Impromptu Oxford Adventure (One Year Blogiversary!)

Hey Surfers!

So I have now officially been blogging for one whole year! *cough missed two months cough*
I know my posts aren't as regular as I would like but I am proud to have kept this blog going for as long as I have :) and thanks to all those who have been with me from the start.

Today I'm going to be sharing with you some pictures from my first trip to Oxford. One of my best friends from University moved out there and after a few early morning text messages I decided to hop on a train so we could meet up and explore.

One of the Oxford Colleges

 After a Starbucks pitstop my friend had to go find one of our party who had gotten lost on the way into the city. I stayed behind and  took the opportunity to take some pictures of the near by Oxford University college; I believe this was the History building.

I wanted to try my hand at a bit of street photography and took this picture with the selective colour function on my camera.

After a little while I left my friends to watch the Rugby and decided to have an explore of the city. I finally found a part of the University which was open to the public and got some great shots.

I relied a bit too heavily on the black and white function on my camera for a few of these pictures but they didn't seem to have the same level of impact in colour.

Saying that, I did actually shoot this picture in black and white originally but it looked quite morbid so I switched to colour and made sure to get the flowers in the picture. It came out just as I wanted, though all these signs of spring mean one thing for me: hayfever season XD

Some heavy photoshopping went on here

After a long wander the weather started to turn and I decided to head home. I definitely want to return to Oxford some time soon and have a better look around.

I'm actually planning to start attending a photography course with a fellow blogger in the next month or so, which I hoping not only improves my skill set, but also means much more frequent posts!

I'll see you soon, 

Love E

x

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

Papping Paris : Parisian Getaway ~ Day One

Bonjour Surfers!

I have recently returned from a three day trip to Paris for my birthday! I made sure to take my camera with me to capture all of the stunning sights that the city has to offer. I managed to take over 400 photographs...so have decided to only chose and edit the pictures I feel came out the best, though I will still be splitting the trip up over three posts so the blog will be regular again! One of my New Year's resolutions will be to get back to weekly posts.

Just outside our hotel

I was joined on this trip by my lovely mother; I mean the woman did give birth to me so who better to spend a birthday with, haha!

We had an early start (4.00am) and hopped on the Eurostar for our two hour train journey before finally arriving. I managed to get us thoroughly lost on the way to the hotel but we found it eventually, even if we were frozen and damp... After happily abandoning our suitcases and warming up with a coffee, we headed out to to Notre Dame.

Photographing the catherdral threw up SO many issues. There was an army of people who were determined to ruin every picture I attempted, also, as it is December there was very limited lighting. But where there's a challenge there is a chance for some fun and I think the pictures turned out quite well; even if I did have to lean on my Photoshop skills a little.

  The interior of Notre Dame is lit by beautiful hanging chandeliers and candles, as well as the light which filters through the famous stained glass windows. 

They made entire cathedral glow.

One of the most beautiful features of the building, and probably the most famous, are the circular rose windows. It took a few shots to get the lighting right but I think I managed to capture at least some of the beauty of these masterpieces.

Exterior rose window

Streets of Paris overlooked by the gargoyles of Notre Dame 

I, of course, had to make a trip up the famous towers of Notre Dame. After climbing what seemed to be a thousand steps which threatened to throw me back down at any minute (and making a mental note to start going back to the gym) I reached the first floor of the tower and was able to enjoy the panoramic views of the city.

Paris from the towers of Notre Dame

 If you look carefully in the above picture you can see the Sacre-Coeur. The picture came out kinda basic so I let myself have a bit of fun with the editing.

I have to say, while the views were amazing, what I liked the most were the grotesques. They were definitely a sight worth seeing!

The Grotesque watches over a misty Eiffel Tower

After climbing a second flight of stairs for more pictures I ventured back down to that we could head to our next destination: The Grande Mosque of Paris!

By the time we reached the Mosque night had completely fallen and my pictures of the striking minoret did not come out at all. I didn't have a tripod with me so knew that getting any blur free pictures in such low light would be damn near impossible but I had to get some shots of the majestic gardens. The only image to come out well is above, and even then it was so dark I had to resort to some heavy photoshopping.


This is the final image of one of the rooms in the Grande Mosque. All of the walls were tiled with mosiacs and surrounded this amazing marble (at least I think it was) room.

By this time it was so cold that we had to leave but not before stopping nearby for some delicious, albeit not Parisian, food at a little restaurant near the hotel.

Hope you liked this post, Surfers. I'll be back next week with pictures from Day Two!

Took even more pictures that day...

Until next week!

Lily

I hope you like the new look. I think it's much more chic now ;)

Also check out this awesome blog written by a good friend of mine ( I know, all of my friends are bloggers too!) Their wall stickers are amazing, as is the blog!

http://www.stickerscape.co.uk/blog/latest