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Woovim, Nendaz: A luxury chalet review in the heart of the Swiss Alps

 

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know pretty much ALL I posted on Insta stories for pretty much every single day of my recent press trip to Nendaz, Switzerland was about my amazing chalet that I had the pleasure of staying in. I’m lucky enough to have stayed in some incredible places during my travels, from a circus themed hotel in Vienna to a luxurious private suite in London, and although I’ve had some truly wonderful accommodation experiences, my chalet in Nendaz topped them all. My stay was arranged by the fabulous team at Travelopo, and they were brilliant to work with throughout the whole process. I had the most amazing stay in Nendaz with four other travel bloggers, so here’s why this place was soooo beautiful, and why I think you too should stay at Woovim on your visit to the stunning Swiss Alps…

 

The views were INSANE

Just LOOK at those views!

 

OK, so these views need no introduction… Just LOOK at them!! They literally took my breath away every time I woke up in the morning, every time I went to bed at night and pretty much every hour of the day in between. It amazed me how much the landscape changed throughout the day, especially when it was bright sunshine and blue skies one minute, and then snowy and wintry the next! The rolling clouds that covered the mountains remained there pretty much the whole week though, and it really did feel as though we had floating in the sky most of the time… Not that I was complaining when the scenery was looking this good!

 

The rooms were super spacious

My massive room with TWO double beds!

 

I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in a chalet as spacious as this one, and boy did I make the most of it! Our chalet slept up to 14 people, so with just five of us little bloggers there was plenty of room and more for us and all of our luggage. I was lucky enough to have TWO double beds in my room, and I was star-fishing til my heart was content all week long. The girls all had rooms which were equally as spacious, and each had stunning views of the mountains and valley surrounding us. We all had our own bathrooms, most of which were en-suite, but there was at least one on every floor.

The chalet was split on three levels; the ground floor comprised of two large bedrooms (mine and one other) plus a big bathroom, small toilet room, shower and laundry room. Oh and there was a freaking SAUNA as well! I’m being serious, it was amazing! On the first floor there was a large cloakroom with a door to the adjoined garage, another bedroom and shower room, and a modern fitted kitchen with every appliance you would need in your home from home. On this floor there was also the focal point of the entire property, the wonderful open plan living room with stunning chandelier, over-sized TV and an authentic fireplace in front of panoramic windows with mountain views and sliding doors leading out to the enormous rear balcony.

 

Dinner with a view, anyone?

 

The top floor comprised of two more large bedrooms, both with en-suite, and a further shower room in the middle of them because, ya know, a girl can never have too many showers! There was also panoramic windows with views of the surrounding mountains, and I should also add that every bedroom in the property came complete with individual flat screen TVs, not that we used them during our stay!

Outside there was ample parking for at least 2-3 cars, with a small walkway to the rear balcony allowing you to access the property from both the front and back. The balcony was the place we spent most of our time, and many a photo shoot was taken there when we wore different outfits and wanted to capture the changing landscape too! The balcony was kitted out with a couple of sun loungers for catching some rays, and also had a huge dinner table that could comfortably fit up to 12-14 people which was perfect for some alfresco dining. There was honestly sooo much room we didn’t know what to do with ourselves and we actually spent more time in the chalet than we thought we would simply because we just loved it so much and didn’t want to leave!

 

The location was perfect

Our cabin in the woods; what dreams are made of!

 

Located down a steep hill in the heart of the Swiss Alps and flanked by a whole residential street full of similar chalets, our holiday home for the week couldn’t have been better situated for us to enjoy everything that Nendaz had to offer. The chalet was a 5 minute walk from the nearest bus stop, a 10-15 minute walk from Haute-Nendaz station and tourism office, and around an 8 minute walk from the InterHome office, where we picked up our keys for the property. Although the chalet was booked through Travelopo, InterHome became the point of contact during our stay for check in and check out, and were on hand to answer any urgent queries that we might have had.

 

The centre of Nendaz town

 

 

Just a 5 minute walk away you’ll find the local outdoor pool, definitely one of the must sees in the resort, and it was a 10 minute walk to the nearby Hotel 4 Vallees Spa Complex too. The two in resort supermarkets, Co-Op and Migros, were both a 10 minute walk away. It’s worth noting that hiring a car would be a really great way to explore further afield and trips to nearby Sion or Basse-Nendaz would definitely be worth a visit! Obviously we didn’t have a car so were confined to the resort, but with so much to see and do, and a jam packed itinerary provided by Nendaz Tourisme, this really wasn’t a problem for us! If we were visiting in winter I think we would have found it difficult to wade through snow and ice and make our way up and down the steep hill every morning and night, but I think you’d either have to get used to it or use your hire car to get up the driveway nice and easily. The chalet was just a few hundred meters from the start of the Sculpture Walk, one of the circular hour long bisse walks provided by the local tourism office and a great way to explore the town.

 

There was everything you could ever want and more

Umm so this sauna was opposite my room…

 

I know I’ve mentioned the sauna before, but it was honestly AMAZING and was one of the best things about our entire home! The sauna was literally opposite my bedroom and next to my shower room, so it felt super private and we definitely made the most of it during our time in the chalet. I loved the fact that we could use it whenever we wanted, especially after a long day of mountain hiking, and the views out the window too were totally stunning. Our chalet was kitted out to be super luxurious, and would be a haven for groups, couples and families alike. The modern kitchen with it’s excellent appliances enabled us to eat in most nights during our stay, saving us a lot of money as Switzerland is notoriously expensive for dining out! The open plan living room was our little hub and the place we all gathered together every morning for breakfast and every evening for dinner, and those views every time we looked out the panoramic windows never failed to leave us speechless, quite a feat considering we’re 5 female bloggers who NEVER STOP TALKING!!!

 

The verdict

Absolute house GOALS

 

So I’m pretty sure you can tell that I absolutely ADORED my stay in our dreamy chalet in beautiful Nendaz and it truly was the best place I have ever had the pleasure of calling home for the week. I get so attached to places I stay in on my travels, especially if I’m staying in one place for a whole week, and I genuinely felt so sad when the time had come for me to say goodbye! I would recommend this gorgeous chalet for anyone looking for somewhere to stay in the bustling resort of Nendaz, whether it’s in winter or in summer, and it would give any lucky guests the holiday of a lifetime.

Have I got you feeling envious yet?! I’m hoping these pics give you some serious wanderlust and will inspire you to think about staying in a chalet on your next trip to Switzerland, or any other holiday destination of your choice as Travelopo have a HUGE range of over 100,000 gorgeous villas and chalets in numerous destinations across Europe. Fancy catching some rays in sunny Majorca? What about sampling Italy’s finest pizza and pasta over in Lake Como? The possibilities are endless with Travelopo, and you’ll have the trip of a lifetime whilst staying in one of their beautiful properties. A big thanks to the Travelopo team for looking after me and my fellow bloggers on our recent press trip to Nendaz!

Love Jess x

NB. My stay in this chalet came courtesy of Travelopo, but all thoughts, opinions and photos are of course my own.

 

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*GIVEAWAY* A day out in London with Thames Rockets – and how you can win tickets! 🚀🚀

 

 

Last week I was lucky enough to hop aboard a speedboat on the Thames for a collaboration with a very special company. How cool is that?! Part of my job was to review a speedboat, and not just any old speedboat, a Thames Rocket if you please. Formerly known as London Rib Voyages, Thames Rockets has been renamed and rebranded since it was first launched in 2006, and has previously been awarded the #1 thing to do in London by TripAdvisor, the best tourist attraction by Visit London and, most recently, Family Friendly Attraction of the Year by Visit England. Fresh after their latest award win, the team at Thames Rockets seem to be getting bigger and better, with their awesome speed adventures offering quite possibly the best way to see London. Here’s how my trip went, and how you can WIN a pair of tickets for yourself too…

 

Boarding

 

thames rockets

Hopping on board 🚀🚀

 

Boarding for any Thames Rocket trip takes place on the London Eye Pier, at the heart of Westminster, right underneath the London Eye. Guests are advised to arrive 15 mins ahead of their allocated booking time and are given life jackets and a safety briefing before stepping on board the speedboat. The boats seat up to 12 people and no matter where you sit, you’ll get an amazing view of the sights from every angle! I took my little sister along for the ride and we were booked on to the Ultimate London Adventure, a 50 minute part guided tour/part speed experience showcasing the best that London has to offer.

 

The Tour

 

tour guide london 1

Our tour guide, Rory, showing us the sights!

 

Our speed boat experience gave us the best of both worlds; an informative tour and history of all the famous landmarks along the river for 25 minutes, and then 25 minutes of full frontal speed as we broke through the Thames barrier, and the speed restrictions, and whizzed from one side of the riverbank to the other for as long we could. Our guide, Rory, was so much fun – he told us fun facts about each of the iconic sights whilst not making it sound like a history lesson! I’ve walked and toured London many times before, but I still found out things I hadn’t known about purely from Rory’s fantastic knowledge.

 

The Sights

 

 

Starting at The London Eye, the tour took us backwards to catch a glimpse of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament before heading up river all the way towards Tower Bridge. We passed 22 iconic landmarks along the way including St Paul’s Cathedral, The Shard, The Gherkin, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, HMS Belfast and The Tower of London. Although I’ve seen them all before, gazing at all these amazing monuments from the river gave me a totally new perspective and made me fall in love with them all over again. We also rode under all the famous bridges, from Blackfriars and the Millennium to Waterloo and London Bridge. If I had to pick just one though, it would be the mighty Tower Bridge; it’s somewhere that has a really special place in my heart and I can never ever tire of looking at it – it’s my favourite place in the world!

 

The Speed

 

speedboat tour london

Hanging on for dear life… We went SO fast but it was SO much fun! 🚀🚀

 

Ok so I know I was on a speedboat tour, but I did NOT expect us to go so frikkin fast! Once we’d got past the barrier and the speed restrictions had lifted, our wonderful driver Nick went full throttle on the acceleration and we were blasting past Tower Bridge quicker than we could have ever imagined. We rode up and down the river, side to side and round and round whilst the speakers were blaring loud music and giving us a party experience to remember. It was literally so much fun, just like being on a fast roller-coaster at a theme park, but even better as the sights of London were all around us. We had to grab on to our seats but we were in no danger at all of falling out as our crew kept us safe the whole time – just make sure you hold on to anything loose as they can’t be held responsible for flying hats or scarves!

My sister and I absolutely adored our time spent with the Thames Rockets team; the tour, the speed and the music were amazing, we just wish we could have had longer on board! The Ultimate London adventure was perfect for us, but you can choose from a variety of other experiences to suit your needs. Why not hop on board the Thames Lates cruise to see the city sights lit up in all their glory? Or if your need for speed outweighs your need for sightseeing, the Break The Barrier tour is the one for you! Whatever tour you choose, Thames Rockets will not disappoint! Summer is a great time to visit whilst the sun is shining and the landmarks look even more glorious, but this experience can be taken at any time of year, weather permitting of course.

 

 

As part of this review, I’m delighted to announce that I also have a pair of tickets for you to WIN so that you can experience The Ultimate London adventure too! All you have to do to win is:

  • Follow me on Twitter – @jessica16_x
  • Follow Thames Rockets on Twitter – @thamesrockets
  • Retweet my competition tweet (pinned tweet on my Twitter page)

**Competition opens 12/07/17 and closes 31/07/17 – entrants must do all three of the above to qualify. Quoted tweets will not count. Winners to be announced on my Twitter page 03/08/17 and will be sent a pair of Thames Rockets tickets via email.**

 

thames rockets 2

What an amazing adventure we had with the Thames Rockets crew 

 

Wishing you all the best of luck with the competition – this really is an amazing prize and I know whoever wins will have the most amazing day out in our beautiful capital city! I’m rather jealous that I won’t get to do The Ultimate London Adventure all over again, but I will most definitely be back on board with Thames Rockets again soon and can’t wait to try another one of their tours.

GOOD LUCK!

Love Jess x

NB. I was invited as a guest of Thames Rockets for the purpose of this review and giveaway but, as always, all thoughts, opinions and photos are my own. A big thank you to Rory, Kai, Nick, Greg and the rest of the Thames Rockets team for looking after us, and for making our day so special.

 

thames rockets 1

Thanks for having me guys – had a blast! 🚀🚀

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Travel Guide to Vienna, the musical Austrian capital

 

As part of my mini Europe trip taken in March I visited the pretty city of Vienna, somewhere I have wanted to explore for AGES! If you read one of my previous posts you’ll know that I travelled with my friend and fellow blogger Lucy to Bratislava for two nights before catching a train over to the Austrian capital for a further two nights. We stayed in the quirky Musuemsquartier, located in the cities seventh district, and found it to be the perfect base for exploring the rest of the city. We only had two full days there so barely scratched the surface, but here’s a round up of my short time in the city and my top tips on what to see and do there…

 

Climb St Stephen’s Cathedral

 

Because a city isn't a city unless it has a beautiful cathedral at the very heart of it 💒😍 #Vienna #stephanzplatz @viennatouristboard

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Climbing towers is probably one of my favourite things to do when I’m on a city break – there’s just something about racing to the top to discover breathtaking views of the city below you and viewing it from every angle possible. I didn’t get chance to climb the 343 steps of St Stephen’s South Tower during my visit to Vienna, but I saved my little legs and instead was able to take an express elevator up to the top of the North Tower to capture the most stunning views of the Old Town below. Although the South Tower is the highest point of Vienna’s inner city skyline, and the views are supposedly slightly better, I really enjoyed my visit to the North Tower and even caught a glimpse of the largest bell in Austria, The Boomer Bell, which has resided in the tower since 1957.

 

Visit Hundertwasser village

 

 

This was somewhere completely off the beaten track and really unexpected but I am so glad I got chance to visit this pretty place whilst I was in Vienna. Lucy had seen photos of Hundertwasser all over Instagram, but I was yet to lay my eyes on it so had no clue what to expect when we set off on our wander through the city to try and find it. After a few wrong turns we came across our desired location and we soon fell in love with this place – I’ve never seen anything like it! Essentially it’s just a residential block of flats with a small shopping centre directly opposite, but the design, style and architecture is incredible and made for the most amazing Insta shots. Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser founded the site, which has now been turned into a museum and is visited by thousands of tourists annually. I think the building was really reminiscent of iconic Spanish architect Gaudi, and Hundertwasser looked a little like Park Guell. I just feel a little sorry for all the residents who have to go about their normal everyday lives whilst the cameras are constantly clicking, but if you get chance I’d 100% recommend stopping off here for a few minutes!

 

Wander around Stadt Park

 

 

After a busy day of exploring it was nice for us to sit down, rest our feet for a short while and just enjoy the ambiance of Stadt Park, a gorgeous green space right in the heart of the city. With flowers, trees, ponds, streams and local wildlife to look at, this place offered some respite from the hustle and bustle of the city centre and was well worth a visit. We cut through Stadt Park to reach Hundertwasser Village and the walk was gorgeous.

 

Tick off all three of the big palaces

 

Pretty sure this is one of the most beautiful palaces I've ever seen 😍 #Vienna #belvedere @viennatouristboard

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Make sure you visit Belvedere Palace with it’s elegant architecture and perfectly manicured flower gardens…

 

Ohhhhhh Viennaaaaaaa 🎼🎼

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… don’t miss out on Schonnbrunn either, one of the most recognized landmarks in the whole of Vienna, and the biggest palace complex in the city…

 

 

… and finally, no trip to Vienna would be complete without visiting all of the big three palaces, so ticking the stunning Hofburg complex off your list is an absolute must! With so much history and culture to discover, taking a trip to all of these palaces will help you to fall in love with Vienna even more.

 

Eat like a local

 

 

I always try to indulge in some local cuisine when I’m visiting a new city, and as it was my first time in Austria, I couldn’t wait to see what would be on the menu! I have to admit, I wasn’t as adventurous as I normally am when travelling, mainly because I was a bit limited on funds and short on time, so mostly just wanted to eat quickly before getting on with exploring! I did however get chance to eat chicken schnitzel for dinner and traditional Viennese sausages for breakfast which were a particular highlight. Sadly I didn’t get chance to sample any of their world famous apple strudel.. but there’s always next time!

 

Stay in the Museumsquartier area

 

The edgy, quirky district of #Museumsquartier made the perfect base to explore #Vienna 😍 @viennatouristboard

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I’m slightly biased as I stayed in this area during my time in Vienna – you can check out my hotel review of the amazing 25 Hours Hotel to find out why it was so great – but I would definitely recommend basing yourself near to the Museumsquartier area if you can! This place made such a good base for us as it was so central, close to the metro/bus/tram stops and there was so much to see and do within the district itself. Brimming with shops, cafe’s, bars, restaurants and, of course, museums, this part of town is edgy, lively and will certainly keep you busy during your visit to Vienna.

 

Make use of the metro or the trams

 

 

I’ll go into more detail about this below, but I cannot stress how important it is to use public transport during your time in Vienna. The city is ENORMOUS, and you’ll barely even scratch the surface if, like me and Lucy, you only have two full days there. I did get to tick off all the landmarks I wanted to see, but still feel like we saw barely any of the city despite exploring as much as we possibly could. The transport systems in Vienna are amazing, so take advantage of them, whiz from place to place and see as much, or as little, as you want to see there whilst allowing your legs to rest while you’re chilling on the tube!

 

Purchase Vienna city cards

 

 

This was an absolute MUST for us and we couldn’t have been without them during our trip. These city cards, from the lovely team at the Vienna Tourist Board, gave us free public transport to anywhere in the city, on the trams, metro and buses, and enabled us to go as far and as wide as we wanted. Vienna is such a huge city and it’s impossible to see it by foot, so these cards were a godsend and I’d 100% recommend them to anyone visiting the city.

 

So there we have it, my travel guide to Vienna. For the best possible experience I’d recommend using different methods of transport to get around, such as the metro, buses and trams, and you can walk to some places too, depending on where you’re staying. The city is huge and you’ll find it difficult to see everything without using the metro to get from place to place, but I always think it’s boring just being whizzed around on the underground, rather than appreciating the beauty of the city from one of the open top tourist buses! I have to admit I felt a bit like this during my time in Vienna and it kind of spoilt it a little – we were so pushed for time that we had no option but to use the metro, but I just felt like we were whizzing from place to place just to tick certain landmarks off, rather than spending time getting lost down side streets and discovering quirky, hidden areas of the city.

 

 

Overall though, I did think Vienna was absolutely stunning and I saw as much as I wanted to see during my short time there, but I just wish I’d got to really immerse myself in the city a little more. Hopefully this post inspires you to think about choosing Vienna for your next city break, and will leave you wanting to explore one of the most famous places in Austria. Have you ever been to Vienna before? Tell me what you thought of it, I’d love to hear your comments!

Love Jess x

Thank you to the wonderful team at the Vienna Tourist Board for our complimentary city cards for the duration of our trip.

 

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Highlights from #MustSeeMenorca: My Favourite Spanish Island

So #Menorca's harbours look pretty special in the sunshine ⛴⛴ #mustseemenorca #spain #visitspain #igersmenorca

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Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to be selected to go on my first ever group press trip and I had the most amazing time! Along with the brilliant teams at Jet2, Traverse Events, Turismo Menorca and Spain I headed off with 59 other bloggers, Youtubers and Instagrammers to explore the beautiful island of Menorca. Although this place is the smallest of the Balearic islands (excluding Formentera), it’s right up there with its sisters Majorca and Ibiza and is brimming with gorgeous white sand beaches, crystal clear turquoise waters and so many things to see and do. This was my fourth visit to the island but my first as an adult and it made me appreciate it’s beauty, culture and charm so much more! Here are my highlights from my trip and why I think you #MustSeeMenorca too…

Watching the sunset from Illa Lazareto

 

 

On our first night in Menorca we took a short boat ride from the pretty port of Es Castell over to Illa Lazaretto, an old quarantined island which has remained largely untouched since it was used to house terminally ill patients of various diseases. We wandered around the former grounds of the hospital wings, the communal gardens and the old chapel and the whole island felt very eerie, almost haunted, and I could just sense the history that was there. We had the privilege of watching the most glorious sunset over the harbour and across Es Castell, but it was a sight in itself to see 60 bloggers snapping away furiously with their Go-Pro’s, iPhone’s and DSLR cameras all trying to get the perfect Instagram shot!

 

Partying in Cova D’en Xoroi

 

 

This was probably my favourite part of the entire trip; partying in a bar in a cave on the sea – could it get any better than that?! Our closing party took us to the amazing Cova D’en Xoroi, a place I went to when I was 7 years old but could barely remember, so I was super excited to be attending again, and this time I could have a drink or three 😉 We had a wonderful time dancing to music, drinking cava, and watching the most glorious sunset over the Mediterranean sea. This place is an absolute MUST when visiting Menorca and it’s not hard to see why!

 

Exploring the white washed village of Binibeca

 

 

Another part of Menorca I had visited when I was a little girl, but didn’t realise until I got home and showed my mum this photo! Binibeca was a real hidden gem, and probably the most beautiful village I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. With its black lampposts, tall trees and white washed buildings, Binibeca makes the most picture perfect shots. You’ll also find a couple of small shops, restaurants and a doctors surgery on site whilst it’s location at the edge of the sea offers the most stunning views of the turquoise waters below.

 

Walking around the old capital, Ciutadella

 

 

The capital of the island  until 1722, the gothic city of Ciutadella is definitely worth a visit during your time in Menorca. The city is home to cobbled streets, local markets, a pretty harbour and the most stunning cathedral. Ciutadella is considered the most religious capital of the island, compared to Mahon, the new capital, and is visited by large numbers of tourists year after year. Why not taste some of the Spanish delicacies at one of the many food markets before wandering around the harbour or people watching along the side streets? There’s so much to see in Ciutadella – we spent our last day there and it was the perfect ending to a wonderful week!

 

And exploring the new capital, Mahon

 

 

Known for it’s striking architecture, it’s bustling streets and it’s busy port, Mahon is the proud capital of Menorca and boasts that it’s the birthplace of Mayonnaise, or ‘Ma-hon-aise’ as it’s supposedly pronounced! Mahon also has the one of the largest natural harbours in the world, stretching 900m wide with gorgeous clear waters. Getting around on foot is definitely the best way to see the city, and exploring the little side streets, with their wonderful array of restaurants, bars, cafes and shops, makes for the most delightful afternoon. My favourite part was walking along the harbour and taking a boat trip from the port, but don’t miss the stunning Church of Santa Maria too, with history dating back to the 1200s!

 

Kayaking in Cala Galdana

 

 

I was super nervous about kayaking for the first time… water sports are not my strong point despite having jet-skied, boat-tripped and para-sailed in the past! Let me tell you now though that kayaking was one of the hardest physical things I have ever done, but definitely one of the most rewarding. Luckily, I partnered up with the lovely Paco from the Spanish Tourist Board and he was amazing, doing most of the work whilst my poor arms couldn’t cope with the tremendous amount of rowing that was required. Sorry Paco – I’m useless and have no upper body strength! Our time on the water saw us speeding across the open sea, entering dark caves, cruising into little coves and we even stopped for a swim and a snorkel whilst enjoying crisps and drinks on the rocks. Kayaking definitely isn’t for the faint-hearted, but it was hands down one of the best things I’ve ever done and I’m so glad I got to do it with all of my wonderful Menorca buddies!

 

Visiting the highest point of the island, El Toro

 

 

El Toro is an absolute must see when visiting Menorca, and for very good reason. Drive (or hike, if you’re feeling brave enough) up to the top of the highest point of the island for the most spectacular panoramic views below. You’ll get to see the rest of the island from every angle, and you’ll also get to visit the Sanctuary of the Virgin of El Toro, a stunning 15th century baroque-style church. To the front of the site you’ll see the iconic statue of Jesus of the Sacred Heart with his arms stretched wide, said to be blessing the Menorcans who died in the Spanish Moroccan wars of the 20th century. This place felt truly special, and the views were completely stunning.

 

Tapas eating in every kind of Menorcan restaurant

 

 

We all know that food is a big part of any trip abroad, but even more so when you’re visiting Spain; the home of Tapas, Paella, Gazpacho and many more iconic dishes. As you’d expect, meal times were one of the focus points of our press trip and I think we were all desperate to enjoy a true taste of Spain during our time in Menorca. My favourite restaurant was La Minerva in Mahon, a floating restaurant in the middle of the harbour that served up the most amazing Tapas, seafood and more. I’m not the most adventurous person when it comes to food, I try as many new things as I can, but I’m happy just to stick to plain foods as 9 times out of 10 I get sick when I start eating things that are rich, or that my stomach isn’t used to! Luckily I pushed myself a little on this trip and managed to try new things that I never would have picked if I was travelling alone – cuttlefish and squid being two of my new feats, although Tapas will always remain a firm favourite of mine!

 

Other important parts of our trip

During our time in Menorca we stayed in the stunning Hotel San Luis PortBlue in the peaceful resort of S’Algar, just a few minutes walk from the waterfront where you’ll find a small selection of restaurants and shops. The resort itself was super quiet and I normally prefer staying somewhere more lively with more places to go and more things to see and do, but as we had jam packed itineraries for the entire week, it made a nice change to have a sleepy resort to be based from! We each had spacious and modern double rooms with en-suites, desks, LCD TVs and the most amazing sea views across S’Algar… I’m definitely missing waking up to those every morning!

 

 

Obviously, the main reason we were all visiting Menorca in the first place was to attend the two day conference held at the luxurious Barcelo Hamilton Hotel in Mahon. Our hosts put on a fantastic event with inspiring talks from speakers, enjoyable group challenges and plenty of time for everyone to get to know each other a little better. We were also treated to a fantastic display of foodie treats throughout the two days and admired the gorgeous sea views from our central location. My favourite part was our mini closing party on site, where we spent time drinking cava from the rooftop terrace complete with bar, hot tubs and the most amazing views across the harbour below!

 

Rooftop views and cava to end day 2 of the #mustseemenorca conference at the beautiful @barcelohamilton 🍾🍾 #menorca #Spain

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So there we are, the highlights from my #MustSeeMenorca trip – an unforgettable week with so many memories, and there were so many more I could have picked! I posted tonnes of photos on my Instagram  whilst I was away and received so many comments from lots of you saying that you wanted to hop on a plane and join me out in Menorca! I hope you all get to visit one day, and I just want to say a huge thank you again to the fantastic teams at Jet2, Traverse, Turismo Menorca and Spain for hosting our trip and making it so wonderful – our week in the sun definitely felt like a holiday and not a press trip! Have you ever been to Menorca? What were your favourite parts? I’d love to hear your Spanish stories!

Love Jess x

 

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May Newsletter

 

 

Hi everyone,

It’s the last day of May and it’s been one hell of a month for me over the past few weeks! I’m quite impressed I’ve been able to get this newsletter out on time, given that I’ve barely been in the country this month and have been here there and everywhere! As you’d expect, this newsletter is almost completely travel related because of my recent trips and here’s what I’ve been up to over the past few weeks…

I took a spontaneous city break to Sofia

 

Had the best time exploring the beautiful city of #Sofia with my wonderful friend of 10 years 💖

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This was super spontaneous, very unplanned and it almost didn’t happen as we very nearly missed our flights!! My lovely friend Toni and I wanted to do a last minute city break to an underrated European city and, after frantically scrolling through Skyscanner, we found return flights to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia for a bargain £30! How could we say no?! We only had 2 nights to explore but quickly fell in love with Sofia’s history, charm and beauty. We took a walking tour, ticked off all the big landmarks, enjoyed some of the local cuisine and drove into the mountains for spectacular panoramic views. I’ll be posting my travel guide to Sofia over the coming weeks so watch this space!

I went on my first group press trip to Menorca

 

So this was totally unexpected and even more last minute than my Sofia trip but I was completely shocked and delighted to have been selected to attend my first ever group press trip with the teams at Jet2, Spain, Traverse and Turismo Menorca. I spent a whole week exploring this beautiful island, taking part in all the fantastic activities that had been put together for us and learning so many new skills at the 2 day conference. The best thing about this trip though was all the new friends I made, and for that alone I feel so so lucky to have been selected to attend this trip. Thanks to everyone who made my week in Menorca so amazing, can’t wait for a reunion in June!!

 

It was time to celebrate my sisters 22nd birthday

 

family

 

The middle of the month brought my sister Hannah’s 22nd birthday and we had a big family meal to look forward to as my nan, grandad and great aunty all from Liverpool came down to stay with us for a few days. We hadn’t seen each other since January so it was really nice to catch up and spend some quality time with people who mean such a lot to me. We went for a lovely meal out to celebrate Han’s 22nd and picked a little pub in the Cotswold town of Burford to spend the evening. Family time is so important and it was so lovely to take a little break from work, I just wish mine didn’t live so far from me!

 

I’m still in shock after the Manchester Terror Attack

 

Waking up to the news from #Manchester this morning hit me really hard. Maybe because it's just closer to home, or maybe because it's the real loss of innocent, young, beautiful life that has been so cruelly snatched away. And for what? How can it be that you can take your kids to a concert and not return? This world is beautiful but this world is also evil- we must not let that take over and shadow everything that is good. I'm not sure what to think or say, but I found a little bit of peace sat in this spot in #menorca this afternoon just watching the waves crash against the rocks and trying to blur out everything that has happened over the past 24 hours. But we must not forget, and we must still keep the people of #manchester in our thoughts 💔

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I still can’t believe this has happened and I still don’t really know what to say about it. I was in Menorca when I found out and it still doesn’t feel real. I went to bed that night after seeing a Sky News alert on my phone that simply just read ‘incident in Manchester’. I didn’t really know what had happened, and didn’t think too much of it at first so I switched my phone off and tried to get to sleep, but there was something that was bugging me and keeping me awake. I can’t explain what it was but I felt this sickness in the pit of my stomach and I laid awake in bed for hours trying to dismiss it. When I woke up the next morning and read the news headlines I instantly burst into tears. I couldn’t believe it, I had really hoped and prayed that the word ‘incident’ I’d seen before bed wouldn’t have turned into the word ‘terror attack’ the next morning. But it had. And it was horrendous. I have no words for this appalling, senseless attack on 22 of our own beautiful men, women and children, all of whom were attending a concert and all of whom didn’t return. My heart is still breaking and I have thought of those innocent, wonderful people every second of every day since that fateful day. <3

I celebrated three years of blogging

 

Onto a happier note now, and one of my biggest personal achievements. If you read my most recent blog post you’ll know that I recently celebrated my 3 year blogiversary which was kind of a big deal for me! Three years is actually quite a long time, and I could never have imagined three years ago that my little blog would be where it is now. I’m forever grateful for the opportunities, friends and new found love for travel that my blog has brought me and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me, and for Journeys with Jessica. As always, thank you so much for your continued support, it really does mean the absolute world! 🌏

I won tickets to visit The Shard

 


So this was rather exciting and, again, totally unexpected! There’s a bit of a theme running with this months newsletter, can you tell?! I entered a competition during #Traverse17 to try and win tickets to The Shard in London – it’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to visited but sadly never been able to! I thought I’d chance my arm and enter the competition, and little did I know that I’d been named as the winner and received my VIP tickets through the post! I’ll be taking my sister with me later on in the summer and we both can’t wait to visit – a big thank you to Circular Cruises and Thames River Services for sending my prize, and congrats to the lovely Nicola who also won tickets – it was fate that we met each other on the Menorca trip too, don’t you think?!

And I’m currently en route to Tenerife!

 

tenerife

As if this month hasn’t been crazy enough I’m just about to leave for the airport to head off on my final trip for May. I’m going on a girly holiday to Tenerife with my sisters and am so excited just to chill out on the beach, lay by the pool and soak up some sunshine. The last few trips have been a bit hectic and I’ve taken my work away with me both times, so this week I’m looking forward to completely switching off and taking some time out. Hitting ‘out of office’ on your emails is the best feeling ever, right?! We’re staying right at the heart of the action in Playa de Las Americas so send your tips, tricks and blog posts my way please!

So there we have it, just a short update on the places I’ve visited this month! Given that all I’ve done is travel I haven’t got much other news to report but I’ll be in Tenerife for the next week and am then hoping for a quiet month in June to give me chance to catch up with everything and get my blog content back on track – please do bear with me as I have travel guides to Vienna, Sofia and Menorca to post and want to get them published as soon as physically possible. I’ll be back from Tenerife soon, but in the meantime you can follow my adventures over on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram! Was your month of May as busy as mine? What did you get up to? See y’all soon!

Love Jess X