My last trip of 2018 was beautiful Bruges in Belgium. The capital of West Flanders is known for its cobbled streets, medieval looking buildings and colourful gingerbread market plaza. Even though we had booked a two night stay in Brussels, we knew we couldn't take a trip to Belgium and not pay a visit to Bruges so we booked a return day ticket and that was enough to take in its beauty, eat waffles and take a couple of pretty snaps for the 'gram. If you're looking at visiting Bruges in the new year, here are my tips on what to do, where to eat and where to stay in Bruges, Belgium. 

A DAY IN BRUGES

Breakfast | Li or Lait 

Li or Lait is a cute little coffee shop with an extensive hot drink menu and a cute interior. They also sell bagels and other quick bites to eat so makes it a perfect location for breakfast or brunch. I wanted to make sure I had space for the waffle and chocolates to follow in the afternoon so I only opted for a vanilla latte, whilst my mum had the 'croque' bagel with ham and mozzarella. 

If you want to take a break from history and cultural museums, and fancy an interactive (with snacks) experience instead then Frietmuseum and Choco-Story are a great way to start your day. I mean the main reason we visited was because of the free samples, but we did learn about the history of both in Belgium and had a demo on making chocolate praline truffles. There were also spots around the museum that let you take an unlimited amount of milk, white and dark chocolate buttons, so that was cool. 

A fun fact about 'french fries' was that in fact, they're not french at all but came from Belgium.  Apparently they were served in the War and since French was the language associated with Belgium, the Americans took this back to the US and dubbed them 'French fries' - although the french beg to differ and have their own versions of the origin of chips.

Lunch | Le Panier D'OR

Seeing as we wanted to try some traditional flemish hearty food (and not just sweet treats) we searched for somewhere that did 'traditional flemish beef stew' and after a quick comparison of the few restaurants in the market square on Trip Advisor, we decided on Le Panier D'Or. I ate that whilst my mum opted for some mussels and we were both left satisfied (there was also free Wi-Fi available so you can update your social media followers on your morning shenanigans).

PM | Go and see the best of Bruges

I have a lot of friends (and myself included) who are always on the move, and during this years Secret Santa one of my friends noted in her wish list 'nothing I can't take with me to Australia next year please!' so I thought I'd write this handy gift guide of presents that are actually useful to people who travel often, or for anyone who ever gets on a plane really. Whether you're looking to splurge on a big gift for a family member, or something to add to a stocking or Secret Santa gift - there's something for everyones budget in this travel gift guide. 

1. How popular you are on the internet. 

2. How big your 'assets' are.

Nowadays it seems the only acceptable place to store fat in your body is on your boobs or your butt and sadly for most of us, we're not human barbie dolls and these proportions are very hard to achieve naturally. Yes, you can do 50 squats daily and grow that peachy bum you always wanted but sadly you can't grow your boobs with the help of some 5 minute workout. It's almost like if you don't have either of these you're 'less of a woman' or so society makes it out to be. I'm the first to admit I'd like my peaches to grow into melons so they'd be more in proportion with the rest of my figure, but there are days where I'm thankful for what I was given when I'm running up a hill braless or when I can wear a crop top without fearing I'm going to give an impromptu peep show. You just gotta work what you got girls. 

3. Hiding your 'unflattering' body parts.

Just the other day I spotted a magazine with Scarlett Johansson gracing the cover, beautiful as always followed with a picture of her backside circled to point out the 'horror' of her cellulite. I mean for me it was a relief - even goddesses like Scarlett Johansson have cellulite. It's something we should learn to embrace instead of cringing every time we have to flash our bumps, scars and lines to the world - after all 80% of us have one or the other and most of the time you simply can't prevent it. There's also no need to tear down other women for having the confidence to not cover themselves in 30 degree weather and showcase their 'insecurities'. Models like Iskra Lawrence and Charli Howard have been great on social media for promoting body positivity and unfiltered photos.

4.  Feeling guilty for changing things you're unhappy with. 

5. What you spend your money on. 

I know I've made a lot of jokes about people buying GG belts on here - but if somebody wanted to gift me one you can bet I'd be flashing it about on my first night out. It's just not something I'd choose to spend my money on, but if designer things are your vice then that's fine. Some people might think me spending 30% of my monthly wages on travelling is silly, but it's what makes me happy and what I enjoy. Maybe I could do with spending less money on buying rounds of shots on Friday nights though.

6. How much/little make-up you're wearing.

You can never win when it comes down to this - leave the house without wearing make-up and people comment on how tired you look and ask if you're feeling a bit under the weather, but if you slap on your favourite red lipstick before 9pm people are making comments on how you look like you're going to a gala dinner with Leo DiCaprio. At the end of the day, who bloody cares - if you love spending 2 hours doing your make-up because it's fun then do it, if you want to wear make-up to the gym (just please take off your foundation) then go ahead, if you prefer the au natural look then god bless your flawless skin. Incase any of my male readers are reading this, IT AIN'T FOR YOU. 

7. Your dating habits. 

Whether you prefer short flings, feel the need to always be in a relationship, or just don't fancy one. Why shouldn't we embrace being single and enjoy meeting new people? and on the other hand, there's nothing wrong with being comfortable being by yourself and rather be spending your nights tucked up in bed watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S with a tub of Morrison's vanilla raspberry ripple ice-cream. Too many people have the idea that finding true love is the only way you'll be happy, but then if you throw yourself out there and have a few fun but crazy nights, you're suddenly judged for being 'too wild'. As long as you're being safe and you're keeping your heart guarded, just do you boo boo. I f you want to hear more of my thoughts on this have a look at my 'this is how we date now' blog post. 

If you're a regular on my blog, you may have spotted my post the other week about my brunch experience at The Barbary. After a lovely afternoon there, I was very happy to see an email land in my inbox inviting me back to try their dinner menu this time. Straight away I went on their website to check out what was on offer (anyone else look at the menu and decide what they're eating before they've even got to the restaurant?), and I'd already decided in my head on my starter, main and dessert before I'd even confirmed my visit. This time round I decided to take my mum with me and I'm glad I got to treat her to something. For those of you who are yet to visit The Barbary, their menu combines british, mediterranean and north african cuisines to bring us an explosion of flavour, spices and variety. So whether you're looking for some classics like fish and chips or a traditional vegetable Tagine there is something to cater for all palates. 

Whilst getting ready for this my mum asked me what I was wearing and after I told her my outfit choice she was all like 'you're wearing jeans to the Sunborn?!' - so I think she thought we were attending the Captain's dinner on a Cruise ship. The Barbary is a fancy restaurant but it's not pretentious either - it's somewhere you can go to in jeans and a nice top for a catch up with a friend, or dress elegantly for an anniversary dinner. The views in the evening are stunning and it does feel like you're having a fine dining experience on a modern day Titanic.

Once me and mum sat down we contemplated whether to order wine or not - but seeing as it was a Sunday we thought we'd keep it simple with a bottle of H2O. We were presented with the menus, and even though I mentioned I had previously decided on what I was going to order I found myself taking another look through because suddenly I realised there was a lot that looked good and I didn't know what I was in the mood for.

For starter - we shared a mezze plate of smoked aubergine with labneh, dukkah, walnuts pomegranate and cherry tomatoes (£6), and thinking back we should have probably asked for one each because half was not enough, it was delicious. I'm a big fan of pomegranate so anything that has that drizzled on is a yes from me. The flavours were great and the aubergine was cooked to a good level - not too soft or too hard. Originally I was going to opt for the hummus but my mum made a good point that I eat hummus at home on a daily basis and so I should be more adventurous in my choices.


For mains - my mum probably contemplated 3 other dishes before she finally went for the meat surf and turf (£28). I was originally thinking on the cinnamon spiced lamb shank but thinking ahead of dessert - I thought I better choose something lighter. So I went with the jospered sea bass which was accompanied with okra, pomegranate and saffron sour cream (£24). I really enjoyed my meal and the only thing I would have done differently is gone easier on the saffron sour cream as it's quite a strong 'sauce' and it overpowered the fish a bit. Again the pomegranate was a nice touch.


Finally for dessert, we decided to pick one each and then share. I suggested this because I was stuck between the raspberry cheesecake and the hazelnut pannacotta and so I hinted to my mum that these both sounded nice and luckily she agreed. As you can see at the top of this post, the cheesecake did not come in it's traditional layered form - but instead in little cute 'blobs' with crispy quinoa which was a nice touch. It was so thick and creamy that I could have probably have gone for seconds.

I really am a fan of this restaurant and think for a special evening it really is one of the nicest places in Gibraltar. From the service to the views, to the location and quality of the food - it is really an all round great dining experience.

I've had quite a few city breaks this year, which means I've got quite good at condensing my trips and making sure we see as much as possible in a short space of time. Last year I treated my mum to a trip to Copenhagen, and this year after searching on SkyScanner and seeing where we could fly direct to through Malaga Airport, we decided on Brussels (and Bruges but I'll save all that for the next post). Brussels, also known as the European capital of culture (and EU politics) had a lot to offer in terms of food, drink and activities. Even though we didn't have a lot of time to explore, we still managed to pack quite a lot in and get a taste of Brussels vibrant culture. Here's my guide to a day in Brussels, Belgium.

10AM | GO SEE THE SIGHTS.

The first thing you usually do when visiting a new city, is Google 'things to see is Brussels' which is exactly what I did. After reading a couple of Pinterest posts I compiled a list of the things that were worth seeing and that you could walk to (apart from the Atomium, you'll have to take the metro for that). 

• Grand Palace 
• Town Hall
• Manneken Pis - be prepared to be dissappointed. 
• Jeanneke Pis
• The Monnaie Opera
• St Nicolas' Church
• The Royal Square
• Mont des Arts - especially beautiful at sunset or in the evening. 
• Atomium
• Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert - here you will find the chocolate shop Mary's where you can try the new fourth type of chocolate - Ruby.
• St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral - If you ask a local, they'll tell you this is the church of St. Gudula not St. Michael, and her 'miracle' was lighting a candle that had gone out in the forest.              

12:30PM | LUNCH AT LES FILLES

1:30PM | MINI-EUROPE AND ATOMIUM.

So I had a mind blank on what the proper name for the Atomium was so had to google 'ball monument in Brussels' and voila. It's not a very exciting thing to see but it is right next Mini-Europe* which on the other hand, is very cute and interesting for all ages. The attraction is just as it suggests, it allows you to get a glimpse of most of Europe in just a couple of hours - thanks to their 350 models representing different landmarks and sites from around the continent.

We got a lovely day for it as the sun was shining, which meant we could get all those great pics for the gram. We saw models from over 90 countries - there were the expected ones such as the Eiffel Tower and The Eiffel Tower but I was impressed to see some other places that I'd visited on my travels before. Such as the Szechenyi thermal baths in Budapest and the Blue Church in Bratislava that I saw IRL just a couple of weeks ago! Sadly the Rock of Gibraltar hasn't quite made it to Mini-Europe, but here's hoping we will see it there someday!

There were guides available to give you information and details about each monument and tell you stories about each one - so if you've ever wanted to find out the origin of 'Big Ben', why the Venetian gondolas are black, or why there are more saunas than cars in Finland then this is the place to do it all in under 2 hours.

We were kindly given complimentary access to the park for the purpose of this post, but standard prices for the park are 15.50 euros for adults, and 11.50 euros for children. 

3PM | WAFFLE AND CHOCOLATE TIME. 

4PM | FREE WALKING TOUR OF BRUSSELS 

If you're short on time then I always recommend free walking tours because they're a good way to see most of the points of interest and find out what's so interesting about them. We got a lovely guide called Adalin and you could really tell he was passionate about his country (and beer). It always helps when they're actually from the country and not someone who moved there two years ago, as they really give you an insight into the culture and their own personal stories and views. I can confidently say I've retained 80% of the information and stories he shared with us - and I even found myself Googling 'Queen Fabiola' to see pictures of her with an apple on her head at a ceremony, which she did to mock the guy who was sending her death threats.

I also managed to drink a whole pint of beer for the first time in my life, because after being the only person to raise my hand in a group of 30 when asked 'who here doesn't like beer', our guide promised me that there was a Belgian beer that I was going to enjoy - kriek! Simply because it was made from sour morello cherries, and I love my cherries.



The walking tour takes place at 10am, 11am and 4pm from the Grand Place/Grote Markt everyday. I suggest you get there a bit earlier simply so you can take in the beauty of the square - it's probably one of the most beautiful ones I've seen.

7:30PM | DINNER AT MANHATTN'S BURGERS

If you're staying in the centre of Brussels then this place might be a bit of a walk away (30 mins) or a couple of stops away to Louisa Metro station. Since this happened to be where our hotel was it was only a 10 minute walk away from us. These burgers were gooooood. The place is very New York burger joint-esque with its yellow bulbs and of course each burger is named after a place or thing associated to New York. I went for the Rockefeller burger which was your standard cheese, bacon , BBQ sauce and caramelised onions one and I was very content with it. They also served a 'special' sauce with the fries which I think was a blend of mayo, mustard and something slightly spicy. 

Once your tummy is nice and full I think the only thing you're going to want to do is go and flop in your nice hotel bed and fall asleep within 2 minutes. Now for some practical information. 

WHERE TO STAY IN BRUSSELS

GETTING AROUND IN BRUSSELS 

This post is long overdue, but since I wasn't blogging back when I was 16 the only way I could share my story and experience was through Facebook status updates. The other day I bumped into a friend  who told me that their partner was having the same surgery that I had, and I advised that if they had any questions to just drop me a message. The great thing about having a blog is that it allows me to share my experiences with people and be a point of reference for things other people may also be curious about - such as laser hair removal or laser eye surgery. I know whenever I'm getting anything done the first thing I do is either get in touch with people who have gone through the same thing or find people's stories on Google. Which is why I'd like to share my experience today on my corrective jaw surgery that I had in 2010. 

What is corrective jaw surgery?

Just as it sounds, corrective jaw surgery corrects the placement of the jaw - whether you have an open-bite, under-bite (your lower jaw sits further forward than your top), or an over-bite where your top jaw sits too far forward. 

What procedure did I have done and where? 

I had my surgery conducted at Morriston Hospital in Swansea, Wales - and I spent around 5 days there (it would have been less, but I also got hit with appendicitis). My surgeon was great and he is quite known for performing cleft lip operations and for reconstructive surgery. 

My procedure was a bit complicated. The whole issue probably started when I was 9 years old because I was still sucking my thumb whenever I'd be watching tv, reading in bed, or doing anything at home really. The problem with my thumb being in my mouth all the time, was that my top teeth weren't able to grow down to their natural place - so I was left with an open bite that braces couldn't fix. I tried braces anyway, which after 2 years did all they could do, but when I bit down I was still left with gap at the front that could fit a sidewards olive through. 

After consulting with my dentist, he advised me that surgery would only fix my bite for now, but in a couple of years there would be a chance of my teeth moving again.  So in the end I had to make my problem worse for it to get better. I had to get metal rings inserted between all my bottom back teeth to 'move' my teeth and jaw forward, and elastics attached to my braces to change my bite. So essentially, they created an underbite over the span of a couple of months so that with surgery they could permanently fix it and the open bite together in one go.  

The operation. 

In the end I had my bottom jaw moved 8mm back and my top jaw moved 3mm forward, my chin bone was also made more prominent, and in moving the position of the jaw I found that the profile of my nose also changed as it was tilted slightly more upwards. I was in surgery for around 6 hours, initially it was meant to be 4, but things still went smoothly. I had two metal screws inserted on the side of my jaw (near my ears) and a small metal plate on my chin bone - strangely enough none of these beep when I'm going through airport security. 

I was told from other people that I'd be on a liquid diet for 2 weeks after, so beforehand I literally pigged out on everything I liked - only to be told by the doctor that I could go back to eating regular foods within 2 days - oops. Although that wasn't really the case, it took me two months before I could open wide enough and bite down on a KitKat Crunchie. I spent the first week or so eating soft foods like jacket potato with tuna, soup etc. and nothing that required a hard bite (or a wide mouth). 

The months following after. 

These weren't easy - I opened up on another post about how I went through a time of depression. I was getting bullied at school because my face was swollen up like a pufferfish for months, and I didn't want to leave the house or go out at night because I felt like people were staring at me. It took around a year for all of my swelling to disappear, and once that dark storm had passed things only went up hill from there. 

I started gaining my confidence back, had started a-levels again and was ready for a new start. I got my braces removed in the summer and soon after booked myself for laser teeth whitening to complete my new smile (might as well after everything else I had been through!). I can't stress enough though if you are thinking of having your teeth whitened, to make sure you do it through a dental clinic as with at-home kits you run the risk of damaging your teeth or increasing their sensitivity. I know someone who bought a kit from eBay and they got a gum infection and their teeth ended up turning more yellow and had constant bleeding gums. I had my teeth whitening done in a clinic and it means you know you're getting the correct treatment and that it's safe, causing minimum damage to your teeth.

I think after everything I went through with my mouth this definitely helped boost my confidence, and for a period of time I just wanted to flash my teeth as much as possible. The effects you get straight after laser teeth whitening won't stay like that forever, but if you follow a good dental hygiene routine then they should at least stay nice and white. 

8 years later - do I have any regrets?