A little while ago Dan & I took a flight to not so far away Florence, to get away for his 30th birthday. Despite it being rather drizzly the entire trip, we were well prepared with umbrellas, raincoats and the determination to explore... I hope you enjoy my travel guide filled with plenty of places to eat as what else would you be going to Italy for?
What to do:
There's so many amazing sites to visit but walking around the city is the best way to explore things! It was this way I discovered a Sephora, a little sad I know but as we don't have them in the UK I always get so excited whenever I see one. Other things which are just as amazing (if not more hehe) are the stunning Bobbli Gardens, The Gucci Garden (I've done a full blog post on that here), Il Duomo di Firenze we didn't go in as the queue was huge but still amazing and discovering photobooths scattered across Florence. Mercarto Centrale is an indoor street food market and a wonderful place to try lots of food from all over Italy.
For the gram:
Not is it a tourist hotspot but the Il Duomo di Firenze makes for a wonderful photo, the combination of the green, white and pink stone is bound to fit with anyone's theme. Again The Gucci Garden is going to be getting you plenty of likes on the gram. Looking for the perfect coffee/lunch spot? Go to Ditta Artigianale for delicious latte's, cakes and food. The industrial vibe lends itself to certain vsco filters too. However I found some of my favourite shots from the city when I was just walking around, there's so many amazing buildings to snap and rows of Vespa's that are bound to give you the authentic Italian photo.
Where to eat:
You really are spoilt for choice in Florence, we were lucky enough to be in a foody hotspot. For breakfast try Finisterrae for fresh orange juice, and delicious but cheap pastries! On your way you might just find one of those photobooths I've been talking about too. For some of the best gelato, visit Gelataria Dei Neri, there's so many flavours you might need to take a few trips a day. My favourite was the yogurt and cherry combination, so refreshing. One evening we dined at Foody Farm, a restaurant using only organic and local ingredients, they even made their own ketchup. For such delicious food it's really reasonable and you can even gulp down authentic prosecco for €3 a glass. Finally, if you're looking for a pizza go to Gusto Pizza, it's probably the most popular in the city too. Oh and for those sandwiches you see all over the Florence location on instagram is All'Antico Vinaio. They didn't have any vegetarian ones on the menu they were happy to make one up for me.
1 comment
Earlier on in the year Dan and I booked our trip to Edinburgh, it was my first time ever going to Scotland and in the past I think I've only ever been as north as Yorkshire! I'd been scouring Pinterest and lots of blogs over the last few months to find all of the best places to go, plus whilst we were there we made some discoveries of our own! I really love putting these city guides together so I really hope you enjoy this, I'd love to hear if you had any recommendations for me to add for a possible future trip too.
Civerinos:
It'll come as no surprise that I love pizza, so of course I had to try what Edinburgh had to offer and I was not let down. We ordered a Margherita and a big bowl of fries, both of which were super delicious and fuelled us for the rest of the afternoon. The whole menu was mouth watering, not only do they have big tasty pizza's but salads, pasta and sides galore! The people on the table opposite us had little pillows of cinnamon doughnuts covered in icing sugar, with Nutella and freshly whipped cream on the side. They looked incredible, but we were just too full to fit them in! If I ever go back to Edinburgh I'll be sure to try them.
Paradise Palms:
This was the last stop of our trip before heading back to the airport to go home. A completely bonkers bar, serving a fully vegetarian menu throughout the day. The ceiling was covered with stuffed toys and old school camera's hanging down, every nook and cranny was filled with something completely random. Don't let the idea of a vegetarian menu fool you into thinking it's healthy because it was filled with all of your junk food favourites! Nachos, burgers, Sunday roasts and as many indulgent sides you can think of. I can imagine that this place gets pretty wild once the sun has set...
The Pantry:
Dan and I both agree that The Pantry might have been one of our favourite places to eat during the entire trip. It was perfect for me as there were lots of vegetarian options, and if you get there before 11:30am you can have a fry up made with plenty of locally sourced ingridients, or a V-fry if you're a veggie like me. If you've not got much time, there were plenty of homemade cakes and large range of teas to pick from! Plus it's located a road away from the famous Circus Lane, so it's the place to go before getting the perfect Instagram shot on the cutest road in Edinburgh.
Love Crumbs:
Nearly everyone I spoke to recommended Love Crumbs to me and I can see why! It wasn't quite what I was expecting but very cute nonetheless. I loved that there was a little reading nook by the window, perfect for university students trying to catch up on work. The cake was great, but the stand out thing for me was their apple juice! It might be the best I've ever had. We arrived at about 3pm on a Saturday afternoon and it was pretty busy so you might want to head down a bit earlier if you want to secure a table!
Life Story:
If you're hoping to do a spot of shopping in Edinburgh I would recommend visiting Broughton Street, there's quite a few nice independent shops in the area and on the corner is Life Story. The shop is practically made for Instagram and sells interior lovers favourite brand HAY. It's the perfect place to pick up gifts for friends or a beautiful card for someone special. Interested? You'll be happy to know that it's also online (opening 19th May), so you can shop all of the Scandi inspired goodies until you drop!
Curiouser and Curiouser:
I was on the hunt for some birthday cards to add to my every growing collection and this shop was just up the street from Life Story. I loved looking at all of the super cute cards they had, and I finally settled on a couple to buy but I could have easily bought LOADS. I really enjoyed it in here as they sell one of my favourite party/gifting brands Meri Meri, I fell in love with a little pom pom garland. They also had some gorgeous smelling candles in here too!
The Brotique:
On our way into town one day, we discovered The Brotique, as they put it it's "a treasure trove of goods for the man that has everything." With a room filled with Men's skincare, hair products and fragrances I was highly impressed, it's not often a big space is filled like that with Men's 'beauty' products. If that wasn't enough, there's an old school Mario Kart game set up, a wall filled with the coolest books, plus a hand-picked clothes that fit the style of the shop beautifully.
And a few other honorable mentions....: The National Museum of Scotland was amazing, we spent a lot of time here one day! We even left for lunch (at Civerinos) and came back. Henderson's Vegan restaurant is the perfect place for the vegan in your life, or if you just fancy having a meat free day! I'd highly recommend trying the 'playful platter' we loved the herbed cashew cream cheese. Mary's Milk Bar is apparently the place for the best ice-cream in town. Finally The Milkman for a cosy tea spot, and they even stock my favourite chocolate teacakes, homemade caramels and peanut butter cups.
Less than a year ago I'd never been to Leeds once in my life, since last September I've been three times. My little sister packed up her room in the Autumn of 2016 and moved there to start her life at university. My sister and I are very close, so I try to see her when I can and I'm pretty glad she's moved to Leeds. There's so much to do and it's not difficult to get to from London (Storm Doris permitting). I'm working on a city guide as I get to know the area better but I do have a few places I would recommend.
The shopping in Leeds is VERY good, plus all of the shops are located within some pretty amazing buildings. The Corn Exchange is great for gifts and discovering smaller independent businesses, Victoria Quarter has lots of well known high street boutiques and is just so beautiful. Victoria Gate is quite new and very shiny, there's a great Cath Kidston and John Lewis inside. Last but not least, I couldn't forget about Trinity Leeds, filled with restaurants, all your favourite shops and even a cinema! If you're hungry pop into Trinity Kitchen, a food court with plenty of delicious food stalls/companies to try and there's even a photobooth!
Other things to do include grabbing pizza from Dough Boys and listening to live music at Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen, a really fun place to hang out with friends. Roxy lanes is Leeds answer to All Star Lanes, an independent bowling alley playing great music and they serve delicious looking food. If you fancy venturing futher out, catch a movie at the Cottage Road cinema, a really old fashioned cinema offering fairly cheap tickets. My sister and I had a slightly hysterical experience in there and I'd definitely go again, plus your tickets come out like old fairground 'admit one' tickets, so sweet!
Welcome to the most photo heavy blog post of all time! This may even beat my New York photo diary, but I couldn't help myself during my stay in Amsterdam as there's a photo opportunity round every corner. So I thought I would share a few of my favourite photos, as well as give you a little round up of what I got up to. I love writing these sorts of posts as I find them so helpful, when I discover them myself, but it's also a nice way to look back on your holiday.
Where I ate:
Sotto Pizza, for a really delicious sour dough pizza and this is where I had a star shaped pizza! Interested? Then keep scrolling.... The Meets Eatery, this was the first place we visited after dropping our bags off at our hotel, CitizenM and I'm so pleased I found it. It's a wonderful little cafe serving lots of raw and vegetarian food, perfect for me! For dinner one evening we tried Bazar, an African & Middle Eastern restaurant, with a fun and lively vibe and huge menu! My favourite thing about this place, was the bright interior, the place was covered in lights and walls of colour! For breakfast and lunch try Bakers & Roasters, for a great veggie breakfast or Coffee & Coconuts (I loved it so much I did a whole blog post).
Where I shopped:
Unlike New York, I didn't come on this holiday with the intention of shopping, however one shop which I really feel is worth mentioning is Love Stories. Love Stories is a lingerie brand, which use the most amazing fabrics and basically aim to make you feel super sassy. I fell in love with numerous pieces in there, including a set of pink pyjama's, a 'Love Stories Hotel' dressing gown, and quite frankly every pair of knickers in there! I've included a couple of photos of inside the shop (images 10 & 11), however I do feel quite tempted to do a whole blog post dedicated to Love Stories. You can find the shop at Herengracht 296, 1016 BX, Amsterdam and online!
Where I went:
As soon as my boyfriend and I had agreed that we were going to Amsterdam, I knew that I had to visit the Anne Frank House. I was absolutely obsessed with the book when I was younger, and I'm sure like many other people it inspired me to write a diary. The house is incredible and very moving, at times you have to remind yourself that she actually lived there. We were able to book tickets before, and I would highly recommend that you do, the queues looked quite bonkers when we walked past it one day. They usually put tickets online 2 months in advance. We tried to pack as many things into our little trip as we could so as well as exploring the streets of Amsterdam we also went on the Canal boat tour, ate in De Pijp, shopped in 9 streets and saw a Banksy and Warhol exhibition at Moco Amsterdam.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)