Throwback: Zaanse Schans

Zaanse Schans, Zaandam, The Netherlands

It's no secret that one of my all time favourite places in the world is The Netherlands. I spent several of my childhood summers in various different parts of the country (thanks to Centre Parcs) and I just fell in love with everything about it.

From the freedom of being able to bicycle everywhere (the flat roads were always a treat), the endless green fields, the windmills and adorable tiny villages you can unknowingly stumble upon, to of course, the food: the chocolate, the cheese and then some.

A couple of years ago I visited the most adorable neighbourhood in North Holland called Zaanse Schans. I imagine this is what my version of Neverland would look like because this place is so unbelievably beautiful that I'd happily stay there for eternity. Dating back to the 18th and 19th century, Zaanse Schans is home to eight perfectly well-preserved windmills and other historic houses, as well as museums, tiny boutique shops, a clog making factory, a pancake house and (in Spring) more daffodils than you've ever seen in your life.

With Spring right around the corner, and my wanderlust to return to the area at an all time high, I couldn't really resist sharing this place. Holland, you are #goals.

~ Eleanor xo

You can find out more here

The Strangest Things About Staying in a Hotel

So I stayed in a hotel a few weekends ago (how quickly time doth fly), and as this is something I don't often do, I'm always surprised by how strange the concept really is. I mean, in what universe is it the done thing to fall asleep with a breakfast menu right next to your head? And why does the window only open to about a centimetre wide when there's clearly more chance of me suffocating to death through lack of fresh air than there is of me trying to jump out of it? But let us observe...

1. Someone makes your bed for you
Obviously, we all semi make our beds before the maids arrive because we cannot bare the thought of them thinking we're complete slobs.

2. Sometimes you get free toiletries
One hotel I stayed at had The White Company toiletries in the bathroom. Obviously, I stashed them ALL.

3. Having a key card to open your door
I never allow myself to be chief key-card guardian as I'm petrified I'll lose it. Oh real keys, where for art thou?

4. Feeling like the security surrounding keeping the tiny kettle attached to your room is greater than any kind of security the hotel has for its guests

5. Having a kettle in your room, full stop
People would think you a bit odd if you kept a kettle in your room at home (and frankly, rather lazy), but in a hotel? Why, it's expected! It wouldn't shock me if people demanded refunds on rooms that came sans-kettle.

6. Everything is labelled
The windows, the doors, the pillows, the soap, the TV, everything! It's like the owners think you're an alien from another planet who doesn't quite know what a pillow does.

7. Sometimes you get toilet roll with a pointed tip
Hats off to the people trying to make me feel hella fancy when I'm doing my business.

8. Being offered a 'turn down'
TURN DOWN FOR WHAT *do do do dooo*. There's nothing odder than a man turning up at your door asking what time you'd like to be turned down. When this happened to me, I didn't actually know what it was so I just said "umm, about seven-thirty?".

9. Getting bathroom envy
It doesn't matter where you go, you will always wish the bathroom you find was your own. Unless of course, it's gross.

10. There are never ever any plug sockets
Why are there only ever two plug sockets in your hotel room when you have seventy-five gadgets to charge? And why are they always in the most unhelpful of places? It's like they want to force you to talk to the person you're with, or alternatively, remind you how alone you are.

And don't even get me started on the incredibly awkward foxtrot that is, room service. Yikes.
~ Eleanor xo

Where to eat in Albufeira, Portugal

Let's be real, one of the best things about going to a new place is trying the food. Or is that just me? Am I just obsessed with food? Probably. But that's not the point. I have an insane obsession with Spanish food; the meats, the fruits, the fish, the tomatoes, everything is better in España than it is en Inglaterra.

So having never been to Portugal before, I was excited to try some of the local cuisine and discover what dishes the Algarve had to offer. As none of us were old enough to rent a car (boo!), we chose restaurants that were within walking distance of our apartment, which largely fell into the area of the old town. Here's my verdict on some of the places we tried...

Best for: Pleasing everyone

Downtown: Pizza & Pasta (just off the Jardim Público de Albufeira)

We chose to eat at Downtown on our first night as by the time 7pm rolled around, we'd been up and awake for sixteen hours and were in serious need of nourishment. The menu (that's designed to look like a hipstery newspaper) isn't exactly that vast, but for an exclusively pizza and pasta restaurant, it provides exactly what you'd expect. I opted for the Capricciosa Pizza (a pizza with mozzarella, ham, mushroom and tomato) that was reasonably priced and had that distinct 'this has just been made and cooked fresh' taste, which was great.

The menu also offers you the opportunity to build your own pizza if those listed on the menu don't quite take your fancy, which I thought was a pretty neat feature. The service was quick and the wait staff are all really friendly and some of the more helpful we came across.

Best for: A dinner & cocktail combo

Restaurante Bar Bank (on Largo Engenheiro Duarte Pacheco)

One of the pricier options, but the food was a good quality, and the service was definitely fast - whether that's because we were being typically British and eating early while most of the restaurant was empty, I cannot say. The menu definitely favoured Mexican and burger dishes but I'd say there was a decent amount of choice. The servers outside the restaurant were some of the more pushy (and handsy), but the food we ordered was tasty, but maybe not quite worthy of the price tag - €13 for a grilled chicken salad? Seems a bit much. However, the presentation of the burgers was adorable, with the side of fries being presented in tiny chip pan baskets.

In terms of cocktails, the drinks menu was not as extensive as you'd expect from somewhere with 'bar' in the title. As well as that, the prices are pretty hefty and the servers weren't all that nice, and frankly, there appeared to be little alcohol in the drink. Still, Our Sex on the Beaches arrived Instagram-ready with decadent decorations and extra long straws.

Best for: Great value cocktails

Meet Bar (on Avenida 25 de Abril)

More slightly pushy promoters trying to get us into the bar with a "think how much more attractive I'd look if I was holding a puppy" ego and a constant assumption that because we were British, we had euros to splash - sadly not when you're on a student budget, my friend!

Still, these cocktails definitely had alcohol in them and a huge €6 peach daiquiri served with a (slightly scary and a potential health risk) sparkler for sure hit the mark. The promoter promised that if I uploaded the below picture to Instagram, it'd get 250 likes. It didn't. Shocker. Beware that although the music is really good, you will be surrounded by rather drunk men at about 10pm (and probably earlier). Get it together, lads!

Best for: Variety

Restaurante Bailote (on Rua 5 de Outubro)

This restaurant had an extensive meat and steak menu with good portion sizes and a family friendly atmosphere. After toying between the grilled chicken and the pork schnitzel (served with chips and salad), I decided to go with the latter as I hadn't eaten schnitzel in so long but it's always a firm favourite. But fear not, there's something for everyone with the menu being vegetarian friendly. The restaurant is also in a great location for people watching and always appeared to be a popular spot.

Rock Cafe Bar (on Largo Engenheiro Duarte Pacheco)

Choosing what to eat here was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make. The menu had so much choice with salads, meats, fish and pasta dishes all calling out to me. In the end I managed to decide upon a grilled tuna steak in onion and olive oil (served with baked potato and vegetables), that, no lie, I am still dreaming about to this day. It was cooked to absolute perfection and tasted amazing. Across the table, similar reactions were had for grilled chicken and vegetarian pasta. Fairly reasonable prices and staff that are up for some banter.

Best for: Brunch

Burger Bar (on Avenida da Liberdade)

I know what you're thinking, "brunch, at a place called 'Burger Bar'? Are you crazy?". Nope, not crazy, but after wandering around in the increasing heat, we discovered that Portugal, or at least, this particular town, isn't exactly into brunch. Our best option was Burger Bar and we weren't disappointed by what we got (anywhere that offers coffee and dutch apple pie for €3,50 knows what's up).

We all opted for a waffle with strawberries, ice cream, cream and strawberry sauce, accompanied by a homemade iced coffee (which has a distinct likening to the always-tasty Starbucks Frappuccino). The waffles were devoured and the iced coffees annihilated, but to say I had a severe whipped cream overdose is an understatement - I was full up for days. Burger Bar is a cool place to hang out and is very reasonably priced.

Best for: Gelato!

Downtown: Sunset Beach Club

You can't go on holiday and not go out and each fresh ice cream on the beach at least once (turns out, we went twice). While the price was rather steep, with the cheapest place charging €3,80 for two scoops, there were a lot of super fun and exotic flavours to choose from. We all took this very seriously and spent an age coming up with the perfect combinations. Of course I had to have at least one scoop of my favourite flavour, mint chocolate chip which I paired with pistachio, and upon trying a spoonful of my friend's coffee ice cream, I chose a combination of coffee and banana & chocolate ice cream the following evening.

Ice cream is the best way to round off a day in the sun, so long as you devour it before it melts down your arm or falls on the floor. Nobody should have to cry over spilled ice cream, but I think I would.

Read part one of my Albufeiraian adventures here!
~ Eleanor xo

Eleanor and pals take Albufeira

(I couldn't resist using a title worthy of a Kardashian spin-off series)

I currently resemble a cross between a tomato and a radiator, which can only mean one thing: I've been on holiday! Dousing myself in after sun and sitting awkwardly half naked while it dries is now my regular past time. You probably didn't want to know that, but I like to take time to really set the scene. 

Upon landing in Faro, a place I presumed to be warmer than the sun, it became immediately apparent that my choice of travel outfit could not have been more wrong. At 3am I'd donned my favourite Forever 21 khaki shorts in anticipation for arriving in Portugal and being greeted by blistering heat. What I got, however, was an overcast sky and a slight chill in the air. Hmm. We shared the 45-minute taxi ride to our final destination with a group of potentially-murderous-but-overall-quite-cheery German lads and a driver who checked Facebook on her phone while barreling down the motorway. God I love the Europeans.

Luckily, we arrived at our location in one piece. The town we stayed in for the week was called Albufeira, which I'm guessing translates to "the hilliest place you will ever come across" in Portuguese, because oh my gosh, everything is on a hill. And it is lethal. How we all returned home with no injuries is beyond me! I learnt very quickly that Portuguese and Spanish are almost entirely different, even after my dad assured me they were basically the same. Our first floor apartment was perfect for the three of us, it was light, spacious and had a beautiful view overlooking the sea... as well as the man in the apartment below who sat on his balcony each morning wearing Speedos.

Still, after a disappointing start weather-wise, the sun soon made an appearance and we enjoyed a super fun and relaxing holiday; hanging by the pool, making friends with local stray animals (I'm still upset we didn't bring back the resident pool cat), having heated games of Uno, spending hours choosing which ice cream flavours we wanted, drinking funky cocktails, never quite being sure what to tell servers outside restaurants what we're "in the mood for tonight", and running around applying copious amounts of after-sun to our rather warm skin.

The town of Albufeira really does have something for everyone, regardless of age, gender or marital status. Whether you want to lie by a pool for seven days and relax, hit up a new adventure/water park each day, or have a whirlwind drink-a-thon that you will never quite be able to recall the entirety of. Hen do's, Stag crews, family units and teen holidaymakers all appeared to be having a whale of a time. It just goes to show that if you advertise free wifi and Sex on the Beach, you're onto a winner.

And the biggest learning curve of this girls trip? That sun cream and after sun have expiration dates. Do not set off on your travels with two year old sun protection. Your skin will sting like a bitch and you'll be spending your evenings with an ice pack on your stomach. Because I applied out-of-date sun cream for six days, I now have one very tanned armpit after it went bright red on the first day. Be SPF wise, kids. #SunCreamIsCool #AlwaysCheckTheDates

~ Eleanor xo

-- A QUICK GUIDE TO ALBUFEIRA --

Fly to: Faro Airport (45 minute car journey to the town)

Eat: All the meat and all the fish (it's all super tasty and super fresh!)

Drink: Iced tea, preferably peach (because, obvs)

Snack on: Oranges (They are humongous and so full of flavour)

Visit: Old Town Albufeira (it is beautiful)

Avoid: Handsy restaurant servers (no, your hand on my back will not make me choose your restaurant)

Wear: A light, loose top and shorts - with shoes that have a good grip

Enjoy: The beautiful views of the bright blue sea from pretty much every vantage point

Buy: All the tacky souvenirs - or anything with a cockerel on it

Listen to: Sweet Caroline (not by choice, but every bar in this town plays it on repeat)

Forget: All your troubles #yolo

What's in my travel bag

Guess who's finally going on their hollibobs! God I hate that word, but it sounds more joyful than 'holiday' so it seemed appropriate.

Finally, six months (and countless breakdowns over university workloads) after we headed to EasyJet.com, two of my best gal pals and I are off to the distantly sunny land of Albufeira in Portugal for a whole seven days.

It's going to be pretty strange taking my summer wardrobe for a spin, seeing as it remains largely unworn for the majority of the year. Floral tank tops and teeny tiny shorts will be donned, bikini's tied with bows and flip flops slipped onto feet with brightly coloured toenails. Cocktails will be sipped, ice creams devoured and hair bleached blonder by our distant friend, the sun.

Having not seen much of the sun since my last holiday, almost a year ago, my luggage will largely consist of sun cream, after sun and sunburn pain relief - oh Garnier, where would I be without you? I like to keep things relatively simple and let my skin 'breathe', if you will, while I'm on holiday. Vitamin D is really good for you so I try and ensure my beauty and skincare is kept light and easy - whilst obviously keeping my skin protected with the help of trusty SPF 30. See below for what I'm chucking in my suitcase.

-- FOR KEEPING THE SKIN, FACE AND BODY SPRUCED AND BEAUT --

• Garnier Ambre Solaire Suncream: Easy to apply, no white marks and a smell that always reminds me of summer.
• Dior Expert Travel Studio (& So Eco Brushes): All of my favourite make up in one handy palette.
• Simple Kind to Skin Cleansing Facial Wipes & Simple Spotless Skin Rapid Action
• Sure Crystal Invisible - Pure
• Vaseline Essential Moisture: Being out in the sun all day almost guarantees dry skin, but by applying this each day, my skin keeps hydrated and feels happier.
• Garnier Caffeine Eye Roll-On: I just really like how refreshing this feels under my eyes - just don't accidentally get it in your eye... that shit hurts.
• Miss Dior - Eau Fraîche‎: I'm obsessed with this perfume and having it in a handy handbag size means I don't have to try and ensure a full size glass bottle gets to my destination in one piece.
• Johnson's Lipcare - Classic: Another problem with sun exposure - dry lips. Johnson's has always got my back and this lip balm flavour is, unlike some lip balms *cough* Vaseline *cough*, not revolting.
• Hairbrush & Hairbands
• The Body Shop - Seaweed Matifying Day Cream: I love this stuff - I'm not so sure if it's as matifying as it says, but it smells amazing, feels really nice on my skin and doesn't irritate it.
• Garnier Ambre Solaire After Sun: My saviour, always and forever. Never leave home (in the summer) without it.
• Toothbrush & Colgate Toothpaste

-- IN SHOWER ESSENTIALS --

• Aussie Miracle Shine Shampoo & Conditioner: I'm not so sure this really provides the results it claims, but I'm half way through the bottles and I didn't really want to pack new, full containers.
• The White Company Bath & Shower Gel: The perfect travel size and it smells heavenly!
• Neutrogena Spot Stress Control: Because no one wants a breakout while they're on holiday.
• St Ives Apricot Scrub: I only just started using this but I really like it so far; the scent isn't all that strong which is slightly disappointing, but I really like having a face scrub that is gentle enough to use everyday, leaving my skin feeling clean and nourished.
• Venus Satin Care Shaving Gel: Because nothing accompanies beautifully tanned skin quite like silky smooth legs.

-- TECH, ENTERTAINMENT & HAND LUGGAGE NECESSITIES --

• Marie Claire & Glamour Magazines
• Headphones & gadget chargers (plus numerous European adapters)
• A good book... or three: This holiday I'm planning on delving into 'The Sun in Her Eyes' by Paige Toon, 'Five Days Left' by Julie Lawson Timmer and 'Still Alice' by Lisa Genova.
• Ray Ban Wayfarers: In classic black and Ice Pop Strawberry.
• Eye Mask (this one was a gift and it's part of the 'Hotel Collection' from Zara Home. Similar here)
• Notepad & Pen: Who knows when inspiration will strike!
• iPad: For games, films and anything else you could want when you're feeling anti-social.

Obviously, I haven't forgotten the most essential items of all: passport, boarding pass and euros - but they're being kept under lock and key by my parents because clearly they don't trust me. God knows why...

See you soon, amigos!

~ Eleanor xo

The things you learn in Holland (about yourself and everyone else)

In the midst of severe procrastination and with a packet of just opened (which means half have already been devoured) Cadbury's chocolate fingers next to me, I am here to chat to you about my (not so recent) journey of self discovery. It's true, the journey ended about two weeks ago but I've been a little busy catching up on the season finale of Pretty Little Liars (oh em gee, am I right?!) and trying not to inhale the large quantity of Milka I bought home for various people I like, to catch you all up to speed on my life. Sadly, my plan to give a load of Milka to my boyfriend in the hope that he'd get the hint and share it with me, horrendously backfired. He took it home still unopened. I wept.

So, the story is this: at the beginning of March, myself and five other Brits packed our bags and headed over to the land of Nether- wait, that sounds wrong; we packed our bags and went to Holland (better), for a two week long international advertising project. Sounds pretty snazzy, right? Sharing a cute little hotel (owned by a fearless Dutch woman whom we loved) with six other European countries, we began plotting our uprising; spent the two weeks working in seven different groups creating fully fledged campaigns for different brands. Most of which we'd never heard of. No sweat.

My first time flying with FlyBe was... interesting. I hadn't been in a propeller plane for some years and having a seat next to the propeller that initially wouldn't start was somewhat unsettling. Still, for a while all I could picture was my mum sitting next to me tutting and comparing every single thing to how British Airways would do it - she's a devote BA flyer so this brightened my mood considerably. To be honest, when we landed in Amsterdam I wasn't truly convinced that we'd left Britain at all because we were faced with, wait for it, rail replacement services. Yes, really. For some time I was marginally convinced that this was just a British conspiracy by the government to piss everyone off but I see now that MI5 do have better things to do than mess with us all and it's a Europe wide problem. So, I forgive you National Rail. For now. 

Finally, nine hours after our expedition began, we arrived in the town of Bergen and our adventure began. And after a dinner of vegetarian lasagna, I knew this trip was going to get wild.

So what exciting Netherlandy wisdom do I have to impart on you? Well, I could write you a book, but I won't, because I'm lazy; but most importantly, if you get taken on a tour of a quaint, historic, serene Dutch town, do not be surprised if you end up in it's red light district unannounced. I still have to rub soap in my eyes to try and remove the images of the things I saw that day. Our tour guide described it as one of the "most popular" streets in Alkmaar. You don't say. 

On most days I felt as though it would be less obvious if I actually walked around holding a sign saying 'tourist', but let's be honest, this is half the fun - I mean, it's not like we get cute rivers and landscapes in England, it's all tower blocks and badly spelt graffiti. True, it adds character, but usually a character with abnormally large private parts. And I can't see Boris jumping to show that at Heathrow. The thrill I got from referring to my friends as 'Team GB' and saying stuff like "I am British" was embarrassingly massive. I tried learning some Dutch but instead all I learnt was that I'm terrible at languages. Still, I once found myself in an in-depth conversation comparing euros and pounds so maybe that counts. 

Things I learnt through this trip:

1. I'd be the worlds worst language teacher. I'm not even sure if I speak English correctly anymore.

2. I may have caused every single person there to think that Brits legitimately use the words 'swag' and 'swaggy' as adjectives...

3. At first I thought dutch boys were really cool. And then I realised that they all look exactly the same and it freaked me out a bit. If you want the new One Direction, you'll find them in Holland.

4. Once you start quoting Bridesmaids with your bestie everyday for two weeks, it becomes increasingly difficult to stop

5. It's true, you never forget how to ride a bike; but you sure will be rusty (and nothing will be funnier than seeing your friend ride into a ditch)

6. I need to be in a country where "bless you", "excuse me" and queuing are actually a thing. The lack of these things made my eyes twitch vigorously.

7. Dutch food is actually pretty good  

8. My sarcasm was probably taken offensively and I wouldn't be surprised if some of them wanted to chase me with a pitchfork

9. Nothing is more upsetting than being surrounded by multi-lingual individuals. I want to bitch in a secret language too!

10. I spent 87% of my time complaining about the Dutch bus system and how ridiculously expensive it is. 

11. At the peak of tiredness I managed to slide out of bed head first, go over my neck and land face up on the floor. And once I punched a shelf.

12. No matter where I go, someone will always pick up on the Potter thing. It almost felt like home.

13. HOLLAND IS SO INSTAGRAMABLE. And their extortionately priced buses come with wifi!

14. Lauren and I had many in depth discussions as to why the country has very few plug sockets. We've still yet to reach a viable answer.

15. And perhaps most importantly; the Europeans know how to get cray and partay

I had the most amazing two weeks; I got to bond with my fellow Team GBer's and took more selfies than I have in my life (I blame you, Lauren). We worked our cute little behinds off during the project and learnt so much. The whole thing was an experience I will never forget and I can sleep easy knowing my mum is not going to disown me because I did bring her back some Gouda. And what trip is complete without the purchase of a 'Netherlands' Starbucks mug?

~ Eleanor xo