happy twenty-thirteen

After an unexpected but well needed break from blogging, I return to you know with some tidbits from my Christmas vay-kay with the family. I had every intention of blogging whilst away, as I copious amounts to share with you, but between the relaxing and enjoyment, I didn't feel my creative juices flowing so here it is, nearly a month later and I'm with you again. I thought I'd share with you some of the very few snaps I took whilst I was away. I was lucky enough to jet off to see my long lost (or haven't seen in a year and a half...) brother all the way in Perth. Although the flight, including the 6 hour stop off half way, is slightly painful - the sunshine and heat that met us as we walked off the plane sure did make it worth it.

View of the Margaret River estuary

Top - Zara • Sunglasses - Miu Miu

View of Perth from King's Park

Our time in Perth consisted of lazy days, sight seeing, quick dips in the cool sea, leisurely strolls (the only pace allowed in 40 degree heat after all) and many, many meals - with cocktails included. All of course, whilst enjoying the proper heat of a summer, apposed to the lame 'summer' we are usually treated to here in England. And thanks to my 50+ SPF suncream, there was no sunburn in sight for this trip. Joy!

We even took a few days and rented a car for a traditional road trip, armed with only a paper map (heaven forbid in the sat nav era) we headed down the south west coast to Margaret River. Famous for it's  many vineyards, it was a necessary destination for my wine-loving parents. And hey, I had a damn good wood oven pizza!

Thanks to the family sense of adventure, the Griswolds have nothing on us, we managed to stumble upon some beautiful spots. Even if we had to retreat back in to the air-conditioned car after a brief 20 minutes exploring over the rocks.

Note to self - either iron your clothes or pack less wrinkle-prone items

King's Park skywalk

Top - Zara • Trousers - Sonia by Sonia Rykiel [similar] • Bag - Chanel • Sunglasses - Miu Miu • Watch - Michael Kors

View from my hotel room across to Kowloon

After 2 weeks in the Australian heat, we then hopped back on the plane for a quick jaunt to Hong Kong. The weather was kind to us, as it was warmer than we anticipated, I like to think they were easing us in to the cooler weather. Although most of the days were slightly hazy, you can't see far past the plethora of high rise buildings anyway. Again, we made sure that we immersed ourselves in all the local restaurants, enjoying some traditional meals alongside some not-so-traditional but well needed burger feasts. As we've been to Hong Kong before, we had ticked off a few of the tourist checklist destinations. This time round we spent the majority of our time in Kowloon soaking up the 'proper Hong Kong atmosphere' as my cousin stated, hitting the beautiful flower market and slightly strange bird market. We then took in the sights from the 100th floor of the world's 5th tallest building (as seen in the photo above) before hitting the shopping mecca for a quick perusal and cheeky Christmas purchase. 

All in all, not a bad way to spend a month. I've included some of my iPhone snaps, as I really was quite poor at toting my camera around, just so you can see some of the beautiful sunny sights, don't hate me too much! Congratulations if you've made it to the end of this post, I look forward to the new year, and sharing it with you of course, and I hope you all welcomed it in with a bang.

A dog and his boat on the Swan River • Margaret River • Our view for Christmas dinner in King's Park

Enjoying the Perth views from the rotating C restaurant • The Bell Tower • A lorra, lorra high rises from Sky 100

The view from my Hong Kong hotel room • A pretty lit up Church • Preparing for my flight home

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