My Travel Diary: Germany 2019

This year, James and I were lucky enough to be able to spend 16 days in Germany visiting my family and shopping and exploring different parts of the country. If you want to see a vlog about it, part 1 is live on my YouTube already. You can see that via this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7OrD31LfJE&t=15s.

To listen to the playlist I was listening to while I was away, click here:


Day 1: We arrived in Hamburg on our first day, and went to see the lovely church 'Der Michel' before heading into the city centre to do some shopping. I have seen a lot of the famous sights of Hamburg before, and James and I both did a tour last time we visited so it wasn't so crucial to us to do something 'cultural' while we were there this time. We also only had half a day there as our flight only landed at lunch time.

Day 2: We weren't in a rush to do anything as we had 16 days of holiday, so on the second day we spent some time getting settled in and unpacking before heading into the local town (Bad Bevensen) for coffee and cake in this cute little riverside cafe.

Day 3: My Oma had a doctor's appointment in Luneburg, so we went with her and went into the town after. I love Luneburg, it's one of my favourite places in Germany. We walked around the old part of the town and had lunch in a restaurant which had been built in a converted cinema. Then we went to Uelzen where my aunt works as she had a meeting and we went to get an ice cream.

Day 4: My aunt showed us this amazing cafe that had been built in an old water mill. It was a short walk through the woods to get there, which was really pleasant in the hot weather we had while we were there! We also went to my great-aunt's for a barbecue in the evening which was delicious (poor James had to cook it, but did an excellent job).

Day 5: Sundays in Germany are always a very relaxed affair, shops and restaurants aren't usually open like they are in the UK. We spent this Sunday at a pottery market in Bevensen, and then we went river walking which is supposed to be excellent for your circulation.

Day 6: Berlin!!! We got an early train into the city and after dropping our stuff off in my aunt's flat, we headed to the zoo. I love the zoo, and as the summer holidays in Germany were already over it wasn't too busy. When we were done there, we met my uncle for a drink and a walk through the Tiergarten park. He knows so much about Berlin so it was really fascinating hearing what he had to say about everything around us. After he went home, we did a little shopping and then went to dinner at a Chinese where my uncle apparently once met Barbara Streisand.

Day 7: In the morning, we took the train out to Potsdam to visit the palace. We walked through the gardens which were beautiful, but when we reached the palace itself we discovered it was closed so we had lunch and then headed back to Berlin. We met up with my uncle again, who showed us Clarchen's Ballhaus and the Hackesche Hofe (both of which I highly recommend visiting). When he had to go back to work, James and I visited the museum island and the 'Neues Museum' before going back to the flat for tea.

Day 8: We went shopping on the Kurfurstendamm before catching our train back to my Oma's other house.

Day 9: We went to Arendsee, which is a sweet little historic town in what used to be East Germany. It has a ruined monastery which we loved exploring before going for a walk along the lakeside. When we were younger, my brothers and I often swam in the lake there but James and I decided we'd rather go another time and swim in an actual pool (much less cold).

Day 10: James and I went to play mini golf. We were both completely useless but it was so much fun!  We of course had an ice cream after (the ice cream in Germany is just phenomenal) and went for a walk in the park.

Day 11: We went to an event that my Oma's friend had got tickets for. It was at a riding stable, and it was a picnic followed by horse shows followed by a classical concert. The weather was lush and the horses were beautiful. Classical music isn't my favourite, but the musicians were extremely talented and the atmosphere was good so I can't complain.

Day 12: We had a family brunch and then spent the day reading, painting and playing scrabble.

Day 13: James and I returned to Luneburg to do some shopping and visit some of the sights in town that we didn't have time for last week. The highlight was having coffee and cake in a cafe that overlooked the town square with a gorgeous view.

Day 14: We went for lunch at Mr T's burger shop in Uelzen (I had a chilli cheese burger which was excellent), and then did some shopping. I also had a bright blue ice cream which tasted disappointingly of vanilla.

Day 15: We spent the day helping my aunt with some gardening jobs she had to do. After all that hard work, we decided to go for an evening swim at the local spa pool which is lovely and warm due to the thermal spring that earned Bevensen its title of a 'Bad' (Spa).

Day 16: We spent a lot of our last day at my Oma's, cooking lasagne and watching films but we also went to Deerberg which is a unique independent store which is in the middle of one of the tiny villages near my Oma's house. I got some snazzy purple jeans, and James enjoyed his free drink and free wifi from there.

We had a great time, and it was nice for me to be able to see all of my family who I normally don't get to see very often or for very long. Looking forward to my next trip already!

Short Paris Vlog

Day at the Safari Park

Last week my friend Amber and I decided to visit the West Midland's Safari Park. It was a lovely day out and we both had a great time!

The first part of the safari park is the drive through area. This is where you can view animals only from your car, but often from up closer than you would in a zoo! Some species such as this very friendly giraffe can even be fed with food purchased at the entrance. There are also areas where you must keep your car shut for your safety, like the tiger enclosure, but you can still get a close look at the animals.

The camels were very nosey! But we didn't feed them because we were warned they might bite.

Next we wandered through the on foot area. We decided not to go on any rides so we had plenty or time to look at things like penguins, meerkats and the aquarium. We also had a lovely picnic in the sun.

One of my favourite parts of the day was the lemur enclosure! You can walk straight through the middle and they're very friendly. They like to say hello and take selfies like this one.

Finally, we went to see the sea lion show. This was fascinating. So much fun and very informative too. I really enjoyed the whole day, it was exciting and reasonably priced and I can return in my car for free any time this summer! Really lovely day.

My Trip to Greece

My boyfriend and I just got home from a (very lovely) holiday in Greece. We stayed in a small town called Hanioti, which is in the North East of the mainland about an hour away from Thessaloniki. The weather was obviously beautiful, sunshine all week and no rain or clouds! It was also really quiet, probably because the school holidays won't start for another month yet.


The hotel was a set of beautiful villas with huge, minimalist rooms and a gorgeous pool. There was even a spa in the basement of our building which offered cheap but amazing massages, a gym, a jacuzzi, a sauna and a steam room. We were very impressed with the high standard of the rooms and the quality of the bar and breakfast options available. We were surprised quite how good it was since we booked the holiday really cheap (thank you EasyJet!). Even the restaurants we ate our evening meals at were excellent quality for a very small cost. One of our favourites was an outdoor place called 'The Garden' (pictured below) which offered delicious food and was just gorgeous. Such simple and comforting decorations.

The beach was again, stunning but me and my whiter than white skin couldn't take the direct sun during the day so we visited in the evenings instead. This meant that we got to witness spectacular sunsets like this one so it was a win win really. During the hotter hours we stuck to the shaded sun loungers surrounding the hotel pool. It was so relaxing and allowed me to catch up on some reading.

(Side note: I really recommend 'Then She Was Gone' by Lisa Jewell if you like psychological thrillers!)

Overall I had a really lovely time getting some R&R and would definitely go again! Although next holiday will be another cultural visit I think.

My Date Night Jar

I love going on dates, and I love being creative so when I saw this idea on twitter I thought I would give it a go! To make your own, simply write date ideas on lollipop sticks, colour code the ends and pop them in a jar with a key on the side! I started with 50 but I plan to add more soon. I used pink for no money, purple for some money, green for more money, and blue for special occasions. Here are some of the ideas I came up with:

• Go for tapas.
• Go for a picnic.
• Go ice skating.
• Visit a castle or a museum.
• Bake something.
• Go to the zoo or safari park.
• Go out for cocktails.
• Go to a fancy restaurant for dinner.
• Go on a day trip to London.
• Book a weekend away at the beach.
• Do a jigsaw.
• Go on a road trip to somewhere pretty.
• Play crazy golf.
• Go to the cinema.
• Spend a weekend in Paris.
• Go on a bike ride.
• Go for a walk.
• Make cocktails at home.
• Get a drink at the pub.
• Go for afternoon tea.
• Go for a spa day.
• Go to a water park.
• Go to water gardens.
• Horse riding at my mum's house.
• Have a barbecue or a roast.
• Go Ape.
• Do a craft course.
• Go glamping.
• Go chocolate tasting at Hotel Chocolat.
• Go for a Nando's.
• Go out for coffee and cake.
• Try a new restaurant.
• Play a board game.
• Do a home spa day.
• Do a cooking class together.
• Get a takeaway and watch Netflix.
• See a show in the West End.
• Go on the London Eye.
• Make pizzas.
• Decorate biscuits.
• Make a gingerbread house.
• Go to Wagamamas.
• Set a budget and shop for each other.
• Go out for dessert.
• Go to an outdoor pool.
• Go out for milkshakes.
• Go out for ice cream.
• Go for a pub lunch.
• Have a candlelit dinner at home.
• Swim at the local spa.

What I Learned from my Long Distance Relationship.

I feel like I should begin this post by defining what I mean by 'long distance'. I went off to university last year, and now live about 2 hours away from my boyfriend. This means that I am able to see him most weekends, but not during the week. Some may not consider this to be long distance, as I know people who live in different countries from their partners but since at home I live less than five minutes from him it was a huge shock. It was hard, but I have learned some important things about my relationship.

• You WILL argue more. At least at first. Distance of any kind is bound to put strain on any relationship, as you don't get to see each other as often as you'd like. They potentially will have new friends and hobbies which may cause problems between you too. This may get better, as it did for me and James, or it may not. Many of my friends have ended their relationships since being at uni because of the distance, I guess it just depends on the couple.

• You'll appreciate your time together more. If you're lucky enough to not be poor like us, you may plan more dates or if not you'll probably just feel happier about having a movie night in. But whatever the case, it seems that distance really does make the heart grow fonder.

• Everyone will ask you how you're coping being apart, but very few will want an honest answer. Those close to you will want to help, so opening up to them can be a great coping mechanism. But others will expect you to just smile and say 'fine, thanks' and that's okay too.

• Your relationship WILL change - but that's not necessarily a bad thing. In my case, I think our relationship got a lot more serious. It went from 'we've been together for a year and we're having fun' to 'we're making huge commitments and sacrifices to make this relationship work'. I am by no means saying that we don't still have fun because we do, it's just more difficult to make time for that and you need to decide whether it's worth it.

• Lots of people will expect you to break up. Lots of people do when they go to uni! It's hard to be in a long distance relationship and like I said, you will get to a point where you need to decide if it's worth the effort. You just need to block out those voices and make those decisions for yourself.

• You'll learn to prioritise better. Whether that's getting work done during the week to keep weekends free, or prioritising time with your boyfriend over joining an extra society, or saving your money for dates instead of shopping trips, you will have to prioritise some things.

• You'll learn what you like best about them. It turns out, that although I love lots of things about James, my favourite part of his personality is how caring he is. When I go to his he always makes a huge effort to look after me by cleaning before I arrive, cooking me delicious food, taking me on dates and always making sure I am comfortable and okay. It's lovely.

• On the other hand, their flaws will also be emphasised. You will have to decide if you can live with them (such as James' snoring) or if you'd rather go your separate ways. James' aren't that bad, but to be honest I'm surprised he's stuck with me haha.

• You will learn about the importance of going on dates. When you don't see each other enough, you may begin to feel really down. Planning an exciting date gives you something to look forward to to help with this, but also gives you something to do when you have a long period of time together.

• Finally, you will learn whether or not you're meant to be together. Like I've mentioned before, you will need to decide whether your relationship is worth the effort of long distance, and many people will realise that for them it's not. But for me it is, and James still makes me smile every single day :).

5 Things to Love About Yoga

I have recently started doing yoga with my mum and I have really been enjoying it. It's great for so many reasons, so I thought I'd share some of those with you.

• It keeps you fit. Just 10 minutes of yoga a day can massively improve your fitness, and you work on a range of muscles or one specific problem area if you'd prefer as different positions work different areas. You will look toned in no time!

• It helps reduce stress. The meditation aspect in particular clears your mind but even the exercises themselves reduce tension in the body and require a lot of focus so you can forget about stressful events. This makes it especially good to do during exam season or when you have a big project due at work or uni.

• It can help you sleep. Not only does the reduced stress have a positive effect on your sleep schedule, but regular exercise is also proven to do the same. There are specific sequences available for free online that are supposed to be extra good for sleep so if this is something you're interested in that may be worth checking out! I guess exercise before bed can be a good way to wear yourself out too haha.

• It will improve flexibility, balance and other useful talents. For people like me who can't even touch their toes, this is a really good thing and for everyone else it can be a great improvement for other reasons.

• It will help you lose weight. Not only will you burn calories, but it also speeds up your metabolism so that you can eat more cake and stay skinnier! That's what I like to do (although cake isn't great for you anyway, sadly).

On top of all this it can be a great social activity if you join a club, or a free one if like me you prefer to just do yoga at home!

A Summer Makeup Look

This is a post I love doing, and one of my close friends requested this the other day (hi Ellie-Mae!) so I thought I would do a summer makeup look using my new eyeshadow palette. You can read about how to do it here, or go and watch a tutorial on my brand new youtube channel!! Link here.

I began with concealer. As I don't like a heavy all over coverage in the summer, I don't use foundation or anything like that so this is the only method I have for covering blemishes. Luckily I have quite good skin so this tends to be enough for me but by all means use foundation or whatever you're most comfortable with! I am really pale so cool ivory is the shade for me, but in Boots they will help you find the best shade for you. I blended some under my eyes and covered my spots before moving on to my eyebrows. I find eyebrows such a personal thing, but the pencil pictured on the left is the one I use if you're interested!



After I had done my concealer and brows I moved on to my eyeshadow. I began with the shade 'Nectar' and brushed it over my eyelid up to my brow. This gave a goos base for my eyeshadow and also highlights the underside of the brow. If you don't have this palette, any pale nude will do for this stage of the look.

Next I used 'Just Peachy' to define the crease of my eye, blending it upwards with a very soft eye shadow brush. Any light pink shade will do for this, if you are attempting this look with a different eyeshadow. Please ignore my eyebrow in this photo it really needs plucking haha.



Next I brushed 'Candied Peach' over the inner half of my eye. This is a very peachy colour (salmon pink maybe?) for those of you attempting to find replacements. Then I added 'Summer Yum' to the outer half, a darker but similar colour. I then blended them together in the middle of the lid.

Finally, I blended 'Delectable' into the outer crease and lower lash line. This is a deep purple colour if you are trying to find it somewhere else! Then I added the L'Oreal False Lash Superstar X Fiber mascara, using only side one on my bottom lashes and both sides on my top lashes. I decided against eyeliner though.

I then used a powder brush to lightly bronze over my cheek bones and contour areas. (No.7 match perfect if you want this one! I like it because it's not too dark). As it is a summer look I just wanted to look a little more tanned! I then added highlight, choosing to use elf shimmer in shade gold. I just brushed that over my cheekbones to add to the bronzer.

 I finished the look with a lipstick from smashbox. In case you can't see the image of it, the shade I used is called 'Be Legendary' and it's a lovely quite dark nudey pink. It's a matte lipstick but it's not liquid which I like because it dries my lips out way less! I still recommend putting lip balm on before hand though!




So here is the finished look! This is a close up of the eye makeup (left) and below is a selfie of the full look! I hope that this has been useful to at least some of you, and Ellie-Mae I hope you enjoyed it! Go have a look at the video of this on YouTube too if you want to see more of how I did it :)