top of page

BLOG ENTRIES

29.01.15

Welcome to London, United Kingdom Danielle!

 

I say to myself as I look out my window down to a blanket of white snow covering the old brick buildings.

 

I am feeling nervous, excited and scared. Mostly I am drained from 27 hours of flying, luckily my beautiful mum booked me through premium economy so I had hope of consecutive hours of sleep.

 

I started in New Zealand, Auckland International Airport. I then flew to LAX Los Angeles International airport where I was to wait in transit for 2-hours before continuing my journey through to Heathrow Airport in London, United Kingdom.

 

I am confused with my time zones and where I am, as you can imagine. Although I am feeling pretty good as I collected many hours of zzz’s.

 

We are currently taxing to our gate bridge at London Heathrow; its bright and sunny here as it is 10:40am, but there is a crisp covering of snowflakes on my window pane. This will be a shock to the system going from 31 degrees summer days back home to winter weather and minus temperatures.

 

I am fretting that I will get lost on the trains whilst I lug my bags into the city to check-in to my motel near Victoria Station in London.

 

I tell myself everything is going to be okay! I’ve travelled the world, and the shopping is going to be fabulous. I cannot wait to dress in warm coats and scarves and enrich in the British culture.

 

Tomorrow I will be tubing into Brighton where I settle into my new home!

Brighton University, Paddock Fields halls.

 

I cannot wait to meet everyone else who is going to be sharing their exchange with me and also the local Brits!

 

DC //

05.02.15

Next stop Falmer station, Brighton Station – Victoria London! We were doing a day trip to London to visit the queen, see Buckingham palace, watch the changing of the guards and visit a very expensive English teashop (where the queen and Kate shop!) Experience the tubes around the city and visit Piccadilly Square for lunch!

 

We were then left on our own while Becca and Mary left to go back to Brighton for work so all of us exchange students quickly decided what to do.

 

I felt pretty confident, as I had been in London only a week ago all on my own and I have been here before in 2008 whilst I was backpacking around the world with my family. We were also meeting up with our British flat mate Jay!

 

Of course my flat mates and I decided to stick together and go exploring this new city, which was 50 minutes away from home always!!!! We first got a hot chai latte from Costa (The best chai and hot drinks café in England so far! Me and allie a girl from California are both in love with the chai latte)

 

We then walked down toward oxford circus where we were going to do some shopping, looking around and get some dinner before making our way back on the tube to get a train from Victoria back to Brighton at 10pm! 

 

DC //

12.02.15

Today (Thursday) is my official first day in my design class. 10am start at Grand Parade and room 250, Graphic design and Illustration (we share wit illustration and work closely by them but have different projects most of the time) As soon as I got to class we were sat down and briefed with a whole new project, It was for a design conference and was for a real life English company.

 

Pressure was on and we had three days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) to complete this brief! Of course I didn’t know anyone In my class except Sonja (a Swiss exchange student studying illustration) so we decided to group together and produce and outcome for this brief. So my first day and I have two projects already! Its going to be a fast paced semester I think to myself as I am told this is due Monday morning and we are given it Thursday afternoon!

 

 In New Zealand we get a big brief and have 6 weeks to resolve it! Here we are given multiple briefs at a time, and it is all up to you how you time manage and finish all of the by the due date and up to standard.

 

You can imagine how anxious and overwhelmed I am already feeling! Whilst trying to adjust to the new time zone, new way of living and new country!

 

So I was happy to get home at night and rest and get my head around everything!

Blessed to have spent a few days with my fatties and we have all clicked really well! I am so happy to have my flat 29a international family because I was so worried what I was getting myself into!

 

DC //

 

17.02.2015

Second week of classes at the University of Brighton.

 

This week was a long, hard and tiresome week. I woke up feeling very unwell, I actually couldn’t manage to get myself out of bed, so I used viber to contact mum back home, but with our 13 hour time difference it made it very difficult and I knew if I was going to lie here and not look after myself, I wasn’t going to get out of bed that day.

 

I was feeling blocked up (nose, throat, chest, ears) and I was so weak from not much sleep the last few nights because I have been feeling so ‘poorly’ British slang for feeling sick. I was dizzy and decided my best option was to stay lying in bed drinking water whilst my only option was to email the USAC ladies who work in the office on Falmer campus (where I am living) I was lucky today was a week day so Becca replied straight away.

 

She gave me some pointers on the best place and way for me to get myself to the doctors/hospital. Pretty quick she sent another email offering to drive me to the doctors. You can imagine how relieved I was that someone was able to drive me and I wasn’t going to have to try taxi/train/walk. There was just no way I could manage to do any of that in this state. We get to the mouslecomb doctors (another Brighton university campus) and I am told to fill out forms etc to register with the doctors whilst I am studying here. 1 hour later I was finally registered, as I am an exchange and needed my visa to show them I was actually living here the full 6 months. I was so lucky to be told to go to their ‘sister’ doctors that same day as that was the only doctors appointment they could get me.

 

I was diagnosed with a sinus infection, chest infection, aggravated asthma (Probably caused from a change in environment from clean NZ to the English life, second hand smoke etc) and mild pneumonia. No wonder I am feeling so unwell! I now have all the medicine I need and I am feeling so blessed that Becca and the USAC ladies went out of their way to look after and take care of me. I am going to spend this next week of university resting and working from home to try stay up to date with my projects.

 

D //

 

 

 

02.03.2015

My medicine has helped me push through being so unwell; I am even happy to say I am starting to feel better, more energetic and not so run down. This week the weather has been so much warmer, most days the sun is shining and the temperatures are averaging around 11 degrees at their peak, compared to 4/6degrees. Still not warm enough though, but definitely helping me overcome my illness and we all seem less tired and much happier this week.

 

I have done an induction at the Gym Centre on Falmer campus, which means I can go to the gym free in business hours or pay 30 pound for the whole exchange and use the gym whenever I like provided it is open. The gym is so nice and modern, a decent gym size with volleyball/netball/basketball/squash courts, Studios for yoga and dancing etc. (Totally where I am going to spend a lot of time of the next few months!)

 

I have decided to partake in the classes and also start my gym routine. I hope this builds my immune system up much more and also helps me motivate myself and let uni work stress out, whilst also being fit and healthy.

 

D //

 

04.03.2015

My medicine has helped me push through being so unwell; I am even happy to say I am starting to feel better, more energetic and not so run down. This week the weather has been so much warmer, most days the sun is shining and the temperatures are averaging around 11 degrees at their peak, compared to 4/6degrees. Still not warm enough though, but definitely helping me overcome my illness and we all seem less tired and much happier this week.

 

I have done an induction at the Gym Centre on Falmer campus, which means I can go to the gym free in business hours or pay 30 pound for the whole exchange and use the gym whenever I like provided it is open. The gym is so nice and modern, a decent gym size with volleyball/netball/basketball/squash courts, Studios for yoga and dancing etc. (Totally where I am going to spend a lot of time of the next few months!)

 

I have decided to partake in the classes and also start my gym routine. I hope this builds my immune system up much more and also helps me motivate myself and let uni work stress out, whilst also being fit and healthy.

 

D //

 

07.03.2015 – 10.03.2015 
01.02.2015

Mums birthday Back home in New Zealand today! Tomorrow is the start of our orientation and I have a full house of 8 flat mates including me! 6 American students and one local British from outside of London. We are all studying different things, which is nice for a change! We have all moved into our new rooms and we have a shared lounge/kitchen area. To be honest when I got here on the 30th and saw the flat, 8 doors.. I freaked! How was I going to live in an 8 bedroom flat when I had come from a two-bedroom apartment!! It was going to be a change, but I am up for new experiences and meeting as many new people, from all around the world that I can!

 

The 30th was my first night in Brighton, Eric my neighbour who lives in room 1 and I’m room 2 was the only one who had moved in so we went over to the block 31 and into flat 31a to play card games and mingle with the year long exchanges that have already been here the 6 months before us!

 

They are all so lovely and have been so kind and inviting. I was feeling so exhausted last night, so tired and drained. I guess had been flying the 27 hours and had non stop been going the last 4 days with my London night stop over and getting myself to Brighton and into my new home all on my own from New Zealand, over 18,000kms away!

 

Eric, the year longs and I went to Hobgoblin which is a pub in Brighton town which everyone goes to so we went there and sat outside in the freezing cold getting to know everyone! We then had a few more people meet us who had arrived into LHR that day and that was mainly flat 29b the flat above me! They were all so cool and we have more Americans!!!

 

31st night we had a full house with Allie and Elise arriving so now our flat is filled up! I am excited to keep meeting all the other exchanges and for all the new memories I know I am going to make! 

 

DC //

09.02.2015

Orientation is over and today is my first day at Brighton University! Although today isn’t my first day of design class but I had a meting with the L5 coordinator, Gavin Ambrose, who seemed very professional in what he does and lovely. He gave me a brief which is a semester long design project that I should be working on all semester that I am here. It is very self taught based but I am excited to get stuck in as I haven’t done any uni papers since November 2014 when second year finished back home. Although he told me this project would be one of many, so then I was excited to get into my first class and find out more!

 

I met Katie Beer croft, who is the administrator for Gavin and she kindly showed me a few things around the Grand Parade campus which is the Arts + Humanities campus, where I will be based for class and lectures for the next 6 months! It is a 40-minute buds ride to get there from Paddock Fields where I am living. Which makes my mornings early arises, although I have found the Brighton Pier (the beach, the coast, the ocean!), which is directly down the road from Grand Parade. So how could life get any better? I am excited and nervous for uni to properly start. I am feel so confused with just been shown everything and trying to remember everything I have been told! Hopefully I pick it all up quickly and start to fit in soon!

 

I feel like such a foreigner, and not many of the locals really understand me when I speak, which I feel strange, as we are pretty close in lingo with the British. I guess they aren’t used to my ‘accent.’

 

DC //

13.02.2015 - 14.02.2015

VALENTINES DAY & SUSSEX FIELDTRIP WEEKEND

 

Tonight there was a party to welcome the European block of exchange students who have moved into the building next to ours. Everyone I have met so far seem like really nice people and are all very nice. We are all in the same situation (foreigners coming to a new country to live and study and travel) So when we all hang out it is so much fun and I have met so many different people form all over the world already! I am so excited to be able to go back home and keep in contact with all my foreign friends and hopefully one day I will travel again, visit and see them all.

 

The next morning we woke and headed to the bus stop on our campus to meet Mary and Becca (USAC ladies) to be taken to Sussex for a fieldtrip on Valentines day! February the 14th. Of course my partner back at home in New Zealand, Logan has already had his valentines day so it was now my turn to receive the nice valentines messages! Although we are heading towards Sussex from Brighton and I am sitting on the bus, my phone vibrates and a Facebook message alert pops up from Joel (A year long exchange student from America) who tells me there are flowers on the stairs in our block of flats. I kindly ask him to put them in his flat until we (the 6 month exchanges) return home from our fieldtrip.

 

I am so flattered and excited and tell Logan he is naughty for getting me anything for Valentines! Usually I am single and don’t receive anything on this day! I feel so blessed and I think it is extra special because we are so far apart and how lucky am I to receive flowers in the UK all the way from someone in NZ!

 

Sussex was an amazing day! It was foggy and cold, so you could say it was a normal English Winters day! But no matter the weather, the views were incredible! We visited Beachy Head, which are massive natural cliffs on the coast of England. These cliffs are the most visited suicidal location in England, averaging 20 suicides per year. All along the cliff faces was beautiful rich green grass and crosses/flowers to signify people’s lives. This was really sad as the drop off the cliff was incredibly big and the water at the bottom looks as if you would turn into ice as soon as you hit the water.

 

I’m sure you can imagine how terrified everyone was to not fall off the edge, there was no safety fencing along the edges and it was a public place so you can stand anywhere. Of course me being courageous and wanting the best photo I could get, I stood as close to the edge as I could and manage to capture some beautiful shots in the foggy haze.

 

Don’t worry, I am still alive!

 

We then ventured off to the little town of East Sussex where we went into Battle Abbey and the site of the Battle of Hasitngs, East Sussex.

We ended our fieldtrip sitting in a cute English tea café for Valentines afternoon tea. Allie (Flatmate from California), Katie (Year long exchange, American), Amanda (Year long exchange, American), V, Barbara, Bram (The Dutch Exchange students) and I ate scones and drank tea until it was time to meet back at the bus and head back to Brighton – Falmer Campus.

 

D //

28.02.15 - 01.03.2015

This weekend we had a weekend to do what we wanted and no Fieldtrip booked, which meant we needed to organize our own weekend!

 

We have been living in Brighton for nearly a month now and we (Flatmates and the flat above) wanted to go into London to do some tourist things and explore around. Initially I was going to join Adam and McLaren who had brought a train return ticket from Falmer – Brighton – London on the Sunday 22nd Feb. Although, my flatmates and I decided to make a whole weekend trip and experience a hostel for the first time.

 

We booked a hostel in Sheppard’s Bush for the Friday night and to stay over and meet some more of the exchanges in London on Saturday. On Friday we left Brighton in the morning and arrived in London around Lunch time to get some lunch and find our way to the underground to our hostel where we could check in and then go explore for the afternoon and organize what we were doing for our overnight stay in London! Allie, Elise, Eric, Morgan, Kellie and I (29a flatmates) found our hostel and checked in, unpacked and went downstairs to the bar/common area to organize our night. We ended up meeting a guy about the age of 21 who was actually from Australia! Who is living here and starting his own business, which was a pub-crawl in London. Perfect!

 

We decided we would go into London Victoria and stop at the Waterloo line and do the London Dungeons then meet ‘richy’ the Pub Crawl tour guide during the pub-crawl! It was 10 pound each which gave you the pub-crawl tour, 5 free shots, free entry into everywhere we went and also discounted drinks at every place! As you know I am sick so I drank water the whole night and just had a really good time being with everyone (Flat mates, Australians! And one New Zealander who worked for richy!) I felt so comfortable with these new people as I hadn’t met anyone from New Zealand, Australia or even just the Southern Hemisphere yet! So this made me feel like I was at home and they understood my lingo, as I understood theirs! Good night in total and the girls all headed back to Shepards Bush Hostel around midnight when the pub crawl finished as we were all tired and tomorrow was going to be a big day on the London eye, going to abbey road and going home back to Brighton – Falmer. Eric ended up home safely in the hostel; we were in a 8 bed mixed dorm, 6 flatmates and 2 randoms who were travelling alone! It was a good experience and the Hostel was surprisingly very clean and nice. Also breakfast Sunday morning was included so that was a bonus!

 

Sunday, we checked out of our hostel and back packed into London where we met up with Brian (my other flatmate from America – Colorado) and McLaren, and Adam (The flat above us) where we visited Abbey Road (iconic for the Beatles) and got some funny pictures we then headed into Piccadilly circus which we were going to have lunch then go on the London Eye (McLaren had met a girl from university who worked in the business and had given us free tickets to ride the London eye! BONUS)

 

After going on the eye, Allie, Elise, Kellie and I decided to train back to Brighton-Falmer earlier then expected as we were very exhausted, it was cold, our backpacks were starting to get heavy and we had done everything we wanted to do.

 

Back in Brighton, exhausted but had a great weekend in London and happy to have experienced the Hostel life with the flatmates as this was my first time staying in a hostel situation. This was definitely not going to be the last time though, Spring Break is in a month and that will be 3 weeks of saving money and sleeping in hostels!

 

D //

 

14.03.2015

I quickly viber called my parents and older sister (who were in Utah as they are on a 3 week ski trip!) and then Eric and I set off on our ski trip adventure.

 

Falmer – Brighton – Gatwick Airport – Geneva Airport France – Chamonix Switzerland and return.

 

The next 3 days we had planned to travel to Chamonix and ski Sunday, Monday. Tuesday was a rest day to wake up and checkout the town we had come to! The town of Chamonix, a truly beautiful and historical town set in the Swiss and French Alps! It was absolutely breath taking, 360-degree views of the Alps!

 

As you can imagine, the skiing was just amazing too! The views were so good Eric and I found ourselves stopping mid slopes to quickly capture what we were looking down to whilst shredding Les Chamonix and Mont Blanc!

 

I was so blessed and fortunate to be able to be here skiing, visiting, enriching in the culture the new languages and how amazing it is to live in England and fly all around Europe etc for so cheap!

 

I am one very lucky young lady and have my family to thank for all of their never-ending support.

 

We arrived home late Tuesday night, exhausted and with a happy welcoming from the flatmates who had missed us! It was good to be home, no more hostel nights for a while! (The Hostel in Chamonix was so so bad, Quote from Eric, “Danielle I think we have payed to stay here camping, that’s what It feels like!” and it really did!!)

 

Chamonix was incredible, I would love to go back with family and ski a week and explore the different mountains, this time staying in a nicer, warmer more private place! Travelling on a budget definitely means you have to sacrifice cleanliness and sleep, but definitely experiences you wont forget!

 

D //                                                              

21.03.2015 – 22.03.2015

Another early morning start and this time it was a day fieldtrip to visit Bodiam Castle & Rye. 9am we all met at the bus stop just a few minutes walk up the hill from the paddock fields halls of residence (where I am living) to arrive at Bodiam castle at 10:30am. This castle was wow! So amazing, but very different to the ones we have been seeing a lot of! This was a very old medieval castle built by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge in 1385. So you can imagine it was incredible to see how much of the castle was still standing today! Of course you couldn’t make out each room-by-room but we had a few ladies re-enact how it was like back in those days!

 

My favourite part I think I will always remember is the lady telling us that the toilet/sewage pip cleaners were always children under 5 years of age! That is disgusting!! After you reach the age of 5 you were allowed to start drinking ale. Crazy!

 

How thankful I was to be holding a pure and clean bottle of H2o.

 

We were back on the bus after touring and exploring the castle from head to toe and off to the town of Rye. Rye’s history can be traced back to the Norman Conquest, when, as a small fishing community, it was almost surrounded by water. The sea has retreated and now lies two miles from the town and sheep grace where the waves once broke onto the beach! Yes! Sheep! England has a lot of sheep, but not as many as New Zealand.

 

We then had free time to go explore the town and grab some lunch before we headed back to Falmer/Brighton.

 

4:30pm and back home safe, tired once again and looking forward to a nice rest day of university work and gym Sunday!

 

D //

23.03.2015 

Today was another very early start, with a weekend long, overnight fieldtrip planned. We were off to Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon.

 

To be honest I am starting to worry about my money/budget left and was annoyed I had payed 150 pound for this fieldtrip. But, what I thought was not going to be a very good weekend, turned out to be the best fieldtrip thus far!

 

Oxford town was absolutely stunning, spring had finally hit England and the beautiful trees were blooming in Oxford. Of course coming from a beautiful, hot, New Zealand summer I was so happy to see some colour! Of course it was very cold with a drafty wind but I didn’t care, I had flowers all around me! That’s all that mattered!

 

I brought an Oxford University Hoody from a shop and went to the indoor markets, a tea place and a mall to do some shopping with Allie! Because of our workout guide and healthy eating we didn’t join the others who went to the pub, instead I had a delicious and healthy baguette freshly toasted! Only 2.50 pound very cheap and yum too! Bonus!

 

I was sad to leave Oxford and I told myself I would be back one day! It was definitely a city/town I could live in. I loved it!

 

We then hopped back on our bus and travelled to the town of Stratford where we were staying in a gorgeous English family owned Bnb overnight and going to a play in the town of Shakespeare!

 

The next day we toured around the town (it was all in walking distance) as this was a very small town, gorgeous and just so English!

 

Next we jumped on the bus, said goodbye to the town and drove to the dungeons where we would do the dungeon tour and explore Warwick castle then head back home to Brighton.

 

The dungeons were very similar to the London dungeons but much shorter and because we were in a very large group it was so much fun, and so scary of course!

 

The castle was amazing, fresh green grass and just wonderful views! Visit my homepage and scroll through the photos to understand how amazing this place was.

 

D //

 

FLORENCE

28.03.2015 - 30.03.2015 

I am lying in my bed in Florence and thinking how much I've grown and changed, how much pressure/stress I can deal with since 8 weeks ago! Studying abroad at the university of Brighton in England all the way from the little capital of Wellington in New Zealand has changed my life forever! It is the first week of spring break and I'm travelling with amazing girl friends I met 8 weeks ago (Amanda, Katie, savannah & McLaren) Here in Florence I have a KING bed all to myself! (I had to pay for two people eg; a couple because I booked so late) it's a little bit more expensive then what the other girls are paying for their dorm rooms but I am so grateful mum booked this as I am exhausted from Rome and just need to sleep comfortably, safe and rest! 

 

I slept much more then I have been sleeping since I left the UK but I woke up for a whole day of exploring Florence to beautiful weather, sun shining and my amazing view of the Douma and Florence city from my roof top room! Florence is truly gorgeous and so incredible I am so lucky to be here and I am totally in my element with the sun and my own cosy bed with no strangers!!! Wahoo, I would have loved to be in the rooms with the other girls in each hostel but as I booked after them I just had to add on so I am in a different room every night! It isn't the best but I am in Italy!!!

 

All I wanted was sun! Yummy food! Gorgeous photos! Memories and lots of exploring and getting lost in the process! Which is exactly what happened today in Florence. This has been the best day so far of the Italià trip with my American girls! I love this city and we didn't do all the main touristy things instead we decided l do the more "local" attractions and enjoy the city of Firenze. We woke up and slowly made our way out of our different hostel rooms to have some baguette toast and banana/yoghurt (I had brought myself from the little supermarket store on the street I am staying! Super handy!)

 

Of course saving money instead of going to buy something from a cafe or restaurant. We then went to check out the Michelangelo statue and try to explore inside it! We navigated our way there with savannah as map person and ended up not going inside as it was €12.50 each and the first floor was completely closed off for reservations! We only had one full day (29th March) to see the city so we decided to keep moving on and head to the next place we had circled on the map (we are doing loops of each city so we can see and do as much in the little time we have in each place) we found the Duomo and wow it was fabulous, just incredibly stunning. It is a very big dome and I can actually see it very closely from my room balcony so of course go to my photo gallery on the home page and have a look at how close I am living to this amazing masterpiece! Of course we didn't go inside as the line was huge and we didn't want to waste time so we photographed and looked at all the street artists working and selling their gorgeous watercolour paintings.

 

 As I have travelled before I know that there is so many replicas of these types of things so you can by the "fake" versions from little souvenir/market stalls for very cheap! I am on a student budget so this is what I have been doing in every city, collecting a watercolour painting, postcards and key rings! I only have enough room for carry on luggage and only enough money to do everything we want to do cheaply!

 

 Next we found the Bardini gardens, which we knew, were the smaller garden that has the best view over Florence! It definitely is something you must do if you are going to visit Florence! We only payed €7 each for the Bardini and Barboli gardens which are the two gardens overlooking Florence! €7 for both gardens how cheap!! So this was the only touristic thing we payed for today and once we had finished in the gardens it was about 4-5pm and we hadn't had anything to eat since the bread banana and yoghurt that morning! We haven't been eating much so far as we don't seem to be able to find places quickly that are cheap but once we do we have big meals because today we only had two meals but gelato in between and snacks from the grocery market! After the amazing pizza I had from below my hostel I went home to re charge my phone so that it would last the rest of the night and we went downstairs down the road 100m to the Saint Lorenzo famous markets! (My absolute favourite) and I only got a few king rings, my bracelets I am getting from each city and my postcards/water colours! I really wanted a beautiful leather teal/Aqua blue leather handbag but I am going to get it nearer the end of the trip hopefully if I have any room in my carry on bag! There was also a gorgeous soft poncho I really want to try find in the next places we go too! I am quite a "mean haggler" in the fact that they will say "what price mam, good price for you how much" and I ask them how much and then just offer them a ridiculously small amount of money which usually ends up being how much I pay for things! They tend to see young girls/tourist looking people and will decide what their price is from that! So it is always a lot of fun to get a bargain! Because we ate lunch so late it was an early dinner! Tomorrow we are leaving very early to catch our train to Milan to stay their two nights, I am very sad to leave Florence and wish I had longer to stay here. I will miss my amazing room and this gorgeous place I could make my home! (If only I spoke better Italiàn haha) I will miss you Florence, I have fallen in love with this city but I will be back! I promise, speak to you from Milan! Pray we make it safe.

 

D //

VENICE 

01.04.2015 - 03.04.2015 

Another early start and a train ride from Milan - Venice. We arrived in Venice early morning watching the sunrise at started to navigate our way through this beautiful canal city at 9:30am to find our hostel. Luckily in Milan we met a lovely Asian man who had just come from Venice and kindly gave us his map! This helped us so much as we were able to draw a route from the train station to the hostel. 

 

We arrived at the hostel which looked to be so nice and quiet, down its own canal way! We were all so exhausted but of course we couldn't check into our rooms until about 12/3ish so we were all very exhausted and kept our bags at the hostel to go explore Venice and find some lunch. 

 

After we had found cute markets right outside our hostel pathway and sat down to share pizzas etc we went back to the hostel to properly check into our rooms, unpack, freshen up, nap and then head out again for the afternoon/sunset in our first night in Venice!

 

Again I was in a different room, a 4 bed private female, so I had 3 other American girls from Texas in my room. I briefly met them before they headed out to explore Venice too. 

 

After refreshing ourselves up and napping we all headed out for our first night in Venice, sunset on the waterfront followed by an early night so we could make the most of our one big day in this beautiful romantic city. 

 

The sunset was of course amazing at Saint Marks Square and we also had a quick bite to eat, I didn't as my stomach was upset and I couldn't bare the thought of another piece of pizza!! 

 

The next morning I still wasn't feeling very well and I knew I had to go and find myself a substantial meal for breakfast instead of living off jam and bread every day for every meal. I found myself a decent and fulfilling breakfast and was planning to go back to St. Marco Square where I had seen the night before, island tours. I had heard of the different Islands that were apart of Venice but had never visited them. 

 

So I spent this day on my own and spent €20 for a 4.5 hour boat tour to three islands! So cheap and yes it was amazing. 

 

Saint marks square - boat to Murano Island (hand blown glass) - Burano Island (known for its lace) - Tocello Island (historical) it was an amazing day! Check out the photographs on the home page to understand how incredible the islands were!

 

I arrived back in Venice central and explored a few places of markets and shops I had seen and wanted to get to before meeting the girls again. My phone battery was running very low so I went back to the hostel to change, charge up and drop off my Murano glass items, post cards etc. 

 

I met the girls back at the hostel and we all re-cooped, caught up on our days and then ventured out for our last night in Venice! 

 

This time watching the sunset right on the edge of the Venice Island, literally! Legs hanging off the wall down to the water! It was amazing and we all seemed to be in our happy places! 

 

I grabbed a slice of pizza and whilst heading back to our hostel we all grabbed a few last minute souvenirs from the shops. 

 

Another early night sleep in Venice to wake up at 5am and get a train to Bologna, our last city in Italià! Our trip was nearing to an end and it was actually starting to become sad! We had all grown together, got hungry together, been in weird situations, met strangers, looked out for each other and these girls were like my sisters! Talk from Bologna!

 

D //

 

BARCELONA 

07.04.2015 - 10.04.2015

After a delayed flight from Easyjet in the north terminal of Gatwick airport, Allie and I were off to Barcelona to begin our spring break travels together. We were meeting Eric my flatmate in Barcelona at the hostel but it was already starting to get tricky because we all have to rely on wifi as our phones stay switched to airplane mode while abroad travelling. The flight was smooth and didn't seem too long as I listened to music and grabbed some zzzz's as I knew what the hostel and student travelling life was like after my last trip away! 

 

After landing in Barcelona close to 9pm Spain local time, Allie and I decided to taxi from the airport straight to the hostel address, as it was dark and we were in a foreign country. Unfortunately the taxi driver didn't take us right to the door as I have found many of the hostels are down small alleyways, therefore cars cannot reach them. Which meant we had a few blocks to walk to reach the hostel entrance, and of course it was more difficult then the taxi driver made out. After asking a few locals and trying to speak a few Spanish words to help us along the way, we walked into a hotel and the lovely receptionist printed out a map to direct us to the "Amistat beach hostel." We followed the directions, asked one more local Spanish man and found our hostel. By now Eric wasn't there waiting for us like I had planned so we could all checkin, access our room/beds and go find some dinner. Allie and I payed the full amount for the three nights stay between us and before we were directed to our room, Eric is standing at the entrance with a big box of pizza! Perfect! We all reunited with a big hug and set off to lock our bags up and decide where we could all go find dinner. We sat at a Spanish restaurant close to our hostel and picked up a few things from a supermarket then went back to sleep as we were all exhausted from travelling. 

 

We woke up with a plan of all wanting to see as much of Barcelona as we could but Also have a relaxing and fun time. By now I have mastered how to organise what to do by utilising the hostel receptions and getting as much information about the best things to see, do, where to eat etc. After grabbing a map and creating a circle route of our day we set off to the metro to begin travelling to park güell, then onto the markets of Las Ramblas followed by walking along the marina/coast/beaches of barceloneta and relaxing on the beach before heading back to our hostel to freshen up, buy some takeaway dinners and watch the sunset on the beach with our pizzas! 

 

It was a Beautiful first day in Barcelona, the weather was amazing and I was in my happy place! It gets much colder at night then expects but of course it isn't summer yet, we are still in the spring season so the weather isn't at its peak yet. 

 

After the sunset and once we had finished eating, the wind picked up and we slowly wandered back to our hostel where we showered and had a nice early night for another day of exploring Barcelona. 

 

Since we had to reserve a time slot to go inside park güell (which is how many of the tourist attractions function around the world, which is much better as it cuts the que and plans your day) we had a 11:30-12 slot to get to the park. By now we had worked out the best way to get there, so we jumped on the metro to go visit the magnificent sagrada familia, get some photos and make our time slot at the park. 

 

Sagrada familia is a cathedral in Barcelona which is currently under construction, it looks as if it could be complete soon. Although, they are estimating completion of the Sagrada Familia will be in 20 years, 2035.

 

Park güell was absolutely gorgeous and very interesting to walk around, admiring the beautiful Spanish mosaics and the beautiful landscapes/views of Barcelona. 

 

After the park we found somewhere to have some lunch, which was right on a main road but we sat in the sun and ordered salads. Which we very small but very yummy. I was sill hungry after my salad so on the walk to the metro station to get back to the beach/hostel/locations we knew I grabbed some gelato and off we went to find our way back to the hostel for an afternoon of lying on the beach with fruit, juices, music, sun and of course the people asking "you want to buy" "how much" "mojitos, beer, water, massage" 

 

It started to get cold around 5:30 as the wind picked up so we went back to the hostel to shower, do some laundry and plan our night out in Barcelona! I edited my photographs, washed my clothes, packed my bag ready for the flight to Madrid the next day and we went out for dinner. 

 

There was a "pizzeria" right next to the hostel where we had gotten our dinner for watching the sunset the night before and decided it was yummy and the people were so lovely and welcoming, it was also very cheap! Bonus. 

 

It was about 9:30pm (people in Barcelona don't eat till very late! Most people are still eating at 10:30pm) so we all had our own yummy main meals and shared 1L of white sangria (we had tried the red wine sangria yesterday) the lady was so cute, free Olives, Beautiful fresh pizza bread free and a free shot of sweet wine to end our meals! I gave her a tip and also wrote down the restaurant name and business cards for the hostel to tell people like us to go there! She was so very thankful. 

 

A few of the hostels I have been to so far, have had their own night time/bar/parties/group deals/tours for you to pay for and experience the cities nightlife. After doing something similar in Rome I knew it was the best way and Cheapest and most fun to try go with people from the hostel. It turned out we should have gone out the night before as it was much better but we still had such a good time at dinner, drinking sangria and Chatting about life we weren't too bothered with our plans. 

 

Off we went to a local Spanish bar which is where they all go to start there nights off and then head to a club by the beach (for example, Razmitaz!) ️allie and I were exhausted and ready for bedtime so we said goodbye to Eric who was safe with a group of people we had met and would come home later. 

 

It was probably the worst sleep in the 6 bedroom dorm we were in but we could luckily sleep in before checking out and headed to the airport for our flight to Madrid!

 

After breakfast we checked out at 11am and had planned to metro & train to the airport. It would have worked out perfectly if we could fluently speak Spanish. It is great that and very helpful that Allie and Eric have learnt Spanish for years but none of us could make out what was going on and the platform 1 train at 11:32am said airport. Therefore we jumped on! After about 30 minutes I noticed the scenery was very coastal and had no idea where this train was heading! We asked some strangers and they said no to airport, and yes to beach! We had to get off as soon as possible! 

 

Next stop and we were off running down the platform to try figure out where we were in Spain and how we could make our way back to Barcelona airport to catch our flight to Madrid. The best way ended up being a taxi as we were running out of time! We made it to the airport costing us €19 each and we checked in, went through security and boarded the Vueling plane to Madrid! 

 

A stressful morning but we are safe, on our way to Madrid and I am excited to check into our next hostel which is a private 3 single bedroom all to ourselves. No strangers snoring to keep me awake! Blessed to be safe and sound after a few hiccups along the way. 

 

Ps. A lady in front of my has just been told off for panting her nails whilst on the plane! When in Spain... 

 

D // 

PRAGUE 

12.04.2015 - 15.04.2015

This week is going to be a very stressful week of cramming university work and spring break plans! It is the last week of university until I leave to venture off for three weeks around Europe!

 

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday I am in Brighton, Thursday I leave to Rome, Italy and travel all around Italy with some of my friends (Katie, Amanda, McLaren, Savannah) for 9 days!

 

Of course we are all so excited and this week has gone so fast I am now all packed and ready to go! It is late at night and I am going to get some sleep for my big 3 weeks of Spring/Easter Break!

 

Where I am going from the 26th march – 17th April:

London – Rome – Florence – Milan – Venice – Bologna

London – Barcelona – Madrid – Prague – Munich – London

 

D //

 

ROME 

26.03.2015 - 28.03.2015

Welcome to Italià! 

We arrived from London Gatwick into Rome Italy at around 9:30pm at night Italy time. We were all so excited and my flight was comfortable, fast and I slept most of the way! I knew this next 9 days were going to be jam-packed and long days, so sleep was something I was trying to treasure whenever I could. We got through customs and i haggled with a local who owned a shuttle service direct door to door, I ended up getting us into a really nice big shuttle van that would take us from the airport straight to outside our hostel doors at the yellow. The girls stood back and let me handle it as they could see I knew what I was doing and wasn't going to get ripped off! We ended up paying €14 each for the shuttle which was exactly the same price as catching a train so this was a good deal! We arrived at our hostel, which was named the best hostel in Rome, the biggest and most fun! I am not in the hostel rooms with the girls because I booked onto the trip myself I had a 4 bed female dorm what an ensuite, my room mates were 3 Argentinean girls who seemed nice but couldn't speak much English. I showered each night and washed my hair, the bed was comfortable and we had a balcony, which overlooked local homes, just stunning! 

 

We all checked into our rooms and decided to go find some food, as we hadn't had a proper meal since leaving Brighton. There was a bar across the road that the girls were staying above and it was part of the yellow hostel. Down the road was a pizza place which seemed to be open 24 hours as it was now after midnight so I got a small slice of pizza for €1 and then we headed up my side of the hostel to the lounge to plan our one big day in the city of Rome. I ended up getting to sleep by 2am and it was an early wake up to try fit in as much as we could see in Romà! 

 

Day 1: Hostel - breakfast - Colosseum - Palatino and Foro Romano - gelato and steps - Trevi fountain - pantheon - lunch - gelato - Spanish steps - sunset - metro - hostel & rest - dinner - party bus - hostel & sleep 

 

Day 2: hostel & checkout - breakfast & walk to colosseum - explore inside colosseum - wander the city of Rome (Mclaren & Katie went to the Vatican) back to the hostel to walk to the train station & train to florence - made it to the train after realising we had to change stations to get to the right train - florence check into hostel once we actually found it - get some food from local bar/pub underneath Locanda Daniel and sleep/rest.

 

D //

MILAN 

30.03.2015 - 01.04.2015 

After an early wake up call and leaving our gorgeous "hostel" but more like a motel rooms we all walked to the train station to catch our train to Milan at 8:19 to arrive Milan around 12:19, this was our longest train for the whole trip but because we had woken up early we decided to all catch up on editing our photos, I did some graphic design project work and had a quick nap. 

 

Soon enough we were unloading from the train in Milan! We had made it, safe and sound on time. Now we just needed to find ourselves to our hostel to check in/drop our bags and figure out the best way to grab some lunch and make the most of the afternoon we had here in Milan. 

 

We found our hostel from the train by using the Italian metro system (we were getting very good at this by now) 

 

We arrived at the "zebra hostel" and I had quickly checked out the star rating on trip advisor about this hostel to see what to expect. It was a 2.5 star rating! Oh no! We were able to check in to our rooms early, which were great, again I was in a room without the girls, a 6 bed female door. But this hostel was very empty! No wonder why! And I only had two other roommates the whole time, which was great! 

 

When we had arrived in Milan, I had talked to mum previously and she suggested getting to "lake Como" whilst visiting Milan. So we changed into our bathers/togs/bikinis and grabbed our tickets we had brought for the train and headed to the metro to get back to the train station! We missed our train by about 5 minutes! Therefore we figured out the next train and grabbed a quick bite to eat. I was so hungry; I hadn't eaten since a quick banana and baguette I had in Florence! 

 

During the train ride to Lake Como we all knew we were on a much nicer train than the €4.80 train we had payed for! Which backfired and we had to pay an €80 fine! Oops!!! Divided by 5 meant it wasn't too expensive but definitely not what we wanted as we are all on a budget! Not the end of the world but the girls jokingly said oh well that's two meals we can't pay for now. So yes we did end up using the kitchen facilities in the hostel in Milan and cooking bulk pasta, toasties etc!

 

We arrived in lake Como all expecting to go swimming and no, it was overcast and by the time we had finally got there it was about 4pm. There was no beach! It was a lake but no beaches! Everyone was staring at us, literally everyone. Of course I forgot to bring shorts etc from New Zealand so luckily I had jeans on and a crop top with a warm cardigan so I wasn't too out of place, compared to all the Italians in boots, gloves, scarves and coats! 

 

We explored this beautiful place and yes it was beautiful! If only it was sunny it would have been great! I did get some lovely photos and a few souvenirs, with a quick Margherita pizza and then back to the train to head back to Milan early because it was getting very cold, especially for the girls in shorts and tank tops (singlets). 

 

After getting back on the correct (cheap) train we arrived back in Milan, metro to our hostel and walked to the supermaket where we brought a group supply of groceries to last us the next 2 days! €4.35 each later we had enough food to feed 5 girls until we arrived in Venice in two days time! How awesome! 

 

We woke up for our one big day to explore what milan city had to offer, had our breakfast, packed our picnic lunch, checked our maps to make sure we had the circle route we had planned to do the night before and headed into the main centre for a big day ahead! 

 

Yes, there was a Duomo in Milan too! Of course! The Milan cathedral was the first stop on our list followed by the duomo, Musical metro steps, the oldest fashion shopping mall in Italy (the first ever Prada store etc) the arches, park, the lake/pond and the most amazing chocolate gelato shop! 

 

After a beautiful and pretty relaxing day in Milan and after another day of 15km of walking we were all most exhausted and headed back to the hostel to cook another home made dinner, shower, pack for our next city (venice) and plan our day in Venice as it was an even earlier start tomorrow! 

 

D //

BOLOGNA 

03.04.2015 - 04.04.215 

Another very early start in Venice to walk to the train station, waking up at 5am for a 6:42am train to Bologna. We were safe and sound on our last train to our last city in Italia!

 

Two hours later we arrived in the city of Bologna where we were staying overnight, as it was the cheapest way to fly back to the UK. What we didn't know was how far out our "hostel" was to the central city of Bologna. We were actually staying in a motor home camp, with bungalows! 

 

Amanda and I figured out if was going to be much easier for us to jump in a mini van and taxi straight to the address of the bungalows. €4.00 each later we arrived and found out we couldn't get back to town, the buses only ran every two hours from this place! We were stuck here until at least 11am or 1pm and couldn't check in until 2pm. Well we were all tired and found a little playground/park found a comfy patch and all lay down in the sun!

 

The Italian man came out to us to tell us our rooms would be ready at 10:30am we now only had an hour to wait! Good news! After checking in properly, unpacking, showering and napping we headed into Bologna on the bus at 1pm. 

 

Again the return buses were only every 2 hours so we stayed here until 4:40 and found a flea market and the yummiest place to get a proper pasta meal!!! This was the best I had yet in Italy! Ravioli! So yummy! 

 

I also got a beautiful handbag Finally! I was so sad to not get one in Florence. 

 

After I found us a supermarket we made it back to the bungalow for a cute sleepover full of Easter egg chocolate, stories and sleep 

 

Leaving tomorrow to fly home to Brighton for a 3-day break then back on the spring break travels. This time with a few of my Brighton flatmates! 

 

D //

LONDON 3-DAY BREAK 

04.04.2015 - 07.04.2015

A long day of travelling and we were finally walking from the final destination - Falmer train station! We were all so hungry and tired after waiting for a delayed flight from Bologna and train rides through London back to Brighton - Falmer. 

 

Allie, my best friend and my flatmate had arrived home from her trip around London, Paris, Kraków and Normandy so it was nice to see her again and we were the only ones in the flat for these next few days until our next trip to Barcelona. 

 

Waking up and off we went on Easter Sunday for breakfast in Brighton and a catch up on our trips we had a yummy English breakfast in the north lanes and found a gorgeous chocolate shop then went down to the Brighton pier waterfront. I had never seen so many people down by the pier! It was so busy and then we found out why... It had changed to the month of April and I think the Brits thought it was warm enough for rides and festival things! Which was amazing as that's what I love to do! 

 

Allie and I went on the merry go round and had fun on the horses, got a few postcards, pictures and then headed to the small grocery store to grab some food as we had been gone for 9 days and then headed to the bus to go home. 

 

We celebrated Easter with chocolate and movies, homework and resting. Just what I needed!

 

Laundry, baking, organising and we were packing for our big trip, Barcelona - Madrid - Prague (Munich for me as I was seeing my friend Bridget who is studying abroad in munch for a year from New Zealand) then back to London to see my best friend who is also from NZ but born in Britain. 

 

Off to Barcelona with Allie and meeting Eric my other roommate at our hostel on the beachfront!

 

D //

MADRID

10.04.2015 - 12.04.2015

After a sad goodbye leaving the beautiful  Barcelona we were headed for Madrid airport to catch a 2pm flight through vueling airlines. 

 

It was sad to leave Barcelona as I have not lay on a beach in the sun without a ski jacket on in months. Since being at home in New Zealand. 

 

MADRID DIRECTIONS: 

 

Metro to hostel: airport stop - 

(Change twice)

final destination: Tirso de Molina 

Get a map from this metro! 

 

From the Tirso de Molina exit the metro (exit Calle Magdalena) and walk straight down Calle Magdalena, turn up second street on your left 

 

Students hostel luis velez (level two is reception) and its €35.79 each 

After arriving in Madrid and quickly exiting the airport we found our way to our hostel by metro and walking, checked in and rested up. 

 

We all knew our first full day in Madrid was going to be a big day as this was the only full day we had to see the city. We decided to do a free walking tour first thing in the morning after breakfast which then would show us the major tourist sites and then we could choose what we had missed and do that for our afternoon. 

 

Two girls I travelled Italy with (Mclaren & Savannah) were in Madrid at the same time as we were, along with two sisters (Payton & Kasey) who are all my friends in Brighton, studying abroad. We all met for the tour and ended up spending the whole day and night with them! 

 

Free walking tour notes:

Madrid pop - 51% are from overseas 

Gate of the sun

Puerto del sol 

Centre of madrid

Heart and soul of the city 

Icon of Madrid is the bear 

Land of beers

Important political building - clock tower in sol - the lame version of the Big Ben 

New Years count down from 12 - 12 grapes, one grape per second 

50% homophobic 

2.5 million people demonstration of invasion for Iraq fit in the square of sol - reaction from Spanish government was like aww go away

54% Pop 57% under 35 female unemployed 

Spain was the first country in Europe to get Ebola 

9 - 2:30/5:30 - 7 (working hours) 

Royal museum - street artists 

Isabel II - quite ugly (sex symbol) she was the queen of Spain and single! Whoever Maried her would become the king of Spain - queen 12 years old - bitch 

She married her cousin Francisco - so he became king 

He was gay! They couldn't have sex only married her to become a king of Spain - she married a gay guy!!! 

Kicked him out of the city of Madrid! Never let him back in haha

No divorce - got a nickname in the court! Bunch of lovers - she was crazy - she never fell in love again with any other man. 

She became a big art sponsor (main sponsor of art was the Spanish Catholic Church) 

Royal opera house, built by the queen - 15 stories - part of the European opera circuit. 

90% discount on the entrance of you come 4 hours before a show 

Plaza de Isabel II 

De royal Chaldlazaaa

Largest royal palace in Western Europe took 30 years to be built - one of the best collections of musical instruments and medieval outfits in the world 

Walk around garden 10-15 mins to back garden 

A lot of Western Europe was bombed in the 2nd world war as most of the places have been re constructed 

Bullet impacts from the world war 2 the marbal with the grey spots 

100% authentic royal palace 

 

The Cathedral of Madrid

Spain is a very catholic place

Madrid is the capital of Spain 

Richest people on earth live in this neighbourhood - (no 4 casa El Cisneros) Calle de Mardid place de la Vila 

This plaza was born from the Black Plague - had to be something environmental - forbid water for a little while (6months - a year it was comely forbidden to drink water) do everyone started drinking wine instead of water. 100% of pop became alcoholics in Spain. Babies children grandmas 

Plaza mayor - main square 

First plaza in Spain was much bigger two stories higher but was burnt down 

Second plaza mayor - second winter (burnt down again) 

Third plaza mayor - third winter (burnt down again) 

Fourth plaza mayor - built from Brick and stone - not burnt down, still stands today as it couldn't be burnt down and stood the fires. 

 

After the tour was finished we gave Patricia (our guide) a tip (this is how free walking tours work - tip based - this is their wage) and headed off to find a traditional ham Spanish lunch. 

 

We had seen that their was a large garden on the map, so we walked our food downtown and into the Beautiful park of Madrid.  The park/grass area was huge and their were little boats on the water with people in them rowing around (you can hire these and have a boat ride) 3 hours later of sunshine and good chats we left to head back to the hostel to nap and freshen up for our night planned ahead. 

 

After an interesting traditional Spanish dinner (tapas for Free if you buy drinks) we all went our seperate ways to find some more food/go home to get ready for the 7 story club we were about to encounter. 

 

The Spanish eat dinner very late, which means the nightlife is much later then we were used too. The club doesn't get started till after 1am! So after a funny night with the other group in their BNB we all left and walked to the magnificent 7 story club. Yes, it was magnificent! Live band music, DJ's, cooling machines, VIP booths, live dancers, stages, 7 floors, different nationalities & bars. 

 

It was great fun, Allie and I could not find the others and after meeting a few locals and learning to broaden our Spanish vocabulary we left and walked safely home together. Showered, packed and in bed ready to wake up to leave Madrid and fly to Prague, Czech Republic. 

 

 

D //

Another flight hits the ground and we have arrived in Prague, this time we are early in the Czech Republic. Honestly I was very unsure about the few days we had here in the Czech Republic as I didn't know much about the city of Prague. Or the language I was about to attempt. After meeting Elise (my flatmate from Brighton who lives in CA United States) we all exchanged euros into "korun" the Czech currency and took the exit out of the airport. This currency reminds me of Thailand as its is 1 euro to 24 korun. Which means the 100/1000 korun notes are the cheap notes! I was excited to be in place where I wasn't spending so many NZ dollars as pound is so strong! 

 

I grabbed a taxi with a set price to take us directly to our hostel "Tyn" in old town square, right in the centre of Prague! 

 

By now it was about 5pm and we all were starting to get very hungry (Eric, Allie and I had not eaten much all day) so we checked in, unpacked for our stay in Prague, locked out valuables up in the lockers (passports, cash etc) and found a close Czech restaurant/pub to eat at. 

 

After a very cheap and big meal of stuffed chicken Breast, bread rolls, mixed vegetables and roasted potatoes I was happy and fulfilled! 

 

It had been a whole day of travelling for all of us so we found the supermarket closest to our hostel (the receptionist had circled all of these areas on a map for us) and purchased lots of water, juice and snacks. 

 

It was late and we were tired so we headed back to the hostel for an early night, warm showers and a catch up on all our travels so far. 

 

We had a good sleep in, breakfast in the hostel (continental and basic but it's food) and went out to meet our free walking tour I had planned for us to do today to easily see Prague, fast and free (tips at the end are given to the tour guide) 

 

The walking tour was compact and full of information about Prague city, history, communism, democracy and Jewish quarters. We saw many of the tourist sights/attractions Prague city has to offer In a matter of 2 hours and walking! Notes from tour: 

 

Charles bridge was built in 1357 and took 50 years by Charles the II. In 

2013 they found traces of egg whites in the cement of the building of the bridge. 

 

The Jewish quarter in Prague is very large. Many (1000's of Jews) buried in the cemetery still there today. Opposite the Jewish quarter is the Oldest working sinagauge in Europe. 

 

It was a very cold and windy day but not as bad as what we have been experiencing in Brighton, England. The tour ended and we set off to find something yummy for lunch after Dave our tour guide suggested a few Czech restaurants we found ourselves in a very Czech restaurant which followed by a Thai massage for me! My back and neck have been agony since I left NZ and some gelato then a stop at the hostel to Freshen up for a pub crawl we had organised through the hostel. 

 

Takeaway Mexican food (was so yummy!) and we were standing at the old town square where we met our pub crawl group (same company as free walking tours) and were taken to the first pub of 3 where it was free drinks for the first hour. It was only 9pm so this was going to be interesting. We were all curious about "absinthe" a legalised drink in Prague (it is green and smells like straight poison) I refused to have a free shot of it to begin with but of course I tried it once about 5ml of absinthe and that was enough to burn my throat! Never again! 

 

We all met a lot of interesting people from all around the world and after the 3 pubs we were taken to a 5 story club on Charles bridge! 

 

It was very cool inside but of course being a Monday night it was quiet, apart from our pub crawl group! 

 

Elise, Allie and I left the club and headed back to the hostel as it was 1am and we were all tired from our full on touristy day of Prague. After walking down the cobble stone alleyways for more then 20 minutes, getting completely lost and nearly being beaten up by a Dutch boy we found a taxi, I haggled a fixed price and we all got safely into the car and were driven home! 

 

By now Prague was scary and so complicated for us, the people are interesting and don't seem to be happy people at all! Their attitude is much different, maybe it is because we are speaking an English language and they are not. 

 

I woke up and Eric was in his bed home safe so we all slept in and decided the day ahead was no tours but instead exploring, chilling out and resting. 

 

We had an American breakfast, walked across the Charles bridge and visited the John Lennon wall. Finishing with a milkshake at the John Lennon pub. Prague was a lot prettier as it was sunny, warm and people seemed much nicer! 

 

We explored the two sides of Prague from Charles bridge and headed to a delicious bake shop we had been shown on our tour the Following day. After a meal for lunch and a coffee date with the girls we headed back to the hostel where everyone was going to pack to leave the next day and nap before dinner later on. 

 

I packed my things and decided I needed to go get some more korun cash from a secure ATM as I didn't have enough for dinner and possibly a taxi to the train station. Prague is cheap! So I had my nails done and grabbed a few groceries for my trip in the morning as i had a 5 hour train (bus) to Munich, Germany. Where I would visit my NZ friend who is studying abroad in Munich for 12 months. 

 

After a fulfilling, delicious and Cheap dinner we wandered back to the hostel to shower pack ready for an early wake up and sleep. Of course my time difference from Europe to NZ is difficult so I was up late talking to New Zealanders. 

 

I am now sitting on the bus heading to Munich in Germany where I will be staying with my friend for two nights before flying back to London. 

 

 

D // 

 

PARIS

24.04.2015 - 26.04.2015

Early morning start on Friday the 24th of April to begin our journey from England to Paris, France for a weekend fieldtrip! 

 

This was the fieldtrip I was looking forward to most. I have been to Paris before, when I was fortunate enough to travel the world with my family in 2008, but of course you can never visit Paris too many times. 

 

I was also so excited because when we finally arrived in Paris after a 9 hour bus ride from England – English channel (ferry crossing) – France – Ibis hotel in Paris I would meet my brother Jeremy, who I was spending the weekend with in Paris! 

 

It has been 3 months since I have seen any family, or anyone that I knew since leaving NZ, so you can imagine how I was feeling. 

 

Jeremy arrived to the hotel where we had made our meeting point and a set time once he had arrived on the train. I didn’t know how to feel! To be honest I started crying, although it was happy tears, to finally receive a hug, and to finally see family again! It was an indescribable feeling

 

It was late at night so we wandered down the road and got Jeremy some dinner before heading back to the Ibis to plan our one full day we had together and get some sleep.

 

We were both exhausted from a full on day and travelling from different countries! So we made a rough plan for our Saturday and fell asleep.

 

Another early morning start, breakfast in the lobby of the hotel and then to the Eiffel tower for 9am. Jeremy and I along with a few of my exchange friends climbed the stairs up the tower. It was my second time, but nonetheless breath taking and absolute gratitude ran through my body. I was smiling from ear to ear and I was back with family and surrounded by friends, looking over the city of Paris!

 

Jeremy and I decided to take the elevator from where the stairs no longer become available and go right to the very top of the Eiffel tower to grab one last glimpse of the magnificent view. 

 

Before we had left the Ibis with my fieldtrip USAC exchange group, we found out a few NON TOURISTY things we could fill our one-day together with. So off we went to the biggest mall I have EVER experienced or layed my eyes on! These were called the ‘gallerias’ I was not expecting what we came across and of course I just melted and had to spend most of our midday-afternoon here! 

 

Jeremy kindly purchased some shoes I really wanted, I have wanted ever since summer in NZ. These were made in Paris, how cool! Much cheaper than the ones I wanted from NZ aswell, bonus!

 

After a tasteful lunch in an alleyway around the gallerias, we jumped back on the metro to head back to the hotel for a freshen up and nap before heading out for dinner and a big night out in Paris!

 

Our dinner was absolutely stunning, once we found it! It was on the 75th floor (highest) of a building which looks out to the Eiffel tower and Paris city. It was amazing and we watched the Eiffel light show whilst sipping on cocktails and delicious French gourmet food! 

 

We then headed to where we were going to meet a few of my exchange friends for wine and beer under the Eiffel tower. After the last light show and a few raindrops later we headed for the Moulin rouge to experience Paris by night! 

 

We were all exhausted but having fun and making the most of the short time we all had here! It was a great night full of live music, dancing and funny taxi drivers. 

 

Back to the hotel, showered and straight to sleep!

 

Our last day (Sunday) in Paris and I was leaving to catch the USAC bus and ferry back to my Brighton home in England. Jeremy was catching a train back, which were similar times around lunch so we said our goodbyes quickly and headed home. 

 

It was a rushed goodbye which was better than a dragged out one, because the thought of not seeing a family member again for a few months daunted me and I didn’t want to get upset as I had had a great weekend away!

 

A big journey home, lots of design work later, naps on the bus, ferry crossings and laughs with my friends I am back home in Brighton safe and sound. Exhausted and ready for a long hot shower before heading to bed until another university week starts again. 

 

D //

 

BRIGHTON ISTANBUL CRUISE

01.06.2015

Today we set sail from Istanbul on our ship “The Rhapsody of the Seas” – Royal Caribbean line. The ship is magnificent and the itinerary is going to be bliss!

 

We depart Istanbul and travel down the Aegean Sea with our first day enjoying the ship and a day at sea. The second day arrive to our first port Kusadasi, Turkey.

 

Next we are off to Bodrum, Turkey – Rhodes, Greece – Santorini, Greece – Athens, Greece – Mykonos, Greece – Crete/Chania, Greece – Last day at sea heading back to Istanbul Turkey and depart the ship on the 12th of June. 

DEPARTING THE UK

20.06.2015

MUNICH

15.04.2015 - 16.04.2015

I checked out of the hostel and we all started our walk to the 'Praha' train station where we would say goodbye and I would start my journey to Munich, Germany where I would stay with my friend Bridget from Massey University in Wellington New Zealand. She is studying graphic design honours too and studying abroad in Munich for 12 months. 

 

I arrived in Munich after a short 5 hour bus ride (I thought it was going to be a train! Apparently my ticket was too cheap to be a train so it was a bus!) 

 

The bus pulls into a station and I see Bridget sitting on a seat looking worried, but I could see her excitement as she watched my bus pull into the parking bay. 

 

As I got off the bus she ran to me and gave me a big hug and started crying! We both cried and said hello! It is pretty cool how we are both studying abroad in different countries, with different currencies and languages but I was visiting her in her new hometown for the next year! 

 

We made our way down to the underground where we made our way to her apartment in "Leopoldstrabe" central munchen. 

 

After a quick catch up, washing and freshen up we headed back out to town to get a delicious fresh salad and juice for lunch then do some shopping in a place called Marienplatz. 

 

We were both exhausted so by the time we had done a few things it was nearly 7pm and Bridget had planned to go out for a university get together with her friends. I was tired, exhausted and feeling very unwell so I cooked myself some dinner in her flat whilst her study abroad friends came over and they all went out for the night. 

 

Unfortunately there was no where for me to sleep so luckily I could book myself into a hotel for the night and checkout late with a flight at 5pm Germany time back to London and then train to Brighton - falmer where I will go home and rest. 

 

D // 

 

LONDON

17.04.2015 - 20.04.2015

After arriving back in Brighton and unpacking my spring break bag full of dirty clothes, I was to do laundry and repack to wake up the next morning and head into London where I will stay a few days with my Best Friend Stuart at his family home in London. 

 

His family is originally from London but I met him at school in New Zealand about 7 years ago. I am very close to his family also and staying in a family home, so far away from New Zealand was exactly what I needed. 

 

I began my journey from Falmer – Brighton – London Victoria – Ealing Broadway where I would meet Stuart at the train station and walk to his family home in Ealing (about a 10 minute walk from the train station, Perfect!) 

 

Of course I didn’t pack lightly as I had just spent the last 3 weeks of my life living out of a carry on bag and 100ml maximum liquids! 

 

As soon as I saw Stuart, he gave me a big hug grabbed my bags and off we walked to drop my things at his home. I was already feeling at ‘home’ and so welcome! I was so happy to see someone from home who I am so close with, its been a few months now since I have seen anyone that knows all about me.

 

It was late Friday afternoon and I was so hungry as I had no food in Brighton to make myself lunch. So we decided to go into Ealing town and find a coffee, sit down and catch up.

 

It was perfect timing because Stuart was over on his University holidays from University at home in New Zealand, and so were his New Zealand family (aunties etc) whom I knew and they knew me. So you can imagine how fun and at home/part of a family in England I felt! 

 

My first night here in London was spent at Stuarts English aunties house with all the family having a shared dinner and catch-ups. 

 

Once everyone started to do their own thing and go home, Stuart, Stuarts cousin, friend and I headed into town to go to a pub and have a quiet night out, before walking home by midnight for an early night with a full on day planned tomorrow!

 

Today was Saturday; in England football games are played on Saturdays. Watford is a football team Stuart has supported since forever and my first ‘proper’ English football game was going to be watching Watford win! 

 

It was such an awesome experience and I had great fun! Watford won 1-0 and it was a home game so I was apart of the 1881 crew (Watford supporters) by the end of the game Stuart of course had lost his voice from singing and yelling so much along with everyone else in this stadium!

 

On the way home to Stuarts family house stopped into grannies home, down the road as it was her 87th birthday! She is gorgeous and doesn’t look a day over 50! She is doing so well and it was a fun night meeting more of the family, celebrating her birthday, saying goodbye to the NZ family (who were heading home earlier than Stuart) and an early night for a bigger day planned out in London tomorrow. 

 

We woke up and got ready to head to the train station to start our day of Stuart showing me the best few spots in London. We began our day at candem markets where I fell in love with all the yummy food, amazing market stalls and friendly international people. 

 

After a fulfilled morning we headed to the next destination where Stuart would introduce me to a ‘Westfield” (the largest mall in Europe) by now I was a little tired, but as soon as I stepped inside the Sheppard’s Bush Westfield I completely died and came back to life! It was amazing! I was in heaven, fashion heaven, design heaven everything was just perfect! 

 

After a few hours doing the main shops we had planned on and some yummy food we headed back to Stuarts home in Ealing. 

 

A few hours of homework, resting and we were off to a family dinner with Stuart’s parents, Stuart and I down Pitshanger lane. The restaurant was Greek and Stuart’s family were regular locals so it was awesome, yummy food and again I felt at home. 

 

This was the last family thing we all did together as I was to head home to Brighton to next day and begin the next half of my semester of University. 

 

Before I packed my bags and headed off to sleep, Stuart’s parents gifted me a beautiful silver ‘St. Christopher’s’ necklace, which will keep me safe in my travels. I am so blessed to have these amazing people in my life! 

 

After a sleep-in and a yummy meal at ‘Bills’ in Ealing, Stuarts father Andrew dropped me at the train station for me to start my journey back to Falmer, Brighton. 

 

It was upsetting to say goodbye so instead I said - "ill see you soon."

 

I have had the best few days and am much happier, as I was getting very homesick and feeling unmotivated (which isn’t like me at all) I am leaving London and heading back to Brighton with a fresh mind, clean clothes! Memories and a warm fuzzy feeling of knowing I have such an amazing family who can support me whenever I need them here in England. Its nice not to feel so alone and isolated, and it is always good to have friends and family, they are forever.

 

D //

14.05.2015

Laying my work out today is when it all hit me, the longest university semester is rapidly coming to an end, with two weeks left until final submissions, moving out of my Brighton home & leaving the UK to travel Europe until my last stop – home, back in New Zealand.

This feeling is surreal, looking at how much I have achieved in the past 5 months, which has flown by, but also been the busiest time of my life.

 

Moving to the other side of the world and completing a semester abroad in an honours degree is without a doubt a challenge. I’m not going to lie, I am truly exhausted but I wouldn’t change a thing. 

 

It has been the opportunity of a life time, I have travelled around the world, slept in some dodgy places, eaten food I never knew existed and met strangers who I now call my friends – best friends.

 

I have not only learnt another way of designing but another way of living.

 

Forever grateful for everything people have done for me. 

 

My journey is not over yet, 14 days left in my Brighton home and then onto Europe travels with my mother – halfway to NZ stop for 10 days in Thailand with my partner then HOME! 

 

D //

DEPARTING BRIGHTON

29.05.2015

Today is the day that I finish the last of packing up my small but ‘homely room’ in my flat, 29a paddock fields halls at the University of Brighton.

 

It has been an amazing experience and I would do it all over again in an instant.

 

I am not going to lie, I am very sad to be leaving and saying my goodbyes to some of the most wonderful people who have ever stepped into my life.

 

I will miss my amazing 7 flat mates who I now call my ‘international family.’ And also all the other people who have made an impact on my life whilst living over here. Although, I know I will without a doubt, see them again, whenever and wherever our paths cross in this world.

 

To think 120 days ago these people I have spent the last 5 months with, lived with, travelled with etc were strangers. To now be calling them nicknames, best friends, brothers and sisters is incredible. To whoever told me these people who you’re meeting these strangers you’re living with will become your friends for life” was absolutely true.

I wouldn’t trade anyone for the world. They will always have a place in my heart and a home in New Zealand at the ‘kiwis’ house.

 

Although today is a sad day, I am also gathering up my belongings and surprising my mum at Gatwick Airport, who I haven’t seen since I walked through the international departures gate at Auckland Airport on the 29th of January. I am excited to see her and start our 3 weeks of travelling around Europe together. I wouldn’t usually say this, but I have missed her! I am happy to be seeing family again and nearer to seeing my partner and then heading home to the rest of my family.

 

For now, I will show my mother where I have been living here in England then to London to drop my belongings at a friend’s house where my suitcases will stay until the 21st June. We are then leaving London on the 31st May to fly to Istanbul, Turkey where our cruise ship will depart to sail around the Aegean Sea.

 

D //

END CRUISE PARIS LONDON

12.06.2015 – 19.06.2015

Today I say goodbye to the UK, which has been my home since January 2015.

I am sad to leave but excited to say see you soon London and fly to Singapore where I am meeting my partner until flying onto the Thailand where we ill holiday for 10 days and celebrate my 20th Birthday. Off to Heathrow airport to catch my 13 hour flight and say goodbye to mum who flies to Hong Kong – Auckland a few hours before my flight.

 

Goodbye England, but not forever, I will be back.

 

D //

Today we said goodbye to our beautiful home for the last 12 days and checked-in to the Sheraton Hotel in Istanbul (8km away from the airport) where we would sleep and leave early to fly to Cappadocia on the 13th and fly back that night to Istanbul. Sleep in the Sheraton and fly to Paris early the next morning on the 14th.

 

We are in Paris until the 15th where Mum is catching up with friends from Australia and I will show her the Gallerias my brothers and I found in Paris!

 

We are catching the Euro star to arrive back into London on the 25th and train to another Family friends house in St. Neots until heading back to my friend’s house where our luggage is kept and spending my last few days in the UK in central London.

 

 

bottom of page