My flight essentials

I'm off to NYC on Friday! Have I spoken about that on social media a lot? I have a few trusty things that I take on every plane journey - long or short haul. I've been lucky enough to visit a far few places and feel like I have my backpack down to a tee now. Looking at these photos, I feel like my kit is looking pretty scruffy. But it's all well loved! Here is what I always make sure I have before I board a plane.

My backpack
First things first, I get my travel backpack out of storage. My trusty Kanken may have seen better days but it's been on me to six different cities now and I can't bear to part with it. For such a small size, it can carry a surprising amount of things. Sometimes I think it comes from the Mary Poppins department of bags. Its so lightweight and I love the fact it can be put on your back or you can carry it by its handles.

Passport
This is without a doubt the most important thing you will pack because how can you be a Brit abroad with this eh?

Scarf
Even if you're not visiting a cold country, a scarf is a great multi-purpose item to pack in your backpack. I find planes really cold and tend to send up sitting next to someone who is a very hot person and insists on having the air con on so I use this as a blanket. It can also double up as a pillow when you fancy a nap.

Relevant guidebook
I'm a guidebook addict so I always carry one - or three - around. I've spent endless hours before hand making lists upon lists of sights I want to see, places I want to eat and bars I want to enjoy a cocktail. I love to read them as last minute research on planes, just incase I've missed anything. Plus it helps to get even more excited for what is to come!

Kindle
Most of the time I don't actually read this as I have been visiting a lot of city breaks so I've been too busy trying to explore every nook and cranny. But I have a few train journeys and beach holidays this year so this will be my best friend. I always bring it just in case because you never know when you might have a spare 30 minutes.

Holiday purse
I have a special holiday purse that I always take away from with just my spending money, bank card and driving license in it. As a person who is the Queen of forgetting things I always think it's slightly tempting fate to bring my everyday purse.

Headphones
These are my second pair of UrbanEars and I love them. I think for the money they're really good and I love the fact they come in such bright colours. I picked these yellow ones up from TK Maxx for £16. The light colour means they go grubby pretty quickly but I love how bright they are.

BONUS: Bottle of water
I always make sure I buy a bottle of water airside as I don't want to take out another mortgage to buy one on the plane. And it's never about getting dehydrated before you've even arrived at your destination right?

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Three places to visit in France that aren't Paris

I seem to be in the minority but Paris isn't really my jam. I'll continue to go as it's only a train journey away and I can't stay in the UK for too long. But I wasn't really that fussed about France until I started exploring other places. Now? I can't get enough! Here are three places to visit in France that aren't Paris. The capital city isn't everything!

Marseille
Marseille was the city that made me fall in love with France.  It could have been the beautiful blue skies but I absolutely adored it. In the centre, Le Panier is full of winding side streets with multi-coloured buildings just begging to get lost in. It's full of quirky independent shops and cute bars and cafes, perfect for losing a few hours of your day. Vieux Port is a great place to settle on a bench and watch the world go by before finding somewhere to fill your bellies. We had a wonderful lunch at La Poulpe, the set lunchtime menus in France really are fantastic. Make sure you head to the French African quarter of Noailles for somewhere a little different. Here you'll find delicious looking food and shops selling wonderful knick knacks you didn't realise you wanted.

Bordeaux
If you want a few days away from everyday life with incredible food and wine then book a flight to Bordeaux pronto. With architecture similar to Paris, it does have a fairly Parisian vibe but a lot cheaper. It's one of those places where you can spend as little or as much as you want and still have a great time. It's not a very big place so just wander where your feet take you. Half the fun is not knowing where you're going to end up. Wine enthusiasts should check out Cité Du Vin which takes you through the science of wine - you even get a taster at the end.

Côte d'Azur coast
Oh my this coastline made me do the heart eye emoji from the moment I clapped eyes on it. I was only there for a weekend so just got to know Sanary-Sur-Mer and Hyerés. Surrounded by palm trees and clear blue skies, I could hardly believe this was so close to home. Walking around it felt like I was in a type of DisneyLand. We stumbled across pastel coloured buildings, men selling the catch of the day on the edge of the sea and a bustling farmers market filled with deliciously plump vegetables, creamy cheeses and tempting biscuits. I'd love to hire a care and drive along the coast for week, stopping at the beautiful seaside towns along the way.

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How to spend 24 hours in Bordeaux

10am: Go for pastries at Le Boulangerie Saint Michel. Make you pick up a the local delicacy of Canelès. The sandcastle-shaped rum flavoured pastry has a tender centre with a caramelised outer. Once you've chosen a few pastries to try and a orange juice, head outside to find a bench overlooking the Saint Michel church. If go on a Monday, make sure you take time wander around the flea market to see if you can pick up any goodies to take home.

11am: Head to the tourist office to pick up a CityPass. Available for 24, 48 or 72 hours, the card offers free public transpire (even to the airport), free entry to most of the main attractions and discounts of some of the surrounding vineyards. Prices can be found on the website.

11.30am: Make sure you get to the Citè Du Vin before 12pm for free entry with the CityPass and a voucher to have a glass of wine. You'll be able to grab a tram from the city centre. Shaped like a decanter, the museum takes you through the science behind wine. You'll be given an audio guide and have lots of information to process. It's quite intense so be prepared to read a lot!

2pm: You'll have built up quite an appetite so it's time to grab a bite to eat. Karl offers a great selection of toasted sandwiches, quiches, salads and sweet treats. It's set in a pretty square so will be the perfect place to eat al-fresco if the weather is warm.

3.30pm: Now it's time to explore the city on foot. Sights to look for include Place de la Bourse, Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Bordeaux Cathedral, Post de Pierre bridge and Tour Pay Beland - which you'll be able to climb for cracking views of the city with your CityPass. We wanted to visit the Resistance museum but unfortunately it was closed.

5pm: Make time to stop at Le Comptoir Bordelais to buy some foodie souvenirs to take home. I treated myself to some fancy salt (it's such an old person thing to say but France has some great salt) and a box of canelès for my office. I also picked up some great caramels and chocolate to take home as gifts.

6pm: Stop by one of the many wine bars for a chance to try the region's wine. I highly recommend the Bordeaux Rosé which I couldn't get enough off. We had a drink at Le Regent as we wanted to have a drink outside in the main square.

8pm: If you're watching your pennies, pump for L'Entrecôte for dinner. The menu only consists of a simple walnut and lettuce salad to start followed for steak and frites. You can choose from medium-rare or just rare. The fries are unlimited so just catch the eye of the wait staff to ask for some more. But if you're looking to splash out then definitely book a table at Le Bouchon Bordelais. The cosy restaurant's menu changed weekly as they only use seasonly produce. You can order a la carte or as we did, opt for the taste menu. Priced at 55 euros, the nine courses are a surprise and they ask at the beginning of the meal if you have any allergies. Sadly I didn't get any decent pictures as it was too dark. But, I'd rate the food here as one of the best meals I've ever head, up there with my all-time favourite meal at Fleish in Copenhagen. It was simply divine.

10.30pm: If your belly can take it - ours couldn't and we headed home - try out a couple more of the wine bars. After all, you are in Bordeaux!

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Photo diary: a midweek break to Bordeaux

We were keen to get away for our anniversary this year as we did last year. We had no where particular in mind, everywhere is on our list, so just scoured Ryanair to find some cheap midweek flights that suited us. It was here we stumbled across Bordeaux for £20. Then when we found a AirBnB for £100 for both nights, it was a no brainer. Three days a way exploring somewhere new for £70 each? Yes please!

We had an afternoon flight and landed in Bordeaux just in time for dinner. Our travel writer at work has a friend who recommended we head to L'Entercôte for the best steak and frites in the city. I would never pick steak in a restaurant as I don't enjoy eating it. But it's one of my boyfriend's favourite dishes so whenever we go away I always schedule in a restaurant. Because I'm nice like that. But this steak we had here? It was probably one of my favourite meals I have ever had. It was so simple yet utterly delicious. The medium rare steak was so soft that it literally melted in my mouth and the fries? Oh lord the fries. So crispy yet so fluffy in the inside. I've since heard they have a branch in London which I am visiting asap.

After gorging ourselves we retired to our apartment for an early-ish which I LOVE doing on holiday. I'm never about staying up late! The next day we had a pastry breakfast from Le Boulangrie Saint Michel, a bakery I'd found on Instagram, ate them on a bench overlooking a pretty church, and set off to explore the city in the day light. We ate some more, popped to the famous wine museum and tried to squeeze in a few more of the sights which were unfortunately closed. After going back for a nap, again a holiday tradition, we got ready for what we thought was going to be a five to seven taster menu at Le Bouchon Bordelais. It ended up being nine delicious courses of heaven. It was expensive but 100% worth it for a special occasion. Mainly seafood based, I'm still dreaming about the scallops with chorizo. You really can't visit Bordeaux without treating yourself to a meal there. My belly had never been so full!

Before we knew it it was time to jump on the bus back to the airport to fly home. But not before stuffing ourselves with a traditional French breakfast at Plume. If you fancy getting away from it all with lots of good food and great wine, it's a great palace for a few days. The architecture is very similar to Paris so it feels familiar. Make sure you check back in a few days for a more comprehensive list on how to spend 24 hours in Bordeaux. We really enjoyed wandering around and soaking up the city. I now want to explore even more of France with Brittany at the top of my list!

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Travel plans for 2018

Now that 2017 travel plans have official come to a halt, I'm now starting to plan where I'm off to next year. It's already set to be a busy year and all of my holiday at work has been accounted for. Best start saving my pennies!

Image from Girl in Florence

Bordeaux
We had put aside a few days to celebrate our anniversary in January with the hope of scoring some cheap flights. I've been keen to explore more of France since I went to Marseille so was over the moon to find flights for £20 to Bordeaux. We even managed to find accommodation for £105 which means we're going to go away for a grand total of £145 - £72.50 each. Our cheapest holiday yet! I've heard some great things about Bordeaux and am looking forward to spending a few lazy days eating cheese, drinking wine and experiencing the student-y vibe.

New York
This was completely irresponsible by my mum and I. But that's what makes life fun eh? Once again I stumbled across some cheap flights - story of my life -, mentioned it to my mum and before I knew it they were booked, leaving us both wondering how on earth we're going to pay for it. It's going to be tough but we're slowing building up our kitty so I think it'll be just fine. It'll be my mum's first time to NYC so we have a few sightseeing trips plans but mostly we want to pretend we're in SATC drinking overpriced cocktails and hanging out on rooftop bars. We'll be over there for St Partrick's day which will be exciting!

Photo taken from Little Miss Katy

Mallorca
Two of my schoolfriends are getting married in May so lots of us are heading over there to celebrate. We're staying in Palmanova near the Magaluf area which is tragic yet hilarious. I didn't think I'd be heading to Magaluf for the first time at the grand age of 29. But there's such a huge group of us going so it'll be fun to have a partying holiday. The actually wedding is at a gorgeous venue in Alaro, seriously it's so dreamy. We're not too far away from the capital of Palma so I'm hoping we can squeeze in a bus trip as we're there for a week.

Benidorm
Just three weeks after I come back from Mallorca, I'm off again to celebrate my sister-in-law's hen do. My poor liver! I can't say too much because she might be reading...

Northern Ireland
Finally we're be hopping over to Northern Ireland again in August for a week. So far the plan is to stay in Belfast for a few days as we've never actually visited except to drive through and then base ourselves back in Derry to spend time with family for the remainder. I'm hoping to finally visit the Giant's Causeway (fourth time lucky), spend a day on Portstewart Strand as it rained last time and see the Free Derry museum as it was closed back in January.

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2017: A year in travel

Considering this year was suppose to be one spent mostly at home, it's somehow snowballed into a pretty busy year. I never made it to Brighton for a girls trip nor will I be visiting Germany for a Christmas market. But I did have the surprise trip of the French Riviera. This year has also reinforced my love of Europe, I really do live in on the greatest continent on the planet. So where have I visited this year?

Paris
I spent my birthday weekend in Paris with my mum and had such a wonderful trip. Probably my favourite time I've had in Paris. We walked to the top of the Arc D,Triomphe, watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night, ate dinner in a restored Orient Express carriage, wandered around Galeries Lafayette and inhaled crepes as if our lives depended on it. Every time I hop of the Eurostar, I can't never quite believe how lucky we are to practically have Paris on our doorstep.

Northern Ireland
To help commiserate being stuck together for ten years, Connor and I headed to Northern Ireland for four days. It was great to catch up with Connor's family in Derry and take road trips along the Causeway Coast. It's one of my favourite places to visit and as soon as I touch down at the airport, I feel at home. I've already got a trip planned for next summer as it's about time I finally visited the Giant's Causeway - fourth time lucky!

French Riviera
After stumbling across flights to Marseille for £35, I gathered the girls Hannah, Michelle and Sarah together to jet over to visit Elodie. We spent a wonderful day in Marseille, an afternoon exploring the brilliant Villa Noailles and a lazy day wandering around Elodie's hometown of Sanary-Sur-Mer. It was such a chilled weekend and just what I needed. It made me realise just how lucky I am to have found my Girl Gang.

Poland
Poland is one of my favourite countries I've visited and I still can't believe just how undiscovered it is. Everyone was slightly bewildered when I mentioned I was taking my two week holiday to Poland and I found myself getting quite defensive. Poland really is a great place and I've been twice now, visiting four different cities, one seaside town, the largest castle in Europe and spending a few days in the countryside. Gdansk was absolutely wonderful and by far my favourite Polish city. It was great to visit Warsaw again and I still stand by my view that its got a certain edge over Krakow.

Cardiff
I trotted down to Cardiff for Gem's wedding. It was a weekend of too much gin, lots of delicious food, sore feet and the one of the loveliest Air BnB's I've stayed in. It was such an honour to be invited to Gem's wedding and Cardiff is such a great city. I was blown away by the food culture and vowed to return soon!

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