Why Is Travel So Important? - Part 2

*This is a contributed post. All opinions are the writers own.

 Why Is Travel So Important?

Travel can seem like a bit of a luxury, but if you’re able to hop on a plane and visit a new place in the world, it’s something you should always go for. There are so many great benefits that travel is something we should all aim to be doing as often as we can. Here are a few reasons why.

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It’s relaxing and fun

We all work so hard. We commit forty plus hours a week to work, which doesn’t leave all that much time for anything else. We have families to care for, homes to run and an endless list of tasks to complete which never gets any shorter. Over time, this can really put a lot of pressure on us mentally and physically, and burnout is a real risk. Travel is great as it allows us to take a much-needed break. We can put on our out of office reply and not have to think about work, chores or anything else for a little while which can feel absolutely fantastic. Rest and relaxation isn’t just a luxury, it’s vital to good health but something that many of us simply don’t do. If you know you’re guilty of this, book yourself a trip where you can disconnect for a while from everyday life, it will do you the world of good.

 It teaches us new things

As humans, we crave new knowledge and new experiences, however, when we leave formal education it’s easy to fall into a rut of doing the same things day in day out. Travel gives us a fun opportunity to learn new things. We can learn about the past from museums, galleries and visiting historic landmarks. We can learn about religion by visiting churches and monasteries, mosques and temples. We can find out about a place by trying the food - the ingredients and cooking styles all tell a story of the past. Booking a tour is a great way to find out more about a destination, and they’re usually great if you’re on a budget too. Whether it’s free tours in Cordoba, walking tours in Wales or cycle tours in Amsterdam, there’s loads of options and your tour guide can give you plenty of information about the place you’re in.

It can help us to appreciate our lives

Most of us have so much to be grateful for, but when you’re stuck in the humdrum of routine, it’s easy to start overlooking these things. Taking a break can refresh your mind, and one result of this is realising how good you really have it in life. Even just returning back to your bed after a break feels amazing and can make you feel grateful for your home. If you’ve travelled to a less fortunate part of the world or helped on any voluntary projects then it can certainly make you realise how good you have it back at home. Experiencing gratitude and being happy for what you have is a quick route to overall happiness and feeling contented in life. 

 

Why do you think travel is so important? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Want to see other travel-related posts?

Why Is Travel So Important? - Part 1

Preventing Theft On Your Summer Holidays

5 Hidden Gems Of Venice

Quiz - A Complete Guide To Prints

 *This is a paid guest post. All opinions are the writers own. 

How to style prints this season

Prints have the power to bring something more to an outfit. A floral blouse can brighten up plain office wear, but a patterned trouser and shirt combo could clash. So, how do you decide which prints you should be wearing and which you should stay clear of?

 Styling must-dos

If you’re styling prints, the main things to remember are bringing together complementing colours, sizes and not going too OTT!

Not used to styling prints? You might want to ease them into your wardrobe by pairing them with solids. For something cool and stylish, match a pair of polka dot palazzo trousers with a plain white crew neck and barely-there sandals to channel summer vibes. Or, tuck a pastel ruffle shirt into a horizontal-striped A-line skirt for an on-trend look that’s suitable for work or play. Similarly, you can tone down a loud pattern by layering a monotone blazer or fitted jacket over the top. To add an edge of style and print to your wardrobe, consider patterned accessories such as bags, bandanas, and belts.

Bring pieces together that are part of the same colour palette. A floral print that has elements of pink in the pattern is enhanced by a solid coloured jacket that is the same colour as the print. If you want to go for two printed garments, keep your fabrics in the same colour family or pick two stylish prints that share a single colour. This ensures that your outfit doesn’t clash and is a safe way of mixing and matching prints.

  You can bring together two different prints if you follow these tips. Try breaking mixed prints up with a neutral garment — channel Boho vibes with a paisley co-ord jacket and skirt and separate the patterns with a neutral cami top. Or separate polka dot pumps and a patterned jacket with plain trousers. Similarly, you can also split up clashing prints with a chunky belt and cross-body bag.

There’s no reason that you can’t wear two pieces that have the same pattern on. One good way to do this is to invert the colours if you’re using two of the same pattern. For example, if a white cami with navy checks would pair well with a navy cami with white checks. You can also wear the same pattern together with in a larger or smaller scale. Try pairing a high-waisted pair of slacks with a strappy top that’s a smaller version of the pattern. Consider your jewellery in the mix too — if you’re wearing a geometric printed top, opt for jewellery of the same pattern.

Styling must nots

When it comes to what not to do with prints, there aren’t a lot of rules as it all depends on how confident you are contrasting styles and prints. There are a few things to keep in mind though.

Make an effort to not jump colour schemes— with clashing prints and colours, your outfit can look too mismatch. Stick to one colour scheme and use it throughout the full outfit — this helps your garments complement each other and prevents an outfit that looks like it’s been thrown together!

Take extra care when styling animal print. This pattern can be quite loud and may not match together in the way that other patterns would. For this reason, pair animal print with solid coloured pieces — try a leopard print cami dress with black t-shirt beneath and black heeled ankle boots — the top and boots will bring out the spots, whereas leopard print shoes would have been too much.

That’s all of our tips for a complete guide to prints! The main thing to remember is to wear what you feel confident in, change the fashion rules if you want to!

This article was brought to you by QUIZ, retailers of patterned and sequin dresses.

What are your favourite prints? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

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5 Hidden Gems Of Venice

 

In today's post, I'm going to be talking you though 5 Hidden Gems of Venice. Some of these are from my own personal experience as I went in April 2017 and some of them are from other bloggers experiences.

The island of Pellestrina

My first one is actually the place we stayed in which was the little island of Pellestrina. It was completely different from the busy streets of the main island of Venice as it was a more residential non-touristy place and was extremely quiet all throughout the day. 

It was so lovely and quiet and it was like stepping back in time to a classic Italian village plus it had the most amazing view of the sunset every night over the water. I don't think anywhere else will beat it! The residents were lovely and tried helping us as much as they could (we had a few mishaps including a flat bike tyre and not been able to find our house when we first arrived) even though there was a huge language barrier in that they spoke no English and we spoke no Italian.  

 

We rented our house from a lovely lady from Airbnb (You can find the one we stayed in HERE. If you have never used Airbnb before you can use my link HERE to get £25 of free travel credit when you sign up. It also gets me £15 of travel credit once your trip is done). She left us with 2 bikes which we could use around the island and we definitely made use of them! The island is very long and thin with only 1 road running down the middle with a beach on one side and a harbour running down the other.

Overall it was the BEST place to stay if you don't want the mania that is the main island of Venice and you want somewhere that is a little more budget friendly too. It is the type of place I would love to retire to in the future.

Trattoria Alla Rivetta

We were looking for somewhere random to eat an evening meal with no idea where we were going until we came across Trattoria Alla Rivetta which was hidden down the side of a small bridge (literally a hidden gem!). It had a very small entrance so could be easily missed. We were seated with an amazing view of the canal and the gondolas going past, so we couldn't have asked for anything better. The food we had was also divine. I can't remember the exact name of the dishes we had but they were seafood (I have attached a photo below). I would definitely recommend eating here, if you can locate it of course! The address is Castello 4625, Ponte San Provolo, 4625 Venice so good luck!

At the time I wish I had written down the name of the place as it took me literal hours to find it on google. I even searched images of the cloth and plate designs, that's how deep the search went so I was very glad when I found it. 

You can see more information about it on TripAdvisor.

 Burano

This hidden gem was submitted by LeAnna at Well Traveled Nebraskan.

Nobody doubts that Venice is beautiful, but that is what makes it so touristy. We decided to ditch the crowds by hopping on the #12 Vaporetto boat and head to the island of Burano,  just off of Venice. A lot of people opt for its sister island, Murano, known for its exquisite glass blowing, but Burano seemed to be a bit more off of tourists' radars and was known for its delicate lace and delicious white wine. I was sold.

By getting there in the late afternoon, we had the added bonus of missing out on most Venetian cruise boat tourists and basically had the pastel canals all to ourselves.

We almost forgot about the throngs of people waiting for us back in Venice as we strolled the picturesque lanes window shopping and taking it slow at a cafe sipping on wine as we people watched…just like the locals seemed to be doing.

Arcobaleno Pigmenti

This hidden gem was submitted by Esra at Arabian Wanderess.

Walking in Venice is the first thing you will experience when visiting the city. Google maps still hasn't mastered the "best routes" in that little city and with all the little alleyways, the little bridges and the canal, getting lost is inescapable. I don't think I went a day there without getting lost at least a few times. On one of my uncertain walks in the very big summer crowd, I found a little gem that was not on my radar before visiting the city. The window was the biggest draw for me and I couldn't resist the inviting art supplies, so I went inside Arcobaleno Pigmenti. It is an Italian brand with natural, colourful pigments that I absolutely loved! It's a fantastic shop for art lovers or if you want to buy presents for artist friends. It was my one of my highlights there.

Murano

This hidden gem was submitted by Jyoti at Story At Every Corner.

The small cluster of man-made islands to the north-east of Venice is the island town of Murano. Just a few minutes water taxi ride from Venice, it is almost like a suburb but has an entirely different vibe from Venice or it’s sibling islands of Burano and Torcello. The three beautiful islands make for a perfect day trip from Venice.

Murano is famous for its glass art. Many glass factories give tours during their working hours. Some visitors purchase exquisite glass pieces to take or ship home and others take pictures and experiences.

 Read more about Murano at https://storyateverycorner.com/murano/

Have you ever visited Venice? If so did you come across any of these hidden gems? Let me know in the comments below.

Want to check out some of my other travel-related posts?

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Steal Their Style: Bella Hadid

 

Finally, I am here with the second post in my 'Steal Their Style' series. This time around I am stealing Bella Hadid's style. The first post I did in this series was Steal Their Style: Gigi Hadid who is, of course, Bellas sister. They both have a great style which is why I decided to do Bella second instead of some of the other people who I have in mind.

To see the items I have picked just click on the outfit and they will appear underneath. To see more of the outfits click on the big + button. Let me know in the comments below which is your favourite Bella Hadid outfit from the ones I have shown (Mine is the all red outfit) and also please leave some suggestions for other celebrity styles you would like me to steal in future posts.

*This post contains affiliate links. This means I will earn a small commission on any items you buy through my links.

Want to check out more of my latest posts? Find my fashion-related content here.

Holiday Essentials: Swimwear

 

I'm officially on my countdown until my holiday to Corfu. Less than 2 weeks to go! Today's post is going to be a quick one to show you some of my favourite swimwear pieces of the current moment. Winter may be coming but my holiday is coming sooner!

*This post contains affiliate links. This means I will earn a small commission from anything you buy through these links.

Let me know in the comments below which of my picks are your favourites as well as whether you have any travel plans for the rest of this year.

While you are here, why not check out some of my other recent posts?

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