I recently went to Reykjavik in Iceland to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Iceland is a place I've always wanted to visit. Ever since I was 10 and dreamt of riding Iceland horses. 

I was so excited when me and Stephen, my husband, decided to go and booked our holiday. 

Jag var nyligen i Reykjavik, Island för att fira nyårsafton.

Island är ett ställe som jag alltid har velat besöka. Ända sen jag var tio år och drömde om att rida islandshästar.

Jag var så exalterad när jag och Stephen, min man, bestämde oss för att boka vår semester. 

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon. It was already dark as at this time of the year Reykjavik only have four hours of daylight. 

Vi anlände på en söndag eftermiddag. Det var redan mörkt eftersom den här årstiden har Reykjavik bara fyra timmars dagsljus. 

We visited Reykjavik downtown. It has two main shopping streets with some lovely cafe's and restaurants. 

I was delighted to find The knitting association of Iceland. They're the ones that make all the gorgeous knitted jumpers. When I saw all the yarn I was like a kid in a sweet shop. I decided to buy yarn instead and make my own jumper. That's one of my goals for this year. 

Vi besökte Reykjavik centrum. Det har två huvudgator för shopping med några mysiga caféer och restauranger.

Jag var förtjust att upptäcka The knitting association of Iceland. Det är dem som stickar alla fina islandströjor. När jag såg allt garn, blev jag som ett barn i en godisaffär. Jag bestämde mig för att köpa garn och sticka min egen tröja. Det är ett av mina mål i år.

My highlights of the trip were of course Icelandic horse riding. I've always been slightly afraid of normal size horses. But Icelandic horses are much smaller and so cute. They are known for being hardy and easy to control. The horses have developed a double coat for extra insulation in cold temperatures.

We got up early one morning and got to go horse riding in the wind and snow/rain. It was freezing, but wonderful. I was so happy to finally be in Iceland on a horse. 

Min höjdpunkt på resan var så klart att rida på islandshästar. Jag har alltid varit lite rädd för vanliga hästar. Men islandshästar är mycket mindre och så söta. De är kända för att vara uthålliga och lätta att hantera. De har även ett dubbelt lager med päls för extra värme på vintern. 

Vi gick upp tidigt en morgon och red islandshästar i blåst och snö/regn. Det var iskallt men underbart. Jag var så glad att äntligen få vara på Island sittandes på en häst. 

We then went off to the golden circle tour. We saw Geysir, which is amazing. How hot water just can shoot up from the ground meters and meters high. 

Sen åkte vi till gyllene cirkeln touren. We såg Geysir vilket var fantastiskt. Hur varmt vatten bara kan skjuta upp ur marken flera meter hög. 

We also went to the waterfalls in Gullfoss. 

Vi åkte även till vartenfallen i Gullfoss.

Another highlight was the blue lagoon. I wrote an earlier post about my experience at the blue lagoon so if you want to read more about that please click here. http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/12/having-face-mask-in-blue-lagoon.html?m=1

En annan höjdpunkt var den blå lagunen. Jag skrev en tidigare post om den upplevelsen. Om du vill läsa om den så klicka här. http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/12/having-face-mask-in-blue-lagoon.html?m=1

And of course New Year's Eve. We went for a five course dinner in our hotel restaurant Vox. It was lovely and the food was great. We then watched the fireworks that they go crazy for in Iceland. 

Och självklart Nyårsafton. Vi hade en fem rätters middag på vår hotellrestaurang Vox. Det var trevligt och maten var jättegod. Sen tittade vi på fyrverkerier som de är helt galna i på Island. 

Have you ever been to Iceland? What did you enjoy the most? Where do you want to travel in 2016? 

Har du någonsin varit på Island? Vad gillade du mest? Var vill du resa i 2016? 

My trip to Cambodia

Me and my husband just spent a few amazing days in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Part of our anniversary trip. Cambodia is an amazing and beautiful place. I loved it from the second we landed. 

Cambodia is country with so much painful history and it's inspiring to meet the local people and see their amazing hearts. They're all so friendly. 

We stayed in Viroth's villa. A small boutique hotel. It was a lovely place and because it was small it felt like you had the place by yourself. 

On our first full day we went to Angkor Wat. It was such an incredible sight. We had a tour guide, Dee from tour company Urban Adventures. She was so knowledgeable and managed to paint a picture of how it was like in the Angkor time. 

We saw a few other temples as well.

Bayon temple, the Kings temple 

The last temple we saw was Ta Prohm, also known for being the location where they filmed Tomb Raider. 

On our second day we visited a floating village on the Tonle Sap Lake. This was incredible. Even just the journey out there was so beautiful and managed to meet more locals. Seeing the life of the villages was humbling yet inspiring. 

After visiting the floating villages we went back into town. To check out the Old Market.

We had some great food. This was their local dish called Amok, served in a coconut. 

I will share more about this trip later but I just wanted to show you some pictures now. 

August Fashion Haul - Paris Edition

I recently got back from my trip to Paris. I love Paris. It's one of my favourite cities in the world. It was my third visit.

Click here to watch my last video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXyOtjnO5AM
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First I went to Sweden to pick up my mum.

There I bought
1. Jumper - Åhlens
2. Notebook - pocket shop
3. Resa med lätt bagage - Tove Jansson.

Finally in Paris I bought
4. Scarf - La Fayette
5. Earrings - La Fayette
6. Paris mug

And at the Monet's garden gift shop I bought some beautiful stationary
7. Letter paper
8. Envelopes
9. Notebooks

Check out my blog if you want to read more about what we were up to in Paris

http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/07/my-paris-trip-part-1.html?m=1

http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/08/my-paris-part-2.html?m=1 

Have you been to Paris? What did you do? What did you see?

My Paris - part 2

Monet's Garden - Giverny

Le Jardin du Monet

As part of our trip to Paris me and my mum went to Giverny for the afternoon to see Monet's garden. This was the main reason for me taking my mum. I always wanted to go since I was about 7 years old and learned that this place actually exists. I watched "Linnea in Monet's Garden" based on the children's book with same name. It's about a girl who loves art and goes to Paris to visit the garden.

I went last year for the first time. It was special to go another time and be able to bring my mum.

Oscar Claude Monet was an artist. He was part of the French Impressionism in the 19th century.

His most famous work is of his lily pond in Giverny, where he moved 1883 and lived until the end of his life 1926. Monet's ambition of documenting the French countryside. Led him to adopt a method of painting the same scene many times. To capture the changing of light and the passing of the seasons.

"Je dois avoir de fleur toujours et toujours"  - Claude Monet

"I must have flowers always and always" - Claude Monet

Below is pictures all from Monet's garden. Enjoy!!

Have you ever been to Monet's garden? What did you think? Or did this post make you want to go? Please leave a comment below and let me know. 

My Paris trip - part 1

I recently went to Paris and I brought my mum as she's never been.

Paris is one of my favourite cities. I love walking around and just take the city in. I love the smell of Paris in the morning. To wake up and just take the city in. It's a city with a relaxed pace. In comparison to London where everyone is so busy rushing around. The Parisians still have time to relax with a coffee at a cafe or a stroll by the Seine. 

We arrived on Sunday evening to R.Kipling, our hotel in Montmartre. Monmartre is a beautiful part of Paris with lots of hills and stairs. Many knows it as home of Moulin Rouge and where they filmed Amélie.

R.Kipling Hotel decor is designed by Christine Gerondeau. Its pays homage to the eponymous novelist, Rudyard Kipling, known for his love of travel and Asia. It's a lovely boutique hotel. The rooms are Stereotypical French, small.  With quirky furniture especially their lamps and green coloured walls. The reception area is a wonderful place to relax with afternoon tea or wine tasting for later in the evening. 

As we arrived hungry the first thing we did was to go and find something to eat. We found an Italian restaurant near the hotel. We had a delicious veggie pizza, mine was without cheese. It had fresh vegetables and the bread was perfect. Accompanied by a nice bottle of Italian red. 

We then went for a walk around Montmartre before we headed back to the hotel. 

Monday

We started off with walking towards the Louvre. The first stop was La Fayette. The beautiful galleria with the cuopole sealing. We bought couple of stuff and continued our walk past the Opera. We then thought it was time for a Fika (coffee break) so saw a Le Pain Quatiden and had a coffee and vegan muffin. 

We then walked down to Louvre, took some pictures. Realised we were hungry so instead of joining the queue we went to find lunch. 

After lunch we walked some more before getting tired. So we decided to do a quick stop at Notre dam before heading back to the hotel. 

Whilst my mum rested her legs I decided to climb all the stairs to le Sacré-coeur on top of Montmartre. 

In the evening we went to Maceo for dinner. It's a beautiful French fine dining restaurant, but with a vegetarian/vegan menu as well. The food was so tasty. Perfect flavours that went well together. The staff was friendly and helpful. Our waiter recommended all my dishes and every dish was perfect. 

Tuesday

We started our day with a coffee at "Le Deux Moulins" where they filmed Amelie. I love sitting outside a cafe and watch the city life go by. All the businesses getting ready for the day ahead. Tourists running around with their maps, making sure they don't miss a thing and of course all the dog walkers. 

We then took the metro to Tour de Eiffel. I don't know what it is with the Eiffel Tower but I just love seeing it. It fills me with joy and love for this beautiful city. I must admit I thought it was ugly the first time I saw it but then it grown on me and I love it more and more. I think as you can see it from so many places around the city it just reminds you that it's there. After my last trip and I got to see it by night and that was just magical. Even though this time it was a cloudy grey day it looked so serious, sadly romantic, impressive with the  clouds behind it and almost looks like a black and white photo. 

We then spent the afternoon in Giverny at Monet's garden. But that will be a separate blog post. Promise you won't want to miss that. 

We then finished the day with another Italian restaurant "Il Fico" and had a delicious meal. I must be honest, I was distracted  by the conversation on the table next to us most of the evening. It was a couple who was so caught up by their new found love. The lady who confessed that before she came to Paris and met him, had nothing to be happy about and felt empty by her life. The man, who was from Paris felt the same and they were so in love and tried to figure out a plan how they could stay together. I'm sorry but what a perfect Parisian love story right in front of my eyes. A perfect end to my trip. 

Paris always makes me feel like home and it's always so sad to leave. But I'm sure I'll be back soon. That's what I have to tell myself to make it easier.