A weekend at Reading Festival…

Sorry I haven’t been writing as often as I usually do.
I have been at and recovering from Reading Festival and unfortunately  it’s all over for another year. Reading is place in Southern England and is pronounced r-e-d-ing. Every year people arrive for music festival that is held for around 4 days, just in case anyone who is reading this thinks I may have gone to a festival to read literature- which definitely wasn’t the case!

I’ve been to Reading before and had such an amazing time, without a doubt Reading Festival is one of my most favourite places. Obviously, the music makes a huge difference and Reading always pulls out the most incredible line-ups.

Musically a few of my favourites were… Firstly, The 1975- probably because they are my most favourite band ever, so maybe I am biased. Secondly, it has to be The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I wasn’t a huge fan of theirs and didn’t really know many of their songs, but there’s no denying that they are amazinggg and seeing them is something I will never forget. They are sooo talented and now I can’t stop listening to them. Imagine Dragons were also great, along with Twenty One Pilots, Fall Out Boy, Jack Ü…

Apart from the music which makes the experience amazing, it wouldn’t have been the same without the people we went with. I went to Reading with two of my oldest best friends. We also went with new friends and we made friends whilst there.

Although going to a weekend festival seems tough- and trust me it is. All of the cold nights in a tent, not washing, vile toilets- if you can call them toilets, dirt and mud is all worth it. It’s all part of the experience and adds to the amazing vibe.

Until next year Reading!

Wedding Weekend.

My cousin married his beautiful fiancé on Saturday in Ireland, I have had such a lovely weekend filled with family and love.

We flew to Knock, where my cousins Wife is from and stayed in The Clarion Hotel in Sligo, which is also where the wedding was. The hotel was amazing, the outside looks very Elizabethan with beautiful green grounds and an idyllic scenic view of the mountains. And the inside is modern with several pieces of abstract art on each floor. The rooms are huge and well decorated and guests have access to the spa which we very much took advantage of.

We started the day with a lovely breakfast and trip to the spa.
Then we prepared for the wedding.

The ceremony was so emotional and truly beautiful filled with; Irish traditions, crying, singing, lovely music, jokes, their adorable nieces and their dog Ruby bringing them their rings.

The speeches were layered with jokes and memories. My cousin loves horse racing, so each table was race course themed and everyone was allowed to place a bet on how long they thought; the Groom, Best Man and Father of the Bride’s speech would last. It was a great idea and added a little fun to the emotion and lovely words in the speeches.

It really was a really great day and everyone is so happy for the happy couple.

The next day most of the wedding guests were invited to a BBQ at the brides parents’ house and then on to their Pub- Mooneys Bar. It was great to see everyone again and get to know our new Irish family even more.

 

What’s In My Carry On?

Today I am off to Ireland for a wedding and I thought I would share my essentials for the weekend.

Wedding outfit- I am wearing a floral two-piece with a white scallop jacket, and white shoes. Along with a clutch.

Hair Accessories… I always bring hair bands whenever I am leaving my house for longer than a day, because I know there will be a time I want to throw it up out of my face.

Make-up… I always end up taking my whole make-up bag when I go away, despite trying not to. However, for this trip I’ve managed to try my best to only bring the products I need.

(I spy a Mojito…)

Electronics… hair curlers, phone charger, iPad etc.

Toiletries… this Dove pack is great for travelling. It includes all of the essentials and is below 100ml (perfect for a carry on.)

These items are definitely essential! I love to read when I am travelling.

I also packed the usual essentials such as, underwear, change of clothes, pyjamas, purse, phone, headphones, swimwear and anything I’ve forgotten to mention.

Florence.

I’m currently having a lazy Sunday under a blanket, watching Gossip Girl whilst bolts of lightening and rain falls outside. As much as I enjoy the sound and love a good storm, it has made me think about what I was doing this time last year. This has me reminiscing about the trip my Mum and I took to Florence. (I apologise for the photography! This was when I didn’t know how to take very good photos and the quality is shocking!)

We only visited Florence for the weekend and we could have done with an extra day or two to explore more of it’s beauty.
I would say it’s more of a trip/break than a holiday as such, as it’s somewhere to go to ‘sight-see’ the amazing history and culture, rather than stay in a hotel and lay around a pool. We stayed in the centre of Florence and it was nice to be so central. The San Lorenzo Church is literally next door so it was lovely to be so near.

We spent our time in Florence visiting all of the greatest treasures. We pretty much walked around the whole of Florence by the end of the weekend so, we managed to see most of the landmarks. I photographed a lot but, to be honest everywhere you look in Florence there is beauty and history so it was impossible to capture everything. In addition, we went on a dusk trip around Florence’s greatest landmarks which included dinner. It was great to have a tour guide who was from Florence. He was so passionate about his city and knew so much. It was really amazing to listen to his knowledge and hear how proud he was of his home. If I had to pick, my favourite parts would be- Michelangelo Square (The view!!!!) and the Uffizi Gallery.

I felt as if everyone in Florence really appreciated where they were and the ground they were walking on- including the locals. Everyone was taking in the history and beauty. Which is something I don’t see as much in London, people do not appreciate the city as much (me being one of them.) Florence made me realise I like art and history a lot more than I thought I did and also, that I needed to try and see the beauty and history in everywhere I go.

Obviously I have to mention the food, it’s Italy! The food was amazing, everywhere we went was real traditional Italian food- SOOO good. (Not to mention the Gelato!!!!!)

It really was what I expected it to be- pretty cobbled narrow streets, good food and drinks, friendly Italians, traditional Italian street music, fashion, sun and culture.

Florence is  filled with class, sophistication, art and true history. It really is one of-if not the most beautiful places I have visited. It has the whole package and the perfect balance. I hope one day in the near future I will be reunited with the city.

“Firenze, sei sempre nel mio cuore – Florence, forever in my heart.”

A week in Portugal.

Portugal has always held so many special memories for me as it’s somewhere I would always go growing up. This April I went back and was reminded just how beautiful it is. When I go away I love to relax but, my most favourite part is seeing the culture of the place I visit. The cobbled streets and rustic towns, as well as the local foods really gave me a chance to see the real Portugal. In past years when I visited Portugal I don’t think I appreciated where I was and I have changed a lot since I last visited.

We usually stay in the same hotel; The Tivoli Hotel in Carvoeiro, the Algarve. It is set back on a cliff and in all the times I have stayed at the hotel, I had never visited the cove beach below the hotel. I am so glad I did as it was paradise. It is a little dangerous and getting down to the beach and back up was even worse. However, it was so worth it! Due to the complicated way of getting onto the beach, hardly anyone from the hotel went down there. So we had a little private beach to ourselves. We even plucked up the courage and went in the sea, which was so refreshing. I also, had never walked along the top of the cliffs, the views are breath-taking and this year I was so pleased I did.

Whilst we was there we also drove to lots of nearby towns such as, Lagos and Portimão.
As well as visiting towns during the day, we went to a Zoo and fed the stingrays.  We also, made sure we had time to laze around the pool and get some well needed Vitamin D.

After writing this on a gloomy Sunday, the holiday blues have returned.