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Five Other Worldly Destinations That Don’t Belong On Planet Earth

 

Planet earth. I love our planet, I love everything about it. I love the oceans, the green fields and the desert plains. I love the glaciers, the mountains and the coastlines. We have everything we could ever need, all around us, all the time. But there are some places on this planet that look as though they really shouldn’t be here at all. They look other worldly, almost from a completely different solar system, and not like they should be on this earth with us. I’ve been looking at some of these destinations and they’ve been giving me alllll the wanderlust feels, so much so that I’ve teamed up with Netflights, one of the UK’s leading internet based travel companies supplying flights, hotels and more, to put together a little inspo list; let’s see what you think of these out of this world landmarks…

Salar de Uyuni (The Salt Flats), Bolivia

 

 

Located amid the Andes in South West Bolivia, Salar de Uyuni is home to the world’s largest salt flat, a prehistoric lake that turned dry over thousands of years, leaving behind an 11000 square kilometre landscape. Filled with unique rock formations, bright white salt and stunning islands, this incredible landmark stands almost 12000ft above sea level and is surrounded by mountains. Covered by several metres of salt crust, the flats give the most amazing reflections in the bright sunshine and they’re also a major breeding ground for a number of different flamingo species.

 

Las Coloradas (The Pink Lagoon), Rio Lagartos, Mexico

 

Naturally Pink Lagoon in Mexico 🌴⛅ Photo By @marisahampe #boredpanda

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Possibly the most instagrammable place I’ve ever seen, this baby-pink-cotton-candy natural lagoon is located on the Yacatan Peninsula in the tiny fishing town of Las Coloradas, just 3 hours away from Cancun. Surrounded by amazing white salt banks and dreamy blue skies, this Barbie pink lagoon gets its beautiful colour from the micro-organisms, such as red plankton and shrimp, which live there and dye the water with their chemicals. If pink is your thing you HAVE to check this place out – it’s giving me serious wanderlust!

 

The Glacier Lagoon Jokulsarlon, (Diamond Beach), Iceland

 

 

Located in south east Iceland, this enormous glacial lake on the edge of Vatnajokull National Park was formed when the glacier started to recede from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. At almost 250 metres in depth, the lake has recently become the deepest in the whole country. The icebergs get their differing bright blue and wonderful white colours depending on how much air is trapped within the ice, and the lake is home to a variety of sea life too. Diamond Beach lies the other side of the road and is filled with ice cubes, illuminated ice crystals and icebergs and complete with beautiful black sand.

 

Vinicunca (The Rainbow Mountain), Peru

 

 

An undiscovered land in the heart of the Peruvian Andes, the Ausangate Mountain, also known as the Rainbow Mountain, or Vinicunca, is striped with bright and beautiful colours giving the most amazing landscape. Sitting at over 6000 metres above sea level, and located 100km from the busy city of Cusco, this geological wonder gets its rainbow like colours from its rich and varied mineralogy. During your trek across the mountain you’ll find herds of llama and alpaca waiting to greet you while you fumble for your camera trying to get the photograph of the year.

 

Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area, Zhangjiajie, China

 

Mother nature 🌿 (📷: @allapetropavlovska via @awesome.earth)

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Said to be the inspiration for the Hallelujah Mountains of Pandora in blockbuster Disney film Avatar, this 266 square mile scenic forest-like attraction is home to more than 3000 quartzite sandstone pillars, natural skyscrapers as tall as the Empire State Building. The tree like figures in this UNESCO World Heritage Site were formed over 400 million years ago through a series of geological events giving us some of the most unique rock formations on planet earth. Standing amongst lakes, ravines, gorges, waterfalls, natural bridges and over 40 incredible caves, this place creates the most incredible landscape in the Zhangjiajie area of China.

 

So there we have it, five of my favourite other worldly destinations. Have you ever been to any of these places before? They’re all now firmly planted high up on my bucket list, so I’d love to know if you’ve visited any of them. Speaking of other worldly destinations, did you know that Netflights has launched the NEW TS48 spacecraft running flights to outer space? Yes, you heard me right, actual REAL OUTER SPACE!! Operating out of a top secret location in the Lake District, you can now fly from earth to infinity and beyond. To become a pioneer of the Netflights outer space journeys, register your interest and find out more here: https://www.netflights.com/blog/space/

This sponsored post was brought to you in collaboration with NetFlights, but all words are my own. Instagram photos credited accordingly.

 

🇺🇸🇺🇸

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It's almost time for my next trip!

 Hey everyone!

So this is just a super quick blog post to say that I’m off on my next trip tomorrow and I am SO FRIKKIN EXCITED!! This is the first time I’ll be doing a city break without my sister, and will be travelling with my wonderful friend and fellow travel blogger Lucy instead! Lucy and I have known each other for just over a year now, we first met at Traverse 16 and then attended UK Blog Awards together, and have become firm friends and stayed in constant touch since then. I’m sure you’re already following her fab blog, but if you aren’t, head over to Faraway Lucy now to SUBSCRIBE!

 

 

Tomorrow Lucy and I will be meeting at Birmingham airport before jumping on a flight to Bratislava for two nights – we have no idea what to expect from this little known city (everyone I’ve spoke to has asked me where it is?! ITS SLOVAKIA PEOPLE!) but we’re looking forward to exploring as soon as we get there. We’ve heard the castle, old town square and the cute little churches are particular highlights, but send us your recommendations so we can plan!

 

Beautiful view of St. Martin's Cathedral |📷 @nastyadreamer | #thisisbratislava #visitbratislava #bratislava #slovakia

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On Thursday we’ll be saying goodbye to Bratislava and catching a train to the Austrian capital of Vienna where we’ll stay for a further two nights. The two of us have ALWAYS wanted to go to Vienna and are sooo excited to be hitting up the sights when we get there.  We’re really looking forward to checking out the opera houses, one of the many beautiful palaces, and we’ll also try and sneak in a cheeky visit to Prater Park, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world!

 

Beautiful photography by @v.for.vertigo #vienna_austria #austria #vienna

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We’ll also be working with the Vienna and Bratislava tourist boards during our trip, so watch out for special social media and blog posts coming soon! As always, you can follow my adventures on my social channels, which I’ll be updating wherever possible, so keep an eye out on my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages over the next few days! So again, if you have any blog posts, inspo ideas or recommendations for either Bratislava or Vienna PLEASE send them over to me and Lucy, we can’t wait to plan our trips! See you on the other side!

Love Jess x

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Hotel Review: Copenhagen Admiral Hotel, Copenhagen, Denmark

 

Last month on our wonderful winter city break to beautiful Copenhagen, my sister and I had the chance to stay at the fantastic Copenhagen Admiral hotel, right at the heart of the city just around the corner from the picturesque Nyhavn Harbour. We stayed on a room-only basis for three nights and had the most amazing stay. The historic building is a converted 18th century warehouse and everything from the waterfront location to the nautical themed décor, comfortable beds and welcoming staff made our stay truly brilliant. If you’re looking for a place to stay on your next trip to the Danish capital here’s why the Copenhagen Admiral is an absolute must…

 

The Location

 

 

Location is so important to me when booking accommodation for my city breaks, especially as I only have a few days for the trip and I like to be close to everything so I can make the most of my short break away. For me, the location of the Admiral hotel was perfect; situated on the Toldbodgade street right in the heart of the city, just around the corner from Nyhavn and right on the waterfront overlooking Paper Island. Amalienborg Palace was just a few steps away, whilst The Little Mermaid and Kastallet Fortress were a 20 minute stroll away along the waterfront, and Rosenborg Castle, The Round Tower and Christiansborg Palace were also a 20 minute stroll away, but in the opposite direction. The nearest metro stop, Kongens Nytorv, was just 5-10 minutes away allowing easy access to the airport and train stations.

 

The Room

 

 

I think my favourite thing about this hotel was our gorgeous, cosy room! The wooden beams really added to the charm and made it so authentic, whilst the desk/sofa area gave us an added sense of space. The bathroom with power shower was a godsend after a long days walking in the cold and there was plenty of wardrobe space too. The beds, and pillows, were super comfy and we both had an excellent sleep every single night.

 

The Facilities

 

 

The bar and reception area were spotlessly clean, modern and spacious with plenty of luggage area, large elevators and space to relax. The reception staff were so efficient, there were next to no queues and all our requests were dealt with very quickly. We didn’t dine in the restaurant area so I cannot comment on breakfast, lunch or dinner but I have heard wonderful reviews about the onsite SALT restaurant. We had a couple of drinks in the bar one night which was really enjoyable; the prices were expensive, but I would expect this from a 4* hotel bar, and the atmosphere was lovely, very relaxed and friendly. We decided to book an hour in the wellness centre one night to warm ourselves up after a cold day of exploring, and it was so nice to have it to ourselves and spend some time totally relaxing. The wellness centre, with sauna, steam room and power shower, can be booked for an hour free of charge and you will have the whole place to yourself – worth doing if you want some well deserved ME time!

 

The Verdict

 

 

Overall we had a fantastic stay at the Copenhagen Admiral and I would highly recommend staying here on a mid-week or weekend visit for a cosy and comfortable stay in the heart of the city. Every aspect from the brilliant location to the nautical sea theme and the charming room made our stay such a pleasant one; the staff made us feel so welcome throughout the whole of our stay, from the minute we arrived at check in, to the second we checked out, nothing was too much trouble.

So there we have it, my full review of the wonderful Copenhagen Admiral. I cannot recommend this hotel highly enough for those looking for a stylish and comfortable stay in the heart of the city – thank you to the lovely staff for making our stay such a pleasant one! For more information or to book a room please visit their website directly.

 

 

NB. I received a small discount in exchange for providing an honest review of the Copenhagen Admiral Hotel and, as always, all thoughts are my own.

NB. Featured photo: image credit -Copenhagen Admiral Hotel website

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A Guide to Copenhagen: The Perfect Winter City Break Destination

 

 

Been in #Copenhagen for less than four hours and I'm already in love! This place is so beautiful 😍😍 #visitcopenhagen

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Last month I had the pleasure of visiting Copenhagen, somewhere I have wanted to go for sooo long! If you follow me on social media you’ll know that I asked my Twitter followers to help me decide my next winter city break destination as I just couldn’t make my mind up, so I was so pleased when Copenhagen came out on top and won the poll! I travelled to the city with my sister for three nights and we had the most amazing time, walking for miles each day and enjoying everything there is to see and do. Copenhagen really is the perfect destination for a European winter city break, and here’s my ULTIMATE guide to visiting the charming Danish capital…

 

Get around like a local

 

 

 

The centre of Copenhagen is fairly compact, so you can get around pretty much everywhere on foot, or by bike, which is what most of the locals seemed to do! My sister and I walked everywhere and ended up doing a good 15km per day, but we were venturing over to Christianshavn and exploring a little further afield instead of sticking to the central area. We did use the metro to get to and from the airport and found it super straight forward and low cost too – just like the London underground but much cleaner! Copenhagen Central Station is right next to Tivoli Gardens, around a 10-15 min walk right to the centre, so this was really easy to navigate and made it a good base from which to get our bearings.

 

Choose your hotel carefully

 

 

We were staying at the Copenhagen Admiral Hotel, just around the corner from the beautiful Nyhavn Harbour and right on the waterfront facing Christianshavn and Paper Island. We took the metro from the airport to Kongens Nytorv and the hotel was a 10 minute walk away from there. We found the location to be absolutely perfect for where we needed to be, and what we wanted to see. The Little Mermaid and Kastallet Fortress were a 20 min walk away along the waterfront, whilst Rosenborg Castle and the botanical gardens were still 20 minutes away, but in the opposite direction. It took us less than 5 minutes to reach Amalienborg Palace and around 10 minutes to reach Christiansborg Palace respectively, whilst the Round Tower was a 15 minute walk away. On city breaks it’s pretty crucial to be central to the attractions you want to visit so as not to waste too much time travelling around, and this was certainly a big factor for us during our stay. Copenhagen Admiral was the perfect base for us, and I’d highly recommend this place to anyone looking to be in the centre of the action whilst in the city –  you can read my full review and blog post here!

 

Gaze at The Little Mermaid

 

Watch and you'll see, someday I'll be part of your world 🐚🐚 #Copenhagen #thelittlemermaid #ifoundariel

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Ahhhh the little mermaid – I just LOVE her! I’ve wanted to see her since I was a little girl, and before my trip so many people had warned me that it wouldn’t be worth the wait, that she’s just a tiny statue in the middle of the water, and that she’s nothing special at all but, you know what, I found her to be totally magical and utterly mesmerising. I know she’s only small, but to me that was what made her so beautiful. She was dainty and sweet yet iconic and powerful, everything the little mermaid should be! People come from all of the world to catch a glimpse of her, and I’m so glad I finally got to see her for myself after all these years!

Stroll around the royal residences

 

Brb, just moving in to my new home 🏰🏰 #RosenborgCastle #Copenhagen #visitcopenhagen #visitdenmark #housegoals

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Copenhagen is home to the Danish royal family, and they have a number of residences in the city, most notably the grand palaces of Amalienborg and Christiansborg. Both residences are open to the public for guided tours and you can catch the changing of the guard at Amalienborg every day at 12 noon – something that is a must see during your time in the city! We climbed the tower at Christiansborg for views across the city, and also visited the royal chapel too. On our last day we made our way to Rosenborg Castle, which has been preserved and is now a museum showcasing the history of the monarchy over the past 400 years. The castle is home to the legendary crown jewels and was truly beautiful, we loved spending our last morning in Copenhagen exploring this special place!

 

 

Explore Christianshavn

 

Depending on where you’re staying, Christianshavn should be able to be easily reached either on foot or by metro from anywhere in Copenhagen. This area of the city is a Freetown and is home to an abundance of café’s, bakeries, cars and restaurants. We were just opposite and could see the whole area from our hotel, so a short walk across the nearby bridge brought us there in just a few minutes. Prior to the trip, several of my blogger friends had recommended we check out Papioren, a huge indoor market home to every kind of street food you could think of, and many stalls and stands selling clothes, shoes, ornaments and souvenirs to take home. We spent a good couple of hours wandering around, trying to decide whether we should eat Chinese noodles, Italian pizza, American pulled pork or Indian curry before eventually choosing to share a huge Moroccan flatbread and a portion of sweet potato fries- we ate well that day! After deciding we should probably work off our lunch we strolled around Christainshavn before finding the Church of Our Saviour, complete with its amazing organ, beautiful architecture and impressive gothic spire. Sadly the tower was closed during our trip so we couldn’t climb the 400 odd steps to the top, but it was a beautiful building and well worth the visit.

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Go Instagram crazy at Nyhavn harbour

 

 

I have lost count of the amount of times I took photos of the beautiful Nyhavn harbour, I just loved it!! I’ve never seen anything like it before and it was truly stunning from every angle, and in every light. Admittedly, it looked a whole lot better with a background of blue sky and bright sunshine, but it looked just as pretty in the dark at night with the lights catching the reflection of the water perfectly. Nyhavn is a tourists paradise, and the whole area was busy pretty much all of the time but we still managed to get some brilliant photos. Eating in the area was expensive, so I’d recommend heading towards the Stroget or around the Kongens Nytorv area for a cheaper meal, although if you want to splash out one night the Nyhavn is a real treat and a lovely dining experience. Don’t forget to grab a chocolate dipped waffle and stroll along the harbour devouring your new sugary snack – I definitely enjoyed this a bit too much while I was there 😉

 

Stroll down the Stroget

 

One of the largest pedestrianized shopping streets in Europe, the Stroget is home to every kind of shop, restaurant and bar you can think of. You’ll find a mixture of high street and small independent shops as well as high-end designer stores and boutique outlets too, If shopping is your thing you will easily spend a day strolling down this enormous street and browsing til your hearts content. I have to say, I’m not much of a shopper, especially when I’m on holiday – I don’t need to bring extra weight back in my luggage with me (!) – so we just used the street to get around and walk to and from some of the attractions in the area.

 

Climb the Round Tower

 

 

We climbed all the way up there this morning ⬆️⬆️⬆️ #roundtower #Copenhagen #visitcopenhagen #visitdenmark #rundetårn

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It took us until the very last day to see the Round Tower, or RundeTaarn as the locals call it. I’d read so much about it on other people’s blogs and was so excited to finally see it for myself just before we hopped on the plane back to London. Built in the 17th century to allow the King to ride his horse all the way to the top, the Round Tower is just one big ramp that winds up and up until you reach the top – and the views are pretty spectacular once you get there. It was super windy when we were there so it literally took our breath away and it was SO BLOODY COLD, but climbing the tower was an experience in itself and was the perfect way to end our time in Copenhagen.

 

So there we have it, my ultimate travel guide to Copenhagen. Explore this compact city on foot to fully take in everything there is to see and do, and don’t forget to pack your thermals if you’re visiting during winter! Hopefully this post inspires you for your trip to Copenhagen and helps with that all important planning.

Have you ever been to Copenhagen? Tell me what you thought of it, I’d love to hear your comments!

Love Jess x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hotel Review: The Fat Fox Inn, Watlington (Oxfordshire) -The perfect base for exploring the Cotswolds and the Chiltern Hills

 

Just another hotel review 🏨🏨🍾🍾 #standardmonday #luxlife #ionlygetoutofbedforchampagne

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Last Monday I was invited to stay overnight at The Fat Fox Inn, a wonderful pub with 9 cosy rooms nestled in the medieval market town of Watlington in South Oxfordshire. Conveniently located just three miles off the M4o, with easy access to London and the Midlands, and a short drive from both the dreaming spires of Oxford and the delightful Henley on Thames, The Fat Fox Inn boasts the perfect location from which to enjoy some of the Cotswolds’ and the Chilterns’ finest tourist attractions. I invited my best friend Emily to be my travel companion for the night (she gets all the good jobs!) and so, without further ado, here’s my full review of this cosy property…

The Location

 

 

The Fat Fox is right at the heart of the Cotswolds and the Chilterns; close enough to explore everything this area has to offer, but far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the larger cities, so that you can get a good night’s sleep and a true taste of market town life in Watlington. As mentioned above, both Thame and Henley on Thames are approx. a 20 minute drive away, whilst other places of interest, including Reading and Oxford, are both a 30-40 minute drive away .

 

The Room

 

How cute does this cosy little room look?! Can't wait to get a good nights sleep here tonight 😴😴

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The Inn boasts 9 cosy rooms made up of standard and economy double and twins, premier doubles and a larger family room. The rooms are separate to the main building and are located to the rear of the car park, just opposite the pub. Each room boasts an en-suite bathroom, with large shower and bath tub, central heating, freeview TV, tea and coffee making facilities and there is free WIFI throughout. Our twin room was located at the top of the stairs on the right and was so cosy and warm. The bed (and the pillows!) were super comfy and the hot shower was amazing the next morning. We both had a great night’s sleep and really loved the homely, comfortable feel to our room.

 

The Bar

 

 

The Fat Fox is cleverly split into a few different areas, with the bar, pub seating areas and separate dining room all split up, but all next to each other, it felt like we were able to enjoy a restaurant and a pub atmosphere at the same time, giving us the best of both worlds. The atmosphere in the dining room was still as relaxed as the pub/bar area, but the food was exceedingly good and felt much more than just ‘pub grub’, with imaginative dishes and creative presentation, I’d liken it to a bistro or proper restaurant menu.

 

The Dinner and Breakfast

 

 

We were both so looking forward to dinner after a busy day at work and a long journey down to the hotel so couldn’t wait to tuck in to our food for the night! The menu was really interesting and offered a range of dishes to suit every palette.  We opted to skip starters (although I’ve heard the speciality scotched egg is a MUST!) and went straight for the main courses, choosing the braised shoulder of lamb (£16) and the bavette steak (£20) respectively. My steak came medium rare and was cooked to perfection, with mouth-wateringly good straight cut chips and gremolata as an accompaniment. Emily chose the lamb, which came with gratin potatoes and sprouting broccoli, and she loved the tenderness of the meat which was cooked perfectly.

For dessert we chose to share the chocolate cookie dough torte (£6 I think) because we were both soooo stuffed but felt we should at least make an attempt to taste it for you lovely lot, nothing to do with the fact that we wanted to be in cookie HEAVEN. The torte was amazing but super rich and I was so glad we shared as I couldn’t possibly have managed one on my own!

 

 

Breakfast the next morning was really lovely; a choice of fruit and cereals were served first, before we were shown the menu.We both opted for the Full English and enjoyed freshly cooked sausages, bacon, eggs, tomato, black pudding and mushrooms with toast and a handmade hash brown – my particular favourite! The breakfasts set us up for the day ahead and we left feeling content and with our tummies full, although I could have managed another hash brown or three before leaving! 😉

 

The Verdict

 

 

Overall we had a really wonderful stay at The Fat Fox and I would highly recommend staying here on a mid-week or weekend visit for a cosy and comfortable stay in Oxfordshire. Every aspect from the warm and welcoming staff to the brilliant dinner and gorgeous room made our stay such a pleasant one; the staff made us feel so welcome throughout the whole of our stay, from the minute we arrived at check in, to the second we checked out the next day

So there we have it, my full review of the wonderful Fat Fox Inn. I cannot recommend this place highly enough for those looking for a comfortable stay in the heart of the Cotswolds and the Chilterns– thank you to the lovely staff for making our stay such a pleasant one! For more information or to book a room please visit their website directly.

NB. I was a guest of The Fat Fox Inn for the purpose of this review, but all opinions are of course my own.

 

Another day, another hotel review! Here's my home for the night 🏨🏨

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