colours
If you follow me on Instagram, you'd have seen this outfit. Here's the story linked to it :)
Spring came slightly early for me when I was basking in the sun and its warmth during my solo trip to Lisbon in Portugal. One of the places I visited, was called Belem, a place 3 train stops away from the Lisbon city centre. It is a place with PERFECT OOTD backgrounds, windy, yet sunny, nice open space, lush greenery, and most importantly, it is home to the ORIGINAL PORTUGUESE EGG TARTS.
In Portugal, they are called Pastéis de Nata which translates to custard tarts. Well whatever you call them, they are delightful. I had at least 1 for every day I was in Portugal.
On the first night of my arrival in Lisbon, I had a brief conversation with a stranger interviewing tourists in Lisbon for a school project, and he told me I had to visit Belém. I was certain I would be going until, during dinner, a fellow traveler (who has been to Lisbon before) told me that she thought Belém was overhyped.
Nevertheless, on my third day in Portugal, I had a free afternoon to kill, and thus headed off to Belém, and I was glad I did!
Before hitting up Belém I scrolled through the internet looking for ideas on what to do there and things/attractions to visit. One of the top places that came up was the Jerónimos Monastery. From the pictures online, it looked really majestic.
There were 2 parts to the Monastery, the Church was free to enter, but to enter the other part of the Monastery, I had to pay 10euros. I thought It would be pretty worth it, considering it looked incredible from the outside, and so I did. Unfortunately, despite the really neat architecture, I thought 10 euros was way too over priced. The details of the Jerónimos Monastery facade was interesting, but if you aren't a fan of architecture, I suggest skipping out on the entrance and just enjoying the external view.
Fortunately, I was one of the last to enter the place for that day, and I had it pretty much all to myself. There weren't many tourist in the Monastery to begin with anyway.
After leaving the Monastery, I headed towards the river for some awesome views by it. But, as I was passing by a huge fountain, I caught a rainbow! I love sights like this, it just reminds me how beautiful and unexpected our world is :)
By this time, the sun was about to set and the winds started to blow, it was nice to admire the view of the river and the bridge. The lack of a railing by the edge of the waters did freak me out a little. I didn't dare go too near the edge for the fear of getting blown into the waters or losing my balance and falling in. The strength of the wind was seriously insane!!
When people go to Belém, more often than not, is to visit the Tower of Belém, where you could apparently get a beautiful panoramic view. I had this theory that the last entry would be approximately 6pm, so that visitors could watch the sunset from above. Happily believing my self-constructed theory, and without checking the internet for any prior confirmation, strolled over to the tower at 6, and realised everyone was walking in the opposite direction.
That's when I started thinking, "Could it have closed earlier than 6? Why is everyone walking away from the tower?" Upon reaching the Tower of Belém, I realised that the last entry to climb up for the views was 5pm. I was pretty bummed, until I realised the lack of tourists in the region means a chance to take decent photos - i.e. photos with no tourist heads in them!
What made all the walking worth it despite not having the opportunity to head up to the tower was the colourful sunset. I loved walking by the river just taking in my surroundings and having the sunset right in front of me.
Against the sunset, the tower looked incredible. It reminded me of the type of tower Rupunzel would be trapped in. Slightly fairytale like, but not pretty perfect and all princessy.
It was a shame I didn't get to visit the tower, but I enjoyed my afternoon in Belém. Coincidentally, I wore an outfit with nice teal green shades and a flowy cut that reminded me of mermaids and the ocean.
I am definitely missing the double digit temperatures of Lisbon now that i'm back in cold rainy London. Cannot wait for spring and summer to arrive. I think I'm a beach/sun/warmth loving girl at heart.
Thank you for reading, do let me know your thoughts! x
WHAT I WORE
Teal Dress: ASOS
Fluffy Cardigan: Primark
Boots: ECCO Shoes
'Fur' Lined Leggings: Primark
Outfit Diary: Spring Mermaid Colours in Belem
9 March 2015 Belém, Portugal
Everyone loves a beautiful sunset. There is something wonderful watching how the colours of the sky change from one to another and they bleed and blend into each other. I went to Prague over christmas, and unexpectedly, the weather was fantastic. There was no snow or rain and was sunny all three days I was there.
Having clear sunny skies meant that I got to witness one of the most beautiful sunsets ever. Its amazing how the colours of sunsets can be so different from day to day. Watching the sunset over the famous Charles Bridge in Prague was unbelievable because I just couldn't believe what I saw. It started off slightly cloudy with a little yellow and orange tones, and so I thought it wouldn't be one of those vibrant sunsets that we get to see during clear summer days. But when the sun began to set, the clouds started disappearing. The pink orange yellow was so unrealistic, but yet it was there right in front of me. Jerald termed it "paddle pop skies" because that exactly what it looked like. As if children's were splashing paint all over the sky or little angels above the clouds were eating paddle pop and they started melting all over the sky. Me and my imagination.
The most unexpected thing was that the sun was setting AWAY from the bridge, so on one side of the bridge you would have dusty blues and greys slowly darkening as the sun crept away from it, but on the other side, it was a burst of colours. I took these photographs on my Iphone6, and you know how sometimes colours appear a lot more vibrant on the iPhone? That was probably the first time I was using my iPhone to take photographs as my DSLR ran out of battery, and I remember being so impressed with the phone.
I remember thinking "What people were saying about the latest iPhone camera is SO TRUE. It captures the colours SO SO WELL." Good Job APPLE.
Whilst we were walking along the bridge, we saw the same couple we met while climbing up to the roof to the Battle of the Nations Monument in Leipzig. It just made the whole experience more heartwarming. That coincidental bump in reminds me of how the world is so big and yet so small, and that you will never know who you meet or who will come into your life again. Whose path you'll cross and whose life you'll impact, or who will impact you. #deepthinkingmuch?
And this. This last photo is my ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE. Jerald was standing behind me as I used my iPhone to attempt to do one of those "artistic shots", and he just said "Ok don't move", then proceeded to rest the camera on top of my head and snapped a shot. It turned out better than he expected I would presumed, because he was thoroughly pleased with himself.
That photo honestly just symbolised what I was doing on the bridge the whole time. Just so you know, my hands were almost completely outstretched so as to crop out all of the tall european (who am I kidding, most asians are taller than me too) tourists that were walking by. Sigh, the problems with being too short.
Would you like to see a paddle pop sky sunset? Or do you think it's too unrealistic? Comment below!
Sunsets Over Charles Bridge - Prague, Czech Republic
7 February 2015 Charles Bridge, Praha 1-Staré Město, Czech Republic
While I was on my winter holiday, I kept seeing Instagram pictures pop up of this new cereal place in London called Cereal Killer. And then, I stumbled upon Amelia Liana's Youtube Vlog where she and her sister went to try out the cereals there. I was wondering to myself "What is so special about cereal?", but after seeing the shop's decoration of colourful cereal boxes and hearing about the quirky names they have for their cereals, I convinced Jerald to take a 30min trip to Brick Lane just for Cereal.
We decided to go with the pre-mixed selections, I got Double Rainbows and he got something with cinnamon and honey.
I loved how they used strawberry milk for mine! Accompanied with the honey and my huge glass of mocha, breakfast was delightful!
Our bill came up to £16.50, which I must say, is actually pretty expensive for Cereal. But, it was not something I could make on my own - unless I get 120 boxes of cereal - so I think visiting Cereal Killer was a nice! Plus their shop deco is too adorable!
Since we went all the way to Brick Lane, for breakfast, I decided to take some outfit photos as well. Plus I was dressed unusually brightly coloured (for winter) that day!
TIP! (for you and I) - You can always bring out hints of colours in one your accessories with the other accessories of the same colour, say black and gold watch with gold shoes ;)
What I wore:
Maroon Cardigan: Tobi.com | Blue Faced Watch: Nakedglory | Pink Sweater: Primark | Navy Shoes: Charles and Keith (Similar Here) | Patterned Pants: Uniqlo (Similar Styles here, here, here)
What are your thoughts on the outfit? And would you pay for cereal?
Comment below!
Outfit Diary: Double Rainbows + Cereal Killer
30 January 2015 Brick Lane, London E1 6RL, UK
Seeing pictures of the 2 Men Kissing made me curious about the hype over it. Prior to visiting the East Side Gallery in Berlin, I thought that said image would be the most impressive art piece/wall, since it is so iconic and everyone enjoys instagramming pictures of it.
Let me first apologise for using the image as my blog header image. The Kiss was photographed in 1979 and it is a "common ritual for socialist buddies" according to Stars and Stripes. But (and here's why I apologised), THERE IS MORE to the East Side Gallery than the The Kiss.
The East Side Gallery is filled with walls and walls of detailed and impressive street art, some (in my opinion) are so much more interesting/thought provoking than The Kiss. Yet I don't understand why they aren't featured. WHY?
Let me first give tribute to my favourite wall. Favourite for no concrete specific reason actually. It is not the most colourful wall, neither is it the most detailed, but I really like it. Maybe it's because of my love for masquerades and masks. Then again, this wall can be interpreted in so many ways. From that of living in a masked society, to... just pretty masked animal look-a-likes.
In fact, the pictures that are shown here of all the walls are those that left an impression. They made me stop and stare before bothering to snap a photo. They made me go "Wow! how to people paint something like that?!" Honestly, these are such thought provoking images, they definitely deserve more recognition.
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| I found this image to be so haunting. |
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| THIS. IS. GOLD. |
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| This is a gate that use to be an entrance between both sides of the wall. |
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| Check Point Charlie Illustration. |
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| This one really reminded me of Japan! |
Anyway, for my outfit that day, I went with a mostly black and grey ensemble (didn't want to clash with the colours for the berlin wall!) with a pop of blue on top. Never used to enjoy wearing turtle necks in the past, I always thought they made me look like i had no neck or too long a neck. But this one has such a nice colour plus it keeps me warm!
Here's what I wore:
Grey Winter Coat: Coldwear (Similar Here) | Black Pants: Takashimaya (Similar Here) | Black Ankle Boots: Ecco (Similar Here) | Light Purple Knit Turtle Neck: New Look
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| Ending off with an image that shows both side of the berlin wall, a reminder of Divide. |
Hope you enjoyed the pictures of the East Side Gallery. What are your thoughts?
Colours of the East Side Gallery - Berlin, Germany
27 January 2015 East Side Gallery, Mühlenstraße, 10243 Berlin, Germany
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