Cabin in the Woods

I held my phone in the air, frantically searching for signal and some way of connecting to the world I had once known; yes, I had made it to the country. 2 hours down the M4 from London, The Cotswolds is one of the perfect places for us city kids to escape from our hectic lives and taste the fresh rural airs. I soon forgot I even owned a mobile phone. The Cotswolds is known for being ‘typically British’ and I could see why.

It is a rural area of south central England covering parts of 6 counties, notably Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Everywhere we turned there were ancient churches and historic houses. We had entered a fairy-tale land of rolling hills, horses and pretty little stone villages made in the 18^th century. 

Blenheim Gardens
-The Birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill

Bourton-on-the-Water

Despite the weather, it is such a lovely part of the UK to escape to. We stayed in Bluewood Lodges and they were perfect. Hot Tub and Sauna completed the trip! http://www.bluewoodlodges.com/



-the weather was mostly gloomy as this was in November and I haven't edited the photos at all, hence the gloom.

City Break: When in Rome

Reaching one year with your partner is an important milestone in a relationship and what better way to celebrate than a few days away in the city of Roma. I have created a little itinerary of all the very tourist break we had. It was James and I's first time away together as a couple and although things did not go as smoothly as we hoped, it was amazing.

Our hotel was quite a distance from the center of Rome, it was not exactly the greatest of areas but our room was quite snazzy and had an incredible shower which made up for it. We went back in July and the heat was nearly unbearable. We timed ourselves well and went out in the morning, came back to the hotel around midday and napped until it got a bit cooler- which most people do in warmer climates. We had prepped ourselves well, learning important Italian phrases and sun cream for my very pale boyfriend.

We arrived there in the evening, settled in and went to the cute Italian restaurant up the street. The restaurant looked like it belonged to a cowboy movie, it was very authentic. The food was all homemade, delicious and much cheaper that what you would find in the heart (which we later found out). 

Day 2: They are definitely not lying when they say that the Roman underground is mental because yes, yes it is. We are often complaining about London but the Roma Metro was 100    x hotter, crowded and smelly. We took the 30 min metro journey to visit the famous Colosseum, went home because of the heat and then went to the Roman Forum, The Pantheon, admired the Italian designer shops from the outside and (nearly) climbed the Spanish Steps. Barre the metro, we had the best day exploring!

One thing I was expecting but still did not know how to react to was the pushy sellers on the streets Everywhere you go, someone will always want you to purchase a selfie stick, or a picture of the pope. They lure you in by making conversation- and boy, I love conversation- and then ask for money. I do nottttt want a selfie stick; i bought one off of amazon before I arrived thank you very much.

Day 3: We left the air con on the whole night...and because of this we were feeling terrible the next morning. We had planned to visit Vatican City, however after breakfast at our hotel, we stayed in until later. We did more exploring this day, we walked through Rome's beautiful streets and witnessed the majestic Trevi Fountain...that was covered in renovation work. Have no fear, we still got to toss a coin and make a wish.

This evening was my favourite. Me and James made our way to Piazza Novana to find dinner. Piazza Novana has just got this lively, Italian atmosphere that I loved; music, painters selling paintings, the sounds of the 3 famous fountains! We sat outside with the view of the piazza and the waiter brought our food...and glass of prosecco; wonderful dining. We danced are way back on the metro and made the long journey back to our hotel.

Day 4: We had 5 hours to explore the places we did not see..or so we thought. Seeing as though we had tickets, we took a taxi to the Vatican City. St. Peter's square was beautiful, the Museums were full of stunning intricate art. The crowds pushed as they to get to the famous Sistine Chapel to see Michelangelo's masterpiece; the Creation of Adam. 

That was it. We bought one last pizza and made our way to the hotel to head back home.

We had arrived at the airport with around 2 hours to spare HOWEVER our flight operator had not informed us of our airport change. We found out as we tried to check in...and the airport we were supposed to be flying home from was an hour drive away. Frantically panicking, trying to print out our boarding passes and find taxi money- I was almost in tears. Our taxi driver was mental; Italian drivers in general are, indeed, mental but this taxi driver was on a whole other level. If it was not for this mad man, we would not have made our flight. We made sure we tipped him well. I am so thankful for James keeping his cool the whole time while I was freaking the hell out.

When we finally did get to the airport, we just laughed. 'What is life?'

First Year at #Roey

I am no longer a Fresher!

This first year at university has been the most hectic, life-changing, amazing, confusing and crazy. I originally had my heart set on the university of Bournemouth. However, after being accepted into BU, I just did not feel ready to move so far away; results day was very stressful for me but I made the decision to reject Bournemouth and  here we are at Roehampton University- just 15 minutes from the heart of London.

I found a flat and shared with 3 other lovely girls but as my family home was only 45 minutes away, (and at the time of moving out my mum was admitted into hospital), I found myself being at home for the majority of the weeks. I was also travelling home to visit my boyfriend/he would be down so often and after a few months, I moved back to my hometown; saving a lot (A LOT) of money. I was well suited to commuter life - I'll make a whole post on commuter life/tips it the future- but it doesn't mean that my student and social life was affected; I made sure I still attended all my lectures and the uni events.

I am studying Mass Communication, which is a combination of media, culture and journalism; adding a bit of variety into my studying. The lectures and seminars could sometime drag, that's the learning experience I guess... Thankfully I had a great bunch of classmates and good friends to make it bearable. OH AND I PASSED WITH A 2:1!!!!!

This post was really just about looking back on this year and how much of a different path I took to what I planned this time last year. Uni has created so many memories this year (below are a few snippets) and I am super grateful. I start my second year in two weeks and although I know it will be mostly work and no play; I know it's going to be a good one :)

Porto, Portugal

Porto is the second largest city in Portugal, built along hills next to the beautiful Deautro river.  I travelled with 2 friends, one of which was born and raised in Porto and we stayed in her avo's (nan's) apartment in the city's metropolitan area of Gaia, just a 15 minute metro ride into the city. From shopping in the heart the city and admiring the varied architecture to visiting the streets that are not shown in the touristy books; I had the opportunity to see such a city where the grass is not always greener and it was eye opening. 

The main reason we were there at that time (besides visiting my friend's family)...

BON SAO JUAO! (Happy St John's!) 

Festa de São João do Porto,

The festival of St. John of Porto was insane. One of the most lively, crazy traditional events and I would live it over and over. Thousands and thousands gather on the eve of St. John in the centre of the city and party all night; fireworks, street parties and concerts, smell of sardines everywhere. One of the crazy traditions of this festival is to smack each other with small plastic squeaky hammers (still haven't got the sound out of my head); it's hysterical, hectic but incredible. Another tradition is garlic flowers..but if you get hit on the head, the stench of garlic doesn't leave your hair for days.

We spent the entire night walking and dancing in the massive crowds and eventually made it home at 7 am the next morning. 

 Overall, I was blown by this trip; a whole different culture experience. It increased my wanderlust x1000000000000000. Travelling for a month next year is definitely on the cards!