I have always dreamed about going to Versailles - the land of palaces, gardens and of course cake. After long discussions, my sisters and I decided to treat our mother for her birthday with a trip to this magical city (yes Versailles is classified as a city).
 
As many of you have asked "how", "what" and "where"; I thought I would let you know what I believe to be the ingredients to create the most perfect weekend...

 Travelling to Versailles from London is super easy! We took the Eurostar straight to Paris and then booked an Uber to take us straight to our hotel. You can also get there by taking two trains, however after taking too many suitcases we decided we would go with the direct & lazy option.  To get cheap tickets on Eurostar you often have to book 6 months in advance. Follow the link below:
www.eurostar.com/uk-en/trains

If you are like me, you will spend hours looking for the perfect hotel. My go-to hotel finder is Instagram which I find gives you a better insight into a hotel... and it didnt fail me, because I found Hôtel Le Louis Versailles Château which is where we stayed. It's the closest hotel to the Versailles Palace and it is stunning. The hotel has recently been renovated with emerald greens and gold and suits the city perfectly.  They kindly upgraded us to a suite which was spacious and even had my favourite music playing when I arrived which made us feel so welcomed. Most importantly the beds were a dream, breakfast was delicious and the staff were so helpful. Follow the link below:
www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-1300-hotel-le-louis-versailles-chateau-mgallery-by-sofitel/index.shtml

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​We arrived in Versailles in the early afternoon, unpacked and decided to wander around the city which is split into two districts - the Notre Dame area and Louis area. First we went around Notre Dame district which has the food market (this is open before 1pm), antique shops lining the cobbled streets, cathedral and a very nice hat shop called Falbalas St Junien. (Where I got my hat in the pictures below). We then visited Le Louis area, where I slightly preferred the architecture, and visited a much bigger but very similar cathedral.  After visiting so many churches, my younger sister and I decided it was time for a much-needed drink and we settled into a lovely little bar called No Water which is located on Rue De Sactory.  Later on, we walked back to our hotel and got ready for dinner at our hotel - the food was outstanding!

Morning
After a fantastic sleep, in my very comfy bed, we were off to visit the palace which is unimaginably beautiful!  I really did wonder how on earth they lived here... the whole place is ginormous! I will let the photos do the talking.......

​Afternoon
 
After stopping at Ladurée, which is conveniently located within the Palace, we had a couple of macarons and much needed water because the sun had come out after months of hiding!  The temperature hit 30c and we decided to venture out into the garden and catch a little train to The Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon and Marie- Antoinette’s estate which features a small palace, farm and her country house (my favourite building of the visit). We then hopped back on the train and went back to the Palace, Versailles is vast and I highly recommend hopping on this little train or you won’t have enough time to see everything.  It cost 8 Euros.

​Today was the day we were going to conquer the gardens - all 800 hectares and over 200,000 trees - so we decided to rent a golf buggy. I fully recommend spending the money, it cost us 35 euros an hour and 8 euros for each 15 mins after that.  It was perfect as we drove around to the gardens we wanted to see and then just wandered around at our own leisure. The gardens that I found personally worth going to were The Kings Garden, Mirror Fountain and Collande Grove. During the summer they have the fountains on at certain times of the day with accompanying music, you really do get the scale of how over-the-top the gardens are but also appreciate that they were!
 
After conquering the garden and on the hottest weekend of the year, we definitely deserved a well-earned drink and found just outside the gates there is a lovely café with nice simple French food where we had a crêpe and enjoyed a lot of Aperol spritz.  laflottille.fr/en/
 
It was time to end this magical adventure and go home.

​Day 1
 
A direct flight to St. Petersburg will only take 3hr 15mins. It is a good idea to get your hotel to organise a taxi to meet you at the airport when you arrive.  Even in a heavy downpour of snow it took us 40 mins to get into the centre of the city and arrive at our hotel - the magnificent Four Seasons.
We unpacked our bags and quickly headed down to the Xander Bar for a celebratory tipple. I ordered an off-the-menu cocktail (I don’t often drink but with Russia being famous for vodka it would be rude not too)!
St. Petersburg has an outstanding history and reputation for the calibre of music performed with many concerts, ballets and operas on every night which are well worth a visit if you can.  I was lucky to find that by a complete coincidence, my wonderful friend and old mentor Jesus Leon happened to be performing in the main hall of the Shostakovich Philharmonic - one of the top concert venues in St Petersburg.  It was a joy to see him on stage and especially so given our surroundings.
After the concert, we walked to Tsar Restaurant to experience some traditional Russian cuisine. It was incredibly delicious and exactly what we needed given the sub-zero temperatures outside!  (Insider tip - Make sure you check out the loo)!

Day 2
 
Waking up in the Four Seasons Hotel, a converted palace, you do feel like a princess as everything is so perfect, espeically the enormous breakfast! You'll be relieved you indulged though if you head out to St Isaac's Cathedral (next door) and climb the stairs to the dome! The view is sensational and we got our first glimpse far across a snow covered city. After venturing to the top we went back down and inside, the Cathedral certainly did not disappoint with its' multitude of emerald coloured columns, the cathedral is filled with marble and 40 types of semi-precious stones. Possibly the most beautiful church I have ever visited.
Given the freezing cold and slight time pressure with all we wanted to fit in, we werent super-keen to spend too long outside! As we left the cathedral we stumbled upon a City Bus just about to depart - it takes an hour or so and gives you a fantastic guided tour of the city, covering all the main sights and providing fantastic insight to the history and stories behind these iconic places. It's definetly worthwhile as you see so much!
Once we got off the bus it was time to stretch our legs so we walked to the river which had completely frozen. St. Petersburg is completely flat and although it was very cold (-5 celsius) with lots of buildings it doesn’t feel too bad.
We ventured The Hermitage – the former residence of the Tsar which contains one of the world's largest art collections. After this the Winter Palace, which you can’t miss, with it being painted bright green and very ornate - you are immediately drawn to it. Now you can spend hours in this building but after 3 we'd reached our limit and it was time for us to move on.  My favourite room is the Pavilion Hall with a beautiful Peacock Clock.
After a long day of exploring, we went back to our hotel for a quick change and headed out to the renowned & historic L’Europe Restaurant at Belmond Grand Hotel. The food was divine and we each sampled the Traditional Russian Tasting menu. The staff were extremely accommodating when I asked for something to be changed dueto an allergy. The restaurant is known for a special performance night and the evening featured live opera singers, pianist and wonderful ballet.  The only shame was to find this once bustling venue only had booked 6 tables on this Friday night - it would appear that the historical restaurant has fallen out of fashion. However, it was still a wonderful experience.

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​Day 3
 
We headed off down the streets alongside the canal to the Church of Spilled Blood - a traditional Russian church. It obtained its' name as it was built as a memorial to Alexander II on the site of his assassination. The mosaic designed walls are one of a kind artworks covering & spreading over 75,000sq ft. of the church.
As you leave the church there is a small market outside, this was the only one I saw where you could buy traditionally designed little Christmas gifts and Russian dolls. Across from the church there is Mikhayloyskiy Gardens which are incredibly beautiful and look onto the Russian Museum. We walked down the main street – Nevskiy Prospekt taking in some of the sights and ounds along one of St Petersburg's busest streets and the centre of local tourist activity. It is worth popping into the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, across the road from a Starbucks and if you are travelling at winter time there is nothing better than a hot & familiar coffee!
We ventured further and found the Fabergé Museum and given its' historic rooting in this city we decided to go in, Take note - this was probably the most expensive museum we went into over our short stay (not sure why they charge so much) however the collection was absolutely beautiful.
After a tiring day, we retired to our hotel to relax for a bit before heading downstairs to the Four Seasons' own flagship restaurant -  Percorso -  voted one of the best restaurants in St. Petersburg!  It certainly did not disappoint especially as it was white truffle season... we definitely overindulged before being rolled back to our room to retire.

​Day 4
 
Our final day in St Petersburg, we decided to travel to Peter and Paul Fortress which was a short 10 min drive from our hotel. Thankfully Uber is very reliable in the city making it relatively cheap and easy to get around town. The fortress sits on an island and was built to protect the city. The island fortress is filled with a cathedral, prison, beach and various museums. If like me, you grew up with stories about Anastacia then you ill be pleased to know that this is where the Royal family were buried, in the beautiful cathedral. Make sure you find the Neva Gate which once you have gone through has amazing views of the city, a great way to finish our beautiful weekend in Russia.

​As many of you know, I love to travel and lots of you ask me where I go when I visit these incredible places. Well, my big sister got married in Iceland last November and we had a whirlwind of weekend there so here is my round-up for the best things to do in Iceland:

​The Golden Circle Tour
 
Taking in the 'Golden Circle' is a must in Iceland as it will demonstrate to you how truly beautiful and unique this small country is.   The location and volcanic activity make Iceland unlike any other place on earth. The first place we visited was Pingvellir National Park where you can see the tectonic plates boundary.  This is literally where North America and Europe join each other. The outstanding views took my breath away - especially the pool Drekkingarhylur.

The second stop was at Gullfoss Waterfall which is the most famous waterfall in Iceland with a dramatic 32m drop.  With some of it frozen solid it looked like a dramatic winter wonderland or scene from Frozen! On a sunny day a rainbow will often form across the waterfall... sadly we didn't have the benefit of sunshine on our particularly cold and misty visit so thi treat escaped us.
 
We carried on our adventure to the famous geysers of Iceland where a geyser erupts roughly every 5 mins. Top tip:- if you arrive and see no–one standing in a certain spot, this is not an opportunity to get a great view, it’s the area to avoid as you will get wet!!