24 Hours in Rimini with Calzedonia: Part I

Over the past year I’ve been lucky enough to attend a fair few fabulous fashion events but I still get so over excited the night before a big one I can barely sleep a wink. Do you know what? I hope that doesn’t wear off anytime soon. While I think the old adage that “getting ready is half the fun” is total rubbish (unless the party in question is crap) I do enjoy the giddy feeling of anticipation I get in the lead up to a big event. If said soirée involves leaving the country and staying in a fancy hotel then you can multiply the excitement factor by about 10.

As with so many things in life, the people you’re with can make or break a press trip. Remember my wild weekend in Amsterdam back in January? It was awesome not (entirely) because of the fab hotel, delicious food and insane party but thanks to the fun loving, ever-so-slightly naughty nature of my companions. Within minutes of arriving at heathrow terminal 5 it became clear that this trip would be along the same lines. Besides the lovely lot from Bryan Morel PR my fellow travellers included some of my fave journos and Editors from Company, Grazia, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire as well as the MTV team. After ensuring that everyone had whatever snacks, drinks and magazines they needed for the flight we made our way to the gate, giggling and chatting like a bunch of teenagers on a school trip.

Once we touched down in sunny (YES!) Bologne I was informed that rather than sticking with the posse I’d left London with, I would instead be travelling to a different hotel with musician, model and blogger Laura Hayden and renowned fashion illustrator David Downtown to spend the afternoon getting pampered. As you can probably imagine, I was thrilled and petrified in equal measure and really, really wished I had put on some make up before leaving that morning. An hour or so later we arrived at The Grand Hotel Rimini which it soon became clear was every bit as regal as the name implied. The vast marble reception hall was decked out in gold topped pillars, antique chandeliers and ornate carved cornices in that wonderfully old school decadent way only Italians can really pull off. With barely 30 minutes until I was due in hair and make up (with 50 VIPs to be beautified, the Calzedonia crew were running a tight ship) Laura and I decided to grab a bite to eat. We were directed out onto a magnificent terrace overlooking the equally gorgeous gardens where we ate sea bass (me) and beef carpaccio (Laura), people watched and soaked up a bit of much needed sunshine.

Having discovered on the plane that Sarah Jessica Parker would be attending the event I kept expecting hoping that she’d suddenly swan out onto the terrace in a pair of Carrie’s trademark Manolo’s. Somewhere between admiring the hotel’s ornate creamy façade and trying to spot SJP I lost track of time and found myself practically sprinting to make it to hair and makeup anywhere near my allotted time. Thankfully my tardiness was forgiven by the grooming squad and once we’d established that I categorically did not want a Cheryl Cole style bouffant they transformed my limp, post flight locks into a perfectly polished bob. It’s virtually impossible to do anything all that interesting with my hair so it was the make up that really wowed me. I’m pretty rubbish at doing it myself due to lack of time, skill and patience and I always forget how wonderful it is to have your “face” done by a professional. On this occasion I opted for a super bright pink lip teamed with just a slick of eye liner and felt incredibly glamourous.

With my hair and make up party ready I headed up to my room intent on getting some work done. Naturally I spent the next hour playing on Facebook, trying on the bikinis Calzedonia had kindly left for me and wilfully ignoring my emails. This post is now in danger of turning into an essay so I’ll leave it here for now. More Rimini gossip coming soon including the swimwear catwalk extravaganza and party!

Love Ella. X