A Parsnip Abroad - Part One

HOLIDAY! CELEBRATE! 

I've got soooo many pictures that I'm going to post this in two parts! We arrived in Lanzarote on Monday. We went with Monarch and everything was very smooth. We were on one of the old planes and my lord those seats were not designed for a large arse! I could only just do up the belt and was generally uncomfortable the whole way, but I love flying so I spent most of my time looking at the clouds and sea!

 Getting to the hotel was very exciting - H10 White Suites is probably the nicest place we've ever stayed (and not just because it's adults only!)

 The garden areas made it all feel very tropical

 We had our own little apartment and it was lovely!

 I forgot to take pictures when we first arrived so this bed is somewhat slept in! Oh and can I just say that this bed was big enough for 3 people easily, it was lush to have such a massive bed!

It's all really well designed and the staff were helpful and friendly. I really enjoyed our stay here!

 On our first night we walked from Playa Dorada (where we were staying) down to Playa Blanca to look around.

 Beautiful!

 I got very excited when I first saw Playa Dorada Beach, I couldn't wait to get onto it!

 My boyfriend hadn't quite got the hang of my camera (or any camera!) at this point, but he got some corkers once he got used to it... you'll see!

 Dress 3xl - Forever 21+

Jacket 22 - New Look

Bag - Primark

BEACH TIME!

 Hallelujah for cotton jumpsuits! Best thing for the beach!

Cover-up L - Primark

Jumpsuit 3xl - Forever 21+

Flip-flops - crocs

 I think my love of bright colours and mixing prints might have rubbed off on my delicious boyfriend!

OH MY GOD LOOK AT THAT WATER!

 Errr..... perfect!

Here I am in all my fat glory (and my favourite swimsuit - my Clements Ribeiro Swan for Evans one!)

 The BF got the hang of my camera and took some great photos for me!

 He is particularly proud of this one!

 I just can't tell you how beautiful the water is at Playa Dorada...

 ....you can see your feet when you're up to your neck, that's how clear and clean it is!

 There is hardly any seaweed or rocks....

 ... and the sand is soft and golden.

 Seriously, we couldn't believe how beautiful this beach is. Admittedly I wasn't expecting Lanzarote to be so beautiful.... I always thought of it as a bit of an English abroad 'do you do chips?' sort of holiday destination, but is was just stunning!

 Perfect cossie

 We followed our beach day up with some pool time... it's a hard life!

 Primark cover-up sheltering my slightly red shoulders!

 

 Anna Scholz dress, ipanema flip flops & Pixi lip-ink

 I am capable of posing

 We were very in love this holiday, it was so relaxing and fun.

 Love love love

 Kissy kissy kissy

 And obligatory silly... obviously!

 You have to love a bar by the beach!

 We had some form of Croquetas pretty much everyday because they were amazing! I wasn't overly impressed with the food in Lanzarote, even in the pricey joints (rubber-chewy calamari in a tapas restaurant on a Spanish Island? Pretty lame!) but these and some of the most amazing ice-cream I have ever tasted kept me happy!

 Paella was a must, obviously!

A bit of balcony star gazing!

 Primark jumpsuit and George swimming costume for another day of beach and pool shenanigans!

 The boyf caught the sun a bit after reading by the pool so he rocked his new Uniqlo t-shirts under a beach umbrella!

 

 I was desperate for some avocado, so a Neapolitan salad made sense.... best meal I had because, well, avocado / mozzarella / tomato with a drizzle of balsamic and a sprinkle of salt = best salad in the world!

 There are LOADS of  Italian restaurants in Lanzarote, and lots of German food too!

 The weather was a bit windy and changeable for the first few days, so we stuck to the heated pool!

 Maxi number two!

 Jacket 22 - New Look

Maxi Dress 20 & bag - Primark

Flip flops - Ipanema

 Totally missed the sky in the background that made me stop to take this picture...

 ...so here it is without our big faces!

 Champagne Sangria nom nom nom

Goyza. Keeping it Spanish.

 For some inexplicable reason, many people fly to a different country with beautiful natural sights and beaches, and then spend all day everyday at their hotel pool sunbathing (not even using the pool) which completely boggles my mind. Rather than tanning myself until I resemble a leather sofa I like to explore a little bit. The mountainous shapes you can see in the distance belong to Fuerteventura, and from Playa Blanca you can hop on a ferry that takes you there in 40 minutes. Time for a dip in the waters of our second Canary Island!

 Cossie of choice for our day out!

 Not having a hotel to go back to while we were over there we made sure we were covered up.... didn't wanna get burnt to a crisp!

 'Take a Picture Trick, I'm on a boat bitch'

 Ferry time!

I don't think the pictures can really do this little area of Corralejo in Fuerteventura justice. These little rock pools were clear, warm and full of beautiful little fish.

We scrambled through and left our bags on the rocks so we could wade in the water.

This little area felt quite secluded and so romantic, as most people were on the beach further down. My boyfriend and I kissed in the shallow warm water and both agreed that this area alone was worth the trip!

 Belly-tastic! By the way, I put moonistat gel (same as lanacane anti-chafe gel) between my thighs every time I took my jumpsuit off, because it made walking around the swimming pools or beaches much smother and less sticky!

 Joy!

 Lovely lovely!

 Eventually we made our way down to the more popular beach and had a swim there. The water was warm and lovely, but it was more rough and rocky than the beach near our hotel so we didn't stay too long!

 Sensible sunning!

 Told you.... more croquetas (and a pina colada!)

 Me looking like a dork!

Fuerteventura (the part we went to anyway) seems more quaint than Lanzarote, it's quieter and not so busy, and it feels very open and natural. It's lovely, but Playa Blanca beach was calling me back.....

Part two coming soon!