Iceland - Thingvellir National Park / Gullfoss / Geysir

We travelled back in February this year to Iceland! Iceland is one of the most incredible places I have ever been to. Just being there in person and seeing all these sites is amazing and should definitely be on your list of places to visit! Iceland is mind-blowing and we witnessed such lovely scenery in winter and with the correct clothing and gear, you will be guaranteed a trip of a lifetime.

Thingvellir National Park

Our first stop of the Golden Circle tour was at Thingvellir National Park. As with most people who come to Iceland, renting a car is a must as you can drive at your own pace and arrange your own day trips to all those places you want to go! We travelled as a party of five and started our journey from Reykjavík where we stayed in an Airbnb for the first two nights. The journey took 45 minutes by car and there is a parking charge of 750 ISK which is for a passenger car with 5 seats or less and is valid for all day and at all parking lots. There is no entrance fee for the park.

Geysir

Another popular spot is of course the Geysir! It was amazing just waiting and watching the water shoot up and how excited everybody got when that happened.

Gullfoss

The Gullfoss waterfall was my favourite place out of the entire trip. I cannot write down in words of how beautiful it is so I think I will leave it up to the pictures below! Literally cloud heaven!

Paris - My Favourite Places

It was our second time staying at Hotel Henriette which is located in the 13th arrondissement just a few minutes walk from Les Gobelins metro station on Line 7. I love the decor of the hotel which makes it feel so inviting. For this post, I will be sharing my favourite places to visit in Paris.

Lounge area leading to the garden

Sitting in the garden

Pont de Bir-Hakeim & The Eiffel Tower

This definitely feels like 'Inception'... To get here, jump on Line 6 of the Paris metro and get off at Passy station then follow the exit signs towards the bridge.

View of the Eiffel Tower from the bridge.

Killing two birds with one stone by visiting the bridge and also being able to take this wonderful picture of the Eiffel Tower.

Just one more picture.

Tuileries Garden

One of our favourite gardens in Paris is the Tuileries Gardens.

An attempt to catch some bubbles.

Places des Vosges

Always happy being in the Place des Vosges.

The nearest station is Bastille (metro lines 1, 5 and 8) and it is a 5 minute walk from the station.

Rue Crémieux

Lilac hues.

To reach here, get off at Bastille station (metro lines 1, 5 and 8) and walk for about 7 minutes along Rue de Lyon. You can even visit Place des Vosges on the same day as they are both close by which is what we did.

Santorini - Kamari Beach

Our last two nights were spent at Bellonias Villas located right in front of Kamari Beach which is a black pebble beach on the east coast of Santorini. The villas itself were well located and the staff was friendly as they helped us with our luggage to and from the property. Our stay included breakfast and they have a vast breakfast menu where you can order as much of it as you wanted during the session. 

Poolside at Bellonias Villas

Breakfast area

Delicious breakfast

Eating out was so easy in Kamari as there were a lot of restaurants along the beach front and also around the hotels. We had our last dinner at Bellonias Villas and the food was surprisingly good. 

Local beer

Steamed mussels as starters

Pork belly

Orzo pasta with shrimps and mussels

Most of the time we spent playing by the pool and hanging out at the beach. One thing to note is that the beach is a pebble beach and these black pebbles get really hot during the day so I recommend to bring swimming socks if you want to go swimming in the sea or just stroll along the beach.

Sun beds galore

Kamari Beach

On the last morning of our stay here, we went to see the sun rise. We got up at 6am and headed straight to the beach and waited patiently until 6:17am. We managed to capture the amazing sun rising, a rare sight in my opinion. 

This marks the last day of our Santorini trip and even though we did not want to leave, we had an unforgettable time here on the island, Spending a few days around different towns in Santorini definitely made the trip interesting as we were able to explore more. If you are planning a trip to Santorini, I recommend spending a few days around the island like we did. Make sure to book your hotel and flights well in advance if you plan to go in the summer!

Santorini - Imerovigli

After Oia, we took a taxi to our next stop which was Imerovigli where we stayed for a further two nights at Chromata Hotel.

As soon as we arrived at Imerovigli, we loved it. It is less crowded than Oia and definitely more relaxed. We were given a tour of Chromata Hotel and were then escorted to our suite where we were given a free bottle of champagne and fruit (as we made the booking through Mr and Mrs Smith).

Outdoor lounge and sunbeds at Chromata Hotel

Infinity pool at Chromata Hotel

Entrance to Chromata Hotel

Chromata Hotel

Balcony outside our suite

Thira is a 20 minute walk from our hotel and we made the decision to explore just before sunset as that is when it is cool enough to walk. The Greek sun can be quite  difficult to walk under during the day so if you want to explore the town and Thira, I recommend to do this after 6pm as you can see the pink skies just before the sunset.

Walking towards the town of Thira

Passing by a Greek donkey

A white dome roof along the way to Thira

In love with these

This view

What better way to have the view of the Aegean Sea beside you as you explore Imerovigli and Thira by foot?