As part of the #makeitpop4 campaign with Alcatel (check it out on Instagram here) I was asked to go and explore Berlin for 48 hours. Having visited the city on business before - so only getting a glimpse of what was to be seen - I was so keen to go back and jumped at the chance. Dragging Emma along for the ride, we caught a very early morning flight with Norwegian (they have wifi on board, perfect for trip planning) and landed in Germany in time for breakfast on Monday morning.

Berlin is a city so rich in history and culture it's difficult to know where to start. We decided that we'd concentrate on two districts, Kollwitzkiez and Mitte, and really mine them for all they had. Having inhaled our avocado and eggs at Soho House (we're bloggers, what else do we eat for breakfast!?) we decided to hit Mitte first, as it's so great for shopping and we had a fix that needed, errr, fixing.

Mitte has a unique offering for shopping that I really don't think you get anywhere else. There are several really strong independent boutiques that are genuinely a joy to spend time in. The pieces and designers the store owners find are incredible. Using my phone (the POP 4, obviously) as our guide, we found all the shops we were looking for really quickly - we'd been recommended Rebecca, The Store, Isobel Gowdie and April First and were not disappointed.

I bought a few things (oops), discovering labels like Leon and Harper as well as getting my fix of Maison La Biche with an exclusive tee from a collaboration with Alex Eagle, here. We also strolled into stores you'd find in the UK like And Other Stories and Urban Outfitters - which seem so much better stocked than at home - finding bargains like this gorgeous bag for the equivalent of £12.

Food wise, Berlin has so much to offer and really needs more credit for the surplus of cool bars and outdoor settings for you to grab a bite. We stumbled upon an incredible burger place, but in truth if you stick around streets like Linienstrasse and Alte Schonhauser Strasse you really cannot go wrong.

In the evening we stuck to Soho House so we could catch up on emails and enjoy the rooftop view. New for the hotel, it also has an infinity pool looking over the city with brilliant views of the major monuments like the Reichstag. Bose Museum and the infamous Fernsehturm (essentially like our BT Tower in London, but better).

The next morning Emma got me up bright an early promising a day of graffiti exploration and book trees. Street art really cannot be ignored in Berlin as it's absolutely everywhere. I wish I'd done more research as you could spend days on the hunt for the famous artists' work - we tried to find the Banksys and failed miserably... That said we did discover some amazing work by artists like Dede and C215. Even if you aren't into art as such, I challenge you not to enjoy going on a bit of a bear hunt for the stand-out pieces.

All in all, you just have to go to Berlin. I'm already planning my next trip back - it was that good. We didn't touch on the historical elements of the city which I'd really like to do; the older buildings in the centre of the city and by the river look absolutely incredible, and locations like Checkpoint Charlie are very much on my bucket list...

I used the POP 4 for the whole trip - it was fantastic - everything from the camera (super strong, especially in the midday sun) to the maps and planning options made it the perfect city break partner... Please don't forget that anyone who buys the POP4 handset this summer gets return flights to one of nine cities in Europe, so if you're looking for an excuse to get away to have a break like this this could be your answer. Discover more here. 

Outfit Details
white t shirt, Alex Eagle x The Stores / striped tee shirt, Boden / jeans, Topshop / denim jean shorts, Topshop / white sandals, Birkenstock / blue jumper, LK Bennett London / tortoiseshell sunglasses, Fendi / red sunglasses, Gucci 

I'm not sure what has happened to the weather today but in truth there is a part of me that isn't disappointed not to be getting my legs out this week. I've managed to pick up a cold (in June!?) and have been feeling pretty sorry for myself all week, bleurgh. We move house on Monday and having cleared out all my cupboards (I've been threatened with being allowed 15 pairs of shoes, he has no idea where I'm hiding them) I found these, my white jeans. I wore them when out in Chelsea for the flower show last week...

White denim gets a lot of stick. There was a time that it was thought you had to be a teeny, tiny size to be able to wear them. I go through phases of love vs hate (I worry about looking too K-Middy, not helped by her Breton-wearing-ways most recently) but at the moment I'm finding them perfect to wear with shirts and tees. Mine are from Paige Denim (my go-to denim brand) here, but if you havent tried the look before I'd recommend testing out a cheaper pair - these ASOS ones are very good - or try a "boyfriend style," I have these.

My shirt is an oldie but a goodie from Zara here. Khaki shirts are my favourite thing at the moment, I'm having to stop myself from buying this one from Topshop and maaaaay have slipped up and acquired this cross front one from Equipment (blog post to come). They go with everything, in particular all my denim for summer and also look great under a dark coloured jacket (this Reiss one is firmly on my wishlist, really hoping it goes into sale) for evening looks...

My shoes are from LK Bennett here and I'm in love with them. They're the "Floret" shape that I've been wearing for years and (apologies to long time readers of the blog) are in my humble opinion the best heel on the market. I have little feet so heels are tricky as they stretch my arches more than somebody with regular sized hooves. Therefore heels are uncomfortable and I can't usually wear them for more than a few hours. However, these ones are the best (I can do a whole day and night in them, easily) and here is a link to the entire range. I picked these ones because I want to wear them with a little red dress to one of the weddings this summer, but I couldn't wait and they seemed fitting for the flower show!

Other bits and pieces include the bag (a long awaited Vestiaire Collective purchase, I kept an eye on the site for months) from Louis Vuitton which I'm so pleased with - somehow is being second hand also makes me less shy about wearing it all the time, I'm not as worried about scratching it etc... The sunnies are new from Fendi, I went to see them last week and picked up a few pairs for Italy, so excited. Just a house move to get out of the way, and then we're off!

white jeans, Paige Denim / similar here (£25!) / similar here

khaki shirt, Zara / similar here (bought this, oops) / similar here

shoes, LK Bennett / as flats / entire Floret range here

bag, Louis Vuitton from Vestiaire Collective / sunglasses, Fendi

We decided to go and see what all the fuss was about and visit Soho Farmhouse for the day. It took us about an hour and half from London, and as soon as we arrived I could understand the surge of Instagram posts that occurred when this place opened. Having been to quite a few of the houses, Farmhouse is in a different league of amazingness... We sat outside in the (surprisingly) warm sunshine and played boules and table tennis. The Yeti (aka Lopez) came along for the ride too, who had a great time bombing around the huge estate.

ps - Farmhouse is largely dog friendly but they can't go in the main eating house or the spa, which Lopez was pretty miffed about...


As much as the bloody Marys in the Den were tempting, we wanted to "celebrate" by getting some serious rest and relaxation... After testing out the outdoor hot tubs (photo below) we went for a dip which was incredibly cool - you can swim outside from the inside pool. We were only swimming for half an hour or so, but following a steam and a sauna we felt like we'd been on a week long retreat. Following that we were pretty peckish so head over to the main restaurant to see what the roast dinners were like...


Annnnd here you go, looks terrible doesn't it?! I jest... Soho House roast dinners are one of my favourite things; they aren't shy with the meat quantities or the cauliflower cheese (I'm now on the FODMAP diet, so even writing about this is killing me).

After that, it was time to collect the dog and go back to London... We had such a good time celebrating our "birthday" and had no idea how easy it was to get to from us - as lovely as it would be to stay there, people in London (as members) can easily get up there for the day. Thoroughly recommend it, details here.

This post was written in collaboration with Mr Porter.