Saturday, August 29, 2015

#travelpost - Villa de Leyva + San Gil, Colombia

After a hectic few days in Bogotá we started to make our way north heading for the Carribbean Coast. The road up is one slog of a bus journey so we decided to break it up by overnight stays at some smaller towns out in the sticks.

The first town we arrived at was a sleepy old town called Villa de Leyva, full of colonial buildings and the biggest Plaza Mayor in Colombia. We arrived just before sunset so by the time we'd found our hostel and stored our things it was dark out and the twinkly town lights were on. This was the first time I think that I completely relaxed on our trip so far, it was so different from the bustling nights in Bogotá; so, for that night we sat on the stairs of the main square, grabbed a beer and people watched....

And ate chicken...

We've eaten a lot of chicken.

 

The next morning we were headed for San Gil so we jumped in a small shack of a cafe, grabbed some eggs and juice and made our way to the next town.

 

Now San Gil was, again, totally different from Bogotá and totally different from Villa de Leyva. San Gil isn't really known for the town and the buildings itself but for what's around the town... Rivers, mountains, canyons and caves. Lauren and the boys went white water rafting on the first day there whilst I chickened out and took full advantage of the empty pool. That night we finally got to play the Colombian game tejo throwing blocks of stone at clay and explosives whilst fuelled on free beer, we went dancing with some others from the hostel and then had more chicken.


The next morning was our final few hours before getting the 10 hour overnight bus to Santa Marta on the Carribbean Coast. When I say few, I really mean an entire day from 11am check out to 9.30pm bus ticket. So, with that we crammed in a morning at a natural pool Pozo Azul 5 mins from San Gil and a short stop at Chicamocha national park to see the canyons and mountains from high up.

All in all a great way to break up a huge journey north.


 

Saturday, August 22, 2015

#travelpost - Bogotá, Colombia

We made it

A 20 minute drive through town took us to our first hostel of the trip, Masaya Bogotá, tucked away on a hilly street in La Candelaria neighbourhood of Bogotá. I think we did ourselves proud with this one and I'm sure we'll stay in a lot worse.

Day 1:


First stop on our first afternoon was coffee of course and food. Our route took us through Plaza de Bolivar, a huge square filled with a lifetime supply of pigeons named after the political leader Simón Bolívar. Harry tried his first (of probably many) bowl of ajiaco, a soup made up of chicken and sweet corn served with rice, arepas, plantain and capers. I had chorizo with arepas and a side of avocado plus beers... This didn't even cost us 2.50 each....I don't think we'll have a problem with our budget after all. *dancing lady emoji*





Day 2:

It was predicted rain and storms for today but the morning started sunny with a breakfast of tamales and eggs at La Puerta Falsa thank you Anthony Bourdain for showing us the way to this hole in the wall in a 350 year old colonial building. For the rest of the morning we headed over to Museo Botero for a wander and sit in the patio and then back to the hostel for a quick coffee and sit down.






At midday we decided to head up to Monserrate, a mountain that dominates the skyline over the capital, via cable car and a steep one at that. At the top we had a wander around the gardens and the church that overlooks Bogotá and finished it off with a quick coffee with one of the best views I've ever seen. The view of the rolling clouds hanging over the mountains were close to giving the city view a run for it's money! A quick stop at the usually quite pricey Bogota Beer Company to catch happy hour £1.20 a pint and we were good to head back for a rest stop before dinner in La Macarena neighbourhood.


 







Day 3:

On Saturday, our last full day, we started the morning a little later with a lazy walk for arepas. We found a cute little place in La Candelaria filled with stacks and stacks of fresh bread and decided to order a huge cup of chocolate and arepas con queso. It was delicious! We even bought a cheesy loaf to save for lunchtime. The lazy day continued with a walk to the supermarket to buy our sandwich fillings and whatnots and then back to the hostel for a chat and coffee. The rest of our Saturday was filled with a walk around our neighbourhood and yes, another coffee.






Tuesday, August 11, 2015

#stylepost - Reformation LA


Los Angeles based company Reformation isn't exactly new on the scene as it's actually been around since 2009 but only recently have I come across it. I'll get back to that in a minute.

A sustainable company that is proud to use renewable energy and recycled packaging at their onsite LA based sewing factory. There is no middleman. Reformation and it's simply designed garments go from factory to boutique to home. 

If that's not enough, 3/4 of the management team are women and all employees receive one paid day off a month to volunteer in their local communities. 
*hands up emoji*

So, back to finding Reformation in the first place. 






First it was Bella Hadid scattered across my Instagram/Pinterest feeds in the Avalon bodysuit $78 at Coachella and if that wasn't enough to make me grab my laptop and purse, Emily Ratajkowski, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and Chiara Ferragni weren't too far behind in the lace up number either. Unfortunately for me fortunately for my bank balance the Avalon is now sold out but there are more current options, including the new 'For Boobs' story.

Some of my favourite bodysuit picks and others.

Selena bodysuit $78 SOLD OUT
Serena bodysuit for boobs $78
Miramar dress $168
Miami tank $98

 Tijuana tees $68
Dan tee $28
Corsoca playsuit $178

                                           Lima dress $178                                       

Currently there are no stores in Europe, only LA and NY.