City Guide: Valencia

If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen that I recently went to Valencia for a couple days which was a trip to go and see my friend who is currently living there. 

 Valencia is a city that you never hear many people say that they are going to for a city break but I think that it's the perfect place to go for a weekend city break. If you are staying in the main city centre of Valencia it is very easy to walk around and see everything as you walk around there are a lot of pretty buildings. One thing I liked about Valencia is that it was easy to be able to find plenty of places for food and drink which are reasonably priced. Whenever I go to a city I always like to make sure I get to see the cathedral which was no exception in Valencia. There is a little river area which is lovely to walk along which is known as Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. 

My visit to Valencia fell during the Fallas period which is a celebration that they have in Valencia for Saint Joseph which lasts from 1st March through to 19th March. During this period everyday at 2pm they have an event which is known as La Mascleta at Plaza del Ayumtamiento which is where they set off firecrackers for 7 minutes they also they did a colour version of this on the Saturday evening at midnight whilst I was in Valencia. On the final day of Fallas they have approximately 350 'constructions' located around the city which people will have built over a period of time and these will be burnt down apart from one which is selected as the winner. There is a museum which you can visit where you can see a piece from the constructions that have won in previous years. Whilst I was in Valencia they had a display of some of the constructions that are going to be used on the final day in a museum where people are able to pick their favourite one. 

Hope you enjoy my insight to Valencia.

LauraJane

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Travelling Hand Luggage Only

At the time of this I am getting ready to fly off to Valencia, this is my first trip travelling with hand luggage only. I've never realised it could be so easy to travel hand luggage only but it is something that I would say is only suitable if you are doing a short trip. I am using a small purple case that I bought in Las Vegas a few years ago.

For anybody who is going to be travelling with hand luggage only I would recommend that you try and take as less clothes as possible so try and take items that will be suitable for more than one occasion so perhaps take a top that will last day and night. For shoes I would say to only take one pair as well as the ones you are wearing as they are something that can take up a fair bit of space in your luggage. When it comes to packing toiletries you need to make sure that you are taking toiletries that are travel size and that any liquids are under 100ml. If you are taking a hairdryer it's best to take a travel size one which you are able to buy from Boots.

LauraJane

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It's OK to be Single....

Valentine’s Day is a day that I think you either hate or love whether you are single or in a relationship. I know some people who say why do we need a day dedicated to showing how much you love someone which I suppose is true but there are some people who like to have that day to be able to spoil the person they love.

There are some people like myself who are going to be single on Valentine’s day which is OK. There are some people who don’t like being single on Valentine’s day and will feel sorry for themselves and sit there and think they are sad but it’s OK to be single. It’s OK for a lot of reasons and its also OK to be doing a lot of things alone on Valentine’s day that you think you should be doing whilst in a relationship.

• It’s OK to sit and watch a romantic movie alone
• It’s OK to get a dine-in for two from the supermarket and eat it alone
• It’s OK to sit and eat a box of chocolates alone
• It’s OK to buy yourself some flowers
• It’s OK to wear nice underwear just for yourself
• It’s OK to bake some heart shaped cookies and eat them alone
• It’s OK to go out with your other single friends for a girls night

LauraJane

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5 Ways To Relax/ De-Stress

A lot of the time I find that it’s important to find time to be able to relax and give yourself some me time. So here are 5 ways that I find are suitable for wanting to relax.

1. Relaxing Bath: A bath is my favourite way to have some relaxing and personal time as I find it to be the one time where nobody is going to come and bother you. Whilst in the bath its also good to light some candles around the bath whilst you have your favourite bath bomb or bubble bath in the bath as well as putting your favourite playlist on to listen to in the background.
2. Read A Book: Taking some time to sit and read a book allows you to go to another world where there are no worries I think which is why I find it to be a perfect solution for some relaxing time. 
3. Pamper Session: Every now and again I think it’s important to give yourself a mini pamper session which can involve face masks and painting nails. Another way for a pamper is a visit to your local hairdressers even if you only go for a little trim. 
4. Bake A Cake: Baking is something that I love to do but it is something that not everyone will like to do. It’s always satisfying when you bake something and it is a success. 
5. Netflix: Taking some time to sit and catch up on your favourite series on Netflix is a perfect way to sit and relax as you will find that you wont want to move anytime soon as you become engrossed in what is happening. 

If you have any alternative ways that you like to relax or de-stress leave them in the comments.

LauraJane

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How To Be More Productive

I said I was going to blog more this year and we are hitting February this week so blogging more hasn't gone very well as this year I’ve only posted one blog. Lately I haven't been feeling very productive for different reasons  but I’ve managed to start feeling that bit more productive so hopefully there will start to be a few more blogs coming from me now. Here are some ideas as to how to be more productive. 

Music

Personally I find sticking on some music when I have a task that I wish to achieve helps me to become more focused on the task as it relaxes me. 

Clear Out

I love a good clear out of my clothes, shoes and beauty bits as they help to make my life feel less cluttered. I find it important to have a clear out every so often so that you are able to get rid of anything that is no longer wanted and it helps to create that space for something that you are more than likely to use or for something that you need. Having a clear out also helps to make you feel better as you can sometimes be helping others if you decide to donate your belongings to charity which is something that I do when having a clear out.

Targets

Setting a couple of targets for what I wish to do on a certain day helps me to feel like I’ve been more productive at the end of the day as I’m able to say that I’ve achieved what I wanted for the day. It’s important not to set too many targets as that can be putting too much pressure on yourself which can lead you to become stressed that you are not going to be able to get everything done.

Caffeine

I like to make sure that I don’t consume too much caffeine of a day as it can affect my sleep pattern. I get to a certain point of the day where I have to say that I can’t have that extra cup of coffee that I would love to have otherwise I will not sleep of a night. 

Manage Your Sleep Pattern

It’s important to make sure that you are getting enough sleep of a night otherwise during the day you will become tired which can result in a lack of productivity. It’s important to get at least seven hours sleep a night. I find it best not to sleep in past 8am otherwise I feel like I’ve  wasted the morning. 

Set A Goal For The Week/Month

Sometimes its best to set a goal that you would like to achieve for the week or month such as read a book or learn something new as this can help to feel more productive. 

Any other tips on how to be more productive feel free to send them in my direction.

LauraJane

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San Francisco to Las Vegas

         If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen that I recently went to America. I flew from London to San Francisco where I spent a couple of days before travelling to Santa Barbara for the night with a short stop at Monterey Bay where I then continued to Las Vegas. 

San Francisco

This was my first time visiting San Francisco and it is somewhere that I will be definitely going back to. It is such a relaxed city with plenty to see and do which I find appealing. 

Fisherman's Wharf was the first place that I visited once arriving in San Francisco and checking in to the hotel, I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Fisherman's Wharf. This is an area which is full of restaurants and is the perfect place to go if you are a fan of eating seafood. For food I went to Boudin's which is famous for it's sourdough bread and had a pizza (I'm not a fan of seafood) which was nice but something I wouldn't be wanting to have again. 

On the first full day I did a tour bus around the city of San Francisco taking in all the sights that were on offer. Once I'd done a full trip I then got off at Golden Gate bridge to then get a bus to a small town called Sausalito which was lovely with little unique shops. Whilst in Sausalito I went to a burger place called Napa Valley Burger Company which was the best burger that I've ever had. In the evening I went to Ghiradelli Square for a little walk around and to visit the chocolate shop which is somewhere you need to go if you are a chocolate fan which sadly I'm not the biggest chocolate fan, I'm more of a savoury person than a sweet person. 

On the second day in San Francisco I visited Alcatraz which is somewhere that I would say people must visit when they go to San Francisco. It is a very eerie place as you see how the prisoners used to live within the cells and just how close it is to mainland which was something I did not expect. 

                

Whilst in San Francisco I also visited Pier 39 which is where the sea lions are located. Pier 39 was a lovely place to just have a walk around and go in the various unique shops as well as a Christmas shop which I think sold some amazing decorations. I would recommend to visit Pier 39 in the morning as it was very busy when I went at mid afternoon. 

          

Monterey Bay & Santa Barbara

I only stopped at Monterey Bay for an hour and it was a lunch stop so it was not a place that I got to really see but from what I saw it seemed to be a nice place and is somewhere that I would like to for a  longer period of time. 

  

                

Santa Barbara was another place that I didn't get to see as I arrived early evening and left early the next morning. I stayed at the Best Western Peppertree Inn which my favourite hotel for the duration of the visit to USA. 

Las Vegas

This was my 6th visit to Las Vegas so it is safe to say that it's a place I love to visit. This time the visit was unfortunately only a short one so there wasn't much time to do anything. One thing that I do love to do in Las Vegas is go shopping which is what I did as soon as I arrived but something new that I did this time was go to the North Shopping Outlet and got myself a bargain as I got a pair of DVF heels for $64 instead of $400. For any shopping fans going to Las Vegas I would recommend Forum Shops as the best place to go shopping where you must also go to The Cheesecake Factory where they serve some of the best food I've ever tasted. 

Whilst in Las Vegas I went to the Neon Boneyard Museum which is where they have some of the old neon signs from hotels that used to be open which is worth a visit. If you do choose to visit it is recommended to pre book a time as you have a guided tour. 

      

In Las Vegas they have a High Roller which is the equivalent to the London Eye which allows you view all over Las Vegas and is a must. I did the High Roller during the day and is something I would like to do in the evening next time I visit. 

Las Vegas is one of them places that I say you either love it or hate it but I love it as there is so much to do whilst you are. For this visit I didn't see any shows as I didn't have time unfortunately. 

LauraJane

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Feel free to ask any questions that you may have.