Neighbourhood Guide : Amsterdam

Three days in Amsterdam is the perfect amount of time to discover the city - a weekend break just a (very) short flight from London, and there's so much to see and do, as this guide proves! We walked for hours, stumbling across boutique shops, cosy cafes and unusual restaurants, as well as fitting in the odd tourist hotspot! Amsterdam will probably always have a certain reputation, but as we discovered, there's so much more to the city than pub crawls and the Red Light District! 

If you're heading to Amsterdam any time soon, make sure to note down a few of these places, and don't forget to pack some comfy shoes, as it's possible to explore the whole city by foot! 

Jumper by Superdry   |   Bag by Topshop   |   Jeans by New Look   |   Sunglasses by ASOS

Coffee & Coconuts 

A recommendation from a friend who lives in Amsterdam, Coffee & Coconuts is set in a 20s cinema, and has a warm, buzzing atmosphere that you'd expect to find in a cool Shoreditch hangout. We stopped by for breakfast, both opting for the full CT breakfast including their famous coconut pancakes. Be sure to try their juices, and go for one of the farmhouse tables at the back if you plan on 'gramming your food!

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The Lobby

So, I failed slightly on the photography front due to the darkness in the restaurant, but The Lobby was our favourite restaurant by far out of the three that we tried in the evenings, we both chose from the set menu, three courses for under �35, including experimental dishes such as Spinach Panacotta and Banana creme br�l�e. Highly recommend! 

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Bakers & Roasters

Another breakfast spot which came highly recommended from an Amsterdam local, Bakers & Roasters is a New Zealand style cafe in the very cool De Pijp neighbourhood in Amsterdam. With an open kitchen serving up all of your favourite classic brunch dishes, B&R is also known amongst locals as the best coffee in 'The Dam. If coffee isn't your thing then their juices are also incredible, and I also need to try their old school milkshakes!

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Amsterdam Cheese Company

There's a cheese shop around every corner you turn, and very little between them. Charlie and I particularly loved the Amsterdam Cheese Company though as everything was beautifully presented, and there were even little samples of cheese and preservatives to nibble on to help you decide on your favourites!

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We Are Labels

Charlie and I both loved We Are Labels! An edgy cool Anthropologie meets The Kooples type store, with a few locations across the city. We walked away with some autumnal jumpers and shirts for Charlie, as well as some Aesop-esque hand wash and body lotions! 

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The Heineken Experience

Ok, so Charlie had to persuade me to come along to the Heineken Experience with him, but in the end, I am SO glad I did! I wasn't expecting such an interactive and beautiful (have you seen all of the copper?!) experience - I'd highly recommend a visit, even if beer isn't your thing. 

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I'd love to know if you have any personal recommendations or places to try in Amsterdam! Let me know in the comments so that this post can be as useful as possible to other readers heading to the city!

Thank you to icelolly.com for the flights & hotel!

xoxo

One Day in Verona

As the setting for Shakespeare's, or possibly the world's most famous love story, there was no doubt in my mind that I'd fall in love with the Roman city of Verona. Also now home to one of the world's greatest Opera Venues, the Roman Area as well as the 'homes' of Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague, there was much to see and do, but with only 24 hours in the city we had to choose carefully!

Trousers by Oasis   |   Top by Dorothy Perkins   |   Bag by Rebecca Minkoff   |   Sunglasses by Topshop

After checking into our hotel; the perfectly positioned Residenza Borsari, we took a short stroll to the infamous Juliet balcony. Romeo and Juliet were of course fictional characters, so I don't really know how this balcony came to be 'the' Juliet balcony, but flocks of romantic tourists flooded the courtyard of the 14th Century house, adding their love letters and Post-its to the walls of the courtyard gateway. It's free to pop in, so worth a look, but a tad underwhelming and a certain tourist trap - so carry on searching for your Romeo elsewhere!

Roman ruins are dotted about the city, so make sure you wear comfy shoes (I clearly didn't) as it's much nicer to explore the city by foot, every street has a story!

For lunch, we stopped off at Peperino close to the Piazza Bra. The Piazza is the largest in Verona, possible even in the whole of Italy and is lined with numerous notable buildings as well as the Verona Arena; originally built as an amphitheatre nearly 2000 years ago! The Arena is now a world-famous music venue, with operatic and contemporary music performances. There are many cafes and restaurants in the Piazza, but we explored the quieter streets and stumbled across Peperino where we enjoyed two dishes of the day (a saffron and prosciutto risotto and an aubergine pasta bake) both scrumptious and costing us less than a fiver each! Plus, those tiles, that marble!

After lunch, we took a 25 minute stroll across the river from the historic centre, and ended up at the Giardino Giusti. As it's away from most of the tourist destinations, it was pleasantly quiet, mum and I even had a short nap in the sunshine to recover from our early start! The sculpted gardens feature Renaissance landscaping, a blend of manicured and natural gardens (oh, and baby turtles in the fountain - see my Vlog!), and according to local legend, lovers who manage to find each other in the garden's labyrinth are destined to stay together! Cute! While we were there we saw several couples both old and young hurtling through the maze, desperate to seal their fate together!

We found a Pizzeria close to our hotel for dinner before heading back to the Residenza Borsari, the hotel has just 3 deluxe rooms and is perfectly located for anyone wanting to explore the historic city. 

If you'd like to see more about what we got up to in Verona, be sure to head over to my YouTube channel and watch my Vlog of the day!

xoxo

Things To Do In London

This mini guide to London doesn't include any museums, landmarks or sightseeing hot spots. Well, not the Hot Spots that you'd read about in Lonely Planet guides anyway. This, is my personal list of things that I absolutely love to do in the fabulous city that I'm proud to call my home. All of them are amusing, alternative and suit a wide variety of tastes and budgets, so if you want to discover the city in a slightly different way, here are my favourite Things To Do in London!

1. Take a Rebound fitness class.

Never have I ever enjoyed exercise quite so much as I did at a recent Rebound fitness class! Available across the capital, they are a lively, high-intensity class which you complete on a mini trampoline! I visited this one in West London, where we shimmied and shaked to tunes from Pharrel Williams and the Spice Girls while burning off calories.

2. Be a Spa Junkie.... In Harrods

With brands from Mac and YSL to Chanel and Valentino all under one roof, it might seem odd that it's the Spa in Harrods that makes my list! But yep, hidden away on the fifth floor is the most opulent Hammam (Turkish bath) spa experience. In a marble den, you de-robe and relax in the warm haven, before being taken to an individual marbled area where the body is scrubbed and massaged using black-olive soap, a chess glove and finally warm water from the baths. As it's Harrods, you can imagine that every part of the spa experience is utterly luxurious, from the box of essentials that you'll find in your locker, to the heavenly products that are yours to use in the showers afterwards. I sauntered out of the Hammam feeling not only cleansed and relieved of tension, but also revitalised and energised - just how one wants to feel before a shopping spree!

3. Afternoon Tea of course! 

I have devoted many, many blog posts to Afternoon Tea places in London, and it's absolutely one of my favourite things to do in the city. Here are my favourites and some of the most unusual teas in London.

4. Visit a Market

As well as Afternoon Tea's, something we do pretty well here in London is a good Market! Whether you head for the foodie delights of Borough Markets, or brave the crowd on Portobello Road, there seems to be a Market for all of your wants and needs. 

5. Make the most of Public Transport!

With some Bus routes taking you past the big sights such as Big Ben, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham palace, sometimes it's nice to just climb on board and take in the sights of the city from the top deck of the 137 bus! The Thames Clipper is a fantastic way to see the city from the River, and why not take it all the way down to Greenwich and stop for a picnic on the river bank!

6. The View from The Shard

And there are definitely ways of avoiding the crowds (and the cost!) of going up the official way, such as Afternoon Tea at Gong - on the 52nd floor of the shard, or even better, Yoga at The Shard which allows you to go right to the very top and enjoy a Yoga class before the crowds arrive!

7. Ride a Borris Bike

Or Santander bike as they should now be known! Definitely the funnies way to view the whole of London town, there are over 10,000 bikes across 700 stations in the city. I love to while away the hours around Chelsea and Kensington or across Hyde Park for the most scenic of rides!

8. Have a coffee in a public restroom.

It seems to be a growing trend to create beverage hot-spots in disused public toilets, so if you fancy something a little bit different then head to The Attendant near Tottenham Court Road or WC (Wine & Charcuterie) in Clapham for a very different dining experience!

What are your favourite things to do in London?

xoxo