Tag: Summer

Holiday destinations: Jersey, UK

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I recently visited Jersey-the largest of the Channel Islands.

The island of Jersey is absolutely stunning. It was my second visit to Jersey and I loved it even more than before.

It is a great place for a short break and if you are flying from London you can get there in around 40minutes. From the airport, you can either take a taxi or a bus that will take you to St Helier in 30 minutes.

There are a few must see places on the island:

Elizabeth Castle – Jersey

The castle is located 20 minutes’ walk from the Jersey city center. We took the Castle Ferry to get to the castle from across the bay as the tide was high and came back to Jersey by foot when the tide was low. Elizabeth Castle is a beautiful castle and the perfect place to spend an afternoon. You can climb the battlement and visit various exhibitions whilst in there.

Mont Orgueil Castle

The Mount Orgueil Castle overlooks the harbor of Gorey. The interesting fact to know is that the castle is depicted on the 2010 issue Jersey 50-pound note. Castle provides lots of attractions to its visitors and most importantly once you reach the top you can admire some stunning views of the coast. During the sunny days you can even see the French coast from the top of the castle.

Jersey War Tunnels

The Jersey War Tunnels Museum was established on the grounds of the German Underground Hospital. Nowadays, the attraction is definitely worth seeing for anyone who is interested in the history. By walking the various rooms all visitors will get a good understanding of what the Channel Islanders had to endure during the German occupation-their challenges and worries. It took us around 2 hours to see all the exhibits but it was unquestionably worth it.

Durrell Wildlife Park

Durrell Wildlife Park was established a while ago in 1959 by naturalist Gerald Durrell (1925–1995). It is around 20 minutes’ drive from St Helier so it is easily accessible by anyone staying on the Island. It is a relatively small wildlife park but you can see several mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles. Most importantly for me, you can see that the animals that are based in there are happy. Looking at the gentle gorilla family and meerkat sanitarium, I was glad to see that they had a lot of space to run freely-not like in some Zoos where animals are kept in the cramped cages / enclosures.

I hope you enjoyed reading this review.

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Paulina

Holiday destinations: Rome, Italy

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Rome is the capital of Italy and of the Lazio region. It is the country’s largest and most populated and fourth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits. The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula.

Rome’s history spans for more than two and a half thousand years so it doesn’t matter how long you are planning to stay here-you should be prepared to step into the world’s biggest open air museum. I would personally advice you o travel for a minimum 4-5 days so you can see all the famous areas and monuments. It was my third visit to Rome and with each trip I enjoy it more.

Last time, I travelled there for my fiancé’s birthday and firstly we decided to follow the typical tourist paths and then we became brave enough to go off the usual tracks and discover the hidden germs of the city. The places and monuments that you definitely need to visit whilst in here are:

  • The Vatican City-an independent country geographically located within the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.
  • The Trevi Fountain.
  • St Peter’s Square.
  • Spanish Steps.
  • Colosseum.

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Rome is one of world’s most picturesque capitals and if you’ve never been here then you should definitely visit.

Hope you enjoyed reading this post!

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Pauline

Holiday destinations: Trieste, Italy

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Another week, another holiday destination review.

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This week, I would like to tell you about Trieste in Italy. I recently traveled there and even though the weather wasn’t great I enjoyed a walk around this pretty Italian town. It is a lovely destination for a day-trip

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Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is in one of the richest regions of Italy, and has been a great centre for shipping, through its port, shipbuilding and financial services. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of Italian territory lying between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia and the city is physically isolated from the rest of the Italian peninsula. In addition, Croatian border is located closely (further 30 kilometers south).

We started our trip by visiting the tourist information office in Piazza dell’Unità d’Italia, where we equipped ourselves with some informative leaflets and maps. The whole tour around the main city attractions took us under 2 hours.

The main attractions we saw during our short walking tour were:

  • Piazza dell’Unità d’Italia -a large and elegant outdoors space opposite the waterfront, with some impressive buildings.
  • Castello di San Giusto – it is located on the hill so it is a great place to enjoy some nice views from a memorial garden outside the walls.
  • Roman theatre.
  • Castello Miramare – one of Trieste’s most vaunted sights, the a nineteenth-century castle.

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Pauline

Holiday destinations: Venice, Italy

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This week I would like to tell you about one of the most romantic destinations in the world-Venice. I love Italy and it is definitely one of the cities you need to visit at least once in your lifetime.

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Venice is located in northeastern Italy and is sited on a group of 117 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by bridges. Venice is known for its beautiful setting, architecture and artwork. Both the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site.

I’ve been to Venice 3 times. My latest visit to Venice was in June and summer brings some of the most daunting crowds… nevertheless there’s a reason why they come: you are never more than a bridge and an alley away from beautiful palaces, squares and monuments.

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Venice has a very lively neighborhood full of restaurants, wine bars and famous Italian gelaterias. I adore Italian food so I am always looking forward to trying some local food. Main squares (especially St. Marco Square) are quite pricey and you might end up paying 4-5 times more than in the other parts of Venice so I would always advice to check the menu and prices if you are on a tight budget. You need to be also aware of the ‘coperto’ charge-it is basically a fee for sitting down in the restaurants. We ended up paying 30 Euros for a bottle of water and a beer as we weren’t made aware of this fee…

Unquestionably, it is a great destination for a short break but you should go there for a minimum of 3 nights to see all the famous sites.

Time to start thinking, who would you take with you?

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Pauline

Holiday destinations: Vilnius, Lithuania

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I have recently visited Vilnius and stayed there for 3 days with my husband.

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Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania. It contains one of the largest surviving medieval quarters in Europe.

It is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, Old Town contains almost two thousand medieval, gothic, renaissance, and baroque buildings.

Top 5 ‘must-see’ places to visit are:

  • Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania – the former political, diplomatic, cultural centre of the State.
  • Gediminas’ Tower of the Upper Castle – An observation deck on the top of the tower is the best place from which to appreciate a magnificent panorama of Vilnius.
  • Cathedral Basilica – The Cathedral of St. Stanislav and St. Vladislav is the most important place of worship for Lithuania’s Catholics, and the venue for the country’s main Christian, for, and national festivities.
  • Gates of Dawn – The Gates of Dawn is one of the most visited shrines in Vilnius that is famous not only in Lithuania but also abroad, worshipped by the representatives of other creeds too. This is the only surviving gate of the first original five gates in the city wall that was built between 1503 and 1522.
  • Church of St Anne – The church of St Anne is a masterpiece of the late Gothic period.

We really enjoyed our stay in Vilnius. It is definitely worth visiting if you decide to travel to Eastern Europe.

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I hope you enjoyed reading this review.

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Pauline

 

Another summer ball with my family

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A few weeks ago, we was invited by my father-in-law to attend a summer ball at Porters Park Golf Club which is located in Hertfordshire.

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As I was attending a different event during the day we arrived just in time for a champagne reception. It was nice catching up to my in-laws and shortly after we were invited to take our seats in the beautifully decorated marquee.

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There were around 180 golf club members and their guests present during the evening.

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The event begun with some speeches. Soon after, whilst sipping some white wine, we were listening to the awards granted to the best players. Subsequently, we were served a 3-courses dinner. There was a live entertainment provided by performers from the Déjà vu band. We all had the opportunity to show our best moves on the dance floor while enjoying the iconic songs from 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Even my husband who doesn’t like dancing, joined me on a dance-floor.

Summer Ball Menu included:

Starter – Sea Trout & Asparagus

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The starter was delicious and the sea trout was roasted until crisp with lemon thyme. It was served with some steamed buttered asparagus, warmed new potatoes and grilled baby tomatoes.

Main – Rosemary Roast Lamp Rump

I really enjoyed the main -a prime rump of lamb cooked with fresh rosemary till just pink. It was served alongside a rich cream & garlic dauphinouse, baby summer vegetables, a mint and some red wine sauce.

Dessert – Trio of Desserts

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Desserts are always my favorite part of any meal. During the summer ball we received 3 mini desserts – blackcurrant & vanilla cheesecake, mini chocolate pot and summer berries with a sweet coulis.

Dress Code:

Dress Code for the event was black tie so I decided to wear one of my ball-gowns from COAST paired with some Jenny Peckham’s hills.

To sum up, we both had a great evening of fine dining and dancing. Where shall we go next?

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

2017 Summer Must-haves

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Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you’re having a great weekend! As I started preparing for my summer holidays I put together a short ‘2017 Summer Must-haves’ list. I hope you will find it useful and it will give you some inspiration on the products worth getting this season.

1. me&i Summer Dress

I recently came across me&i and liked their summer collection of dresses. me&i was founded in 2004 from the kitchen table in Barsebäck, Southern Sweden and since then grew massively. As of now, the company has 850 sales representatives who bring the brand and the clothes to their client’s houses.  According to the website: ‘me&i is a Swedish clothing company that makes clothes with a unique design and comfortable fit.’ All products are made using high quality soft materials and are manufactured in Portugal and Turkey. me&i launches new kids’ and womenswear’ collections twice a year- one kids’ collection and one women’s collection.

I decided to order a lively, slim- fit dress with dotty diagonal stripes. The dress has a sleeveless boat-neck and is draped at the side for a flattering fit. What I like the most about it is that you can adjust the length from calf-length to short meaning that you can adopt it for everyday wear as well as for smart occasions. As it was extremely warm and sunny in London last week, wore it on its own when I went for a lunch with one of my friends and then on another day I paired it with a simple PhaseEight jacket and wore it to work. If you are looking for a comfortable, affordable, high quality clothes than you should definitely check me&i’s website:

http://www.meandi.com/en

2. A perfect Japonesque – Brow Kit

In a search for a few summer and travel friendly products I came across a Brow Kit from
Japonesque. This beautiful set contains the professional crafting tools including:
– tweezer- to get rid of any unwanted hair;
– brow powders- to provide your eyebrows with some definition;
– wax and gel for perfect setting and finishing touch.
This summery set comes in a pink, travel friendly, small compact that not only looks
stylish but also contains a high-quality travel version of all eyebrow essentials:

https://face.co.uk/collections/japonesque/products/japonesque-brow-kit

japonesque-brow-kit-3_grande3. Nomad Design Eye Masks

All of us need some pampering and Nomand Design has some lovely lavender scented and velvet backed eye masks. They are the perfect accessory to to keep you looking and
feeling fresh. The masks will help you ensure that rested and ready to face a next day ahead. I believe in aromatherapy so I loved the concept behind the mask to combine a luxurious mask and lavender aromas that help to unwind and encourage sleep. The masks are made from the traditional silk Ikat. The masks are hand dyed and handwoven by weavers in Uzbekistan and come in a selection of four jewel colours. I got a pink masks and it looks very glamorous!

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The collection is available on Nomad Design’s website:

https://www.nomaddesign.co.uk/eye-masks/

I love all 3 products from this Summer Must-haves list and I hope you will like them as much as I do.
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!
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Pauline

A Summer Ball at the golf club

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A while ago I was privileged enough to attend a Summer Ball at the golf club my fiancé’s father is a member of. A lot of club members and their guest joined and we were all treated to a night of amazing food, great music and networking. The waiting staff ensured that we were all refreshed and ready to dance the night away.

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The marquee looked absolutely stunning with white decoration and a magnificent table centre pieces. The dance floor was continually occupied with a variety of music provided by a live band playing some of the most popular hits from the 70s and 80s era.

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I am looking forward to attending another Summer Ball this year!

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Holiday destinations: Brussels, Belgium

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I’ve visited Brussels on the multiple occasions and I always like returning to this city made famous by its French fries, waffles, seafood and beer.

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Brussels is the largest city and a capital of Belgium. It has a population of 1.2 million and it has been increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages.

Historically it was a Dutch-speaking city, it has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards.

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Today the majority language is French however all road signs, street names and many services are shown in both languages. If you fancy a short break then Brussels is a great destination as it is only 2 hours away on the Eurostar.

There’s lots to see in the city from the famous chocolate shops to enjoying its cafe culture in the Grand-Place area.

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Here is a short list of my suggestions:

  1. Grote Markt (Dutch) / Grand-Place (French).
  2. City Museum – Maison du Roi (French) – Broodhuis (Flemish).
  3. Hôtel de Ville – Town Hall.
  4. Heysel Park and the Atomium.
  5. Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Koekelberg Basilica).

I hope you enjoyed reading this review.

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Pauline

Holiday destinations: Berlin, Germany

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Berlin is one of my favourite capitals. Last time I stayed there was during a week-long business trip and even though my spare time was limited, I made sure that I spent it discovering the hidden germs of this beautiful city.

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Berlin is the capital of Germany and has a population of approximately 3.5 million people. It is located in north-eastern Germany on the banks of Rivers Spree and Havel.

So what should you see if you were there only for 24 hours?

There are a number of different historical points worth visiting in Berlin: Unter den Linden and the glorious Brandenburger Tor speak of the city’s Prussian heritage, the Topography of Terror is a chilling reminder of its brutal Nazi years, and the East Side Gallery is a colourful tribute to a once divided city (and the largest remaining section of the Berlin Wall still standing).

In addition, Berlin has over 200 museums, from world-class collections of Classical art at the beautifully restored Neues Museum, to the striking Liebeskind-designed Jewish Museum and plenty more irreverent affairs. What I was fond of the most is the fact that it is a very green city and around one-third of its area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post!

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Pauline