Passion for A Fun Day in Monastiraki

Good morning darlings! Hope that you had a great beauty sleep and have woken up ready to conquer the world! Here is the latest look that we shot downtown Athens in Monastiraki. It was a lot of fun dancing and twisting in the streets, I guess the people passing by thought that I was a weirdo lol. Since the weather is warming up now, it’s time to pack away the winter clothes, thus it was the last opportunity to wear a biker jacket. I got this outfit inspiration from the window display of Miu Miu store in Florence, the mixing and matching of dresses, biker jackets and flats was just heavenly for my eyes. I decided to give it a try. Do let me know what you think? Have you visited Athens before? Until next time, have fun. xoxo ES

 Photography:  Rania Gallianos Divajo Photography

Passion for #leopardtrend and #howiwearit

One warm afternoon in the area of Plaka, downtown Athens, there was a girl who loved to wear spots, the kind known as the leopard print. A trend that keeps on showing up each season and designers can’t seem to get over it. A relationship of a lifetime indeed.  So I invite you to discuss this trend and how you style it on my Instagram @elenaserg by using the #leopardtrend and #howiwear it hashtags. Let’s discuss ideas my dears. Until next time, wishing you a wonderful Friday. xoxo ES 

Passion for The Golden Sunset

This kind of afternoon when you walk around the city admiring the views and searching for new paths and inspiration! There is a certain place downtown Athens where you can watch over the city with the Acropolis standing still in the background.  For these kind of moments you have to go flat, wearing comfortable shoes I mean so I chose to take my new pair of Adidas for a walk in this historical city. I have been working behind closed doors on a secret project which I can’t wait to share with you. So be patient and I will tell you all about it very soon. Until next time, do tell if you have been to Athens and what hidden gems did you discover? xoxo ES

Passion for Florence Day 2

On our last day in Florence we wore up to a gloomy weather which was perfect for spending the morning in the Uffizi Gallery. If you are ever in Florence and wish to visit this gallery make sure you buy your tickets online in advance as the queues here are never ending. Given the circumstances it looked like we would have to wait for around 2 hours in order to buy our tickets, luckily some people have figured it out and they sell tickets to the visitors outside of the gallery for double the price however you are guaranteed to enter immediately, that’s what we did. We spend about two and a half hours in the gallery however you can definitely spend more time. Here you will find the famous works of Sandro Botticelli like the “Birth of Venus” and “La Primavera”. You will also discover famous works of great Italian Artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Giotto and Raffaello just to name a few. The museum hosts a large collection of works from all centuries but its main focus is on the period between 12^th and 17^th centuries.

After the Uffizi Gallery my next destination was to pick up some macarons from Ladurée. I had started this quest from last year in St. Tropez, followed by a visit to the store in New York and now I could not leave without having tried some in Florence. We then went back to the Central Market where we bought a few Italian delicacies to take back home. In the afternoon we caught a train back to Rome where we spent the night at the Courtyard by Marriott Rome Airport Hotel in order to rest before our morning flight back to Athens. The hotel is great for anyone who has an early flight to catch and wants to be close by to the airport. There is also a shuttle bus service which takes you to the airport and back (fee of 6 Euro applies per person/one way). Hope you enjoyed my Italian travel diary. Until next time, enjoy your weekend. xoxo ES

Passion for San Gimignano

The visit to San Gimignano was short but sweet! San Gimignano is a small village in the province of Siena and is also known as the Town of the Fine Towers. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its medieval architecture. The tour consisted of a visit to the San Gimignano 1300 museum which exhibits a ceramic recreation of the city as it existed in the 1300. The Museum is the culmination of the vision of two Master Artists, Michelangelo and Raffaello Rubino who, together with a team of artisans and historians, have faithfully recreated San Gimignano as it once existed. Afterwards we had some free time to explore the city, which is really a masterpiece. I wish I had more time to spend here, hopefully I will visit it again one day soon. Until next time, thank you for reading. xoxo ES

Passion for Siena

Passion for Travel is indeed my greatest passion! On our fourth day in Italy we booked a full day tour to visit Siena and San Gimignano. I had booked the trip through Viator although when I arrived to Florence I had found a booklet of another travel agent that actually offers a better package that included an actual visit to a winery in Chianti and lunch (not included in the Viator package). The first visit was to the Basilica of San Domenico which is also known as the Basilica Cateriniana and is the most important church in the city. Unfortunately no photos were allowed inside. The tour also included a visit to the Piazza del Campo which is the historic center of Siena and is regarded as one of Europe’s greatest medieval squares. The square is constructed in a shell-shape where visitors sit around to enjoy the surrounding beauty. The center is full of restaurants and cafes as well as souvenir shops. This is where the famous Palio horse race takes place. 

The guide then took us to the Contrada della Selva which is a museum inside the Church of Saint Sebastian built in the end of the 15^th century. It is actually a ritual that horse of that Contrada enters the Church to be blessed before the Palio race. Siena also has a smaller version of the Duomo like the one in Florence, known as the Siena Cathedral. It has the form of a Latin cross with a slightly projecting transept, a dome and a bell tower. The exterior and interior are constructed of white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, with addition of red marble on the façade. Afterwards we had some free time to enjoy a light lunch at the Piazza del Campo before heading to our next destination, San Gimignano, which I will share in my next post. Until next time, enjoy! xoxo ES

Passion for Florence Day 1

According to the recent Travelers’ Choice 2014, Florence is number 13 on the list of Top 25 Cities to visit. It is said to be an art historian’s dream destination and I couldn’t agree more after having visited the capital of Tuscany for the first time. My aunt was on a tour of Italy at the same time we were there so we met in the morning on the Piazza della Signoria which is an L-shaped square located in front of the Palazzo Vecchio and is a very central location near to Ponte Vecchio and Piazza del Duomo, as well as the gateway to the Uffizi Gallery. Here you will also find the Fountain of Neptune which was commissioned in 1565 and is the work of the sculptor Bartolomeo Ammannati. We took a walking tour around the most important monuments of Florence and threw a coin at the famous Il Porcellino (Italian "piglet") a Florentine nickname for the bronze fountain of a boar. It is said that visitors to Il Porcellino must put a coin into the boar’s gaping jaws, and the coin must fall through the underlying grating for good luck, you can make your wish and rub the boar’s snout to ensure a return to Florence. Afterwards we had a coffee and wine break and walked around the shops. My aunt had to catch her group later on and we went back to the hotel to rest and get ready for the evening out and about.

In the afternoon we discovered the San Lorenzo market which was very close to our hotel, and comprises of two separate markets, one is the Central Market which is a two-level, indoor food market (here you can buy all sorts of Italian delicacies and spices for pasta and meats). The other is the outdoor market full of stalls selling leather, clothing and souvenirs. It runs from the Church of San Lorenzo along Via Ariento all the way to Via Nazionale. We had dinner at the Trattoria La Madia with cute tables outside, and as the weather was warm enough to sit outside, that’s what we did! Until next time, ciao darlings. xoxo ES

Passion for Rome Day 2

There is a famous saying, that “All roads lead to Rome” and indeed they do. On the second day the weather was beautiful, perfect for walking around and enjoying the surroundings. The first stop was to pass by the famous Colosseum, where visitors come from all the corners of the world just to admire its grandness. I had booked a hotel right in the city center so it would be easy to access all the tourism attractions in a matter of minutes. We stayed at the Hotel ReginaGiovanna located on Via Nazionale which is in a walking distance from the Colosseum, Fontana Di Trevi and the Piazza di Spagna. Rome’s main train station known as the Termini Train Station is less than a kilometer away. The hotel was small but very descent and the location was excellent.

We then headed to Piazza di Spagna which is one of the most famous squares in Rome. Here lies the Fontana della Barcaccia (Fountain of the Old Boat) which is now unfortunately under renovation. I wanted to go back and have a bite to eat at my favourite La Prosciutteria which I had discovered the previous night. You can read the review of this place on Passion for Hospitality blog. In the afternoon we took the train to Florence. I booked the train tickets in advance online as I was worried that there might not be any left due to the Easter so it was very convenient that we didn’t have to wait in line. Coming up next all about our experience in Florence. Until next time, enjoy your weekend. xoxo ES

Passion for The Story of 2014 Wedding Dresses UK - Create your own Royal Wedding

Happy 1^st of May fashionistas! What are your May resolutions? The end of April marked a few special anniversaries, and for you ladies who are preparing for your big day this summer must have celebrated the third year anniversary of Kate Middleton and Prince William, right?! How could any girly girl miss this occasion and the most talked about couple? Raise your hand if you watched the Royal Wedding and secretly dreamed of your Prince Charming and hoping that one day very soon you will be walking the isle to marry the man of your dreams. For those who wish to create their own version of the Royal Wedding, it all begins with choosing your Royal lookalike Wedding Dress, the Cinderella shoes, the carriage, the ….oh! Just wait…let’s start the fairy tale with the Story of the 2014 Wedding Dresses UK that I have picked for you to share my own vision of the Dream Wedding. Do share your thoughts on what your dream wedding is all about! Until next time, love is all around. xoxo ES