lifestyle | lisbon travel diary

I thought I'd put together a little (or large as it turns out) collection of my holiday snaps to share with you in case anyone was interested, I'd never been to portugal so was especially excited to see lisbon which looked picture perfect! I've only been home a few weeks and it already seems like I never went on holiday.. especially as we returned to plummeting temperatures so jumped straight from shorts to chunky knitwear.. surreal! 

we stayed in a villa situated on a golf course just outside of the capital so we were able to have a nice combo of days loitering by the pool (with my giant doughnut) and exploring the big city. we bought a supply of tea with us so every morning I was able to have a cuppa by the pool, yep I really am that sad #teaaddict

lisbon is a beautiful city, one I'd definitely recommend for a weekend city break as there are lots of little streets, galleries and shops to explore. the people are really welcoming and if you're travelling on a budget there are some amazing hostels (james went recently and stayed here which he really recommended) 

we spent quite some time poolside or relaxing in the villa, obviously one of the essentials for holiday is the dreaded bikini hunt, I must have tried on a zillion so was delighted when this bianca bikini* arrived from south beach and fit perfectly (I'm a sucker for white and the piping detail is so pretty!) it's also padded so gives me some much needed curves up top.. hurrah! they also have some gorgeous lounge wear ..so if you're hunting for some new pj's they're one to check out.

I guess we couldn't not visit to beach too, it was a short drive from where we stayed and the coast was beyond beautiful (although the waves were more suited to surfing than swimming as the waves were giant!) I managed to pick up some summer dresses in the sale before I left (this primark floral dress was only £3) and I spent the rest of the time in cut off levi's and basic tees!

I thoroughly recommend a trip on one of lisbon's iconic trams, it's a great way to soak up the atmosphere and take some snaps of the city! I also recommend going up to visit the castle as the views from up high are stunning on a sunny day, you can slowly wander back down among the little streets and discover all the quaint shops if you don't cheat and take the lifts! 

I also got a chance to wear my triangl bikini! I've had this for months so couldn't wait to wear it properly, I was worried about the fit as the neoprene fabric doesn't have any stretch so I opted to go up a size when I ordered which was the right option for me. they have loads of wicked designs but I couldn't resist the finn rockerbird* (those silver pants were just too damn cool for school!) 

and yes I'm still clutching that doughnut for dear life, it's now tucked away in a cupboard though (sob!)

I have a little something extra which fits in nicely with my beachy roundup! I took part in the #goddesslegs challenge with gillette and asos a few months ago and they kindly send me a goody beach bag recently to give to one of you guys! included is the new venus sugarberry razor (which smells good enough to eat and is seriously smooth) an asos anklet and this cute beach tote. 

just comment on this post if you'd like it (let me know your twitter name so I can inform you!) I'll pick a winner at random and drop you a tweet! 

happy friday guys!

caroline x