During our time in Monaco we dived into the Monegasque way of life and indulged in a spot of luxury shopping around the Avenue Des Beaux-Arts area.

It was in Dior that my boyfriend made his special purchase of the trip and treated himself to an awesome pair of Dior trainers.

I found myself also tempted by the glamorous boutique of Christian Dior and before I knew it, I was trying on the classic Dior printed slides I’ve always lusted after.

With our two months in Bali coming up in the new year, it seemed the perfect excuse to invest in a beautiful pair of statement shoes for the evenings.

The benefit of designer shopping abroad is you get the tax back on your purchases at the airport, which in France is 12%. I paid 690 euros for my Dior Slides which came to about £580, then I received £63 tax back when I returned to the UK.

It’s very easy to process the refund as the shop fills out all of the forms which you then validate by simply scanning at the machine in the airport, you just have to have your passport on you when you make the purchase in store.

I couldn’t wait to wear my new Diors and they matched my outfit perfectly, so changed into them straight away for a photo in Monte-Carlo Casino Square.

On our first day in Monaco, we needed some supplies and snacks to have at our Airbnb so we went to the local supermarket.

To our delight, the local Le Marche U was a brilliant store much like a Wholefoods market with numerous fresh food counters and wonderful organic fruits and vegetables.

We got plenty of goodies including a generous portion of homemade lasagne for my boyfriend and a pot of Greek salad which we had for lunch on our balcony at the Airbnb.

I also couldn’t resist some French cheese from the gloriously large cheese counter. A jar of fig chutney, rustic sourdough crackers and a pot of olives was the perfect pairing for our cheese.

I had to have a photo back at the Dior shop in my evening dress as they had a cute seating area just outside, complete with palms and statement Dior printed cushions.

I did browse a few vintage shops around Monte-Carlo too and there were some great, unique designer pieces, but I still couldn’t justify a Chanel handbag for 8,000 euros…!

We were chuffed with our designer shoes from Christian Dior and I can’t wait to match with my boyfriend on evenings out in Bali.

Cheers to experiencing the ultra luxurious and lavish Monegasque way of life ❤