Month: August 2019

SOUL SEARCHING IN NEW YORK !!!

In this post, I’m in the heart of Soho, New York (on 45 Crosby street to be precise) at c. 6:30 am, soul searching… on a bicycle! SoulCycle is a class I’ve been meaning to try for ages, having seen countless friends & clients back in London rave about it. So here I am, a bit too excited to be booked in to the super-early-morning class (though theres one even earlier!), burdened with jet lag and crammed into a miniature studio along with a large group of seriously energetic pre-office New Yorkers. Here follows my review, but since guests aren’t permitted to take any photos inside the studio, I thought I’d include these amazing photos of the view of New York, all taken from the roof terrace of my stunning hotel, The Mondrian. I wore the lovely new collection from an old favourite, Striders Edge for my SoulCycle class, and a pair pink summery Asics trainers and for a cheeky drink on the terrace too! See more BELOW…

As a matter of principle, I always share my honest views on FitnessOnToast and I try not to write too much negative ‘blah blah’ (because who likes a moaner?!), instead focussing on the positives that I want to communicate; perhaps it was the fact that I’ve heard so many great things about it, or maybe I was a little jet lagged but I still couldn’t help to feel slightly disappointed during and after the class. Below is my run down of my SoulCycle experience – good and bad so I apologise in advance to all the serious fans out there!

1) THE STUDIO:
Though I don’t suffer from claustrophobia, I could certainly associate with a sufferer, as we were packed in like veritable sardines – especially noticeable every time the guy in front of me sat down, which required some emergency manoeuvres to avoid my face crashing into his behind! Not only was this very annoying, but it also interrupted the focus and attack with which I could approach my cycling. Even though there was air-con (of course, it’s New York!), somehow the air still felt humid and smelt a little damp. I kept questioning ‘Am I sweating or am I just reacting to the sauna/sardine situation?!’. The physical location then, isn’t a comfortable experience.

2) THE INTENSITY:  
This is the strong point. The 45-minute class was a powerful and tough hit of exercise, and is clearly adaptable to suit both the likes of Victoria Pendleton or just little old me. Innovatively, my session also included an upper body workout, which surprised me, and I certainly enjoyed; they use one-pound weights to punctuate the arm motions. I very much wish there’d been a heavier option too, though having said that it is actually more challenging than I thought, and due to the lack of space, you’re likely to wallop someone in the head during this part! I took one on the arm – a full body session then!

3) THE FEEL:
Our instructor, Michael was eye candy for sure, outrageously enthusiastic and his selection of music was exceptional – it all created a far more energetic and charged group atmosphere as a result. I love to be challenged in group exercise classes like barre and yoga, and although this was my first and only SoulCycle class, it’s clear that there’s a real sense of community, camaraderie, and loyal devotees – the pounding music, the focussed vibe, the constant shouting of encouragement every 5 minutes. It’s a proper dose of fitness motivation, in a way that only America can manage!

4) OTHER THOUGHTS:
Granny alert; I felt the music at times was a touch too loud, especially when the instructor was shouting on top of the music (deafening) and I still couldn’t hear what he was saying?! To balance that though, I absolutely loved the delicious scented candles, endless fluffy towels, all the extras – hair bands, chewing gum and generous indulgent grooming products.

5) WHY TO CYCLE IN THE FIRST PLACE?
There are so many benefits of cycling – it’s a great form of cardio training, it burns calories (c. 120calories per mile), elevates the heart rate, lowers blood pressure, and compared to running which puts a lot of stress on the body (especially the knees), cycling is very low impact exercise and is far kinder to your joints. It builds stamina and strength, with fewer injuries along the way. If you’re worried about losing precious muscle mass because of the CV, don’t be, as cycling actually develops muscle, especially in the lower body as power is generated by the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes, which will fuel additional calorie burn even after the journey has ended. It will also stimulate the production of HGH (human growth hormone), and remember, muscle burns more calories at rest than fat, so this is exercise that keeps giving! Get more on cycling in my previous post HERE

For the record, one SoulCycle class cost $32 (not at all cheap) and doesn’t include the mandatory cycling shoes, an additional $3. It’s definitely worth giving it a shot, as it is a unique experience, and you certainly burn calories!

 

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SHOTS AT THE EQUINOX BARRE !!!

I was recently invited by Get the Gloss to attend my first Inside Out Barre class at Equinox, on High Street Kensington. I always enjoy a session at Equinox, partly because it’s one of the few gyms in London that’s not housed in a Bat-cave basement, but instead enjoys pride of place high up on the second floor of the historic Art Deco ‘Derry and Toms building‘, bathing in natural sunlight thanks to huge windows in pretty much every room. And the weights zone is positively oceanic by London’s standards. The whole place enjoys a ‘look and feel’ that the Americans just do better!…

As I say, this was my first Barre class and it involved a very broad mix of fitness elements including conditioning intervals, stretching, isometric holds and core work. The movements all take their inspiration from the disciplines of Pilates, Yoga, and Ballet; the fused result is a targeted, full-body workout using very little equipment – most of the session took place by a ballet barre and on a mat using your own bodyweight. The goal of the class, as it was explained, was to lengthen & strengthen muscles as well as improving posture and flexibility – creating longer, leaner muscles. The repetition of these movements both at the barre and on the mat, should ‘fatigue every major muscle group’. For example while standing by the barre our instructor Nicola had us squatting endlessly followed by pulsing and isometric holds, all along with emphasis on posture and teqnique; you certainly feel your glutes working! After pretty much every exercise, some active stretching compounds the fatigue and works to increase flexibility and elongate the muscles. It’s not a class from which you come away feeling utterly destroyed from a cardio perspective, but I like to think it’s more an exercise in conditioning the body.

After the class, Equinox laid on some fantastic hospitality at their Lounge, where the mixologists freestyled to create some impossibly delicious post-workout healthy drinks!

For the event I wore a Falke ensemble comprising the following:

Top
Zip top (similar here)
Pants (similar here)

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LONGCHAMP ON TOAST !!!

I’m super excited to share with you the photos from my collaboration with Selfridges and Longchamp, one of my absolute favourite fashion houses; to me, their brand speaks of classic 70’s glamour, which felt so appropriate for the South of France. We shot these images a fortnight ago as the Riviera sun rose at dawn, whilst enjoying a sun-soaked stroll along Cap Ferrat’s famous Chemin de la Carrière; the route is a romantic little cobbled path which meanders all the way around this gorgeous peninsula. Living that close to the ocean means a diet rich in lean protein, and during my long weekend in this little paradise, I very much stuck to that! I receive a lot of emails asking how I feel about ‘summer diets’, so this post tackles how to stay on the healthy ‘straight and narrow’ during the summer months ahead! Click MORE for the shots and my thoughts…

Whilst we train and abstain in the lead-up to summer holidays, once it’s upon us, we enter frenzied ‘holiday mode’ and indulge in everything going. To avoid this comically binary approach to healthy living, the four points below give some colour around how I think about more wholesome nourishment for the body! The word ‘diet’ contains all sorts of unrealistic and futile notions. Regular readers of Fitness On Toast will know that I favour the long-term, sustainable and healthy lifestyle choice of eating clean for most of the time, and indulging in the odd treat on occasion (because you probably can’t live like a monk forever!).

1) FAVOUR ORGANICS: Where possible, I try to buy organic produce from my local grocer. Organic foods are thought to preserve more of the naturally-occurring nutritional value, they certainly have fewer pesticides (chemicals including fungicides, herbicides & insecticides), they’re likely fresher (as they have a shorter shelf life), I’ve found that they’re more often tastier, have fewer/no preservatives and are more environmentally friendly. In the case of eggs, they even LOOK better, with a deep, rich hue of sunset orange in their yolk, rather than that flushed-out yellow of battery hens. In terms of meats, organically reared animals aren’t dosed up with antibiotics, growth hormones, or fed other animal by-products, and the animals roam for far more time outdoors. That HAS to count for something in the long term!

2) STICKING TO IT: Leading the healthy lifestyle that my ethos is all about means committing to healthier choices and sticking to them (the tricky part!). So if you’re introducing more greens, healthy fats and proteins into your diet it only makes sense to ensure you’re buying the highest quality products to optimise your nutrition intake, and more importantly preserve your body’s healthy state.

3) WITH A PURPOSE…: The preferred way is to eat food with a nutritional purpose – nutrient-rich foods that leave you feeling energised in both body and mind. Lean, high quality proteins, plenty of healthy fats and picking at foods all day long – such as berries, nuts and seeds – are the best was to avoid sugar spikes and maintain energy levels. It’s also a great way to maintain muscle and function.

4) DRINK UP: Hydration is critical – drinking plenty of water throughout the day matters alot – it’s involved in every bodily function so of upmost importance! If you have a sweet tooth (guilty), then perhaps drink plenty of green and mint tea with a teaspoon of manuka honey! I love to experiment with making my own green juices (with most ingredients coming from plant-based produce). If possible, I try to avoid highly caffeinated drinks, but I definitely have an espresso before my gym sessions (a fabulous pre workout boost!).

 

From a ‘fitness fashion’ perspective, I specifically chose this bag because it’s the perfect size to carry both my gym kit and beachwear alike, plus it’s also my favourite colour, deep navy blue (which has a very Swedish ‘marine’ feel), and a rich and lustrous sheen to the fabric. It’s just a little more of an enjoyable and glamorous way to turn up to the gym than that supermarket plastic bag, and it makes my workout far more of an occasion too! I’ve paired it with my favourite bikini from Missoni and Hermes scarf (not to mention my favourite Primark ‘mirrored aviator’ sunglasses!), and thought the colours really played off the ocean

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WEARING: 
Bikini: Missoni crochet-knit halter-neck 
Bag: Longchamp Le Pliage Neo Medium – Navy
Scarf: Hermes
Sunglasses: Primark

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GOING COCO-NUTS !!!

I’m addicted to Coconut! Considered by athletes and the health glitterati alike to be the queen of the ‘superfood royal family’, I use it for so much within my daily routine! This post shares some of those tips. It’s fabulously versatile for cooking (think delicious stir-fry’s, breads, curries and desserts), and besides being super-tasty it’s also great to use for nourishing your skin, to balance your digestion, and even as a pre-wash hair conditioner! Read more below…


Poor coconut! With its high saturated fat content, it often gets a bad wrap, and is wrongly accused of being unhealthy, when in reality there are multiple nutritional benefits associated with coconut oils and their rich saturated fats – they can help protect against heart disease, they profess anti-cancerous properties, anti-microbial properties (to help protect against infectious disease), and they can regulate blood sugar levels to balance glycemic peaks and troughs. The concern about the saturated fats is also somewhat of a misconception; there are so many types of saturates. The three basic categories are long, medium and short chain fatty acids and the majority (c. 97%) in our fat and diet is made up of long chain fatty acids. Coconuts, by comparison, are made up of medium chain fatty acids, to which our body responds very differently. These house unique healthy properties and are significantly different to those fats found in many meats and vegetable oils. Plus coconuts have 0 cholesterol (unusual for fatty foods), very little sugar (with a glycemic load of just 1!), and practically 0 salt, as well as being a great source of manganese (for strong bones, blood sugar regulation, & healthy metabolic function).

USE 1: COOKING WITH IT…
Coconut oil is a great ingredient with which to cook as the oil is stable, and can withstand high heat, whereas vegetable oils oxidise quickly and become rancid at high temperatures ( )
Try using it for baking, sautéing, in desserts, or to roast your veggies. I also really love it in my smoothies ?

USE 2: A DIGESTIF
– Coconut really helps to balance your digestion. The oil has been shown to help those who suffer from digestive disorders, both mild and severe. It may also help to improve conditions such as candida. In addition to the oil, the fatty acids have also been shown to help the body absorb other nutrients as well.
– The coconut fruit itself is quick and easy to digest, is rich in fibre, and retains its nutritional value through the entire digestion process, which is especially important for those people who suffer from digestive difficulties.

USE 3: SKINCARE
Coconut butter is a nourishing, hydrating & healing moisturiser for your skin:
A) Everyday – I use it as a daily facial/body moisturiser. The smallest amount goes a long way, as too much starts to get a little too greasy.
B) Natural – whatever you put onto your skin is absorbed by the body, directly into the bloodstream. So whilst I stay clear of eating too many toxins (colouring, flavouring, propylparabens etc), I try to do the same for my skin. Coconut boasts antibacterial properties too which help to deter spots.
C) The skin is thought to “age” through the oxidation of fats that are housed within the skin; coconut acts as an antioxidant. And whilst it’s not a sunblock, the antioxidant properties help to protect the skin from free radical damage caused by the sun.
D) £££ – it’s natural AND at £9 (which lasts c. 4 months, it’s very cost effective on a per-use basis!

USE 4: HAIRCARE
A) Coconut oil smooths hair, and works as a fabulous ‘pre-wash’ hair conditioner. Just massage a little coconut oil into your scalp and let it sit for 5 minutes, then wash your hair as normal. This helps to improve dry scalp conditions and keep the natural moisture locked in, making hair less brittle.
B) Make hair masks with it! Use a small amount of coconut butter on your hair, leave it in overnight and rinse out in the morning. Voila!

YOGA WITH CHARLI !!!

Living and working everyday in the health & fitness world, my ‘uniform’ so to speak, is activewear; I’m in it all day long, every single day, so I’m always on the lookout for something different, comfortable, exciting, inspiring… This post, shot amongst the breathtaking and tranquil gardens of the Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat (still one of my favourite places in the world) highlights an outfit from my latest fitness fashion find, Charli London. Click below to see MORE  

As the months go by, fashion and fitness continue to converge both on and off the catwalk, and going to the gym becomes ever-more the legitimate (and even appropriate) time to dress up; Pucci, Fendi, Armani, McCartney all have gorgeous SS14 fitness lines in the shops at the moment, and other even-higher fashion names are muscling in on the act as well (no pun intended). I’m even toying with the idea of some McQueen printed leggings for some super-extravagant gym chic!

Outside the gym, I don’t typically venture too far outside my ‘fashion comfort zone’, but I regularly switch persona every day with my fitness wear! It’s the one time where you can just go totally crazy-expressive, and vary your look drastically from day to day. I’ll comfortably wear bright neon colours, bold and outlandish printed patterns, garish t-shirt prints, and sometimes just team them with more classic and subtle pieces to fuse the overall look together.

One of my recent discoveries is the UK-based brand Charli London, whose creations indulge the body in some of the most sumptuous materials; impossibly soft cottons, floaty cashmeres and smooth silk blends. The way they mix the fabrics creates super-soft jersey basics with really flattering silhouettes (which I consider perfect for layering, to achieve a proper casual-chic result). I put together this super relaxed and comfy outfit from their summer collection for my recent blog trip to Cap Ferrat, where I wanted something loose (breathable), comfortable (deliciously soft) and a bit indulgent too for my morning yoga session.

The heavenly gardens in these pictures were crafted by the world-renowned landscape architect Jean Mus, who coincidentally appears in one of the pictures below – the very well dressed French gentleman who gifted me a beautiful flower It was wonderful to meet him and get an insight into his thinking around the gardens, and what he wanted to conjure up for those who wander! It’s added an extra dimension to my love of this special part of the world.

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UN-CONVENTIONAL MOTIVATION !!!

Motivation alone doesn’t get us fit; it merely helps us to get ourselves fit and then stay there. We need motivation to stick with it and see change. There are so many ways to ‘up’ the motivation factor when it’s lacking, to re-energise and to build an arsenal of new tricks from fitness world’s armory. Personally, I love an engaging nutrition and health book, trying out new classes, and participating in the online fitness community. I get massively inspired looking at fitness models and athletes alike, to whom I aspire; fit girls who squat heavy, or olympians who profess superhuman abilities to run faster, jump higher and swim further. These things really motivate me!

However, for those times when I’m lacking motivation (which does happen!) and the normal sources just don’t cut it, I turn to external stimuli… There’s nothing better than a good Fitness Expo to drum up new ideas and determination; it’s like a supermarket for fitness innovations! This post highlights one that’s coming up in London in a months time, and offers a perfect chance to inject some new motivation to the tired training routine we sometimes find ourselves in!

These events are typically huge all-day exhibitions in cavernous arenas, with dozens of nutrition & apparel companies setting up stands to showcase what’s new and changing in their niche little corner of the fitness world, as well as a packed schedule of speakers who are usually fascinating personalities from the industry.

I’ve been to 3 proper Fitness Conventions in the UK and have found them to be inspirational treasure chests; Bodypower Expo in the Birmingham NEC (which I posted about last year, HERE), UK Running & Fitness Expo in Manchester, and FitPro in London’s ExCel Center. The first 2 have already happened this year, but FitPro 2014 takes place on the 18th-19th July at ExCel London, which will play host to a huge and inspiring, educational fitness convention. It’s not just aimed at industry professionals, but absolutely anyone who loves fitness and wants to discover new things!

It’ll be a great opportunity to get exposure to the perspectives of 100 health & fitness educators, industry experts and professionals. Last year, there were masterclasses, workshops, personal training, as well as chats about nutrition, mind and body, group fitness or business, all of which I found really useful. There’s also the chance to meet some seriously fit, strong (and occasional heavily-bronzed) fitness competitor, as well as seeing a host of nutrition or training products you might like to try out!

WHAT ELSE TO SEE?
If you’re not from London and you come here just for this, there’s so much around ExCel! Take the epic Emirates Air Line (Cable Car) across the Thames to the O2 Millennium Dome, go to Greenwich Market, head into Canary Wharf, and maybe even take a clipper down to the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye, why not?! The Jubilee Line will connect you perfectly to the West End too, via Bond Street station, and from there, the city is your oyster (card).

HOW TO GET THERE?
Luckily, it’s one of the best connected places in London; you can fly into the epic London City Airport (the landing is quite spectacular and it’s only 15 mins away from the ExCel), take the driver-less DLR directly to the ExCel centre’s doors, park your car at one of the car parks in the venue, or even take a Thames Clipper service. You can cycle, and even hopscotch too, if you really want!

WHERE TO STAY?

FOR PROXIMITY TO THE EXCEL

a) Novotel London Excel
b) Ibis London Excel
c) Ramada Hotel & Suites Docklands

FOR LOCATION AT REASONABLE PRICE

a) Holiday Inn Bloomsbury
b) Holiday Inn Mayfair

FOR LUXE APPEAL

a) Bulgari Hotel
b) Intercontinental Park Lane
c) Charlotte Street Hotel
d) Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

Enjoy your trip, and enjoy the learning

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TODAY AT WIMBLEDON !!!

Just a quick little post on today’s fitness-related escapades. Unless you live under a sound-proof rock in England, you’ll know that the Wimbledon Championships are very much happening. Today I was lucky enough to watch the two players who’ve dominated Women’s tennis for nearly a decade, in action – Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova (though not against each other -yet, that’s probably one for the finals!). Both annihilated their opponents, who looked like mere canon fodder!

Both of these women are obviously elite athletes, but both also share a deep love of fashion (and indeed, fitness fashion, each with their own lines – Serena’s here, and Maria’s here) which is clearly an overall ethos that very much appeals to me It was wonderful to see their different interpretations of style within the limiting confines of the strict Wimbledon all-white dress code; ‘deuce’, in that respect… (MORE)

Also it’s worth remembering that as an active workout, you can burn c. 500 calories during an hour of tennis, which may not be as significant as a hardcore ‘hill-sprint’ session, but a) it’s mentally engaging so the hour races by, b) competitively compelling, c) sociable, and d) the actual calorie burn varies ALOT with factors like temperature, humidity, experience levels, player weight etc, so 500cal doesn’t need to be a ceiling!

Today was a wonderful day of sunshine (in patches – it is England after all!), fine tennis, strawberries and all things British! I even picked up a new racket…

A spot of afternoon tea?

 

 

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WEARING:

Jacket – Zara
Blouse – Zara
Trousers – Joseph
Bag – Louis Vuitton
Sunglasses – Prada
Shoes – Topshop
Racket – Babolat ?

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GET A HEAD START !!!

Recently, the team at Head sent me a gorgeous little retro pressie which seemed like the perfect companion for my trip to the South of France. It’s a brilliant white, leather look-and-feel gym holdall called the ‘1989 St. Moritz’, with perforated detailing, leather-grain texturing and chromed hardware which add to the overall feel of quality. As an extra bit of customisation, the tag can be monogrammed (mine has ‘F.O.T’, the initials the blog ) – If you want one, it won’t set you back an arm and a leg either, priced at £45.00 over on Asos, here. Click MORE to get the details and see my delicious breakfast after the stroll!

I took my holdall along as an ‘active’ beach-bag, but it works just as well as my gym-bag back in London! Also, the branding is subtle, by way of that little badge, which feels so much more sophisticated than the comically emblazoned logos of old; it’s a trip into Head’s aesthetic past and also, I think, quite forward looking in its design! After having just seen Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon, who’s own faux-vintage tennis bag is designed by Head, I feel that there’s proper momentum to their glamorous retro-revival!

In these photos (sadly, the last from my trip to St Jean Cap Ferrat) I was going for an early-morning stroll to Paloma Beach and back, followed by a delicious breakfast of fresh berries with plain yoghurt, freshly-squeezed orange juice, salmon and scrambled egg and mint tea.

I wore a beautiful floaty navy linen top with a distinct nautical feel, from my latest discovery, Charli London (featured in my previous post here), along with some lace Zara shorts.

Also in these photos is a super cool bond-villain yacht, remarkable not for its size (which was pretty restrained compared to some of the hulking private cruise liners along that coastline), but its menacing, shark-like poise!

 

So goodbye for another year Cap Ferrat; I’ll miss your gorgeous azure waters, and beautiful tranquility, and look forward to our next encounter!

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AT WIMBLEDON ’14

 

FITNESS ON VOGUE !!!

I’m so thrilled to say that I’ve been featured as one of Teen Vogue’s “8 fitness and health bloggers you need to know“! The Vogue brand is such an inspiration to so many around the world, including myself, and to be mentioned in it (especially in the Teen edition) is enormously flattering, and a bit of a dream really  

I remember being a young, unsure teenage girl when I was growing up, experiencing the pressures of life, wanting to look a certain way but going about it all wrong; to think that FitnessOnToast might help just one girl through that journey is awesome!

Back then, I never stopped to think about how my mind and body really felt at that moment; that’s exactly what this blog is all about – being the healthiest & best version of yourself that you can be, as well as hoping to inspire the young and old to try new delicious healthy produce / recipes, training for strength and performance, taking care of your body and achieving your goals in the process.

You only have one body so invest in it, and it’ll stay ‘in vogue’ for many years to come

 

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MY HEALTHY HOLIDAY ESSENTIALS !!!

I’m delighted to announce that I’ve partnered with O2 Travel for a really exciting project which is currently taking me to the beautiful city of Lisbon, Portugal (Europe’s #1 city break destination!). I’ll be taking part in all things ‘health and fitness’ whilst I’m out there, with a full schedule of active tasks and fitness-based exploration laid out for me! I’ll be sharing my cycle tours, runs, walks and swims of the city, along with the fabled delicious (& healthy) restaurants too! Keep an eye on my Twitter and Instagram to see the mini-updates, and I promise a proper post rounding up the experience here too, soon ? As a little preview, I thought I’d put up my ‘Holiday Travel Essentials’ insight into what I usually like to pack for these little weekend blog trips – click MORE to see it…

I took on this project because I wanted to help de-mystify the confusion that exists around posting snaps and emailing whilst abroad. These days, it’s not just keen bloggers that post content online from overseas; we ALL love to share our holiday experiences with friends & family, and whilst pictures might tell a thousand words, data-intensive videos tell a thousand pictures! “Errr but Faya, isn’t that going to be mind-bogglingly expensive?!”

Hmm. Confession time: I used to be roam-ophobic. I’d instantly switch off ‘data roaming’ even before I stepped foot off the plane, and only ever got my internet fix from the nearest free wifi hotspot. Through bitter past experiences, it had been drilled into me that I’d certainly pay eye-watering sums just to send a mere picture message to my Mum. Roll forward a technological decade and times have very much changed, but so many people still fear the unaffordable ‘roaming monster’! O2 Travel is today’s solution, and unsurprisingly, it’s O2’s data-roaming-in-Europe proposition. It lets you use ALL the data you need in a day for a wallet-friendly £1.99 per day, so that whatever your experiences are on the continent (even with 50 funky videos uploaded to Instagram), you’ll only ever end up paying £1.99 for the days you use data with O2 Travel. No upper limit, which is MUCH more 2014!

That was the bit I had to tell you, and I actually wanted to tell you too! So now here’s my little list of goodies that accompany me for these journeys…

 

1. PHONE: Samsung Galaxy S4 loaded with my O2 Travel App (which has saved me a lot of research, by letting me download TripAdvisor, city guides and maps to my phone – Handy! – get it at the App Store).

2. PASSPORT & WALLET (Panama wallet in Nile blue, and Panama Passport Cover in Nile Blue, both Smythson).

3. MUSIC: via my favourite headphones (Bose QC 20i earphones, with a bit of noise-cancelling for a calm, screaming-children-free sleep on the plane!)

4. A5 NOTEPAD: Picked up my gorgeous cream-coloured one at Wimbledon last week

5. MAGAZINES: Men’s Health isn’t visible, but believe me it’s packed safely under my clothes. I’ve also included this month’s Red Magazine, in which I’ve written a feature about an active Surf Trip to Peniche (fairly close to Lisbon, as it happens!)

6. SNACKS: To avoid eating processed, artificial foods with refined sugar (which are guaranteed to make your blood sugars jump all over the place) why not bring some healthy snack along on your journey! I’ve got nuts (walnuts brazils and cashews) and chia seeds (to help raise the nutritional game of what I might find abroad), and a pack of Lindt 90% dark chocolate. See my previous post on travelling healthier HERE.

7. WATER: Absolutely crucial to stay hydrated, especially in those overly-airconditioned flight cabins! Here are my thoughts on the importance of water…

8. TRAINERS: Crucial, obviously! My trusted companions through holiday runs, hilly hikes and lazy walks. I’ve gone with a patriotic version of the Under Armour Speedform RCs (this version is as yet unreleased, but my friends at Under Armour correctly guessed that I’d love the Swedish colours :D)

9. TRAINING CLOTHES. Some ‘Virus’ range compression gear from Mayfair & Fifth, plus some Under Armour tops and leggings.

10. BIKINI: My latest find from Seafolly to help me through the spa journeys !

11. MEASUREMENTS AND STATS: Since I tend to walk a lot, ‘touristing’ around new cities, my Misfit Shine helps me stay on top of how many steps and how much daily exertion I record. Doubling as a watch, I wear it on my wrist, and it also keeps a check on my sleep patterns! It’s in the evaluation stage, and will get a full review on the blog soon! For now though, it’s certainly a pretty little thing

12. TOILETRIES; as per picture! at the top!

13. THE SUITCASE? My absolute favourite, the Rimowa Classic Flight, which looks so deliciously retro, but is so sturdy, functional, and feels quite glamorous too. Really perfectly sized to carry-on to any flight, and include all that I’ll need for the weekend!

Bon Voyage ? x