Mayfield Lavender Farm...

Situated in the North Surrey Hills is a beautiful purple oasis, otherwise know as Mayfield Lavender Farm. To put in simply, it is a giant field of lavender with a few amenities such as a cafe and a shop.

I am sure 98% of people come to take photos in the sun amongst the stunning rows of purple flowers and I have to admit that is why my mum, my sister and I went too. Soooo excuse the endless snaps and selfies but you would do the same!

The cafe serves all type of lavender goodies such as lavender lemonade and lavender shortbread, as well as your usual tea and coffee. The shop sells mostly dried lavender and a few other lavender themed products (think lavender honey). As someone who is not a fan of any flower tasting things, I just bought a little pouch of lavender to take home and make my room smell nice.

Remember that it is essentially just a field so do not go expecting something luxurious. The toilets are portaloos and the parking is literally around the edge of the field. However, definitely come for a visit even if it is just for half an hour to take some snaps or go on a tractor ride.

Check out their website here for details:
http://www.mayfieldlavender.com

Sun and Sea in Mykonos...

Today is a very exciting day as it is my first holiday post! My family and I visited the beautiful Greek island of Mykonos and enjoyed a week of sunbathing and walking through the cobbled streets with great greek food to keep us energised.

We stayed at the Palladium Boutique Hotel which was gorgeous and our room felt like we had our own mini villa. Unfortunately I did not take any photos of the hotel but you can find more details about it here http://www.hotelpalladium.gr .The highlights for me were: the diverse breakfast buffet featuring thick greek yoghurt with all the toppings you could dream of (nuts, figs, honey, fresh fruit, cereals etc); the small gym which was air conditioned with enough equipment for a quick holiday workout; the walking distance to the beach and restaurants and bars.

A few nights out of the week we took the bus into Mykonos centre which is absolutely picturesque and where most of the blue and white photos you see online are taken.

This view is cutely named "Little Venice" as it mimics the houses in Italy's real Venice and is also the most romantic place in Mykonos. You can stay in a hotel here but I preferred where we stayed as we were not woken up by Greeks going about their daily business in the early hours of the morning.

Opposite Little Venice are a few windmills sitting proudly on a small hill. I'm not sure they are used for anything but they sure do make a great photo!

Within the town, we managed to find a build your own frozen yoghurt shop! Controversial I know as I am sure there is other amazing ice cream/gelato to be found on the island. Butttttttt we love choosing all the toppings we like (aka ALL the oreos).

The weather here was really sunny but also a lot more windy than we are used to on a beach holiday. The wind meant that it did not feel as hot as it actually was so bear that in mind when you don't think you are getting too hot sunbathing and then go inside looking like a tomato!

This was just one of the beautiful beaches in walking distance of the hotel, just look at that turquoise sea!

I recommend walking around the bay in Mykonos town and timing your dinner just right so you can sit at one of the restaurants on the water and watch the sun go down. Definitely a view I will remember forever.

In England, I love riding and I thought the cherry on top of this cake of a holiday would be riding on the beach. I came across the website http://www.mykonoshorse.com and emailed them to arrange a ride for my sister and I. 

The very next day we were picked up and taken to the stables. After getting sized up to a horse each we were off on our private ride with one guide also on horseback. It was about a half an hour ride to the beach (you can request any speed you like or simply sit back and enjoy the view). We then had a little photo session with the lovely guide taking our photo with the horses and dismounted for an hour. There is a little castaway cafe next to the beach where we bought a drink and refreshed ourselves before heading down to the shore. We swam for a while and then sunbathed on a rock to dry off before mounting our horses again and heading back. I would recommend this experience to anyone, even if you have never ridden before!

I loved Mykonos and will definitely be back again, perhaps with my boyfriend and not my family though as it is a very romantic island. Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments about Mykonos (:

Sushi Samba...

I feel very spoilt that I have been able to visit Sushi Samba, the sushi restaurant on top of the Heron Tower in London. 

The views are second to none and, as a massive sushi fan, the food paralleled it.

With views this good from the lift we could not wait until we reached the 38th floor. Luckily we did not have to wait long, the lift is super speedy (scarily speedy for some, aka my mum).

The decor once your reach the top is airy and bright seeing as the whole restaurant is surrounded by large glass windows. The bar has a little terrace so I definitely recommend visiting when it is warm and having a drink outside.

 As you can see, the great lighting and cool orange booths made us (my sisters and I) a little snaphappy.

The cocktail I got was the "Nina Fresa" which is a vodka cocktail blended with strawberry, grapefruit, guava, rhubarb bitters, lime and sugar.

It was really sweet and almost like a smoothie (scarily moorish, I could've had 10 of these!). Definitely as good as I expected but for £13 was on the pricey side, I suppose you could blame the location for the high price tag!

Here comes the main event I know you have all been waiting for.. the sushi itself of course!

As one usually has to bear in mind when going to sushi restaurants, several orders can come on the same platter so the sushi shown below is two orders of the "Samba London", rolls with crab, tuna, salmon, white fish, prawn, avocado, tempura crunch, rice cracker, Japanese pickles, wasabi mayo, aji panca, soy reduction.

Also on the same platter is one portion of the California Maki.

I have to say I ate most of the Californian Maki as it was probably the best sushi I have ever had (big statement). I would recommend going for this instead of the Sambi London rolls as they are £6 dearer and although seem more exciting from the description, were not as flavourful as the California Maki.

We got some "Poussin teriyaki" or teriyaki chicken to you or me for our side order, it was nice but for the £16.50 price tag a little boring. At the back of the photo above is a side portion of quinoa with peas, yes we did pay over £15 for quinoa and peas.

Dad ordered the "Moqueca Mixta" which was basically a curry with jumbo shrimp, squid, sea bass, mussels, clams, coconut milk, dendê oil and chimichurri rice. Really tasty from the mouthful I had, it was a staggering £32 though.

You can probably tell I thought quite a lot of the food here was overpriced but I would 100% come back to see these views again! 

Maybe we were too busy taking photos to choose better off the menu or maybe I'll just order a drink at the bar next time but whatever I decide to do I want to come back and bask all afternoon in the sunny, chic space that is Sushi Samba.