Exploring Paris: Père Lachaise Cemetery.

It’s fair to say that our last day in Paris rolled around WAY TOO FAST, but at the same time, it couldn’t have come at a better moment. After a long night seeing what the streets of Paris had to offer, we were a little tired in the morning and didn’t have much of a game plan in terms of how to spend our last few hours.

So true to Alice and Beth style, we decided to wing it, picking a random metro stop on the map and taking a gander – which much to our surprise meant exploring THE largest cemetery in the whole of Paris.

   

   

   

We honestly could have spent hours wandering around the final resting places of many a- fallen soldier and famous star, but with a long coach journey ahead and no guarantee of being able to recharge our tech (the epitome of a first world problem if you ask me), we left the grounds and stopped by a quintessential Parisian café for hot drinks, people watching and er selfies…

Oh boy do I love to people watch. It really is the most fascinating thing, watching total strangers go about their day as they cross roads, talk on phones or just walk looking ahead. How funny to think that I’ll most probably never ever see these people again (heck I can’t even remember what half of them looked like); and that even though I was looking at them, I had absolutely no idea who they were, what their names were, where they had come from, their whole back story – it truly is so fascinating.

All warmed up from our hot chocolates and coffees, we headed off to the coach station, stopping at the nearby shopping mall.

Nearing check-in time, we made our way to the coach station where we waited for our coach to leave and snacked on sweets for about the umpteenth time – we at so many sweets on this trip that we’ve taken a vow to never eat sweets ever again…

Then boarded the coach and started the long journey back to London.

We stopped at customs to have our bags and passports checked.

Then it was back in our metal tin that didn’t feel as claustrophobic as on the way back, but that was probably because the coach was practically empty.

And then before we knew it, we were home sweet London home.

alice

xo

Exploring Paris: Paris By Night.

After a long day spent traipsing around Paris, with a battery-less camera and phone, the idea of passing out for the night seemed most ideal, especially with a long journey home the next morning. For about three hours we crashed – though I did pop into a nearby Darty (kind of like Curry’s) to buy a new charger for my phone – listening to music and allowing our bodies to rest. We then decided that as it was our last night, we should make the most of our time in this incredible city before we ended up regretting going to bed instead of seeing more of Paris. We had only intended on walking down the street to see what was down there, but ended up seeing so much more.

We walked along a canal and through the square near where we were staying.

Then found ourselves walking further in search of Notre Dame and the Louvre.

Having spent the daytime wandering around Paris, it was like stepping into a totally different world seeing Paris by night. Almost as though night-time is when all the magic happens. Maybe it was because I’m a London girl, but walking through the streets of Paris at night felt so natural and casual, and although it felt like being a new world, the thought of walking through a foreign country at night didn’t faze me one bit.

We walked for god knows how long until we saw a bright structure that we recognised from earlier in the day – the Eiffel Tower.

   

Walking on still, we stumbled upon a Christmas market, which was kind of funny because earlier in the trip Beth and I had been complaining we had been unable to go a good Christmas market yet.

There were sweets, macaroni and cheese, candy floss as big as my head.

Realising that we had most probably gone the wrong way in search of Notre Dame and the Louvre, we continued on our walk, passing the Eiffel Tower for the last time.

   

An extended walk along the Seine later, we FINALLY came to a sign pointing to the Louvre.

It was then time for chocolately nourishment despite the fact we were both high from a potentially fatal candy floss overdose and anymore sugar in our systems was definitely not necessary.

When we got to Notre Dame it was lit up like a Christmas tree – literally – and most definitely worth the wait.

After a few too many snaps and the dissipating levels of sugar in our blood, it was time to head back for a good night’s sleep before a long coach ride home.

We hopped on the metro…

…and made our way home.

Then fell straight to sleep.

alice

xo

Paris Bound.

It’s weird to say that two weeks ago, Beth and I set off bright (in actuality it was still really dark) and early in the morning for Victoria Coach Station to make it on time for our coach to grand PAREE.

Several hours and a ride in what felt like a ride in a tiny metal tin later, we arrived in France, where the clouds were grey and it was spitting.

We continued on our journey, stopping at Charles du Galle airport to let a few people off the coach before continuing on our way to Paris. Finally arriving, we managed to make our way to where we were staying, and prepared ourselves for our first night in Paris.

  

While we had agreed to try and find somewhere nice to have dinner, upon stepping out of our accommodation, we saw an empty restaurant across the road and decided on staying a little closer to home.

Obviously being in France I had to try some snails, and much to my surprise they were absolutely DELICIOUS and I gobbled them up as quickly as I could, wishing I had ordered twelve instead of six – I know, I know, #firstworldproblems hahaha.

After such a long day and feeling totally famished, we ordered two pizzas, which we realised far too late that we should have just shared one, as neither of us managed to finish our own; and a shared a litre of wine between us. You read that right: ONE LITRE OF WINE. As you can imagine, we were drunk before our food arrived.

  

With food in our bellies and tasty wine in our veins, we went out for drinks and people watching, while discussing politics, education and just about everything else… before calling it a night and heading to bed.

Despite being tired from the long journey, our first night in Paris was so much fun and we were so excited that every five minutes, one or both of us, would say ‘I can’t believe we’re actually here. I love it so much.’

alice

xo

Mallorca: Port d’Alcúida, Burgers & Airport Fun.

It may have been our last day on the island, but it was probably our funniest! As we had to check out by 12pm, we started our day fairly early (well, early for us), but didn’t end up checking out until almost 1pm hehe. Our flight wasn’t until 10pm, so we had to check into a different room so that ours could be cleaned and prepared for the next occupant. With our things safely put in our new room for the day, we went down to the restaurant for our last refreshments, before starting our adventurous day.

Sweater and shorts: H&M

We had decided to spend our last day in Port d’Alcúida which was only 2km away from our apartment, but because we had been so enamoured by Bar Playa for the last week, we hadn’t get gotten round to visiting. As it was our last day, and we desperately needed a cash machine, we set out.

Obviously having to stop MANY times along the way for photos of the beautiful neighbourhood.

Does this neighbourhood remind anybody else of The O.C.?

We both agreed that the walk would have been a lot quicker had we not have stopped every five seconds, but it was definitely worth it.

This is going to be our private beach when we next return to Alcúida

Finally arriving in the Port and having gotten out some money, we wandered around taking in the sights and working up an appetite.

We stopped at the Bodega del Mar tapas bar, mainly because it had free Wi-Fi – what can I say, a girl’s gotta have her Wi-Fi – and partly because I was in desperate need of the toilet by this point.

The tapas bar advertises the best homemade burgers, and let me tell you something: they are right! This was hands down THE best burger I had ever eaten. The meat was PERFECT, the filling was absolutely DIVINE, just thinking about it is making my mouth water…

Soooooooo good, major mouthgasm

…oh and don’t even get me started on the fries… they were so INCREDIBLE.

Feeling full and more than satisfied, we embarked on our return journey to the apartment, again, stopping for more pictures.

My dream home

We saw that our beach was empty, which only meant running down to it as fast as could, and stripping down to our bikinis for a last dip.

Bandeau: ASOS

The drive back to the airport was sad but quick, so we arrived at the airport in practically no time at all.

Never ones to miss a good photo op, we found things to snap…

Before boarding our flight and annoying every single passenger on board haahahha… soz.

Bye Mallorca, it was so much fun…

By the time we got back to our house, it was almost 1am, so we ordered Chinese food and settled down to watch The Musketeers and to charge our phones.

alice

xo

Mallorca: Blue Skies & Sunsets.

Our last full day started out with some sunning on the balcony.

We then made our way down to the beach for what we thought would be our last chance to lay out on the beach in the sun and to run out into the water…

You may recognise my bikini from the blog. I posted it on here way back in February. I got this in a size 8, and even though it was a little on the large size in terms of fitting, it was still one of my favourites.

Almost reluctantly, we left the beach and returned to the apartment for a change before heading out again for our last walk along the coast, and to enjoy the beautiful sunset.

I kind of feel like the sun put on an extra beautiful show for us, knowing that it was our last night in Alcúida.

Again, these pictures don’t really do the sunset justice, and I wish I could have brought it back with me in my suitcase…

Having said our emotional goodbyes, we returned to the restaurant for our last sangria and beers of the holiday.

Monday really was such a bitter-sweet day, but we had no idea how much fun we’d have on Tuesday, on our very last day. Check back tomorrow for our final day.

alice

xo

Mallorca: Beach & Tapas.

It was forecast to thunder on Sunday, so you can imagine our delight when we woke up in the morning to the shining sun and blue skies. This meant there was only one place we needed to be: the beach.

Even though there was no rain, the air was cooler than it had been on the other days.

After a short while on the beach, it was up to the apartment for some relaxing balcony time before dinner.

Boooooooty pop

On our way down to dinner, Joan left something in the apartment so I waited on the stairs, taking a few pictures of the interior.

Then it was down, for what I’ll say was my favourite meal time (paella was a CLOSE second) during our whole stay.

We both chose a main course: pamboli with cheese and pork for Joan, and spaghetti carbonara for me; then shared tapas: prawns in garlic, patatas bravas (spicy chips) and battered squid. Uuhhhh it was utterly DIVINE!

Miguel ended the night with a few Spanish renditions of classics…

…and then it was up to bed to prepare for our last full day in Alcúida.

alice

xo

Mallorca: A Hike with a View.

Saturday was one of our most active days, especially when you consider the fact that I changed THREE times. I woke up gazing at this painting of sunflowers…

After a breakfast of cereal and Criminal Minds it was time to head on down to our spot, Bar Playa, for some sunbathing and sea-frolicking.

Kisses

It was especially hot, so extra water supplies were needed to keep us hydrated.

Not wanting to beach the day away, we headed back to the apartment for a quick change before departing for one of our favourite parts of the holiday: the hike.

It was so incredibly beautiful and magnificent and perfect and reflective and memorable, that I fear these snaps don’t quite do the excursion justice.

Vest: ASOS; Shorts: H&M; Sneakers: Superga

We walked along quite a bit of the island, and stopped for an impromptu sister shoot (natch…).

Having worked ourselves an appetite, we returned to the apartment then got ready for a late-night snack of pizza and battered squid.

Vest: ASOS; Shorts: H&M

When we got back to our apartment, we were happily exhausted and settled down for a movie.

Before we knew it, it was time to go to bed.

alice

xo

Mallorca: Stormy Days & Balcony Nights.

On Friday morning I woke up to this:

The flashing lightning and roaring thunder was enough to wake anybody up… apart from my sister who “claims” she slept through it all.

Anyway, despite all the rain, we still made our way down to the beach to sit on some rocks and take in that refreshing Alcúdia air, and to watch the waves.

We then thought it’d be a good idea for us to head to the restaurant for something to eat.

I already knew what I had in mind especially after the previous night I hadn’t been able to order what I wanted. If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I LOVE LOVE LOVE paella, and that no trip to a Spanish affiliated land is complete without a healthy serving of the dish. This paella was PHE-NOM-EN-AL! Omg!! Even thinking about it now is giving me tingles.

And obviously no meal time would be complete without a few fancy shots…

After an early dinner, we went upstairs to our apartment and spent the rest of the evening chilling out on the balcony way into the night.

Playsuit: ASOS

Vest: Jack Wills; Shorts: H&M

All things considered, it was actually quite a nice day.

alice

xo

Mallorca: Alcúdia Starter Strolls.

Being in a new territory, on a pretty island, miles away from home and responsibility, you’d think that my sister and I would have started our days nice and early, so that we’d have plenty of time to embark on all sorts of fun adventures. Well, if you think this, you’d be gravely mistaken. My sister and I started our days late and didn’t quite have the kinds of adventures you would expect. On Wednesday (probably our laziest day), we started the day exceptionally late, mooching around the apartment before finally deciding to explore our surrounding areas.

We walked along the coastline, oohing and aahing, admiring the magnificent views, all the while expressing our love for the beautiful landscapes. This mini stroll really worked as something of a starter or a taster for our hike later in the walk.

At one point I fell and kind of got stuck in this weird pit mixture of wood shavings and mud, and my shoes (and legs) were COVERED in gunk! Fortunately for my dignity, there are no pictures to haunt or ridicule me.

We returned to our apartment, and after dinner and a movie, we headed down to the adjoining restaurant, Es Faro d’Aucanada, for drinks and music from singer, Jamie, who we affectionately named, Miguel.

The view from our balcony

Feeling fuzzy and warm, we headed back upstairs to our apartment and went to sleep.

alice

xo

Mallorca: Lost in Clouds.

If you’ve been following my Instagram, you’ll know that my sister and I have spent the past seven days abroad in Mallorca. Over the course of the next few days, I’ll be sharing a boatload of pictures – partly because the pictures are INCREDIBLE, and partly so that I can relive the glorious holiday vicariously through myself.

About to take off 😀

We flew out last from Gatwick last Tuesday evening, and even though the flight was only two hours (thank god!) I still managed to capture a few pictures. The clouds looked so perfect and the sky was so incredibly blue, I felt like I was in the sea.

As we were flying in the evening, it was great watching the sunset, even though it felt more like dark blue rising up to take the place of the light blue sky.

You can just about make out a snowy mountain top in the bottom right

Flying over Spain. I’m pretty sure that’s the Barcelona coast you can see

My favourite part of the flight was probably just before we landed and were flying over the island. The mountains and hills, and lights looked so cool from the air.

We arrived at our apartment quite late, so we had a quick dinner then settled down for the evening.

Stay tuned for more.

alice

xo