland, I LOVED it! If you could only visit one place in Ibiza I'd recommend this place. 

We chilled by the pool and they played nice chilled music whilst we sipped on the most enormous and delicious cocktails. Just writing about it is making me sad we aren't there!

After Pikes we headed to the beach to get some food and watched sunset. 

We were meant to go out but after going back to the hotel, we just ate Cheetos and went to bed. Rock and roll! 

You can view our video from Ibiza on their YouTube page, or search the hashtag #BestSummerEver on twitter. Stay tuned for my next few posts.

Until next time... x 

Langar Hall | A Review

Hopefully you'll have seen my post about Pets Pyjamas, who organised a dog-friendly mini-break for Matt and I at Langar Hall. Matt, my boyfriend, is a comedian and had four gigs in Nottinghamshire so we decided to make a little trip of it and bring Snoop along with us.

We set off on Wednesday afternoon and had to go straight to Matt's gig in Mansfield. On the way to the hotel at about 8:30pm we received a phone call to ask what time we were expecting to arrive as they were shutting the kitchen at 9pm and would keep food for us if we wanted any later. Having grown up in my parent's guest house from the age of 6, I take customer service very seriously, and as far as first impressions go that phone call blew me away.

From the moment we stepped out the car I fell in love with Langar Hall. It's no surprise that it's been voted Britain's Best Rural Hotel.

The Staff.

From the moment we entered Langar Hall late on Wednesday evening, the staff couldn't have been more accommodating, we honestly couldn't have been made to feel more at home, especially with our puppy. They were warm and helpful and it came across in a very genuine way. The manners of the staff were impeccable, but they still maintained a friendly and chatty tone so nothing felt still or forced. We spent a lot of time with the owner, Imogen, who is an incredible and friendly lady, and we learned that her granddaughter also works at the hotel. There's definitely a family run and friendly vibe at Langar Hall that goes from Imogen right to down the gardeners we bumped into whilst walked Snoop.

The Accommodation. 

There are twelve rooms in Langar Hall and two outside chalets, Agnews and the Pod, which are situated on the croquet lawn at the back of the house. On Wednesday and Thursday we stayed in Brownlow, a large suite in the house. I was shocked when the door opened and we were shown in - the room itself is bigger than our London flat. It boasts a large bedroom, a smaller room (which we used as Snoop's room!), and an ensuite bathroom with a small bathtub. A bath is such a novelty for us as we very sadly don't have one in our flat in London. 

On the Friday night the house was hired by a wedding party, but Imogen kindly allowed us to stay in Agnews, the larger chalet house (she actually gave us a choice). The Chalet is a room with a small bathroom - there's no bath, just a shower, but a good sized one. I'm so glad I got to experience Agnews, it was magical. Not only did Snoop get to play outdoors, there was a veranda where we ate and sipped prosecco, and I sat and worked out there on Friday evening whilst Matt was at his gig. I was far enough from the main house that the wedding noise was a distant hum (I did enjoy Summer of 69 when I heard that!), and I could play music on the porch without having to worry about disturbing anyone. It was bliss. My only suggestion would be that they have an outdoor heater for the veranda as it did get a little nippy out there as the night went on - I suppose we're just coming out of summer though.

I love the decor of the house, it's a blend of classic English country house, with the most incredible library wallpaper in reception, antique paintings and statues, with Indian furnishings dotted around the house. Imogen has family in India, her granddaughter lived there until she was ten, so it's a really nice touch that adds to the family-run character of the house.

The Food. 

I loved the food Langar provided. Breakfast is included with the room and although not fancy, it was classic and delicious. That said, it finished at 9:30, which was a struggle for Matt who was working late every night, but the moment we stepped downstairs we were greeted by such warm staff it made getting out of bed worthwhile. I ate scrambled eggs and smoked salmon with tomatoes and mushrooms and they were cooked to perfection. I say this because I am usually rather fussy when it comes to scrambled eggs - a lot of people cook them on a high heat so they are very hard. I like mine to be soft, and they nailed them! There's also a rather simple buffet offering cereal, yoghurts, and fruit. I had tea and a fresh juice each morning too. 

The lunch and evening meal was much fancier. We dined in the restaurant on Wednesday evening, and Thursday lunch. I chose the lamb on the first night, whilst Matt had a duck. We treated ourselves to starters, and Matt had the most delicious salted caramel and peanut pie. For lunch the next day I picked the hake and Matt picked the steak and chips. We could not fault our meals. They are slightly on the pricey side as we had prosecco (reoccurring theme to the trip), but the portions are so big you are left feeling satisfied, unlike other fancy establishments.

On Friday we decided to venture into the local town for lunch to let the staff prepare for the wedding (although they were insistent they could have provided us with food for both lunch and dinner) and Imogen recommended we try Picture Cafe in Bingham. We were not disappointed with her recommendation, as the protein in the salads we ordered were more than generous and I even got to drink Matcha tea, something that I rarely find even in London cafes. 

I'm genuinely gutted our stay at Langar Hall has come to an end, we couldn't have asked for more. As I said, I've grown up in a five star guest house since the age of 6 as my parent's run it so I have incredibly high standards and expectations and Langar Hall and its impressive staff blew us away. I feel refreshed, recharged, and I got lots of work done. If anyone is looking for a venue for a birthday, wedding, or mini break I couldn't recommend it more highly. A lovely and beautiful place to stay without any of the pretentiousness. I'd definitely stay here again.

We'll be back Langar Hall.

Until next time... x 

Pets Pyjamas | Pet Friendly Travel

When my boyfriend Matt told me he'd be away on tour for 5 days up in Nottinghamshire, I decided Snoop and I should come with him for a mini break. I have so much work to do at the moment with my blog and YouTube channel (the latter which has been slightly neglected lately, sorry), and organising the launch of my jewellery company Whistle & Bango. The trouble with London is I'm always called to meetings and castings so it's hard to find the time to just sit down. The worry was, where on earth are we going to find that's affordable and will allow Snoop to stay?

That's when I came across Pets Pyjamas, and thank goodness I did. Pets Pyjamas are a one-stop lifestyle destination for cats and dog lovers; they have a shop but most importantly they organise pet-friendly holidays. I got in touch two days before we wanted to go away asking if they could help me find somewhere and they got back to me a few hours later with a selection of places. I had a look at the locations and prices and decided to settle on Langar Hall - a big country house outside of the city and only a half hour drive from each of Matt's gigs. 

As our first experience travelling somewhere with Snoop we couldn't have asked for anything more. From the moment we arrived at Langar Hall Snoop was welcome everywhere, and the staff fell in love with him and treated him like another guest.

In fact the only person unhappy with Snoop's arrival was Langar Hall's cat, who made her disapproval very clear through hisses and an arched when Snoop naively went to go play with her.

Snoop loved exploring the huge grounds, and there were no parts of the house he was not allowed to venture. 

Because we booked through Pets Pyjamas they posted a pet travel package which was an incredible surprise when it arrived at breakfast on Thursday morning. The parcel contains a bandana, dog treats, a foldable dog bowl (which came in very handy), a toy and a ball amongst other treats.

Snoop couldn't have loved the toys more! It was such a nice touch and something Pets Pyjamas do for anyone who books a pet friendly holiday through them.

You can find out more about my stay at Langar Hall in tomorrow's post so stay tuned! 

Have you ever been on holiday with your dog? I'd love to hear about your experiences. 

If you're looking for dog-friendly travel options, then I couldn't recommend going through Pets Pyjamas more, you can get on their website here.  

Until next time... X

World Duty Free | Beauty Exclusives

A couple of weeks ago World Duty Free invited me to have a sneak peek at their exclusive beauty offerings. For those of who don't know them, World Duty Free are the shops you buy your perfume in at the airport. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's a sucker fur a duty free bargain! 

Their event was held in the most appropriate location ever - a beauty salon in east London that was decorated to look like a plane. Nice!

 There was delicious sushi and drinks on offer, and I bumped into some bloggers and YouTubers including Poppy Rawson, and my lovely friend Becca Rose (who bought me an innocent smoothie - what a babe!). 

We got to view the amazing travel exclusive products, including their best-seller, a Givenchy set, travel-sized Clarins sets, Benefit make-up packages, and so much more.

The best thing was the goody bag I got to take home. I always panic about what beauty products to carry in my hand luggage. I live in fear of getting it wrong and having my products taken away from me, so it's nice to know I can't get it wrong with  this travel sized collection.

The event was amazing because it taught me that Duty Free Shopping isn't just good for perfume shopping, but for travel friendly beauty essentials. It'll definitely take the pressure of packing beauty products off me going forward. Now I just need to go on holiday! Where can I go?

Until next time... X

"Best Summer Ever" | Ibiza with Malibu Rum | Day 1

I love my job. Between presenting, modelling, having a blog, YouTube channel, and a fast growing jewellery company I never get bored or stuck in a routine. When Malibu got in touch to ask me if I'd like to go to Ibiza to literally have 'The Best Summer Ever' (that's the name of the summer campaign), it made me appreciate my job even more. I was elated! I'd never been to Ibiza, plus it had just started to get cold and wet in London. On top of that I got to bring a friend out with me, AND my friend AJ Odudu was going to be out there as she'd been all over the world with Ibiza for the 5 weeks prior. 

So I arrived at London City Airport with my friend and business partner (we co-founded Whistle & Bango together with another friend Rosie), ready to embark on an exciting 5 days of sunshine.

Ania and I - airport selfie!

We checked in and had an hour and a half before needed to board so we decided to get some lunch. I don't know if you've ever been to City Aiport, but there is one restaurant and it's expensive. We paid about £20 for a posh-sized meal (why are fancy meal portions always so small), and decided we may as well treat ourselves to a glass of prosecco too. In fairness my meal was delicious, I had a roast salmon with a singular piece of pasta. LOL. Presentation and taste 10, portion size 0. 

Posh portions at City Airport

We slept the whole flight, then got picked up and taken back to the hotel where we had 40 minutes to change before having to head out to meet the others and go watch Clean Bandit at Ibiza Rocks. I put on my new head piece, which I absolutely love! I've always wanted a head piece. If you want to find out about my outfit you can check out this link here. 

It was so nice to be reunited with AJ, and the rest of the group were really nice too - I'll introduce you properly to them later, although it's probably worth mentioning Laura Steel now as she's in lots of my pictures. Laura is a singer, originally from Sheffield but now lives in London. She's got wild hair and a matching wild personality and is an absolute babe.

Ania and I reunited with AJ!

At Ibiza Rocks we were given our own room that overlooked the stage and we could have some drinks there, Malibu ones, obviously. Ella Eyre was performing, which was really cool, then we got to head backstage to meet Clean Bandit before their performance. If you follow me on YouTube you'll know their song 'Rather Be' made a cheeky appearance in one of my monthly favourites for being my favourite song of summer, so it was really cool to get to meet them. Their performance was incredible - I don't know if you guys have seen them, but they got the whole crowd going, which must be quite tough when they only have one such well known song. 

Ania and I with Clean Bandit

After the gig we headed to what would become one of my favourite places ever, Pikes at Ibiza Rocks House. It's an incredible hotel, and at night time there's the most incredibly random club. It's set out a bit like a house - there's karaoke in a bathroom, and fancy dress clothes in a boudoir. It's fantastical, and we had an amazing time. We danced, feasted on a cheese and meat platter, before I dragged Ania away from the karaoke machine and we headed home!

If you click the 'Ibiza' tag below you can check out all my outfits and beauty preparation. I'm going to post more from my trip tomorrow to stay tuned - I can't wait to show you what I got up to! 

Let me know if you're reading this because you're planning a trip to Ibiza - If you need any advice just ask away in the comments below.

Until next time... x

Pup Aid

This weekend I popped along to Primrose Hill with my puppy Snoop to show my support for Pup Aid, which is a dog festival set up in order to raise awareness against puppy farming. 

Lots of people take advantage of man's love for puppies and import them from overseas (with about 60% dying from poor conditions on the way) or breed ill kept dogs creating sickly puppies. Having just bought a puppy myself, this is something I feel very strongly about so I wanted to head down to show my support. You can read more about puppy farming here. 

I went along with my little man Snoop, and slightly bigger man, my friend Matt Johnson.

We met Pup Aid's founder Marc the Vet, judged some dog shows (I didn't enter Snoop), and had a lovely time walking around and educating ourselves on the different charities and rescue companies, as well as staring at all the weird and wonderful things people buy for their dogs - including cottages! Yup! I said cottages!

My best dressed dog

The tiniest Chihuahua I've ever seen - it's called a Chiweenie which is a Chihuahua crossed with a toy Daschund. 

The Nutts 4 Mutts stall

I also announced raffle winners for my local pet shop (who I would recommend whole heartedly), Nutts 4 Mutts - they are based in West Hampstead.

Gary and Liz from Nutts 4 Mutts donating all raffle money to Pupaid

Afterwards we took Snoop up to the top of the hill and chilled.

You can see Pupaid at the bottom of the hill - although they were clearing it away

What a lovely Saturday. To find out more about the day and the incredible things Marc is trying to achieve you can visit the pupaid website. 

There'll be lots more puppy posts coming soon, so until next time ... X

Holiday preparation | Malibu's Best Summer Ever

If you guys follow me on YouTube, you will hopefully have seen my special announcement:

That's right, in the words of the VengaBoys (remember them?), "oh I'm going to Ibiza!" I've never been before either, to say I'm excited is an understatement.  

Im in going along with my best friend Ania, and meeting another best friend AJ Odudu out there. It's part of Malibu's campaign to literally have the #bestsummerever 

I'm going to do a video everyday on my channel so make sure you stay tuned, and I'll do my best to blog and vlog my experience. 

So let me begin with my pre-holiday preparation. hopefully this will be useful to you if you are going on holiday. 

Firstly, hair removal. I didn't have time to get waxed so it's all about the Veet Spray On Removal cream. It's easy and softer on the skin than a razor.

Tans are better when your skin is exfoliated - the tan goes deeper and lasts longer. So last night I scrubbed my entire body with the Body Shop's Argan Oil Body Scrub, and my face with my firm favourite Microdermabrasion Vitamin C face scrub. This scrub is quite harsh so I wouldn't recommend using it regularly, but whenever your skin looks or feels rough or dull this product is perfect for giving you a healthy glow.

I would usually always get a gel manicure before going on holiday so I don't have to worry about chips, but I didn't have time so I picked the next best thing: Maybelline's Super Stay gel polish. 

I am always that pasty English stereotype on the beach. Also, I hate the pressure of trying to look tanned, not to mention it's so bad for your skin. I used Fake Bake's 60 Minute Tan to give my skin a pre-holiday healthy glow.  

Finally, as a blonde my hair gets incredibly dry and brittle. I used an intensive Argan oil hair mask by Mark Hill Hair - I can't recommend this product enough. 

I hope you find this useful, especially if you're going on holiday. I'd love to know what you guys do in preparation for your holiday? 

Until next time... X

V Festival 2014

It's taken me a while to write this blog post, because I had such a good time at V I couldn't quite bring myself to reminisce the week after.

I was invited to the exclusive Louder Lounge area at V and went along with my friend and actress Wallis Day and singer Blithe Saxon. I went last year and had the best time ever, so I was mega excited to go again. 

Blithe and Wallis in our tent (complete with blow up mattress)

The line up

The line up in the main area was out of this world with acts such as Justin Timberlake, Ed Sheeren, Example, Bastille, Lily Allen, Jason Derulo, Rita Ora, the Rizzle Kicks, and even Alan Carr! 

We also watched Alex Clare side of stage, who was amazing. His voice was just incredible. He's the guy who sings this song.

Louder Lounge

Louder Lounge is the area Virgin put together for selected people including celebs and press, I saw Alexandra Burke, Olly Murs, Jack Whitehall, to name but a very select few walking around this year - last year Niall from One Direction and Cara Delevignge were also there. 

I didn't take many photographs in this area but I thought I'd give you an exclusive sneak peek into the area.

There was a luxury spa in the area offering complementary hair, manicure, eyelash, and eyebrow pampering - it made camping a much more enjoyable experience! Mark Hill were on site to transform our hair from camping crap to chic. There were a selection of hair styles on offer. I went for the most popular look, the Foxes Waterfall, but asked them adapt it slightly so as not to look like everyone else. 

Before...

During...

After!

The Eyelure area were offering brow, eyelash, and manicure services. We got to pick from a selection of Elegant Touch Stick on nails, which included a range from Henry Holland and Little Mix. Here's a selection of the nails and eyelashes that were available to us:

I went for the Broken Heart nails, whilst Wallis went for these, and Blithe picked these. I wanted quite thick lashes with a flick at the end, so I chose these ones, and I got my eyebrows thickened out too. 

Inside the main area of Louder Lounge, was the most delicious range of complimentary food and drink, as well as a Sony Stage. One cool area was a secret bar where you have to have a code and where a moustache to get through a cupboard behind which is a bar serving shots.

 Whilst we were in the area we saw exclusive performances by Train and Neon Jungle.

The best part about Train's performance was at the end I caught the guitarist's plectrum! 

I also bumped into my buddy and rising star Ollie Marland.

We also spent a lot of time in the backstage artist area at Mahiki where we sipped on Mahiki cocktails and I bumped into friends Doina Ciobanu and Lilah Parsons.

If you want to know about the outfits I wore, then please check out the fashion section of my website.

My highlight of V Festival had to be Ed Sheeren, I absolutely love him. If you were there, let me know your highlight?

If you're thinking of going next year, you will definitely be spoilt with an unbeatable line-up.

Until next time... x

Camp Bestival

I popped down to Lulworth Castle in Dorset for a weekend at what I think could be England's most 'jolly' festival. Everything is perfect and idyllic: the setting, the people, the food... even the weather (although that isn't guaranteed unfortunately). It's quite small still, but there's a real charm and magic to it. 

We didn't see much music (I would have loved to have seen Basement Jaxx but it clashed with Matt's gig), but they always have a very impressive lineup. There was a whole range of entertainment on offer: literature, comedy, music, circus, even a wall of death. 

The Crowd.

Camp Bestival is known as the Greatest Family Show on Earth and there are thousands of children around. However, there's an extremely bohemian vibe to the festival: it was extremely chilled, and had a magical, wholesome atmosphere, and there are also teenagers, young adults, and elderly couples. 

Older teens were spoilt with their own area for 13-17 year olds only where there was loads of activities and workshops.

The Food.

There was a lovely array of high quality food - a fine dining tent for Sunday roasts, food from every corner of the world, delicious vegan stalls, and EVEN a Nando's.

Have you been to Camp Bestival? What did you think of it? If you are considering going to Camp Bestival you can find out more details on their website. 

Until next time... x

Edinburgh Fringe | day 3

We decided to stay an extra day up in Edinburgh so had to wake up and move to a newer (nicer) hotel. The Hotel du Vin. The hotel is beautiful, and the rooms are all named after vinyards around the world. They had an espresso machine in the room, which made me happy, and the shower was so powerful - always a deal breaker!

We then went for breakfast on Bristo Square and were served the most enormous plates in the world. 

After breakfast me, my brother (who lives in Edinburgh), and Matt soaked up a bit of tourism.

Edinburgh Castle. The castle dominates the skyline and it's interesting to take a look around. It can be quite pricey but if you do go then make sure you are there for the firing of the one o'clock gun (Mon-Sat). We didn't pay to go in but you can walk around a fair amount of it without having to pay. 

On the way past my brother pointed out a restaurant and hotel called the Witchery, named so as witches used to be burned at the stake nearby. There's a hexagon marking on the pavement as you go down the Mile that marks the spot where the burnings took place. 

Next we got an incredible view of Princes street, and the Scott Monument, which is the monument to Sir Walter Scott and is also where one of the final shots of Cloud Atlas was filmed.

There was also a wheel like the London Eye, I don't know what it's called so I named it the 'Auch Aye' and was so proud of that joke I thought I'd share it on my blog. MWAHAHA.

We then chilled out in the Assembley George Sq (George Square gardens) where I fell asleep and Matt took photos of me asleep.

Ben Hart: the Vanishing Boy

Ben is a magician, who tells a story whilst performing very impressive magic tricks. Ben's magic was very impressive and he made it interesting with his charm and wit. Would definitely recommend him. 

Underbelly Cowgate at 4:40pm

Danny Buckler: Punch

We stumbled upon Danny accidentally because we had a couple of hours to spare before our next act and he came up on the fringe app as being nearby. I'm so glad we did as he's one of the best acts I've seen! Lots of Danny's comedy comes from his over imaginative mind (something I found so funny because I can relate to it), impressions, and hysterical stories about Brian Blessed. He had the audience in hysterics from start to finish. Definitely go watch this show as it's free! 

Word of advice: if you do go to a free show make sure you take cash with you as you leave money in a bucket at the end and I didn't have cash on me for this show and I felt horrific, as he really was worth it. 

Cowgatehead at 6:15pm

BearPit Podcast Podcast

A fake podcast known as Ipswich FM's premier live podcast, the Bearpit Podcast covers a different subject everyday; the show we went to see was about the Ipswich Film Festival live from Edinburgh. The bearpit podcast comprises of six very funny up and coming comedians - Mat Ewins, Adam Hess, Fin Taylor, John Kearns, Matt Winning, Lolly Adefope.

Fin played the part of the host who interviewed different people from the world of film - the others who hilariously improvised. It felt very much like they were doing it more for their own entertainment than ours, particularly as Fin tried to make it as difficult as possible for the characters with the questions he asked, but my god were we entertained. It was random and inexplicable, but utterly hilarious! 

The Mash House at 7:40pm

WitTank: Old School Secrets late night. 

I mentioned WitTank in yesterday's post, and decided to go see them on their new late show they do on the weekend. Their show as a brilliant series of sketches around boarding school life and their late show is exactly the same... But with jaeger bombs, which was quite funny. Disorganised chaos but they pulled it off! 

Pleasance Above at 11:40pm

We popped for some late night food over the road at the City restaurant, which served the widest range of food ever. I tried to be healthy and ordered the grilled salmon and the weirdest combination of food arrived at the table: salmon, pesto, mushy peas, and chips. 

Let me know what you think, and make sure you check out Day 1 & 2 of my Edinburgh blog too :)

Until next time... X

Edinburgh Fringe | Day 2

After quite a late night at the Hot Dub Time Machine we had a bit of a lie in before strolling to Mum's for a delicious breakfast. No, not my actual mum; it's a brilliant little restaurant that serves delicious comfort food. However we missed breakfast so we ended up with a pie & macaroni cheese, which I was not too disappointed about. If you're into milkshakes (I can't have dairy), then I'd recommend them. Matt had a vanilla one and it was by all accounts delicious. The service is very energetic - almost uncomfortably so. 

I couldn't resist having a sample of haggis. I quite like it, but I'm an ex vegetarian so please do not tell me what it is. Ignorance is bliss. 

Mum's, 4a Forrest street, EH1 2QN

Matt went to his gig so I strolled around a couple of tourist spots in the city. 

Nicolson’s Cafe (now no longer there), one of the locations where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book when she was a single mother on benefits and would make a coffee last all day. There’s a plaque on the wall of Black Medicine Cafe on the corner of Nicholson Street and Drummond Place that marks the spot. 

Another JK Rowling spot is The Elephant House on George IV Bridge, close to Greyfriars Kirk and the famous statue of Greyfriars Bobby.

I love the statue and story of this loyal dog! Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th‑century Edinburgh for supposedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died himself on 14 January 1872.

I then strolled down the royal mile, and came across the most amazing blues singer appropriately named Richard Blues. His voice was mesmerising and he told me he's playing at Wighams wine cellar soon so if you're in Edinburgh do check him out. 

Mark Cooper-Jones: Geography teacher. 

If you aren't familiar with Mark, you may be familiar with Edinburgh stalwarts WitTank. They are an incredibly funny sketch group and the equivalent of Harry Styles to my sister, so I would definitely recommend going to watch them.

As for Mark's show, well go see that too. It's free, and very good! It's about Mark's profound love of geography and draws on his experiences as a substitute geography teacher. It involves audience participation and he even raps a song... About geography. People are being turned away at the door because it seems the world is so keen on geography, so get there early.

The Globe, Niddry Street at 3pm

Adam Hess: Mustard

Firstly I would recommend following him on twitter, as he's very funny on it. Adam's show involved incredible memories of his childhood and the things he considered normal in a family of older sisters. He also talked about his girlfriend recently dumping him. Adam's main charm was his energetic and scatty energy and I particularly loved his random facts that he recited sporadically throughout the show. The show is turning people away so either turn up early or pre-book tickets for £5. 

The Hive, at 5pm. 

Mary King’s Close

Below the Royal Mile is another set of streets that were sealed off during a plague outbreak in the 17th Century and were subsequently built over. A lovely guide by the name of Chris T took us down under the Royal Mile to Mary King’s Close. It’s an odd sensation to see all these old houses under the current streets. Whilst it was incredibly interesting and the guide was very good and informative, it was a little bit too touristy for my liking. I would have liked to have had a roam around at my own pace, although this is impossible due to the fragility of a lot of the structures. One particularly disturbing feature was a ceiling which they built out of the ashes of plague victims and horse hair. The tickets were £18 too so I'm not sure how worth it it was.

2 Warriston's Close, High Street

Abandoman.

So much talent I don't know where to begin! Abandoman are made up of a drummer, a guitarist, and charming Irish rapper (words you'd never expect to be together) Rob Broderick. They do improvised rap music very very well using information and items from the audience... And P Diddy. A sell-out show and an ending so seamless it seemed impossible it was made up on the spot (it was). There was a standing ovation at the end so I think that speaks volumes. 

Udderbelly's Pasture at 9:10pm

The Noise Next Door's Comedy Lock In

I've seen the Noise next door a few times in the past and they are a brilliant improv sketch group who use suggestions from the audience to act out scenes and songs. There's a lot of improv (most of it) I don't like as it can be quite hit and miss - but the Noise Next Door have never got it wrong. 

It's the first time I've seen their comedy lock-in show and it was absolutely hilarious - and sold out so make sure you book tickets in advance. They get two different guest comedians every night and when I watched it the guests were magicians Morgan & West and Matt Richardson (no coincidence I went to that show). The guest comedians do 5 minutes of their own stand-up before taking part in some improv which had me in hysterics. Totally recommend, and is the kind of thing I'd love to see on TV!

Pleasance 2, 10:50pm

Let me know if you see any of these shows and tell me what you think. Also I'm here another day so please send your recommendations to me :)

Until next time... X

Edinburgh Fringe | Day 1 (and a half)

Technically, this should have been day two as we were meant to arrive in Edinburgh yesterday at 9:50am on the dot. HOWEVER! Things did not go to plan...

The night before Matt, my boyfriend, announced we would be leaving the house at 6:30am to drive to Heathrow for our 8:40am flight. He'd been super organised and bought airport parking and everything - very impressive. I fell asleep whilst blogging, as usual, and work up suddenly with my laptop still positioned on top of me. I slowly opened my eyes, and looked at the clock... I stared at it for what seemed like a minute before I realised I really could tell the time and it really was 8am. "Matt! It's 8am! Did you set your alarm?" "No, did you?" Turns out that answer was also no. Oops. After a frantic phone call to Virgin to reserve the next flight, then a tube delay to miss that too, we ended up on an East Coast Service from King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley. A shaky start that came to a greater pinnacle point when a bridge in Grantham cracked and they had to call engineers to repair it whilst we waited patiently (impatiently) in Petrborough for 90 minutes. Hey! We finally arrived fashionably late (8 hours).

Mat Ewins: The 6 Million Dollar Ewins.

Matt (Richardson not Ewins, although this applies to both of them) has seen every one of his shows and loved every one of them, so we broke our Edinburgh fringe 2014 virginity with this show. 

He's very different - the premise of the show is he dies, goes to heaven, gets brought back as a bionic man and has to discover who planted a bomb in the room within an hour. Confused? Yeah, well so was he. But it was very entertaining. Weird, but I like weird. It was nonsensical but intruiging, and Mat was brilliantly both funny and fascinating (did I mention weird?).

Pleasance Courtyard, Venue 33 at 10:45pm
More details here

Ellie Taylor: Elliementary

I've met Ellie a few times, she's a friend of my boyfriend’s and I also recently went on her radio show on Fubar. Ellie is beautiful and also the presenter of Snog, Marry, Avoid, but I've never seen her do comedy. I cannot recommend going to see her enough. Ellie talks about parts of her life that technically we shouldn't be able to associate with, or find funny: being a tall, skinny, model who is desperate to be engaged. However, Ellie is so approachable and energetic and just so brilliantly funny that everyone found her funny - men, women, cats (there were no cats, but if there were they would have chuckled). Even when I enjoy comedy I don't often LOL, but Ellie's show had me, and the rest of the audience LOL-ing the whole way through. Ellie’s show is so good she has been turning down people every day because her so many people have turned up. AND her show is FREE. GO GO GO!

Laughing Horse at the Counting House, 12pm 
More details here.

Matt Haig - Advice for Humans

Matt Haig is one of my favourite authors, so when I saw he was doing a talk called "Advice for Humans", I had to go along. And thank god I did! The talk was set in the Hendrick's Carnival of Knowledge pop up, which is open until Sunday. I couldn't recommend you go more; it’s such a lovely venue with amazing cocktails.

Matt read an extract from and talked about his novel, the Humans, to a very intimate crowd. If you aren’t familiar with the book, you can read my previous blog post. Matt talked in detail about his inspiration behind writing it, his methods of writing it, as well as personal details such as some of his favourite novels he read which were:
 

The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger
Vox - Nicholson Baker (about phone sex)
Lots of books about science & philosophy including the History of Western Philosophy 

His favourite book ever though is Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and other Animals by John Grey

Matt spoke in detail of his personal history battling anxiety and depression, which is obviously an issue I find fascinating as I've recently written about my experiences in the Metro. What I didn't realise is you can't be a permanent citizen in states if you've spoken openly about depression. 

For those interested, Matt is currently writing a screenplay for the Humans, and on the verge of finishing a non fiction / part autobiography called Reasons to Stay Alive - set to be a fascinating book about depression and mental illness.

Most excitingly, we got signed books, and I finally got to meet Matt himself - it’s always very exciting for me to meet an author I love. 

Matt is also talking at the Unbound Edinburgh Book Festival at the Spiegeltent on Charlotte Square on Monday 11th August from 9 - 11pm. See more details of upcoming events here. 

Hendrick’s Carnival of Knowledge, 1 Royal Circus, EH3 6TL

Alex Horne - Monsieur Butterfly

Alex Horne is one of my favourite comedians. I first came across his about 5 years ago when I stumbled across the Horne Section (also worth seeing - it's jazz comedy!) and I've seen him many times since. For those not familiar with Alex Horne, he's the master of awkward (hilarious) chit chat. During Monsieur Butterfly, Alex builds a Mousetrap (remember the game?) out of sentimental objects from his life. I felt tense towards the end as it didn't seem like the trap would work... I can't believe I cared, but Alex has a way of drawing you into his weird and wonderful world. Would totally recommend!

Pleasance Courtyard, venue 33 at 8:10pm

More details here

Andrew Maxwell - Hubble Bubble

I saw Andrew at Latitude and I really liked listening to him. He's fiercely intelligent but very funny. We went to see his show and it's one of the greatest hours of stand-up we've seen, and by we I include Matt. He bravely discusses the Scottish independence referendum and other political issues… I'm the first to admit I'm ignorant about politics, and whilst I admit it's important, it’s not something that interests me enough to listen to. Andrew Maxwell is clearly very knowledgable and passionate about the subject but he is not patronising or dull with it. I LOVED his show because it was both educational and hilarious without being heavy. His laugh is enough have me in hysterics. I have a low attention span and his hour long show came and went too quickly. Brilliant brilliant brilliant!! 

The Assembly Room, Venue 20 at 10:20pm

More details here

Spank!

A selection of comedians that all do ten minutes. Matt performed so I went to watch him, and he was awesome. Everyone is quite drunk at this point so it’s quite lairy - but entertaining. It’s been going for about ten years and they have weird rules, like the fact you’re allowed to stand up on stage and promote your show (if you’re watching in the audience) providing you do it naked! Obviously.

Underbelly, Cowgate, Venue 61 at midnight

More details here

Hot Dub Time Machine

An amazing night that plays music from the 1920s right up to 2014. The DJ is so into it and each song lasts about a minute. And if that wasn't good enough there's three giant screens showing the music video so you can relive the good old days.

My personal highlight was them playing 99 Luftballoons and released balloons into the dance floor. Amazing.

Underbelly, Bristo Square, Venue 300 at 00:30am

More details here

Food & Drink

We had a coffee in the Teviot Library Bar in between shows and caught up on work and phone calls. I love it there, mainly because I love books. 

13 Bristo Square, Edinburgh

We ate dinner at a restaurant near the Hendrick's pop-up called Mother's and it was lovely AND cheap. We had TWO fillet steaks served with chips with parmesan and truffle oil (posh chips), and a bottle of Malbec for £20. For dessert we had the most delicious fudge, so the total bill came to £24. The place is actually a specialist gin bar with over 60 types of gin, but we didn't try any as we were slightly ginned (yes that can be a verb, apparently) out after being at the Hendrick's bar. 

Mother's, 24 Howe Street, Edinburgh

I'm here for another couple of days so please do recommend other shows you see and love. Also let me know if you end up seeing any of the things I recommended in this post :)  

Until next time... x

Holi One Colour Festival

On Saturday, I headed up to Wembley to go to London's Holi One Colour Festival with my sister, and friends Tess & Ania. These festivals happen all over the world, and is inspired by the Indian Holi Festival (होली) and promotes the idea of togetherness and the colour of everyday life.  I've always wanted to go to one of these, and it definitely did not disappoint; I'd say that Saturday was on of the greatest experiences of my life.  

My sister, Ania, me, & Tess

It was visually incredible, with people having fun listening to the amazing music, and watching indian inspired dances, whilst releasing the toxic free colourful powder. The music was unbelievable and had everyone up and dancing (I should apologise to everyone who saw my enthusiastic dancing, as I'm not the best). 

We dressed in white and when we arrived felt very clean compared to everyone else, so quickly got playful with our powders.

Everyone there looked incredible, and some people mixed their powder with liquid to give solid colour. Here were some of my favourite looks I saw:

There was an hourly countdown when everyone would release their powder together and it was the most incredible sight ever.

A man even proposed to his girlfriend (she said yes), so it was very relevant to the traditional Indian festival, which is also known as the festival of love.

I would 100% recommend the Holi One Colour Festival to anyone. I'll put their website here, as they have festivals all over the world, and it really was one of the greatest experiences ever. I can't believe we had that much fun in a car park outside Wembley stadium - I would have thought it was all a dream were it not for the state of my clothes the next morning (it all washed out with a bit of vanish).

Let me know if you've been to the Holi One festival before, or if this post has inspired you.

Until next time... x

Paris | A guide

“AJOUTER DEUX LETTRES À PARIS C’EST LE PARADIS”

— Jules Renard

I used to live in Paris so that makes me practically Parisian... just with a desire to see the tourist parts! This guide will inform you of the tourist hotspots I recommend, with a few hidden secrets to take you off the beaten track. 

Champs de Mars is a great place to get your tourist photos of the Eiffel Tower - or head to Trocadero

Open Top Bus. 

Don't be embarrassed to go on an open top bus ride. It's honestly the best and easiest way to get round the city, and you can hop on and off all day for 32 euros. I used the L'Open Tour company. It means you can see all the sights you want to, and have the time to hop off the tourist track too.

L'Open Tour Bus - self explanatory!

Arc de Triomphe & the Champs Elysee

Pont Alexandre III - connecting the Eiffel Tower / Invalides area and the Champs Elysee

Musee de Louvre - home of Mona Lisa

Notre Dame cathedral

Les Invalides

Make sure you see: Place de la Concorde, Madeleine, Arc du Triomphe & the Champs Elysee, Les Invalides, Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Louvre (home of the Mona Lisa), Sorbonne, Musee d'Orsay (good for impressionism), Centre Georges-Pompidou (20th century modern art), Opera, Luxembourg gardens. 

Sacre Coeur & Monmartre.

One of my favourite parts of Paris - it has a very old traditional feel to it, and you can almost imagine Edith Piaf appearing at any moment. Make sure you wander aimlessly through the streets of Monmartre before you head up the stairs to Sacre Coeur.

Sacre Coeur

The view from Sacre Coeur

Just behind the Basilica is the Place du Tertre, which is one of my favourite squares of Paris, despite it being mildly touristy. Picasso lived there at the beginning of the 20th century, and the square is taken up by painters and artists creating and selling artwork. It's a nice place to people watch with a drink in one of the cafes, but be prepared for people to keep asking you if they can draw you (for money of course). 

One of the many artists at the Place du Tertre

Just down from the Place du Tertre is the rue Norvins - home of the world's most delicious ice-cream shop, Tutti Sensi. I don't even like ice-cream, but this place is what dreams are made of and their flavours range from toblerone, creme brule, coffee, cherry...  

The best ice cream ever...

... and a selection of their killer flavours!

Moulin Rouge

After leaving the Sacre Coeur and Montparnasse I'd recommend seeing the Moulin Rouge as it's an easy walk. The area isn't very nice (it's full of sex shops and is quite run down), but it's obviously worth seeing the famous Moulin Rouge! I personally wouldn't recommend feeling like you HAVE to see a show there - it's a great experience but is a typical show aimed at tourists and is a little overpriced - but that's up to you. You'll have a great evening if you do.  

Moulin Rouge

Montparnasse & the Catacombs

The catacombs is an underground ossuary that holds the remains over 6 million people. The skulls have all been arranged, and it's a fascinating to see what's underneath the city of Paris. There's always a big queue so go very early or in the week if you can.

Surrounded by skulls in the Catacombs

Whilst in the area go visit the Monparnasse cemetery, which is an extremely beautiful graveyard in which many notable people are buried including Serge Gainsbourg, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Samuel Beckett, and Charles Baudelaire. 

Montparnasse Cemetery 

Serge Gainsbourg's grave is covered in lipstick marks, alcohol bottles, cigarettes, and metro butts. What a stud! If you're wondering about the metro stubs, it's because his hit song Le Poinconneur des Lilas talked about a Metro worker driven to depression by his job, punching holes in ticket stubs. 

Serge Gainsbourg's grave

You will be able to see a giant sky scraper building that stands out like a sore thumb, this is the Tour Montparnasse and offers unparalleled panoramic views of Paris. I'd recommend going to the bar for sunset so you can see the whole city at its most beautiful.

Marais

The Jewish area, the Marais is full of amazing boutiques, bars, and falafel. Most of Paris is closed on a Sunday, so I'd recommend saving your Marais day for then.

Go for falafel at l'As du Fallafel on the rue des Rosiers - it's the most popular place and there's always a queue down the street. 

Whilst you're there, you must go to a vintage shop where nearly everything is FIVE EUROS. The shop front says 'coiffeur' on it, and you can pick up some real treats inside. 

My favourite street in the Marais

The best falafel ever

The greatest vintage shop ever

From the Marais you can walk to the Bastille. There's lots of nice bars on the rue de Lappe just off Rue St Sablins - I love Sister May if it's still around. The vibe is very relaxed and there's a nice mix of locals and ex-pats. 

Bastille

Paris at Night

• You can go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for a pretty impressive view of the Eiffel Tower
• Go on a night-time bike ride using the Velib bikes that are posted around the city
• Join other Parisians and have a picnic on the Pont des Arts - the pedestrian bridge near the Louvre. There's usually people there playing music, and you can see the Eiffel Tower. If you're there with a loved one make sure you cement your love by placing a padlock on the bridge and throwing the key into the Seine (there are people there who sell padlocks)
• Have a picnic on the Champs de Mars underneath the Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomphe at night

Louvre at night

Pont des Arts and padlocks

My random favourite places:

If you find yourself in Châtlet metro you absolutely have to stop and listen to the band that plays there. 

Shakespeare & Company Bookshop. This book shop is easy to stroll from Notre Dame or Saint German and is the most amazing independent bookshop I've ever seen... and it seems I'm not the only one as there's usually a queue to get in. It specialises in English books and they host lots of events and have speakers - when I was there Zadie Smith was signing books. It's named after the original Shakespeare and Co which was a popular spot for writers such as Ernest Hemingway during the 1920s. This shop has featured in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris too. 37 rue de la Bucherie | Latin Quarter, 75005

Places to eat:

Dans le Noir. This restaurant is less about the food and more about the experience. You get led into pitch black by one of the blind or partially-sighted waiters, and get served a surprise menu. You don't find out what you've eaten until the very end when you're back in the light. It's definitely not for the faint hearted (or fussy). 51 Rue Quincampoix, 75004

Relais de l'Entrecote. There are three of these restaurants in Paris, and in each one there's always a queue. You get given a salad for starter, and then two portions of steak and chips with the most delicious and incredibly secret sauce. It's divine. You can have dessert too, and they have a lovely wine selection. It's about 20 euros for the whole she-bang and tastes amazing. If you do go or have been please can you let me know what's in the sauce if you have any idea! 15 Rue Marbeuf, 75008 / 101 boulevard du Montparnasse 75006 / 20 rue St Benoit 75006 

Juveniles. This bar used to be a wine bar run by scottish Tim Johnston, and is now a wonderful family run bistro run by his daughter Margaux and boyfriend Romain. There's such a friendly local vibe to it and the food is delicious. What's more you can buy take away wine too. It's right next to the Louvre so perfect if you want to get out of the tourist trap.  47 rue de Richelieu, 75001

Comptoir du Relais. A great place to have lunch, although be prepared to queue. The food is seasonal, French, and fabulous. 9, carrefour de l'Odeon (Relais St. Germain Hotel), 75006

Atelier de Joel Roubouchon. This is one of the best meals I've ever had, and so it should be for the price. It's a gastronomical experience, as the food is experimental and beautifully presented. There's an open kitchen which is situated in the centre of the restaurant. I'd say this is the perfect place for an important date or special occasion. 5 Rue Montalembert, 75007 

Restaurant Astier. This restaurant is amazing - amazing food and amazing value. You can get a three course meal for 35 euros! It's a french bistro so there's a very local and domestic feel to it. I would recommend getting the cheese.  44,rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011

Places to have a drink

Zero de Conduite. A novelty bar where you drink out of baby bottles, play games, and order your drink by drawing it. 

The Baby Bottle Bar

You have to draw the cocktail you want to order

Drinking my cocktail from a baby bottle

Zero de Conduite has so many games to play whilst you're there

Le Georges. This bar is situated in the Pompidou and has killer views of Paris. I would go there after dinner and not eat there - the service is not great and it's very expensive.  19, rue Beaubourg (Centre Georges Pompidou), 75001

Don't forget to check out rue de Lappe and the Montparnasse tower that I mentioned earlier. 

Hotel Recommendation.

I stayed in Hotel Moliere, which is right in the heart of Paris within 5 minutes walk of the Louvre and the Opera. It's a cute little four star boutique and the staff for all very friendly, and speak English if you need it. The breakfast is simple but nice - there's a selection of continental, cereal, and cooked breakfast - and it's served until 11am so you can have a lie in if you want. The bedroom is small but not cramped and has a TV and mini bar. The shower is incredible.

Hotel Moliere

The reception at the Hotel Moliere

Beautiful bedroom (although we had slept in the bed when I took this photo) 

Travel. 

Eurostar. If you are travelling from London, then make sure you get the Eurostar instead of flying. IT's quick and easy, and you can be in the centre of Paris straight away.

Metro. Get around using the metro, it's the easiest way. Buy a carnet of 10 for the cheapest way to travel, or if you are there for more than a week, then invest in a Navigo - similar to London's oyster card. 

Velib. They are bikes you can hire that are situated all over the city - much like London's Boris bike system, just older. You can rent the bikes on a pay as you go scheme and it's really cheap - especially if you only have the bike out for half an hour.

Let me know what you think of my Paris guide. Feel free to ask me any questions, or leave comments if you know anywhere incroyable that I've left out. Here's a a video diary of a recent trip to Paris:

I hope you have a wonderful time in la villa d'amour! 

Until next time... x