‘Travel’ Category

  1. My Week in Pictures #2

    March 17, 2013 by Emma

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    I could not have had a more amazing time in Paris. It really is the most magical city– I don’t think I could ever tire of visiting. This past weekend the sun was shining and there were hardly any tourists about! Judging by how sore my legs are, my friend Ryan and I probably walked the whole of Paris. I don’t know how those French girls manage in their heels on those cobblestones! Our weekend mostly consisted of wandering about and poking around different shops, cafes, and museums. So, basically the ideal trip :)

    I’ve got much more to say about Paris as soon as I catch up on my homework (and go through the millions of photos I took)!

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    Earlier this week, I walked in a fashion show for NARS makeup. It was in this stately building near Hyde Park– much fancier than I expected. So I was feeling a bit nervous on my way in! It was so much fun, though. It’s always tough being the new-girl, as all the other models knew each other, but I needn’t have worried as all the girls I met were absolutely lovely! I got all dolled up with a smokey eye and a super tight ponytail. Apparently my hair is rather unruly– I was being chased around with hairspray cans and bobby pins all morning! I really liked my outfit too– I was wearing a dress and jacket from Sameulla Pallmer. It had a really fun “college prep” look. I wanted to keep that jacket so badly! There were four different collections being shown and I loved the others as well.

    I love runway. The energy backstage is amazing and you just feel so powerful when you’re on the catwalk. I didn’t realize until I turned around that there was a massive projection of my face on the screen behind me as I walked. I actually think I’m glad I didn’t know! After the show was over, I got a goodie bag full on Nars makeup. I’m having fun with all my new products and wearing blush for the first time! I just hope I don’t get used to the expensive stuff, because I’m going back to my drugstore makeup when it’s used up!

    Hope you all had a lovely week! Did you get up to anything fun?

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    Category Modeling, Travel, Week in Pictures | Tags: | 10 Comments

  2. Oxford Blues

    January 29, 2013 by Emma

    This past Saturday, I went on a day-trip to Oxford and the Cotswolds. A two hour bus ride later and my friends and I arrived in Bourton-on-the-Water, a charmingly small town in the Cotswolds. After wobbling our way through what remained of the ice and snow on the ground, we came upon the heart of the village, which seemed to consist mostly of tea houses– not that I was complaining! The bucolic image was further enhanced by the first sun that England has seen for days.

    After an hour wandering through the town– and grabbing a spot of tea!– we headed off towards Oxford.

    Once we got to Oxford, we had a bit of free time to grab lunch, so naturally we went to the market. It’s getting to be a habit now! After some delicious soup, we joined back up with our group for a tour of Christchurch. We got to see the Dining Hall that the Great Hall in Harry Potter was based on and had a look around the college. The gardens and grounds of the university were my favorite– they were just so quintessentially English!

    Honestly, I fell quite in love with Oxford. I’ll definitely be heading back there at some point– hopefully for grad school in a few years!

    Category Photography, Travel | Tags: | 6 Comments

  3. Paris Part Two: Living like a Queen

    November 11, 2012 by Emma


    Our second day in Paris consisted of much sightseeing and wandering the streets. We got our fill of culture, visiting the Arc de Triomph, the Louvre, and the Notre Dame. We managed to get a bit of shopping in as well! The Kilo Shop, in the Marais, is a must if you have a fondness for vintage. Racks of 60’s coats, polka dot skirts, and silk button-downs line the overstuffed store. You pay buy the weight of the clothes– it reminded me of the Goodwill outlet at home (affectionately known as the bins!), but artfully curated. It’s a bit overrun with cool French girls, naturally, but I did manage to snag a nice vintage sweater.

    The highlight of our third day in Paris was definitely our visit to Versailles. Despite the terrible weather (a theme for our trip!), we awoke bright and early to make our way to the palace. We were hoping to beat the crowds by arriving right when it opened, but I don’t think it’s possible to avoid the mass of tourists at Versailles. It was worth all the jostling crowds and unhappy children, though, as Versailles is absolutely stunning! It’s every bit as ostentatious as one would expect, with gold covering almost every available surface. I loved the paintings of Napoleon and Josephine. Apparently, he had no qualms about rewriting reality for the sake of a better image– he ordered that his mother be painted into a coronation scene even though she refused to attend. The rooms were gorgeous as well, particularly Josephine’s bed chambers. I must admit, I could get used to living like that. The maid service wouldn’t hurt either ;)


    After Versailles and a bit of a rest, we headed back out to the center of town. As it was our last day, we decided to treat ourselves to a nice little French restaurant where I paid far too much for a plate of undressed lettuce and hot water (they ran out of tea– how is this possible?!). I would not recommend the French cafes near the Eiffel Tower if you have any food allergies. They tend to cater towards tourists and I think they get fed up with their “incompetence.” At this point, though, I was so enamored with Paris that I didn’t even care.

    After our little dinner mishap, we headed down to the banks of the Seine to take an evening tour along the water. I would highly recommend this! It’s even better if you’re tough enough to brave the open-air section of the boat– we were so chilled that we stayed inside the whole time. While the view wasn’t quite as nice, the boat had large windows that extended all the way across the ceiling. Nothing is so beautiful after a weekend in Paris than seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkling from on the water. It really was an amazing trip and I already want to go back!

    What to See:
    -Versailles: It’s a bit of journey outside Paris, so be sure to pencil in a couple of hours! The palace is open everyday from 9 am to 5:30 pm.  Website

    What to Do:
    -Vintage shopping at the Kilo Shop: 69 Rue de la Verrerie, 75004. Website
    -Boat Tour: We took a tour with Bateaux Mouches, but there are a bunch that you can choose from that all depart from the Eiffel Tower. Website

    Category Travel | Tags: | No Comments

  4. Paris Part 1: The City of Lights and Frostbite

    November 9, 2012 by Emma


    I had the most amazing time in Paris! It truly is a most magical city. It was probably the coldest I’ve ever been in my life, but it was worth it!

    Two of my friends and I arrived bright and early in Paris on Friday morning– ready to tackle our to-see list. After about two hours stuck on the metro, we finally called a cab and made it to where we were staying. We rented a little one-bedroom apartment in the 15th arrondisement through AirBnB. It was the perfect setup– we were close to the city, had our own space to spread out, and had a cozy little kitchen so we could make our own breakfasts. Once we got settled, we headed out for a walk along the Champs-Elysees. We had fun ogling all the shops that were way out of our price range, but we did splurge a bit at Yves Rocher. And of course, no trip to Paris is complete without a stop at Laduree. Blogger cliche? Maybe, but they’re popular for a reason! The macarons are all gluten free, and they always have one or two flavors filled with jam that are dairy free as well. We took our macarons to go and decided to grab a drink to go with them at one of the many cafes along the boulevard. We settled on the Marriot. We were feeling fancy and, after all, how much could one drink cost? Apparently, a lot. A plain coffee was 15 euros and don’t get me started on the cocktails that we were hoping for. We had already gotten settled at this point, but were unwilling to fork out that much cash, so we decided to just leave and tell him that we were late to an appointment. Well, we tried to do just that but he saw through our flimsy excuse. The head waiter kept on asking if it was too expensive for us and told us that such “beautiful filles” should just sit and eat our macarons, and that we didn’t have to buy anything. Then he brought over water, potato chips, and plates for us to put our treats on. He really was the sweetest, and it was nice to feel like I belonged in such a fancy place!


    After our little reprieve, we continued on through the Tuileries, the garden that fronts the Louvre. The sculpture garden was absolutely lovely. We truly felt quite Parisian as we strolled through the park, aside from my giant camera and our astounded faces, of course!

    After our very full first day, we headed back to our apartment for an early night. Days two and three coming soon!

    Category Travel | Tags: | 1 Comment

  5. Peut-Etre Parisienne

    November 1, 2012 by Emma

    Sometimes I can’t believe that this is my life– I get to live in Amsterdam and I popped on over to Paris for the weekend. How is that real?

    As with any trip, I struggled with packing. But as this was Paris I was going to, I felt I really had to step up my game! I finally ended up on this little outfit for my first day in Paris– comfortable enough to travel in, but still chic (I hope!). It’s true that French look effortlessly gorgeous all the time– I don’t know how they do it, especially as it was absolutely freezing. I suppose it’s just some French gene that foreigners are doomed to be lacking.

    It was lovely to finally get some French speaking in. I’d taken French for years in high school and loved it, but I was sure I’d forget it all when actually confronted by a native speaker. Luckily, most of it came back to me. I feel like I spoke more in those three days than I have in months in Amsterdam!

    Anyways, I’ve got to get going as I’ve got a couple more essays to get done with before this weekend when I jet off to Prague! More Paris recaps and recommendations coming as soon as I go through the hundreds of pictures I shot!

    One cheeky teaser of the Eiffel Tower at night– it really is as beautiful as you would expect!

     

    Category Outfits, Travel | Tags: | 12 Comments

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