Vacation: Mykonos Day Two

Posted in Travel by Jenna Louise

Day Two saw the biggest pool/chill day ever! We got up early – (I am a NIGHTMARE on holiday! I am up at the crack of dawn not wanting to miss a single second! Sorry Dan!) – & we headed to the hotel Gym. The gym was outstanding.

Treadmills, cross trainers, bikes & an awesome weights area, it had everything you needed for a quick morning workout!

After an hour in the gym, we had our first breakfast at the hotel. Faced with the freshest fruit, Greek yoghurt, homemade cakes, pastries, meats & cheeses, I could have literally stayed there all day. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day & the Greeks know how to do it! In England, breakfast is considered a quick, on the go meal. I like to sit, have coffee, read the news & take my time.

Straight after breakfast we scooted on over to a bed where we lay out in the morning sunshine where we read, listened to music & talked until the cows came home.

Being on holiday is such a lovely thing to do when you work hard for it. To have a few days away together in the sunshine is just what the doctor ordered! Dan works so hard & I couldn’t be more proud of him, so to see him so relaxed made my holiday!

Sunbathing really does take it out of you (!), so at lunch time we went for a little lunch at the restaurant.

Today we went for the zucchini rolls (which were fantastic!), & the Greek Flatbread which is actually my favourite thing of all time! Followed by a glass of white wine in the sunshine, I had died and gone to heaven!

Having sussed out the local shops in the nearby town yesterday, we decided to head back to the cute ice cream store that we spotted! Run by the nicest old Greek men, I went for a scoop of Greek yoghurt & cherry & Dan went for the Snickers flavour.

The ice cream was seriously so yummy & eating them whilst walking around such beautiful surroundings was just perfect!

We then did some more sightseeing around the Old Town!

We headed back to the hotel around 7pm where we chilled out on the balcony & got excited for dinner.

About a week before we got to Mykonos, we had booked a reservation at the Nobu restaurant which was located in our hotel. I had been waiting for this moment forever & I was NOT disappointed!

Having not been to Nobu before, I wanted to make sure I got the very best out of the experience. I KNEW I wanted the Black Cod as that is one of the things Nobu is famous for, but I also wanted to try their sushi etc!

The waiters & waitresses were like beautiful supermodels. All dressed in black and sporting their natural Greek tans, it would have been easy to feel intimidated. The staff instantly made us feel welcome, bringing us Fiji water & sashimi tacos.

When asking us if we had visited before, our waitress recommended the 7 course taster menu. With this, you got to try a little of everything that Nobu has to offer. We were sold. We ordered a bottle of white wine & sat back & relaxed whilst we got brought course after course!

My favourite did end up being the Black Cod. I could eat that for the rest of my life! Along with the cod, we got to taste the salmon, caviar, sea bass, beef, sushi, miso, salads & an unexpected chocolate dessert!

All in all, the whole experience lived up to every single expectation that I had! It was the best night & getting to share it with Dan made it all so perfect!

*make sure you come back to see what we got up to on Day Three!*

If you missed Day One – check it out here

25May2015

Vacation: Mykonos Day One

Posted in Travel by Jenna Louise

So the time had finally arrived to go on our little Vacation. I had been counting down the weeks ever since we booked this getaway way back in January!

Having never been to Mykonos before (and Greece only once, way back in 2007!), we decided to do a bit of research on the island. It quickly became very clear that Mykonos is extremely popular with the A Listers and after researching hotels, we instantly fell in love with The Belvedere Hotel.

We flew with EasyJet (who were amazing) and arrived into Mykonos from London Gatwick at 10:15am & was greeted with sunshine and our driver. The airport is 1.6km away from the Town & so it only took us around 10 minutes to arrive.

We then checked in & thankfully our room was ready right away. After nearly crying at how wonderful the views were, we got straight into our swimwear & started off our tans!

The layout of the pool area was stunning & had a Miami beach type vibe. The white beds, pillows & orange towels were my best friends during the whole holiday! (That and the food!).

After a certain time, they play music around the pool, which gives it a more chilled atmosphere. You can also play this music in your room – and with speakers in the shower, you can also listen to it there!

After a few hours getting acquainted with Mr Sunshine, we then grabbed lunch at the award winning hotel restaurant. Run by Executive Chef Nikos Zervos, who joined the Belvedere team from a two star Michelin restaurant, we quickly became obsessed with the food & actually ate there for lunch most days.

After being recommended the famous Spinach Pie Salad, I was NOT disappointed!

Paired with a Lychee Martini & a Cucumber Crush, it was the perfect lunch!

About 6pm, we took a walk into Mykonos Town.

With everything on the Island within a 30 minute walk, it was a lovely evening stroll where we stumbled upon lots of cute little stores run by the local Greek population.

Mixed in with these stores, you have designer stores which include Louis Vuitton, Sephora, Victoria Secrets & watch shops offering Rolex’s & Cartier watches etc.

After getting lost in the long & winding streets and looking at the pretty stores, we found our way back to the Hotel where we chilled out on our balcony before dressing for dinner.

We were very lucky as from our room, we could watch the sunset which was truly amazing!

Whilst soaking up the sunshine earlier in the day, we made reservations at the Belvedere Restaurant for 8:30pm.

With it being our first night, we thought it would be nice to eat on our doorstep. The views and setting at the hotel at night time was the most perfect thing I have ever seen & I was so happy we chose to eat here on our first night!

We got back to our room around midnight, where we found a movie channel on our TV.

With a smile on my face, I couldn’t wait to wake up for Day Two!

*be sure to check back in the next few days to see what we got up to on Day Two!*

Hotel: Belvedere Boutique Hotel Mykonos

Flights: Easy Jet

1Apr2015

Mini Break: Barnsdale Hall Hotel

Posted in Lifestyle, Travel by Jenna Louise

With the stresses of work, & the awful British weather, we were in need of some R&R!

The British countryside truly is beautiful so where better to go? In the sunshine it’s stunning. And even on the coldest, wettest winter British days, it is one of the nicest places to sit in front of a log fire & sip on tea all afternoon (plus a slice of cake!).

Based in Rutland Leicestershire, Barnsdale Hall Hotel is situated on a picturesque lake , with log cabins, lake views & bigger apartments/holiday villas to rent with big groups.

We arrived at lunch time & grabbed a coffee in the brasserie before our pre-booked spa treatments at 2pm. All leisure & spa facilities were included in the stay (& you received 25% off spa treatments).

Daniel settled on a full body massage & I chose an Indian Head massage. After an hour of pure bliss, we sauntered back down to the brasserie, where we embarked on the biggest scones we had ever seen!

With our dinner reservations in the restaurant at 7:30pm, we took the scenic route back to the room to get ready, where shampoo & toiletries were provided. Whilst getting ready, we cracked open a bottle of prosecco & then made our way to dinner.

The choice of home cooked, country food was lovely. I settled on the salmon & crab fishcake which I didn’t want to end! We paired our meal with a bottle of white wine & then made the short walk back to our room.

We got up early on Sunday morning, where we had our Sunday paper delivered to our door. We took this to breakfast at 8am & as I’m not a huge fan of a ‘fry up’, I was so happy to see the amazing choice of pastries, yoghurts, jams, cereals & fruit!

We managed to see the lake & surrounding views of the hotel in its full glory before the heavens opened & we made a run for it!

The hotel boasts a handful of activities with mini golf, floodlit tennis courts, lakeside walks, swimming & a gymnasium being just a few! I imagine in summer time, the hotel will be one of the nicest spots to visit!

To see room rates & availability, check out their official website here!

25Mar2015

Weekend Adventure

Posted in Travel by Jenna Louise

Amsterdam. Can you do it in one day?

Well, at the weekend, Daniel & I boarded a plane & hit Amsterdam to find out!

I had brought the plane tickets as a surprise for Daniel’s 25th Birthday so we were extremely excited.

We arrived at 9:30am & boarded the train from the airport into Amsterdam City Centre. With this only taking 10 minutes, we had arrived into the centre at 10am so decided to go for a coffee in Dam Square to consult our maps & arrange a game plan for the next few hours!

I don’t know what it is, but the coffee we have in Europe, always tastes better than the coffee we get in the UK!

We decided to have a general walk around the City & after stumbling upon the Red Light District, we felt we needed to get away & do something we know well…SHOPPING!

With Amsterdam’s equivalent to Harrods right around the corner, we decided we needed to visit!

De Bijenkorf is right on the edge of Dam Square, & away from all things drug & sex related!

We spent some time in here & decided to look at the restaurant & champagne bar on the rooftop.

We settled on sushi, Tai & champagne whilst deciding on our next move!

We headed over to Jordaan, which is a neighbourhood in Amsterdam considered to be one of the prettiest.

Full of canal side cafes, scenic views everywhere you turn & A LOT of bicycles!

The bicycles were cute to start with. Then a crazy lady man-handled me & I nearly ended up in the canal. Not so cute.

Overall we had 6 hours in Amsterdam before making our way back to the Airport, (which, is HUGE by the way!).

We felt like we had done everything that we wanted to do & saw everything that we wanted to see.

We felt staying over night or staying any longer would have been too long for us, so we were ecstatic to be back home in our pyjamas with a tea by 7.30pm!

It’s quite crazy what you can do in a day.

We grabbed an early flight from Birmingham Airpot & travelled with Flybe. I would highly recommend doing what we did if you want a real adventure! You can get to most places in Europe in one hour (with Amsterdam taking us 50 minutes!), so what’s stopping you grabbing an early flight & visiting somewhere for a day!

Happy travelling!

18Mar2015

Girlie Day: Leamington Spa

Posted in Travel by Jenna Louise

The weekend saw me & the girls drive down to Leamington Spa for a girlie day!

Leamington Spa is a town in Central Warwickshire, which means trips to Warwick Castle & Warwick Town are on your doorstep. With trains from Birmingham taking around half an hour, it’s a lovely place to go for a girlie day or a romantic weekend away.

Firstly, we visited the Episode Hotel for a lovely Champagne Afternoon Tea where we had a natter & a giggle over a lot of cake!

The Hotel is within walking distance of the lovely town centre, so of course, we have a stroll to the shops! The town has everything from your usual hughstreet stores, to House of Fraser & cute independent gift shops.

After a few hours in River Island (yes, really), we decided we needed to round off the day with a cocktail!

With an amazing choice of restaurants & bars, we finally settled on Turtle Bay. The cocktails in Turtle Bay are amazing, & with it being happy hour, it would have been rude not to!

I was so upset we had to leave Leamington & could have stayed for at least another day with the girls, exploring the beauty of the Town & maybe even venturing into nearby Warwick!

To plan your visit & to see what’s on, check out their website here!

18Feb2015

Weekend Adventure

Posted in Travel by Jenna Louise

So it’s Winter, it’s the weekend & you want somewhere cute to go for the day?

Well, look no further than the wonderful Bridgnorth!

A beautiful town in Shropshire, England, situated on the Severn Valley.

It is home to the Castle Hill Railway, which is the steepest and only inland railway of its type in the country.

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It links the high town to the low town and was used to carry goods and produce up and down the 111ft sandstone cliff back in 1892 when it opened.

The town is a typical quaint, English town full of independent book stores, cafes & tea shops & we enjoyed a lovely Winters day strolling around hand in hand thinking we had stepped back in time!