Travel Adventures: Budapest, Hungary

I realise it's now taken me months to finish this series of posts accounting my trip to Europe this year, but I promise this is the last of them, as Budapest was our last, and one of my absolute favourite destinations. So yeah, I hope these travel posts haven't been too personal and bored you all to death, but I wanted this blog to be a place that I can come back to one day and read about some of the cool things I got up to, but I have also tried to make these posts 'tourist friendly' so if any of you are planning trips to these places or wondering if they're worth going to, you can get more personal insight into the various cities.

So Budapest was absolutely lovely, I loved that it is kind of this bizarre mixture of what is simultaneously a historical gem filled with rich history and infrastructure, mixed also with a much more modern, stylish and hip side of town as well. One of the things we did whilst there was a walking tour of pretty much the whole city. While I will admit that this was a LOT of walking (you literally span the whole city from Pest to Buda- the city is divided by the Danube river into these two sides), it was 100% worth it.

Let me describe the city by talking about Pest and Buda separately as they really are quite different but both so worth seeing in their own right. Okay so Pest is the side of town that we were staying, we stayed in a really lovely student hostel called Mavericks that, as student hostels go, was pretty well rigged out and facilitated, so I really enjoyed that as a nice place to stay always makes a difference. Whilst I don't know much about the differentiation between Buda and Pest, my impression is that Pest feels a lot more young and modern. At night, in among the streets between our hostel and St Stephens Basilica, the streets were bustling with lively, lit restaurants and entertainment, the works, and in among this side of town there are the ruin bars and night clubs pumping out loud music.  On this side of town is St Stephens Basilica, which is huge, absolutely stunning and surrounded by a big square, it is the tallest building in Budapest and if you look over at Pest from the other side of town, you can just see its dome peaking up above the rest of the city. Also on this side of town are the Parliament buildings and close by to those is a sculpture called Shoes on the Danube Bank. This is a WW2 memorial sculpture that I was so sad not to be able to see personally. Our tour guide told us about it and explained the back story, but we didn't manage to venture there in our own time, so if any of you are ever there, don't miss it like I did, as it is supposedly very much worth seeing. Pest just feels really relaxed and social and this side of the city really captured my heart and I kind of fell in love with it literally from the second we arrived. It is dotted with beautiful parks with pretty trees and the Budapest ferris wheel, warm baths, quaint little shops and other attractions such as Heroes Square, not to mention all the amazing shopping we managed to get done there, and actually spent a lot of time doing, which suited me perfectly. 

So then, on the other side of town, right across the Danube over the Chain Bridge, is Buda. Buda feels a lot more like the very traditional, historical European post-war city, filled with old buildings, castles and cathedrals, but also, similarly to Pest, lots of greenery, trees and flower beds everywhere you look. My favourite thing on the Buda side was right up the hill, which is a bit of a trek (although I think there is a cable car system type thing too), Matthias Church, which (with no exaggeration at all) is honestly the most stunning building I have ever seen. I am not usually one who oohs and aaahs and gushes over architecture but this building is beyond stunning- describing it would not do it justice so rather just Google it (check out its roof tiling) and see for yourself. Up by the church there were also some beautiful sculptures and other lovely little cafes along tree-lined streets. In fact, this whole area and Castle District up on the hill is so lovely to explore, it was a bit quieter than Pest and has beautiful views looking down on the whole city, the river and across into Pest.

So yeah, as you can probably tell, I was really endeared and pleasantly surprised with Budapest and definitely hope to go back as there was so much I didn't get to do, and it was just a place I felt really happy and calm. 

Matthias Church

St Stephen's Basilica

The Chain Bridge

The view looking across at Pest from Buda

And then that was it, after almost a month in Europe we backed up our massive backpacks again and came home- it was an amazing adventure!

Travel Adventures: Prague, Czech Republic

Okay so after our week in Croatia, we headed inland to Prague!
Someone once said to me that stepping into Prague is kind of like entering a fairytale land, and that's the only real way I can describe it- it's really like nothing else. The city centre is just a mesh of sky-high beautiful old cathedrals such as St Vitus Cathedral, the huge, beautiful square, lots of little shops and markets and of course the famous Astronomical Clock- which is something quite cool to check out on the hour as it gives you a whole little performance of its own. 

Another thing I really liked about Prague was all the art work among various parts of the city- whether it was the Man Hanging Out sculpture of Sigmund Freud, Babies by David Cerny or just random little bits and pieces and public sculptures dotted around various parks or squares. 

Another thing you definitely couldn't miss whilst in Prague is the Lennon Wall- this was definitely my highlight of the city, especially given my love of the Beatles, it was something quite special to see. Although I am not 100% on the facts, the story goes that it was a source of expression of rebellion for young Czechs in the '80s, and despite numerous attempts of officials repainting it white, the next day it would be covered once again in coloured sketches, quotes and Beatles lyrics. Near by to the wall we found this cute, quaint little place for drinks and dinner called the Lennon Bar, which had absolutely delicious food and possibly the best strawberry lemonade I've ever had (I am a sucker for this anyway). Another thing I loved about this side of the city is that it smells absolutely delicious, from sweet white flowered trees (which I unfortunately don't know the name of) scattered everywhere around here and along the canal. 

Another thing I've heard is worth doing in Prague is walking up the stairs to the castle, which is also across the canal from the old town, on the same side as the Lennon wall, etc. I didn't get round to doing this as we only had 2 days there and it was at least 40 degrees both days, which definitely lessened my enthusiasm to climbing many steep steps, but yeah, it's definitely something I'd like to check out if I go again!

Yeah, overall, Prague is kind of this mystical city that I can't quite believe is real, the old town is literally fairytale-like, the architecture throughout the city is stunning and a really interesting mix of old and modern, the vast bridges are stunning and span out over the canal and I also really enjoyed the 'night life'- we did a really cool pub crawl and ended up in this massive 6 story club along the canal, which was a great lot of fun, so definitely worth doing if you're keen on that sort of thing.

These are so delicious, its like a cinnamon roll filled with nutella!

Photo creds to my friend Amy

Travel Adventures: Dubrovnik, Croatia

Okay, so in the last travel post, I left off with Korcula and Mljet.

So next was Dubrovnik, which is one of the main and most well-known cities along the Dalmation coast of Croatia. We were staying two nights here, opposed to one night as with the others, and so got to know the city a little better. 

Dubrovnik is absolutely stunning! The main touristy sort of area is the Old Town, which just has so much history to it and is all build in stunning white marble. The Old Town is walled off (which was a defence mechanism in the olden days), and so you can climb onto the walls and walk around the whole perimeter about 50 meters up and get a pretty cool view of the surroundings and surrounding sea. The old city has a long main road with lots of touristy little shops on it and some amazing places to get Gelato (which we ate far too much of)! If you walk down to the end of this street (but because it's walled off, it's all just people, like no cars or anything), there is a really beautiful cathedral and lots of museums and places worth checking out if you're into the history of the city. I went on a guided tour of the Old Town, which was so so interesting, and really cool to do, because you get to learn so much about the history. The Old Town has stunning architecture, a mixture of Baroque and Renaissance, and lots of swallows dipping down between all the buildings and narrow alleys. Croatia is a predominantly Catholic country, and so there are also lots of churches and a monkery in the Old Town. Dubrovnik also has a really stunning port on the other side of Old Town, which is worth going to see. We found some really cool places to swim just outside of Old Town (close to the entrance) and there were even a few little like caves/blue grottos, which is super cool! So yeah, Dubrovnik is amazing, there's so much to do, I feel like I could have stayed there for another week at least, but yeah, the nightlife is lots of fun too, and it's just a lovely city with a lot of heart. 

September Favourites 2015

Hey guys, 

so it's time for another monthly favourites, and I've really got some good-ies this month :D 

Okay so I'll get right to it, starting with make-up:

So recently my parents when to the UK and obviously I jumped at the opportunity to get them to bring me back as many make-up products that we don't get here in SA at possible! There have been a lot of products I have been dying to try but couldn't get hold of at shops or by ordering online, so I gave my mom a list of a few things, and was lucky enough that she brought me back a fair few!

So my first make-up favourite and one of the things my mom bought me from England is

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

I have never used any Benefit products (cause like I said, I can't really get hold of them in SA yet), but I had heard people absolutely rave about this mascara, and seeing that I have pretty much stuck with my old Maybelline one forever, I was dying to give a new one a try- and oh my word have I been coverted! This is THE BEST mascara ever, it has such a perfectly shaped wand and just coats every lash and makes them so super long without clumping them or anything- it's just amazing, and it's going to be suuuper hard going back to any other mascara when this one runs out, so yeah, definitely a fantastic product worth trying out!

Soap and Glory- Archery brow pen in the shade "Brownie Points"

Soap an Glory is another brand that I haven't been able to try before, and again, after hearing lots of great things about this product, I was keen to give it a go. I have never quite found a really brilliant eye brow product, and so this kind of just shoved away anything else I've ever tried because it is so so easy and still looks super nice. I have quite dark eyebrows that do sort of mostly maintain themselves, so I often don't fill them in at all, but when I do a full face of make-up, it looks a bit weird without filling in brows as well, so this is perfect for that, and it is just the right colour for mine. It is almost a felt-tip like marker, and so you can super easily fill in a few individual streaks without sort of "colouring in" your whole brow. It's super easy, looks really lovely, and I have been absolutely loving it!

Collection- Illuminating Touch Brightening concealer in the shade "Natural 2"

So I actually asked my mom for a different concealer by Collection, and she couldn't find it, so bought this one instead, and I have to say, it is brilliant, and probably my favourite concealer I've used thus far over both Rimmel and Revlon, which I have raved about before. I was lucky in that it is the perfect shade, but what I love about it is that it is amazing for under your eyes, it gets rid of redness or dark circles or puffyness without it looking like you've caked on concealer. It also blends so well into the skin, I've been using the Real Techniques setting brush, and it is just so easy and has amazing coverage but still feels really light, yeah it's amazing! It's a very nice overall concealer, and I tend to use a concealer stick/crayon when certain areas are being particularly problematic and then this over it as a more general sort of finish. To anyone buying this though, let me just give you a heads up to save you the confusion I went through: this appears really hard to open, it took me a good while to figure out how the product comes out of the tube. Basically, you need to twist the bottom, it will make a clicking sound, for a long time before product comes out, and once the first bit is out, you just twist it a few clicks round each time you use it, for more to come out.

Collection- Cover Up Stick concealer crayon in the shape "Natural Beige 13"

So I mentioned above that I like to use the Illuminating Touch concealer with a cover stick concealer when my skin is breaking out or having some issues, and this is the one I've been using. If you've read this blog for a while, you'll have heard me say that I usually really dislike using cover sticks and MUCH prefer a more liquid consistency of concealer. But things have sort of changed with this one- whilst I'll admit, I still don't like to use a concealer crayon everyday, it just gives such amazing coverage when I have a spot or redness or anything like that, and so yeah, it also works really nicely with the Illuminating Touch concealer, also by Collection. 

So those are the make-up products I've really been lovely this last month. And now for some beauty favourites:

Sorbet Spa: Sea Botanicals- Nourish Hand and Nail Cream 

I'm not usually a bit hand cream type of person but as winter keeps on dragging on even though we're now into Spring, I just find my hands getting so terribly dry and actually had to start taking a bit of care of them. I bought this without thinking much of it, but it is actually so lovely. It smells delicious, and it's kind of an unusual smell, unlike any other product I've tried before, but so nice and not too overpowering, which I think is important in a hand cream. But the actual quality of the cream is amazing, it is so super moisturising and thick and just feels like it is really hydrating for the skin, but at the same time, I really like that it doesn't feel sticky or anything after you've used it. 

Essie nail polish- 'Marshmallow'

I'll be honest, I actually was really disappointed with this shade when I first bought it, wanting a similar shade to my previous white nail polish, which was 'Blanc', also by Essie. The reason for this, is that it is not a very strong colour, meaning that it needs at least 3/4 layers before it looks nice. So at first I was a bit irritated, because it is a bit of a mission painting that many layers, but what I will say is that because you are putting on so many layers, it stays on without chipping for ages, like at least 2 weeks! And also, once all the layers are on, it is not just a sharp white but rather a very pretty, pale white that looks really lovely. So yeah, I've actually really been enjoying it!

And then finally for some random favourites: 

So the first is actually a YouTube channel of this amazing singer called Sam Tsui who mostly does covers and mash-ups and a whole bunch of cool stuff. His voice is technically amazing, and yeah, it's just cool seeing how talented some people out there are!

Click here for the link to his channel, and then here are some of my favourite covers of his:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POzWc8gC7PU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNapFb0yZns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGgakt3niys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgY1f1iUV6Y

And then finally, my last random favourite is The Fosters, this is a TV show that I have definitely mentioned before on this blog, but it is quite unknown and I just really love it! It is based on a family with a whole mixture of adopted and biological kids and basically just their lives and challenges and stuff but all the characters are really relatable and I just really enjoy it! I'm currently watching season 2, but I think there is one or two more out than that, so I'm a bit behind. 

So yeah, those are my September favourites, check ya next month with some more from October xx

September Playlist

Hey guys

I somehow always find myself doing new posts like a few nights before exams, which is exactly what I'm doing right now, but let me just admit this is procrastination and get on with it haha. Okay, so I've just had a whole bunch of great songs on my playlist for this month (and actually most of August too), and whilst I am sure you'll probably know most of them, just in case you don't, here they are- hope you enjoy! As usual with me, there is a pretty bizarre mix of everything but I love them all! 

SWEET PEA- AMOS LEE

I don't know any other songs by this guy, but love this one, it's very cute!

MARVIN GAYE- CHARLIE PUTH FT. MEGHAN TRAINER

This song just makes me happy and want to sing along- super pop-py but in a good way.

DRAG ME DOWN- ONE DIRECTION

Gotta love me a new OneD song, always! And I was so impressed with how good this one is despite losing Zayn, I love this!

JEALOUS- NICK JONAS

I know a lot of musicians might criticise how cliched and pop-py this is, but I gotta admit I love it a lot- again, I just have to sing along. 

LEOPOLD STREET- THE PAPER KITES

Very different to the songs I've done so far, but I love the Paper Kites' chilled and relaxed indie folk sort of vibe, and this is one of my favs.

GERONIMO- SHEPPARD

This song makes me happy, I'm keen to see what's still to come from Sheppard. 

SEE YOU AGAIN- WIZ KHALIFA FT. CHARLIE PUTH

Oh my goodness, I can't even explain how obsessed with this song I have been. I don't know what exactly it is about it, but I love Charlie Puth's voice, I am not usually the biggest of rap fan but this is pretty cool, and the overall message of the song is a really lovely one. 

SEE YOU AGAIN/LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO/SUGAR MASHUP- MEGAN DAVIES AND FRIENDS

I also loove this mash up! Megan Davies' YouTube channel is amazing to start with, but this is definitely one of my all time favourites of hers! Check it out, it's pretty cool and all three voices are incredible! Also, the actual arrangement of the mash-up is really amazing. 

TAKE ME TO THE PILOT- ELTON JOHN

Now onto a completely different genre, some good ol' Elton John. I know quite a bit of Elton John, but had never heard this before, and then someone covered it on The Voice, and I immediately downloaded it and was obsessed. It's not for everyone I suppose, but I have a part of me inside that loves American gospel music, and this sort of has that kinda feel and yeah, it's just pretty cool and I like it a lot. 

THE WHISKET AIN'T WORKING- TRAVIS TRITT

If you know me, you'll probably know my deep love of country music, particularly the good old stuff like this before it became a bit more pop-py and commercialised. I love Travis Tritt but hadn't heard this song before, and it's one of those that just makes me want to dance around. 

LAND OF OPPORTUNITY- A GREAT BIG WORLD

I mentioned in my last monthly favourites that I have been loving A Great Big World's album, and this is one of my favs off it- it's very upbeat and happy. 

DITMAS- MUMFORD AND SONS

Firstly, can we acknowledge that Mumford and Sons are coming to SA :D I know a lot of hard-core fans are criticising the sort of slight genre change and shift away from classic folk in the new album, but I must say that I really do like this song. I do think that it's a pity they are moving away from their roots of good old harmonies and banjos, but at the same time, this is still a lovely song. A friend of mine said she thought their new album sounds kind of like a Coldplay album, and I think that's probably the best description I've heard so far, it's not necessarily bad, but just super different from their older stuff. But yeah, I still really like this song. 

GOOD TO BE ALIVE- ANDY GRAMMER

Ah, I am a die-hard, long time Andy Grammar fan, and again, he's sort of had a change in sound recently since he has become a lot more popular and commercialised, but I still love what he's doing. When I first heard this song, it was a very weird experience because it's really unlike any song I've heard. The beat is kinda off and a bit odd, but in a really cool way, and yeah it took me a second to understand what was going on, but now I absolutely LOVE it!

BREAKING MY OWN HEART- SWEET TALK RADIO

My dad actually introduced me to this couple's music, and they just do some really cool folk stuff. They have such lovely harmonies and write really different interesting songs, this is one of my favourites. 

COLLIDE (COVER)- SAWYER HENDRICKS (The Voice Season 8)

Sawyer was actually the winner of Season 8, and he completely deserved it! He has by far the most amazing, interesting and soft yet powerful voice I've ever heard, and yeah, he really can sing anything. His cover of 'Collide' was just so so pretty!

So that's it for the music I have been loving recently, hope you enjoy!

Love

Travel Adventures: Korcula & Mljet, Croatia

I've put these two towns together because both are super small and cute and we pretty much just chilled, ate good food and explored a bit while there because there wasn't too much else to do, so I didn't end up taking that many pictures unfortunately.

KORCULA
We first visited Korcula and spent one day there. Korcula is famous for being the home to Marco-Polo, so whilst there it is quite cool to check out his childhood home, which they have kind of made into a little museum/historical tour- it's crazy seeing how small and different the houses were back then! Close by there is also a bell tower, which you can go up and get a full view of the town and all the pretty red rooves clustered together. Korcula is kind of like an oval shape (if that makes sense), so you can wander along the promenade at the water's edge all around the "oval" and just take in the beautiful views and clear waters. There is also a cocktail bar there that is up a few stories but right on the water's edge, and they are famous for lifting your drinks up to the top with a cable car type mechanism, which is pretty cool, but unfortunately it was closed when we went as it was a bit early. This was just a really cute little town that we had a lot of fun exploring and wandering between the little cobbled streets and into the local shops and museums. 

MLJET
Mljet is a separate island (so not actually on Croatian mainland), that is actually quite small and private, as the vast majority of the island is the Mljet national park. A cool thing to do there is either to hire bikes and cycle around the big lake near the middle of the island, or to take a hike through the really pretty wilderness of the national park and catch a little ferry boat across the lake to a small island. There is some cool Croatian name to describe that this is an island on an island (cause it's within the lake on the island of Mljet). We chose the hiking option cause it's a cool way to get some exercise but also to take your time to get there and enjoy the fresh air and beautiful views of the forest and the lake. In the evening we went back to the main road of the town, which is by the water's edge where we were docked, and found a little place with some deck chairs to sit and watch the sunset. We then had delicious pizza for dinner and a really nice, more laid-back relaxing night.