5 Wishlist Travel Destinations

I may have six holidays planned abroad this year, three completed and three to go, but I am already planning my next holiday to book. I find travelling difficult to do if you don't have a friend with the same interests, time and money as you and I'm simply not brave enough to go it alone, as much as I would love to. I have so many places I want to visit but I wanted to put together five of my current top wishlist destinations, especially as I head to Paris tomorrow!

1. Peru
I'm fascinated by historical lankmarks like the Pyramids and the Colosseum, but the various Inca ruins are one of the places I most want to see. I would love to trek along the Inca trail in Peru and Machu Picchu is a must see for me. Food is a huge part of travelling for me, so I'd love to try the local Peruvian cuisine - although I'm not sure I fancy the local delicacy of guinea pig!

2. Belize
I have a friend who is currently island hopping in Belize and I cannot describe how jealous I am! The country sounds so interesting; cheap but tasty food, beautiful beaches and a once in a lifetime experience. Scuba diving, swimming with sharks and snorkelling with stingrays at the Hol Chan marine reserve are all on my list of things to do there!

3. New Zealand
It seems to be the new place where everyone goes to travel, but I would love to go to New Zealand. From the amazing All Blacks rugby team to the filming location of Lord of the Rings, it has got so much to do. You can swim with dolphins, watch for whales and you can either ski or surf, depending on what takes your fancy. I'd love to visit Milford Sound, the Tongariro Crossing and the geothermal spas.

4. Sardinia
With its white beaches, fantastic food and glorious sunshine, Sardinia seems like the perfect Summer holiday destination. Personally, I love the idea of travelling to the mainland first then catching the ferry across to Sardinia. The location is stunning, the Italian food is sure to be delicious and the coastal walks show off those views. I've never visited Italy but I've got a trip to Rome in September coming up and I'm so excited to stuff myself with gorgeous Italian food!

5. Iceland
I'm currently keeping my eye on deals for Iceland as I would love to visit here this year. There are great tours available to see the Golden Circle, the stunning Blue Lagoon and of course try to catch the Northern Lights. It's another great spot for whale watching and I want to fulfil my New Year's Resolution to go husky sledding - and what better location for it?

There are so many more places I want to visit - Prague, Los Angeles, Egypt, Belgium, Japan and Vietnam to name just a few. Where would you like to visit? Have you visited any of these places - I'd love to read some blog posts!

*This is a sponsored post*

Jess

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Review: Homeslice Pizza

London is always brimming with so much to do and as a food lover, whenever I head there I always try to tick off somewhere new to eat in The City. A few weeks ago, I joined Hayley for the Aldi and Tesco Christmas press days and also had the chance to catch up with Erica, Shaun and Mike; it's always nice when the people you know from the internet are also lovely in real life! I was more than happy to rely on the locals' choice for dinner and so we headed to Homeslice in Covent Garden. I enjoyed it so much that when I headed back to London with my Mum this week, I wanted to introduce her to the wonders of giant pizza...

A gigantic 20" pizza at Homeslice is just £20 and there are some amazing unique options to choose from. If you can't decide, you can even choose a half and half option. My Mum and I opted for half goat shoulder, savoy cabbage and sumac yoghurt and half anchovy, olive and onion. Both were completely delicious; the base was super thin, crispy and perfectly seasoned and the toppings were such good quality. For me, the star of the show was the goat shoulder; strong, meaty and falling to tender pieces. I would have never have thought to put cabbage or yoghurt on pizza but it worked really well, creating a Moroccan array of flavours. The anchovy half reminded me of Greece; the salty anchovies paired brilliantly with the olives and the small amount of cheese meant the pizza wasn't overwhelming. The entire thing was huge but we gave it a pretty good go and I was left feeling completely stuffed but very happy!

Another fun thing about Homeslice is the drinks. When we enquired about wine, we were told that we would be served a bottle from which we could drink as much as we liked and we would be charged for how much we drank. Intrigued, we chose the white wine and did not expect the size of bottle which arrived! It was probably about 2 litres worth and certainly very dangerous if you were in a large group. As we didn't know the price, we only had one glass each, which worked out as £4 per person, and we were very proud of our restraint! Personally, I don't think that's a bad price for wine in a restaurant as the drinks are normally the part of the meal which is more expensive. When we wanted to pay, the waitress brought out a ruler and physically measured how much we had drank to calculate our bill. It was so bizarre and certainly a great quirky way to enjoy some wine!

Homeslice is a must for a friendly, sociable meal with friends or family. I love the casual, relaxed feel and the way of serving wine is simply brilliant. Although there are moments when I would quite like a knife and fork, being able to dig in and demolish the giant pizza with your hands is part of its charm and sometimes you just want to get messy with your meal.

Have you tried Homeslice? Where else do I need to add to my 'to-eat' list in London?

Jess

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OOTD: City Break Style with Matalan

I adore Summer and all the opportunities it brings; seeing friends, travelling, getting out and about in the sunshine and putting together a great Summer wardrobe. I seem to keep booking short trips away in Europe and my latest is a trip to Paris in just two weeks time! It was a complete bargain and I love spending two or three days away in a European city whenever I can. With the help of Matalan's Holiday Shop, I put together a city-break Summer holiday outfit perfect for a hand-luggage only flight:

Top: Matalan. Shorts: Matalan. Shoes: Matalan. Bag: Matalan. Necklaces: Primark

First things first, I needed a bag. The World's Lightest Range is perfect for short breaks away so I picked up this holdall (in purple of course). It's massive yet fits the flight hand luggage restrictions for EasyJet and cost just £18. It also has a 10 year warranty which is amazing as I have a bad habit of overloading handbags until the strap breaks! Now I can pack it full of everything I need, including some handy zipped laundry bags I didn't photograph but picked up for just £2 from Matalan, without worrying about the bag falling apart halfway round Paris.

When travelling and walking lots, I always look for a comfortable pair of shorts. These shorts are absolutely perfect; I adore the tile pattern, the gorgeous colours and of course the elastic waistband so I can eat plenty of croissants! I actually cannot believe they cost just £8 for something so comfortable and stylish. I teamed them with this pastel roll-neck swing blouse for £10. As I've joined the job hunt and started attending interviews, I've realised how few work-appropriate tops I own as most of my wardrobe seems to be Harry Potter tshirts - not that I have a problem with this particular obsession. I picked this pastel high-neck top as something which is both interview-appropriate but also easy to wear casually on a city break too. I would advice sizing down as the swing style is absolutely huge, but this does mean that the top is nice and breathable and perfect for hiding that French food stomach!

Finally I added these grey t-bar sandals for £12. I always look for sandals with a closed toe as they are more versatile to wear all year round with tights as well as bare legs. This grey shade matches with most of my wardrobe and the trainer style base means they are sure to be comfortable wandering around Paris. I wasn't expecting the toes to be pointed but this style is really fashionable this Summer and I think it makes them look more expensive than a pair from Matalan! When this entire outfit cost less than £50 including the huge holdall, I'm seriously impressed with this bargain outfit. The great thing is that all of the different pieces of clothing are so easy to wear in different ways so they work not only as an entire outfit, but fit into my wardrobe too.

Combining comfort, style and affordability is always my aim during Summer and I think this look is perfect for this. Paris is notoriously the city of style and I'm looking forward to introducing it to some budget fashion! What do you think of the look?

*All items from Matalan holiday shop provided in return for my honest review*

Jess

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