2017 UK Travel Bits.

I may have spent more time than usual on a plane, but I also spent more time than usual outside of London, and discovering the beauties of Britain.

CLAPHAM COMMON

The year was full of many Saturday (and some Sunday) morning walks to, around and from Clapham Common. Known for its beautiful open green spaces, and home of numerous wildlife, I can see more walks here in the upcoming year.

RICHMOND PARK

The year started beautifully with this fun early morning trip to Ricmond Park to watch the sun rise. It was such a beautiful, breathtaking and freezing experience, and what made it all the more fun was spending it with two of my best friends that I’ve known since birth. The three of us also embarked on many fun trips in the year, all of which will you’ll be seeing later on in this post!

HARRY POTTER WORLD

Quite possibly one of the funniest and funnest days I had this year, our trip to the Harry Potter Studios (with my two aforementioned friends) was definitely one for the books. To say it was fun experiencing the films we had grown up watching, loving and memorising all the lines, is a big understatement. Following the fun day I was filled with such an ambitious and excited spirit, that I swear I’d never felt such an energy inside me before. I had never felt more motivated to do great things and to achieve and fulfil every single one of my wildest dreams in my whole entire life.

WINCHESTER

I returned to my old stomping ground during the summer and for some reason it had a totally different feel from when I was last here. It was lovely reuniting with my best friend from my uni days and exploring some of our old haunts together, while having a good old gossip, natch!

BOTANICAL GARDENS, BIRMINGHAM

At this rate I feel like I could easily move to Birmingham and not have much trouble there (I’m kidding, but you never know…). My sister and I visited the Botanical Gardens had a great time taking pictures, joking around and discovering a whole new side to Birmingham. As we’ve been there a few times together and enjoyed ourselves, I’m sure this trip won’t be our last one to the incredible city.

CHICHESTER

One of those trips where you wonder what planet you’re living on and what the hell runs through the mind of people, this was probably the only day trip I did not actively play a part in organising (or wanting to go on) but what can you do. Anyway, to make the most of the day, I explored around the cathedral a little bit and took in the clear sunny skies.

PETERSHAM NURSERIES, RICHMOND

The fun and boiling August bank holiday weekend was spent hanging out in Richmond with some of my old work friends. We wandered around Richmond Park, ate some good food, enjoyed great conversation, all whilst managing to survive the hot weather.

THE NEW FOREST

I’ve been to the New Forest once in my life. I was eight or nine and in primary when I visited and fell in love the place for the first time. Lucky for me, my best friend from uni just so happens to live there, so I went down and visited her in late September. It was just as lovely and beautiful as it had been when I was younger (if not more so), but only issue was that it had taken me about six years to actually get down to visit her in the first place. Bad friend, I know.

BOX HILL

Though the pictures would lead you to believe otherwise, this day was particularly warm and beautiful. The pictures would also lead you to believe that the day was a relaxing one, but oh no, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact the day was something of a workout. From climbing over one hundred steep steps, to trying not to slip on the stone slabs, to laughing so much I thought my stomach would tear, I’m pretty sure I burned over a billion calories this day.

And there we have it: my travels of 2017. Here’s to even more adventure and journeying in 2018. Happy New Year’s Eve!

alice

xo

Malta Pt I.

Okay, I’m going to start by saying that Malta should be on everyone’s bucket list because even though it’s small (and we didn’t exactly travel the whole country), this tiny island packs a mighty punch! Even though our arrival (and our return as we would soon come to find out) was a bit rocky and didn’t give a great first impression, the moment we arrived at our apartment we were completely blown away; especially when we woke up the next morning to find Malta in all its beauty and glory.

views from the master suite balcony… not too shabby

I think we definitely underestimated how tired we were from the previous day because after about half an hour outside, we returned to our apartment for a short nap, only to wake up several hours later when it was dark outside. Unperturbed, we settled for an evening of photo-taking and movies!

i fell in love with the second bathroom decor

we decided that our future apartment would have to look like this

The next morning I got up a little earlier and sat out on the balcony. Did I mention that our apartment had not one, but THREE balconies?

Venturing out a little later in the day, despite the sun having mostly gone in, it was still fairly warm!

After a fun afternoon relaxing on the beach, we went to a pub for a drink, before walking a few metres to another restaurant for dinner. If you didn’t know, Malta is best known for its rabbit dishes, so obviously I had to try it.

trying the first of many rabbit dishes on the holiday

Come back tomorrow for more Malta and bikinis!

alice

xo

Rome Pt II.

The rest of the weekend was spent waking up so late after that long night of dancing and drinking, it felt like we’d missed most of the day, only to spend the rest of the afternoon/ evening walking around and seeing more of the beautiful city.

We ended the weekend overlooking the whole of city (and peeking through the legendary keyhole) then settling down for the sunset in the Orange Garden – the location where I’ve decided to get married. Kind of cliché I know, but it feels like it’d be such a waste if I didn’t.

After witnessing probably one of the most beautiful and moving sunsets of my life (do you see why I’m getting married here?) we headed back down to the city for our last meal and our last taste of Rome before our early morning flight.

Oh my god, words cannot describe the feelings this trip brought to my heart. I felt so inspired to travel more and see the world in all its beauty, as well as come to really understand the saying: Travelling is the only thing you spend money on that makes you rich. Truer words have never been spoken. Tomorrow, it’s off to my third and final holiday abroad: MALTA!! You won’t want to miss it!

alice

xo

Rome Pt I.

Thanks to yet another drunken night in the pub after work, the end of March took me to a new place – only this time to a city a little bit warmer. Compared to my weekend in Norway, my weekend in Rome felt like a non-stop adventure, starting from the moment we got off the plane. A quick trip to drop our bags off in the Airbnb, and we were soon back out on the streets exploring the city by night.

After a few hours of sleep, it was back to the streets of Rome which were a lot busier…

breakfast of champions

my favourite kind of snack 😉

Obviously no trip to Rome is complete without visiting the Vatican City, which is honestly as beautiful, mesmerising and awe-inspiring as all the pictures would lead you to believe.

i’m sure it goes without saying that these pictures don’t do the Vatican justice at all…

Once the sun had set, nightfall came pretty quickly and we were off in search of a great recommended restaurant.

the food here was absolutely amazing!

The night (or should I say early morning hehe) ended in an American bar downing shots of tequila and drinking G&Ts – as you do. Check back tomorrow for the rest of my weekend in Rome.

alice

xo

Norway Pt II.

Fallen in love with Norway yet? Just looking back at these pictures is making me wish I was back there.

doesn’t it look like I belong out in the Norwegian mountains?

After the craziness and adrenaline of the first two days, the last two days were considerably chill. Thanks to one of the cars refusing to start, we were 1) able to take in the atmosphere of the area and explore a little bit and 2) able to save a great experience for the very last day (which I will definitely never forget).

Our last day was just as beautiful, spectacular and amazing as the previous days had been.

waking up to the last morning in snowy paradise

hitting the road again

stopping off for warm drinks and snacks

so breathtaking

Before our flight home, we headed back to Oslo to get a good look at the city. Though it was cold, imaging what it was like in the summer, was enough to make me want to return again soon (just little did I know what the summer months would have in store for me…)

Norway will always have a place in my heart, and even though I kept saying this for the majority of the weekend, it still holds true for me now, over six months later. I can’t wait to return in the future, and now one of my biggest goals is to have a cabin out in the mountains where I can visit with my family. Tomorrow it’s off to Italy for a Roman holiday, so make sure you check back.

alice

xo

Norway Pt I.

The blog may have been quiet this year, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. In 2017 I travelled more than I’ve done in a few years, visiting Norway, Rome and Malta, as well as enjoyed several day trips around the country – all of which I’ll be sharing with you from now until the New Year. Shall we get started?

first impressions in the airport bathroom

What first began as drunken conversations in a bar after work one January night, ended with spending the beginning of March in the snowy land of Norway for three days. Freezing, out of this world, and an absolute dream, I fell in love with Norway right away.

waking up on the first morning!

I don’t ski, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the snowy slopes.

We ended the night getting warm (and very drunk) in the jacuzzi.

Literally such a dream! Make sure you check back tomorrow for more of my 2017 travel adventures.

alice

xo

Eclipse.

Ugly sneakers seem to be taking over the fashion world recently, but is it really any surprise when they look strangely cute and their thick soles make them appear both futuristic and old school all at the same time? Though this new trend may be hot, I like to pride myself on always being a major fan of sneakers in general (hello my unhealthy obsession love of Superga and platform sneakers), so I like to think I’m not exactly jumping aboard the bandwagon. But anyway. I came across these super cool sneakers a few weeks ago and immediately fell in love. Chunky, beautiful, and the stuff sneaker dreams are made of, what’s not to love?

But like most things I absolutely adore, if only it weren’t for the £450 price tag. That said, does anybody mind treating me to these? 😉

alice

xo

Jose & Agneta.

Yess! I can always count on The Row for some classic cashmere basics to brighten my day. Their two cashmere offerings in the form of the Jose cashmere and silk-blend turtleneck, and the Agenta cashmere off-the-shoulder sweater, have filled me with an all-new whelm of inspiration. The simple, yet totally elegant shape of both tops, ensure these pieces will always remain timeless and chic.

JOSE

      

Styling Suggestion

          

AGENTA

      

Styling Suggestion

          

Discover more of The Row here.

alice

xo

Hell On Heels.

This has been one of my favourite country songs for a few years now. Although it’s slow, kind of heavy and a little dark at times, I still find the song to be fun, badass (it makes me feel bad… in a good way 😉 ) and extremely addictive; and I regularly get it stuck in my head. Case in point, I randomly found myself humming this song a few weeks ago which then lead to me listening to it on repeat for about four hours – I kid you not. Today happens to be another day where I’ve found myself singing the chorus and heading over to iTunes to listen to it.

It’s been a few years since the Pistol Annies released any new music, but I’m hoping they’ll have a comeback soon. Give the song a listen. Happy Sunday.

alice

xo

Kick The Dust Up.

Wow can you believe it’s already October? This year has really flown by so quickly. Anyway, on to today’s Soundtrack. This song came out last year, but as I was on a Country hiatus I didn’t end up listening to it earlier to this year. Like most Luke Bryan songs, before the first chorus you’re already in the mood to get up and dance. This is really such a fun, carefree song that will get you in the mood for Monday tomorrow!

Happy Sunday.

alice

xo