I think Split and Hvar in Croatia are two of my new favourite places. I feel like I say this every time I get back from travelling somewhere but it's happened yet again! I'm writing this with severe holiday blues.

I recently went on a week-long holiday to Split in Croatia with five of my friends and we had such an amazing time. We stayed in an Airbnb villa a short taxi ride away from Split with a pool.

We flew from Gatwick to Split and the flight was only around two and a half hours which went really quickly.

What we got up to

Exploring Split

Krka National Park

Hvar for the day

Boat Party Split

Talent Show

The Food

Here are some of the amazing meals I had and where to find them

Would I recommend travelling to Croatia?

Earlier this year I had a fabulous city break in Lisbon, Portugal's capital so I had to write about it and tell you what we got up to. I went with Joe and our friends Maddie and Cormac and this is how it went ... SPOILER ALERT: we had an amazing time.

Day 1

Day 1 consisted of traveling early in the morning from Luton to Lisbon Airport and we arrived at around 11am. The flight lasted around 2 hours and 45 minutes which would have gone quite quickly had we not sat on the plane for an hour before taking off.

Upon arrival at Lisbon, we checked out the location of our Airbnb and realised we could go there on the metro from the airport, so we bought our travel cards at the airport metro station and went on our way.

The travel cards are quite good as you can put as much money as you want on them and use them on most of the types of transport around Lisbon such as buses, trams, and metro.

We then checked into our Airbnb which was in the perfect location. Lisbon is known for being quite hilly and steep but we managed to stay in a relatively flat area right by the sea and we were within walking distance of the main tourist attractions.

After checking in and a quick change, we headed out for some lunch and ended up picking somewhere by the sea, in the sun, and shared a few jugs of sangria. It was actually the first time I'd seen the sun in ages as we went in March and the UK had been freezing for months, so it was just perfect.

After a few drinks and a wander around our area of Lisbon, we went back to our Airbnb for some chill time as we had a VERY early start and chilled out for a bit before dinner.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant quite near to our Airbnb called Lugar Marcado where we were greeted with great service and enjoyed some lovely wine and seafood. I had the cod which was unlike any cod I'd had before. I enjoyed the taste but just couldn't eat a lot of it, I think because I was so tired from getting up early and traveling.

Day 2

After a good night's sleep in our Airbnb, we went for an alfresco breakfast ready for a day of exploring.

We got the train to Belem, where you can find the Belem Tower (Torre de Belem) and the famous home of the Pastel de Nata at Pasteis de Belem. This is a foodie must for Lisbon!

After that, we took the train again further away from Lisbon and went to the beautiful seaside town of Cascais. I'd really recommend giving yourself a day to explore this town if you are planning to visit Lisbon as it was so beautiful and had much more of a quiet vibe than Lisbon, so you get the best of the city and somewhere quieter.

Related: 3 nights in Barcelona

Cascais also has beaches where you can swim in the sea, whereas there isn't really a beach in the centre of Lisbon although it is on the sea.

When we arrived at Cascais we found a nice outdoor bar right by the beach and of course, had a couple of glasses of sangria. The sun was shining and it was one of those moments where you think "ah, life is good."

We then had a wander around Cascais, followed by some Portuguese sparkling wine and some tapas at a wine bar. The name of the bar escapes me now which is a shame because it was amazing and you need to go there! It was on a road called Rua Frederico Arouca and the tapas was 10/10. Foodie pictures below if you don't believe me...

We then headed back to Lisbon and went out for the evening in the Bairro Alto area. There were a lot of stag and hen parties around there and seemed to be where the main clubs and bars were, so head there if you want a piece of the Lisbon nightlife.

My advice to you would be if you are a heel-wearer, forget them in Lisbon, don't even pack them. There are so many hills and everywhere you walked was cobbled. The cobbles are also quite slippy too so comfortable shoes only. I was wearing my comfiest trainers and nearly stacked it a couple of times in the rain.

Day 3

On our final day in Lisbon, we headed for another alfresco breakfast (great way to start a day, especially if it includes a pastel de nata).

The main thing we wanted to do on the last day was to go to Timeout market, a world-famous food market in the centre of Lisbon. It was too close after having breakfast though when we went there, so we decided to go on the iconic 28 tram to see the city that way.

We traveled a little bit to ensure we got on the tram at the start of the line instead of getting on somewhere central which would have been super busy. I'd recommend doing this because it means you'll definitely get a seat.

After seeing the city by tram, it made me so thankful I wasn't walking up and down all those hills and that we were staying in a flat area!

We got off the tram back at the Timeout market for some lunch and I was overwhelmed by choice. I tend to go into sensory overload at foodie markets like this as there are so many people, and there's so much choice of food so I quite often end up making rash decisions so I can get it over and done with.

I had a surf and turf ciabatta sandwich with steak and prawns which was good but a little small for the price. One thing I will say about the Timeout market is that you have to go but be prepared to spend a lot. I don't think it was a bad thing that the portions were a little small because it meant I could try a few things, but you have to be prepared for the cost.

My steak sandwich was 12 Euros so not too bad but it is quite a lot for a small sandwich. When in Rome...

I then had some fried squid and an Aperol Spritz; they had a whole stand dedicated to it so it would have been rude not to! Then, I had a pastel de nata and I have to say, I actually preferred the one at the Timeout Market to the one I had as Pasteis de Belem which is controversial.

We then had a bit of a chill before heading out again in the evening for some drinks. As we had quite a late lunch, we got ready and had a few drinks first before dinner.

For dinner, we went to a tapas restaurant we'd been eyeing up the whole time called Tapas n' Friends. It was fitting because we were indeed wanting to eat tapas with friends. There are a few of these restaurants in Lisbon but the one we went to was kind of like a rooftop bar, although it wasn't on a roof, you did have to go up some stairs to sit there.

We ordered quite a lot of different tapas dishes to try and everything was amazing. It was giving me a kind of last supper vibe because we had such a lovely couple of days and it was being finished off with great food, drinks, and of course company. Both my heart and belly were full once we'd left there.

Do you need to add Lisbon to your travel list?

Absolutely. There's no doubt about it. You can quite often bag cheap flights to Lisbon and the weather is beautiful for most of the year, starting in March. We paid around £220 for flights and our AirBnB all in which is an absolute bargain.

I also think it's up there in my top 3 favourite European cities that I've traveled to so far. There's so much to do and although we did a lot, I feel like we could go again and still have more to see and do.

Related: 4 nights in Milan

Have you visited Lisbon before? If not, are you adding it to your travel list?

I feel like I am now living my travel blogger fantasy with all these trips I've been going on lately. I remember in lockdown scraping the barrel for random subjects to blog about when I mainly love to write about travel and trips out I have been on.

I have recently just got back from Milan and I am so happy to share another fantastic experience with you. I love Italy and have been to Sorrento in the south with my family, but had never been to the north so we decided to give Milan a go. Another reason for going is that it is a short train ride from Lake Como which is so beautiful so we were able to visit these two places in one trip.

Travelling to Milan

This time we travelled from London Heathrow to Milan Linate airport. There are a few airports in Milan, I think Malpensa is the main one but we discovered Linate was closer to the centre of Milan.

Of course, we started the trip with an airport breakfast and an Aperol spritz (the drink of choice for the whole trip).

The flight was set to be 2 hours but the total air time was around 1 hour and a half there and back which was great for me because I am not a big fan of flying.

We then travelled by bus to our Air BnB in the Navigli area near the canals which was pretty easy.

Day 1

We arrived at our Air BnB around 3pm so after unpacking and getting changed, we headed out to the Navigli canals and had some pre-dinner Aperols. I really loved the area of Navigli, the nightlife was great and they had a happy hour where Aperol spritz was 5 euros. Did you know the happy hour was invented in Milan?

There were also some amazing restaurants with al fresco dining on the canal too. We ended up eating at one of these restaurants and I tried the Ossobucco which is a traditional Milanese dish that consisted of slow-cooked beef on a bed of saffron risotto. The meal was fab and it was great to be able to try one of their traditional dishes.

Day 2

The first full day was dedicated to sightseeing around Milan and we ended up walking around 7 and a half miles. There was public transport from our Air BnB in Navigli into the centre of Milan, or it was about half an hour's walk so we ended up walking instead.

First of all, we headed to the Duomo di Milano which is the cathedral in the centre of Milan. It was as stunning and picturesque as expected. I felt like I was walking through an Instagram picture.

Right next to the cathedral is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping centre, the iconic designer shopping centre in Milan. We did have a look in a few shops like Prada and Armani but just looked, nothing designer was bought, unfortunately.

After that, we started walking and found the Sforzesco Castle, which we walked through into Sempione Park. One thing I will say about Milan is that there are loads of cute small dogs and we found a lot of these walking through the park.

This took us to lunchtime and we found a cafe that had huge focaccia sandwiches and I'm telling you, it was one of the best sandwiches of my entire life. I wish I could remember what the cafe was called but there are a lot of places like this in Milan and most of them seem to be top quality.

Related: 3 nights in Barcelona

We then took a walk back up to our Air BnB, had a nap and then went back out to the Navigli canals for dinner and drinks. Round the corner from our Air BnB was a gelato place that smelled amazing every time we walked past so we had to try! I had 3 scoops and these were LOADED scoops so I ended up feeling a bit sick after but it was 10/10.

As we were in Italy, I needed to eat a pizza so I was desperately looking for pizza restaurants and we found one alongside the canal! Although Milan is not typically famous for its pizza, it is still in Italy so the pizza was 10/10.

Day 3 - Travelling to Lake Como

On day 3 we went on a trip to Lake Como. We got the train from Milan Cadorna Station to Como Lago and it took about an hour. I think the train tickets were about 5 euros for a single ticket too which was pretty good. This was actually the worst day for weather which was a shame but the lake was still stunning.

Once we got to Como, we got the ferry to Bellagio which was such a stunning place. We walked round Bellagio and there were so many stunning views of the lake. I had heard that Bellagio was quite expensive as it's quite a touristy holiday destination and a lot of the restaurants there were.

While walking up the stairs to get a better view of the lake, we stumbled across a wine bar called Cava Turacciolo which served food so, of course, we had to go in. It was quite hidden away but one of the best places I have been. We had a cheese and cold cuts sharing platter which was all from local produce, and we sampled the local sparkling wine which was more like champagne than prosecco. My dad had a glass of local red wine which he loved too.

Although we were in quite an expensive area and the wine bar was outstanding, the price was actually quite reasonable. You could get a glass of prosecco for as little as 4 euros which I thought was fab.

After more walking, we got the ferry back to Como. You should definitely check the ferry timings before travelling to Como because there is a slow boat and a fast boat and they didn't seem to run that often. Also, there can be big queues for the ferries too.

We walked around Como a little before getting the train back to Milan and I didn't realise how close to the border of Switzerland we were. Como town reminded me more of a town in Austria or somewhere close rather than Italy. It was giving me Christmas vibes, could have been the grey weather as well.

I just wish I could have gotten better photos with blue skies but we were still blown away by Como.

We got the train back to Milan at around 4 and went back to the Air BnB to get changed, before heading back out to Navigli for dinner and drinks.

We did make a slight mistake with dinner and ended up going to a tourist trap restaurant that had 1,000 things on the menu and had pictures on the menu - big no no! I had the carbonara there because I hadn't had pasta yet and it was alright, but my mum hated her meal. Note to self - Google restaurants before you go to them and DO judge a menu by its cover.

Day 4

As we had seen most of the sights of Milan on day 2, we had a lie-in and dedicated day 4 as our shopping day. We attempted shopping in the centre of Milan but it was a Saturday and it was just a bit too busy to be able to look at anything properly.

Mum was on the hunt for panettone which, since trying last year, we are obsessed with. There was a place near where we were staying that we walked past each day and saw they had panettone so we got some on the last day. I have since tried the panettone from that shop and can confirm it is the best ever. Panettone is for all year round in my mind - not just Christmas!

Again, we got our steps up with lots of walking and I had another focaccia sandwich for lunch because I loved the first one so much.

And again, more Aperol Spritz and prosecco was drunk next to the Navigli canals and we ended up going to the best restaurant we had been to on the last evening.

We were all torn between the pumpkin ravioli that was on the menu and a Milanese meat dish so we ordered the ravioli as a first course to share as it was quite small and it was insane, way better than the carbonara I had the day before.

Then for a main, I had veal in red wine with potatoes and I can't explain to you how nice it was. Simple flavours but so tasty. I can't stop thinking about the potatoes in the gravy.

It was great to be able to eat pizza and pasta, but also to try Milanese dishes like the Ossobucco and the veal that they don't have in the other regions of Italy.

Travelling home

For our flight home, we travelled by tram and bus to the airport which again, was really simple and took about 40 minutes altogether.

After having my flight cancelled on the way back from Barcelona and waiting 9 hours for a new one, I was delighted that travelling home was smooth and easy and we got home at around 3:30pm - enough time to unpack, chill and watch the Strictly results.

If you are planning on going to Milan then you should definitely visit Lake Como on one of your days there! I'd also recommend going to the Navigli area for dinner and drinks as I enjoyed it there so much.

Related: 3 nights in Corfu, Greece

Have you been to Milan?

Travelling to Barcelona

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Travelling home

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