What to pack for a tropical getaway…

Suit Suit luggage / striped maxi dress / rose block sandals / basket bag / beach bag / sunscreen / Ray Ban sunglasses / Puma sunglasses / maxi beach dress / turquoise kaftan / striped shopper bag / buffalo studded sandals / off shoulder frill bathing suit / neon pink bathing suit

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Escaping the cold and dark months of winter would be so nice. But after a long break over Christmas only working for a few weeks and then going back on vacation seems quite impossible. So I am dreaming away the days by thinking about white and sandy beaches, warm air on my skin and the smell of the ocean in my nose (although I have to admit I am really picky with tropcial getaways as I don´t like it super hot and humid).

Some days of winter are so dark I don´t even want to go outside (I have to because of Chloe but our walks are pretty short in the winter) and stay in bed under my blanket all day. I am sad that there are so many things you can´t do and also that it is dark all day, every day. This really hits hard on me but even if I went away it probably would be the same after we are back. So I am sitting here watching epidsodes where it is currently summer and hoping it will be over soon.

But let´s just think about the possibility and imagine what to pack. I went to Florida in Feburary for many times before I even had my blog and always packed too much although I really know what I needed and what not (overpacking hasn´t gotten better since then).

Colorful suitcase // Love the Suit Suit cases. They have the colorful turtle shell inspired line and also a retro line including lots of pastells. I have loved them ever since I got my first and got many more and also gifted some to family and friends. The qualitiy is great and therefore the prices very reasonable.

Flowy dresses // An absolute summer statement piece whether going out in the evening or wearing it throughout the day.They even look great as a beach cover-up. 

Bathing suits // No words needed. 

Sandals // Best to pack one pair of every heels. Flat, block heel and high heels.

Basket bags // Perfect addition to spring and summer looks. Basket bags asdd such an ease to summer looks.

Beach bag // A necessity for beach days. 

Sunglasses // I always like to bring two or three sunglasses to a trip to match my looks but also sometimes I get uncomfortable wearing the same pair for days and I am glad if I have a back-up with me to change.

Suncream // Super important for beach vacations or tropical getaways. The sun is intense and even more after we have been hiding our pale body´s in lots of clothes the last months.

Are you also dreaming or are you heading somewhere nice and warm? I would love to know. Thanks for stopping by. Take care. See you.

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Wedding Wednesday – Our honeymoon in Spain – Santa Ponsa, Mallorca….


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Hi guys,
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I am finally coming around to share the details of our honeymoon. As you may know we spent our honeymoon in Spain to be exactly on an island called Mallorca. The place where our hotel was is called Santa Ponsa. It is about 35 km west from the capital city Palma. 
Our flight was around 1 pm so it wasn´t hard at all to get up and get ready – although I had some stomach problems causing real pain, maybe that is why I forgot so many things – and totally managed to get to the airport in time. Another thing was the line at the check-in desk. Took us so so long and of course the security line and walking to our gate. I just grabbed one last minute coffee and didn´t have time to have a look at the duty free shops. Really sad. Same thing happened as we flew to London last year. Next time I am gonig to be there 3 hours early. 
 
We didn´t do that much on our first day. After arrriving we took a taxi (took about 30 minutes) to the hotel (we stayed at the H10 Casa del Mar) and checked in. We got a quick refresh in our room. Then we went of to explore our surroundings until it was time for dinner.
 
We booked dinner at the hotel restaurant with the reservation of our hotel but you could also just go with breakfast and eat out at another restaurant. Maybe that would have been better – not that the food wasn´t delicious – cause we always eat to much at a buffet restaurant.

The second day

The second day we couldn´t really decide on what to do and since it was so gloomy we went to the bus station and headed into Palma the capital city of the island (bus ticket was about 4 Euro per person but the bus was really really full). We went to the cathedral of Palma. There were about thousands of people. After exploring the surroundings of the cathedral we went into the city for a little shopping (they had a Sephora) and some tapas (we had the most delicious sweet potato fries with aioli – a garlic flavored sour cream) and sangria (the national drink).
 We got back late afternoon so we just showered, had a drink at the hotel bar and went to dinner. After our dinner we mostly went to the rooftop bar of the hotel and had a glass of Cava (the champagne of Spain). 

The third day

On our third day we headed to the beach which was right across our hotel (only 50 m. away). The had plenty of beach chairs but they weren´t from the hotel so for a daily fee of 13 Euro for two they where yours. 
I really loved wandering up and down the little street along the beachl There where many little restaurants, cafés and shops to look at. We love to sit and watch people for hours and I also don´t mind about a cup of coffee and a glass of bubbly. But at this point I have to be honest: I have never seen more worse dressed people in one place than there. I don´t know if it is the ease of a vacation combined with the beach but let´s just say. I wouldn´t want to have/copy 99 % of it.

The fourth day

The next day we went to a park called Marineland nearby. It was like a tiny Seaworld with sea lions, dolphins, penguins and stingrays. They had shows and access to the beach and a luch area. I really love all the sea animals and I also got a picture with a sea lion lady. 
After we got back we got dressed for dinner and headed into the city centre for a refreshing bottle of San Miguel (the local beer brand). Normally I don´t like beer a lot but this one tasted really good. Also the bar prices for drinks are pretty low. I would have thought of way higher prices but 5 Euro for two bottles of beer is totally okay.

The fifth day

The next day we got up early to go to a local market and this was one of the most disappointing things I have seen in my life. It was one sad line of market stalls and mostly selling some kind of crap/souvenirs or fruit/plants. Nothing to compare to the huge markets at Lake Garda.  So I really was devastated but on our way back I have found a beautiful fashion store where they had so many cute and affordable clothes and I got a ton of stuff also for a discounted price. I was in heaven there and it mildered my disappointment, also the glass of bubbly after didn´t hurt.

The sixth day

Our last day was spent inbetween the beach and the hotel enjoying the local cuisine and refreshing drinks. Also packing was a real challenge since I brought/bought way to much and I only had a small piece of luggage but I mastered to get everything inside without overweight.

Overall it was a really nice and relaxing trip after all the wedding stress and the city of Palma is a real must-see but if you are up for adventure and exploring this might not be the right place for you.

We have seen pretty much everything we wanted to in one week and probably won´t visit a second time.

Thanks for stopping by. Take care. See you.

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Weekend in Leipzig + what to see, where to stay, what to eat…


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Good morning my travel loving guys,

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I have a brand new city for you today we visited the weekend before Christmas and it was so pretty there. Talking about Leipzig here. It is placed in the east of Germany and is the second largest city of the state Saxony. 

Friday:

We arrived on Friday after a 2,5 h drive at our Hotel. We stayed at the WestIn Hotel, a huge business hotel with a impressing lobby and and lots of conference rooms. You immediately feel incredibly businessy by entering. 

The room was pretty big (Deluxe Room) and had an awesome view over the old town of Leipzig. After checking in and bringing our luggage to our rooms we headed into the old city. They had a Starbucks near our hotel so this was our first stop. Who wouldn´t love a Christmas themed coffee with all the advent markets around you.

There is seriously one big advent market through the whole city centre which means there are lights and trees and Christmas songs everywhere. We coudln´t decide on what to do first so we went to see the St. Nicholas Church, the second biggest church in Leipzig and head of the protestant churches. And what can I say, entrance is free so be sure to go inside and take a look. It is stunning. The whole church is white and mint and rose. I don´t kid you. I have never seen such an interior in a church. So beautiful and clean and bright. Really worth a walk trough (even if you are not into churches or old buildings but this was far from the usual.

Afer that we went to the city centre for a late lunch and decided to go shopping for the rest of the day since it was getting dark already and there wasn´t even that much time left until our dinner reservation.

I picked three stores I wanted to visit and the first one of course was Sephora (we don´t have one in the town I live which is pretty sad). I got lots of stuff I wanted to try out and also some new things I didn´t know before. They had an entire 20 % off of the whole assortment. So it was a win-win for Florian and me.

The next store we went to was the Zalando outlet store. I was curious about that cause I love to shop for all the English brands on Zalando like New Look, Anna Field and River Island. I have to admit I was a little disappointed. They carry a lot but they are sorted by sizes which means it takes forever to find a piece of the brand you are looking for. I got two ponchos for about 8 Euro each and a pretty pleated skirt for 12 Euro but that was it. 

After our sobering experience at the outlet store we made our way to Primark. I have only been to Primark once, while in London, and it was a complete nightmare so I wasn´t as enthusiastically as I should have been. But it was all right. It was crowded but not much worse than an H&M store. I got many cute things like handbands and turbans, beanies and a sleepshirt as well as a cute makeup bag.

Since this has been our last store we went to the hotel afterwards to shower and get dressed and get to our dinner reservation at Prime Burger. I had a chicken Ceasar Salad and Florian of course had a burger. My side dish where sweet potatoe fries cause I love them and he had choosen the wedges but they weren´t as good as they looked. In fact they tasted really plain. Overall the food was great. Lots of chicken and a huge bowl of salad and a juicy tasty big burger for a reasonable price. Be sure to make reservations cause they are pretty crowded on the weekend.

Saturday:

Saturday was packed with a full sightseeing plan. After our breakfast (the WestIn Hotel has a breakfast buffet to die for, so much different and delicious food) we went out to get a fresh and warm cup of Starbucks and walked around the train station. There is another Starbucks downtown as well. The central station of Leipzig is huge (worlds largest train station in area)  with lots of shops but the ceiling is the real attraction. It is a very old (opended 103 years ago) and was hung with beautiful Christmas lights all over. It is really worth to take a look at.

The second sight we walked to was the MDR Panorama Tower. You can go up to the 26th floor and have a view over the whole city from every angle. We didn´t stay up there very long cause it was super cold and foggy but the view really is incredible and Leipzig really is a huge city although the city centre is pretty small.

After our little morning tour we got hungry and decided to have a quick lunch at the advent market. We had Currywurst and french fries and it was delicious. A little hard to eat cause they only have bar tables and none of them was free but still good.

Strenghtended by our food we headed to a passage nearby which is called the “Mädler Passage”. It inlcudes many restaurants, cafés and shops and also the most beautiful Christmas decor. In my opinion it looks like a mini version of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele from Milan. Really worth sitting there for a coffee or just walking through.

 To get our afternoon caffeine fuel we went to a coffee we had found a day earlier. The café Kandler. It was super crowded but we had luck and got a table after five minutes of waiting. I especially wanted to have coffee there because they bake the traditional sweet treat of Leipzig, the Leipziger Lerche. A little round pastry filled with marzipan. It is delicious but pretty filling. One is absolutely enough alhtough they look so tiny. The café Kandler is a traditional coffee/teahouse and cake shop founded in 1989.

  Right across the coffee house is the St. Thomas church (build in the 12th century). It is know for some of the most known composers like Bach (whose remains also lie there). The church also has its own boy choir – the Thomaserchoir which is known worldwide for their music. Unfortunately it was closed on Saturday afternoon as they prepared for the evening service.

So we headed back to the hotel to warm up. Although we walked and moved the whole day at some point it just became freezing outside. For dinner we went to a Mexican restaurant called Enchilada. Also in walking distance from our hotel. I don´t have a complaint here. The food was sooo good (love mexican food). I had the three different echiladas and Florian ate a huge burrito. Highly recommend this one. You can make reservations online (highly recommended since it was absolutely full).

All of the sights and the restaurants we went to are in walking distance so we didn´t need a taxi or the tram at all.

Sunday:

We packed up and headed home after breakfast (and of course got a Starbucks coffee for the way) cause we missed Chloe a lot and saw everything we wanted too. After the half of the route it started to snow but it wasn´t too bad to drive so it was allright. In fact a little romantic with the white snow flakes outside and the Christmas music on the speakers.

Leipzig really is a nice city and a great change for the weekend since it is so near for us. It was prettier than we expected and in fact enough to see for two days but I wouldn´t stay any longer since there wasn´t anymore we where interested in.

Thanks for stopping by. If you still have any questions feel free to contact me. 

Take care. See you.

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