Saturday 31 December 2016

The 'doable' travel wishlist

Well, it's safe to say I LOVE exploring & travelling so as the years drawing to a close I am already planning my next adventures. I was planning to title this as 'my 2017 wishlist' but I think I got a little carried away with all the places that I want to go and realised they weren't doable in year lol. So instead it's a wishlist that slowly and surely I'll complete (prays to God to give me the funds to do so) Travelling can be hard because unless you're doing it on your own getting everyone to want to go to the same destinations as you, the same time of work etc can prove difficult. Not forgetting the fact that certain places are places you'd ideally go with a partner & considering I don't have one of those it's not always easy (lol awwwkwarrd).

Anyway, as much as I love a holiday to say - spain, I love holidays that are different. Holidays that aren't just holidays but ones you learn from. Travelling teaches you things that can't be taught in education - difference in cultures, food, drink, styles of living, manners. But anyway, instead of me preaching I'll get to the point.

1. Dubai




Even though I ticked this off my wishlist in 2016, I have a lot of places to recommend to you guys and to be honest I just love talking about the place! It is amazing. You can't drink there but to be honest it is that good that you don't even care. Quick tip, July over there is a KILLER for heat - I went with three friends and our bodies adapted to the 50 degree heat, however locals told us that around January - April is a good time to go. I stayed at Jumeriah beach and it was to die for! My recommendations are: Hilton Dubai Jumeriah beach hotel - the customer service was amazing - I promise you, you will be treated like royalty in this hotel! The cheesecake factory - Once again the service was amazing and not to mention the food, I could not fault a single thing in this restaurant. We stayed for one week and ate there at least three times! Aquaventure Atlantis The Palm - The BEST waterpark I have been to, the rides, the layout, the food and drinks, the view - perfection. Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi - All white with splashes of gold, it was flawless - you get given clothes and scarfs to cover up with (almost died in 50 degree July heat) but it was well worth it. 

2. Iceland

I can't stand the cold but the thought of Iceland really does tickle my fancy. Big puffa jackets with fur hoods, real hot chocolate, ugg boots = heaven. Northern lights, warm blue lagoons, glaciers, waterfalls, caverns, canyons I want to see it all! 

3. Thailand

Hopefully putting my deposit down to city hop in Thailand for 14 days in a few weeks! I have wanted to go for years now! There's so much that I want to do and see here I just hope that 14 days is enough. I have a whole heap planned and will be going with the two girls that I went to Dubai with so I know that it will be amazing! We plan to go to moon parties, eat street food, take yoga classes, visit the grand palace, temples, take boat rides, see elephants, visit national parks - basically everything that can be done there, we want to do lol.

4. New York

I think I speak for the majority when I say that everyone has wanted to visit NYC after watching the Lost in New York home alone as a kid. (or maybe it's just me) I'd love to visit New York in the winter - it looks super cute, well on home alone it does anyway. Walking across the brooklyn bridge, seeing the statue of liberty, shopping, being in times square, watching broadway shows, eating at five guys, visiting central park is a must for me.

As you can tell I love talking about travelling so excuse the long blog, hope you enjoyed it & if anyone has any comments then feel free to comment. Happy New Year guys!
xxx

Thursday 8 December 2016

Should a man pay on the first date?

I'm going to start by saying a HUGE thank you to everyone that read my last blog, the views & comments I had were un-real so thank you it means a lot!!

But back to the point of the blog - earlier today I went to the gym, when I got back home nothing on TV was tickling my fancy so I decided to watch a whole heap of vlogs. You know what it's like once you get on you tube, one video turns into ten and before you know it you've been sat for hours watching them lol. Anyway, I came across a podcast type of vlog where a group of men and women discussed and debated common 2016 questions. One of these was 'should a man pay on the first date'. It had me hooked because I couldn't believe how deep men and women actually look into it. One of my favourite sayings is 'it's not that deep' but boy oh boy it is! Strap yourselves in because if you're anything like me you'll love hearing all the different angles people come from with this question.

I'll start with my personal opinion - I'm all for equality and part of that means that we can't pick and choose when we should be equal with a man and when we shouldn't. I personally think that a man should never be expected to pay the full bill, to me that's hypocritical because as women we strive to be equal to men. I would never in a million years go on a date with a man and bring no money because I'm EXPECTING him to pay and I'd never not see a man again because he didn't pay. (don't get me wrong dating can be pricey as hell so it would be nice if he did)

So, when a man doesn't pay I wouldn't knock any points off him (yes in my head I have a little check list - we all do to a degree.. I think) but when he does pay especially on the first date (boys take note) he gets a whole heap of brownie points just as boys would give girls brownie points for paying. It's a two way thing and that's what some women fail to see. Boys, although we want equality we also still want a little chivalry - a gentleman. Hold the door open for us, maybe pay for the first meal, pull our chair out for us. In contrast to that, men probably want a women that will break the typical cycle and pay for them.

Back to the vlog I watched, one of the girls was adamant that a man should always pay for the first date no matter what. Her argument was that if a man's ran her down and wants her time then he better know that he's paying! If he didn't, she'd pay but never see him again! It was a huuuuge turn off for her. Now for me, that's a little far (but maybe I just can't afford to be so picky lol)

Another woman was saying that if the man asked her out for a first date then she'd 100% expect him to pay, but if she asked him then she'd 100% pay - and to be honest I can kind of back this point. One woman was also saying (and I agree with this so much) that if a man doesn't pay on the first date that she'd question what kind of relationship he wants from her. She'd think that all he wanted was her body because he's not willing to make that effort to impress her. Definitely agree.

Now for the men's perspectives! Ladies, the men thought deep about this! They were saying that the majority of the time they would always pay even if they weren't feeling the girl because they just wouldn't feel right letting the woman pay and because if they did like the woman they'd want to impress her. (kinda cute) But, if a woman didn't even make the gesture of at least showing her purse or pulling out the money then they'd question the date. Apparently (and to be honest this shocked me a bit) there's girls out there that will go to a club with NO money what so ever and 'finesse' a man - end up getting drunk for free, and get home for free. So, to them if you didn't even grab your purse how can they distinguish you from the 'finessers'?

They were also saying that they understand the whole gentleman thing and understand that that's ultimately what most women want but they were offended that some women wouldn't even consider a second date if the man didn't pay for the first one. Their argument was that they're man enough to know that it's good will to pay without a woman hinting it to them. (makes sense to me)
They were also saying that if they paid for the first few dates without the women paying for any then the women were asking for the relationship to fail before it had even begun. Dating can be expensive, so if one week or one month was a bit tight for them then even if they wanted to see the girl they couldn't because they knew that she wouldn't pay!

Everyone will have their own opinion, these kind of questions get me thinking a little so I thought I'd blog it. Hope you enjoyed!

xxx