fashion me now: Travels

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Tulum Holiday Photo Diary #2

Breakfast at La Luna wearing Zimmerman bikini

Hartwood: 100% worth the wait

Still missing that view.... Charlotte Taylor bikini

Zara shirt, Mango shorts, Larson and Jennings resurgence watch and one red nose.

Mango shorts (old but similar here)and Undrest bikini

Caught in the act!

New friend we adopted for the day

Casa Blanca at La Luna

Delicious cocktails at Posada Margherita

Insane seafood linguine at Hemingways

So from the beautiful Casa Violeta, we moved slightly north up the coast to the equally stunning but very different Cabanas La Luna. Brightly-painted cabanas with multi-coloured hammocks and wooden decks nestled amongst palm trees meant the simple act of eating breakfast every morning on our private deck was a treat.

We missed the food and restaurant from Casa Violeta (La Luna's felt a bit more resort-y and the menu was a bit tired) but the set-up of La Luna couldn't be beaten. You can probably tell an abundance of hammocks went down well too!

So as promised,I've compiled a list of our favourite places we discovered while out there. I loved stumbling across people's personal hints and tips for Tulum before I went so hopefully this will help others in the future. I'd love to hear any of your Tulum suggestions too if anyone has any to add.

Sleeping

Casa Violeta - Mellow, beautiful, cool. Ticks all the boxes

Cabanas La Luna - Multi-coloured, castaway dream

Hemingway - We went for dinner here (see eating below) and the cabanas looked really nice. The stretch of beach isn't quite as dreamy as other places but a good option.

Uno - Really sweet eco huts and camping right on the beach. Lit by candlelight at night and heard good things about the food, juices and yoga.

Eating

Hartwood - You might have to wait over an hour for a table at this ridiculosuly popular haunt but who cares when you have a freshly-made fruit cocktail in hand. And the delicious food definitely lives up to the hype. Make sure to check out the buzzing open-plan kitchen at the back laden with fresh ingredients too. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Posada Margherita - Who knew Italian food in Mexico would be so good. Balmy beach setting, fresh pasta and great cocktails.

El Tabano - Mexican home cooking with a menu written entirely on two enormous blackboards and a fun bar for before and after dinner.

Casa Jaguar - Asian-inspired food in intimate, romantic jungle setting. Experimental cocktails come in massive stone tumblers too which is always fun. Apparently good for breakfast too.

Hemingway - a bit of a secret gem. There's only 4 or 5 tables in this super sweet restaurant on the beach. Really small, fresh Italian menu that they can basically adapt to suit you.

All the Rest

The ruins- get there early to avoid the bus loads of tourists from Cancun that descend around 9.30. A.M which turns the whole experience into a bit of a theme park. We got there at 9 but 8 would have been better.

Cenotes - We didn't end up doing one as we loved hanging on the beach so much with our books but next time I'll be sure to check one out.

Shopping - Tulum town has lots of little shops with all the usual suspects; dream-catchers, pottery, embroidered dresses and textiles. Haggling is o.k and expected so definitely don't just go with the first price offered but equally bear in mind that Tulum isn't super cheap. There are also some smaller shops around Mateo's on the beach road.

Papaya Playa or Zamas for late nights drinks, live music and beach parties.

Tulum, you were great, already looking forward to our next rendez-vous....

All photos by myself and James Wright

Anywhere Anywhere

I love discovering great new sites by like-minded people, especially those that encompass two of my favourite things, travel and food. So I was thrilled to discover just that in Anywhere Anywhere by Londoner turned Angelo (jealous) Phoebe Lovatt after she got in touch about doing a piece on my trip to Goa.

Covering best meals, favourite sundowners and packing essentials, you can read the full interview here. Make sure you check our some of Phoebe's other articles too while you're there. I particularly loved her thoughts on moving to L.A via her travel diary and the affordable travel features such as 100 cool European hotels under £100. Instant running away for the weekend inspiration....

Anywhere Anywhere

Back in Goa for BLAKE LDN

Well, back in spirit at least. No, sadly I'm in London, but I thought I'd share by favourite shot from the campaign I worked on for British knitwear label Blake LDN while in Goa back in October. Taken outside the Priest's House at Elsewhere in North Goa (our abode for the final 4 days of our dreamy trip), this shot instantly transports me back to those lazy days spent beneath the palms. I think that combination of orange and duck egg blue will always remind me of our time in India now.

Those of you that follow me on Instagram and Twitter will have had a preview of this shot yesterday. If you're not a follower already, you can find me at @lucywilliams02 on Instagram and at @Fashion_Me_Now on twitter.

Ph by James Wright

India Photo Diary X 1

A couple of weeks ago, after a huge amount of anticipation and excited calender-watching, the departure date for my trip to India finally arrived. And so, just as the mercury started dropping towards zero in London, I practically skipped to Heathrow and headed to the Southernly state of Goa for a dreamy 10-day holiday and some much needed winter sun.

After a bumpy start (those of you follow me on Twitter will already know our bags spent the first few days stranded in Mumbai thanks to British Airways), we had an amazing time staying in magical places (details below), lazing around in hammocks and eating our weight in freshly caught seafood and masala omelettes.

As ever, a number of faithful cameras came with us and below is the first batch of photos from the trip, with more to follow later this week.

Outside our beautiful beach house at Elsewhere in North Goa, wearing favourite dress borrowed from the lovely Charlie of My Little Eye blog.

The bar at the wonderful Vivenda dos Palhacos where we stayed for our first 3 days.

The welcome at Yoga Magic. Bye bye shoes for 2 days.

Elephants at the Anjuna flea market, one of which came home with me in my suitcase....

Afternoon stroll on Majorda beach, wearing dress from Free People. I couldn't find exact dress annoyingly but this one here is a pretty good substitute and another one I had my eye on.