Lisbon

We arrived in Lisbon last Saturday night, what a week it has been!  After a quick trip through town in a taxi we arrived at a small cobblestone laneway filled with people eating and drinking (& bunting). Our apartment was located on the fifth floor of an old terrace building in the Bairro Alto. Such a fantastic location, the Bairro Alto is lined with bars and restaurants,  its a sleepy place during the day but at night it comes alive, with the lanes partying until the sun  comes up. 

Lisbon is set amongst two main hills with a frontage facing the river, which makes for it's beautiful views and very steep slopes. Anywhere on foot in Lisbon sure is a workout! Just around the corner from our apartment was a hidden roof top bar called Park. Located on the top of 6 storey car park,  it was a little hidden gem. We spent a couple of blissful evenings here watching the sun go down on Lisbon town.

It sure is tough spending a day lazying at the beach, knowing its freezing winter at home haha! The beaches here are beautiful! Lots of people around, but it was a balmy 30 degrees and we ordered refreshing glasses of sangria to keep us hydrated ;) we may have got a little crispy this day!

Sintra is a little town located about 40 minutes from Lisbon. We took the train here yesterday, easily one of the highlight days so far. Its known as a fairy tale town with castles in the clouds, which is a pretty spot on discription.

Beautiful laneways scattered amongst green forest, sure did feel like a magical place. We had  lunch at quiet spot in the hills with one of the best views I have seen, what a treat!

What an amazing time we have had here in Lisbon. So much amazing history and views that never end. I think we might just have to retire here. Good food, good people and ancient ruins, there really is something for everyone :)

Brighton

The laneways

If your planning a trip to the UK anytime soon, fit in a trip to the coastal town of Brighton. You won't regret it.

I love Brighton. We took the train from London which took just under an hour. Brighton seems to be what most coastal towns try to achieve, a beautiful beach front with a town full of narrow little laneways filled with shops, cafes and restaurants.  Theres definitely no shortage of hipsters in this town! It is so easy to get lost in the laneways, we spent hours pottering in and out of the many stores. There's so many interesting little shops from vintage furniture to rockabilly dresses & old record stores. There are loads of bars and eateries, loads of fresh vegetarian and vegan places which was great. Even Phil enjoyed the shops so thats saying something.

The beach in Brighton is typically English with pebbles instead of sand. But this doesn't stop the locals from getting out and sun baking all day. If you're wondering what it feels like you could try lying on a pebble garden bed or driveway haha! Not the most comfortable, but the English seem happy to ignore it. Never the less, the beach is a lovely spot to sit with a glass of wine and watch the day go by. I particularly liked all the colourful little beach houses along the shore.

We booked our accommodation through airbnb and it was wonderful, hooray!  We stayed with a lovely lady Phillipa and her three year old son, who live just a short stroll from the beach.  Phillipa was a wonderful host, making us breakfast each morning and we had plenty of chats over cups of tea, a very authentic English experience.

Brighton beach houses

I am writing this post from the plane, so its fairwell to the UK and hello to Portugal! I hope we meet again England!

Summer in London

Last saturday our European adventure begun. First stop London.

We arrived early Sunday morning after an incredibly long flight from Melbourne.We were lucky enough to be able to catch abit of shut eye which helped us stay awake for most of the day. London is just beautiful, it has a real mixture of architecture with heritage and modern due to some parts being destroyed in the WW2 bombings. The city is immaculately presented, with a real vibrancy of cafes, flowers and shops along the street fronts.

London is notoriously known for being expensive particularly when it comes to accommodation.  As we're trying to limit our spending (so I can spend more on shopping) we  decided to stay in a hostel in town. The location was fantastic, staying in a cramped smelly room with 10 other people and sharing 3 toilets with 80 people certainly wasn't.  So we decided last night to upgrade to an apartment listed on windmu.  The listing turned out to be quite different from the advertisement. Our city view with balcony turned out to be  a small room in commission housing which is under going construction in a shady part of town. Oh well, I guess thats what you get when visiting London on a budget!

Kew gardens is a must see when in London, it was a perfect afternoon sitting amongst the imaculate English garden with our packed picnic. We've completed the usual must see's such as London Bridge, stunning Hyde Park and visiting the queen! Browsing the shops on Oxford strert and finding little coffee shops has definitely been my favorite activity in London. Today we are off to Brighton,  looking foward to seeing some English seaside!

     Hyde parkNotting Hill, London

Kew Gardens

Buckingham Palace

Happy about our upgrade ha!

One fine week in Fiji

A couple of weeks ago we (myself and the mister) had the privilege of attending an ever so sweet celebration of love in Fiji. It was extra special given that it was my lovely brother in law and new sister in laws wedding! They had a pretty handsome best man too ;)

Bree and Kev were married at the Hide Away Resort in Fiji, it was a beautiful, balmy & romantic day in paradise.. doesn't get better than that really! We throughly enjoyed our 7 day escape into Fiji time, such bliss.

Here's a few candid shots from the day...

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Garner!   xxx

Reasons why you SHOULD road trip around New Zealand

Lake Tekapo

Today I'm sharing you with you a few pictures from our recent whirlwind road trip around the south island of New Zealand.


Point number 1 - Everyone will tell you New Zealand is breath taking &that's with good reason! Drive about an hour and half out of Christchurch and BAM your surrounded by natural beauty. Photo opportunities are plentiful, not that they really do it any justice.

Hello Philly!!

Point 2 - Getting a van is a good idea. This way you can explore at your own leisure, you call the shots on when to stay when to leave and where to go next. I would recommend bringing your own sheets though, I'm quite sure we had bed bugs the first night so I had to sleep in as many layers of clothing I could find.

Phil & our super rad van 'free willy'

Point 3 -Visit wineries, lots and as many as you can, even if you don't enjoy wine you will enjoy the views, and the characters that run them.They also tend to offer lots of insider tips of where to go.

A beautiful spot for an afternoon wine

Point 4 - The smaller towns are worth stopping in. We found lots of hidden gems on our daily morning (and afternoon) tea stops! From vintage craft stores to the best blueberry crumble I've ever tasted.. we never regretted one stop.

Rapt we made it to the top -Queenstown hike

Point 5 - It's easy! Flying to New Zealand was a breeze, just over 3 hours on the plane and inexpensive flights leaves you wondering why on earth you haven't been there before.

If this hasn't won you over, hopefully the pretty pictures will.. now go on book those flights and enjoy!


Kirstin x