Saara van Rugge

I have friends who are stay at home mothers
Friends who are working mothers
Friends who are trying to have babies
Friends who have lost babies
Friends who are okay not to have babies

I have friends who are career driven
Friends who are starting their careers
Friends who are side hustling hard
Friends who are busting through glass ceilings
Friends who have had to start again

I have friends who have bought houses
Friends who own three houses
Friends who are saving hard to buy houses
Friends who travel the world
Friends who live with their parents

I have friends who married at 21
Friends who married at 28
Friends who are okay with not getting married
Friends who are single and are happy
Friends who are in relationships and are happy

I have friends who like men
Friends who like women
Friends who like both
Friends who like neither
Friends who don't see gender

I have friends who are religious
Friends who are spiritual
Friends who are neither
Friends who are undecided
Friend who are open minded

I have friends of different age, race and background...

And they are ALL amazing women doing their thing!!

They inspire me everyday to be the best woman I can be!

I would like to premise this post by stating that in no way am I telling you how best to spend your time when visiting the places I write about. Why am I saying this? Well I am sure it will largely become evident in the following post.



Day One

We began the morning at 4:30am, and still riddled with the flu I struggled to pull myself out of bed. A quick jot up to our local National Express bus stop and we were on the 5:20 am to Luton Airport. I found myself sat next to a girl who was less than impressed when I asked for the seat she had assigned her bag (no it wasn't Adrienne). Thankfully, for the first time in recent weeks, we weren't running through the airport to make our flight. I certainly didn't feel like running that's for sure.

We arrived in Barcelona a little after 10am. This being our third trip to Spain we have learnt that the Spanish are lacking when it comes to signage, but after a few detours we found the train station. The train itself was very easy. There are two options from here to get into the city, the Metro or the R2N line. We chose the R2N, bought our tickets and were off.

Casa Batlló

Our first stop was Casa Batlló, the famous apartments designed by Spanish Architect Antoni Gaudi. We emerged from the metro at Passeig de Gràcia to find a sea of people and a line that stretched around the corner. We found a few different vantage points where we could stand to take a few snaps and then headed to find food.

Tip 1: Pre-book tickets online!


Lunch had to be paella of course!! And as much as I like to avoid very touristy dining spots, it was hard to find anything on our walk from Casa Batlló to La Sadrada Familia. While I very much encourage the consumption of paella, I recommended doing some research before sitting down.
Tip 2: If there are pictures of the food, its aimed at tourists and probably over priced. (I learnt this one of another European adventure years ago.


La Sagrada Familia

I was beside myself with excitement to walk inside the beautiful basilica designed by Gaudi. I had seen photos and knew we were in for a treat. I had pre-booked tickets the night before hoping to fast-track in. However, we waited in line only to be told we had been scammed. What I thought I had bought were two adult tickets, what I had in fact received were child tickets. Thank you Tictac Tickets for ruining my day!

The helpful staff at La Sagrada Familia informed us while they are trying to take legal action against companies like this, there was nothing they could do and made some suggestions on where we could purchase tickets. Unfortunately, tickets were sold out for the next 5 days. So we picked ourselves up and headed to the water.

Tip 3: Only buy tickets from the actual legitimate website or ones that they recommend.



We picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off and headed to the beach. After buying an ice cream, we parked ourselves on some steps overlooking the ridiculously large boats in the marina. Utterly exhausted, we decided to call it a day and headed back into Barcelona city to meet Adrienne's family who put us up for the night at the Dally Flats.




Finding a dinner location proved to be an interesting task. While there are endless options, restaurants in Barcelona seem to be scattered across the city. After walking around in circles, we landed on a place (whose name we didn't note) that ticked the dietary requirement box of all five travelers; a share paella, a bowl of spaghetti bolognese, and a large serving of beef and chips.

Day Two

La Rambla

Up and out at 9am, we grabbed a quick breakfast at Pans & Company, before heading to La Rambla.
This particular day seemed quiet, however there were still plenty of restaurants with fancy drinks and market stalls with nifty souvenirs.


Unfortunately, we didn't manage to visit Mercat de la Boqueria as it is closed on Sunday. I have heard it is incredible and highly advise to prioritise a visit for a day it is open.

Tip 4: Check opening times.


Gothic Quarter

A wonder around Gothic Quarter was a wonderful way to end my time sightseeing Barcelona. This is the place to find the more traditional spanish architecture and some amazing plazas including Plaza Real.


Before I left Adrienne and her family, and headed to the airport we had a farewell lunch at Restaurante Nuria. Conveniently located at the northern end of La Rambla, the food was excellent with very generous servings. Of particular note, the calamari was the best I have had in a long time.

It had been my hope to also see Parc Guell on this trip, however tickets were sold out for days in advance. It was now I accepted I would be returning to Barcelona in the future, and I'm totally fine with that.

The journey back to the airport wasn't without confusion, only in purchasing tickets having forgotten you can simple take the metro. The signage in reverse was no better on the airport side of the return trip, but I made it el solo with plenty of time to spare.

Until next time Barcelona,  it's been real..brief!

Having both been to Paris on at least one occasion, Adrienne (best friend and travel buddy) and I were keen to pick the eyes out of Paris on our 4 day mini-break in the French capital. After our Barcelona experiences we pre-booked all of our tickets prior to our journey across the channel.

As much as we were eager to jump on the train at King's Cross and appear in Paris a couple of hours later, early investigations suggested flying was a much more economical option.

Day One

Even though we have agreed we wouldn't fly early morning on this mid-week trip, we just could not help ourselves. Our day began at 4am for the 7am flight to Paris, arriving a little after 9am local time. We found ourselves on the RER B line into the city after managing a quick customs check. As is traditional with trains to and from the airport the tickets are pricey at €10:30, however this allows you to travel to anywhere in the city, and its still cheaper than an Uber.

One thing to note, Paris is deceptively large. If you want to move across the city it is best you plan to take the metro.

Eiffel Tower

Having arrived too early to check into our accommodation we made a beeline to the Eiffel Tower. After simply admiring it from behind the newly constructed glass barricade at the ground, we wondered across the Seine to the Palais du Chaillot. This is where the millions of tourists who visit Paris every year take their iconic Eiffel Tower snaps. We did not stay long, inevitably failing to avoid being in the background of someone's photos.


In true french style, we grabbed a quick baguette sandwich for lunch before making the trek back to our accommodation. Our journey took in the scenery along the Seine to the west of the Eiffel Tower. We crossed the river at the Pont de Bir-Hakeim, which is an arguably better spot to take photos of Le Tour Eiffel due to the lack of surrounding tourists. Around this time we also purchase our first of many crepes.

For this trip we chose to stay at Nouvel Hotel Eiffel which was perfectly situated for all our Parisian needs. After a quick nap and a cup of tea we were refreshed and ready to head out for some food. We chose to eat at Piou, a restaurant we had past earlier that day, with a very traditional Parisian vibe and alfresco seating.

The Eiffel Tower by night is just as spectacular as by day, so after our feast we made haste to Champ de Mars. The light show on the hour is not to be missed, nor is the opportunity to enjoy another Nutella crepe while watching the twinkling lights.



Day Two

Chateau du Versailles

We pre-purchased timed entry tickets for Chateau du Versailles, which I would highly recommended to avoid standing in long lines, for €20 each which gave us access to the Chateau, the gardens and the Trianon. We caught the RER C from Bir Hakeim arriving in Versailles 40 minutes later. The Chateau is hard to miss on the short walk from the train station. If all else fails, just follow the people.


The timed ticket meant we headed straight in and through security at our allotted time. We collected our audio guides and began our self-guided tour. Although this was my third visit to Versailles I never get over the access you are granted to the Chateau. It is always the highlight of my holiday!


Lunch was at the cafe Angelina within the palace. It wasn't cheap! So if you are keen to stick to a budget I suggest a packed lunch.

After lunch we headed out into the vast gardens that surround the palace. The gardens of Versailles are so sprawling you could spend the whole day wondering through the landscape, or if you don't have time you can hire a bike or a golf cart to make it a little quicker. We, naively, went on foot. The Trianon are located in the far corner of the estate, its a lovely walk past the grand canal and up the tree-lined road. In all my visits I had never been inside the Grand Trianon or the Petit Trianon. It was a real treat to explore Marie Antoinette's Estate and the English inspired gardens.




We headed back into Paris as we had planned to indulge in some traditional French cuisine at Chez Germaine. The small restaurant in Ecole-Militare offers a small menu with really wonderful food. We chose escargot and a baked camembert for the entree, and duck confit and squid's ink risotto for our mains. I would definitely go back there again! The service is friendly, the food is legendary.


Day Three

Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées

On this, our third day in Paris, we had planned to climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe to take in the view. That particular day also happened to be the most foggy and rainy day of the trip. As the Eiffel Tower disappeared from view, we made the decision to instead endure the rain from the Champs-Élysées. With a quick stop at Laduree for some macarons, Sephora to admire the cosmetics and Pomme du Pain for lunch, we made it to the Jardin des Tuileries a little bit grumpy and a lot wet. We headed back to the hotel for a quick rest before returning to the Jardin des Tuileries a couple of hours later.




Musee du Louvre

It has been an inside joke for years that every time I visit Paris I manage to see a little more of the Louvre than the previous trip. Once again, we pre-booked our timed-entry tickets online so we had priority entry.
Note: You can actually enter the Louvre prior to the entry time on your ticket. The time only dictates when you can scan into the exhibition halls. So arrive early, maximise your time and enjoy the full experience!


                                                                 Musee du Louvre

We booked our entry for 5:30pm on the late night Friday, with the full intention of seeing the whole museum. With 3 hours (not including a small dinner break) we had to move at a fairly brisk pace to cover as much ground as possible.

A highlight for me was walking through Napoleon III Apartments, which I was completely ignorant of their existence.

While we could have potentially seen every inch of the building, after 2 hours of climbing up and down stairs, lining up to see the Mona Lisa, and hitting multiple dead ends, we found ourselves exhausted and slumped on a bench in front of Liberty Leading the People having covered only 3/4 of the museum. We both agreed the Musee du Louvre is a full day experience!




Day Four

Our final day in Paris was dedicated to sleep, packing and getting to the airport on time. The only hiccup in the plan was the track work on the airport line that found us scrambling to get out of Gard du Nord and into an Uber. Thankfully we made it just in time for one more coffee and nutella pastry!

Au revoir Paris, a bientot!