Kseniia

New Zealand is a pure visual inspiration. Bloggers across the globe travel to remote destinations to capture nature’s wonders in the most breathtaking ways, while we’re lucky to live in a country with epic views, lush greens, glacier lakes, black sand beaches, volcanoes and colossal mountains. Most often we don’t even have to go further than our own backyard to create content, causing major travel envy on Instagram.

Tauranga lures tourists in with its magnificent beaches; Rotorua boasts extraordinary mud pools, geysers and colourful steamy lakes; Taupo relies on its giant lake as a great source of activities for tourists all year round… It might seem that despite being New Zealand’s fourth largest city, landlocked Hamilton will never be that attractive to visitors. But don’t be fooled by the first impression! It’s proximity to Hobbiton is definitely not the only reason to visit Hamilton.

What can one do in under three hours? Well, I can write a short article, for example. Or bake a cake! Or travel from Tauranga to Napier. But can one explore an entire city in three hours? That’s what Alex and I decided to check out on our layover in Qatar back in May.

‘With endless baroque and rococo palaces in turquoise, yellow and pink colours, iconic golden domes of the cathedrals, hundreds of bridges guarded by bronze statues, Russia’s ‘cultural capital’ is the most precious stone in the crown of the world’s largest country. That is the place where all the tsars and aristocrats wanted to live in the past and the place not to be missed today.’ That’s how my article on Saint Petersburg, published in Verve magazine, begins. And no matter how hard I try, I can’t describe this gorgeous city any better:)

We only had around an hour to whizz through the yet sleepy, early morning Arrowtown on our way to Tasman glacier, but you know what? It was enough to make us looking forward to another trip! The cutest lil’ town I have ever seen, that has that magical, enchanted feeling, as if you’ve accidentally took the wrong turn on the highway and found yourself in a new Universe, where everything is so familiar, yet a bit different, like in your favourite children’s book of fairy tales.

I won’t lie, I LOOOOOVE busy weekends – with deadlines, photoshoots, scheduling, going out with friends… With the bloody FOMO syndrome, this iGen curse, hamster wheeling every single day feels like the only way to survive and not to fall behind the crazy life speed. But as winter season calls for blankets, hot tea and books, sometimes it’s just too difficult to resist. And I think, we all deserve this quiet me-time at home, just relaxing and doing nothing. But how do you make sure you take the max out of these two days without the guilt of waisting your time?

Rotorua reminds me of Hermione Granger’s beaded handbag: small from the outside, it was bottomless inside, so she could pack all the supplies she might need one day in it (those included Perkins’ tent, that easily accommodated seven Weasleys and Harry Potter – not sure I really need this detail here, but it’s Harry Potter, you know). Anyway, the population of Rotorua is only 71,700 people. Might look like a sleepy little place. But the truth can’t lie any further from that. You can never have enough time to explore all the activities and entertainments Rotorua has to offer! And I know what I’m talking about – we live in Tauranga. With Rotorua being located only an hour away, it has been our go-to choice for a cool weekend getaway for the last two years.

Let’s be honest, we all enjoy spending money on the person we love the most (ourselves!) every now and then. And when it comes to skincare or makeup products, even the most spontaneous investment is normally worth every penny. Because there is nothing like a soft, kitten-like touch of Giorgio Armani foundation, the ease and grace of applying Chanel eyeliner or the miracles La Prairie caviar creams do to your skin. But does it mean there’s no chance to find something decent in a cheaper category? I totally disagree! And these products I’m currently obsessed with, are the best proof. Affordable, but so effective, convenient and beautiful!

Many years of the ‘Iron Curtain’ regime certainly did no good to Russia as a touristic country. Even those once curious to see the biggest country in the world, the land of untouched nature, severe winters, gargantuan palaces and the most beautiful girls (no biased opinions, just facts) had ditched the dream in favour of more accessible and friendly destinations. But things has changed!