Summer Holiday: Crete

The view from our room!

Recently it’s been very, very warm here in The Netherlands! But I was already used to hot weather because I spent a week in Crete, Greece from the 8^th to the 15^th of August.

Back at the beginning of the year Kim and I decided that we wanted to go on a sunny holiday together this summer, and if we have a good plan we carry it out! So, at the beginning of April, we booked our holiday to Agios Nikolaos, one of the larger towns on the Greek island of Crete. We found a hotel located right by sea, which offered all inclusive for a relatively low price so we decided to book this.

As we didn’t want to waste any of the days we had paid for we decided to take the earliest flight (6:30 am) to Heraklion. Because we would have to leave for the airport at around 4:15 I decided to stay at Kim’s house the day before we left. In the early hours of Wednesday Kim’s dad brought us to Amsterdam airport and our holiday started! Eventually we arrived at our hotel at around 14:00, after a bus ride of about 1 ½ hours from Heraklion.

Sunrise seen from our room

 The view from our room in Hotel Coral was amazing! We had purposely booked seaview, which was only a few euros more expensive, because we’d heard it would be great. And it was! The bay where Agios Nikolaos is located is called Mirabello, which is Italian (dating from the Venetians who were once on Crete) for ‘beautiful view’. I definitely agree with this name! We could see the sea from our room, with mountains surrounding it. We also saw boats (and sometimes cruise ships) in the harbour of the town.

We spent most of our days relaxing. Most days we woke up at around 8, had breakfast and then went to the pool or beach (although it was mostly the pool because you had to pay for the beds on the beach unfortunately). Between 13:00 and 14:00 we would have lunch, and then spend the rest of our day lying by the pool again. Then at around 18:00 we would go back to our room and get ready for dinner, which started at 18:30. After dinner we would walk to the centre of Agios Nikolaos and then we would spend the rest of the night on our balcony playing games such as Yahtzee. We didn’t get bored for a single moment.

On the Jeep Safari. This was a normal road but we also did a lot of off-road driving between the olive trees!

 The only day we didn’t spend by the pool was the day we went on a Jeep Safari. We had booked our holiday with Dutch tour operator Sunweb. They offered several excursions and we chose the Jeep Safari because all other excursions either involved boats (Kim didn’t want to go on a boat due to a bad experience) or they left really early (one of them left the hotel at 4:00 am and would only return at midnight!), and because it just appealed to us. The day started at 8:00 am when a crazy Greek driver took us and 4 other guests to Chersonissos. At one point he was driving 110 km/h where 50 was allowed – oh, and he was on the phone… But eventually we arrived safely! Chersonissos was the starting point of the jeep safari, Kim and I both don’t have a drivers license so we were grouped with 2 Dutch guys who both did have a drivers license. With about 12 jeeps in a row we drove through Eastern Crete, mainly surrounded by olive trees. My highlight to this day was the stop at the other side of the island, where we had some time to swim in the Libyan Sea! The water was lovely and it was really nice to be able to rinse all the dust, which had accumulated over the course of the day, off our skin and from our hair.

By the harbour of Agios Nikolaos. 

At the end of our stay in Agios Nikolaos we also did a little bit of shopping, for souvenirs! Most of the shops we saw in the town were souvenir shops and thus very much aimed at tourists. But some of them were really nice. For instance, there was one which sold all kinds of soaps and other beauty products. There were also a lot of shops selling olive oil, herbs and the like. I bought quite a few souvenirs: a present box with a small bottle of olive oil, a small bottle of ouzo (Greek alcoholic drink) and different kinds of herbs (such as a mix for tzatziki) for my parents, a bottle opener (wherever we go, my brother and I always buy a bottle opener for our parents, it’s become a tradition!), acacia honey, three bracelets and vanilla scented olive oil scrub soap for myself, a pack of cards and a magnet of Poseidon for my brother and a bar of olive oil soap for Annabell and Eline. I really enjoy shopping for souvenirs!

Mocktail (Double Rainbow - Orange juice, lemon juice and grenadine) and cocktail (Strawberry Daiquiri) on the last night. Both were delicious!

On Wednesday the 15^th we had to go back home, but neither of us really wanted to go! Luckily we had a late flight, at 21:00, so we still had the whole day in our hotel. We spent this day by the pool until the bus came to pick us up at 17:30.

All in all we both had a great holiday and I really want to go back to Crete sometime!

xx Loes

P.S. Keep up to date with my life (especially when I move to London in 3 weeks time!) by following me on instagram: @Loeszieee

Citytrip: Prague

Last week I went on my first holiday without parents. Eline and I spent 5 days (Monday 9 July - Friday 13 July) in Prague! It was an amazing week, mostly filled with sightseeing as we both wanted to see as much as possible of the city.

Our bed!

We arrived at our hotel at around 13:00 on Monday, and luckily our room was ready so we left our suitcases there. The hotel was amazing, we stayed in the Red and Blue Design Hotel, all rooms there have either a blue or a red theme. From the hotel it took about 15 minutes to walk to the Charles Bridge, so we spent Monday afternoon exploring the city.

Trdelnik.. omnomnom (:

On Tuesday the real sightseeing started, this was also the day our 4 day Prague Card started. In the morning we took a 2 hour bus tour through the city, which we got for free with our Prague Card! The bus took us through the most important parts of the city and we were given half an hour to walk around Prague Castle. As half an hour is by far not enough to see the highlights of Prague Castle we decided to just stroll around a bit and come back on Wednesday. After the city tour we went to the Old Town Square where we ate Trdelnik, a sweet bread which is baked on a rod. We then climbed the tower of the Old Town Hall, from which we had a gorgeous view over the city. This is also the tower at which the Astronomical Clock is located, so at 14:00 we went down to watch the Apostles coming by (this happens every hour). After this we walked through the Old Town to Josefov, the Jewish Quarter. We decided to not visit the Jewish museum and cemetery as this is quite expensive and we were on a budget trip after all! I do really want to see the museum sometime so I have a reason to come back to Prague. Instead we went to the St. Agnes Convent, to which we got free entry with our Prague Card. The building was impressive and there is an exhibition of Medieval art which I found quite interesting although I am not a huge fan of art.

The view from the tower of the Old Town Hall

Wednesday was another busy day. We woke up and left the hotel early as we wanted to walk up to Prague Castle before it got too hot and busy (it was a very warm week!). At 10:00 we watched the changing of the guards, and it was already quite busy. We then went into Prague Castle where we got free admission to the St. Vitus Cathedral, St. George's Basilica, the Golden Lane and the Old Royal Palace. I especially found the St. Vitus Cathedral very impressive - it is so big and elaborately decorated, especially the windows. Around noon we walked back down for lunch and a bit of a rest. Wednesday afternoon we took the funicular up Petrin Hill, which was very close to our hotel. I had heard of Petrin Hill in 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' by Kundera but it was very different from how I imagined it to be. It is a lot larger than I thought it would be. We walked around at the top (we didn't go up the small Eiffel Tower as you had to pay for this and it was very busy), and after enjoying a gorgeous view of the city we slowly walked back down.

In the St. Vitus Cathedral, look at the windows, they are so elaborately decorated!

On Thursday we walked to Vysehrad (we only used public transport to get from the airport to the hotel and back!) where we saw the oldest round building of Prague, the rotunda of St. Martin. We also went into the casemates, in which there is a big vault in which some of the original statues from the Charles Bridge are kept. These statues date from around 1700 so they had to be then of the bridge to prevent them from breaking/wearing. As we walked back down to the city I felt sick - which really disappointed me! For this reason I enjoyed this day a lot less than the previous ones. We then went to a metro station (of which I forgot the name) which, according to Eline's guide book, has one of the longest escalators in Europe - of course we had to go see this with our own eyes! We looked down the escalator and it definitely was very, very deep. After this we went to the Dvorak Museum, about Czech composer Antonin Dvorak, which unfortunately I couldn't enjoy very much because I was still feeling sick. But the museum building was really, really nice! We then slowly strolled back to the hotel.

St. Martin's Rotunda in Vysehrad

On our last day (Friday the 13th.... I tripped on the street and cut open my knees - ouch, nice souvenir!) we went to the Wallenstein Palace, which houses the Czech Senate and art exhibitions. We had a look at the exhibition of works by Schikaneder (who I had never heard of before but that doesn't matter) and then walked around the gardens. We spent the afternoon doing the most cliche thing you can do while on holidays: souvenir shopping! I love shopping for souvenirs haha. I always get my parents a bottle opener so of course I got them one from Prague as well, this time with a corkscrew and a small knife. For my dad I got a small bottle of Absinth, a typical Czech alcoholic drink with 70(!!!)% alcohol. I got my brother a beer glass (this was originally Eline's idea actually), as he has just turned 16 and really likes beer - it says 'Czech me out'. For my my mom I got a box of chocolates with pictures of Prague on the wrappers. And of course I couldn't forget myself - I bought myself a little notebook with a picture of the Old Town Square.

At the Wallenstein Palace

All in all we had a great trip, I really enjoyed it and I really want to go on a city trip with Eline again - she's a great companion if you want to see a lot (and of course she's generally a great companion)! (: And actually we didn't spend that much money, during the trip I spent less than 100 euros and that includes dinner, lunch, souvenirs, transport to and from the hotel and the odd entrance fee we had to pay. This was also thanks to Eline's discovery of a mall very close to our hotel, which has both a Tesco hypermarket (yes there is Tesco in Czech Republic! Why not in The Netherlands?) and a food court! We ate at the food court 3 times, where you could get a main course, drink and dessert for less than 10 euros (and it was generally good food!). For the trip itself (4 nights, including breakfast, return flight and a 4 day Prague card) we payed around 250 euro per person so I think we were very lucky!

Have you ever been to Prague?

P.S. All photographs were taken by me, please do not use them without my permission!

Holidays!

Hi everyone!

I didn't post anything for a very, very long time. The main reason: exams! But I had my last exam on Friday and I now have a 3 1/2 month holiday until I start university half way through September (If I get the grades, that is). I have quite a few plans for this summer, starting with Speech Day tomorrow (a 'closing off' event with the whole class, with speeches from teachers and students) and prom on Friday. I will also be going on some trips: in July I will spend 5 days in Prague with Eline, and in August I will spend 7 days in Agios Nikolaos on Crete (Greece) with Kim. For the rest I will be doing to usual things: meeting up with friends, shopping, reading, and going on a few day trips to the zoo and attraction parks. And of course I will mainly RELAX, because that's something I haven't done a lot in the last 2 years!

Today I handed in my books at school and then went for lunch at Bagels and Beans with Sara and Abena. Do you know Bagels and Beans? They have amazing bagels - I had one with salmon and cream cheese, absolutely delicous :)
After that I went shopping with Abena, and just on time I found a dress for Speech Day! I will show you the dress and a couple other things I bought.

 The dress I bought for Speech Day. First I was thinking of wearing a black dress, simply because I have nothing else. But that dress is really wintery so I am glad I found this! Will wear it with simple black pumps I think, don't have anything else and couldn't find anything else today either.
The theme for Speech Day is Harry Potter, but as you can see I am not dressing for the theme. I think a lot of people aren't, because it is a really hard theme to dress for unless you want to look like a school girl with a skirt and tie.

I bought this dress at H&M for 19,95 euros (so cheap!).

Our Senior Prom this Friday is a masquerade so the main goal of our shopping spree was buying a mask. This is the mask I bought. Probably won't wear it very long though, because I have glasses and without them I can't recognise people very easily. I bought it at a 'party shop' for about 4 euros.
I already bought my prom dress last summer in Hamburg, maybe I'll post pictures of it after prom.

And last but not least some products from The Body Shop!
Left: Body Butter Duo - Floral Acai. I already wanted this for a long time, it smells lovely! I never bought it because I found it too expensive (17 euros) but I thought I deserved it now because I survived my exams.
Middle - Coconut Body Butter (small). My big coconut body butter is almost finished, but I didn't want to buy another big one, because I was already buying the duo one, so decided to buy a small one which we also be useful to take on holidays. I think it was 5 euros, but I am not exactly sure.
Right - Peppermint Cooling Foot Spray (small). Saw this in the rack with mini products and decided to buy it, it is a spray which refreshes and revives tired feet. Very useful after prom, and for taking on holidays because it is so small. This also costed about 5 euros.

Are you also doing exams this year? If you are in the Dutch system and you are in the middle of your exams: good luck!

Loes

Get ready for summer!

Summer is coming closer and closer, but are you ready for this amazing season yet? Here are some tips to prepare yourself for a great summer!

1. Enjoy the first sunny days, because you never know how the rest of the summer will be, especially if you live in a country like The Netherlands. Put on your bikini, don't forget to put on sunscreen, and spend about 10 minutes in the sun. On the next days you can build up and lie in the sun longer, so that you will get a bit of a tan. But watch out that you don't burn because first of all it's not healthy and you don't want to walk around looking like a tomato! Don't forget to treat your skin with some aftersun after a day in the garden or at the beach, even if you haven't burnt.

2. Fill your freezer with ice cream, because you never know when you will be craving some. Of course you can buy magnums and cornetto's, but in summer ice made from water and fruit juice instead of milk is often much more refreshing. It is also healthier, because it does not contain as many calories and fat.

3. Look up the dates of some (free) music festivals in your area, and put them in your agenda. Festivals have a nice atmosphere and are a perfect way of spending a summer day! Even free festivals even have popular artists performing, so you don't need a lot of money. My favourite free festivals are Parkpop in The Hague (in June) and Appelpop in Tiel (in September).

4. Prepare your body for summer. Don't like that bit of fat on your stomach that reminds you of Christmas? Start doing sports now, and you'll already have quite a bit trained off by July. If you don't do any sports yet, running is a good way to improve your condition and lose some weight. I started running about a year ago, and I still go twice a week. I like going running because it not only made me lose about 10 kilo's, it also helps me clear my mind and makes me happy! Don't forget to buy a new bikini and treat your body to a scrub (mix some sea salt with olive oil) to make your skin look nice.

5. Invite all of your friends to a 'start of summer' party in your garden! Prepare some nice finger food (wraps, vegetables with dip, bread, etc.), or, if you're not so good with cooking, ask everybody to bring in a dish. Decorate the garden, put drinks on the table, turn on some music and the party can start!

6. It's time to buy new clothes! You don't want to walk around in your dark-coloured winter clothes in summer, so go shopping and buy some new dresses, skirts and shorts. Don't forget to also buy a bikini or bathing suit, flipflops or sandals and sunglasses.

7. Research your holiday destination. It's always fun to look at what you can do there and decide what you would really like to see. If you're nearly going, you can also make a packing list based on what you want to do on holidays.

8. Not going on holidays this summer? Don't worry, you can have an awesome summer at home as well! It's not very hard to make it fun. All you need is some friends and waterballoons. I'm sure you'll have fun! Or bake some cupcakes with your friends, it'll be fun even if they don't turn out very nice. And there are so many other things to do: go to the beach, the swimmingpool, go on a bike tour to discover parts of your area that you've never seen, go shopping, etc. Do research on what you can do in your area before the summer holidays really start!

9. Put new music on your iPod. Look for happy songs, that fit with summer. Then take your music to the beach or listen to it in the garden. Music that fits your summer mood makes this season even better than it already is!

10. Already know that you'll have big projects to do for school over summer, like me? Try to work on them as much as you can before the holidays, so that you don't have too much left. And when the holidays are there, make sure you work on them at least once or twice a week. I know you need a lot of motivation to do this, but in the end it's rewarding because you'll get a good grade!

Are you looking forward to summer?

Inspiration

Here's some fashion inspiration, it's spring so it's time to get some new clothes! :]

 


I adore her glasses, hair colour and blouse!

I love these tights, does anybody know where you can tights like these?

Do I need to say more? :]

Again, I love the tights and also the top she's wearing.

Bring back the colour! Just looking at these bracelets gives me a summer feeling.













This skirt is amazing! Actually the whole outfit is very nice.

I like this bikini. A few weeks ago, I already bought a new bikini, it's a bandeau bikini and it's greenish with white polka dots.

Just a really inspiring picture. I should go look for some adventure!








All the pictures come from weheartit.com