♡: Love

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Postcards from Paris: Montmartre

Our final day in Paris was spent in Montmartre, one of my favourite areas of the city. We made our way up to Sacre Couer cathedral - quite a LOT of steps let me tell you - but well worth the view. The cathedral itself is so beautiful and the view across the city from outside is pretty amazing.

(Instagram vs Reality)

(Instagram vs Reality Part 2679)

On our trek back down we were getting hangry so we stopped into a gorgeous Italian place called Roberta's which was so yum. The food was to die for, the Rosé was a DREAM and I basically didn't want to leave, ever. We had a couple of glasses of wine before getting on our merry way (pardon the pun) and hitting the vintage shops. Montmartre is one of the main vintage shopping areas in Paris and we found some pretty cool spots.

Unfortunately, as it was our last day, we had to dash back to the hotel and grab our bags before hopping on the metro and bus to the airport.

We had such an amazing trip and I already can't wait to go back, Paris gives me this calm, contented feeling unlike anywhere else. If you haven't been, PLEASE put it on your list. You won't regret it.

Thank you for reading,

S ✗

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Postcards from Pompeii

Welcome one, welcome all to the Italian travel diaries (there's only going to be three, don't worry).

First up - Pompeii.

But first let's backtrack a couple of steps.

Our holiday technically began in Naples, as that was the easiest spot to fly into and go from, public transport-wise.

A quick note on Naples - it is absolutely not somewhere I would plan to spend any amount of time in, it is quite a dangerous place and I found it really unclean, the streets are lined with piles of rubbish (not in bags, just loose) and in my experience there is nothing fantastic to see there. However, if you are visiting the South of Italy it is most likely going to be the easiest/most affordable airport to fly into.

We landed in Naples quite late on our first night so we had booked an Air BnB to stay in for the night before heading to Pompeii the next morning. I have to say, the Air BnB was very nice - very tiny but adorable and just what we needed - a place to crash and shower. We headed out for dinner in a local place just around the corner and had some amazing food for such a good price! Insane.

Next morning, after jumping in the shower and getting a coffee and croissant in the local bakery, we hopped in a taxi (I had a giant suitcase and it was HOT out let me tell you) and made our way to the train station to head to Pompeii.

Plot twist #1: Ed leaves his bum bag with all - and I mean ALL - money and cards inside, in the back of the taxi. Long story short, after cancelling my card only for the driver to magically find the bag when we were already on the train to Pompeii, an hour and €80 later we had the bag back.

Plot twist #2: After finally getting the bag back, we jump into another taxi to get to our Air BnB just outside Pompeii and WHADDYA KNOW Ed leaves another bag in that taxi. 6 hours and a lot of silent treatment later, we finally had all our belongings in the one place (with me now carrying EVERYTHING of importance that we owned) we made it to the Pompeii Ruins.

The ruins were amazing, it's so crazy to think that a volcano you can literally see from where you're standing in the ruins, erupted and destroyed an entire city. It's so alarmingly close I don't know how everyone is so confident it won't happen again! There was something quite eerie about the whole place, it's very quiet among the ruins despite the hoards of tourists, and there's a sense of sadness at times when you think of the people and families who lived their lives happily here until that day. Definitely something to put on your list if you're visiting Southern Italy.

After the ruins (and the stress of losing all of our earthly belongings) we strolled back to the centre and made our way to some (lots of) wine and pasta and chilled out there for quite a while before walking back to our Air BnB (SUCH a trek and kind of dodgy walk but we were highly aware all the money we had to our name was some cash as I had cancelled my card. Although I had sent emergency cash to myself through my bank, finding a Western Union in Pompeii is like trying to find your mom in a supermarket).

Our Air BnB host was super helpful and friendly and helped us find a car to bring us to our next destination* (Amalfi Coast) the next morning. Safe to say we passed straight out that night in Pompeii (not before I had to apply a calming and zen-ifying face mask - on myself and Ed - to cleanse off the stress of the morning).

*Important to note: it is not easy to get from Pompeii to Amalfi on the cheap. Something to consider when you're deciding which order to make your stops in perhaps!

Next up: The Amalfi Coast .. stay tuned.

Thanks for reading,

S ✗

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Travel Diary: Manchester & Liverpool

Greetings my dears, it is I, despite my lack of posting here I am in fact, still alive. I realise it has been a HOT MINUTE since I last posted and for that there have been many reasons which I will not bore you with but ALAS I have returned with a travel post - one of my favourite kinds.

In February of this year, my boyfriend (Ed, whom you have not seen here before, everybody meet Ed, Ed meet everybody) moved to Manchester in the UK for three months for a rugby trial so I have been visiting there quite a bit. It's a city I had never been to before he moved there and now is one I have grown to love more and more with every visit. We also paid a visit to Liverpool one weekend (only 40 minutes on the train from Manchester) which I also liked a lot.

Some places I recommend you include in your itinerary if you are visiting MANCHESTER:

1. Altrincham Markets

I cannot express to you how adorable and great these markets are. Amazing pizza, great coffee, to-die-for desserts and stalls selling just about everything you can think of or could possibly need in your possession/want to drink or eat. Altrincham is just a little bit outside of Manchester city centre (the tram service is amaze and will get you there in 20 minutes) and is such a lovely little place away from the madness of the city.

Also - sidenote: millions of cute dogs everywhere. If that doesn't convince you to pay a visit then I don't know what will.

2. The Little Deli Co., Altrincham

Another star spot in Altrincham for breakfast/brunch. Try the pancakes and the Mac and Cheese. If you're only going to be there once then get them both at the same time because neither can be missed, trust me.

3. Common Ground, Altrincham

A cute little coffee shop just opposite the markets that has the best coffee/hot chocolate and cake. Such a nice place to chill and they have the cutest little sun trap out the back where you can sit in the sun and just feel zen. Try their salted caramel brownie, carrot cake and dark hot chocolate. You will not be disappointed. Boyf also vouches for the coffee there, so all round a win from us.

Outfit: Jumper - Mango (similar), Tracksuit - Penneys/Primark men's section, Shoes - Adidas (similar), Coat - Topshop, Sunglasses - Ray Ban, Necklace - Chupi

4. Hale

This is another little town about a 10 minute walk from Altrincham and is definitely worth a visit even just to walk through. It is such a cute town and it feels like you're in a countryside town even though it's just outside the city. For amazing Italian food try Piccolino's in Hale. And then look at all the adorable red brick houses and pick your dream one (it's tough to pick just one).

Outfit: Dress - Zara (similar here, here and here, Jacket - Folkster Vintage (similar here, here and here) Ed's shirt - Vintage

5. St Peter's Square, Manchester city centre

Next up we're in the city centre which is just JAM-PACKED with places to go and things to see. Obviously we haven't managed to see it all but some of our favourites. This giant city hall cathedral situation was pretty impressive I must say (there are loads of gorgeous old buildings in the city centre among all the modern ones) but we couldn't get inside due to it being under renovation....until 2024.... which seems like an alarmingly long time. But anyway, still cool to see and a great backdrop for an impromptu photo shoot at sunset.

Outfit: Coat - Mango (on sale), Jumper - Bershka, Jeans - Bershka, Shoes - Adidas (similar), Bag - Zara (similar), Sunglasses - Ray Bans

6. Federal Cafe

Okay, this is an absolute MUST. I mean it when I say this was the best brunch I have ever had in my entire life - I'm aware that's a HE-UGE statement - but it's the truth. It's an Aussie/New Zealand cafe/restaurant in the city centre, we got to sit outside because it was such a nice day and the whole place just has such a good vibe, the staff were Aussie so were SUPER friendly and helpful, and the food. GOOD. GRIEF. We couldn't choose what to get so we ordered three things from the brunch menu and shared.

I got eggs benedict with halloumi (hold the bacon) and it was literally the best eggs benedict I have ever had, Ed got eggs benedict with bacon and then... THE FRENCH TOAST. The French Toast was served with berries, white chocolate and almond crumble (!), whipped vanilla marscapone (!!) and salted caramel (!!!). Pretty sure it was the best thing I have ever tasted in my entire life. No exaggeration. YOU HAVE TO GO HERE FOR BRUNCH. Served all day until 6pm because Aussies are cool like that.

7. 20 Stories

Another super cool Manchester experience that I would recommend doing during the day rather than at night, simply for the views (but I imagine would also be a great date night location). I would recommend booking as you have to wait in line if you don't and it's difficult to get a seat with no reservation (which is fine you can just stand) but just an FYI.

Outfit: Top - Zara (similar here and here, Jeans - Nasty Gal (similar here), Sunglasses - Ray Ban)

As the name would suggest it is a super cool bar with a terrace/garden area with the most amazing views over the entire city and these adorable bubbles you can book and sit inside while you have drinks. Definitely worth a visit during the day or even at sunset. Lots of people there who think they are actual royalty but if you just ignore those it's a really cool experience. Also, that lighting = gold.

8. Oldham Street Vintage stores

One final must-go-to in Manchester city centre is Oldham Street, which is basically an entire street full of vintage stores and if you're anything like us it's basically like falling into fashion heaven. The particular one we fell into had a kilo sale so we got a bunch of different things for £15. Lots of little gems to find and definitely worth a visit. There are loads more on that street (include a 3-story vintage store) that we didn't get a chance to venture into but who's window displays looked very promising. Happy thrifting!

LIVERPOOL:

We weren't in Liverpool for very long - just the day - so these were a couple of our fave stops.

1. Museum of Liverpool (John & Yoko exhibition)
This museum had so many great exhibitions to choose from - we chose the John Lennon & Yoko Ono exhibit (purely due to being in Liverpool and the inevitable Beetles influence that comes with being there) and I really enjoyed it. A lot of the exhibits are free and it is definitely worth a look to see if any of them tickle your fancy!

2. General scenery/architecture
I really loved just strolling around Liverpool - a lot of the old buildings have been preserved and still stand in their architectural fab-ness (moreso than Manchester which I found had been very modernised) and I really enjoyed that aspect of the city. It was pretty windy the day we were there (I'm downplaying that majorly - I literally almost got blown into the sea) so we didn't spend a whole lot of time down by the pier but it's definitely a cute stop to make on your travels.

Outfit: Cord shirt - Zara (similar), Jeans - Zara (similar here and here), Polo neck - Mango (similar), Boots - Nasty Gal (similar here and here)

3. The Cosy Club
As the tiredness started to kick in we stopped for a glass of vino here and let me tell you - there has never been a more suited name for a bar. It is so cute and cosy and kind of feels like you're drinking wine in a glamorous elderly woman's mansion. Trust me - go and you'll see what I mean.