International Eateries; Daphnes, Barbados

The combination of Island living and refined Italian food is a beautiful thing.

After a day of hard labour by the poolside 

and on the beach at the beautiful Hilton Resort in Barbados, it was time to refuel ourselves [also happens to be my favourite time of a calendar day.]

50 shades browner than when I originally hopped on the plane at London Gatwick Airport, I threw on this whistfully white ensemble;

What I wore:

Blouse; Zara

Shorts; Zara

Shoes; Kurt Geiger

Wrist Candy; Belt by Topshop

And jumped in a taxi over to Daphne’s Barbados for dinner. 

Greeted by an unassuming neon sign at the entrance, we tottered through a rather lengthy walkway to the definition of beach side dining. 

The lapping ocean danced with sprinkles of the beaming moonlight that... well you know what I mean- it was all just so pretty!

Buzzing with excitement, we sat down and our waiter immediately zipped over with a platter of breads and olives the size of my fist. 

The service was, to put it mildly, shaky at the start. Balsamic spillages across the table [que a sharp inhale of breath as I was wearing all white!], no seared king scallops available and a general bad attitude towards servicing the table... but as the waiter changed that ALL changed too!

I went for the Grilled Catch of the Day, which happened to be Swordfish, with Fondant potatoes, wilted greens and saffron sauce. What’s that saying? Caught, Hook line and sinker- yes she certainly was! It was incredible. Flaky fish, deliciously rich fondant potatoes all brought together by a lashing of saffron sauce.

Go on have a closer peek at that artichoke...

Oh yes.

I had a cheeky bite of my accomplices Roasted Pumpkin and Amaretti Ravioli with Brown Butter & Sage...

Ok well a few cheeky bites- it was equally delicious!

Desserts you say? Well Desserts backward is Stressed and this was a de-stress kind of trip- catch my drift?

Chocolate mousse with Salted Caramel Accents

Followed by Iced Berries with Hot White Chocolate Sauce.

Take my advice ladies & gents- don’t skip dessert!

Although slightly questionable if given the wrong service, the food and surroundings at Daphne's Barbados is absolutely delicious and a must visit!  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Parisian Adventures: Day 1

When the clock struck midnight on 31^st December 2013 after sipping what felt like a gallon of the bubbles- I made myself a promise. Alongside the standard eat healthier, attempt the adventurous and be better – a quick trip jet setter was next on the list.

As the year drew to a close for 2013, I threw caution to the wind and decided to take a quick hop, skip and an elegant pirouette across the pond to meander the winter streets of Paris while sipping chocolat chaud and being very Parisian- naturally as you can imagine only one of those things were achieved.

Having frequently visited Paris during the winter months I knew what to expect. I usually end up absolutely drenched with rain, freezing my tail off with a mild version of frost bite. But I was pleasantly surprised...

Bounds of winter sun rushed in through our window, which only made my excitement to drop our bags and scurry out onto the streets even greater.

I stayed at the Mon Hotel Paris located on Rue d'Argentine mostly because it’s only a stone’s throw away from The Arc de Triomphe and The Champs-Élysées [easier with the shopping bags]

 but I ended up being seriously impressed by the place.

The staff were beyond amazing & went out of their way to ensure that we were comfortable and nothing was too much trouble. And the breakfast

Oh the breakfast.

But more about that later.

The Christmas markets on the Champs-Élysées were in full swing.

 Framing a colossal sized ice-rink outside of the Eiffel Tower.

Markets tantalized passers with the aroma of roasted chestnuts, delicious food

 and fresh Nutella douzed brioche buns...

 Naughty.

Grabbing two tumblers of Vin Chaud [mulled wine for my Londonists] we began to meander the streets of Paris with no real destination in mind but Paris does that to you- you can walk for hours and discover beautiful buildings or picturesque sites at every corner.

Paris in winter is truly beautiful- the streets are lined with wooden festive huts, a large santa sleigh hangs over the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and if you time it right- fake snow falls and gives you that tingly Christmassy feeling.

We meandered on down to the Grand Palais

The Eiffel Tower

Truly the most Romantic City in the world. 

And aimlessly continued down the river banks of The Seine.

8 hours and 1 generous glass of Vin Chaud later- our stomachs began to growl. So we jumped in a cab and headed to the Champs-Élysées for lunch at Laduree.

Fast forward a few hours and we were scrubbed up clean ready for The Moulin Rouge.

Fur is mandatory for a night at The Moulin Rouge- so I hear. 

A fanfare of elaborate costumes, extravagant routines and lots of boobies- to say there were a significant amount of men scraping their jaws off the flaw at the final curtain call would be an understatement.

Unfortunately cameras aren't allowed into the Moulin Rouge, but I snuck a few cheeky one's in for you... 

Positively pooped from a day of marathon walks and indulging on one too many macaroons, we retired to Mon Hotel to recharge for Paris Day 2!