Will you pour me one for the road?

eBay Dirndl (blouse, dress, and apron, probably not the technical terms, but essentially a three-piece german lady suit): €24.90. Topshop monk shoes: £27. Brezel: c/o Lauren.

Photos by Lauren.

PROST

I had to save the best till last, didn't I?

When you ask the average person what they think of Germany, the typical answers will be beer, sausage, and the war. After living in Munich for just over six months, that's a pretty accurate trio, and they all boil down to (well, not the war so much) the traditional beer festivals that happen throughout the year. I was absolutely gutted to miss out on Oktoberfest, but my fellow Stylight girls were pretty up for getting a dirndl on and drinking our own weight in helles of a Saturday afternoon. I bought my dirndl from ebay for just over €30 once P&P was added, which is about the same price as a t-shirt in Topshop. You can buy more hardwearing handmade ones from many of the trachten shops (tr: traditional national costume) dotted around town, but with these coming in at well over €100 this was a much more intern-friendly option.

Frühlingsfest takes place in the same park as Oktoberfest, Theresienwiese, in the centre of Munich for about two weeks. We sat inside the main Hippodrom tent without reserving a table, but if you want one for the evening that's definitely a necessity. A one litre Maß costs €8,90 making it a darn sight cheaper than London, and a few of those certainly helped persuade me to head on a few of the fairground rides outside. I'll be back for Oktoberfest, but Frühlingsfest was possibly the best way to end my time in Bavaria in the most cliché way possible.

If all goes to plan (it normally doesn't, so I'm not holding my breath), this ought to be published while I'm up in Liverpool for the weekend. I'll inevitably be instagramming a food diary as it's all so GOOD, so be sure to follow me here, I promise I'll make it look pretty with a couple of filters.

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One day baby we'll be old.

Ark collared shift dress. Marks and Spencer bag: £43. Shoe Zone wedges. Brandy Melville necklace: €6. Brandy Meville heart ring: €4. Jana Reinhardt bird ring.

Photos by Carmen.

Looking back at these photos makes me realise just how lacking my town is in architecture (and Zara, Munich town centre had THREE). This is Marienplatz: the station I changed at to get to the airport, the place I'd often end up at the end of a night out, and pretty darn aesthetically pleasing to boot. Like the Houses of Parliament, it's a political building, but they moved across the square a while ago and now it's more of a landmark than a location for important decision making. Nevertheless, on my last evening in town (sob), I met up with Carmen for some outfit photos in Munich's most famous square - better late than never, eh? Afterwards, we headed to Hans im Glück for burgers and a final farewell to all my favourite Münchners (and got a cheeky snap with Carmen and Anni who both have fabulous blogs) before the next day's flight back to the UK.

Hey, I might not have Marienplatz any more, but I do have an M&S and a tesco express.

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Brilliantly British.

Laura Ashley trench coat. Charity shop blouse: £4.55. Asos petite jeans: £28. Asos woven leather sandals: £25. Vintage bag: 50p.

I'm sure you're not keeping up as it's so easy to get distracted by pictures rather than focus on chronology, but we're not in Munich for one post only. I couldn't resist sharing these photos taken on Friday as my mum and I went for a wander round our favourite Essex villages, with mandatory scone stop-off. I know that a lot of blogs focus on emulating street style by shooting literally in the middle of a road, but I'm definitely not cool enough and much prefer a pretty country garden for a backdrop than an industrial estate - just watch out for the ducks.

First stop was the Lordship tearooms opposite the agricultural college in Writtle. If you're a jam connoisseur (yep), you may recognise the little jam jars as this place is run by the people behind Tiptree jam. They've got a few tearooms around Essex, but I've only made it to this and the Tiptree one so far, with Heybridge next on our to-try list; I would definitely recommend them if you're in the area either for a cream tea (about £6 for two scones, jam and clotted cream, and a hot drink) or a proper meal. Afterwards we went for a wander round the village in the afternoon sunshine, which is a pretty-front-door instagrammer's dream.

Making a slight diversion on the way back, we stopped off at Hylands, which is my favourite park by far. The grounds are massive (V festival is based here), but the landscaped gardens are beautiful, the stately house is the perfect location for weddings, and they sell really good ice cream.

You may have seen Liv's and Carrie's posts from when they were whirled off across the channel - and that could be you! You could win the chance to have your own brilliantly British weekend in London or a fabulously French time in Paris with IHG Rewards club. All you have to do is upload a quintessentially british or french photo to instagram and use the hashtag #IHGselfie - simples, but look here for more details. These guys are wishing you good luck!

Post written in collaboration with IHG, although I will take any excuse to eat scones.

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