Perfect Days in Bern

Fill a day with coffee, cocktails, shopping and pizza, throw in an extra special lady and you've got the worlds best recipe for a perfect day in Bern.

My lovely Mother and I hopped on the tram on a wonderfully sunny Monday morning and headed into the capital. We decided that the best way to start the day had to be with a quick coffee, gear us up for some holiday shopping - and it meant we could play at being ladies of leisure in big posh hotels with stunning views.

We popped into the Bellevue Palace.

You head straight through the grand entrance, through gilded rooms, with a more than luxurious air about them, to the terrace. Which is just beautiful. We relaxed into big white cushions and gazed out over the city, white umbrellas shielding us from the dazzling sunshine.

Lattes and cappuchinos ordered we were also delighted by a little treat. It was the creamiest morsel of ice cream, that was just delicious in the heat, and was much better than a melting chocolate to cool and refresh in the warm summer sun.

Plus there's always time to pose in a beautiful building with blooming flowers...

Bellevue Palace is an amazing luxury 5 star hotel, that just glows with indulgence. It first opened in 1865 and has an old-world decadence about it, enjoying its heyday in the 1920s.

Then we headed to the shops! We wandered round lusting over gorgeous bags and glittering jewels, but in the end we headed to good ol' H&M and picked up some perfect summer buys. The love the H&M basic range and got two dresses, identical in black and navy, as well as the prettiest ditzy flower print skirt.

Soon our stomachs were rumbling and it was definitely lunchtime.

One of my favourite things about the summer is that you can eat outside. There's something so nice about seating on the outskirts of a bustling square watching everyone go about their business under the sun. You take your time over the meal a bit more and relax into the best past-time, people-watching.

Cocktails were ordered first.

A couple of years ago a got a taste for an Aperol Spritz and now I like to pretend I'm a chic Italian sipping on the delicious drink. I know it looks like Irn Bru in a big glass goblet, but I promise you it's not. The international drink began it's popularity in Italy, but now can be spied everywhere, I've even seen it replacing the fizz in Glasgow! It's so refreshing in the heat and is a mixture of prosecco, aperol and a dash of soda. Only to be enjoyed in the sunshine.

Next a big melty pizza arrived, which we shared alongside a big bowl of deliciously dressed green salad.

The perfect midday fuel-stop for shoppers on a mission.

We whiled away the afternoon hours re-visiting shops and picking up our favourite things that we'd spied earlier.

We finished up at our favourite spot - Lorenzini's.

Another Aperol Spritz and cold glass of white wine left us a very happy pair.

I wore this gorgeous Zara dress for a day about the shops. You might remember me introducing it to you in my Shopping Edit, where I dreamt about wearing it on summery days with simple tan sandals - and finally my dream came true! The floaty style and lightweight material was perfect in the heat. I'm a sucker for stripes as well and there's something lovely about a re-imagined breton stripe in the summer - perfect.

Pop on a simple Joshua James, Thomas Sabo bracelet, keep a pair of RayBans handy and grab your favourite clutch - sorted.

And I promise I didn't deliberately co-ordinate my bag to my drink...

Now all we needed to do was sup on our beverages and relax in the last few rays of sunshine.

Dress - Zara
Sandals - Primark 
Clutch - Miss Selfridge
Sunglasses - Optical Express, RayBan 
Bracelet - Joshua James, Thomas Sabo