European Adventure

I've been meaning to write this post for some months (7 in fact, I'm known for putting things off!) Back in October, I handed in my notice at a job I loved as I had the urge to go travelling and do something out of my comfort zone. When I told friends and family of my plans I was met with a mixture of reactions from ' Your so brave, going by yourself ' to 'I wished I'd gone travelling when I was younger' and 'You'll get the travel bug and won't want to come home '.Well I didn't think it was going to be the later of the comments that I'd end up remembering so much when it came to the end of the trip! I can safely say I did catch the travel bug and the list of places I would love to visit is forever increasing.
 So I thought it was about time I got round to sharing what my experience was like when I took the plunge and went on a Contiki tour last November. I wanted to go travelling but wasn't sure exactly where to go, so after hours of looking online and searching for a tour that caught my eye I came across Contiki and although I'd never heard of them before, I read some helpful reviews and watched a few youtube videos from people who had previously been on a Contiki tour and  I decided to book myself on their Winter European Inspiration trip.

As I had only booked the trip a couple weeks before it was due to start, I hadn't really researched all of the places we were going to visit and it was a breath of fresh air to just go with the flow and  explore the hidden gems, as well as the tourist spots in each of the city we visited.








Our mode of transport for the trip

Over the three weeks, I visited nine cities, in six different countries and can honestly say I'd happily go back and visit them all. We had a good mixture of people on the trip, who were from different parts of the world like Australia, New Zealand, Brazil as well as the UK and who varied in ages. I made some lovely friends and made some great memories during the trip.
We had a great team taking us around Europe, which was made up of tour manager, John and driver Andy, we couldn't have wished for better people to show us around Europe from being friendly and welcoming, to knowing the history and culture of each place and recommending places to visit and they also found time to through in some extra like stopping off to have snow ball fights and see the Nature Park Drei  Zinnen and most importantly kept us entertained along the way!




Stop off at the beautiful Nature Park Drei Zinnen

We had roughly a day and a half in each city and I know it doesn't sound like a vast amount of time to explore these places, we managed to get a very good taste of what each city had to offer. We managed to visit the tourist hotspots, have guided tours around the cities and go wine tasting to name just a few of the included activities, as well as take part in other optional activities like taking a gondola ride in Venice and finishing the tour in style by going to the Moulin Rouge for dinner and a show, it was great seeing everyone get dressed up and enjoying themselves while watching the show enjoying the champagne!


Just a few of the photos I took while I was away.




First stop on our journey



Visiting the Berlin Wall art gallery

Street acts in Prague from the funny to really cute, like this one!

 



Loving the rain in Venice!

Enjoying the sunshine in Rome

 

Taking in the picturesque views in Lucerne, Switzerland



Last stop in the city of lights

I could write for days about this trip, but I won't as everyone has a different experience when they go on a tour and I think part of the fun about travelling is not knowing what's going to happen next!

If anyone has any questions about going on a Contiki tour or would like to know more about the places I visited whilst in Europe, feel free to comment and I'll try and answer your questions the best I can.


 

A look inside the Birchbox for March

For the last six months I've had a monthly subscription to receive a Birchbox, so I thought this month I'd give you feedback on this months box and my opinions on Birchbox in general.

Personally I think there is nothing better than arriving home from work to find a parcel waiting for you, especially when the contents is a surprise! When I opened up the parcel I was greeted with an array of colours, which was lovely as it instantly gave me a feeling that Spring had truly arrived.

 

 

 

 

Awaiting in the box was a selection five different beauty related products and two non beauty products. Included in the box this month there is a Philip Kingsley pre shampoo treatment, which I'm really looking forward to trying, I've lost count of the different hair products I've used over the years, but to date I've never used a pre treatment so I'm looking forward to seeing the results. There is also a sample of TanOrganic Self Tanning oil to try as well, which has come at the perfect time as the sun seems to be making more appearances recently and it would be lovely to try and achieve a natural glow.

 

 

 

 

 Another one of the products I am looking forward to using is the glycolactic radiance renewal mask by REN, I've not tried any products by this brand before so I cant wait to see if it lives up to all of the positive comments I've heard.

I love coming across new scents so I was excited to see the Catherine Malandrino fragrance included as it has a lovely fruity scent perfect for the spring. This month Birchbox gave subscribers the chance to choose a Benefit mascara, I went for the Badgal Lash mascara as it was the only I hadn't tried yet. I'm a big fan of benefit products so it'll be good to see if this matches up to their other products.

 

 Also included is an extract from A Perfect Heritage by Penny Vincenzi, which gives you the perfect excuse to put your feet up and be transported to a different world. Another addition is the cute little jotter which is handy to keep in your handbag, making a wishlist or even for using to write food shopping lists.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by this collaboration with habitat and it has definitely inspired me to have a spring clean and declutter my make up collection!

 

Let me know your views on makeup subscriptions and if you've got any good tips on spring cleaning!

 

 





New beginnings

For a long time I've thought about writing a blog, based on all things fashion, beauty and lifestyle related.  I've finally taken the plunge and started this blog, as this year I wanted to find a new hobby and thought writing and sharing about what I love and enjoy would be perfect.

I thought with this being my first post I'd share a few things about myself, so here it goes, I live in Northamptonshire, I love being surrounded by the countryside but by heart is often drawn to London, what can I say I don't think you can beat the bright lights, mass of people and array of lovely stores and places to explore.
 I also have a great passion for travelling to different places, whether it be in the UK or further a field. I love the excitement and uncertainty that travelling brings, you get to do things that you had never dreamed of and get to meet different people along the way while exploring some of the truly unique and beautiful places the world has to offer. 
When I have free time I can often be found shopping and enjoy adding pieces to my expanding wardrobe, I love going into stores and coming up with different outfit combinations for family, friends and myself, think I've missed my calling and should have been a personal shopper!
A aim I've got this year is to eat healthy and exercise more, I know these two are common aims of a lot of people, I'm determined to implement them into my life, I'll let you know how I get on along the way.

Let me know if you've got any aims or things you would like to achieve throughout the year, I'd love to hear about them.