Travel: Brittany Photo Diary

Saint Suliac harbour

Le Mont Saint Michel

Beeeeaaach! (Don't know which, soz)

Saint-Malo

A couple of weeks ago, Lewis and I made the long drive from Paris over to a little village in Brittany called Saint Suliac for a few days to celebrate my old man's 60th birthday. The weather was a bit touch-and-go (being close so England and all, you know how dodgy summer weather can be!) but we had an amazing relaxing few days. We managed a couple of days on the beach, which is once of my favourite things - so liberating! We had a brief trip to the famous Le Mont Saint Michel and I say brief because it was so touristy that it just seemed like we were queuing to walk anywhere so we scarpered pretty fast! Lots of crêpes were eaten and loads of cider drunk - sounds pretty perfect huh?! 

Hope you enjoy the snaps. The content on the blog is going to be rather travel-related for now because I am without photographer for outfit posts. Plus…big news alert…I'm moving to Barcelona in a few weeks so I moved lots of my stuff back to England last week and I have just two suitcases of clothes. Not enough for a fashion blogger, not enough. x

Il y a deux semaine, Lewis et moi sommes allés à un petit village en Bretagne qui s'appelle Saint Suliac pour fêter l'anniversaire de 60 ans de mon papa. Le temps ne faisait toujours pas top mais on a passé un très bon séjour de 5 jours. On est allé à la plage, au Mont Saint Michel - trop de touristes! - et on a mangé beaucoup de galettes et a bu plein de cidre! Trop parfait hein?!

J'espère que tu aimes les photos. Pour l'instant, je fais assez beaucoup de postes de voyages sur le blog parce que mes photographes sont en vacances. De plus….des grandes nouvelles…j'aménage à Barcelone dans quelques semaines alors je n'ai pas tous mes affaires avec moi à Paris. Il n'y a pas assez de vêtements dans deux valises pour une bloggeuse de mode, PAS ASSEZ. Bisous. 

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Lyon Photo Diary

For the May bank holiday weekend we took a spontaneous trip down (a bit more) South to Lyon. Even though it did rain quite a bit, we were still able to enjoy exploring the cute hilly streets, taking in the bright and pastel house colours that made Lyon so different to Paris.

#iamdrunk - a city after my own heart.

The Fourvière Basilica looks over Lyon from the top of its biggest hill - the view from the top is amazing but it's quite a climb! There is also an old Roman amphitheatre and ruins nearby, which is quite unique and great to sit and rest tired tourist legs. 

The view of the Fourvière Basilica, the fake Eiffel Tower radio tower, courthouse and cathedral all lit up at night was magical. It was hard to capture it in a photo but the Basilica looked like a Disney castle! I couldn't stop looking at it!

On Sunday morning, we just had time for a quick stroll around the Tête d'Or park, which is just a delight. I hope I'll be back to Lyon sometime soon to enjoy this haven sprawled out in the sun. 

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Pour ce weekend de trois jours, on a décidé au dernier minute de passer le weekend à Lyon. Même s'il pleuvait assez beaucoup, c'était super de se balader dans les rues mignons et sur les collines, en regardant les bâtiments colorés et pastels qui sont très différents à ceux dans Paris. 

J'espère que vous aimez des photos - on a adoré la vue de Lyon de la Fourvière et l'amphithéâtre romaine qui est très unique. La vue de la Fourvière en lumière à la nuit était magique - comme un château de Disney! Difficile à vous montrer dans une photo. 

Dimanche matin, on s'est baladé brièvement dans le parc de la Tête d'Or qui est trop beau. J'espère que je peux revenir à Lyon en plein été pour profiter de ce parc tranquille en soleil. 

Izzie x

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A Weekend in Normandy

Last weekend, Lewis and I went on a little trip to Normandy for a couple of nights. We stayed in the cutest bed and breakfast, via one of my favourite sites, Airbnb. I have been using Airbnb for a few years now for practically every holiday I go on, and for those of you who don't know, it's a site where people rent out their spare rooms and apartments for generally much cheaper than hotels and hostels. You can find such unique and quirky accommodation and this little apartment, inside a renovated barn in the middle of the French countryside, was no exception. As you can see, it was beautifully decorated with lots of carefully thought out details and each morning our host delivered to us a tray of lovely French breakfast goodies.

There was also a horse and two cats, which automatically gets a thumbs up from us…

On a rather rainy Saturday, we set off from our isolated barn to visit a couple of nearby seaside towns. After just a brief stop in Deauville as it was raining and it wasn't my kind of vibe, we headed to the acclaimed and beautiful town of Honfleur. We spent the rest of the day wandering around its charming and cute winding streets and along the harbour, in mostly dry weather. For dinner I tucked into some long-awaited moules frites in a restaurant on the sea front.  

Sunday consisted mostly of shell picking. Even though I am a city girl through and through, being in the countryside or by the sea the 'Dora Explorer' hidden inside me comes bursting out. As soon as I got onto the beach at nearby town Houlgate, I started shell collecting. I hadn't even planned to but I think my assortment are going to look lovely in my Parisian apartment, which admittedly is still pretty bare decoration-wise. We dragged ourselves away from the refreshing sea breeze to eat a quick but delicious crêpe lunch. Cheese galettes to start with a bowl of Normandy cider and a salted caramel crêpe for dessert, perfect.

Before starting the road trip back to Paris, we took a detour to the beaches of the D-Day landings, to satisfy the history lover inside me. It was a great trip and I can't wait for the next weekend discovering France!

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Le weekend dernier, Lewis et moi sommes allés à Normandie pour une petite escapade de deux nuits. On est resté dans une chambre d'hôte très très mignon via le site Airbnb. J'utilise le site Airbnb pour presque tous mes vacances depuis des années. Pour ceux qui ne savent pas, Airbnb est un site où les gens mettent leurs chambres ou appartements libres à louer. Vous pouvez trouver des logements uniques comme cet petit appartement dans une veuille grange en pleine campagne française. Comme vous pouvez voir, la décoration est trop belle avec plein de détails et chaque matin notre hôte nous a amené un panier de petit déjeuner! De plus, il y a deux chats et un cheval qu'on a adoré. 

Le samedi, il pleuvait mais on est parti de la grange comme même pour visiter quelques villages balnéaires. Après avoir fait un petit tour de Deauville, parce qu'il pleuvait trop et je n'aimais pas beaucoup l'ambiance, on est allé à le fameux et beau village d'Honfleur. Pendant la reste de la journée, on s'est baladé dans les petites rues sinueuses et charmantes et à côté du port. Pour dîner, j'ai mangé des moules frites, bien attendu dans un restautant au port. 

Pour la plupart de dimanche, on était sur les plages où j'ai collectionné plein de coquilles pour décorer mieux notre appartement à Paris. Même si je suis vraiment une fille de la ville, j'aime trop être dans la campagne ou à côté de la mer où je deviens une aventurière. Après avoir fait la plage à Houlgate, on a mangé des galettes au fromage, avec un bolée de cidre Normande pour moi, et puis on a partagé un crêpe au caramel beurre salé pour dessert, parfait. 

Avant de commencer le road-trip en direction de Paris, on est allé aux plages du Débarquement de juin 1944 pour satisfaire l'amateur d'histoire dedans moi. C'était vraiment un super séjour et j'ai trop hâte pour le prochain weekend de découvert en France!

Izzie x 

The Fifties

Glamour is what makes a man ask for a woman's phone number…it is also what makes a woman ask another woman for the number of their designer!

Lilly Daché (French Fashion designer)

Chanel / Dior / Chanel

At the weekend I went to a great exhibition at Palais Galliera, as known as the fashion museum. The exhibition was called "Les Années 50" and looked at French fashion between 1947 and 1957. After World War Two there was a scandalous change to French couture which would change fashion forever. Tight bodices, clinched waistlines, flattering necklines and flowing full skirts set the style for a new femininity and was miles away from the straight and restricted dress of the Second World War. This was dubbed the 'New Look' and designers such as Christian Dior, followed by Yves Saint-Laurent, Cristóbal Balenciaga and, later, Hubert de Givenchy dominated the fashion scene of Paris in the 1950s.

Dior / Jacques Fath

Fashion designers in the 1950s just loved creating evening dresses, putting all their fantasy and imagination into them. Think lots of velvet, lace, satin and jewels with bustier necklines and long gloves, it was the most elegant part of a designers' collection. This Jacques Fath dress above has actual seeds of corn sewn onto the bustier, which is just enchanting. 

It was in the 1950s that the classic summer dress, that we all know and love, was born. The young wanted a free and liberating wardrobe for summer, whether it was spent in the city or by the beach. Colourful afternoon dresses, flowing skirts and beach outfits were worn next to the skin for ease and comfort. This was just the start of the ready-to-wear trend that established itself for good in the 1960s.

Lingerie also makes a comeback in the 1950s with push up bras and petticoats being the essentials for any wardrobe. Plain stockings are replaced with embroidered or printed tights that went with the outfit. The previously worn corset is remembered in the girdle, which would soon be banished during the 1960s, not re-appearing again until the 1980s. 

So just a little fashion history for you there. Get yourself to Palais Galliera if you can, this exhibition is running until 2nd November 2014.

Izzie x

South of France

So things have been a bit quiet this month on the blog because I've been on holiday for two weeks! I went to the South of France and wanted to share some of my lovely photos with you. I spent the first week relaxing in this amazing villa in a village north of Toulouse with the whole of my mum's side of family and then Lewis came to join me and we went on a little road trip. 

Passing through Carcassonne and a beach on the way, we spent our first night in Montpellier, which is an absolutely lovely city. Very quiet at this time of year because it is normally a student city. We ate at a great pizzeria called Le Valentino, which I would definitely recommend. 

Then we headed to our main destination, a village in Provence called Cadenet to a quiet house with a terrace overlooking the town and countryside, which I had found on Airbnb (my favourite website!). From there we did day trips to Avignon, Aix-en-Provence and the Gorges du Verdon, which was the highlight. We rented kayaks on the Lac de Sainte-Croix and paddled through the Gorges, which was incredible. We spent our last night in Marseille, which is gritty but beautiful.

Hope you have all had a good summer! I'm looking forward to Autumn/Winter fashion now though!

Izzie x 

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