beside the seaside

I think I am meant to live beside the seaside; it is definitely my happy place. I spent the weekend in Little Hampton, Sussex to see some family for the last time before I leave for Australia. I'm hoping the next time I have a picture on a beach it'll be in the sunshine instead of the rain. Saying goodbye to family has made my trip to Australia seem even more real. Although I'm sad I'm not going to see everyone for a while, I am getting even more excited to leave. In 4 weeks at this time I will be settling down to an in flight movie on my way to Hong Kong.

My to do list over the next few weeks is ridiculous. I need to re-write my CV, sell even more of my life on eBay and pack. I literally hate packing! Goodbye sleep, hello zombie eyes and getting shit done.

I left my heart in london

I finished work at the Olympics at half past 3 on Friday and I was meeting some friends for dinner in the evening at St Katharine Dock, which is a beautiful place. As I had a few hours spare, I took full advantage.

I went on the cable cars from the ExCeL to the O2. It was such a beautiful day and there were amazing views of our great city London. I have written a post about it here [the-travelchain].

After, I went for a wander around Tower Bridge and St. Katharine Dock. There was such a buzz in the air, it made me fall in love with London all over again. I think Tower Bridge looks brilliant with the 5 Olympic rings and The Shard standing in the background.

I first discovered St. Katharine Dock when I went there for dinner for my friend's graduation. I thought it was brilliant last time, but it was even better this time round. When I walked round the corner I found a massive Denmark sign with stalls and live music outside The Dickens Inn. The atmosphere was amazing, I've not felt anything like it before. Soon after this I discovered Fiji and Austria around the corner - I love London for dotting different countries around our city!

Shoes - Topshop

Jeggings - Primark

Top - Zara

Jacket - Zara

Bag [old] - River Island

the travel chain

I absolutely love to travel and so it seemed right to start my very own travel blog. I still have a lot to do, but I was too excited to keep it hidden. So here is it, The Travel Chain.

Tromso, Norway

I met my friend Tara on the East Coast of Australia - the Whitsunday Islands to be exact. Out of my 3 months in Australia I only spend about 4 days with Tara, but when you're travelling it is so easy to click with people.

Tara lives near Oslo in the south of Norway and we both travelled to the north of Norway to Tromso to stay with Tara's sister Tea. I hadn't seen Tara for a year and a half and it was as if no time had passed at all.

Day 1 & 6

On both of these days I did so much travelling - roughly 12 hours each day! I opted for the cheaper tickets and had to stop in several different places. In one week I had taken off and landed 8 times and had been in 3 different countries. It was a lot!

Day 2

We spent our day relaxing, all the travelling had taken it out of me and the air is thinner then I'm used to. We went shopping and stocked up on lots of food and wine for the week ahead. It is true what they say, food and alcohol is quite expensive compared to here. As well as our shopping, we also got knitting needles and wool. I have always wanted to learn how to knit and both Tara and Tea know how. We spend our evening watching Julie and Julia and knitting with hot chocolate.

Tara has the most cutest dog I've seen! I don't usually like dogs but you couldn't help but love this little fella!

Day 3

Today we went to Polaria which is an Arctic Experience. As well as seeing some wildlife in Norway we also got to watch a video about the Northern Lights and the Wildlife.

After our time at the museum we took a walk around the city. Tromso is known as 'Paris of the North'. I have never been to Paris, but Tromso is a beautiful place! The buildings are old and unique and it's surrounded by water.
We stopped for lunch at De 4 Roser which serves all day breakfast. I chose an American breakfast which was absolutely lovely. Norway seems to have a lot of blueberries and my breakfast come with some beautiful blueberry jam.

In the evening we all went skiing. I've never been skiing before and because I hate ice skating I assumed I wouldn't like this either - but I was so wrong! We did cross country skiing so it was quite flat ground. As we were skiing, it started to snow! It was all very romantic being Valentine's day and all. We even saw green tinted clouds from the Northern Lights! It's the best Valentine's Day I've had!

Day 4

Today was a beautiful day - clear blue sky and fresh air! We decided that it would be a good day to go on some cable cars to the top of the mountains. The view from the top of the mountains looks over the central part of Tromso. It really is such a pretty view. On top of the mountain it was -17 degrees but with the wind it felt like -25! I think I can safely say that this is the coldest I have ever been!! My legs went numb and when I was taking these pictures glove less, I got a massive rash on my hand (like heat rash but the complete opposite!).

We took a picture of us lying in the snow because the last picture we had together was lying on a beach on the Whitsunday Islands!

As it was such a clear day we were hopeful that we would see the Northern Lights in all it's glory! We had seen them a few times before but it was so cloudy it wasn't what I'd hoped! Just as me and Tara were going to have a power nap (I swear the thin air took it out of me on this trip!) Tea got a call from her boyfriend telling us to look outside... and there they were!! A massive green line of light going across the sky! We went for a walk to take some pictures and to see it in real life it breathtaking! My photos didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped (I still don't know how to use my camera properly!) but I am just so happy that I have seen them!

After seeing the Northern Lights we were so happy and totally forgot about the power nap we needed earlier! We decided to go out to the Studenthuset driv (student bar) where the drinks were cheaper but still expensive. When ever I go to a new place, I have to have a beer from that country! I am not sure why - but every time! The beer was called Mack and on the glasses was a map of Norway with Tromso pointed out! The glasses were less then a pint but cost roughly £5!

Day 5

As I had heard that Norway was going to be so expensive, I saved a lot! But as we cooked ourselves I didn't end up spending much, so me and Tara decided to go shopping! I bought a denim shirt, a ring and 3 different nail varnishes! Before we hit the shops we had lunch at the Bla Rock Cafe which is known for it's burgers. We were sat right next to a Duke Box and there was even a drum kit in the ceiling! The walls were covered in posters and photos! I loved the atmosphere and my chicken burger was good too!

For my last night in Tromso, Tara and Tea's mum sent us some money for a meal out which I thought was incredibly kind! We went to Steakers. People that know me in real life will know that I am not a fan of steak, but I did not want to sound ungrateful so I did not mention this to Tara and Tea. I ordered a 5 oz sirloin steak and started to prepare myself! We went on a Thursday and they do a really good deal where all that you pay is for your steak and all the potatoes, sides and sauces are free and as part of a buffet so you can have as much as you like! The time had come for me to man up and have my first steak in years! Oh my god!! I can honestly say that this was the best steak I've ever had!! It was cooked to perfection and I really wish I'd ordered a bigger steak! If you are ever in Tromso, I would highly recommend eating here! If you don't go on a Thursday it will most likely be a really expensive meal but please, just order a steak and enjoy!

I really enjoyed my time in Norway and it was wonderful to see Tara again. It was lovely to meet Tea, her boyfriend and Mio - the cute furry little fella! I am already planning on going back to Norway in the summer but to the south this time, but I would also love to go back to Tromso and see the Midnight Sun.

I really loved having the opportunity to stay with my friends in their home and having them as tour guides! I would love to spend each holiday I go on in someone's home instead of a hotel because you get to discover so much more than what you would find by yourself!

Some interesting facts about Norway:

• You can not buy alcohol after 6pm.
• Wine and spirits have to be bought in specific shops - like an Off Licence or Bottle Shops in Australia.
• Red bull doesn't have as much caffiene in as they do over here.
• It is the law that if you are between the age of 18 and 25 you have to show ID when buying alcohol.
• M and M's aren't sold in Norway because of the sugar/colourings/E numbers. Instead they have Non Stop.

Please note: this blog post is not complete yet! I am still waiting to get some more photos from my friends but I wanted to put it up because I was excited to show you my trip to Norway :)

gap travel

Everyone spends their money on different things. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may of noticed that I love to visit different places and travel as much as I can. Faye put me in touch with Gap Travel and I was asked to write 100 words about different places I have visited. I am very excited to say that the pieces I wrote about Australia and Holland were put in :)

[If you click on the picture, it is easier to read]

This feels like a massive step in the right direction and I hope I get to do a lot more in the furute. A great start to 2012 :D

feeling festive #3 - rochester

I went to Rochester yesterday with my mum. It was the first time I have been to Roachester and it was really beautiful to go there this time of year. Rochester is a really old fashioned town, and I loved it. Me and my mum spent a lot of time in antiques shops, in the pub and wondering around the streets sipping mulled wine. A beautiful day!

There was a market, carol singers, fancy dress and even fake snow. I really enjoyed spending my day with my wonderful mum, she's my super hero!

Vegas, America

It's been two weeks since I got home from Vegas and I have only just got round to doing my blog post. I warn you now, there are so many photos...

I went with my lovely friend Emma. My mum and dad paid for the holiday for my 21st birthday, I feel incredibly lucky to get such an amazing and memorable present.

I was really excited to be flying with Virgin as I've never flown with them before. I've got to say, I was actually quite disappointed and it didn't live up to my expectations. We we lucky enough to get a old crappy plane both on the way there and back.

Day 1

After a 10 hour and 45 minute flight :| I was so excited to be in Vegas. It was unbelievably hot but bearable. We stayed at the Tropicana which was right near MGM and New York New York. It was one of the quieter ones but after being in the big hotels, I quite liked that ours didn't have as many visitors.

Struggling to stay awake, me and Emma had a wonder around Vegas.

Day 2

We had a very early start today, but it was totally worth it. We went to the Grand Canyon. The whole experience was an exciting one. We got picked up from our hotel in a limo, went in a helicopter and on a boat with champagne :) The Grand Canyon is massive, the pictures don't show just how massive it really it. I really enjoyed the Grand Canyon and going in a helicopter for the first time.

Some of the pictures didn't come out very well because of the sun glare :(

In the afternoon, we did some shopping in Planet Hollywood which was so much fun! I bought some Ray-Ban sunglasses which I've wanted for so long. I love that it is acceptable to have cocktails in the middle of the day whilst shopping - heaven. I also got to try a Tazo Iced Passion Tea Lemonade for the first time - absolutely amazing! I wish they sold them in the UK.

Day 3
We started our day at the Shark Reef Aquarium in Mandalay Bay Hotel. It was really cool and hard to beleive there could be sharks in the hotel you're staying in.

Of course, we then did some shopping!

 We had dinner in Caesars Palace in a really cool Beijing restaurant which was so nice!

 This tramp is getting money out of the fountains - classy!

We had an amazing night out at Tao in the Venetian. We got put on the VIP list and free drinks! The only money I spent was on a dirty McDonalds on the way home! It was such a good night! This is the only photo from this night...

Day 4
We spent the whole day by the pool today. We hired a cabana for the day so we could have some shade. It's so hot in Vegas and I know I would of burnt. I actually spent most of the day in the shade but it was just such a nice day. We had many cocktails beside the pool in the glorious sunshine.

We ended the night in a Irish Pub. A very good day!

Day 5
We did so much today! It was our last full day in Vegas and we has so much to fit in. We got a bus all the way to Downtown Vegas and it was here that I first experienced Dunkin' Donuts - OH MY GOD! I was actually in heaven!

 We had so much to fit in the evening. We went up the Eiffel Tower, saw the fountains at the Bellagio, had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and I went on the rides at the top of the Stratosphere.

The meal we had at The Cheesecake Factory was actually amazing! I think it is the best meal I have ever had in any restaurant. The cocktails and cheesecake were bloody nice too!

After a huge meal I went on the rides on top of the Stratosphere. I didn't think it would be the best idea but I have been told it's a must when visiting Vegas. We went, I went on the rides and I wasn't sick, score!

Day 6
Today was our last day. We basically got up, gambled a little (when in Vegas) and made our way to the airport! I had such a good time in Vegas and I would defiantly go back! I am going to do another post on what I bought, there was just so much!