Things to do and see in Northern Cyprus part 1

Ok, so bit of a gear change here. Because my holiday outfit posts were so lack lustre (my bad!) I've decided to do my own sort of tour guide. Mostly for myself, when I want to look back and reminisce, but also because I have a hell of a lot of photos I want to do something with! There's a bit of a general mix in here, from both last year and and earlier this month, as we tried to do everything this year that we didn't last year! There's also varying quality in images due to some being taken from on my film camera, some by iPhone and the rest on a DSLR... So, here goes!

Kyrenia Castle

The heart and soul of Kyrenia harbour, this castle is more of a museum nowadays and you can explore the old dungeons - which, have some really bizarre torture methods displayed - the burial site of Neanderthal people and the oldest ship wreck ever discovered. It's been rebuilt a good few times throughout the years and therefore is probably the least ruined of them all. I spent the morning walking round the walls pretending to be in Game of Thrones. Which I do in every castle. Admit it, I'm not the only one...

Vouni Palace

If you fancy scaring yourself half to death on the steepest winding hill in the WHOLE OF CYPRUS, this is the one for you. Honestly. Sheer drops on one side, and nothing but a dirt track with lots of blind corners. Pair that with the insane driving habits of Cypriot's and you probably want to turn around already. However! Once you get past the near-nervous breakdown half way up, you find the most spectacular viewing point. The ruins are pretty good, but there isn't really much else there. That view though. So worth it. It's like real life Middle Earth.

Bellapais Abbey

I could go here a hundred times and still find it fascinating! It's relatively small but in amazing condition, and the restaurants and cafés overlooking Kyrenia are something else. I first visited Bellapais with my family when I was about 9 years old. The past couple of years my boyfriend and myself have made it one of our favourite spots, especially the café underneath the tree of idleness! It is exactly the same as I remember it when I was 9 and the little old man who owns it still brings round packets of biscuits to your table!

The Ancient City of Salamis

We could have spent a lot longer here, it's huage! Full of beheaded statues and pillars galore, the site stretches back to the 11th century - so considering the quality of the ruins - especially the amphitheatre! - it's really very impressive. Though maybe that's just my love for ruins and old places speaking...

St. Hilarion Castle

I'd suggest this one earlier in the year, when the weather isn't quite so hot. We decided to visit during July, and 40 degree heat - this seemed like a great idea. I'd forgotten how intense the climb to the top was. 732 metres above sea level, which you can check out via the world's most rickety wooden platform hanging out over, well, nothing. Sheer fear. The views from the top are incredible though, and despite shaky legs all the way back down, it was definitely one of the highlights of the holiday!

So, whether you read any of that, or just skimmed through the photos, I hope you enjoyed it. As you can probably tell, I'm a bit of a medieval history freak, and get way too overexcited about castles and old walls and shit like that. The next instalment will probably contain more of the same... With a few donkeys and turtles thrown in!

Travel : Brussels & Bruges

I feel like I'm on Myspace again, documenting my holidays. This is just a few of the maaany photos from Brussels and Bruges just my boyfriend and myself visited the weekend before Christmas, and so they mainly consist of Christmas markets, Christmas trees and an awfully strange Christmas nativity parade (red jacketed marching band). Belgium is such a beautiful country and I'm so happy we managed to squeeze in travelling to Bruges for the day, even if it was full of tourists (ourselves included)... 

My favourite places are as follows... The botanical gardens which featured in my first outfit post, with incredible turquoise statues lining the pathways. 

A little gem of a record shop that stocked everything you could ever imagine. We picked up a 'Petite Surprise' package of 7" lps for 2 euros - which was a little Christmas present to ourselves! 

Grand Place, the obvious tourist destination. Each evening, every half hour or so, orchestral music starts booming around the square while a spectacular light show lights up each magnificently grand building. Seriously breath taking. 

St Catherine's Christmas markets are also a must see - there's so many stalls to see and so much gluhwein to drink!

Four days was pretty much the perfect length of time for a 'weekend break', enough time to see all the sights, find a favourite café and actually have a break from real life! I'm off to Egypt tomorrow for an all-inclusive week of writing my dissertation and lying by the pool. I'm excited to escape the freezing English climate, although it means I need to try and remember how to dress for hot weather... 

Croatia Style File #4

Another day at the beach, another beachy outfit. I'm obsessed with crochet at the moment and had been searching everywhere for something white and pretty, when I remembered that I'd picked up this Zara number in the sale a couple of years ago! I love finding things in my wardrobe that have been forgotten about, and restyling them with a fresh mind. 

I think it's my summer staple, and I can't wait to wear it out for drinks with big gold hoops and a black slip dress underneath! 

Crochet Dress - Zara

Birkenstocks - Office

Beach Bag - GAP

Sunglasses - Urban Outfitters

Croatia Style File #3

We drove down to Zuljana on our third day for a day at the beach. Most beaches in Croatia are pebbled so we thought we'd just stay for an hour or two! We discovered a tiny cove, off the beaten track, up a lot of very steep steps and through some bushes and ended up staying there a good few hours! 

The thing I love most about travelling is discovering parts of the world and different countries you'd never normally see.

I wore this out for our first proper 'meal out', mostly to disguise the three hundred mosquito bites on my legs! Joking aside, this is probably the most un-me thing I've ever worn, but I'm completely in love with my Waiste vintage skirt! 

I used to wear these type of skirts all the time when I was about 7 or 8, so this is a total throw back. The loose linen fabric and tie waist makes it the perfect holiday piece, and paired with my fringed suede boots I felt like I was off to the wild-west!

Crop top - Topshop

Skirt - Waiste Vintage

Boots - Vagabond