2019 – Page 2 – Lex in the City

La Petite France

June 23, 2019June 23, 2019by Alexa2 Comments

If you read my Brighton blog post, you will know that I opted not to write a blog post about the extent of the London side of my London/Paris birthday trip. Well, I am doing that today again because I have already discussed Paris on this blog, and frankly we didn’t do anything significantly different for this trip compared to my last one; however, I do want to tell y’all about my day trip out of Paris to a different French city: Strasbourg.

Strasbourg gets its name from being on the border of Germany, so it has French and German influences–mainly in the architecture. It was about a two-hour, high-speed train ride out of Gare du Nord in Paris and roundtrip was about $82 per person. Initially, we wanted to go to Brussels for a day to hit three countries in two weeks, but the overall cost and amount of things to do seemed more attractive in Strasbourg.

To be honest, there is not a lot to do in Strasbourg. It is pretty small and the main attraction is the architecture because it looks like it is straight out of Beauty and the Beast (though not the exact location the movie is set in). We spent most of our time taking pictures and walking around because thankfully the weather was amazing that day.

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Adventures

Rainy Day in Brighton

June 9, 2019June 9, 2019by Alexa2 Comments

I am [sadly] back from my 10-day Europe birthday trip, but I could not wait to get a new blog post up for you guys! This time around, I am not going to write a blog post about London as I have done that quite a few times on this blog, but a vlog will be coming in the very near future! However, one of the five days we had in London was spent on a day trip to the coastal town of Brighton. In typical U.K. fashion, it was gray and rainy in this town called Brighton, but–as always–we didn’t let it stop us.

After an emergency layer-shopping trip because we were underdressed (hence the gray long-sleeve), we headed to Nando’s for lunch and down to the beach before the rain hit.

Though the town does not have much to offer besides the main shopping center, the rocky beach, and the Brighton Pier, it’s a cheap and quick option for a day trip out of London. Seriously, the train ride was only an hour and it was $28 per person roundtrip!

As with most places in the world, I am sure it is a lot more lively in the peak summer season or when football (read: soccer) is on. Though I do not see myself visiting again, I would still highly recommend as a day trip option if only to explore more of the U.K.!

What are some other quick day trips in and out of London y’all recommend? Manchester is definitely in the books, but I’m curious to know more. Let me know in the comments!

xx, AE

Adventures

Pop-Up in Fair Park

March 28, 2019March 28, 2019by Alexa2 Comments

Last week, Ilse and I visited Dallas’ latest pop-up exhibition here in Dallas, Rainbow Vomit!! Similar to Sweet Tooth Hotel, we had a timed slot to explore and get as many pictures as humanly possible. There wasn’t really a theme, but it was surprisingly more subtle than the title of the exhibition might suggest.

Given that we arrived about 15 minutes late after traffic, parking, and filling out the waiver at the beginning, we only had 45 minutes to explore so we opted to just take pictures on my phone instead of breaking out the ol’ DSLR (apologies in advance for the quality).

I still preferred the leisurely atmosphere of Psychedelic Robot, but this exhibition was way more relaxed than Sweet Tooth Hotel. It wasn’t very crowded on the Thursday evening we went and the space isn’t big so we did not feel rushed at all. However, if you go on a weekend, I can imagine it can be a madhouse and you will essentially be saying “excuse me” every 15 seconds. So keep that in mind when buying tickets!

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Adventures

Somewhere New

March 7, 2019March 11, 2019by Alexa1 Comment

If you read my post this past Sunday, you will know that I set out to have monthly goals this year instead of a full year’s worth of resolutions. For February, my goal was to go somewhere new. As I explained in my previous post, plans to leave the state fell through, so in order to accomplish this, I decided to take a little hour-ish road trip with my mom down to Waco, Texas to visit Magnolia Market at the Silos. If you watch HGTV, I don’t have to tell you what this is, but in case you don’t, here’s a little synopsis:

This past year, the most popular show on HGTV, “Fixer Upper,” had its final season. It became a fan favorite based on the hilarious couple, Chip and Joanna “Jo” Gaines, not only because of their college-sweetheart dynamic, but their creation process for little less-loved homes in Waco, Texas–home of Baylor University. For the last five years, we have seen Jo’s incredible graphic designs and Chip’s unconventional renovation tactics completely re-establish Waco as a hot spot in Texas. On top of the work they were already doing for the community, they turned their beloved home, Magnolia Farm, into a business. Enter: Magnolia Market at the Silos. You can find (of course) a market, a garden, a bakery, and food trucks galore at this site. There are designated lots for large vehicles and tour buses and you can either pay $10 for parking next to the bakery, or you can follow the signs for free parking in an unpaved lot next to the food truck entrance. There is a also a trolley that will take you into downtown Waco which I will get into later.

◊ Magnolia Market
The market is chock-full of Chip and Joanna’s products from candles to kitchenware to apparel to books!

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