A REVIEW OF BERLOOK SWIMWEAR, MY SUMMER PICKS.
Sunday 21 April 2024
The warmer weather usually means new summer clothes and new bikinis, and I loved the ones that Berlook had to offer. If you're looking for swimwear that is sustainably made, comfortable and flattering, then keep reading to see my summer picks and my honest review on them.
The first bikini I chose was this white ruched styled one, which comes with a nude lining inside meaning that it's not see-through and you can confidently swim in it. This bikini is made from recycled nylon and it's super comfy. This bikini looks super timeless and luckily I had a bit of a tan from my Colombia trip to compliment the bikini!
The back of the bikini comes with two straps that you can't adjust, so make sure you read the size guide properly. You can find the links to the white bikini below:
White ruched floral cutout bikini top (M)
White o-ring high cut bikini bottom (M)
If you're looking for some timeless, sustainably made swimwear then I 100% recommend Berlook. The bikinis are comfortable, made from good material that doesn't go see-through when wet and the styles come in so many different colours. If you are interested, you can get a 20% discount on your order using my code 'gianas20'
5 DIFFERENT HONEYMOON DESTINATIONS FOR 2024.
Monday 11 March 2024
I’m at the age now where a lot of my friends and people around me are getting engaged, and one of the most exciting things that comes with that (apart from marrying the love of your life) is the honeymoon! Most people associate honeymoons with the Caribbean or overwater bungalows, but sometimes people don’t have either the budget or time for that or just fancy a different type of holiday. Here are 5 honeymoon destinations for 2024 for any type of couple.
1. Albania
If you want a bit more adventure from your trip, you can hire a car and travel around the country to places like Dhermi, Permet, Berat and of course the capital Tirana. Across the country you can find activities like white-water rafting, beautiful hikes and UNESCO sites. Their national dish is ‘Tave kosi’ which is made up of lamb with rice and yoghurt.
Honeymoon hotel recommendation: Xheko Imperial Hotel & SPA
Best time to visit: April - October
Photo Credit |
2. Caribbean Cruise
Cruise holidays are great if you don't want to do a lot of the planning yourself and want to see a few places in a short space of time. For your honeymoon, I recommend going with Virgin Voyages as they offer ‘adults only’ cruises and have more activities and parties catered for older age groups. More so, you can choose to buy the all-inclusive drinks package to make the most of your trip. Just make sure you purchase this online in advance as it will be cheaper than buying it when you get onboard.
If you have children and want to bring them along on your honeymoon, then a Royal Caribbean Cruise is probably your best bet as there’s activities for everyone, and a creche you can leave your kids at for a few hours should you wish to have some alone time! Your main expense for this holiday will be flying to the US, but the cruise itself is generally cheaper than the voyages from Europe.
Cruise recommendation: Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady
Best time to visit the Caribbean: February - May
3. Seychelles
Seychelles is a group of islands off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, and is one of the more unique honeymoon destinations as it offers something exotic and its close proximity to Kenya and Tanzania means you can combine a trip to Seychelles with an African safari in the Serengeti to give you the best of both on your honeymoon.
The archipelago consists of 115 islands, 25% of which consists of private resort islands which means most resorts have their own private beaches. If you’re looking for those famous overwater beach huts, you can rest assured that you’ll definitely find them here. This type of holiday will mainly revolve around sunbathing, snorkeling, exploring the national parks and enjoying some local food such as ‘kat-kat banane’ and lots of coconut curries.
Honeymoon hotel recommendation: Hotel Coral Strand
Best time to visit: April - May, October - November
Photo Credit |
4. Costa Rica
Costa Rica is known for having the world's greatest biodiversity and micro-climates, meaning there is a lot to do and discover. It’s a place that you definitely don’t want to stay in just one place and rather explore the whole country, but even just a week is enough time to explore the best that the country has to offer. I recommend visiting La Fortuna (where you’ll find the Arenal Volcano), San Jose, Tortuguero National Park and Puerto Viejo.
On your trip here, you can try horseback riding, ATV, zip-lining, kayaking, scuba diving and so much more. Not to mention seeing some of the incredible wildlife like sloths, squirrel monkeys and toucans. When it comes to food, you’ll want to try dishes like ‘chifrijo’ (fried pork with red beans) and ‘rondon’ (seafood and coconut stew).
Honeymoon hotel recommendation: Nayara Springs Hotel
Best time to visit: December - April
5. Finland
I couldn’t finish this list without including somewhere for those who prefer the cold weather. If you want somewhere to experience the Aurora Borealis whilst sleeping in a glass-roofed igloo, then you’ll want to stay in Finnish Lapland. Here you can also experience sleigh rides, husky safaris and of course, skiing. You can also complete your honeymoon with a therapeutic hot tub session, with a beautiful backdrop of the snowy mountains.
Honeymoon hotel recommendation: Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort
Best time to visit: December
Photo Credit |
HOW TO SPEND A WEEKEND IN WARSAW, POLAND.
Thursday 8 February 2024
Warsaw is the second city I've visited in Poland, and both Warsaw and Krakow had its unique charm to me. The Polish capital is full of history, quaint buildings and good food. If you're looking to spend a weekend in Warsaw, here is my guide with things to do, where to go and what to eat.
Day 1
Breakfast | Manekin
AM | take a free talking tour
Lunch | Smashny Burger
Afternoon | vodka tasting tour
Dinner | Specjaly Regionalne
Day 2
Breakfast | Bułkę przez Bibułkę
Morning | POLIN museum & Uprising museum
Lunch | Zapiecek
Afternoon | wander around the city
Dinner | Hala Koszyki
PRACTICAL TIPS FOR YOUR TRIP TO WARSAW
- If you're arriving late into Warsaw, I recommend to pre-book your taxi using a company like Warsaw City Transfers. We got in at 1am and found that the few taxis at the airport were charging us triple of what the expected amount was and no Ubers were available. In the end we managed to find a driver to take us for 60 euros (40 minute drive to the centre).
- However when you're in the city centre, Uber is available and cheap.
- We stayed in the city centre at the Residence St Andrew Palace and we were close to all the major shops and a short walk to the Old Town. Most importantly, the rooms were nice and warm!
- Currency is zloty and you can pay by card in most places, however our taxi driver wanted cash so make sure you have some with you just incase.
5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE VISITING JAPAN IN 2024
Tuesday 7 November 2023
There's not many countries that I've visited in the last few years that I'm in a rush to go back to, but I'd love to see Japan again (mostly for the food). We spent just over a week travelling between Tokyo and Kyoto and I think we managed to see all the cities have to offer. On my next trip I'd love to also visit Osaka and try all of their famous street food. If any of these cities are on your bucket list, keep reading to find out 5 tips for travelling to Japan in 2024.
1. Research the best time to go for what you want to see.
We visited in February because it's when we kicked off our Asia trip, and it was definitely cold! We did manage to see Mount Fuji which as told by our guide, is very dependent on what the weather is like that day. You can take a day trip to Mount Fuji from Tokyo. We paid £45 which included pick up from Ueno station and drop-off (1.5 hour journey), and we visited 3 locations. We couldn't actually go to the 5th Station (entrance to the mountain) as it had been snowing and so the roads were too slippery, but we did get great views of Fuji from Kawaguchiko lake and Oshino Hakkai. To increase your chances, the best time to visit Mt Fuji is between November and February.
If you're more interested in cherry blossom season, then the best time to visit is in the spring (late March/early April). There's no shortage of cherry blossoms in Tokyo, one of the more popular places to see them is at Ueno Park. If you want to find somewhere a little less crowded, head to the English Garden in Shinjuku Gyoen. If you're in Kyoto, you'll want to see the 'weeping cherry tree' at Marayama Park.
2. Purchase a SIM or eSIM for Japan.
3. Get an IC card at the train station.
To avoid this I suggest you firstly get an IC card from the ticket machine, which is essentially like an Oyster card. You can tap this at any of the stations and means you don't have to keep buying single journey tickets. Secondly, use Google Maps! This will make getting to your destination 100 times easier as it will give you the correct platform and everything too.
4. Stay in a traditional ryokan
You could choose to stay in a chain hotel that you're familiar and comfortable with, or you could properly immerse yourself in the Japanese culture and stay in a ryokan. A ryokan differs from a hotel in that you'll usually sleep on a futon bed and the rooms will be quite minimal and the floors are usually made of 'tatami' matting. Not exclusive to ryokans as you'll see these everywhere, that Japanese toilets have a lot more functions than your regular toilets back home!
5. Be mindful of cultural differences
I hope you've found this post useful. If you have any other questions about Japan, feel free to message me on my socials or check out my travel guides below!
HOW TO SPEND 2 DAYS IN GIBRALTAR (FROM A LOCAL).
Sunday 5 November 2023
I've done a fair bit of Gibraltar based content in the past, but realised I haven't done an itinerary of what the perfect 2 day trip to Gibraltar would look like. There are a lot of tourists who come to Gibraltar for a day or on a cruise stop, so I wanted to show that Gibraltar is worth spending more than just 1 night in.
For those who have just heard of the place, Gibraltar is an overseas British Territory on the Southern tip of Europe. We border Spain, which means that because of Brexit tourists do need to have their passport stamped when crossing in and out. Whilst exploring Gibraltar, you'll notice the contrast between red telephone boxes and fish & chips, with tapas and hearing people speaking a mix of both English and Spanish. If you're looking to spend a weekend or 2 days in Gibraltar, this is the perfect itinerary.
Day 1
Breakfast
Explore the Rock of Gibraltar
Mediterranean Steps
The Skywalk
St Michael's Cave
Suspension bridge
Apes Den
If you don't feel like walking much further after exploring the rock, you can catch the Cable Car back down for a fee.
Lunch
- Vault 13 for their asian prawns, octopus and bao buns;
- My Wines for their duck nachos and lemon chicken fingers;
- Tapas by Gauchos for their steak tartare and truffled mash.
Gin Distillery tour
Main Street
Dinner
Nightlife
Photo by @viceroygib on Instagram |
Day 2
Breakfast
Escape Room
Lunch
Beach day
Lighthouse & Europa Point
Dinner
- Monique's Bistro for their duck salad and mushroom pilpil;
- The Lounge for their crispy pork belly with potato terrine;
- and Rendezvous for their steaks!
Quiz, Karaoke?
USEFUL INFO
- Our first language is English, but you'll find a lot of us also speak Spanish and there are also a lot of spanish nationals working in Gibraltar.
- We use pounds in Gibraltar, but you might find some of the notes and coins look slightly different. That's because we also circulate the Gibraltar Pound (GIP) which won't work in the UK, so make sure you get them changed. Euros also work in any shop.
- If you're feeling lazy or you've arrived late and want to order food, download the Hungry Monkey app. You can actually claim 10% off your order using my code TEAWITHGI when you checkout.
- Please don't refer to Gibraltarians as Spanish, we've fought hard to stay British! ;)
- Most hotels are quite central, Sunborn Gibraltar is on the higher price range but in the heart of Ocean Village, but the Holiday Inn is just 10 minutes away from it. If you'd rather stay in town, then Elliot's Hotel is your best bet. There are also a lot of Gibraltar AirBnBs popping up, so make sure to look their too!