The Wedding Planning Series #13 Honeymoon

Good morning lovely friends! I've got some exciting news from a few weeks back, we've booked our 'mini-moon'! A couple of days after we get married we'll be jetting off to the beautiful Barcelona! I couldn't be more excited for some sunshine, tapas and drool-worthy art and architecture. Every time we book a city break, I treat myself to a mini Lonely Planets guide. They're so worth the money and great to take along; including a little pull-out map, top places to eat and interesting facts and history behind the places it helps you find. I'd always recommend them. Now of course I'd love to hear all about any 'must see' places etc if you've got any in mind but it's not Barcelona that has brought me to seek your advice today. 

I'm really struggling with where we should go for our proper honeymoon? We've narrowed it down to three places and I'm hoping that one of you out there will be able to give me some advice as to where's best? 

Time Of Year: Late October- Early November
Destination: Long Haul- Caribbean, West Indies, South America
Budget: This is pretty flexible but approx. £3000 for us both
Length: 7-10 days
Wants: This is where is gets hard: Relaxation, Exploring, Adventure, Luxury.

1) St Lucia.

Beautiful beaches, total paradise, relaxation at the forefront; St Lucia has been somewhere we've considered since we first started thinking about where to go. Such a small place, we're quite conscious that we probably wouldn't get up to that much whilst there. Which in some ways is a blessing, but for such a long trip to make, we'd like to venture, learn and explore a little bit whilst away.

2) Cuba.

Cuba is probably the total opposite in what we're thinking of doing. There's so much history, culture and sight-seeing to do that I almost worry we won't stop and relax really much at all? I'm also not too sure that how long we're looking to go for would really be enough to feel like we'd really had the true experience? 

3) Costa Rica.

I'd loved the idea of going to Costa Rica when we first started thinking of where to go, but quickly ruled it out when it came to actually looking to book somewhere; it seemed pretty hard to find all inclusive packages that suited us. I feel that Costa Rica could be the perfect destination for us, beautiful scenery and nature adventures that offer that real once in a lifetime trip feeling. I still seem to be struggling to actually put it together though?

Have any of you been to any of these places? Maybe you have somewhere else to recommend? What booking sites do you use for the longer haul? If you have any and all recommendations I'd love to hear all the opinions!

*Catch up on the other plans for our wedding*

#1 Venue
#2 Bridesmaids
#3 Food
#4 The Groom
#5 Venue Visiting (Not the one we chose in the end but beautiful!)
#6 Wedding Fayres
#7 Invitations
#8 Honeymoon Choosing
#9 The Last Of The Wedding Fayres
#10 Miss/Mrs Ms 
#11 Marquees
#12 Minimoon: An Excuse to Holiday Twice
20 Things I've Realised Planning Our Wedding

Over & Out

Sophie.

Location Location Location// Eden Project

Have I already warned you that this is the most photo heavy post in town? Well consider that your warning. So sue me, Sunae convinced me to man-up and practice shooting in manual and I pretty much ran with it. My photography knowledge now stretches to 'moving the dial-ly thing' but hey, I'm getting there! If you haven't yet gagged over my 'ode to Sunae', take a little read here and come on back for some plant photos, a couple of funny looking birds and mostly a little tour around a must-see attraction in Cornwall (and one of the only ones still open in the winter months!)

I've been to the Eden Project a few times now; more-so for charity related goodness or a little browse before seeing a band or two, it's somewhere that I totally overlook and take for granted, living so near by. The great thing about going there though is that so much is indoors (a rarity for a Cornish attraction) and meant that it didn't really matter what the weather was like, Sunae and I could visit and warm the o'l cockles whilst taking our time snapping and nattering. Starting in the education centre, she educated me more on the microbiology more than the exhibition did- I'm sure we had a small group even listening in at one stage. The 'seed' pictured above is an incredible instillation with the most amusing acoustics (when you're stomping around pretending to be dinosaurs like we were, you need great acoustics!)

Beautiful tiles in the Mediterranean biome. I'm not actually a penguin by the way, my TOMS just make me look like one. Can you spot the bird?

David Attenborough eat your heart out. 

Cacti and succulents galore!

I'd just like to remind you (again) that I am using the manual mode on my camera finally and for first attempts I'm pretty proud as punch (even if Sunae and I probably took hours longer seeing everything!) After a spot of lunch (which was super tasty, if incredibly overpriced-it's a tourist attraction so you kind of expect it!) we headed over to the rainforest biome for what became a LOT of humidity that made us go a little crazy...

I spent a good while hunting for these little birds name plaque (like the ones you get with all the plants) only for Sunae to highlight to me that 'birds move around Sophie, there probably isn't one!' I think I dubbed thee, punk chickens.

A lot of craziness later, and deciding as evening descended so much so that it got rather dark, that we were in-fact in Jurassic World, we started hiding from dinosaurs. As you do.

Finally we made it to the end, after being a little convinced that it had actually closed and we were going to spend the entire night trapped in dino-land. *wipes brow*

To wrap up, Eden Project is a great day out for a visitor to Cornwall in winter because it's mainly inside. It isn't cheap but they do offer a locals' pass which is great value for money and gives you access during all the exciting times of year. It's been almost two months since my little dinosaur queen was here and I totally miss her every day. Sorting and commentating these photos has filled me with joy and reminiscence. I'm suddenly back to planning moving my life to Australia again.

Miss you Sunae.

Over & Out

Sophie

The Wedding Planning Series #12 Minimoon An Excuse To Holiday Twice.

I come to you all with dilemmas and questions and many responses needed. So far and with a little less than seven months to go (eeeeek!) I've been pretty successful and stress free with planning our super duper wedding next year. There have been two main causes for confusion and both come in the forms of honeymoon destination. 

•All images Via Pinterest Click for source.

We'd decided when we first started planning that it'd be pretty sensible to have our honeymoon a few months after our wedding- more time to save up for that luxurious trip we both want to have. That was all fine until I came across a couple (who yes, quite frankly were rather wealthy) and they told me all about their mini-moon. Immediately mesmerised by the play on words and the general cuteness sounding of it all, was hooked on the idea and have decided we.must.have.one. 

The thought of going away somewhere in the UK for 3-4 nights for a little peaceful time just straight after the wedding just is too lovely to not indulge in don't you think?  Which brings me to my dilemma. We'd originally planned to go to the Lake District, Harps loves bike riding and I like generally wandering in nature; a little log cabin *insert Pinterest imagination getting carried away* and tranquility/ romance galore. I had it all mapped out...Until I looked at a map. It's pretty darn far away from Cornwall guys and we hadn't really considered the factor of actually getting there? So much so that we started debating about just going the whole hog and taking a trip to Scotland (I've always wanted to go) but then I can't help but think I'll want to squeeze 'doing' too much into our few days there? Now I've started debating Bath which I'm having the same debate with. It's hard to decide what to do when you want to force yourselves to slow down but you're both naturally exploring people.  


So now I'm weighing up between city break and all out forest excursion. I'm looking for your help (and yes I secretly would love it to be that extra bit special and luxurious)!

If you think all this is a bit crazy, don't even get me started on the actual honeymoon planning! Oi vey.

Oh and if you're keeping track, catch up with my other Wedding Planning Series posts below!

• #1 Venue
• #2 Bridesmaids
• #3 Food
• #4 The Groom
• #5 Venue Visiting (Not the one we chose in the end but beautiful!)
• #6 Wedding Fayres
• #7 Invitations
• #8 Honeymoon Choosing
• #9 The Last Of The Wedding Fayres
• #10 Miss/Mrs Ms 
• #11 Marquees
• 20 Things I've Realised Planning Our Wedding

Love Sophie Xx

Summer in Cornwall.

There's a salty taste to the air and the sunshine warms my skin like a little cuddle from the sky. Yes people, Cornwall has officially stepped into summer. Longer days have meant my time off work has been full of so many wonderful things that I've totally left you all behind. A slightly cloudier day brings me inside from trying to even out my mysterious geometric tan lines, to report back the glory that is Cornwall at it's best. How many of you would guess this was the UK? All photos from this glorious day out are of Charlestown (see more about here and here) with my gal Stacie.

After lunching and drinking on the patio of a sea-side pub we ventured down to the shoreline, hunting for fancy shells, magical rocks and softened glass- shouting to one-another once in a while "Oooh I found a nice rock!" The fellow beach users were thrilled we'd arrived I'm sure. Finding our own little sandy spot convinced us that despite not being really very well dressed for a paddle, that we wanted to channel our inner mermaid. We waded until our clothes were soaked and our shoes were sodden and settled on the sand to build castles and dry off. More sand-mound-esque monuments were built and pockets full of underwater treasures we waddled back up the hill, stopping (of course) for our favourite ice-creams. 

Perfect summer days.

Love Sophie Xx

Location Location Location: Falmouth.

I honestly almost called this post "Cornwall- The Best Place on Earth." Which whilst may be accurate, let's face it- it's a little bragasaurus isn't it? It's been too long since I've posted a locations post, which sadly is due to not visiting many new places in recent weeks. Now that the hubbub of Christmas and 'new year new me' is out of the way, we can all get on and enjoy 2015. So when my bestest gal in the land offered to take me out on a date as a birthday treat, we both hopped, skipped and jumped at the chance to head into Falmouth for a day of good food and wintery walks. 

Time with Stacie is always the best, someone who understands that you need to pour the tea slowly so as to get a nice photo for the blog and considering we have pretty much exactly the same tastes for good quality, quirky food places, I knew it'd be a perfect way to spend a Sunday.

Our rumbling tummies and freezing fingers had us heading straight for food as we arrived and after a short walk we ended up visiting Fuel cafe/lounge/bar for what became the most amazing lunch. We settled with our delicious lunches (see my drool worthy chicken burger below!) and picked up one of the many games scattered around to play. Shrieking at the sight of Guess Who we were ready to move in then and there. 

I'm pretty damn fortunate to have another best friend who lives right in Falmouth now (he's studying film at Falmouth University!) and knowing we'd be in the area, he came down to meet us. We were just finishing our championship round of Guess Who (I won obviously) when he arrived, and we all headed for a little tour around Falmouth town. 

Stacie and I had been hoping to visit one of Falmouth's many art galleries but lack of planning and Sunday hours meant that by the time we emerged from the warmth of Fuel there weren't any open. Heading to the sea (and then sharply retreating after flailing in the high winds) we all took solstice in a pub/bookshop/ping pong table emporium (ok maybe not emporium- it was pretty impressive) called Beerwolf Books. Reece said that this is where the students come and I imagine I'd actually live there if I was at Uni. After a while of browsing (I'm pretty lucky to have friends that are just as huge bookworms as I am) and a couple of purchases after, we continued our little walk, eventually ending up stopping for more cake and drinks at The Shed, a beautifully decorated restaurant and bar with the tastiest cakes! My phone was dying, my belly full and my heart happy at such a lovely time with these two. I'd thoroughly recommend to any of you visiting us down ere a trip to Falmouth. 

Love Sophie Xx

The Wedding Planning Series #8 Honeymoon Choosing.

You can see all sources via my Pinterest page here.

You'd think it'd be easy working out the one place you'd love to visit for your honeymoon? Well it really isn't as easy as it seems; over the last few weeks, winter has been vicious and it's taken me to Pinterest, longing for warm climates and paradise settings for our fanciest of all the fancy holidays. Your honeymoon is supposed to be the best trip ever isn't it? What with so many places I'm dying to visit, the choices are endless. So far Harps and I have agreed on three things: 1) It needs to be hot enough to tan- because that's part of the romance/loveliness of honeymoons. 2) It needs to have adventure- we're not the sort of people to lie on a beach for 2 weeks, we'd get too bored! We need things to learn about and sights to see and activities to look back on for years to come. 3) It needs to be beautiful- It's my damn honeymoon, it has to be fabulous looking right?

1) Portofino, Italy- I'd quite love to do a little tour around Italy, visiting Portofino, Florence, Pisa, Pompeii etc- Harps thinks we should be going further away-longer haul and a new continent.

2) Tulum, Mexico- Doesn't this pool look amazing? The pros of Mexico include amazing food and lots to do?

3) Finland- I will not go on a snowy honeymoon. I'm always pretty cold and it's just not my idea of honeymoon paradise. Harps loves this though.

4) Maldives- Pretty cliche but who can't be amazed by that glowing beach! How magical! 

5) Machu Picchu- A real adventure and something I'd love to do one day. I'm just not sure if I want to have to do training before my honeymoon? Maybe a little too much adventure?

6) Chile-  These marble caves look breathtaking- I HAVE to see them one day. Not so keen on the coldness of Chile though!

7) Costa Rica- This tree house resort looks AWESOME! There are monkeys and sloths and other animal friends right outside your door. It looks luxurious and original and beautiful and I'm seriously considering this as a location!

8) Bali- Bali seems to me to have the best of both worlds. Total paradise right? Also so much history and culture to soak up makes it a pretty perfect choice. The price tag makes me nervous...

9) Dominican Republic- Not somewhere I've looked into as much, though looking through some pinterestesque photos make it a bit of an dark horse?

Have any of you been to any of the places above? Do you have any tips from your honeymoons? As always, any and all feedback/help would be appreciated! 

Love Sophie Xx

Location Location Location: Roche Rock & Hermitage.

It never ceases to amaze me how the brilliant photographer (and my very good friend!) Tracey finds such beautiful, local places for us to head out and take some images. After a much needed catch up, we arranged to take a little trip outside of St Austell to Roche Rock for a little photoshoot. 

I'd had a nightmare of a day due to a clumsy plumber flooding (and I really do mean flooding) my bathroom floor/hallway and was in a right panic, that the fresh December air was just what I needed whilst waiting for the house to dry out a little.

I hadn't heard of Roche Rock and enjoyed getting another mini history lesson from Tracey as we set up for the shoot, after hearing some of the tales of the location, I couldn't wait to find out more! 

Roche Rock and hermitage has many myths surrounding it; from being known for it's haunting activity and religious historic roots, the rocks themselves are a natural phenomenon and mystery, thought to have been created some 270 million years ago. The chapel or hermitage itself was actually built from grey quartz and black tourmaline, withstanding the elements since the 1400s. Though dedicated to St Michael in 1409, it is believed (though still not completely known) that the chapel was used for religious or sacred purposes for years before, the rocks used for thousands of years even prior to that.

One of the fascinating stories take us back to the days of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, it is said that Tristan (or Tristram), the nephew of King Mark, was sent to Ireland to fetch the King's bride-to-be, Isolde. The couple 'accidentally' sipped a love potion (obviously) and became besotted with one another. Needless to say, O'l King Mark wasn't best impressed and they took refuge at Roche Rock, possibly at the hermitage or chapel at the time.

Another tale is about Gundred, whose father was a leper. As such, he kept himself away from the local society, and protected her by living in the chapel and becoming a hermit. She however, tended to her father by carrying him to a holy well, just a mile from the rock itself, this became known as St Gundred's well, and is still there today! 

Today,a beautiful hidden gem to walk, climb or take photos but it really does have a mysterious feel to it, that I could almost believe the haunted tales, even in daylight!

Love Sophie Xx

Travel Tattoos: Rome.

Good afternoon Friday friends! How are you all coping in this cold spell? (Unless you're Sunae, in which case you're on the beach, having a blast!) You may remember last month Harps and I celebrated our six year anniversary! You may also remember that we added to our travelling tattoos during our time off- well here they are! Harps decided to get 'When In Rome' just below his collar bone, embedding his favourite phrase to say whilst were away forever. I decided on a roman labyrinth  on the back of my neck- it is straight, just really hard to take a photo keeping upright! 

What do you all think?! 

Love Sophie Xx