Gran Canaria comes through.

Hi hunnies, it is so hot in England it's crazy, I'm not going to lie, I cannot wait to put a coat and jumper on - the sweaty life just isn't a vibe. So I have recently just arrived home from my 7 day holiday in Gran Canaria with Kyle (who is my boyfriend, if you didn't know already). We honestly had the most amazing time ever and I can't wait to share with you what we got up to. 

This paragraph is going to be a little bit of a cringe one, so if you're not a fan, I suggest you skip to the next paragraph. However, this should apply to the majority of girls, even some boys. I don't know about you, but the Instagram accounts that I follow are mainly girls. Girls who broadcast the most amazing lifestyles, an endless wardrobe of fabulous clothes and a body to die for, with a gorgeous face to go with it. Of course, social media is only a representation of someones life, as we choose how we want people to view us but never know what goes on behind closed doors. But of course it is summer, so all the bloggers are posting the latest release of a brands bikini line and Kylie Jenner showing us her after baby-bod - which is a dream. It can make a girl feel a little self-conscious, you want to be able to take that bikini pic without any rolls just as 'she' did. I'm not going to lie, I got wrapped up in it quite a bit. I would moan about my figure 24/7, cry to Kyle because I want to look a certain way but instead I ask him to take me to McDonald's. If you know me well, I am the most laziest person - not one of my best qualities - and it took a lot but I joined the gym. I went to the gym for about 2 and a half months before we went on holiday, so I didn't have long to make a drastic change. But I did feel healthier in my self and I started to enjoy it, but then I got addicted to calorie counting and some days I wouldn't even eat - which is a very bad/unhealthy way to loose weight. In the end, I did see a change in my figure and felt comfortable enough to wear a bikini on holiday (before I started the gym, I couldn't even try on bikinis because I was so self-conscious about my figure, I didn't even want to see it myself). Then when I went on holiday, I felt like I hit reality. It can sound so over exaggerated but I felt as if I was trapped in a world that wasn’t real and I broke free of it. It is so self explanatory and obvious, but Im just a normal girl. It made me realise that there was nothing wrong with the way I looked before going to the gym, I just made myself believe that there was. I saw girls, just like me, that would sit up and not have the flattest stomach in the world. I compared my body to girls who had either paid money to look like that or girls who had just simply worked harder than me in the gym for a longer period of time. I believe that anyone has the power and ability to look a certain way, you just have to have the motivation and self confidence to do so. I am not throwing shade on Instagram bloggers at all because, if I had their figure I would want to show it off too! I am just trying to say, don't get wrapped up in that world of jealousy and feeling like you need to have a certain body shape like I did - some figures can be unrealistic to aspire to because they are fake. But then some work hard for them, for example, Steph Fit on Instagram is amazing, she has meal plans and fitness routines you can follow. As long as you are confident in yourself, that is all that matters. Slay that bikini bod of yours!! Right lets get on with it shall we, off to Gran Canaria we go! 

Me and Kyle always fly from Birmingham Airport, even though we have a couple of choices. We are just comfortable with it and have flown from there to all of our previous getaways. I love the travel day, some people hate it because of how long it is, but for me I'm literally like a little girl. I get so excited when I wake up, get ready in my airport attire and set off. We always go to the Weatherspoon's type of bit and have a couple of drinks before the flight - which ends up me being tipsy off 2 glasses of wine, typical.

The hotel we stayed at was called Labranda Marieta, in Playa de Ingles part of Gran Canaria. Me and Kyle never think we can better the hotel we previously stay at, but we just keep surprising ourselves. Oh it was so beautiful. When looking online the rooftop area sold me and it didn't let me down. We always stay all inclusive, as Kyle eats so much and its just nicer to have free cocktails and drinks all day and evening - works out cheaper as well in the long run. 'All Inclusive' terms are different at each hotel, with Marieta, only 3 types of cocktails were in the deal and unbranded spirits. Whereas, in Tenerife at Ole Tropical everything on the drinks menu was included in terms of all inclusive. However, this was no a problem whatsoever - strawberry daiquiri's and tequila sunrises were an everyday drink and it hit the spot. Our room was amazing, so spacious and clean. The entire hotel was incredibly CLEAN!!! I can't express to you how much they keep on top of it all, its amazing. The hotel is very modern, which I love. , which me and Kyle agreed we won't be doing again. We really wanted to just relax this holiday and de-stress, so adults only seemed great at the time of booking it - it was great as well for the first day or 2. There was a main pool with sun loungers and a bar downstairs and then 2 plunge pools, sun loungers, beds and bar on the rooftop. Now the rooftop is beautiful, the views are amazing and the décor is so modern and classy. However, there is no music and it is very silent, very very silent. Whereas the downstairs pool was much more of our sort of vibe, played music and done activities like water aerobics which was fun. So ironically, the majority of the holiday was spent by the main pool - but the rooftop was still breathtakingly beautiful and I loved it so much! 

 Hotel Marieta was an adult only hotel, which me and Kyle both agreed we won't be doing again. We really wanted to just relax this holiday and de-stress, so adults only seemed great at the time of booking it - it was great as well for the first day or 2. There was a main pool with sun loungers and a bar downstairs and then 2 plunge pools, sun loungers, beds and bar on the rooftop. Now the rooftop is beautiful, the views are amazing and the décor is so modern and classy. However, there is no music and it is very silent, very very silent. Whereas the downstairs pool area was much more of our sort of vibe, played music and had activities like water aerobics which was fun. So ironically, the majority of the holiday was spent by the main pool - but the rooftop was still breathtakingly beautiful and I loved it so much! 

The food was lovely, something different everyday. A buffet is so hard because I just want to have a bit of everything and then I go up about 10 times, Kyle goes up to get ice cream god knows how many times. Again the food hall was so clean and the outdoor area to eat was lovely. We paid for cocktails once at the rooftop bar, on the first night and they were so yummy. 

Not going to lie, we wanted this holiday so we could just spend time with one another and focus on us and relax. I had finally just finished my 3rd year of sixth form (FINALLY) and Kyle just wanted to relax from his work, so we didn't get up to crazy amounts of activities. Our hotel had a central location and was only a 10 minute walk to the beach, bars and restaurants. We would walk round the town area by the beach every night, as it was something to do and nice to get out. The beach was lovely, such nice sand and there was good waves so we had quite a laugh as we would jump into them before they crashed to the shore. OMG the most embarrassing thing happened, my leopard print bikini was quite a loose fit, and I jumped into one of the waves and when I stood up I was NAKED!!!! Both my bikini top and bottoms had come down.... Kyle just started laughing hysterically at me!! I just laughed too because it was so funny, but so embarrassing at the same time. It didn't stop me from having fun though, I just had to hold my bikini when a wave would come. We looked at doing some water sports but it was ridiculously expensive compared to Tenerife, we went on a 45 minute Jet ski safari from around 40 euros each. Whereas Gran Canaria was 30 euros for 10 minutes, so we said we would rather spend the money on some more cocktails and shisha.

 The strip was nice, so many different restaurants and bars to choose from. We found a shisha and cocktail bar that we loved and ended up going there quite a few of the nights, it was called Mono Shisha bar. We had a such a laugh on this holiday it was lovely, let our hair down. We ended up meeting a few couples which was nice, one of the couples we met we went out with to Mono and it was such a good night! The girl I met is an amazing Instagram blogger, if you don't follow her already go check her out: sarah_tiffney 

 On one of the mornings, we took a walk up to the sand dunes. It was crazy, the first time I had ever seen sand dunes before. We made the best decision going in the morning as it wasn't as hot, so the sand was bearable to walk on and we wouldn't get as hot. 

As we were all inclusive, we received one free use of the spa at the hotel. It was so peaceful and quite, it had a salt pool, large jacuzzi pool with sprays, sauna and steam room. 

 One of the nights we played some mini golf, which was fun to do. It was a good course as well, we went at about 9.30 in the evening and it was still quite busy. Of course Kyle won, but I wasn't far off. 

 We had booked to go to Aqua Land, the closest water park! It was such a fun day, we only stayed until we had been on all the slides we had wanted to and then left. We didn't see the point in getting sun beds when you can just use the sunbeds back at the hotel, but it was a good water park. 

 We always go on a 'date night', where we wear our best outfits, get glammed up and go out for dinner and drinks. Oh it was a perfect night. We went to the most beautiful restaurant, sat with the view of the sea. The meals were to die for, I had chargrilled chicken breast with grilled vegetables and mash potato. Kyle, shock, had a burger - nothing new. We then spent the rest of the evening at Mono Shisha bar and then took a slow walk back to the hotel. 

That evening was definitely a perfect one, and so was the rest of our holiday. I couldn't of asked for anything more, the hotel was beautiful and it was in the most perfect location. I think I have covered everything that we got up to on our holibobs, I am going to be posting a holiday lookbook blog post of all the outfits I wore. 

Thank you so much for taking your time to read my blogs, I know I take time in posting them and don't do them as frequent, but I want to make sure I publish good content for you. I love you all so much huns and appreciate all the support and love you give me. Until next time, Im gunna love ya and leave ya. 

Lots of love Els xx