Hi, it's Alison again. After 10 days in France; doing plenty of tanning, shopping and day tripping, I'm back with a post for you all!
I thought the best way to sum up the trip on here would be in the form of a haul, with item and place descriptions, but first, I'll explain the gist of the whole holiday. I was away for ten days with my parents, two younger brothers and one of my (and Sabrina's) friends, Caitlin. We were staying at a Eurocamp site (in a caravan) in Arzano, Brittany. There wasn't much near the site, but there was a fair amount to do on-site. All in all it was a good holiday, however I have been to better sites.
Okay now onto the haul... I'll start with the supermarket purchases (also, I've probably missed things out, because despite the fact we've been home for two days (writing this Friday as Sabrina and I are at Summer in the City this weekend - post coming soon!) we're still not fully unpacked!)
I thought the best way to sum up the trip on here would be in the form of a haul, with item and place descriptions, but first, I'll explain the gist of the whole holiday. I was away for ten days with my parents, two younger brothers and one of my (and Sabrina's) friends, Caitlin. We were staying at a Eurocamp site (in a caravan) in Arzano, Brittany. There wasn't much near the site, but there was a fair amount to do on-site. All in all it was a good holiday, however I have been to better sites.
Okay now onto the haul... I'll start with the supermarket purchases (also, I've probably missed things out, because despite the fact we've been home for two days (writing this Friday as Sabrina and I are at Summer in the City this weekend - post coming soon!) we're still not fully unpacked!)
As I said above, the campsite had nothing nearby, so we had to drive quite a while before we hit shops, never mind a decent sized supermarket. It didn't help that they were all closed the day after we arrived and the campsite shop had the bare necessities. Never the less, we (well, my Dad) drove for the majority of the day, sussing out the surrounding area and eventually finding us a shop that we would return to. Whilst there Caitlin and I picked up plenty of cakes and sweets but nothing really for ourselves, as we knew we would be coming back later in the week - seeing as there was six of us. I picked up these amazing meringues though, in both strawberry and vanilla flavour, as well as madeleine cakes that I definitely need more of! |
A bit out of order I suppose, but we returned to the supermarket on our second last day of the holiday where I picked up (as pictured above) Arizona Peach Flavour Ice Tea, Scoubidous and a new moisturiser. I'm known to buy things purely because they look nice and I'll admit that I've wanted to buy Arizona Tea purely for this reason for a while but I've never seen it in shops before. Finally I have it and while I have yet to try it I'm happy to have the pretty little bottle (even if it is plastic and not glass like I thought it was...). As for the Scoubidous, I seem to buy these every time I go to France, as I can't find them in Britain anymore. I gee up playing with them, and while all I could ever manage (and still only can) was a pleat I still enjoy them. The moisturiser was a brand I'd never heard of before, but with problematic skin the words 'Garden Recipe' and 'Nature' really stood out to me. I constantly suffer with breakouts, especially on my chin and brow area and have to take tablets to deal with it so I have to be careful with my skin products, but I can say that this is working really well for my skin and I will be looking into buying online, as it is a French product as far as I can tell. |
On our second proper day in France (the 4th of August) we took a trip to Concarneau. My family and I have visited this port town twice beforehand and each time we have met a man who dresses up as Captain Jack Sparrow and stands at the entrance. My youngest brother adores pirates, and the films so he is a memorable piece of said past holidays. However, this time when we arrived, he was still stood outside, but was perfectly still - so still intact, that we thought a statue had been erected of him! (It had been five years since our past visit). After standing and 'aww'ing for a while, telling my brother that it was okay and at least he had met him i the past, the man jumped to life, surprising us all and getting a shriek from me! My brother wore his hat and posed for a photo - his holiday was made! The thing you don't realise about Concarneau, is that the big, castle like structure, is actually a home of many shops; clothes shops, restaurants, ice cream parlours, gift shops - until you step inside. It's a lovely day and I would recommend taking a visit. Whilst inside, I bought an Oreo ice cream (Amazing!) and some new sunglasses, as well as a post card which I stuck into the scrapbook I was recording my holiday in. |
Another couple of towns we visited were Pont-Aven Quimperlé. In Pont-Aven (where I apparently visited aged four), a port town with lots of beautiful flowers and an amazing ice cream shop, Caitlin and I bought ourselves a bracelet, and four each to take home for our friends. While Caitlin's and our friends bracelets were all similar to each other, and to the braids in our hair (that we got at Concarneau), I went for a black bracelet with bright orange wooden parts along it. After just one day in the pool, it was basically white! I would say that I prefer it at the very light orange that it is now compared to when I first bought it, but it will have to be cut off in three weeks anyway... |
Quimperlé, we visited a couple of times. It was a lovely town, but unfortunately we missed the market that my family would usually go to in the town nearest to the caravan site we stay at each year. Whilst there, I picked up a mandala book (as did Caitlin) that we ended up doing pretty much every day of the holiday. However, while, after about nine days, Caitlin had completed eight, I am still only on my second mandala... I also bought a flawy, floral pair of 'Holly Blacken' shorts. These were on the sale rack for 15€ and I bought them thinking it was a skirt, not trying them on. When I did eventually get back to the caravan and put them on I actually really liked them on - it gives the feeling of a skirt (and the danger of flashing!) but somehow feels a little more secure. |
And finally (this post turned out to be a lot longer than I thought it would be!), the last of my purchases were on the ferry home. Here I was bought the Benefit Roller Lash Mascara and bought myself a giant Milka Oreo Bar. Roller Lash Mascara has been something I have water for a long time. Ever since I had the sales lady on the counter put it on me to test back in May when Sabrina and I went on a shopping trip for our £20 Challenge. So, three months later and I finally have it - and now I've taken a picture of it still in it' packaging I can finally wear it (just in time for Summer in the City). It's pretty much past its hype now that it had back when I first tried it on, but honestly it really is amazing. I'm not one for wearing makeup - especially not mascara - as it irritates my eyes a lot, but this one felt fine on. You've probably heard it before, (and as it is quite expensive I recommend trying this) but before impulse buying (and this goes for any makeup you can) have it tried on at one of the counters before you buy! This means you can try it out for the day, really think about it, make sure it's okay on your skin before you make a purchase you regret later! As for the Milka bar, I would say I refer the smaller bar of it with crushed oreo as opposed to a huge sheet of it throughout the centre - but it was the size of my thighs and I couldn't resist! |
Well... that was a long post... If you would like to see more of my trip to France there will definitely be photos going up on my Instagram and the Flicker of Freedom Instagram. I'd love to hear your opinions on all of the products I bought, and let me know any you've got recently!
See you soon with another blog post,
- Alison
See you soon with another blog post,
- Alison