So I'll Never Forget...

Today is my final day in Madrid and I still hadn't bought anything to keep as a lasting memory of the trip. However that was soon to change, whilst in a little shop in the town I am living in I spotted this bracelet. It is the colours of the Spanish flag and has a cute little elephant charm. It's perfect! I am even more pleased that I found it in a shop in the town I have lived in for 6 weeks, as it makes it even more significant. 

Lots of love,

Hayley x 

An Evening at The Royal Palace of Madrid

Well not quite... More like a quick 10 minutes of taking a few pictures after seeing the never ending queue to get inside. Nevertheless it was a beautiful palace to see. After seeing the palace me and my friend, who is a fellow Au Pair, endulged in some retail therapy and McDonald's eating before heading home. Find pictures of the palace below... 

Lots of love, 

Hayley x 

My Halfway Mark

Today is the halfway mark to my Madrid adventure. I have been here exactly 21 days. On one hand I can say that the time has flown past, I honestly don't know where the days have gone. On the other hand I feel like I left home months ago. That's probably just the homesickness kicking in though...

So far I have had an amazing time in Madrid. Being an Au Pair, I will obviously admit that some mornings I wake up feeling totally unprepared for the day ahead of me but then, on an evening I realise that I had nothing to worry about. After hearing some horror stories, I am grateful to have such a kind host family! 

So, I've got exactly three weeks left until I go home and I certainly plan to make the most of it! This evening I am going into Madrid with a few friends to do a bit of sightseeing, so I'll be sure to make a blog post about that with lots of pictures. 

Lots of love,

Hayley x 

I Visited Monasterio de El Escorial

On the drive from Madrid Airport to my host family's home, one of the first things my host mum told me was about Monasterio De El Escorial. It is one of the most famous renaissance architectures of Europe and was built in the 1500's. So this week my host family took me on an evening trip to see the monastery, and it certainly did not disappoint! It is beautiful. I walked around it for at least an hour just taking it all in. It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad that I had the chance to visit it whilst in Madrid. 

 

Until next time,

Hayley x 

Madrid Adventures Week 1

I was told by a friend who was once an Au Pair that 'the first week is hard but you will get through it.' Here I am, 9 days in, and I'm alive and feeling pretty good! Yes I've dealt with tantrums and tears but I've also enjoyed playing games and getting to know the children I am looking after. 

On my days off I am able to explore the city of Madrid, and I do so with other Au Pairs that I meet through Facebook. (Sounds dodgy, I know, but it's legit!) On Sunday I visited Buen Retiro Park and Temple of Debod with two other girls. Here are some pictures that were taken on the day. 

I plan to write at least one blog post a week about my little Madrid adventure, and my experience of being an Au Pair. I would write more, however me and the internet connection here are not the best of friends...

Until next time.

Hayley x

I'M AN AU-PAIR

Sorry I haven't blogged since Monday, it's been a hectic week! Let me fill you in on what's been happening in my life...

On Wednesday, I traveled from my hometown in England to Madrid to be an Au pair for the remaining duration of summer. I must admit that I had very big expectations for this trip. In the lead up to my little adventure all I could think about was how much fun I was going to have. However, on my first day of working as an Au pair those thoughts vanished and were replaced with woes and worries. My main concern being the language. I will tell you now I do not speak Spanish therefore it was a little overwhelming when I was faced with a small army of aunties, uncles and grandparents speaking to me and I could not understand a word of what they were saying. 

Fortunately I am not someone to shy away from my thoughts and although it took a lot of courage on Thursday evening I spoke to my host mother and voiced my concerns. I'm very glad I did this because the following day was great! I am really being made to feel part of the family, I get along well with the children and parents and I am beginning to feel more settled in. 

I'm writing this blog post as I lay on my sun lounger by the pool, thoroughly making the most of my weekend off. It is paradise, minus the one too many wasps... Tomorrow I am meeting up with another Au pair in the city to explore together, so I will definitely make a blog post about it! (Which will hopefully be a little bit more exciting than this one.) 

That's about it for now, I think! 

Lots of love, 

Hayley X

My Three Holiday Beauty Essentials

Here are my three must have holiday beauty essentials. They're key to keeping me feeling refreshed and looking composed rather than, quite frankly, a humidity stricken, chaos.

Body Shop Vineyard Peach Body Mist 

This gorgeous sweet fruity fragrance is my favourite odour for summer! My Mum bought me this a few months back and as soon as I smelt the fresh, dreamy and almost delicious scent, I knew that I had to save it for my holidays. This fragrance is quite strong however as it is so sweet it is not overpowering. Whenever I wear this it gets tons of compliments, which is always a good sign. Most importantly is that the scent stays with you pretty much all day! So I'd say this 100 ml bottle will certainly last at least 3 months and that's if you were wearing it everyday, not bad at all for £7.50. 

VO5 Smoothly Does It Frizz Free Creme

I can only describe my natural hair as a frizzy, curly and untamed mop with a mind of it's own. Over the years I have tried product after product and very few can keep my hair tamed in England's mostly miserable weather, never mind in a hot country! I picked this up in Tesco, specifically for my first holiday of this summer which was earlier this month, for something like £4 which is cheap for a syrum of it's kind. I must admit I was not expecting much purely due to my hairs history for being defiant against frizz taming hair products. However I was pleasantly surprised when I used it for the first time when in Barcelona and it worked just like it claimed to on the box! In the humid weather it kept my hair feeling soft and smooth until the next wash. I was so relieved that I didn't have to spend as much time as usual on my hair as I normally do when on holiday. 

Simple Kind to Skin Replenishing Rich Moisturiser 

As I suffer from sensitive skin I am not very experimental with what moisturisers I use, especially for my face. Simple is a brand that specialises in sensitive skin so I often buy their products and I am yet to have a problem with them. I really love this rich moisturiser because it makes my face feel baby soft and keeps it replenished and moisturised all day. I also find it helps to ease breakouts and make them go away quicker, which is always good! 

Until next time,

Hayley x

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H&M Haul - Last minute bits from H&M before Madrid ☀️

On Wednesday I am travelling to Madrid to be an Au Pair for 6 weeks, which I will talk about in more detail in a blog post or two's time. It's going to be a completely new experience for me and I can't wait to meet my host family and explore the city. 

Today I went to my local city centre intending to get some euros and toiletries, but of course, I couldn't resist buying two last minute dresses to take away with me. Both of these dresses are from H&M and they only set me back by £19 well, £18.98 to be specific... Bargain ey! 

The first dress is this flowery smock dress which I actually bought in a size bigger to make it even more baggy for when I am abroad. That way it will keep me nice and cool in the scorching 30 degree heat. I am also lookin forward to wearing this dress in Autumn for university. This cost £14.99, the more expensive of the two but definitely my favourite.

The second dress I bought is actually a vest I think? Don't worry! I got it in a Large so that it is long enough to wear as a dress. At only £3.99 it is an absolute steal. I only wish there had been more colours as I would have definitely got a few more. 

This is such a small haul but I plan on doing lots more shopping in Madrid. So I'm trying to stop myself from buying things here otherwise my suitcase is certainly going to exceed the luggage weight on the return journey.... I'm ridiculously excited to go to Zara as I've heard it's amazing in Madrid! Expect bigger hauls in the very near future. 

Until next time,

Hayley x