Paris!

Macaroons from Laduree

Picnics in the parks

 Christmas market along Champs Elysée

Sunset boat ride on the Seine

Exploring Montmartre

These are some of the things I did in Paris a few weeks ago when I was there with my mom and my sister. We had a lovely weekend and I'm really looking forward to the next family trip we all go on! 

Once again, I took hundreds of photos! I could never include all of them here but I do hope you enjoy the ones I have posted below.  My favourite photos of the set are those where the famous Paris landmarks are not the main focus, but rather captured in the background against which everyone goes about their daily lives. 

Sacre Coeur and Montmartre

Arc de Triomphe

Sacre Coeur and Montmartre

Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur

Eiffel Tower

Tuileries Garden

Notre Dame

As its getting closer and closer to Christmas, I have started thinking about what presents to buy for my friends and family. Once again I think it is likely to turn into an Internet shopping spree - as I am not sure when I'm going to find the time to make my way to the shops. I will be updating my pinterest boards with any cute ideas I come across :).

I know I have mentioned the following singers quite recently, but I just wanted to share  some more of their music. I have been listening to these singers/bands on repeat for a little while now. I've also included the new single from the Black keys - I have listened to their music for a while  - but have only heard their new single in the past few days! Amazing!!

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die (Album out on 31 Jan - think it will be my birthday present myself!) 

Florence and the Machine - No Light, No Light (Fantastic Album! and stunning video)

The Black Keys - Lonely Boy (I will buy this album this week! I think this will be amazing to play really loud when I'm driving again next month!)

I hope everyone has a fantastic week and if you have any new music suggestions/gift ideas or things to do in London before I leave, drop me a note!

24 Hours in Venice

So I've had a bit of a holiday, definitely more relaxed and ready to tackle my last 100 days in London!

 I finally went to Italy and it was just what I imagined and hoped it would be!

I have since decided that (1) I want to move to Rome and (2) I might have a bit of a problem when it comes to the need to take photos - 1,000 in 5 days! 

Of our whirlwind 5 days in Italy, we spent 24 hours in Venice. The thunderstorms at night excited me! The people selling plastic helicopter things irritated me (but not as much as the umbrella/rose guys in Rome). But most of all, wandering through the tiny passageways and walking in circles amazed me! The island is unlike anything I have seen before and I definitely need to go back for a longer period of time to really get past the "touristy" façade.

On Monday morning we decided that we were going to walk around and try and see as much as we could. We thought that since we had pretty much covered Per Rialto and Piazzo San Marco the previous evening we must walk in the opposite direction to the signs. We could not escape them! No matter which direction we turned we landed up walking back towards those places or - coincidentally - our hotel!

 At this stage we decided it might be a good idea to visit Lido and the Giardini, both of which were completely different to the areas we explored the day before  (Lido had cars!!)  but so peaceful and exactly what we needed!

Before I get to the photos - my sister has started a really interesting blog - Studio Gold - which is worth a look! She also introduced me to Pinterest which I can see will provide me with many hours of procrastination in the months to come!