Floral Zoe: June 2014

Relaxing Pampering Day

17:21

I have recently been really really stressed (can I exaggerate really more?) to the point where I have been breaking down quite frequently in the evening (apologies to my boyfriend who has put up with this). With my dissertation currently not wanting to be my best friend and work itself out, as well as starting a new job where I'm standing rushing about all day, I have been overdoing it. I'm one of those people who, as my mother always tells me, likes to burn the candle at both ends. Therefore once the flame is out, I fall apart.

Therefore I decided to pack up a bag, get a 7 hour coach down to my home town for a relaxing weekend at home. On a side note, the coach only cost me £11 in total, bargain in comparison to train prices these days. Previous to buying my ticket home, I had phoned my mother, who is a member of the Baliffscourt Hotel Spa. I asked her if it was ok to go to the spa on Saturday as I wanted a massage to relax me after a few testing weeks. Not only had my mind started to crash, but my back and legs were in agony. I had recently noticed I had started to become a slower walker because of the pain. And so the massage was booked and off we went to the spa.

On arrival we were greeted by a magnificent old barn that had been converted into the spa facility. Inside the building were comfy sofas, large glass windows onlooking the inside pool and jacuzzi, and wooden floors. On entering I felt relaxed.

We signed in, got changed into our swimming costumes and then headed out to the outside infinity pool. From here we swam, relaxed in the outdoor hot tub, chilled in the sauna and steam room, all before lunch. For lunch I chose the Crispy Duck Thai salad, which was delicious and refreshing, complete by a glass of pimms before my 2pm Massage.

My mother decided that I should have the 'Drift Away' massage for 55mins. It was certainly worth it! The full body massage was amazing and left me literally drifting away into a relaxed slumber. Upon awaking I felt rejuvenated and still a bit on the dreamy side.

The trip ended with a free cup of coffee and a read of a newspaper in their upstairs lounge, before heading home.

I don't normally treat myself to such luxurious activities, but severely could justify this trip to the spa. The treatment and day trip, with my mother's members discount cost me £71 in total. My back and leg pain have gone, and after having my wisdom tooth out on Thursday, additional pain is not needed.

Do you treat yourself? If so where and how?

Zoe

adventures

An Adventure to Kew Gardens

21:22

ASOS

Asos Regatta Outfit

11:16

As I have been busy with exams I have not been able to head into the city to go shopping. So instead I have been searching online for the perfect outfit to wear to a Regatta, after my friend Sadie invited me. Now as Regattas are a formal occasion, none of my short smart dresses would do (plus I wanted to use this as an excuse to procrastinate online). Strict dress codes restrict you to a knee length dress or smart trousers. This is where I started getting excited. I do not only want to stand out from the crowd but also I have been wanting a co-ord trouser suit for ages. As I am still a student, I have yet to purchase a suit for work. Therefore I turned to Asos, my favourite online shop, especially with my Premier account allowing clothes to arrive the next day.

I searched and searched the site until I came across a pastel, floral bombers jacket and matching trousers. Perfect! Especially as pastels and floral patterns are my absolute fave to wear in the Spring/Summer. I decided to purchase the suit, as I justified that I could spend the amount of money it demanded as I could not only wear the suit together but also as separates (they have already seen many uses currently... I'm currently wearing the jacket as I write this).

On arrival the 2 pieces together give off a casual-sophisticated vibe, so I have decided to pair the suit with a crisp white shirt and white wooden heeled sandals also from Asos. Here is the finished look at the Regatta:

Pastel Floral Jacquered Trousers and Jacket, White Shirt, Perpetual High Heels Wooden Sandals - Asos. Necklaces and sunglasses - borrowed from a friend. Bag/purse - River Island

Front look of the outfit

My makeup

I wanted to go for a spring summer vibe with my make up at the Regatta. The weather turned out to be very sunny after a night of thunderstorms. Therefore I wanted a bright pink lip to add a pop of vibrant colour to my pastel outfit. This was created by Clinique's Long Lasting lipstick in shade Watermelon and was layered with their lip gloss Clearly Pink.

Otherwise I went for the ever trustworthy cat flick eyeliner created using Maybelline's Master Precise liquid eyeline, finished with Eyeko's Long Lash Skinny Mascara.

Finished make up look

Zoe

adventures

A June Day Trip To London

12:14

After speaking to my boyfriend for 2 months, we decided to escape the uni bubble of Norwich and head down to London for a whole day worth of adventures. We decided that the cheapest route from Norwich was to get the Megabus at 7am (I know early start, but we did want a full day) for £5 and get the train back at 10:30pm (£7 each). The journey down was smooth and on time. We arrived in London around 10:30ish in the morning and sort a place to grab some breakfast and a much need coffee. We then headed off to get the Tube to South Kensington where we spent a couple of hours wondering the Natural History Museum. Always good especially since it is free.

Natural History Museum

Me and the Blue Whale

Entrance of the Natural History Museum

Afterwards we decided to find the Good Life Eatery. I have read about this place on many blogs and have always wanted to try their raw cold compressed juices. We went to the Chelsea branch and were confronted by a small, but quaint exposed bricked interior café. After sitting down I ordered a small lunch of avocado and chilli toast, which was delicious and refreshing on such a hot day, as well as one of the raw juices: Coco Verde. It contained pineapple, spinach, pear, coconut and celery. It was bizarre because you could taste all the flavours separately. Very enjoyable however. The whole experience was lovely. It was on the pricier side, with two small lunches and two juices coming to around £22 but I justified it as a treat and a experience. Plus it felt very healthy and I was content after my meal.

Two of the Raw Smoothies. I preferred the Coco Verde

Avocado and Chilli Seeded Toast

Sweet Potato DipWe then decided to head to Oxford Street to do some window shopping. This involved wandering around Liberty's and Selfridges, dreaming of all the items I wish I could afford to purchase. Always motivates me to get a good job so that hopefully I can one day afford little luxuries.

On our way away from Carnaby Street, we came across a little coffee shop called the Soho Grind, and decided to pop in for a coffee as we were getting a bit tired and still had over 6 hours til our train. I ordered a soya macchito, and the bf ordered a regular mocha. Mine was delicious. I recommend going there if you can find it.

Soho Grind

We shopped a bit more and then headed to Wahaca in Covent Garden. It was a bit hard to find at first, and I always find 3G is terrible in that area of Soho. We entered the modern mexican to be confronted by a busy and very bustling restaurant. We waited 30 minutes to be seated while we sipped on a tequila mojito... not sure about that one. I think I will stick to the rum based ones. After being seated, I started to take a turn for the worst. The restaurant was incredibly loud and heaving that I couldn't talk and I was starting to have a panic attack from being overwhelmed. We escaped quickly after we got our bill, just in time for me! I would go back again during a quieter time and not at 7pm on a Wednesday. The green rice is delicious!

Summer Fuerza salad at Wahaca

After wandering about more to find a place to drink, we went down a small iron staircase to the Covent Garden Cocktail Club (members only). We entered into a fairy-light lit establishment with cool vintage leather sofas. As the sofas were reserved, I decided to sit at the bar as I love to watch cocktails being made. We were served by a guy called PJ who made the most amazing concoctions. One was called Bacon and Egg and was infused with Jack Daniels bacon flavoured whisky as well as maple syrup. My favourite however was the Southside Royal: Bombay Sapphire Gin, lime, sugar, mint and prosecco. Refreshing and light. Drinks are on average around £8.50, which I think is decent for cocktails in London, especially with the level of theatre involved. Once person ordered something that had smoke placed into a jar. While another person ordered something on fire. All a spectacle!

Bacon and Egg cocktail

Fortune Cookie Cocktail (gin based)

We merrily drank the rest of the night away until we had to rush to get the train back to Norwich.

I do love a good treat once in a while, and this was ours after our exam.

What places do you like to go to in London?

Zoe

adventures

Tokyo Adventure Final Day and Farewell Japan

23:00

Day 6:

"Woke up feeling rubbish and as if I had been swimming in a very chlorinated pool. Seems like I have caught a cold from the previous hostel, the dangers of shared bedrooms! Got up and went to get some breakfast from the convenience store a short distance from the Hostel. Afterwards we decided to head to the Imperial Palace. I was hoping to see the grad palace, or at least the gardens, but to my disappointment, all you got to see was the moat and wall. I highly recommend avoid this place in Tokyo, especially on a hot day as there is no place to hide from the sun. There is a nice garden with a very small museum of the emperor in it (a room basically) to visit, but that is it.

The Imperial Moat

An Imperial Gate

We then headed to a recommended park called Shinjuku Gyoen. It was stunning! A traditional Japanese garden. In total, it cost 600 yen (£3.40) to get in and was definitely worth it. I would love to visit in the spring when the cherry blossoms are out, and also the Autumn when the leaves are turning red and golden.

Me in the Shinjuku Gyoen Park

After walking around the park all afternoon, we decided to have another traditional matcha and a sweet. Delicious again but not a proper traditional ceremony like the other day. Charlie and I barely talked all day as we were both hot and tired from the constant heat and the fast pace we kept up when site seeing. The conversation therefore was lacking. Not that I'm complaining as the peace and quiet was well received by both.

Hot Matcha and a traditional sweet

We then decided to head to the Sony building as we still had time in the day. Amazing! Especially the 3D games and the headphones. Visit here if you love your technology.

Taking a selfie on a camcorder.. inception?

We then wondered the streets and people watched. I also bought a shirt. We then returned to the hostel, freshened up and ate and drank there again, before retiring to bed.

I'm sad to be leaving Tokyo... It's been amazing."

Leaving:

"So I found out a couple of days ago my flight was delayed by at least 4 hours, going from 10:50am to at least 15:30 now. I decided to get then train to the airport around 10:30ish and ended up going from Kurame to Oshiego to Narita Terminal 2 via the Sky Access express. Such a miracle it cost me 2240 yen and I had 2250 yen left on my Pasmo card... result!
I turned up and arrived at my check in point, got given free candy and then shown to the correct desk. I was greeted by a very lovely BA Japanese lady who apologised for the delayed flight, upgraded my seat to a row by myself further forward in the place, as the flight wasn't full. I was then given a food voucher for 1500yen (~£10) and then shown the area where food was. Bought some meds for my cold (joys of joy) and then sat down and ate a grilled BBQ chicken sandwich and fries for free that was also very tasty.

Airport food

So Jake Bugg was on my flight and I'm was like 3 seats away from him in the departure lounge. Very weird. Didn't say hi properly in the end because I don't like to bother people. I was also watching the Japanese baseball at the time. I then got on the plane, had a whole row to myself that allowed me to sleep across it. Had copious amounts of food and gin and tonics before reaching England. The journey was quite bumpy, but overall was fine otherwise."

Final message:

I was so lucky to finally get to visit a place of my dreams. It was definitely what I expected and more. Even though my flight was delayed, I managed to secure a refund of £520 (basically the cost of the flight back). I will definitely return again. I hope you have enjoyed reading this mini-series.

Zoe x

adventures

Tokyo Adventure Day 5: Shibuya and Shopping

16:03

Day 5:

"Today we woke up and went to Shibuya, the shopping district. On arrival I was so shocked at how big and busy everything was. We left the station down one of the many escalators and onto the famous Shibuya crossing. We stopped and watched 100s or even a 1000 people cross all at one. It was so cool. We then wandered off, not knowing where we were going or what too. I had planned to shop quite a bit in Tokyo, as I heard it was a fashion capitol (in the words of Tyra Banks from ANTM). The first store we entered was huge, I think 13 floors all together and all woman's clothing. I decided it would probably be good if Charlie and I split up as I wanted to shop and didn't want to bore him. He would have been bored for sure, as I spent most of the day shopping at various stores such as forever 21 and uniqlo to name a few places I visited before I moved to Harajuku. While I was still in the Shibuya region I decided to stop and have an ice green tea frappe from the Starbucks opposite the famous crossing, as a break from the constant trying on clothes and being in awe of the high lit up neon buildings.

Outside Shibuya Station

The famous crossing view from StarbucksJust before moving to Shibuya, I went to a food market at the bottom of the station, where I bought some delightful bird shaped sweet buns for Charlie and I to have when we met up later in the day.

One of the bird sweet buns. It had a custard filling

I then went to Harajuku station and enter the tiny and incredibly crowded lanes of Harajuku. I had always wanted to go here after reading about it in magazines and online, and well admittedly from Gwen Stefani's song about Harajuku Girls! The shops ranges from pop cute candy lolita stores to dark gothic punk clothing outlets. It was all very exciting and also a bit too much in the heat (another day over 40'C). I wondered about for a good 2 hours until I started to feel exhausted and ill, so I decided to head to Yoyogi Park to meet Charlie early.

Entrance to Harujuku

A selection of photos of the shops

On arrival I was greeted by a massive shrine entrance, I don't know what they were called but they were impressive. I waited for Charlie for 30 mins, I thought he was late, but turns out I was massively early. It was nice to rest in the shade with a drink however.

One of Yoyogi Park Entrances

Cask of wine or was it Sake given to the shrine

Meiji Shrine

We enter the park and walked to the famous Meiji Shrine, dedicated to and Emperor and Empress Shoken, who were beloved by the nation. It was very pretty, and thankfully not too crowded. I decided I needed a proper sit down by this point, and ended up sitting for more than 20 minutes on a bench. This is very unlike me, as I am usually a get up and go go go kind of person. We ended up not stay too long as I took a turn for the worse and decided to listen to my body. We headed back just in time before a massive storm occurred also, which was refreshing in the heat we had been enduring. We then had dinner and a few drinks in the hostels bar. All served by Take, who could not pronounce my name but he did make some lovely cocktails.

Nui's Bar at the Hostel

Tomorrow is the last day.. Kinda sad. I could live here happily if I learnt the language properly."

Zoe

cafes

Favourite Food Places in Norwich

12:41

Having now lived in Norwich as a student for 4 years, I have had the great chance to explore Norwich as an outsider, as well as get to know the local favourites. I have slowly integrated my way into the local community, learning the quirky places to go to that you could easily pass on a fleeting visit.

Norwich in particular is a quirky city for food, providing some of the best local produce about. The number of independent restaurants are higher than most cities. Therefore I list below a firm few favourites that I like to visit often to eat:

Places for coffee/light lunches:

Franks Bar - Hidden amongst the Norwich Lanes, behind Jarrolds on an old cobbled street, lies an small coffee/bar with quirky charm of wooden floors and festive decorations. During the day it serves moroccan inspired food and sharing platters, along with a firm favourite chai latte. During the evening, the establishment turns into a quaint candle lit bar, serving local ales to funky cocktails. In addition they serve some of the most amazing gluten free cakes I have tried, which change daily. Prices are relatively cheap and are worth the money. You could easily have lunch here for under £10. I recommend trying the chai latte and Franks Bar Platter (their humous is wonderfully garlicy).

Mulled Wine in one of Frank's quirky tea cups

Littlehaven Coffee Co. - A recent discovery for me, this small cafe is situated outside of the City Centre, just off Newmarket Road. Here you will find some of the best coffee you will ever have. The owner is friendly and knows his knowledge on coffee, freshly making coffee to order. As I'm lactose intolerance I often opt not to have a milky coffee as I don't like Alpro Soya milk, which tends to be used as the standard alternative in most coffee shops. Here however you can be treated to a better soya alternative for an extra of 30p, but when most of the coffees are under £2, it is worth the extra amount. Here you can also get real hot chocolate, ranging from cocoa percentages of 82% Madagascan, to 52% Ecuador. The food is also locally sourced and tasty, ranging from £2-4. No wonder it is 2nd on Tripadvisor!

Best Soya Mocha from Littlehaven Coffee Co.

Places for cheap eats but full flavour:

Moorish (V/VG) - Number 3 currently on Tripadvisor and located amongst the Norwich lanes, this small shop sells a range of falafel and salads freshly prepared everyday. Prices start around £3 for a falafel pitta, with additional salads added at a cost. I highly recommend this place as the food is very filling and is great for a quick vegetarian take out place. In addition their homemade lemonade with fresh mint leaves is also very refreshing on a summers day.

Places for dates or meals with friends/family

Last Brasserie - Situated on Unthank Road in the Golden Triangle, the Last Brasserie offers some of the finest French Cuisine. This small brasserie has a quaint modern interior, as well as seating outside. The place itself offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as take-away coffee. I have been here for breakfast, where I treated myself to pancakes with maple syrup and bacon, as well as going here on many occasions for dinner, where I tend to favour the Confit de Canard (one of my favourite meals). Prices are reasonable, with a main course ranging from £7.90 - £18.50 (for the steak). Another great place to go on a date or with friends.

Confit de Canard from Last Brasserie

Roots - Another new restaurant to recently pop up in Norwich. Roots is a bistro/coffee/farm shop opposite the Belgian Monk, along one of few cobbled streets in Norwich. Don't be fooled by the small outlook of the place, upstairs is a large eating area with wooden tables and local art displayed. The food itself is fresh, seasonal and locally source, as well as being inventive with touchings of avocado sorbet (which you must try!). A meal for 2 in the bistro with 2 courses and a bottle of local Norfolk wine will set you back ~£60 but it is a perfect setting for a date or special occasion or a meal with family and friends.

Roast Free Range Chicken Breast, Basil, Goats Cheese Mash, Red Pepper Oil, Wild Roquette Salad from Roots

Garden Salad of Heirloom Tomatoes, Baby Beetroot, Carrot, Pea Shoots, Pickled Radish, Cucumber, Chilli Jam, Avocado Sorbet, Black Olive Paint, Ciabatta Wafer from Roots

All eateries named above are not part of a chain and are individual to Norwich. In addition I must point out that these are just some of my favourite places to visit, as I know I am always guaranteed good food and service.

Zoe x

Relaxing Pampering Day

An Adventure to Kew Gardens

Asos Regatta Outfit

A June Day Trip To London

Tokyo Adventure Final Day and Farewell Japan

Tokyo Adventure Day 5: Shibuya and Shopping

Favourite Food Places in Norwich

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