Thursday, August 27, 2015

A thousand splendid sunsets {Lefkada Travel Diary}




Hi guys,

Here I am... finally posting my Lefkada photo diary. This will be part one of the travel diary, and I promise to be back with more pretty soon. In this post, I'm sharing photos of the most famous beaches on the island. In part two, I'm going to tell you all about our boat cruise and share some tips for snorkeling enthusiasts :).

First things first: I still can't get over how amazing this place was. The landscapes were spectacular, with turquoise waters, beautiful mountains, breathtaking views. It was by far the most relaxing holiday!

I loved going back to Greece for my summer holiday. after choosing other destinations for the last couple of years. In 2012 we went to Corfu and this year we chose Lefkada. We went with two of our friends, by car. Because it was a long ride, we decided to spend a night in Salonic both at the beginning and at the end of our holiday.

My friend Lavinia (who btw is a food blogger, you can check out her blog here), found the most perfect accommodation for us, in a small village near Vasiliki, called Agio Petros. Here's a link from Trip Advisor, in case you're interested. The position was fantastic, with most of the well known beaches being very near.

Night view from our room
Vasiliki port
Next, I'll try to leave a small description together with photos from our trip, just to tell you a few things about each of the beaches we visited and hopefully share some useful tips for those of you who want to visit Lefkada.

On the to-do list

Egremni Beach- one of the most beautiful beaches on the island. You have to walk 347 steep steps down to a cliff in order to reach it, but it is totally worth the effort. We went there in the afternoon, to catch the most amazing sunset. Also, walking back to the car park at the top of the cliff was way easier in the evening.

Egremni Beach



Sunset on Egremni Beach
Scarf: Promod




Porto Katsiki: amazing, fascinating beach, surrounded by cliffs. It can get pretty crowded, especially if you visit it in full season, but it's definitely worth paying a visit. I'd suggest going there in the afternoon. There's a broken cliff with a small bridge nearby and you get the most spectacular view of the sunset. It takes your breath away!

Prto Katsiki as seen from the small bridge
Sunset over Porto Katsiki



Gialos Beach- it's one of the longest beaches in Lefkada. Besides the fantastic turquoise waters, the advantage is that it doesn't get that crowded, so can enjoy a quiet time on the beach with the prettiest views of the sea.

Gialos Beach


Shorts: Oysho
Top: H&M
Kalamitsi Beach: a small beach with huge rocks sticking out of the sea... an out-of-this-world image! Once again, we went there at sunset. Lefkada sunsets are mind-blowing!

Dress: Only via Kurtmann.ro


Taverns/restaurant recommendations:

Oasis Tavern, near Porto Katsiki- the perfect place to take some rest and enjoy delicious greek traditional food, with an amazing view. 

Rachi Restaurant (websiteRachi.gr)- spectacular views, great food, amazing sunset. It can get quite crowded, especially at sunset because of the fantastic views. We went there straight from the beach to watch the sunset, we could't get a table so we decided to go to the b&b, take a bath and return after 10 pm for dinner and drinks. If you happen to stay at a reasonable distance from the restaurant, I'd suggest you do the same. Either-way, going there is definitely a must!




Monday, August 24, 2015

The Sunday of Summer


Hi guys,

I know it's hard to acknowledge the fact that Summer is coming to an end, but let's face it: it is! It's almost September. While I still hope to have a few more weeks of sunny, warm weather, I'm also aware of the fact that Summer is slowly loosing ground.

 These past few summer months have been amazing, I've been traveling a lot, I've enjoyed time with friends, I've had loads of fun. But since it started to get chilly last week, I couldn't help but feeling excited for Fall. I love each and every season, with its own, particular charm, but I have to admit I'm especially fond of Fall, Fall fashion to be more exact: earth tones, sweaters, scarves, layers. It's definitely the season that brings the most creativity into my wardrobe and personal style.

As we escape from the scorching heat and move on to more chilly days, it can come as a challenge to transition our wardrobe from one season to another. I find myself in a position where I don't want to give up on wearing some of my summer items, just because it isn't that cold yet, but I cannot continue to wear super light tops, breezy shirts, etc. So what I try to do is to use a fall item and combine it with a summer one. Most of the times, my "transition" items are: sweaters, suede boots and jackets. In the pictures below, I am wearing these culottes that I bought a while back at Zara, with an old Mango sweater. I think it makes for the perfect transition outfit, especially since the sweater is not that chunky, it has small holes in it, so it's airy and super comfortable. I would also wear the same type of sweater over one of my summer dresses, to make it a bit more appropriate for the changing weather.

I hope you guys like the look. And if you have any tips on how to transition from Summer to Fall, please leave your comments down below. I'm always looking for inspiration.

Many hugs!

Mamalina

Culottes/ head piece: Zara
Sweater/ Necklace: Mango
Shoes: Massimo Dutti












Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Are you ready, boots?

Hi guys,

Last weekend we escaped the city and went to the seaside to spend a couple of days with friends and family. The weather was perfect, the sea was calm and beyond beautiful. But the best part was that most of my friends were there to share these moments. Yup, we actually did it: we succeeded to plan this little trip so that everybody could come. There were 12 of us on the beach, reading, joking, planning, gossiping, playing in the water, flying the kites, making memories. It was such a beautiful image. We haven't been able to take the whole gang anywhere since probably high school… Well, except weddings, of course. Actually, fun fact: it was during one of our friends’ wedding, back in July, that we decided to organize this get-together at the seaside :).

We spent two wonderful days in Mamaia and decided to leave for Bucharest on Monday morning and go straight to work (that was a pretty bold move :P). We wanted to avoid all the traffic on the highway, since it seemed that the whole country had been at the seaside that weekend. Before leaving, we went to the beach to take some photos at sunrise, and the light was just amazing! We’ve been wanting to do a photoshoot like this one for so long, but our day-to-day life is so hectic that we just can’t get ourselves to wake up so early in the morning…

Now, moving on to the story of the little dog that you’re about to see in the photos! On Saturday evening we were chillin’ at this cozy terrace on the beach, drinking a beer when this cute ball of fur came running to our table. We found out he “belonged” to the owners, otherwise I’m pretty sure one of us would have taken him home, because he was too stinkin’ cute. We were allowed to play with him, though. On Monday morning, there he was again :). I couldn’t resist that face, so I had to let him participate in the photoshoot. After all, we just happened to be quite color coordinated :).

I hope you guys like the photos. I for one absolutely love them.

Many hugs and a beautiful week ahead, despite the changing weather!

Mamalina

Dress & Hat: Zara
Boots: Mango









Outtakes :))