The first time I visited Rome I didn’t visit a single museum which is a precedent in my travels by this day. I love visiting museums and galleries and whenever I travel I make a… More
3 days in Budapest – what to see
In the middle of January I had a quick city break in Budapest and I want to share my tips for visiting the city in case you’re headed there.
You’re planning a visit to Budapest for a few days and don’t know where to start from? I spent a quick but very sightseeing-heavy week there in the middle of January and have made a list of things you need to see even if you don’t have a lot of time but still want to spend your time wisely.
Firstly, I have to mention the Budapest Card as it’s what I used to move around the city. I haven’t bought a tourist pass before but this one came very recommended on all of the blogs and websites I made my research on so I decided to go for it and I’m not sorry. You can get it for 24, 48 or 72 hours and it gives you a lot of discounts but most importantly – unlimited use of all their public transport. I have to say that after I bought it I came across a Hop On Hop Off bus service that offered some very nice deals as well, so if you’re just staying in the centre of town maybe research that as an option to move around instead.
Now to my ‘What to visit’ list!
1. A promenade on the riverside of Pesta is a must. The view is breathtaking both during the day and the night, plus there is quite a lot to see if you walk the whole thing. We used a mixture of walking an hoping on and off the tram line #2 as it’s quite a long way. However, if you start from the Old Marketplace you can get to the Parlament building passing by a few beautiful bridges, the Palace of Arts, the National Theatre, a wonderful view of the palace and a million wonderful places to have coffee.
2. While you’re on the riverbank, visit the Old Marketplace. It’s very beautiful for a quick walk and while you’re there – it’s the best place to buy Hungary’s famous chilly red peppers from the source instead of a souvenir shop.
3. On the other side of the river you should definitely visit the castle and walk down the Fishermens towers. It’s basically the equivalent of walking on the riverside of Pesta, only it’s much higher and on the other side of the hill there’s a view of the rest of Buda – let’s call it the less touristy side. You can get there walking for about 15 minutes or hopping on the old electric car to the top. The view is wonderful and you can see the parlament in its full glory. This is also where you realise how truly gigantic and beautiful the rest of the buildings are as well. Again, if you’ve got the Budapest Card there are a number of trams that can take you from one end to the other and there is a bus going way up to the castle and the towers.
4. Visit Városliget park. I’m sure the experience is much different in Spring/Summer but even in -5 and snow I loved the park and there is definitely a lot to see there.
The Zoo and Botanical Garden are there, the Széchenyi Thermal Baths are there, which are the most popular baths you’ve probably seen pictures of online, Vajdahunyad Castle which is truly impressive and a must see at least from the outside, and my favourite part (only available during the winter) the ice rink build in 1895. I loved this place, skating there was truly an experience and I definitely suggest checking it out. The rink is huge and has some pretty amazing views towards Hero Square and Vajdahunyad Castle on the other side.
This makes for a great day trip as right on Hero Square are the National Gallery and Museum of Fine Arts you can also visit.
Have you been to Budapest, can you offer something different for me to see? I definitely want to go back, maybe when it’s warmer as I’m sure it sill be a totally different experience.
And if you’re just headed there I hope my tips were helpful! Feel free to like this post so you can refer to it whenever you need it and have a great stay in Budapest!
January favourites
Although I believe these sort of posts are a bit outdated and overdone I personally still find them helpful if done right. So this is what I’m going for here. There are quite a few new things I’ve bought and have really changed my everyday life so I’ll give them a shout.
Starting with the biggest surprise – The Kent shampoo and scalp massage brush. It is magic. I randomly found it on feelunique.com and decided to give it a chance as it had amazing reviews everywhere I looked. I am so happy I did, I know it sounds a bit gimmicky and like it could be one of those things you use once and then forget about but for me it changed the way I wash my hair completely. I have a lot of hair and truth is I’ve never been able to wash my scalp like this thing does. Yes, it massages nicely and yes, it could tangle your hair a bit in the roots if you’re not careful but it washes my scalp so well I’ve noticed I can get away with up to two days more of not washing my hair. Try it, it’s so great! And quite bigger than I expected it to be from the photos!
Staying on hair, for Christmas I got a set of Revlon’s professional hair range – a hair mask and a multi-purpose spray for damp hair. And they both rocked my hair’s existence. First of all, they smell wonderful and even though I use a bunch of products while drying my hair I can smell them on my hair for days after. It’s beautiful.
Then, they are actually magic for hair. My hair is so shiny and soft and stays glossy and is not as tangled as usual – I am properly addicted to this stuff. Highly recommend!
I don’t usually go for youtuber merch but after browsing feelunique for far too long one night I ended up with one of Fleur’s lip glosses and I am not sorry. It’s soft and has great opacity, the staying power is pretty good and since I got a light shade I don’t mind reapplying anyway. It’s a great go-to product so I’ve kept it in my bag all month. The one thing that makes it a fave for me is it wears off beautifully. Evenly. No harsh outline or gross embarrassing bits of colour left on the dryer patches of your frozen lips (issues I’ve had with a couple of designer lipsticks this month – very disappointing) Would definitely repurchase because what more do you want in a lipgloss?
The biggest favourite of mine isn’t going to be a surprise since it’s been a sort of an elephant in most rooms this month – it’s La La Land. I know people either love it or don’t get what the hype is about but I definitely do. I’ve seen in four times already and the soundtrack is pretty much the only music I’ve listened to since. I’m a bit of a cinema/acting geek so I appreciate the technical/cinematographic side of things plus I really found myself relating to it – like most creative people have, I guess.
TV-wise I discovered The Good Place which my boyfriend and I streamed from Pilot to the last episode that’s out (which is 13th) in one go. It’s a sitcom so it’s very quick and easy to watch but most importantly – it’s clever. It’s funny and modern and interesting and it grabs you from the first episode but most importantly it’s.so.clever. The last episode impressed me even more and I highly recommend giving it a chance.
The one fashion favourite I have this month is a new pair of jeans I got from Promod. Although I got them in the middle of the month they’re pretty much the only pair of jeans I’ve worn since. They’re very high-waisted and are very much a 90s mom jean – not usually my style but I love them and can’t wait to style them when the weather gets a bit softer so I can experiment a bit more. Now you can barely see me underneath all of the jumpers I’m wearing. I’ll have better photos of them in a haul post which should be up in the next couple of days.
The last thing I wanted to mention is journaling – bullet journaling to be precise. Or a very minimalistic version of it. I started the year with a lot of ideas of what I want to achieve wrapped in a main one – to be more consistent and efficient with my time and how I spend it. So I started a journal with my goals for the year and specific thing I want to work on through the month.
For example I’ve had it in my hеad for months that I need to work on my Excel skills and thanks to the timetables I made myself for January I spent a couple of hours watching Youtube tutorials and I am much confident in my skills now.
I am continuing this month with colour coordination and more specific weekday planning. Very excited to see how it goes!
I think I’m gonna wrap this post as I’ve rambled enough, I believe. I hope it gave you some ideas and please write to me if you’ve watched either the movie or The Good Place, I’d love to chat about them and what you think! Also, any journal advise from someone? I’ open to suggestions!
Have a great February, guys!
My minimalist packing tips from the neck up
As a lot of women today I am borderline obsessed with skincare – I have so many creams, tonics and concoctions I am practically a chemist. Hence when it comes to travel I have a pretty substantial stash to pick from and it was a problem for me a few years ago (one of my biggest personal mistakes is going to Greece with just one very light moisturiser – the salty water destroyed my dry skin and it was beyond repair for months after). However, thanks to a lot of travel and product testing I like to think I ace my travel skincare needs and I know exactly what I need depending on the destination.
Since I was packing for Budapest I decided to make a few quick photos of what I’m taking with me and why and hopefully give someone a helpful idea.
Those are the final picks for my skincare bag – the absolute smallest and lightest so I can afford the glass jar of my Nuxe lip balm. I have lighter ones but since the temperatures are going to be around -8C I am taking the best with no regrets.
I will walk you through everything else in the photos and how I justify taking it.
- A lot of Elizabeth Arden – they hit the hydration bingo for me. A day cream + a night cream + the Eight Hour cream which I use as a multi-purpose balm or layer on top of night cream when my skin is extra dry. I also use it instead of an eye cream when travelling and it does a pretty decent job as a lip balm. Usually I even skip the separate lip balm and just use this all over.
- La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo – the best thing for targeted treatment of blemishes, I never travel without it in case of emergency. Extra points for how small and easy to pack the tube is.
- The sponge I use instead of a face cloth for my cleanser in the morning- easy peasy, small and light and goes in the bin at the end of the trip. Here may be the time to add that my cleansers aren’t shown here as I pack them separately with my face brush and micellar water.
- I am very happy with my little cotton pad box which I found in a tupperware set. I suggest finding something similar as it’s perfect for travelling and most of all very hygienic.
- The Clarins Daily Energizer I use as a primer on top of my moisturiser. If it were warmer I would skip it but alas, -5C is not to be underestimated.
- The small tube on the top is a travel size L’occitane shower gel with some wet wipes for glasses.
- Body butter, obviously. This I also use instead of a hand cream.
- Caudalie grape water or any thermal water, I never travel without one. I use it all the time – to refresh my skin during a long day of walking around cities with polluted air, to quickly wipe my face with a cotton round before landing, on the beach for refreshing and after the beach to remove leftover salt from my skin asap, to help with cakey makeup, it’s just the best.
Another tip of mine is to use an eyeglasses case for carrying jewellery and small delicate things such as hair pins and bobbles. There are plenty of gorgeous ones and even if you’re not a glasses wearer you can find a purpose for them. I always use this Klimt one I got as a gift for my earrings and hair pins and the size stops me from overpacking all of my jewellery. Plus I’m not worried they’ll smash in the suitcase if it were dropped or squished.
This is it for this trip, cleaners aside. There’s nothing interesting to note there so I am skipping them this time. If anyone is interested in my cleanser obsession and current rotation of 8 I will gladly write a post about them at another time.
I really hope you found this helpful and I wish you all happy packing!
Birds of Italy
I love birds, all sorts of birds. This leads to tons of photos of them I gather in random folders from random places, product of my hefty tele-lense and substantial time spent kneeling, running after them or randomly stopping still in the middle of a crowded street (which I’ve noticed people love!) so I’ve decided to put them on here. Might as well, right?
Continue reading “Birds of Italy”
My tips for visiting Rome
From all the places I’ve visited to date there’s no better place for me than Rome. Yes, there’s Paris and I love Paris very much but there is something about Tuscany and this city in particular that I find very difficult to top. There’s so much culture on every corner that I find it hard to comprehend how the locals go about their days as if they’re not living in arguably the best place ever.
So here are a few of my tips on how to go about exploring the city if you’re planning a visit.
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