Amsterdam - Part 4

Woke up on our last morning in Amsterdam to beautiful blue sky! We had a few hours to kill before heading to the airport so we went on a little wander, got some breakfast and enjoyed the sunshine. I thought Amsterdam was beautiful when it was raining but against the blue sky back drop it was even more 'woah'... I think the photos speak for themselves so here you go:

It wouldn't be a trip anywhere without a few obligatory selfies and I had to take advantage of the cool snapchat stickers at the airport!

So, until next time Amsterdam, I definitely hope we meet again, but maybe in the summer so that I can ride around on bikes and sit outside drinking until the sun sets...

Amsterdam - Part 3

We did some more cool, exciting things in Amsterdam. Including, of course, visiting the 'IAMSTERDAM' hollywood-style sign, located next to the Rijksmuseum.

I really wanted to go to the Rijksmuseum, the huge art gallery of Dutch art but it was quite expensive and as students on a budget we decided against it and opted instead for the Diamond Museum. I love diamonds, what girl doesn't, but it was pretty cool to learn about how they are extracted, the different types etc.

Did you know that only 10% of the world's diamond are used for jewellery? The rest are used for industrial purposes as diamond is so strong. 

We went to the Heineken experience after the Diamond Museum. This was Tom's choice of activity as I picked the Diamonds but it was actually really good fun! It was very interactive and you got free beer (which is great, if you like beer). Apparently women don't like beer because we sip it, tasting only the bitter foam and not the golden goodness of the actual beer which I didn't know but I have since tried taking larger glugs of beer and i'm still not sure that I like it... 

Another perk of the Heineken Experience is the canal ride at the end, included as part of your ticket, which takes you on a half hour canal tour round to their factory store. We didn't know this was going to be included but I would recommend it for this reason. With the 2 hour tour, free cold beer, and then the canal ride it is definitely worth the 16 euros the ticket cost! 

Amsterdam - Part 2

When in Amsterdam one has to visit the Red Light District. Architecturally its as beautiful as the rest of Amsterdam but I was a little shocked to see the underwear clad women stood in windows in the middle of the day! I guess they must have good heating...

As it was December everything was lit up and christmassy once it got dark which was nice, especially given my un-christmassy christmas that was coming up (as you'll see soon in the blog). 

I wish that I had a better camera so that I could get a kind of focus on certain things and then a blur on the background (definitely not the technical terms, I know). But anyway you can still appreciate the beauty of the city in the photos I took. 

AMSTERDAM - PART 1

So in November I turned 21 (*gasp*) and I now feel suitably old.  I actually found my first grey hair last week, ran downstairs hoping it was blonde, only for it to be confirmed as grey by a housemate and then not knowing how to handle the situation, burst in to tears.

Anyway... so I turned 21 and my lovely boyfriend took me to Amsterdam in December as my birthday present!

I had never been to Amsterdam before so it was pretty exciting and to be honest I didn't know that much about the city before going except that it is mostly famous for it's red light district, weed and canals.

I can tell you there is a lot more to Amsterdam that just that so i'm going to post a few of my highlights and really interesting things that we did and that I would recommend.

Anne Franks House

I didn't know a great deal about Anne Frank's story before and it was incredible so see the actual attic that she spent all those years hiding in! I didn't realise that her father survived the concentration camps either and the whole museum is so tastefully and informatively done. I think I am going to have to read her diary one day because she seemed like such an insightful and intelligent person for such a young girl and it's just awful to think what she had to miss out on whilst in hiding and then endure once captured.

As you can probably tell from these photos we didn't have great weather. In fact it was horrible, cold and raining but it allows you to appreciate the beauty of the architecture, and almost my down jacket and fur trimmed hood! 

I love how some of the buildings are just leaning slightly like "hey i'm just gonna take a break and lean on you, i'm tired of standing upright". I also love the huge window panes and quirky little roofs. I would love to live in Amsterdam with a bedroom overlooking a canal through those huge windows. 

San Remo

I have always thought Italy is such a beautiful country and San Remo is conveniently about an hour and a half drive from our house in France. Its a lovely little city in Northern Italy along the mediterranean coast and we always head straight for the colourful sights and delicious smells of the food market, selling everything from fruit and veg to meat and cheese. I just love the vibrancy in the colours you see there and how fresh and delicious everything is. I think I could imagine myself living this sort of life when i'm old. Doing my food shopping in the local market with my Louis Vuitton handbag, just as I saw one elegant old lady doing. 

Even outside of the food market, wandering around the streets there seems to be colour everywhere you go. Whether its in the cute his and hers mopeds that line the streets or in the oranges hanging off the trees. Everything seems to easy and relaxed and vibrant in Italy.

The buildings are also full of colour and the winding little streets seem to have something inviting round every corner, from great restaurants serving fabulous seafood dishes along the shore front and little boutique shops selling high end fashion.

Bastille Day - Vive la France!

Last year I spent Bastille day in Paris, watching the 14th July fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. This year I spent it watching fireworks in our less glamorous little village of Entrevaux, which has a significantly smaller budget for les feux d'artifices than the country's capital. However the setting of the citadel and our quaint medieval city made for a beautiful display of fireworks and a still enjoyable Bastille day.

I was digging around in our garage earlier and I discovered this beauty of a flag. Looks like something out of Les Mis (which we have the soundtrack of on repeat in the car at the moment) and was perfect for being patriotic on Bastille day.

Above, me and my beaut younger younger sister. 

Below, our little medieval "city" Entrevaux. 

I could intrigue you with a whole load of history about the village but I actually don't know that much. Except that it was once the port, designed by the famous Vauban, which defined territory owned by France on one side and Italy on the other. So this often unknown medieval village was once very influential and important. 

South of France Summer

So, after a little delay, I am back on my blog. Apologies for the absence. Here's what happened since I last blogged:

- England crashed out of the world cup in possibly our worst world cup effort ever.
- I finished my first year of uni, and passed all my first year exams (phew!)
- I have now taken up my usual summer residence in the south of France and will continue to blog from here on all about my summer.

This year I'm not in Paris so I suppose that's not so cool but we have a mini-festival/party happening in 3 weeks with loads of friends and family so I am very excited about that and will be updating you with all the developments and antics as they unfold.

Here's a couple of photos of our beautiful new pool, when it was empty and as it started to fill up:

I'm sorry but does that look lush or does that look lush??

Let summer commence!

Beautiful Birmingham

At the weekend I visited Birmingham, less than half an hour by train from Coventry and less than £3 return ticket. Birmingham is the second biggest city in the UK and whilst this wasn't the first time I had been, the last time was for the National Student Apprentice and I didn't have that much time to explore. 

The city, on a sunny blue sky day, is actually quite beautiful (even if the locals of Birmingham are not so beautiful). 

Here are the gorgeous regal buildings that I was in for the Apprentice Challenge, they look even better with the blue sky back drop: 

I believe they are the Town hall (first photo) and the Council House (second photo). When we were looking up things we could do in Birmingham one of the options google found us was a 'Council House Tour'. I was confused as to why anyone would want a tour of council housing, but now I realise it meant this beautiful building and it makes a lot more sense! 

Contrast these old buildings with those more new and architecturally interesting like this one below and Birmingham makes for a visually really exciting city. 

Here's my OOTD for this hot and sunny day, something of a rarity here in England, as you can tell by my lack of tan...

Top: Hollister 

Shorts: Forever 21

Shoes: Converse

Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs

Sunglasses: Stella McCartney