These two summer months have just been amazing. My summer started off with two weeks of holidays where I went to visit my family in the South of France and Italy – where I also traveled to Tuscany. After a few weeks in Brussels, I left again for an idyllic week in Greece, followed by two weeks in Brussels.
My favourite things about this month:
- Bubble tea: a new boba place opened next to my boyfriend’s place, so needless to say I’ve been indulging in this delicious drink at every occasion! It’s crazy to think that I didn’t like it before! Do you like it?
- Ice cream: with my holidays in Italy and the hot summer weather, ice cream is pretty much the best thing to eat in summer and I love it so much! I usually always go with the same flavours, but during my trip to Italy, I experimented quite a bit and I’m really glad I did!
- Skechers shoes: when we were in Rome, we stopped in a Skechers shop to buy shoes for my sister and I also tried some on… and bought myself a pair. They are soooo comfortable! I’ve used them every day I visited Rome and also when I was in Greece and I will for sure pack them for my upcoming trips!
- Waterstones: it is a British book store that has a branch in Brussels and I just love it! The books all look so beautiful and interesting – even the ones on seemingly dull subjects. I’ve be going a few times over the summer and every time I had to fight the urge to buy pretty much everything – I didn’t always succeed ahah!
My latest trips and adventures
- South of France: as I was saying in my June Review, I started the month of July in the South of France, where I went on a daytrip in the Gorges du Verdon and visited Moustiers-Sainte-Marie and Arles. I already knew those places but it was still really enjoyable to rediscover them.
- Florence, Tuscany and Rome: after the South of France, my boyfriend, my sister, her boyfriend and I went on a 10-day trip through Tuscany and to Rome. I have already talked about our few days in Florence – our first stop – and I’m preparing two separate posts for Tuscany and Rome. It was a fantastic holiday and I loved every minute of it!
- Ghent with friends: when I came back to Brussels, I went to Ghent with some friends. It was a really short drive from Brussels and there was a festival going on – which I wasn’t aware of until we got there. The city is always quite busy but it was a whole other level and I loved to see how they organised it to welcome this music festival. It was a really fun experience!
- Holidays in Greece: in August, I went to Greece for a long week with my boyfriend and I absolutely loved it. We visited Athens and two Cycladic islands: Milos and Paros. It was a fantastic holiday and we did so many amazing things that I just can’t wait to share it on here!
Hobbies and distractions:
- Gilmore Girls: I probably mentioned it in one of my monthly reviews this year, but I’ve been rewatching Gilmore Girls basically the whole year (it takes me a long time to watch a series, I know), and I also watched for the first time the mini-series that takes place 10 years later. I still have mixed feelings about it, but I just loved rewatching Gilmore Girls, it is such a comfort show!
- Where the Crawdads Sing, the movie: in April, I mentioned that I finished reading the book Where the Crawdads Sing by Celia Owens. Well, this month I watched the movie that just came out and quite liked it. I feel like some parts of the book, especially the relationship of the main character with nature and her environment, were not really the focus of the movie, which was a shame, but maybe that’s because the book is usually better than the movie. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts if you watched it!
- Reading: I loved reading this summer, and apart from the many guidebooks that I had, I also read a short book about Greek islands and Normal People by Sally Rooney. I don’t know how I feel about this last one because I feel like everyone was saying how amazing it was but I’m not sure I’m convinced… It was definitely good, but maybe the main characters were not very relatable to me. Have you read it? What did you think?
General thoughts:
Summer is really my favourite time of the year, with the warm weather, long days and holidays, and I feel like I’ve been extremely lucky this year to be able to go on many beautiful holidays – and I’m not even done with them! I also managed to see a lot of my friends, try new places and just enjoy this season exactly in the way that I wanted. Maybe it’s because I was able to wear almost all of my summer outfits, but I feel quite ready to take on the month of September and the first days of autumn. There are still a few summery weeks left so I will, of course, try to make the most of them too!
Looking forward to:
- Portugal: as I said, I still have some holidays left, and I’m leaving soon for Portugal for a road-trip with friends. I can’t wait to discover this country which has been on my bucket list for so long! We’re going to Lisbon and Algarve, so if you have suggestions drop them in the comments!
- Going back to my routine: I have struggled with keeping up with my routines over the summer – understandably – but I’ve also been experimenting with new ones, and I’m actually quite excited for this trial-and-error process of finding out exactly what works for me in order to feel productive and accomplished but not burnt out. Let’s see how it goes!
How were July and August for you? What are you looking forward to?
Also published in July and August:
How I keep my Travel Journal
– A Day in Avignon
– Day Trip in West Cornwall
– Cooling down in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse
Sunny Days with Juliette 
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