T R A V E L - Hanoi Airport VATC Sleep Pod!

Hey everyone!

We've just finished our 13 day trip around Japan, and we've recently landed in Hanoi! We'll be travelling from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh over the next 30 days and of course, I will keep you up to date with what to do and what to see in this beautiful country.

We've landed shortly after midnight from our flight out of Osaka, bad news is there are no buses running to our Air Bnb for a few hours... Good news is there are places to rest our head in Hanoi airport itself and I've been lucky enough to collaborate with VATC Sleep Pods for this post!

We've just spent the night in the Sleep Pods located at Terminal 2, and I want to tell you all about it!

To start with, it's really easy to find which is great when you're super tired after a long day. Walk out of luggage collection towards the main exit, go up the escalators on the right hand side for one floor and then walk straight down. It's so convenient!

Once we arrived we met the welcoming members of staff at the reception desk, had to fill out a quick form to confirm our booking and then were shown to our room. The rooms are pretty small, but more than space for what you need them for (to sleep of course)

The rooms have bunk beds, one for me, one for Michael. There's a desk next to the bottom bunk which is big enough to squeeze one bag in. We had to leave Michael's bag next to it on the floor as it wouldn't fit.

The room includes a wifi, a flat screen television, free water and chocolate cakes, mugs, flip flops, tooth brush/paste and a hair comb for your use. In addition the room had a fan with three different speed settings installed in the wall. The beds were comfortable, I slept like a baby after my long day of travelling without any distractions!

I loved how easy it all went, I didn't have to wait around for anything and could just rest before heading to my next place to stay. Being able to wake up feeling refreshed and ready for another busy day made a big difference to my mood!
I can't believe how convenient it was and I would happily stay again if I had a early/late flight in Hanoi.

If you're heading to Hanoi soon and need a place to stay I can 100% recommend it. You can use hotel booking websites such as Trip Advisor, and Bookings.com to look at other reviews and book a nights sleep, but the best price guarenteed comes from the Hanoi Airport Hotel offical website!

https://hanoiairporthotels.vn/ << Use this website for the best price!

Thanks so much for accommodating for us!

** Disclaimer - This post was written in return for a complimentary stay, but all opinions are my own.

What do you think of VATV Sleep Pods? Would you stay in one to?

Stephanie xoxo

T R A V E L - 48 Hours in Kyoto!

Hello again!

As previously stated, I'm currently making my ways through Japan and loving every second of it! I'm just getting to my last few hours in Kyoto and thought I would share just some of the highlights of our last 48 hours in this truly magical city! With Kyoto being the ancient capitol of Japan it's no surprise just how much tradition and cultural attractions are on offer.

Here are just a small number of things to see and do in Kyoto that won't break the bank! Happy planning!

1  | Fushimi - Inari Shrine

The shrine has over a thousand orange tori gates snaking around the Inari Mountain. Each tori gate has a different donator's name engraved into it's wood.  It's honestly a must see attraction. If you don't visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine have you even been to Kyoto?
If you would like to just visit the screen and see the tori path way it's a simple walk and easy to reach by bus or train. If you're feeling ambitious and you'd like to follow the path up the Inari mountain feel free too! It'll take around 2-3 hours for the round trip so make sure you'be packed your walking shoes.

2 | Golden Pavillion, Kinkaku-Ji Temple

This is the place you see in all the travel guides and posters for Kyoto, and we can see why. This stunning temple really is as good in real life as it looks in the photographs. It's perfectly clean and really stands out. I felt like I was watching a movie when I arrived at Kinkaku-ji Temple. The top two floors of the Zen Temple are covered in gold leaf that make the temple a must see in Kyoto. Set within the Mirror Pond and a lushes green garden it's heaven! #homegoals

3 | Kiyomizu - Dera Temple

The Kiyomizu-Dera Temple is an immense Buddist temple in kyoto. The Temple is location on a small hill with a huge terrace with offers a breathtaking view. If you walk on further through the temple you will reach the view point. Which gives an incredible view of much of Kyoto. 

4 | Ryozen Kannon 

The Ryozen Kannon is a war memorial for those who died in the Pacific War in Eastern Kyoto. Not just to the Japanese but all the unknown soliders who lost their lives during this horrible time. The Kannon statue is 80 ft high! (hard to miss) and is made of steel and concrete. The site has a number of small shrines, you can go into Kannon from the back and you might even see a monkey or two hanging around.

5 | Gion neighborhood

Head down to the Gion neighbourhood for your chance to see one of the fifty remaining geisha's in the town. Located betweek Yasaka Shrine and the Kamo River, the geisha district is filled with shops, resturants and Ochaya (tea houses) 

Now it is amazing to see Geisha's, but they are super busy! If you are able to see one be happy and take it in. Please don't stop them and ask for pictures, they're on their way to work.

If you have some money to spend, head to Geisha Corner where you can watch a tradition show :) 

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Are you heading to Japan soon? Have you recently come back? 

What's your favourite thing about Japan?

Lots of love,
Stephanie xo

D I Y - MARBLE HEADBOARD

Hey guys!

Just a quick one from me today, but I'm going to share with you how I made my boring, basic Ikea headboard into a super #extra marble master piece!
It cost me just over £5, and took around half hour to complete. It makes my bed look super expensive and luxurious!

Apologies for the horrible wallpaper, it doesn't really fit the beautiful aesthetic of the DIY project. We're moving out so there isn't much point in me redecorating just yet.

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Here's what you need;

A head board (Duh... but you can do this with anything!)
Marble contact paper ; Here's the one I used (Marble Contact Paper)
Scissors
Hard Card/Sturdy Plastic
*Optional sticky tape*

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First thing you'll need to do is grab your headboard, this took me a while as it was screwed into the bed frame. Finally I managed to pull it off and placed it on my mattress to get started.

This is the contact paper I ordered from Amazon. The link is above. It's the perfect width for my headboard and 2 meters long so I have plenty left for future projects!

The contact paper is really simple to use. Once opened, there is a piece of sticky plastic holding the roll in place. I used this to secure the roll to one side of the paper to stop it rolling back up. Make sure you attach it to the back of the headboard around 2inchs in. As the back of the headboard won't be seen we don't need to cover the whole thing.

When securing the paper, you need to ensure that it is lined up with the bottom of the headboard. We don't need to over lap the bottom as we need to be able to put it back into place. Again, the bottom is not seen. Ensure to leave the top of the paper handing over the edge ready to stick down to the top of the headboard in the final steps.

If you need some extra help to ensure it stays straight when you're putting it down, use sticky tape to hold sections in place. Try and use one that wont leave a sticky residue. If it does leave a sticky mark though, don't worry; you should be able to wipe it down after the material is pretty durable.

Once you're all lined up, you are ready to go! It's super easy. Just peel back the backing. Ensure to do this inch by inch. I found it's the easiest way to minimize air bubbles. Now take your bit of plastic. Whatever you'd like to use, I used a Blackhead Peel Off Mask box at first, but it wasn't hard enough so I used my GAME rewards card in the end instead. 

 

Use the card to push towards the area where you are pulling away the sticky back plastic. This step helps to reduce the air bubbles and make the headboard look more authentic rather than cheap. Once the paper is down it's kinda hard to work with. So do try and go little bit, by little bit to get rid of those bubbles. Just to save yourself some hard work after.

 

Now, I missed a photo here but it's pretty straight forward. Now that the made base is down. You'll hopefully have left over contact paper at the top of the board. Before you think about it! Do not try and stick it like you'd wrap a Christmas present. You'll end up with creases visible at the top and we don't want that. Instead, use the scissors to cut a small line where the two corners meet. Fold the side stripe down, and then cover with the top area. This will mask the corner and give you a beautiful clean edge. 

And that's the end! Once you're happy with the result, attach it back to your bed and lounge in your new wonderful marble masterpiece!!
*adding your Stitch stuffed toy is optional*

Stephanie - xoxo 

 

B E A U T Y - PRIMARK GLITTER OBESSED EYE CREAM PALETTE

As you've all probably noticed from my previous posts in regards to festival and outfits of the days, I'm highly obsessed with anything to do with glitter. You will also notice that I'm not a huge fan of eye make up, but when I saw these bad boys in Primark I started to hyper ventilate a little  I needed them in my basket straight away!

I hadn't seen them before on any social media, or heard anything about them from anybody else. I just pop into store, saw them and had to buy them. Due to not seeing any reviews online, I didn't know if they would be a an absolute #extra steal, or some crappy kids first glitter make up kit. But it's £4, worth a shot!

For that teeny tiny £4, you can buy yourself 28 glitter eye creams, all in different colours. Even if they do seem a little similar in my photos, they are slightly different. Soft to the touch, and silky smooth with a Vaseline feel I thought I'd do a few swatches to share with you.

Here's what I found, each image is showcasing left to right of each line.

A little disappointed with product itself, a little too much Vaseline product not enough glitter causing the application to be very thin and sparse. I was really after a more pigmented look over all, the paler swatches need a second coat to resolve, but the brighter colours like the greens are killer! (and mermaid green is my fav so win win!)

The product itself needs to be dabbed on the skin rather than swiped, this way more glitter stays in place creating a more dramatic effect. If you're just after the subtle look then it's perfect. The product itself is beautiful on the skin. I used the same spot for all my swatches and just wiped away with a cheap make up wipe. I've got quite sensitive skin and it didn't irritate me at all which was a pleasant surprise. A little clumpy in places, but a nice flat brush should help out too. On another note. There isn't much product to go around. You'll see from the image below, just from these swatches I used quite a bit of product. So if you find your favorite shade, you'll only get around 5 maybe 6 uses out of it if you're lucky?

Obviously, it's from Primark, somethings are killer - some things are not. We learn from this. But I would still recommend the product. If you want excellent make up, you're going to have to pay for it. You'd still be able to create some great looks from this little beauty for a fraction of the price of other glitter palettes.


What do you think of this little beauty?

Stephanie xoxo

T R A V E L - / / TOP SIGHTS NOT TO MISS - BUDAPEST!

If you follow me over on INSTAGRAM, you've probably seen that I've not long come back from an amazing trip in Budapest. I headed to Budapest back in May to celebrate Michael's 23rd birthday - Budapest has a multitude of sights that need to be seen, and I think we saw them all! Every day we were up and out as soon as possible to make sure we took everything in. If you want to get around, there is a fantastic tram and metro system (I'm useless at navigating but Google helps ALOT)
You'll find the best views involve a long walk, so be prepared to be permanently exhausted - but it's 100% worth it!

Budapest is known for it's beautiful Turkish baths, outstanding architecture and delicious food. With a population of over 2 million people, it's rich history and culture shines through it's breathtaking architecture. The city is safe, locals are very friendly and the nightlife is filled with great clubs, bars and restaurants.  There are plenty of tourist destinations to visit, and every sight has a story.

I've put together a small list of places that you shouldn't miss on a short stay in Hungary's capitol.

Walk up Gellert Hill

Gellert Hill is named after an Italian Bishop who was martyred in this area in the 11th century. The Gellert statue can be found at the top of the hill over seeing the waterfalls below. There are many routes to reach the top of the hill, we chose the entrance via the park just shy of the Cave Church (in Sziklatemplom) on the Buda side. It's a long walk, 235m to be exact - but totally worth it once you reach the top - and a few of the nice view points along the way.

Soak in the Széchenyi Baths.

There are plenty of Geothermal baths in Budapest for you to enjoy. We chose the most famous bath of all - The Széchenyi Baths. This is the hottest tourist destination you will find in Budapest, but you'll also find a lot of the locals (mainly the men hogging the chess tables) around also so I don't mind it too much. The outdoor baths offer two different temperatures. The bigger pool, with includes a beautiful fountain and sculpture is headed to 37oC and it's advised you don't stay in the pool for longer than 15 minutes. Inside there are a number of steam rooms, wet rooms, a splash pool and a variety of pools with temperatures to meet everyone's needs. 

Hit the Ruin Pubs.

Following the Second World War, many buildings were left empty and abandoned. That until artists and the hipsters came along and turned them into the most unique and eccentric pubs I have ever seen. There's too many to list for you - but my favourite was Szimpla Kert. Each room had it's own genre of music, it was alive but still calm enough that you could talk to the person next to you. The drinks were super cheap - I'm talking £2.50/£3 for a large cocktail and pints at around £1.20. Each room had it's own quirky aesthetic, with something for everyone. Me and Michael loved the cocktail bar downstairs in the outdoors area, but also loved the cafe upstairs with their amazing home made burgers - and even enjoyed a few round of foosball across the hall. 

It was so good we went back every night. I recommend you stumble through the back alleys as much as possible, you never know what gem you might stumble across.  

Head to Fisherman's Bastion.

Fisherman's Bastion is without a shadow of doubt one of Budapests top attractions. The beautiful towers were built in the 19th century to serve as a lookout for the best panoramic views of Budapest you'll ever witness. These real castle walls now welcome 1000s of visitors from around the world to take in an outstanding view. Entrancde is free to the balconies, but a fee is payable to explore the top turrets. These turrents represent the 7 Hungarian tribes who founded the present day country in 895. 

         

Cross the bridges between Buda and Pest.

The Chain bridge joins Buda and the Pest together as one. There is more to the bridges than simply a convenient path between to two halves. Each bridge has an interesting history that you can read up on. What better way to appreciate their history than walking from the Buda to the Pest, or vice versa, until you can't do it any more?

Sit down for food at the New York Cafe.

Now, we were very lucky to be able to stay at the Boscolo Residence which is connected to this stunning dinner hall. We booked in for the all you can eat breakfast for the morning after we arrived. The area is beautiful, perfectly clean and the service was second to none. The breakfast was a hefty price - at 25 Euro each, not the biggest selection of food (specially if you're fussy like me and don't eat meat) But there's enough for everyone.

The food was great, I even helped myself to salmon - because I'm a terrible vegetarian. Our table was a little far away from the buffet but I loved being able to look around the whole area.
It's worth a visit even if you just pop in for a coffee. It feels first class! This cafe is just total perfection.

T R A V E L - / / HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF A SHORT STAY IN PARIS.

I was fortunate enough to head over to beautiful Paris for the April Bank holiday weekend with the other half. You'll be able to find a whole blog post about what we got up to *HERE* - It includes everything we got up to over the 3 day trip with photos of all the AMAZING views and places we were able to visit.

This blog post will describe how we managed to get the most out of our short stay - and offer some tips and recommendations to how you could too!

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So you're thinking of heading to Paris for a few days, but want to fit in as many sightseeing stops and visit the best attractions without breaking the bank? Fear not; although Paris can be expensive, you can get the most of it if you just scratch beneath the surface.

Firstly, shop around for the best flights and accommodation deals! The less money you spend getting to Paris, the more you have to spend in Paris. Browse comparison websites such as Kayak or Icelolly. We booked ours using Expedia.
Expedia did everything for us! It found the cheapest flights to Paris, and offered us a fantastic list of hotels that we could filter out.
We flew from LHR to ORY. LHR is easy to get to using any of the bus services such as Megabus or National Express. Megabus can be booked in advance for £5 a seat! We opted to drive and used PurpleParking for only £42 - and I used Quidco so also received 10% cashback.

We chose our flights for April 28th-May 1st, and stayed in the 4* Hotel Mercure Paris Montmartre Sacre Coeur for a total price of £215 each. Meaning our trip cost £572 over all for the both of us.
You can find hotel's starting from £40 a night based on 2 sharing on Tripadvisor - It's easy to get the price lower than £500.

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Now, on to the main event. What can you do in Paris on a tight budget?
Paris, as a whole is an expensive place - but there are so many things you can do to make your money last!

There are a number of famous attractions you can visit completely free for all ages!

1. Basilica Sacré-Coeur 

 One of Paris' most captivating sights, many people like to view the elegant and prominent architecture from the foot of the 300 steps beneath. The building itself is located on the highest point of Paris - which offers a breathtaking panorama view of the city.
We entered the attraction walking from Montmartre itself rather than getting the metro, by doing this we were able to wonder through the quaint village and visit a lovely artist area full of wonderful paintings. If you would like to visit from the Metro station, please be aware of the sellers as you approach - Keep everything close!

2. The Cathedral of Notre Dame.

Many of us know about The Cathedral of Notre Dame from the well known Disney movie we all loved as a child (I know I did).
It's a fantastic piece of French History boasting remarkable Gothic architecture. The towers of the cathedral stand tall and proud over the ever-changing bustling city landscape. The beautifully crafted figures on the entrance to the building will transport you back in time, not to mention the stunning artwork and detailing inside. You'll also find a number of facts about the Cathedral inside, such as the building timeline - starting from 1163! It was a long project!
As it's one of Paris' main tourist attractions, be prepared to queue. To avoid the line simply turn up early in the morning, or later in the evening. It's definitely worth the wait though!

3. Montmartre Cemetery

 

Now I understand this can sound pretty morbid, but if you find yourself in the Montmartre area, head to the Cemetery. I promise you would have never seen anything like it. It may look like a scene to the world’s scariest horror film, but it really was a great experience. It's home to a number of celebrities including Alexandre Dumas (The writer of The Three Musketeers) and world famous actress Dalida (her grave/tribute was beautiful).
The cemetery was home to thousands of graves, including the super elaborate tombs with up to 16 family members buried inside.
Honestly, it's not as weird and spooky as it seems. It also makes a for a peaceful retreat from the crowded tourist areas and it's something different to do in your spare time.

4. Jardin de Tuileries

Please take full advantage of this beautiful garden! If you walk from Place de la Concorde through the garden you'll arrive at the entrance for the Louvre Museum. It's a stunning 20 minute walk with plenty of cafes to enjoy some food.
But it's also the perfect location to take full advantage of a homemade picnic in the sun! The park has plenty of seats and benches to use for free during the good weather and the fountain is a lovely spot to settle down before you visit the huge museum!
We went to our local shop to buy our picnic in order to save money for our big night ahead - Ham and Brie Baguettes with crisps, tomatoes, chocolate and a bottle of wine. Small but just enough for us, and can easily be purchased for less than 10 euro. We had enough Brie for 3 days!

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In addition to the free attractions I spoke about above, Paris are very giving to their under 'younger' generation. With a number of places offering discounted (or even free!) entrance fees for those under 25.

5. The Louvre Museum.

After your walk through Jardin de Tuileries - you'll arrive at the Louvre! The most visited art museum in the world! You'll spot the famous glass pyramid entrance straight away. It's a pretty impressive and memorable building and has some truly remarkable exhibits. We went on the Saturday, so the queue looked intimidating but it was something we both really wanted to do so we stuck it out - and were surprised at how soon we actually got into the building. Due to recent events, Paris is on high alert so security is of course top priority, so everyone entering the building is security checked which results in waiting. However it took hardly any time at all.
Even better, when we went to buy our tickets we were informed that because we were under 25 we were allowed into the exhibits completely free of charge! (YAY! More free things!). It really is as easy as showing your driving license/passport and voila!
The Louvre was one of my favourite attractions in Paris and I'd recommend it to everybody. I fell in love with Napoleon III apartments. #Housegoals.

 

6. Eiffel Tower

Of course, the biggy couldn't be missed off my little list of things to do. It's kind of hard to forget about and for good reason! The Eiffel Tower's structure is amazing as it stands alone - but the views from the top are spectacular and show just how enormous Paris actually is!
Now if you're brave and fancy a cheap challenge, you can walk up to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower for free. (It's a lot of steps, you've been warned)
But again, Thanks to Frances under 25 discount, you are offered a lower entrance price if you'd like to take the lift. Now we got the lift to the very top, at 14 Euros each it may seem a bit steep but I assure you it's worth it.

I'd suggest going in the evening, due to it being so popular the queue is something else. You have to queue for security, queue to collect your tickets and then queue to get onto a lift. It takes a life time. We went in the rain on a Sunday at around 8pm and I think our waiting time was only around 15 minutes to get onto the lifts. Much better than what we would have experienced in the sunshine on Saturday.
We managed to get up while it was still light enough to see everything, but by the time we reached the bottom the Eiffel Tower was lit up. A site we'll never forget! 

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7. Jazz Clubs

In addition to all of this, Michael and I are huge fans of live music, and Jazz specifically for Michael. Both of us agreed that our Jazz Club night out was our favorite part of the whole trip.

Now, we started splashing the cash a bit here compared to our other outings. We were able to buy the cheaper rate tickets again as we're under 25 to view a show at Duc De Lombards. One of Paris' best jazz clubs, if not the best. Located only a 2 minute walk from Chatelet's metro it's easily accessible.

We paid 23 euro each, for our front row seats to see Manchester based Jazz musician Matthew Halsall and his band, along with LA Jazz singer Dwight Trible. *give them a Youtube*
The atmosphere was electric, and the good vibes were contagious, everyone loved the music and the band connected with the crowd all night. Drinks were pretty expensive, at 29 euro for the cheapest bottle of time.
You can always pre drink before you leave, we picked up bottles of rose for 2.75 euro at our local super market.

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8. Restaurant Dinner Cruise

And last on my list of things to do! This was the big spender for us, but we did go all out. We had our last supper on the Paris en Scene. A three course meal with a bottle of wine on a boat travelling down the Seine. We paid 104 euro over all, which sounds like a lot - it works out around £88.

For a boat trip, three course meal and a bottle of wine I'd consider it to be a very good price! We booked the more expensive seats so that increased our price by 10 euro, and included the bottle of red wine that also upped our bill - It can be done for less!
If I remember rightly it was 39 Euro for just the meals, your best bet is to book online before hand as it fills up quickly.


The boat took you up and down The Seine, meaning you were able to see all the sites on both sides of the river. Including the Eiffel Tower and the original Statue of Liberty!

The service was amazing, they could cater for any additional dietary needs (I'm a vegetarian and nothing was too much hassle for them). The staff were polite and informative and the boat played some beautiful music that worked as a romantic soundtrack to the evening. The cruise itself lasts just under an hour and a half and I personally think it's totally worth the money!