Little Miss Lifestyle UK Beauty and Lifestyle Blog: hotel

Almost a month ago now Matt and I went on a long over due summer holiday to Agadir in Morocco. It was absolutely beautiful and we had such an amazing time that I knew I had to blog about it. Over the course of the week I didn't actually end up taking that many pictures, purely because we wanted to relax and immerse ourselves in the holiday rather than trying to capture everything on film (or should I say memory card!) We stayed in the Riu Palace Tikida Hotel which was 5* All Inclusive and one of Thomson's premier hotels so our flights, full board and hotel transfer was all taken care of. It was absolutely beautiful from the rooms, to the pool and the service we really didn't have any complaints at all. It's safe to say the week went way too quickly for our liking but we would absolutely love to visit the country again.

We flew from Gatwick (which has the most amazing duty free by the way) and the flight took us around 3 and a half hours. The transfer was pretty quick too on the coach and we were greeted with cocktails while we checked in. The hotel was huge and beautifully furnished but even though it was large it didn't lose any character. Our room was much bigger than we thought with it's own private balcony and one of the best bonuses was that the mini bar was free!! Luckily it is the same time zone in Morocco as England so we didn't have to worry about being jet lagged at all.

One of our favourite days was when we visited the Souks which was recommended to us before we went away. When you stay in a hotel it can be tempting to stay by the pool every day and not really immerse yourself in any culture but we really wanted to see the local life and considering it was only a short and very cheap taxi ride away it would have been a waste not to go. Unlike my experience in Egypt, the people in the Souks were hardly pushy at all. If anything everyone was very friendly and once they realised you weren't interested they were very gracious. The hardest part was bartering which is a massive thing in Morocco and something us Brits aren't very good at! We managed to get a few lovely bits in the end to take home as momentos which you can see below. The hotel served the most amazing mint tea (yes mint tea can actually be amazing!) so I was really excited to buy the proper herbs to make it at home. We had no idea that 5 different ingredients went into making the tea including dried stevia leaves, rose buds and three different types of tea leaves.

Talking of the hotel, we were lucky enough to be situated right by the beach as well as having the large pool. The hotel also offered so many other things including a spa, activities such as beach volleyball, aqua classes, a gym, an indoor pool, and entertainment every night which was always good fun.

Moving onto the food, we knew it would be a bit of a gamble as all inclusive can tend to go either way. However I am pleased to say the food was absolutely amazing! They had two theme nights in the week but the traditional Morccan food was so delicious featuring melt in your mouth meat and vegetarian tagines with cous cous and chicken pastillas to a pasta bar, loads of different meats and vegetables, and the puddings were incredible too! For breakfast there was a range of fresh fruits, cereals, cooked breakfasts, pancakes, doughnuts, champagne and more. They also had a snack bar open in between meals so it really was 24/7 food. I'm so pleased the quality was fantastic and the chefs knew what they were doing.

The staff were all incredibly friendly too and made us feel at ease in all aspects of our holiday. If you are thinking about visiting Morocco then Agadir is a little bit more touristy than Morocco but I highly recommend it if you are new to the culture. Thomson also offer a variety of trips which we would have loved to do if we were there for longer so you can really engage with the Moroccan lifestyle.

This was a bit of a whistle stop, generalised post of our holiday but honestly I can't say how impressed I was with the hotel and country xxx

I can't believe how long awaited this post is as we went on this trip at the end of February and now it is May! It was such a perfect weekend away and a great opportunity to properly take my camera for a spin as a tourist, rather than just using it for product photos.

For years I have wanted to visit Paris and I was lucky enough to be whisked away for a long weekend by Matt in honour of our two year anniversary. I didn't actually know where we were going (I thought it was Scotland!) until we were literally coming up to the channel tunnel and I opened my card which stated the destination. Of course I cried as it was literally the most thoughtful thing Matt has ever done especially as he planned so much of our weekend. As you probably guessed we took the car which took hardly any time at all to cross the channel although it was 3 hours to Paris from Calais but was cheaper than the Eurostar. It also gave us more flexibility with packing, timings and enabled us to see the city from a different view point too as well as other parts of France.

We left super early in the morning to make the most of our first day, and from the moment we arrived we fell in love with the city. I didn't think I would love it as much as I would but everything from the cobbled roads to the little cafes was so charming and french which I know is a weird way to describe it but if you've been I think you'll know what I mean! It reminded me lots of the Aristocats haha.

We stayed at the Hotel du Collectionneur which was right in the centre and less than a five minute walk from the Champs Elyess. Upon arrival we were welcomed with a bottle of champagne and a big slice of patisserie which Matt had specially organised. He had asked for it to say 'happy anniverary' but as anniversary is birthday in French they said happy birthday instead haha! After exploring our room we ventured down the road to see our first landmark: the arch de triumph. Then we wandered down the Champs Elyess and visited the first ever Laduree (my fave!) a Sephora (my other fave!) and lots of other shops and cafes on the way to the Eiffel Tower. We ate at a quintessentially French restaurant which over looked the Eiffel Tower - it was our first proper taste of French cuisine and it was so delicious. Another great thing about Paris is that they serve you bread with every meal for free which is a good addition and England should definitely take note.

For most of the next day we were on our feet. Luckily Paris is relatively small so unlike somewhere like Barcelona you can get around most of it by foot. First we had breakfast in Cafe de Flore which is a famous little cafe where all the philosophers and the great thinkers during the French Revolution would meet to discuss their new ideas for society etc. We were told they served the best hot chocolate in Paris... and let me tell you they were right! We meandered down to the love lock bridge next where we bought a little 3 euro lock to attach to the bridge and made a wish when we threw the lock into the river below.

Then we walked past Notre Dame and through lots of quaint little streets and alleys near the Latin quarter which housed amazing shops and cafes and lots of fresh flower and fruit stalls. It was nice to experience more than the normal touristy places and we felt we got to see more of the heart of Paris. We also had to stop in nearly every Pharmacie because I was obsessed with finding the best French skincare! Later that afternoon we took advantage of the hotels facilities and spent a little time in the jacuzzi and sauna before getting ready for dinner. We decided we wanted to go somewhere non-touristy but that was still popular with the locals so we went to Jaja's after a cocktail in the hotel bar (which was amazing!) Unfortunately the main we had wasn't the best but the pudding and wine was amazing, and the restaurant was small but buzzing so it was most definitely a case of ordering the wrong thing. We also got a different perspective of Paris by car and we saw the Eiffel tower's light show too.

For our last day we went for a last walk around the area our hotel was based and found a lovely cafe to have brunch in. Then we packed up the car and parked in a little side street close to the Eiffel Tower. We chose to pick the ticket which allows you to take the stairs half way up rather than the lift the whole way as it was cheaper and the queue was much smaller. In the end though we were up the tower for around 3 hours or so as there are so many levels and the queue to get to the top was very long. Although it is such a tourist thing to do it was one of my favourite parts as the views were incredible and it was amazing to see the tower up close after seeing it in so many pictures. We were running late for our slot back to England for the channel tunnel but we managed to squeeze in a quick crepe from a vendor by the tower, because you can't be in France and not eat a crepe!