Month: April 2018

Visiting Volcano Bay for the first time and a trip to the mall…

On By louiseIn Fashion, Lifestyle, Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

One of my favourite things to do on holiday is shop. It’s funny because I don’t actually go shopping at home very often at all. Sometimes weeks would have passed without me popping into town for a nose at the shops. Online shopping is another matter, I’m rather partial to online shopping. Anyway, whilst on holiday, Phil and I love shopping. Sometimes things are cheaper abroad, but mostly it’s because you can find things that are a little bit different to back home. Anyway, when Stateside we adore a trip to the Mall and if there’s an outlet nearby then even better!

When Phil and I were last in Orlando, we found an outlet Mall just under 2 miles from Universal Studios. We visited a few times during the ten days that we were there and picked up some treats, so knew that we wanted to visit again on this occasion.

We had a great time, I picked up some gorgeous summer clothes from American Eagle as well as the dreamiest Kate Spade bag. I love Kate Spade and this quirky bag was such a bargain. I was super pleased!

After we had exhausted the Mall, we popped over to Volcano Bay at Universal. I had been desperate to go since it opened last summer and it did not disappoint!

I’m such a fan of the Disney waterparks and I had a good feeling about the Universal one as their parks are really well put together.

It’s a bit awkward to get to as you have to take their shuttle bus from Universal Studios. I found this a bit annoying to be honest and would have much rather driven there ourselves. We had to wait for a while on the way there as well as the way back. We also went out of peak season, so I imagine it’s worse in the summer.

The park itself is fantastic, really well themed with the iconic volcano in the centre of the action. There are so many rides and the rapids are the best that I have ever been on.

One big issue that I had with was the Tapu Tapu queue system. Originally I thought that it was fantastic, but if you visit the park after midday (like we did), a lot of the rides are already fully booked for the rest of the day. This kinda sucked as we didn’t get to go on as many as we liked. I would therefore recommend that you go early and tap in to any that you are set on riding.

After a busy day shopping and visiting Volcano Bay, we headed over to Disney Springs to try out the Star Wars Void experience. It was fantastic and we had so much fun. It was well thought out and immersive. I would definitely recommend it.

What are your favourite things to do in Orlando?

L x

Visiting Universal Studios, Florida…

On By louiseIn Lifestyle, Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Orlando is well known for being the theme park capital of the world. From the gigantic Disneyworld right through to Busch Gardens, there really is something for everyone. With so much to do and being completely spoilt for choice, it’s hard to formulate a plan to include it all. In the few times that we have visited Orlando, only once have we managed to squeeze in both Universal and Disneyworld. On this occasion, we only had time for Universal, which I wasn’t hating on because who doesn’t adore a trip to Universal Studios?!

I’ve only been to Universal in Hollywood and the one in Florida. Both have a completely different feel and whilst I like Hollywood’s take, I love Universal in Florida. I think that it’s because it is that much bigger, spread out and quite unique. Their entire Harry Potter sections are great and I love all of the HP themed rides. There are also more shows over in Florida and the Hulk rollercoaster which is a firm favourite with Phil.

I think what I love the most about Universal in Florida is the memories. How magical it was on our first visit years ago. Lounging in the sunshine shovelling chocolate flies into my mouth with my gal pal whilst waiting for the boys. Realising that The Mummy ride is different in Florida compared to Hollywood. The memories are definitely my favourite part.

We had such a nice time revisiting rides we have ridden many times and trying out new additions (we were all disappointed with the new Jimmy Fallon simulator). I like how detailed Universal Studios is as well as the variety on offer. Plus they have a Panda Express in the food court at City Walk, so I can end my day stuffing my face with my favourite fast food place Stateside.

It’s never a goodbye when leaving Universal, always a ‘see you soon’ and I can’t wait until we go again.

Have you visited Universal Studios?

L x

Hanging out with my uni pals in Boston…

On By louiseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Friendships are funny things. You just meet another human, often by way of chance, decide you like each other and then continue to meet. There’s no pressure or obligation to form a genuine friendship it either happens or it doesn’t. Sometimes you grow apart and sometimes you grow closer together. There’s a variety of friendships. School friends, friends of friends, work friends, mum friends, hobby friends, family friends… But the best part is that it’s more often than not, organic and genuine. Family are great, but ultimately you are kinda thrown together with an unwritten obligation to tolerate each other regardless of whether or not you actually like one another simply because you are ‘family’.

We all have different friends that cater for different needs. The friend you call in a crisis, the pal you meet up with and vent over dinner, the buddy who just makes life that little bit easier just by existing, the one who makes you laugh and the one who will always have your back. One of my favourite types of friendships are the ones that are timeless. The people who you can go months without talking to, years without seeing, but when you reunite it’s like no time has passed. The ones who are open and pure without boundaries. This type of friendship is the type that I’m lucky enough to share with my uni pals.

Logistically, it’s very tricky for us to meet up as we all live on different continents and lead completely different lives. But throw us together and we chat for hours, share similar views and have our own humour. It’s great. I love how openly we talk and that we trust each other implicitly. My gal pals are such warm, welcoming people and I love, love, love it when we can catch up.

The two days that I was in Boston, we ate lots of food, shopped and chatted pretty much the whole time and it was blimmin’ brilliant. I got to explore the city a little, but I wasn’t really bothered about getting under Boston’s skin. I just wanted to enjoy the time with my friends because it’s such a rarity for the three of us.

I’m so glad that we managed to meet up properly and I can’t wait until we can do it all again.

Do you have any long distance friendships?

L x