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Saturday, May 7, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Travel Blog: London
The first stop on our Eurotrip in March was London. Part of the reason we chose to start our trip here was because flights were relatively cheap to LHR and it would also help ease the culture shock. After almost 20 hours of traveling from Honolulu, I was severely jet-lagged for quite a while after we had arrived in London. I don't think I got my regular sleep schedule back until the 4th or 5th day. Overall, I really loved this city and this is definitely on my list of places that I would revisit.
I think we got pretty lucky with the weather here. I expected a lot of rain, and while it was quite cold (anywhere from 1-10C), we didn't get rain at all. There were some foggy days but for the most part we had pretty nice weather the whole time.
Accommodation
As part of the pre-trip planning and to avoid any complications, we booked all of our hostels about a month and a half before we left. Hostelworld is a great place to look for hostels. Many hostels in London had mixed reviews and it took us a while to decide on one. We ended up staying at Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage. We stayed in a 6-bed dorm with shared bathrooms for 14GBP a night, and we stayed for a total of 5 nights. I wish I had gotten a picture of the dorm itself, because we had a 3-story bunk and I slept on the top, which was an interesting experience when I had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Pros:
- Breakfast included, and 1-pound welcome drinks also included upon checking in. Bar and restaurant (only ate here one night but it was cheap and not so bad for the price) is in the basement.
- Very clean! Our dorm room was really clean and so were the bathrooms and showers for the most part.
- Social hostel! We met some really great people here, most of them were our roommates. I guess this experience will be different for everyone, but we had a really good time here, and met some nice people :)
- Location: this hostel is very close to a tube station (Swiss Cottage on the Jubilee Line which is very convenient). It's a 3-minute walk from the tube and there are many restaurants, convenience stores, drugstores and a post office within a few minutes walk from the hostel.
- Free wifi access in the lobby and there were also 6 or 7 computers for guest use as well. I took advantage of both. I wish there would've been wifi in the room, but walking down to the lobby for the wifi wasn't any trouble.
- Friendly staff helped us book our Stonehenge and Bath tour, despite having some problems with their printer. They also sell day-passes for public transport and offer a lot of different services at the front desk.
- Privacy: all the dorm beds had a curtain, reading lamp and an outlet next to the bed.
Cons
- Bathrooms and showers were on the other side of the building. The bathroom on our side of the hall was being renovated so it was inconvenient having to walk across the hall.
- There were a lot of school groups staying while we were here. A lot of immature middle school kids doesn't exactly make it the best experience, since the restaurant was always crowded at breakfast and dinner.
Overall I would definitely stay here again, and I recommend this hostel for anyone who's looking for a cheap place to stay in London.
Transportation
I highly recommend getting day Travelcard pass. This includes all day use of the underground and public buses, amongst other things. The zone 1-2 card covers practical everything in the city (except Heathrow which is in zone 6) and that's the only pass we used our entire time in London. On the days we got an early start sightseeing we paid 8 pounds (peak fare), and 6.60 pounds (off-peak fare) on the days where we got a later start (usually after 930am). These passe were easy to purchase at the automated vending machines at each tube station (or at the front desk at our hostel).
We didn't use the public bus in London, and strictly only used the underground, which worked well for us. It was very convenient, user-friendly and always on time! Even if you missed a train, there would be another within a few minutes, so you never had to wait long.
Attractions
Surprisingly, there were a lot of free things to do in London. I had expected to spend a lot of money sightseeing here, but I spent that money on shopping instead! Here is a list of places we saw in London:
Camden: lots of vintage shopping and we ate at a cheap pub here too.
London Eye: not free to ride, but the day we went it was very foggy and probably not worth the 20 pounds and the long wait anyway. But I've heard there are good views on a clear day!
Big Ben: honestly, it was smaller than I had pictured, but just a 10 minute walk across the river from the London Eye.
Westminster Abbey: we just walked around outside here, the admission fee was pretty steep.
St. James Park: nice park right outside of Buckingham palace.
Buckingham Palace: we made it in time to see the changing of the guards, but it had been canceled (for whatever reason) that day which was a disappointment. There is a schedule posted online, and it seems they do it every other day.
Oxford Street: lots of shopping here! Primark is a must-visit if you like bargains, but go to the Hammersmith store for less crowds.
Tower Bridge: free to cross the bridge, but I believe there is an exhibit you can pay to see.
Tower of London: admission is quite pricey, but I hear it's worth it. This is one place I wish we had actually gone to see so maybe next time we're in London...
Hyde Park: I loved this park! Lots of birds and squirrels! We rented paddle boats at the lake (8 pounds for 30 minutes) which was really fun.
I will end this blog here for now. If anyone has any suggestions or questions, feel free to leave a comment :)
I think we got pretty lucky with the weather here. I expected a lot of rain, and while it was quite cold (anywhere from 1-10C), we didn't get rain at all. There were some foggy days but for the most part we had pretty nice weather the whole time.
Accommodation
As part of the pre-trip planning and to avoid any complications, we booked all of our hostels about a month and a half before we left. Hostelworld is a great place to look for hostels. Many hostels in London had mixed reviews and it took us a while to decide on one. We ended up staying at Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage. We stayed in a 6-bed dorm with shared bathrooms for 14GBP a night, and we stayed for a total of 5 nights. I wish I had gotten a picture of the dorm itself, because we had a 3-story bunk and I slept on the top, which was an interesting experience when I had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.Pros:
- Breakfast included, and 1-pound welcome drinks also included upon checking in. Bar and restaurant (only ate here one night but it was cheap and not so bad for the price) is in the basement.
- Very clean! Our dorm room was really clean and so were the bathrooms and showers for the most part.
- Social hostel! We met some really great people here, most of them were our roommates. I guess this experience will be different for everyone, but we had a really good time here, and met some nice people :)
- Location: this hostel is very close to a tube station (Swiss Cottage on the Jubilee Line which is very convenient). It's a 3-minute walk from the tube and there are many restaurants, convenience stores, drugstores and a post office within a few minutes walk from the hostel.
- Free wifi access in the lobby and there were also 6 or 7 computers for guest use as well. I took advantage of both. I wish there would've been wifi in the room, but walking down to the lobby for the wifi wasn't any trouble.
- Friendly staff helped us book our Stonehenge and Bath tour, despite having some problems with their printer. They also sell day-passes for public transport and offer a lot of different services at the front desk.
- Privacy: all the dorm beds had a curtain, reading lamp and an outlet next to the bed.
Cons
- Bathrooms and showers were on the other side of the building. The bathroom on our side of the hall was being renovated so it was inconvenient having to walk across the hall.
- There were a lot of school groups staying while we were here. A lot of immature middle school kids doesn't exactly make it the best experience, since the restaurant was always crowded at breakfast and dinner.
Overall I would definitely stay here again, and I recommend this hostel for anyone who's looking for a cheap place to stay in London.
Transportation
I highly recommend getting day Travelcard pass. This includes all day use of the underground and public buses, amongst other things. The zone 1-2 card covers practical everything in the city (except Heathrow which is in zone 6) and that's the only pass we used our entire time in London. On the days we got an early start sightseeing we paid 8 pounds (peak fare), and 6.60 pounds (off-peak fare) on the days where we got a later start (usually after 930am). These passe were easy to purchase at the automated vending machines at each tube station (or at the front desk at our hostel).
We didn't use the public bus in London, and strictly only used the underground, which worked well for us. It was very convenient, user-friendly and always on time! Even if you missed a train, there would be another within a few minutes, so you never had to wait long.
Attractions
Surprisingly, there were a lot of free things to do in London. I had expected to spend a lot of money sightseeing here, but I spent that money on shopping instead! Here is a list of places we saw in London:
Camden: lots of vintage shopping and we ate at a cheap pub here too.
London Eye: not free to ride, but the day we went it was very foggy and probably not worth the 20 pounds and the long wait anyway. But I've heard there are good views on a clear day!
Big Ben: honestly, it was smaller than I had pictured, but just a 10 minute walk across the river from the London Eye.
Westminster Abbey: we just walked around outside here, the admission fee was pretty steep.
St. James Park: nice park right outside of Buckingham palace.
Buckingham Palace: we made it in time to see the changing of the guards, but it had been canceled (for whatever reason) that day which was a disappointment. There is a schedule posted online, and it seems they do it every other day.
Oxford Street: lots of shopping here! Primark is a must-visit if you like bargains, but go to the Hammersmith store for less crowds.
Tower Bridge: free to cross the bridge, but I believe there is an exhibit you can pay to see.
Tower of London: admission is quite pricey, but I hear it's worth it. This is one place I wish we had actually gone to see so maybe next time we're in London...
Hyde Park: I loved this park! Lots of birds and squirrels! We rented paddle boats at the lake (8 pounds for 30 minutes) which was really fun.
I will end this blog here for now. If anyone has any suggestions or questions, feel free to leave a comment :)
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Back from Europe!
First of all, sorry I haven't been keeping up with this blog lately.
Secondly, I just got back from my trip around Europe about 10 days ago, and I want to go back already! It was one of the most amazing experiences I've had, and it was definitely eye-opening. I got to meet so many new people and caught up with some old friends as well. The food, people, history, and culture was just incredible and I can't wait to go back!
We were pretty good about following our itinerary, but instead of going to Prague we decided to go to Munich instead. This was a really last-minute decision, but we didn't have much trouble booking hostels, and it was at these times where I really appreciated having our Eurail pass. Here is where we actually ended up going and a list of hostels we stayed at:
15 London: Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage
Secondly, I just got back from my trip around Europe about 10 days ago, and I want to go back already! It was one of the most amazing experiences I've had, and it was definitely eye-opening. I got to meet so many new people and caught up with some old friends as well. The food, people, history, and culture was just incredible and I can't wait to go back!
We were pretty good about following our itinerary, but instead of going to Prague we decided to go to Munich instead. This was a really last-minute decision, but we didn't have much trouble booking hostels, and it was at these times where I really appreciated having our Eurail pass. Here is where we actually ended up going and a list of hostels we stayed at:
15 London: Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage
16 London: Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage
17 London: Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage
18 London: Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage 18
19 Leeds: a friends place
20 London: Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage
21 Rome: Mosaic Hostel
22 Rome: Mosaic Hostel
23 Rome: Mosaic Hostel
24 Rome: Mosaic Hostel
25 Cinque Terre: Hostel 5 Terre
26 Cinque Terre: Hostel 5 Terre
27 Interlaken: Backpackers Villa Sonnenhof
28 Interlaken: Backpackers Villa Sonnenhof
29 Interlaken: Valley Hostel
30 Interlaken: Valley Hostel
31 Berlin: Wombats City Hostel Berlin
April 1 Berlin: Wombats City Hostel Berlin
2 Berlin: Wombats City Hostel Berlin
3 Berlin/Hamburg: Wombats City Hostel Berlin
4 Berlin: Wombats City Hostel Berlin
5 Munich: Wombats City Hostel Munich
6 Munich: Wombats City Hostel Munich
7 Munich: New Euro Youth Hostel
8 Paris: Port Royal Hotel
9 Paris: Port Royal Hotel
10 Paris: Port Royal Hotel
11 Paris: Port Royal Hotel
12 Brussels: 2GO4 Quality Hostel
I highly recommend all of these hostels! They were really affordable, very clean and we never had a bad experience.
Favorite hostels would have to be:
Backpackers Villa Sonnenhof (we did our laundry for free here with the tokens included with our stay, really yummy breakfast included and our Jungfrau view-ensuite dorm with wifi was amazing!), Wombats Berlin/Munich (very clean and spacious dorm rooms, good, cheap breakfast for 3.70-euro and very helpful staff at both locations), and 2GO4 in Brussels (we had a private room here in a loft, very modern with a large bathtub! Best private room we had on this trip.) I will try to blog about each city we were in with more pictures, and how we budgeted our time and money as well. But for now, here are just a few pictures!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
20th Birthday Giveway: Yuklui*Style
Urban Decay Black Palette
Mystery Prize: Urban Decay Naked PaletteShe is also giving away the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils 15 Year Anniversary Collection as a mystery gift. Check out her blog post for more info on how to win!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Maybelline Define-a-Lash Waterproof Mascara Review
I've never really been one to wear mascara. I've always found it awkward to apply and messy. In the past I've tried Maybelline Full n Soft as well as Smashbox Lash DNA which I got as a sample. I found the Smashbox mascara to be quite clumpy, and the Full n soft was too wet and messy, and it didn't keep my lashes curled either.
So I was doing some late-night shopping at Walmart the other night and looking through the cosmetics section. I saw the Maybelline Define-a-Lash mascara which I have heard a lot about from EasyAccessBeauty on Youtube. I was hesitant at first, but I decided to give it a try in the waterproof version since it holds a curl better. I'm actually really loving this mascara. The formula isn't too wet and it's not messy at all. No clumping, dries quickly, holds my curl well and lasts all day without flaking or smudging. It's also quite lengthening, but still makes my lashes look pretty natural, not overly dramatic. My lashes are short and straight, so with this mascara you can actually see them :)
Here are some before and after pictures:
Overall I really like this mascara. If anyone has suggestions for similar lengthening mascaras, let me know. I'm really interested in trying some other brands :)
So I was doing some late-night shopping at Walmart the other night and looking through the cosmetics section. I saw the Maybelline Define-a-Lash mascara which I have heard a lot about from EasyAccessBeauty on Youtube. I was hesitant at first, but I decided to give it a try in the waterproof version since it holds a curl better. I'm actually really loving this mascara. The formula isn't too wet and it's not messy at all. No clumping, dries quickly, holds my curl well and lasts all day without flaking or smudging. It's also quite lengthening, but still makes my lashes look pretty natural, not overly dramatic. My lashes are short and straight, so with this mascara you can actually see them :)
Here are some before and after pictures:
Overall I really like this mascara. If anyone has suggestions for similar lengthening mascaras, let me know. I'm really interested in trying some other brands :)
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Sephora Haul!
I finally had a day off from work today and went to Sephora to spend my $15 Beauty Insider gift card. I already had decided to get NARS Coconut Grove shadow after seeing it on amarixe's Youtube channel. I looked around for a good half an hour or so before I picked up Clinique Dramaticaly Different Moisturizing Gel and purple Sephora eyeliner, which all came to just about $40. I'm pretty excited to try out all this stuff, especially the Nars eye shadow. It's the first thing I've ever bought from this brand, but I've heard a lot of good things about it, so hopefully it doesn't disappoint.
What did everyone get with the $15 GC?
Monday, November 29, 2010
Holiday Deals!
I'm not sure if Sephora does this every year, but I just got my $15 gift card (for Beauty Insiders only) in the mail. It starts December 2, good until the 13th and can be used in stores or online. It's good on purchases of $40 or more.
Macys Friends and Family Sale starts December 1! I got my F&F passes a while ago from work, but I didn't pre-buy anything yet, so I will just wait until Thursday. It;s good for 25% off everything (except cosmetics, EDV and some other restrictions), including designer stuff! Also good for 10% off electronics as well.
Online code: MACYSFF
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