Sea

December in Scotland

girlintheprettydressLeave a comment

Last month we had a short family trip up to Scotland – back to my favourite area on the west coast. We’d decided to travel with 3 dogs in tow so were limited on options for where to stay but struck it lucky with a beautiful rented cottage on the Ardmaddy Estate.

We weren’t quite so lucky with the weather (having arrived in the lead up to ‘Storm Desmond’) but we made the most of the few moments that the sunshine managed to break through the clouds. The Ardmaddy estate is only a few miles from the Isle of Seil – which gave us the perfect opportunity to explore this ruggedly beautiful island.

La Pelosa & Neptune’s Cave, Sardinia

girlintheprettydressLeave a comment

Having had such success with our guidebook when looking for somewhere to eat out, we decided to give it another spin for the next day’s activities.

La Pelosa was listed as one of the most spectacular beaches on the island so we headed over to it. Unfortunately, everyone else must have thought so too… when we got there you couldn’t see the beach for people. The waters were a stunning colour but the area lacked the tranquility we were craving so after snapping a couple of photos we turned around and headed back to Alghero.

On the hunt for another activity, I remembered reading about Neptune’s Cave and we managed to book ourselves onto the last trip of the day.

Things couldn’t have worked out better – even if we’d planned them. We had a quick bite to eat on shore, then hopped aboard and set sail for the cave. It takes about 40 minutes to reach by sea – and you have to pay extra for the crossing – but it is preferable to walking from the car park, which involves a climb of 654 steps.

The cave itself is roughly 80 million years old. I can never remember which is a stalactite or a stalagmite – but there were a lot of them! The very helpful guide (who spoke 4 languages) told us that only 1% of the cave is still “living” due to reduced rainfall in the area.

Tall folks take note though – there are a lot of low ceilings and things to bang your head on (as demonstrated by the blurry photo lower down)

Castelsardo, Sardinia

girlintheprettydressLeave a comment

When we left Isola Rossa, we headed south along the West Coast and on the way we decided to stop off at Castelsardo. The castle itself is 12th Century but the area’s history extends back much further than that.

There is some parking higher up but we opted to walk up the hill so that we could see more of the town and it’s charming shops (note to self – next time, do shopping on the way down). It was quite a climb but we were rewarded when we got to the Castle with a blast of fresh air at the top and the most stunning views of the harbour and the Sardinian countryside behind. Oh and there was a Gelato shop up there – so that helped too!

Giraffe print top (no longer available): H&M Conscious collection.
Shorts: Warehouse
Shoes: Primark
Sunglasses: F&F

Little White Dress

girlintheprettydressLeave a comment

For the first part of our trip to Sardinia we stayed in the beautiful Hotel Relax Torreruja. Located on a rocky outcrop in the north of the Island it’s surrounded by stunning views – but be warned it can get a little breezy up there!

It’s a moment away from the small-but-perfectly-formed town of Isola Rossa. There isn’t a huge amount to do, but quite honestly that didn’t seem to matter as the days slipped by easily. I spent them laying out in the sun overlooking the sea, reading a few good books and slipping into the sea to make friends with the fishes whenever I needed to cool off.

I packed a lot of summer dresses for the trip and the Topshop one below is an oldie but a goodie. It’s very girly and flirty – perfect for sunny summer evenings. As it’s one from way-back-when it’s no longer available in stores but there are similar options here and here.

Corsica

girlintheprettydressLeave a comment

Holiday Aug 2014 145

Shirt: Mango | Shorts: Warehouse
Bikini (worn underneath): F&F | Sunglasses: F&F | Earrings: Miss Selfridge

So here’s the deal, if you want to visit a Caribbean Island, but you live on the wrong side of the Atlantic, got to Corsica instead.

If you’ve never heard of it before, it’s a French Island in the Mediterranean – just off the coast of Italy. There are various ferry services from France/Italy/Sardinia or if you can’t be faffed with all that (like me) EasyJet fly there. Once you reach the south of the island it really looks no different to Antigua. There are beautiful mountains that stretch all the way down to the white beaches and turquoise seas.

DSC_0355

Top: Rare (previously blogged about here)

We stayed in a villa near the tiny town of Propriano – where the food is to die for. (If there’s one benefit of this being a French island, it’s that everywhere you go you can get Crepes. Yum!) It’s also close to some of the best beaches on the island as well as some of the main tourist attractions, such as the medieval town of Sartene, or the prehistoric site of Filitosa.

DSC_0188

Propriano Harbour

If you asked me what my favourite part of the trip was though, I would have to say Bonifacio. The little town perched on the cliffs is one of the most famous images associated with Corsica, but the only way to see it properly is from the water – because it really does look like some parts are held up by magic. Boat trips aren’t expensive and car parking is included in the ticket price (if you can find the car park – it took us a while!).

DSC_0884

Bonifacio

It’s a steep climb up to the town, and I wouldn’t recommend doing it in the midday heat. (I also wouldn’t recommend attempting to do it in flip flops – my feet really didn’t thank me for that!) But it’s worth it to explore the gorgeous higgledy-piggledy town.

DSC_0897

DSC_0348

The prettiest beach side restaurant (at Piantarella).

DSC_0186