Visiting Es Vedrà in Ibiza

22 August, 2017
Visiting Es Vedrà in Ibiza
How to get to Es Vedrà in Ibiza

Es Vedrà is a 400 metre high limestone, island that is situated just off the south-western coast of Ibiza and remains uninhabited by humans. It was top of my Ibiza bucket list to witness it whilst we were visiting at the start of August and it was absolutely magical.

It may initially seem strange that going to look at a big rock in the middle of the sea was top of my 'to do' list when visiting the famous Balearic party island, but Es Vedrà is an island that is shrouded in mystery and mythical legend. It is said to be the third most magnetic point on Earth, after the North Pole and the Bermuda Triangle. Although there is no scientific evidence to back this up, navigational devices are supposed to go haywire the closer you get to the rocky island. According to popular myths, it was once also the home to the sirens who attempted to lure Ulysses from his ship in Homer's Odyssey and that part of the island was used to build the pyramids in Egypt. My personal favourite myth that is associated with Es Vedrà is that the island is in fact the tip of the sunken civilisation of Atlantis. There have also been many UFO sightings that have been spotted hovering both around limestone island and beneath the sea's surface. A few Ibizan locals now believe that there is a UFO base beneath the island of Es Vedrà as local boats have spotted lights nearby beneath the sea.

It's undeniable that the island omits an unusual healing and mystical energy that stops you in your tracks as soon as it appears on the horizon. It's this energy that draws people from all over the globe to venture to the island for meditation and other spiritual practices. It's truly a place of natural beauty, the most intense energy and ethereal magic that needs to be experienced in person. It's truly too difficult to describe the peace and tranquility that fills the atmosphere around the island. 

How to get to Es Vedrà in Ibiza

How to get to Es Vedrà in Ibiza

Es Vedrà isn't easy to get to, and the only way you're able to get to the perfect viewpoint is by hiring a car in Ibiza. If you type 'Es Vedrà' into your sat nav or smartphone, it'll take you to the west coast of Ibiza and as you reach the coast you'll witness the rocky island appear out of the ocean. If you head towards the Torre de Savinar (the old pirate watchtower), you'll be taken along a winding dirt road that will lead to a small (free!) car park. From here it's just a small, five minute walk to the edge of the cliff where you can admire the elusive wonder in all its glory.

Visting Es Vedrà in Ibiza
How to get to Es Vedrà in Ibiza

If you're feeling particularly energetic, you can also take the journey down to the secret, natural cave of Atlantis. It is a bit of a challenging trek down the cliffside and there are no signposts or maps on the way down to help you navigate your way to it, but I'm told that it is absolutely worth the journey. Unfortunately when we visited Ibiza was in the midst of a heatwave named 'Lucifer' that struck across southern Europe, so it was far to hot for us to attempt the trek. Considering we were told the journey down to Atlantis was tough, I can only imagine how difficult it is to get back up the cliffside to the car park afterwards. However, if I were to ever return to Ibiza, I would definitely attempt the adventure down to Atlantis to see what awaits at the bottom.

Whether you consider yourself as a spiritual being or not, if you're ever in Ibiza make sure you experience the aura of Es Vedrà, because its magic is undeniable.

Visting Es Vedrà in Ibiza

 Dress: Beyond Retro
Glasses: Camden Market



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Disclaimer: We were invited to explore Ibiza with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, but all words and opinions are my own.
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Discovering Ibiza With Enterprise Rent-A-Car

20 August, 2017
Why You Should Hire A Car In Ibiza

At the start of the month, I ticked off destination number 6 of 12 as part of my #Leighs12in12 challenge after a whirlwind trip to Ibiza with four other blogging babes. I mean as soon as I was offered the opportunity to road trip across the Spanish island with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, I did absolutely not keep my cool at all... in fact, I pretty much started pre-planning my outfits in my head before I'd even discussed the finer details!

Believe it or not, Ibiza is a destination I've been eying up the past year or so and it's not for the well-known, non-stop party scene. Granted, I love to drink and I love to dance (only when I drink, FYI), but I also like to be tucked up in bed before 1am and apparently that just isn't acceptable as part of the Ibizan party lifestyle. I've also heard the horror stories of being charged £15 for a bottle of water in a overbearingly hot club... no thank you!

Why You Should Hire A Car In Ibiza

In fact I've been drawn to the quieter side of Ibiza; the white sand beaches, the incredible, rolling hill landscapes, the holistic yoga retreats, the crystal blue sea, the historic hippy quarters and the Instagram-worthy architecture. Sounds pretty dreamy, right?

After a 3:30am wakeup call, I jumped on a coach to Stansted airport to meet the four other girls (Jaye, Lauren, Kelly & Jess) that I only knew via the internet or had only met briefly at events beforehand. There's something about press trips and blog events in general that can stir up a little social anxiety within me. I mean, I was about to be stuck with these girls for the next 72 hours straight, so it'd be pretty awkward if they didn't like me or we just didn't get along at all. Little did I know that just a few hours later that evening we'd be in our hotel wine, sharing wine and gushing about anything and everything, as if we'd been IRL friends for years.

Growing up in London and living in the city, I've never learnt to drive. In fact, at the grand old age of twenty-six years old I still don't own a provisional driver's licence because I've never had the intention to learn. I suppose it could be down to laziness, but in all honesty I'm also a little terrified to be behind the wheel of a car. Needless to say, I've never been able to rent a car whilst on holiday and in the past I've 'made do' by travelling on foot or battling with public transport. This trip to Ibiza was the first time I've ever experienced the freedom and convenience of exploring a new country by car (thanks to our wonderful and patient driver, Jaye!) and it's really opened up my eyes to new possibilities when travelling abroad. In fact, it's inspired me to finally take the plunge and start learning to drive, just so I can start exploring by car when travelling abroad!

After touching down in Ibiza, we headed straight over to the Enterprise stand which is clearly signposted opposite the baggage claim. After confirming our booking, we made our way to the pick-up point where we were introduced to our swish automatic Mercedes B-Class, which made the perfect ride for our few days on the island. I've put together a few benefits of renting a car whilst visiting the Balearic Island...

Why You Should Hire A Car In Ibiza

Public transport can be confusing


We all know just how awkward it can sometimes be to trying to navigate public transport in a foreign country. Sometimes it can be a challenge trying to work out which ticket to purchase because of a language barrier, and sometimes you can end up jumping on the wrong train. Having a rental car to hand whilst on holiday means you don't have to worry about working out the maze of the metro or stressing whether you've found the right bus stop. As it happens when we were in Ibiza, I didn't notice one bus drive past us, so I'm not entirely convinced that there's a great public transport system in place on the island. It also means you don't have to rely upon paying for taxis, which can sometimes leave a hefty dent in your wallet. For places such as Ibiza, where taxi fares are notoriously expensive, a rental car can sometimes be the most budget-friendly option.

You can explore more 'off-the-beaten track' destinations


It didn't take us long before we headed off-road in our trusty bright white Mercedes B-Class and came back with it absolutely covered in dust, so it began to resemble all of the other dust-covered cars across the island. In Ibiza we found a lot of the places that we wanted to visit were not accessible by public transport, including the viewpoint of Es Vedrà, and the rental car allowed us to visit spots that we would not have been able to experience otherwise. On our final night we visited the gorgeous Can Domingo Italian restaurant, which was so remote that we had to drive down a winding, dusty road into the hills. If it wasn't for our car, we would have never have been able to visit.

You can blast a kick ass, road trip soundtrack

Before jetting off, we all contributed towards an 'Ibiza Road Trip' Spotify playlist, so we could spend the longer journeys singing at the top of our lungs and getting in the spirit for our day of exploring the island. Obviously, we had the Vengaboy's "We're Going To Ibiza" right at the top of our playlist!

You can store as much as you like in the car


The car also doubled up as great for a storage facility throughout the day. A trip with five bloggers meant various outfit changes throughout the day and rather than dragging everything around in an overloaded bag, we were able to leave our beach gear, extra bottles of water and extra outfits in the boot of the car. This made our journeys once we left the car a lot lighter and easier! The only thing I would not recommend is leaving any valuables, including cameras and laptops, inside the car just in case it's broken into and they're stolen. It's never worth risking leaving anything behind that you cannot afford to replace.

Have you rented a car whilst abroad before?


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Disclaimer: I was invited to Ibiza by Enterprise & Talented Talkers who arranged our transport & trip in exchange for an honest blog post testing out their European rental cars. All words and opinions are my own entirely.
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The Very Best Boy, Our Dude

15 August, 2017

To the very best boy, our Dude,

Our Doodlebum. Our Dudley. Our Google. Our Dudey-boy. Last week, after twelve years of being a part of our family, we finally had to say goodnight to you. You had your entire family beside you as you drifted off, just like you had you had your entire soon-to-be family pick you up from the rescue home all those years ago when you were just a lanky pup. I remember it well as we walked into a kennel full of noisy, excited, barking dogs and then there was you, quiet as anything, standing on your hind legs right at the end peering at us curiously. That was the day we took you home. Last week, we were laying beside you on the ground, we smothered you with kisses and whispered just how utterly and ridiculously loved you were as you drifted off into a slumber. Although it was one of the hardest things we've ever had to face as a family, we couldn't have asked for anything more in those final moments we shared.

There was no long and drawn out suffering in the final chapter of your life. Just a few days beforehand you were bouncing round the garden, barking cheekily and ready to play. Even at thirteen years old, you still had that pup mentality and no sickness took that spirit away from you and that I am thankful for.


I've not known how to deal with the loss of you, so I've done the only thing that's come natural to me, and that is to write.

Although we rescued you, you also rescued us. You came into our broken family after many, many dark years. You were the saving grace for us and although everything hasn't been perfect, it was a heck of a lot better after you trotted into our lives. You were the most gentle and pure creature who would even get upset at the though of hurting a fly; there wasn't one bad or hurtful bone in your body. I would laugh, but I would also feel incredibly sad that strangers would be scared of you simply because of their prejudice and stereotyping towards your breed. Then again, they had never seen you cuddling up lovingly to the pet rabbit, nor had they seen how you'd become the best big foster brother to the many dogs we brought into our home over the years. You absolutely cared for each and every rescue dog that stopped off in our home before they found themselves a permanent loving family.

You were an absolute angel and you were my best friend. You've been in my life since I was fourteen years old, which meant you saw me through every high school crush, been beside me when I thought drinking cider down the park as a youth was acceptable and watched as I moved away from the family home. I can remember feeling so scared after I moved for university that you wouldn't remember me when I visited home, but how wrong I was. You would come trotting over, tail wagging to greet me at the door every single time.

My favourite memory has to be the time I was intentionally walking you to spy on my ultimate high school crush on the track field *stalker alert*, and you bolted towards him so that I lost the grip of your lead. You bounded across the track having the time of your life, whilst I stumbled after you with my trousers falling down, losing a shoe in the process and pretty much all of my dignity in one fell swoop. People around were screaming and running away from you as you ran straight into the sand pit, tail wagging and barking merrily. As the calamity unfolded, I finally managed to wrestle you to the ground whilst the entire track stared at me, including the guy I fancied. It was potentially the most embarrassing moment of my teens, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

I'll also miss the days when I'd return home tipsy from a night at the pub with my friends, and would crawl into the cramped dog bed beside you for a nap. I'll miss the way you used to 'tell us off' if your dinner was running a little late. I'll miss the way you truly believed that you were a lap dog, and you'd clumsily plant yourself on our laps despite your size. I'll miss the way you used to have this strange habit of sticking your head through handbag straps and then proudly walk into the room with a handbag dangling around your neck like you were ready to hit the town. Bloody hell, I just miss you so much already, Dude.


Now, I'm scared to sleep. I'm scared to sleep because I fear that brief moment when I first wake up and I forget. I forget that you're gone. I forget that I can't cuddle you when I'm feeling down. I forget that you won't be there to steal the food from my plate when I look the other way. I forget that you won't be there to greet me at the door with your tail wagging. I blink and then I remember. I remember that you're gone and there is nothing that I can do to fucking change that. It's in that exact moment, it hits you like a ton of bricks right in the stomach and it's like lying on the vet's surgery floor as we lose you all over again.


It's these moments when I briefly forget that are the worst. The habits we've picked up because of your presence around the home, and it's when we perform these habits, such as keeping our food just out of reach of your nose or going to tuck you in at night, to then realise that you're not there.


Dogs really are too darn good for this world, and to me you were the best darn dog. Dogs are there throughout key moments in your life and they never stray from you; they're there through every tough challenge you may face to every joyous moment and achievement. Although I don't think I've ever felt a heartbreak like losing you, I am so thankful that you were a part of my life for so long. We were so blessed that fate brought you into our family and I'll be forever grateful for those twelve heckin' great years that we got so spend with you. We are so, so lucky.

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P.S. Also, I just want to say a huge thank you to the PDSA who helped Dude throughout his lifetime and at the very end.
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SpaSeekers After Work at The May Fair Hotel

06 August, 2017
SpaSeekers After Work at the May Fair Hotel London

I was recently invited along to an intimate, after work spa 'get together' with a few other bloggers at the well known Mayfair Hotel in central London. In all honesty, I had only ever been to one other spa day before in my lifetime, as I've never been much of a 'pamper person'. However, I was really looking forward to unwinding after a long week day in the office after being cramped at a desk for nine hours.

The 5 Star May Fair Hotel opened back in 1927 under the approval of King George V and Queen Mary. At this point it was the first new hotel to open within London in over twenty years and instantly became a favourite amongst the high society of the time. Since then the hotel has expanded beyond the luxurious rooms and suites, and is now home to a restaurant, a spa, a gym and even a screening theatre! Still to this day, the hotel has kept hold of its well-respected reputation and elite clientele.

SpaSeekers After Work at the May Fair Hotel London

I arrived a little late to the party, but upon arrival I was taken to the terrace of the Mayfair Kitchen and greeted with a glass of deliciously refreshing prosecco, which was much welcomed after an incredibly uncomfortable tube journey. An incredible spread of light tapas style nibbles were laid out temptingly before us and I happily overly indulged in all of the vegetarian options available, whilst speaking to some of the team from the May Fair Hotel before my spa treatment. As I arrived last, it seemed only fair that I should wait until the end for my treatment, so I was more than enthusiastic to keep eating and drinking, because it's truly what I do best.

SpaSeekers After Work at the May Fair Hotel London
Several glasses of bubbly and one gin & tonic later, I was escorted down to the tranquil and serene spa facilities. I had opted for a complimentary 30-minute back massage, because quite honestly, who doesn't love a back massage?! I personally suffer with a lot of muscle tension and a persistent trapped nerve in my lower back, so I was hoping a thorough massage would help ease it a little. After completing my medical forms, I was shown into the single treatment room by my masseuse and asked to strip down to my undies and lay face down on the bed. 

My masseuse asked how firm my treatment should be before she began, but as I have a high pain threshold I asked for a medium to high pressure massage. Around ten minutes into it, I actually asked to have the pressure increased a little more, which she was more than happy to abide by. Although my treatment seemed a little less than the thirty minute timeframe, I left the treatment room feeling truly relaxed and my muscles were considerably less tense. 

SpaSeekers After Work at the May Fair Hotel London
The relaxation room at the May Fair Hotel Spa
After my massage treatment I headed to the relaxation room which a couple of the other girls were already enjoying. The relaxation rooms boast the most comfortable curved heated beds that warm your body as you lay back; it's absolutely heavenly, I tell you! After a little time letting my body adjust after the massage, we headed into the sauna, which was predictably steaming hot. I'm not usually one who can handle saunas, or the heat in general, but we managed to sit in there for a good ten minutes or so comfortably before using the crushed ice from the ice fountain to close up our pores.

SpaSeekers After Work at the May Fair Hotel London
The sauna at the May Fair Hotel Spa
As someone who doesn't regularly book spa days or treatments, I really enjoyed my evening at The May Fair hotel. It's rather nice to head there after a long day at work and unwind as it's a lot less busy than a weekend and it's the perfect way to end a stressful, fast-paced weekday. The day after my visit to The May Fair Hotel Spa I did in fact feel incredibly tired (that could well have been down to one too many glasses of bubbly though), but my body felt a lot more comfortable at my desk. After the Spa Seekers event, I would 110% book an evening weekday treatment over the weekend option.

SpaSeekers After Work at the May Fair Hotel London

If you would also like to be in with a chance of winning a #SpaSeekersAfterWork evening at The May Fair Hotel (why wouldn't you?!), then head on over to the SpaSeekers blog to find out more!


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