Living in the UK, I am spoilt for choice when it comes to travelling. We may not be on the most exotic side of the planet but having Europe right our doorstep means we can easily pop to a different country to explore without having to break the bank and beat the jetlag.

I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying cities such as Vienna, Paris, Barcelona, Milan and so many more but if I’m completely honest, it’s rare for me to feel like anything comes close to my beloved London. I’ve got used to saying “it was great but not as good as London”. So when I booked to go away with Next to Lisbon (and have Rich come to meet me to stay on for the weekend) I went with an open mind, but not knowing really what to expect. Long story short, I fell in love. Here’s what you can expect from Lisbon and my first timer recommendations…

THE VIBE

The way I explain it, is it has the prettiness of Santorini, with the laid back feel of the south of France and the great food of London (if London was Portuguese). Ok, that didn’t really make sense. But I was blown away by how visually beautiful the streets of Lisbon are. Almost every building is completely covered in decorative tiles, each with their own colourful pattern and I’ve never really seen anything like it. If a building wasn’t covered in tiles then it was painted a pastel pink or blue. Everywhere you look there’s a photo opportunity, seriously #nofilter needed. The people are really friendly too, I felt completely safe walking around and I felt welcomed as a tourist.

THE SIGHTS
During my trip with Next we did a bike tour of the city, which isn’t something I would usually sign up to. I actually loved it and it’s a great way to see the city. We started up high so it was mainly downhill but we cycled through so many different areas, stopping every now and again for a little history lesson – I learnt so much about Lisbon! The 25 de Abril bridge is definitely worth going to see whether it’s from afar during sunset or right up close by the waterfront, it’s an incredible bridge that’s quite breathtaking. When you first arrive it’s nice to get to know the city and I found the best way to do this was to start at the viewpoint “Miradouro Das portas do sol” and then wander down into the old town “Alfama”. Don’t be afraid to veer off the main roads and walk through the little streets, they’re so beautiful!

If you have time (if your trip is 3 days or more) then a trip to Sintra is recommended by most! Sintra is a town outside of Lisbon, which you can get to by car but we took the train and it was really easy. I did not dress appropriately for our day trip so be warned that no matter how hot it is in Lisbon, Sintra is so high up that the wind will be a bit chilly – take a jumper! Sintra is home to some amazing palaces, we only had time to go to one, “Palacio de Pena” and it was very beautiful to look around. We also had a walk around Sintra town which is filled with loads of cute ceramic shops. We ate lunch in a Portuguese place called Tascantiga that was really delicious and I loved the vibe. After lunch we had to visit Casa Piriquita as we’d heard so much about their dessert and it didn’t disappoint.

THE FOOD
As well as the few mentioned above, we ate in so many great places. I rarely travel and feel like I get food as good and varied as it is in London but I was really blown away by Lisbon. Obviously they do their own food incredibly well and any local place we ate in did amazing Portuguese food, I was obsessed with eating prawns and rice, but we also ate at the other great places that were recommended to us. The Time Out market is definitely one to visit, we went back four times! It was an old market that Time Out bought and renovated, it’s massive with loads of seating and all around the edges are different food and drink stands. They have everything from sardines, to sushi, to Thai and charcuterie. We had some amazing meals there! One night after dinner we wondered down to “The Old Pharmacy”, a cute little wine bar that’s worth noting down if you’re looking for somewhere in the evening.

Ok back onto meals… Next took us to Bairro do Avillez and I loved it so much I went back with Rich. It’s run by a famous chef who also has some other restaurants in Lisbon (and a cabaret style restaurant in the same location) and it’s a great place to visit if you want fresh fish, seafood and amazing cocktails. The restaurant itself felt very trendy and got quite buzzy in the evening. Talking of trendy, we struggled to get into “Pistola y Corazon” but second time lucky (I’d recommend going off peak times) and it was totally worth the hassle. IF you have to wait for a table, at least they serve cocktails outside in clever stand-alone plastic bags – it’s quite fun! When you eventually get in prepare yourselves for the best Mexican food you’ll ever eat outside of Mexico. I don’t know what else to say apart from great vibe, strong cocktails and the most delicious Mexican food ever.

Unfortunately the breakfast at our hotel wasn’t great so we started to venture out in the mornings to see what we could find and we came across “The Mill”. It’s the perfect place to go if you want a chilled cafe that does avocado on toast and has free wifi – it was very LA.

AREAS TO VISIT
LX Factory is a very cool area to go for a little walk around, it reminds me of East London. There’s a juice bar, outside seating for drinks, vintage shops, restaurants and then lots of random cute shops. I went during the week and it was quite quiet but when I returned on a Sunday the little road was lined with market stalls and there was a lot more going on. Whilst you’re there visit the shop “Wish” and it’s adjoining cafe and also try the famous chocolate cake from Landeau Chocolate.

Before visiting Lisbon I was told by everyone to visit Belém and to try the Pastel de Nata as they’re unlike any other you’ll find. The world famous Pastel de Nata can be found all over the city but everyone was adamant that you have to try them in Pasteis de Belém and nowhere else. I broke the rules of course and I have to say that the ones I tried in the Time Out market were identical in look and taste to the ones in Belem so if you haven’t got time to make it there, try the ones from the market! But if you have time it’s definitely worth visiting the bakery as it’s not only filled with delicious pastries but the area itself is lovely to walk around. We ate our treats in the park and really enjoyed the afternoon.

So I think that’s everything! As I said, I was blown away by Lisbon and everything it has to offer. It’s right up there on my recommended places to visit so I hope this post was helpful if you’re considering a trip.

I get asked all the time, where to stay in London and more recently where to stay in Brighton too. I usually have zero helpful suggestions because it’s rare for me to stay in a hotel in my home city and when I head down to the sea I usually crash in Anna’s spare room (thanks Anna!).

I’ve recently had the pleasure of staying in the Artist Residence in Brighton (I think crashing on Anna’s sofa on her wedding night would have been a tad inappropriate) and it’s without a doubt the most Instagram-worthy hotel ever.  I had a rough idea of what it would be like after Anna and I shot in their London hotel for the cover art of our podcast but actually staying as a guest was such a nice experience.

It has a very soho house feel without the exclusivity and camera ban (yay), but every detail has been thought through and every corner has been designed to perfection. It’s a 23 bedroom townhouse but actually feels even smaller, like an intimate, luxury B&B. I absolutely loved the decor of our room, palm print pillows, a free standing bath and a gorgeous tiled bathroom… It was heavenly. We had a couple of really nice breakfasts in the cafe part of the restaurant and there’s also The Set Restaurant for dinner too. We had some pre-wedding Friday night drinks at The Cocktail Shack and then popped downstairs for a game of ping pong! Everything felt very exclusive and hidden, there’s even another bar in the basement if you look closely behind the bookcase.

It was a dreamy couple of nights and now I’m desperate to visit the brand new Oxfordshire branch!

At the beginning of the week I was invited by Olympus to spend a couple of days in the Cotswolds at Thyme. Being the camera geek I am, a couple of days taking photos and playing around with settings sounded ideal to me! I often feel like I need to take my camera off the tripod more and go out to explore and take photos.

Thyme was absolutely beautiful, we stayed in the Manor House which is huge and the decor is perfection. I stayed in a huge room right at the top of the house, it had a freestanding bath and despite the flies (one for my snapchat family) I loved the room.

The event was to launch the Olympus Pen E-PL8, their newest update in the Pen family. I’ve never owned an Olympus before but the Pen is really well know, especially within the blogging community. It’s always had an appeal to those wanting something more compact and affordable but that still has the features of a DSLR camera. I was really intrigued to try the camera and see how it compares to the ones I currently use. At the moment I use the Canon 5d III for my main videos and photos and the Canon G7X for vlogging. The Canon 5d III is a serious piece of kit that is used by professionals so it wouldn’t be realistic to compare it to the Olympus Pen. I’m planning on doing a first impressions review video of the Pen E-PL8 so you can expect more details in that video.

What I like about the Pen is how light and compact it is, especially if you get the cross body strap. This would encourage me to take it out more and capture images on the go, instead of it being a hassle to carry the camera. The lenses can be changed which makes it far superior to the Canon G7X (although for vlogging I think I’d still use the Canon). Technically the Pen can do what a lot of DSLRs can, you just have to take time to get to know the settings and find the right lens for you.

I really enjoyed spending a couple of days exploring the Thyme surroundings and taking photos , so I hope you like seeing them. It was so nice to spend more time with Anna and for us to get to know Carrie and Reem who are bloggers I seriously admire. Keep an eye out for the video as I think it’ll give you a good idea of where I see this camera fitting in with my current kit.

All photos taken in this post were with the Olympus Pen E-PL8

Last night’s video was a bit of a passion project… 24 hours of experimenting and playing around with my new Canon 5d Mark iii. I’ve always been a photography geek… absolutely no training but a shit load of passion. As you saw in yesterday’s post I spend 24 hours at Soho Farmhouse with Bobbi Brown and I spent most of the time capturing special moments in both still images and video. I hope you like the photos above and if you haven’t yet seen the video, you can watch it below. Let me know what you think!

Disneyland as a kid was always the dream, but I’m telling you… Disneyland as an adult is even better.

A couple of weeks ago I visited Disneyland Paris with my family, we took the kids but the adult to child ratio was quite hilarious and the adults were definitely more excited than the kids. It’s because we all knew what was coming, we knew we’d soon be stepping into this bizarre, magical land where nothing feels real and it all seems like an amazing dream. We stayed at the Disneyland hotel which meant we could really get the most out of the weekend as it’s literally in the park. Everything is so grand at Disney, including the hotels and the huge staircases and high ceilings bring back so many amazing childhood memories for me. It was one of my nephews’ first time in a hotel so having to explain to him why he has to put shoes on when he leaves his bedroom was definitely memorable.

I’ve never been one for rides, as a kid I was always the bag holder and I’d prefer to soak up the experience instead. This time round I seemed to have a bit more courage as I was with family and well, they’re very good at convincing me to do things. We went on pretty much all the big rides (and all the kiddy ones too!). My favourite rides were Ratatouille, Crush’s Coaster and Pirates of the Caribbean. Somehow I survived Space Mountain despite being told it definitely doesn’t go upside down… it definitely did. The Disney Studios park had so many great rides but the atmosphere at the Disneyland Park can’t be beaten. I ate far too many toffee apples and far too much candy floss, I was pretty much on a sugar high the entire time.

It was a great opportunity to practice some of new camera skills and I became family photographer for the weekend (I took 703 photos and edited them down to 93 great ones for our family album). One of my highlights from the trip was without a doubt the beautiful light and fireworks display on the Friday night. It’s incredible how the projections are shown on the castle whilst a water and fireworks display compliments the most memorable Disney songs. I was grinning ear to ear the entire time!

I love sharing my trips every now again by doing these travel photo diaries so I hope you like seeing my snaps. It’s rare for me and my family to all go away together so it was a trip that I won’t be forgetting any time soon. Very special indeed.