Dubai 2014 | Off to UEA

Dubai is a place I have wanted to visit for such a long time so I was very excited when my family decided to book a week there in August. I've never been to the Middle East before so I was really looking forward to a very different kind of holiday (we have spent the last few summers in USA).

We had been given advice to stay at Jumeriah Beach Resort (JBR) area, and we chose apartments at Hilton the Walk. This was a great choice as we were able to have our own space but could still have the facilties at the hotel available. The Hilton apartments were great and we were lucky enough to be upgraded which was amazing. The first evening we settled into our apartment and ordered pizza to the room.

The next morning we headed out to the beach and pool. A lot of resorts have their own beach, so if you are booking a hotel it is a good idea to understand whether it has part of the beach, as using the beach at other hotels can incur a charge. I had been warned how hot Dubai would be, but I literally couldn't believe the heat! It was over 40 degrees everyday, and the sea was over 30 degrees, so like getting in a warm bath! We ate lunch at Wavebreaker, one of the hotels' restaurants, which was really nice but quite expensive. After a morning outside we went for a walk around the shops on The Walk, many of these were not yet open, many are under construction and are opening in September 2014. After our walk we went out for dinner at Frankie's which is Frankie Dettori's restaurant and it has such good food. They were so welcoming and made sure we had a really lovely time.  

Barcelona 2014 | Park Guell and Sunshine

On the third day of our holiday we got up early and headed to Park Guell. This was one of my favourite places we went to over the holiday! It was so lovely. On the way we stopped for pastries for breakfast. We found that food at the hotel was expensive so it was nice to be able to get some breakfast cheap locally (the massive croissants were 1 euro!) 

We got the metro to the Park Guell stop, and then the walk was about 20 minutes, which was all up hill, they even have escalators in the middle of the road as some parts of the hill were so steep to climb up! We walked round the top of the Park and got some amazing views, and then decided to go and buy tickets to enter the main part of the park. Using the tickets from the previous day (the museum tickets) we managed to get cheaper entry which was useful! 

Looking round the actual park was amazing, there was so much to see, I really enjoyed it, I think it is definitely something that should be seen and getting the metro there was easy enough. We went for a late lunch in town and I had the nicest vegetarian paella. 

For the rest of the afternoon we lay by the pool enjoying the last bit of the sun, that evening we headed out for tapas and tried lots of different dishes. It was an amazing (but very short) holiday and we found that we could definitely do Barcelona in a short amount of time for not too much money! Before we went we had been warned about the crime level in the city but I found as long as you were very aware, and kept hold of your bag, then it was quite easy to stay safe. There was definitely more that we could have seen, but Barcelona on a budget worked really well!

Barcelona 2014 | City Break

After finally all having finished our degrees, we decided it would be nice to have a girly city break, and seeing as we wanted to be near a beach as well we decided Barcelona would be the perfect place.

We booked a couple of weeks beforehand through Expedia, where we sorted flights (Monarch), transfer and hotel (Confortel Barcelona). The aim was to do Barcelona relatively cheaply and get to see as much of the city as possible in a short space of time, we definitely achieved this!

Leaving early in the morning meant we arrived in time for lunch, after problems with our transfer not turning up (we ended up waiting for 2 hours!) we were lucky enough to be able to check in early. The hotel was lovely and our rooms were clean and spacious. We headed out for lunch on Rambla del Poblenou which is a street full of restaurants, shops and cafes at reasonable prices, we stayed outside the main city as we wanted to be close to the beach. The rest of our first day consisted of a walk to the beach and down to the harbour, cocktails on the beach at a really nice beach bar, Chiringuitos and a picnic from the local supermarket back at our hotel. We sat on our roof top to watch the sunset.

The next day began early as we got up ready for a walk down the quiet Las Ramblas in the morning, it gets very busy just before midday so we wanted a chance to look round properly. We found the Gothic cathedral and the Gothic Quarter which was amazing, and went to the Barcelona History Museum, which was 5 Euro as we are all students. This ticket enabled us entry to many other attractions in Barcelona, so we would have been able to use this if we had been staying longer. For lunch we found an Italian restaurant which was very reasonably priced for high quality food. I would definitely recommend this restaurant as the service was great and food was so yummy.

We headed to the Sagrada Familia after lunch and rather than going inside we walked round the exterior and found a place across the lake looking straight at the Cathedral which was lovely. We decided upon going to the Casa Batllo and Casa Mila afterwards, however didn’t go inside either. Unfortunately the Casa Mila seemed to be having building work done as it was completely covered by a sheet! But at least we got to see it!

Up until this point we found everyone to be highly friendly and helpful, however on the metro home we experienced our first (and only) look at the pick-pocketing we had been warned about. Although it was quite scary, everyone on the Metro ensured the pick-pocketer didn’t escape with the bag that she had taken which was quite reassuring.

We had a picnic dinner on the beach and spent the rest of the evening on the beach followed by at a beach bar with Sangria.

Exciting News!

I am very late with this news, but about a month ago I found out that I had got a place on the Disney College Program and I am so excited! 

It means spending two months in Florida working for Disney, I am a character attendant so my role is looking after the characters which I am really looking forward to. 

I applied back in August and since then have had two interviews, it feels like it has been a long wait but it has all been very straight forward. Loads to do before I go to America, and I feel I may need another spending ban before then as I need to save up lots of money for Florida, I am just very excited and cannot wait to go. I leave on June 10th, so 6 months and counting!

Also... Recently in Primark they were selling Disney tops for £3 reduced from £8, so I had to get this Mickey Mouse one... 

Imagine Day Spa

I had never been to a spa before for a full day before, the only time I've been in the past was Runnymede spa for a teen facial ages 16 where I didn't get to use any other facilities, so when a deal came up on Groupon, my Mum and I decided it would be lovely to book a day together for her birthday.

The spa in the deal was the Imagine Spa at the Hilton Heathrow Airport Hotel. It is a '5 star luxury day spa' as quoted on the website and I found that it definitely lived up to this.

We had a treatment booked in the Serial Mud Chamber, but we were able to use the facilities alongside this. There were many different facilities to choose from and they were all located around a central hydrotherapy pool. The facilities included a mineral grotto, which wasn't very warm but had special minerals in which were suggested to relieve headaches and colds, a sauna, which was eucalyptus scented and a steam room which was chamomile scented. This area was much smaller than I had imagined from reading the website, and at times there were lots of people around and not enough seats, but it was highly relaxing and there were many things to choose from.

Upstairs was mainly a chill out and relaxation area, and this was also the place in which we had our initial consultation and our lunch (croissants with brie, ham and tomato chutney - amazing!). Up here you could also order herbal teas and iced water at no extra charge. 

The treatment itself was really relaxing. We had to cover ourselves in mud, and then sit through a series of steam, mist and rain to help the mud soak into our skin and to really relax us. I found the experience highly relaxing and it definitely has made a difference to both my Mum's and my skin. My skin is so soft now, and the feeling has lasted a long time so far!

I would definitely recommend this Spa! With nothing to compare it to, I feel that it was a lovely experience. My Mum suggested that it wasn't as relaxing as other spas she has been to because it is quite busy, but neither of us thought this business affected us, as we were together it was nice to have other people around. Yet if you were going on your own, maybe you would prefer to be somewhere a little quieter. It was a lovely experience, and I definitely would go back!

Has anyone else got any good recommendations for spas in the UK? I am desperate to try out some more now! (If I can find good deals...) 
If you are interested in the spa, follow this link.

Virginia, USA 2012

All my blogging seems to be so late as I got back from my holiday over a month ago, but as I said I would be doing this post, I didn't want to forget about it!

Lots of shopping bags! (Not all mine...)

I have been to the USA a few times before and often stay in Virginia as I have family there, and this time was extra special as it was my cousin's wedding. We had such a great holiday and the wedding made it even more special. 

The beautiful Russian Orthodox Church

Edible Confetti! So pretty. 

I went will all my family and we stayed at a hotel called Hyatt House. It was absolutely lovely, with really nice staff and such nice facilities. There was a pool and a gym, and there was also a dining area which provided complementary breakfast and dinner which was a bonus!

Comfiest bed ever...

The weather was great whilst we were out there which was really lucky as although it is usually hot it can get very stormy sometimes. As well as staying in Virginia, we also spent a little time in West Virginia which involved lots of barbeques, enjoying the sun and general relaxing out of the city. Whilst in Virginia, aside from the wedding which was just beautiful and such a great day, we managed to fit in lots of shopping, lots of sitting by the pool and a little sightseeing in DC. We had an open top bus ride which was great and highly recommended, and we also went to a few museums, including the Holocaust museum and the International Spy Museum. I thought both of these were really good.

West Virginia sunset

Swimming pool in WV on the side of a hill!

Overall we had a really lovely holiday and I can't wait to go back to America as soon as I can. I just love everything about being in America!

Washington D.C.

Sorry this is such a late post! Hope you enjoy the pictures,

USA Buys Part 2

This is the second part of my buys from America, most items were bought from Tysons Corner, but the Elf items were bought from target. 

• Abercrombie Stripy Top $10.14
• Hollister Burgundy Jeans $35
• Elf Makeup Brush $3
• Accessorize Heart Necklace $3.10

I couldn't believe how cheap all the elf makeup was! I usually order it on the internet when I'm in the UK, and had never seen it being sold in a store before, so I purchased a few bits really cheaply.

• Daily Brush Cleaner $3
• Blusher $3
• Eyebrow Kit $3
• Zit Zapper $1

I will try and do reviews of these products as soon as I have had the chance to properly try them out. 

On my last day of shopping I decided to purchase a few last items, including doubling up on flip flops and shorts.

• Abercrombie Long Sleeve Top $17.15
• Hollister Jumper $12
• Flip flops $7.75
• Shorts $9.75

So overall I am very happy with my buys! I'm glad I managed to buy so much for so cheap!

But now the spending ban in definitely in place to stop myself spending any more money!