Leeds

On coming to York, one thing on my Uni bucket list was to go shopping in Leeds. To get to Leeds from Sunderland it's quite expensive, but from York it's £10.75 with my railcard and only takes about half an hour to get there. When I mentioned this to my housemate Hannah before Christmas she was just as enthusiastic about going (as was Ellen when we asked her), but it wasn't until after our birthdays that we really had the opportunity to go. So, after spending forever deciding where we were going to go and what we were going to buy, we headed to the station and hopped on a train to Leeds.

Pepperoni Piccante Pizza

The night before we went we spent several hours trying to decide where to eat - quite the feat with Hannah being a vegetarian and Ellen being a tad fussy, combined with a budget and the sheer amount of choice of places to eat there. Eventually we decided on Bella Italia and we booked a table online to be sure they'd have room for us. Our table was booked for 12:00, so once we arrived in Leeds we headed straight there. We'd all had a look at the menu the previous night so we all had a good idea of what we were going to order. As you can see I went for the 'Pepperoni Piccante' pizza, topped with pepperoni and green chillies,and a glass of Diet Coke because I'd been craving pizza for a couple of weeks. It was absolutely lovely and had a cute message on the plate that said 'Life is a combination of magic & pizza' but I didn't have the chance to take a picture before the plates were cleared away.
 

Trinity

After we were full to the brim with yummy Italian food we headed to Trinity to do some shopping. Our first stop was Primark, which is much bigger than the one in Sunderland. Apart from Harrogate, the Primark in Leeds is the closest to York, and when I'm here I quite miss having a store in town. There were quite a few things I could have bought, including a lovely brown satchel, but I limited myself to a blue shirt, some black socks and some more tights because I knew I wanted to spend my money elsewhere. 

Victoria's Secret 

Next, we headed to Victoria's Secret. Now, when I went to Florida in 2012 I bought myself one pair of knickers at a Victoria's Secret store at the Orlando Premium Outlets, just to say I owned something from there. Two years on I figured I was due another Victoria's Secret treat, and being in Leeds it would be rude not to. The store itself was amazing, from features like the one above to pictures of the Angels on the walls. Being on a bit of a budget though, I opted to shop at Pink, which is aimed at a slightly younger audience (I'd say around college age in the US) and is slightly cheaper (5 pairs of knickers for £20 rather than 3 for £26 at VS). I could have spent an absolute fortune on things from knickers to water bottles to beauty products and workout clothes. In the end though, I settled on the 5 pairs of knickers for £20 and a bottle of Party in Paradise body mist (which smells like heaven). I was also given a giftcard that is preloaded with at least £10 and is redeemable in April, which calls for another trip in the Easter holidays!   

Topshop selfie - what I wore

Our next stop was Topshop. For my birthday I'd received a £20 giftcard from my boyfriend's mam which I'd already decided I was going to put towards a new pair of Topshop jeans. To me, Topshop jeans are the best and I'm yet to buy a pair to beat them, even if they are a bit pricey. I decided on a pair of Leigh jeans - which are 'super soft, skinny and mid-rise'. I used to buy the Baxter jeans but they changed the fit which meant they weren't really skinny enough for my liking anymore. I liked both pairs that I tried on but, in true Rachel fashion, the darker pair won in the end. With my 10% student discount I got them for just over £34 which, for the quality, I don't think is too bad.  

Obligatory Costa stop

After visits to H&M, HMV - where I bought The White Queen on DVD - and Cath Kidston we decided to call it a day (being spent up and thirsty). So, before catching the train back to York, we headed to Costa for a drink and a cake. I went for the Tropical Fruit Cooler and a chocolate brownie, which were both delicious. 

I'm so glad we actually got round to having our trip to Leeds, it was such a lovely day and I can't wait for the next time I get to go. 

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