Do you have that too? That feeling you get when you just got back from a trip and are so excited to already plan your next adventure abroad? I have that, a lot. Travel for me is one of the things I enjoy doing the most. I still have so many places I want to visit. On top of my list right now are San Francisco, Paris, Oxford and Bordeaux. I'm more into the southern kind of lifestyles and countries. And you know, the thing about travel is, is that you never come back the same. All the new experiences and situations you experience while traveling are something to treasure for a lifetime. The first two weeks of June I went on a two-week language trip to Florence, the city of music arts and so much more! There were street artists, opera singers, people playing the violin in front of the Duomo and just music at almost every corner. Florence is quite a small city, I like that more. You can find your way around the city fast and feel faster at home too. I've listed some of the best things you can do in Florence. Get comfy and read further now! 
Academia Galleria
This is definitely a must when you're planning a trip to Florence. It's a beautiful art gallery situated in the city center with the famous statue of David Michelangelo. It's one of the best museums in Florence. It was almost unreal to see the statue, it's much bigger than you think. When you walk into the entrance the first thing you see is a big group of people surrounding the statue with a camera. It's just out of the movies! The best thing you can do is to buy all your tickets for the museums online, you can get skip the line this way. Especially during summer the waiting lines can get as long as 4 hours.
Amorino Gelateria
This ice cream shop is close to the Duomo. There are many Gelateria's, but at this shop you can get an ice cream in the shape of a flower and with a macaron on top. It's perfect for an Instagram shot and it tastes even better! I choose strawberry, lemon and raspberry, with a strawberry macaron on top. The ice cream tastes really good, because it's made from 100% natural ingredients. You can find them as well in Milan, New York and Paris.
Academia Europea di Firenze
During my stay, I choose to study Italian at a language school here in Florence. The school is called Academia Europea and lots of musicians from all over the world come here to take music lessons, study abroad, and in combination take Italian classes. It's not just a language school, but also a sort of academy for arts and music. It's cool that you can even take piano lessons free of charge on the side. The teachers are really nice too, you get a lot of personal attention and feedback and the lessons are usually in small groups. I was in a group of just three students. The academy also has fun activities, like going to a museum, having dinner with all the students and teachers or going to a concert together. If you're looking for a language school than I do recommend it! The location is also good, it's situated in the center close to shops and bars.
Shopping
Shopping in Florence is not very difficult. There are so many different shops, from designer boutiques to the more small vintage ones. You can of course shop at a Zara, H&M, Mango or Coin, the Italian department store. I did shop at Zara because I love the brand! But I also went to the smaller clothing shops with Italian brands, brands that you can't find back home. If you love jewellery, than you have to go to the famous bridge, the Ponte Vecchio. There are jewellery shops all in gold left and right. I bought a ring with a small red stone as a memory of my trip. At Via di Tornabuoni you can find all the designer shops, like Dolce & Gabbana, Bvulgari, Prada and Gucci.
Pitti Palace
Another museum that's definitely worth visiting is the Pitti Palace. The Palace was home to Luca Pitti, a banker from one of the richest families of Italy for over 300 years. It's really nice to see, especially the king and queen's bedroom. The palace is beautiful, the ceilings, balcony's everything is made with lots of color and detail. I haven't had a chance to visit the gardens yet, next time!
Tips And Other Fun things:
-For a beautiful view of the city of Florence you have to go to Piazzale Michelangelo.
-The closer you are to the Duomo, the more expensive restaurants and shops will be. If you walk a little bit further you can find good restaurants for less, and maybe even better.
-If you want to be around less tourists, than you can cross the Ponte Vecchio.
-If you love art, than Florence has lots of art exhibitions you can go to.
-There also is a science experiment in Palazzo Strozzi. It's an experiment combining arts and science to see how humans reacts to plants and the other way around.
Have you ever been to Florence?
Have a lovely day,
Isabella❤
1 comment
Hoi allemaal!
Het is alweer juni! De tijd vliegt dit jaar! Het zonnetje is weer lekker aan het schijnen en het voelt aan als echt zomerweer. Juni staat voor mij weer in het teken van reizen. Als je aan mij zou vragen wat ik het allerliefste doe, dan staat reizen met stip op nummer één. Eerst ga ik naar Florence, dan Rome en daarna terug naar Valencia. Stay tuned, want ik er komt een blog post aan met hotspots in Florence. Vandaag wil ik met jullie iets delen wat misschien een cool cadeau idee kan zijn voor jezelf of iemand anders. Lees gauw verder!
Het is altijd handig om een cadeau in voorraad te hebben voor wanneer er een familielid, of een vriend of vriendin jarig is. Er zijn natuurlijk heel veel dingen die je aan iemand zou kunnen geven. Van sieraden, tot bloemen, tot makeup en dat kan soms lastig zijn iets origineels te bedenken. Misschien heb jij dat ook, maar cadeaus kopen vind ik altijd het leukste om te doen. Je weet en hoopt dat je de ander er blij mee gaat maken. Maar het gaat uiteindelijk om het gebaar! Toevallig kwam ik op een site terecht waar je je eigen mokken kunt bedrukken. Het maakt niet uit of je gek bent op thee of koffie! Je kunt bijvoorbeeld een afbeelding van je hond laten bedrukken. Of een leuke vakantiefoto waar je aan herinnerd wil blijven. Je kan zelfs motiverende quotes of logo's plaatsen. Zelf zou ik gaan voor een mok met foto of quote, en dan een inspirerende quote om zo de dag goed te starten met een kop thee. Ook vaderdag komt er weer aan, een schattige foto met jezelf en je vader van vroeger zou een super leuk idee zijn.
De twee mokken die het meeste lijken op wat ik zou kiezen zijn deze twee. Een selfie met een vriendin vrolijk meteen je dag op en geel is gewoon een vrolijke kleur voor de zomer. De andere mok heeft een quote als opdruk met smile and be happy. Deze quote zou ik eigenlijk ook wel kiezen omdat het ook weer een positieve draai heeft. Goed om te weten is dat de mokken vaatwasserbestendig zijn en je ze ook in kleinere aantallen in de webshop kunt bestellen.
Wat voor foto zou jij willen laten bedrukken op je mok?
Liefs,
Isabella❤
My makeup routine is super simple. Most days I don't even wear makeup at all. (Ssh🤫) I can walk out the door with a bare face and feel as good as when I do wear some makeup. Right now, eyeliner is still my enemy. But hey, I'm doing my best haha! So in the morning I wash my face with warm water, than end with some cold water to refresh my skin. I apply my daily moisturiser with spf and if it's really sunny I apply extra sun cream. Than I go to my primer, and that's the product I would love to tell you everything about! After applying my primer, I put on mascara and some lipgloss and I'm ready for the day. L'Oreal send me three different Infaillible primers to try out. Thank you! Many swear by a good primer and I although I never really wore a primer up until now, it's definitely true. A primer is a good base for your makeup. I tested all the three L'Oréal Paris Infaillible Primers and will show you everything about it. There is a primer for every skin type, so read further to see which primer is for you!
Don't they look cute? In total there a five different primers of the collection. All with their own strengths. The packing kind of suits the type of primer, simple but effective! The anti-redness primer is green and the illuminating one looks shiny. I tried all the primers and will show you the effect on my hand so you can see how effective it is.
The Luminizing Primer gives you an extra glowy base for your makeup. You see these shiny finishing touches everywhere lately. Especially the shiny highlighters and lipglosses which I'm super into. Immediately after you apply it you see a metallic glow. At first I thought it was a little bit over the top, but if you don't use too much it's good. To minimise the intensive glow you can also apply foundation. You can apply it on your nose, above your eyebrows or your cheekbones. Love this primer!!
The Pore Refining Primer is great if your pores are visible or large. My pores are not very visible so this primer is not really for me. Only the pores around my nose are larger. The primer is very light pink in shade and thicker than the illuminating one. It does what is promises and your pores are visible and has a matte effect as well. I did see that around my nose the pores weren't visible anymore.
The Anti Redness Primer is the last face primer I tried out. I have a skin condition called rosacea, it causes your skin to become red more quickly and dry. It's nothing serious but it's nice if there is something that covers the redness. The primer is light green and neutralises the redness on your skin. It's much more liquid than the other two primers. When you apply it you can still see the green shade. It also doesn't really do much for my skin, but it does feel soft. Also when I applied it on my face it gave the same green glow, I'm not a fan of this product. But if you do have extreme redness then it's perfect.
CONCLUSION
I never really used primers before, but after trying out these my opinion changed. I'm definitely going to use them more often because they are a good base for my routine and your skin looks more even and neat.
You can get the L'Oréal Paris Infallible primers at any drugstore for around €14,99. Click here to buy the Pore Refining Primer, here for the anti redness primer, and here for the illuminating primer.
DO YOU USE A PRIMER? AND WICH ONE DO YOU LIKE BEST?
Hoi allemaal!
Ik ben alweer bijna een maand terug in Nederland! Wat gaat de tijd toch snel zeg! Volgende maand staat ook weer in het teken van reizen. Ik ga namelijk een paar weken op taalreis naar Florence en daarna een weekje met mijn familie naar Valencia omdat ik de stad super leuk vond! Stay tuned, want er komt gauw een artikel aan over mijn reis naar Valencia met tips van lekkere restaurantjes en leuke winkels. Vandaag wil ik graag ik iets anders met jullie delen. Het is bijna zomer en ik vind dit altijd de fijnste periode om mijn kamer opnieuw in te richten of kleine dingen te veranderen. Soms heb je daar gewoon behoefte aan. Ik heb al een tijd mijn kamer hetzelfde en ik ben een beetje aan verandering toe. Ik ga alle muren nog een keer opnieuw verven, nieuwe gordijnen kopen en ik ben op zoek naar iets moois voor aan de muur.
Er zijn zoveel ideeën mogelijk dat het soms lastig kan zijn om een keuze te maken. Ik ga in ieder geval een schilderij kopen en toen kwam ik ook op het idee van een muursticker. Je denkt er misschien niet meteen aan, maar muurstickers worden steeds populairder! Online kun je super veel muurstickers vinden. Van retro stijl, tot een sticker voor in de woonkamer, voor kinderen, of voor je eigen slaapkamer. Het is ook tof dat ze in verschillende talen zijn. Vaak vind ik Engelse teksten het leukst. Je kunt ook je eigen muursticker laten ontwerpen op de site met de ontwerp tool en je eigen gedicht of wens bedenken.
Enjoy The Little Things
Ik was op de site Meermetstickers.nl aan het kijken en toen kwam ik bij deze sticker voor in mijn slaapkamer, met de handgeschreven tekst enjoy the little things. Deze zou ik dan boven mijn bureau kunnen plaatsen of boven mijn bed. Ik denk zelf dat ik de tekst in het zwart zou kiezen, omdat dat overal makkelijk bij past. Misschien als je kamer al best rustig is qua kleuren, dat het dan juist wel mooi staat als je een sticker kiest in een wat fellere kleur. Wat ik eigenlijk het grooste voordeel vind van deze stickers is dat je heel snel een saaie muur of kamer opvrolijkt. Je hoeft er ook niet technisch voor te zijn. Ook fijn om te weten dat wanneer je je sticker niet meer wil, deze ook weer eenvoudig van de muur af te halen is zonder schade!
Ben jij fan van muurstickers?
Isabella❤
Enjoy The Little Things
Ik was op de site Meermetstickers.nl aan het kijken en toen kwam ik bij deze sticker voor in mijn slaapkamer, met de handgeschreven tekst enjoy the little things. Deze zou ik dan boven mijn bureau kunnen plaatsen of boven mijn bed. Ik denk zelf dat ik de tekst in het zwart zou kiezen, omdat dat overal makkelijk bij past. Misschien als je kamer al best rustig is qua kleuren, dat het dan juist wel mooi staat als je een sticker kiest in een wat fellere kleur. Wat ik eigenlijk het grooste voordeel vind van deze stickers is dat je heel snel een saaie muur of kamer opvrolijkt. Je hoeft er ook niet technisch voor te zijn. Ook fijn om te weten dat wanneer je je sticker niet meer wil, deze ook weer eenvoudig van de muur af te halen is zonder schade!
Ben jij fan van muurstickers?
Isabella❤
About a month ago I went to Spain for the first time. And I loved it very much! I was doubting a lot between Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid. Eventually I made the decision to go to Valencia, as I heard so many great things about the City. It isn't as popular under tourists yet, but becomes more and more well known, especially under Dutch people. It's a city known for jogging and is really lovely to study for a semester abroad and there are just so many things to do in Valencia. I spend two weeks in here to study Spanish at a Spanish language school and stayed with an host family.
AIP Language School
This is the school I stayed at during my stay here. You can also learn other languages, such as English or Italian. But I would recommend, as you're in Spain to study Spanish because the level is higher. The location is good, it's situated close to the Jardin de Real, and in the city with shops and lots of cafes and restaurants nearby. I don't know if next time when I want to learn Spanish I'll go back to this school. The lessons are good and the teacher I had was really friendly. What I didn't like very much, was that when you're staying longer then a week they basically force you to buy the Spanish book. What I noticed was that in Valencia, not a lot of people know English. The teacher explained everything in Spanish, so if you're an absolute beginner it can be a bit difficult. I can still remember a guy from China in my group, having to translate every word on google translate. But it was fun haha and he eventually improved a lot! The school also organises weekly activities with all the students, like going to the beach, yoga, intercambio's and more things like that. That's a great initiative and they were fun. Overall, it's a nice school and nothing wrong with it. Of course, you can't compare it with language school like EF.
Playa de Malvarossa
Valencia has five beaches in total. I only went to the Playa Malvarrosa, because it was the easiest beach to reach from my apartment. I stayed in Benimaclet, it's according to what my host family said a cheaper neighbourhood and a lot of families live here. The location is perfect, the city is around 15 minutes by bike and the beach as well. In the same street of the apartment you had bakery's, a pharmacy, restaurants and a small parc. It took some time to get to know the routes and where everything was, Google Maps was my life saver. The beach is really nice, with palm trees and a big promenade with bars and restaurant with fresh sea food. The food is also quite cheap, so you don't have to worry about spending too much on it. You can easily go to a Mercadona for some fruit or bread. If you're going to Valencia I recommend visiting this beach for sure! When you're going during summer it's also fun to go surfing or windsurfing because there's always wind there.
Ciutat Vella
From all the neighbourhoods in Valencia, Ciutat Vella is my absolute favourite one. It's the oldest part of the city and you can find anything from old shops to cafes. There also is a main square where there is also something going on like music or a festival. From Benimaclet I cycled toward the Turia Parc in de direction of the Ciutat Vella. There is a big castle at the beginning of the city and you can also climb it if it's open to see a view of Valencia. I rented a bike for a week, because it's a lot easier to go to places instead of walking. The busses and trams are also going very frequently, so that's also a good option if you don't want to cycle. I found a Dutch bike shop called Passionbikes, where you can rent a bike for a day or longer. It's starting at around 8 euros a day, so not that expensive. You can also rent a bike at Valenbisi, but it charges more per hour. Only the first half an hour is free. If you're staying for a few months, it's best to buy a cheap secondhand bike.
Where To Shop In Valencia
Of course, I couldn't arrive empty handed at home. In Ciutat Vella I came across a small vintage shop named Goybal Home with all kinds of home decorations and dolls. I bought an handmade doll with clothes from the Fallas. The Fallas are a festival only in Valencia with statues and colourful buildings ending with fireworks and mascletta's. It's really popular and a big thing every year. Valencia has many shopping malls and streets and lots of Zara shops. If you want to go to a Zara, I recommend going to one in a shopping mall. They are much more organised and quiet than the one in Calle Colon. This is a street with shops like El Corte Ingles, a big department store. You also have Uterque, Massimo Dutti, even a Mango Outlet and much more Spanish shops. I went to two shopping malls as well, one called Nuevo Centro and Aqua Multispacio which have nice shops too.
Quick Tips and Must Visits
*To never get lost, just follow the Turia Parc. The parc is almost 10 km long and was a river many years ago. It's from the north to the direction of the beach, heading toward the Museum of Arts and Sciences.
*The Museum of Modern Arts is also worth your while.
*At Raco Del Turia, Flor de Valencia and Casa Carmela you can find the best paella.
*Ruzafa is a trendy neighbourhood close to Calle Colon. It has colourful buildings and architecture and is definitely Instagram worthy. I went to Dulce de Leche for some tea and dessert. They have so many delicious things, like carrot cake, donuts, brownies and more.
*It takes time to get used to the Spanish way of living. At around 14:30 they usually eat lunch and after that there is a siesta. All the shops are closed as well and open again at around 17:00.
*The Museum of Arts and Sciences is also a must visit. It's the picture you see everywhere at first when you search for things to do in Valencia.
Have you ever been to Valencia?
Isabella❤
Hey everyone,
It's already May and Summer is around the corner. I'm really loving the sunny weather currently. It's much better than those longs winter days. I've always so many things I want to do and accomplish and sometimes it can seem as if time just flies by without realising it! That's why I thought, why not make a short list of some of the things I want to accomplish this month and really write down my top 3 goals for May. I think it's better to come up with a few goals, and focus specifically on them than to make a whole list and do everything half. Let's get right to my short term goals!
- Improve my Italian. I love learning new languages. It's fun to get to know new cultures and every language is special in it's own way. The beginning of June I'm going on a two-week language trip to Florence, to study Italian. Because I'm half Italian I can already speak the language, but with errors and can't write it that well. Lets say there's always improvement possible. I've been to Italy a lot of times, but never really to Florence. I've heard so many great things about the city, and I hope it's as beautiful as they say. My goal is to already start preparing for my trip and to study Italian at least half an hour a day. I bought a book with basic grammar and text comprehension exercises so when I'm there it'll be a lot easier already. If you love languages as well, Babbel is a great website. I used it to study Spanish for a few months before I went on a trip to Valencia.
- Make a gratitude list. Sometimes I forget how fortunate I am for all the things I have in my life. We tend to look at others and compare your life to theirs. It's like you're comparing you're weaknesses with their accomplishments and you're basically doomed for failure. I want to write down a few things everyday where I'm fortunate for to have. Those can be small things, like a friend who helped me with my assignment or even just a delicious meal I had for dinner. By writing these things down you start to appreciate and realise the smaller things in life. Small things often make a big difference!
- Reorganise my room. Once in a while it's necessary to completely declutter and organise your room. I've had my room the same for a while so it's time for a change. I'm going to paint my walls again, I love the color taupe so maybe that will be one wall and the others in white. And some new curtains in taupe as well to match the wall. I also need to sort out my closet. Maybe you also have this, but every season I buy new clothes having in mind to wear them next summer as well. But than you don't like those clothes anymore. The pile of clothes to sell becomes bigger and bigger every year.. When I've organised all of that too my room will be completely new. An organised room means an organised mind!
What's one goal you'd like to accomplish this month?
Have a lovely day,
Isabella❤
Hey everyone,
It's a sunny day today in the Netherlands. It's finally not that cold anymore and on these days I love just going for a walk on the beach and enjoying the fresh air. Spring is the perfect season to shop for some must haves for summer. It's the season for cute summer dresses, shorts, barbecues and beach essentials. I absolutely love shopping and making wish lists. Like every girl, I can never have enough of anything.
As a student, you can't always buy everything and have to watch carefully how much you spend. I think that you can better buy one good quality item instead of a lot of cheaper things and in the end you end up spending a lot more anyway. That's where LatestDeals.co.uk can come in handy. It's a site where, as the name says, find all kinds of deals. You can find the latest bargains, coupons, discount codes, freebies and more so you never spend too much on your next purchase. They have all kinds of deals, from travel, to fashion, to music and books all in one place.
New Look is one of my favourite clothing brands. They always have so many cute things and luckily you can also find this brand on their site. In the category shoes you can find a lot of different kinds of shoes. Lately I'm really into loafers and mules. They are classic and still casual that you can easily combine them with almost any outfit. I love to wear heels to a formal occasion or a party. They now have heels for discount so that's perfect to buy now! I'm going to a gala in a few weeks and want to look for a new dress as well. Karen Millen is another brand you can find on there that has many beautiful cocktail and evening dresses in all colors and styles. It's an expensive designer brand for women who know their style. My favourite color is pink, haha I know really girly. If you're in need of a dress and a good deal than you can find it here for sure!
Thank you for reading today's post! I hope you enjoyed it! Shopping is fun and especially when you have a website that helps you with saving money on your favourite brands.
Question time - What is your must have for summer?
Have a lovely day,
Isabella❤
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Black Suedette T-Bar Barely There Sandals |
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| BLACK/WHITE BEADED BARDOT MAXI DRESS |
Question time - What is your must have for summer?
Have a lovely day,
Isabella❤
Hey everyone,
Spring and Summer are the perfect seasons to get married in. At least, that's what I think. The sun is out, it's not that cold anymore and the days are longer. I can't wait until one of my friends get married one day, so I can wear a beautiful bridesmaid dress and make their day special. Today I would love to show you some bridesmaid dresses that I like very much. Read further now!
Dresslily has many cute dresses at an affordable price. Besides that, they also have swimwear, jeans, accessories and much more for a filled wardrobe. Bridesmaid dresses come in so many different colors, patterns, shades and styles that it can be difficult to choose what style fits their wedding.
Pastel Blue
Because it's Spring season, it's finally possible to wear those bright and pastel colored dresses again! I came across this bridesmaid dress that's perfect for a beach wedding. It's in soft blue, with a v-neck and with a floral print. I love that it's knee length and sleeveless as well. This dress also fits my style very well, it's classic and elegant and you can never go wrong with it!
Lace
This dress is in another shade of blue. It's darker but still cute for Spring and Summer. It has more of a vintage touch to it and is more fitted. This would be great for an indoor wedding. It's a lace dress, above the knee and also is available in burgundy. Both the dresses are cute to wear to a party as well, not only specifically for a wedding. Also with the right accessories you can make the look complete or change the style a little bit to your taste.
Thank you very much for reading my post! Shopping for dresses is always fun, and with the help of the bride you can match your style to hers and the venue to find something beautiful.
Question time - What is your favorite shade for Summer?
Have a lovely day,
Isabella❤
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