The Finale (but not really)

Evening Surfers!

I'm back for the new year! Sorry about the lack of posts but I started a new job and suddenly became insanely busy!! New years resolution: actually write my blog...

So we're going back a few months to July for this post; it was the final class of my photography course and we all headed over to the beautiful riverside village of Henley-on-Thames to try out some street photography. Below is just a quick shot of the main square; Henley really is the epitome of the quaint, English village, and it is quite an affluent area: riverside getaways, private boats and beautiful wrought iron gates; all of which made for some pretty interesting pictures.

A pretty little cafe which was reminiscent of Paris.

Our main aim for this final class was to put all of our new skills into practice using the village as our setting. Our teacher, Rich, told us to keep an eye out for interesting reflections in shop windows, similar to what I was taught on the Topshop workshop. I loved this vintage flower display with the old tudor building tucked into the background, its a little like seeing Henley as it was when it was first built. It's amazing how such a simple technique can create an insight into the history of a place.

a 'lil bit of old meets new.

Our wandering took us down to the Thames River where we found a striking statue of a woman which stood looking out across the water. It was hard work trying to get a decent picture as the lighting was terrible but I think they turned out quite well.

Wouldn't be complete without a coloursplash photo

Exploring the village with all of my class mates was a really great adventure; we ended the trip with a coffee and an email exchange. The classes themselves were a fantastic way to learn more about my camera and the techniques which made me a better, more thoughtful photographer.

I'll hopefully be back soon with another post.

Love Lily

Birthday shopping on the Champs-Élysées - Parisian Getaway ~ Day Three

 Hey Surfers!

Please excuse my long absence, the injury to my arm was worse than I'd realised which means very limited (if any at all) laptop use.

Today I'm bringing you the final day of my trip to Paris; my birthday! It was definitely one of my most memorable. I woke up in Paris to presents and a day filled with shopping, though that was after frantic packing and leaving our suitcases behind in the lockers of Gare Du Nord.

Our first stop was the Galeries Lafayette; an enormous, Harrodsesque shopping mall which had a focus on high end products. Their displays were beautiful and I had to hold myself back from buying everything in sight.

The Galeries Lafayette

Their Christmas decorations were absolutely stunning, but I didn't want to pull out my giant DSLR in such a place so did some incognito papping on my phone.

I had a specific goal in this shopping centre. 

The only souvenir I wanted to bring back from Paris (other than two full memory cards) was the Pandora Eiffel Tower charm for my bracelet; though I was well aware that nearly every other owner of a Pandora bracelet would have had the same idea and...I was right. 

When we finally found the Pandora stand they told me that the Eiffel Tower was completely sold out! but they did have the version which was somewhat more expensive and featured a small gold heart. As I had decided I would buy the charm whilst planning the trip I couldn't help myself and bought it. :)

After picking this up we had a look around the rest of the shopping centre and found some gifts for friends and family. I also found this delicious French coffee which I have been enjoying since we got back. 

In the background is one of the presents my mother bought for me. Pop up map of Paris :)

A good few hours later we decided to make our final stop The Avenue des Champs Elysees to see another one of Paris' most famous landmarks: The Arc de Triomph.

So wonderfully detailed

It was a beautiful and imposing structure; I must have taken a hundred pictures before I realised we were running low on time and still wanted to explore the street for the famous shopping experience.

a picturesque side street

Found the Pathe offices!

Didn't have the time to go in here :(

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves strolling down the Avenue in the winter wind, choosing presents for my siblings. I bought myself and my mother some small perfumes as I wanted to purchase something that was exclusive to France (later found out that you can apparently get them over here!) The scent was so unusual and intoxicating, though it has to be used sparingly as it is very concentrated.

Caramelized Pear Perfume!
 Mum's gift making a perfect background here :) 

Unfortunately we had to leave soon after to navigate the Metro back to Gard du Nord and collect our suitcases. By the time we got on the Eurostar I was utterly exhausted but was looking forward to getting home and seeing the rest of my family for my birthday.

Overall it was an amazing experience and I will definitely be visiting Paris again as I still have so much to see, though next time I may brave the crowds and make a summer trip. 

Don't forget to check out the blogs at the top of my page, I've added a few new ones ;) and you can

look back to Day One and Day Two !

Love Lily.

x

Mona Lisa , Smile! - Parisian Getaway ~ Day Two

Hey Surfers,

Editing this post has been a nightmare as I've managed to injure the wrist on my right hand! I've had to do everything left handed which has been a struggle...but its all done :)

Today I'm featuring pictures from the second day of my trip to Paris; it was the only full day we had out there so I made sure to pack a lot in.

 After a quick breakfast, which we shared with this arty giraffe, we went on another Metro adventure to The Louvre Museum, I think, from the title, you can guess what we saw there ;)

Below are pictures of the famous glass pyramid and surrounding buildings. I was completely blown away by the intricacy of the architecture and took more pictures than I can count.

After queuing up and getting our tickets we went to see what the Louvre website calls their "three famous ladies" : The Winged Victory of Samothrace, The Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. I have to admit I am a big fan of museums, it amazes me that all of these things survive for so long, and that the people who made them probably had no idea of how significant they would be.

Part of me still can't believe I saw the Mona Lisa in person. There were many people surrounding the painting but black ropes and security guards kept anyone from getting too close. Thank goodness for zoom lenses! I was stood slightly at an angle but right at the front so managed to get some really good pictures.

 The Winged Victory of Samothrace

I don't know much (if anything) about this statue but thought it was really striking. I find myself wondering what happened to her head.

Another famous piece, the Venus di Milo.

Some of the gold ceilings

  After a good few hours in the museum we decided to move on to our next destination:
                                                                           The Eiffel Tower!

When I went to Paris as a child I didn't venture up this imposing landmark, but this time around I was determined to go right to the top!  After a surprisingly short wait we explored the first floor and made our way up to the peak.

The view from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

I had to poke my camera lens, and later my Ipod and phone, through the fencing to get any clear shots. I have to admit I had a few premonitions of all of them being lost over the edge, haha!

half panoramic view, from inside.

The glass floor on the Tower

The weather was getting progressively colder as the sun was beginning to set. But, as the sun set, the lights of the tower were lit. It was mesmerizing.

After stopping every few feet to take a picture the bitter wind, and our skipping lunch, made us decide to look for somewhere to have a truly Parisian dinner. After trying a few places we found a nice cafe not too far away. The staff were lovely and the food was delicious; the pasta there has ruined all other pasta dishes for me...forever. We were able to warm up with a cup of coffee and relax for a little while whilst enjoying where we were. 

.

 For desert we popped into a little bakery down the road and picked up some cake to have back at the hotel. I did toy with the idea of seeing the Arch de Triomph but it was almost painfully cold so we headed home.

The square near the restaurant 

We were exhausted by the time we reached the hotel and it was blissful to relax with a warm cup of coffee, and free wifi.

Hope you enjoyed this post, I'll be back next week with the final day of the trip. I'm heading to the Christmas Sales tomorrow, wish me luck!

Love Lily

X

Going down to Brighton, singing!

Hey Surfers,

Hope everyone's weekend has been going well and that you've all been enjoying this most rare appearance from our friend, the Sun!

My best friend and I took a road trip down to the  beautiful city of Brighton, where the houses are colourful, the sea is blue and there is the worst traffic imaginable! Haha, other than getting stuck in that we had a pretty enjoyable day.

The scenery on the drive up was breathtaking, it almost felt that we had left England behind and were driving through a European mountain range.

When we got into the city we flagrantly ignored all of the warnings about trying to drive into Brighton thinking: "it won't be that bad"

...how wrong we were...

We ended up stuck in traffic, as I mentioned,  for a very long time with the sparkling blue sea literally just outside of the window.

 Once we finally parked the car we roamed around the beach for a moment then decided to explore the famous pier. After the Haunted Hotel we went on "Crazy Mouse" and my backpack was nearly lost in the ocean after we were spun around, screaming may I add. 

Below is the roller coaster we debated on riding but chose Crazy Mouse instead.

By the time we left the pier it was getting late and we were frozen from the sharp sea breeze (breeze being an understatement) I luckily brought my leather jacket but we both seriously regretted not wearing more layers. My friend turned to me at one point and said "Next time I dress for the sun, remind me what month it is!"

It was too cold and too late to experience the famous Brighton shopping, so we ducked into a cafe and had a coffee and some tea. My fingers had pins and needles and I couldn't even feel the heat from the cup as we were so numb!

Just a pretty shot of the Lanes, with all of its shops shut.

The cafe itself was adorable and the staff were lovely; they sold some truly beautiful cupcakes which are featured in the banner of this blog. The link for the cafe is here-check them out if you're ever in Brighton: http://www.vbites.eu/brighton

Shivering, but having had a great day we climbed back into Bumble, my friend's car, and made the long trip home (stopping for some truly terrible Burger King on the way):D

We look forward to heading back to Brighton when its warmer and having a proper look around. I hope you enjoyed this post. I actually filmed some vlog footage of the day for my friend's Youtube channel; she's linked at the top of the page-PuddyGeeks.
Video link is here ^_^
"Geek On-Tour: Brighton | PuddyGeeks"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWNxcQjaJXE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I'll see you soon Surfers,

Love E

Today I'm featuring a new Youtuber that I discovered through Twitter. His Irish accent is awesome and his videos are hilarious. Make sure to check him out on your surfing adventures!

https://www.youtube.com/user/BruteSpecialist

:)