Monthly Archives: July 2015

Buffavento, Salamis and Vuni

As usual, we have in no way eased ourselves into our vacation here. We have already climbed mountains, visited numerous beaches and walked through ruins.

On Monday we climbed to one of the three castles that sit along the mountain ridge in Northern Cyprus. We started with the highest of the three – Buffavento. It is quite a feat of engineering that they even managed to build a castle on this craggy mountain top. The drive up there alone is pretty traumatizing! The walk to the very top took us about 30 minutes of climbing step after step after step. My glutes and calves are still hating me for it. Once up there it was well and truly worth it. We were sitting above the clouds with the most amazing views. As you can see in this photo – Poppy may choose to differ…

BuffaventoThat evening we rewarded ourselves with a fabulous dinner. I wore a simple off the shoulder dress from ASOS. It is great for throwing on when you don’t necessarily want to deal with a waistband 😉 It is pretty short – but not indecently so for vacation – at home I may think twice. It is available in 4 colors and is now on sale at just $21.50! If the length bothers you there is a very similar romper here, also on sale, that provides a little more modesty!

Hugh and I black dress Black dress restaurantDress – ASOS // Sandals – Ancient Greeks (available discounted here)

On Tuesday we headed to Salamis – an amazing ruined city near Famagusta. My husband used to play here as a child so Poppy and Hugh always refer to it as ‘Daddy’s playground’. Right next to the ruins is one of the best beaches I’ve ever been to with perfectly clear, turquoise, shallow, sandy water. It is also home to one of our favorite restaurants and I indulged in grilled fresh fish. Eating clean is pretty easy here!

Bedis

Yesterday we headed to Vuni – on the Western border of the North and South of the island. Vuni palace ruins are perched again on the the top of a hill – you need to be pretty ok with heights and single track roads here! These are incredible ruins and as usual we were the only people there. The great thing about Salamis and Vuni is that you can actually walk through the ruins and touch – imagining who lived here in years gone by.

DSC_0001 DSC_0006 DSC_0979 DSC_1001 DSC_1011

For the trip I wore something cool and the Alexa Chung for AG denim dress got it’s first outing.

Alexa Chung 1

Dress – Alexa Chung for AG Honey Ruffle dress (similar here far cheaper and here) // Sunglasses – Mango (50% off in sale) // Hat – Accessorize

As for today – we are having a day of rest and we will mostly be doing this…

bikiniBikini – J.Crew

pool fun

Holiday sales shopping

I try so hard not to surf online stores while I am on vacation – but I have to check email and my inbox is FULL of sales emails. I really should unsubscribe from them all. Then I try to keep up with all my favorite blogs and there they are – just taunting me with all the bargains they have discovered!

I have been pretty good – while back in the UK I picked up a couple of AllSaints dresses in the sale. Trust me – with AllSaints prices the sales are always worth it and now all items are 50% off.

Hilde VI dress

My sister also bought the Riviera dress here, she looks fabulous in it:

Riviera dress

The black Hilde Vi dress also comes in stone which I love too.

Hilde Vi dress stone

I’ve been stalking TheOutnet.com for these Isabel Marant Betty sneakers. I have the Bobbys in ecru from a couple of years ago and adore them – so much so I could justify the burgundy Bettys – or can I? They are 55% off and I keep seeing sizes selling out – but keep checking for returns if your size is sold out.

Burgundy betty sneaker

Finally I was catching up on some blog reading by the pool this evening and I sort of wish I hadn’t. Eve has blogged her sales wins and one of the jackets was on my wish list at the beginning of the season and the other I hadn’t even seen before but looks amazing on her!

I’ve ordered the black frayed hem jacket that I have had in and out of my cart all season – now 50% off:frayed hem jacket

I adore the ecru jacket that Eve is still debating – I have ordered it – again 50% off!

ecru jacket

I’m also tempted to go back for this light pink jacket in a similar shape – just perfect with a grey tee and jeans.

light pink jacket

Finally I grabbed a couple of these tanks in ecru and black ready to reveal my sun kissed shoulders once I am back. A steal at this price…

black top off white top

Thanks a bunch Eve 😉 I better get eBaying too 😉 xx

 

Get Ancient Greek Sandals deeply discounted!

I adore my Ancient Greek Sandals and I have several pairs. I have bought them all on vacation with me and wore a pair last night. They are fabulous statement shoes and stand out from the crowd – does anyone else really want the TopShop Fig this season??! They will last for years if treated well and they always bring me so much joy when I wear them.

image3

They are fabulous quality and they are all handmade in Greece – so you can even help their economy too – all be it minimally 😉

I have these 2 pairs too:ancient greek 3

IMG_3087

Well now they have arrived on TheOutnet.com – my favorite discount designer site. There are many styles with several sizes still available! Get them now – they won’t last long!

 

Operation Dinner Out

If you’ve been reading for a while you’ll already know how much we all love it here in Northern Cyprus. We were here in 2013 and my husband and I came here for our honeymoon in 1998. It’s a place that is very special for him as he lived here as a child with his family in Famagusta in the early 70’s. In fact he was evacuated when the Turks invaded in 1974. The North-South divide still elicits much controversy, and Turkey and Greece are still trying to negotiate a some kind of settlement. Often it is the Greek Cypriot story that gets the most press and sympathy, but the Turkish Cypriots suffered greatly too, and I would love to see the island reunited one day, in some form or other.

For now, however, we consider ourselves fortunate that entry into the Northern territory is more relaxed, and we get the opportunity to enjoy the history, culture and food that it has to offer.

So food! Yes the food here is amazing – if of course you avoid the Anglophile restaurants in Kyrenia serving fish and chips…Last night we returned to one of our serendipitous finds from 2013 – the Besparmak Buffavento restaurant. It is nestled in the mountains at the foot of the road that takes you to Buffavento Castle – a climb we are planning to endure tomorrow morning!

For dinner I wore my new J.Crew shorts and the H&M blouse (similar here) I bought in Manchester. I love this outfit – I felt completely appropriate for the evening. J.Crew, of course, currently have a massive sale on for the 4th July weekend – use LONGWEEKEND to get 30% off the shorts and up to 40-60% off lots of other items too!

image3 image4Sandals – Ancient Greek Sandals (similar here) // Shorts – J.Crew // Blouse – H&M

The boys made an effort too.

image5Fortunately the restaurant had not changed a bit and we had an amazing evening.

image6 image7 image8 image9

 

Poppy wanted to share a little with you all too:

Hi! I am so happy to be here – I remember it from the last time. The weather is great and very hot! The house we are staying in is big and I have my own room, and there is a big swimming pool for us all to play in.  Last night we went to a restaurant that I remember from our last visit, and I had an Adana kebab with mezze. I love the food here. I wore my new romper from Zara (now on sale here) which is perfect for vacations.

image2

Finally here is one of me stealing my Mom’s aviators. She wouldn’t let me keep them though…My top is old from H&M and the shorts are from Zara (also on sale here).

image1

Farewell Istanbul, hello Cyprus

Wow my feet have barely touched the ground till now – we arrived today in Northern Cyprus….and breathe…Istanbul was incredible but it is nice to switch gears now. Istanbul has everything – it is beautiful, exciting, historic, friendly, crazy and breathtaking. We did so much and saw so much and I feel 3 nights is the perfect length of time. We shopped, visited ancient mosques, took boat trips over to Asia and ate incredible food.

Of course the Grand Bazaar was my favorite – I am so shallow – shopping for me any day over historic places of worship. Poppy and I really got in to the swing of our bartering, though no doubt we still paid well over the odds, but we felt better about it!

I struck the jackpot with a beautiful silk scarf and two rough cut stone rings.

Screen Shot 2015-07-03 at 7.21.32 PM Screen Shot 2015-07-03 at 7.21.45 PM Screen Shot 2015-07-03 at 7.21.55 PMWe visited the Hagia Sophia which is just breathtaking in it’s size and beauty. Of course Mom and Dad still managed to embarrass the kids.

Screen Shot 2015-07-03 at 7.22.09 PM

Our hotel was fabulous – a boutique Turkish hotel with a roof terrace and spa. The kids loved having access to a basement pool and I loved having access to the evening sunset.

Screen Shot 2015-07-03 at 7.23.22 PM Screen Shot 2015-07-03 at 7.22.47 PM

One evening we skipped the kebab house and went straight for the baklava for dinner – just divine!

Baklava Istanbul As for what I have been wearing my clothes have mainly been dictated by comfort. Istanbul is hot during the day but, being right on the Bosphorous, it can be cool and breezy in the evening.

Splendid dressDress – Splendid (now on sale here and I am wearing a large) // Shoes – Havaianas

Off the shoulder top, J.Crew jeans and flip flopsTop – ASOS // Jeans – J.Crew // Shoes – Havaianas

Mango dress and TopShop sandalsDress – Mango (now 50% off in sale) // Shoes – TopShop

Mango top and J.Crew jeansTop – Mango (similar here) // Jeans – J.Crew // Scarf – Grand Bazaar // Shoes – Havaianas

We arrived in Northern Cyprus this morning, after a quick flight from Istanbul, picked up the rental car, and arrived at our amazing house by noon. We have struck gold again…and relax…

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus