• The CRAZIEST day in Australia so far!

    It was time to move out. I couldn’t stay there any longer. Multiple arguments had occurred and I couldn’t deal with the ever growing list of restrictive rules. Three minute showers. Wash the dishes with cold water. Use the washing machine for 15 mins only once or twice a week on a cold water cycle. Certain “sentimental” saucepans had previously been made unavailable for use – now nothing in the kitchen was available for use – plates and cutlery included. Earlier in the week, I’d had to buy emergency kitchen items to be able to eat my dinner that night. I was done. Enough was enough. I still had a week…

  • The Twenty-Minute City

    When I was planning my Australian adventure, I knew that I wanted to incorporate a trip to the huge monolith that is Uluru. After booking onto a six-day tour that departed from Adelaide, I decided to tie in a few extra days to explore the state capital of South Australia. Adelaide is known as “the 20 Minute city” because supposedly, any major point of the city can be reached in just 20 minutes. Whilst, smaller than Melbourne and with around a quarter of the population, after my four day visit, I felt that I had just about scratched the surface. The first two places that I visited (by accident) were…

  • Melbourne Love So Far

    It’s been three months since I stepped off a twenty-eight hour flight and into the place that has been voted as the world’s most liveable city for the past 7 years – Melbourne, Australia…and I can safely say that it really is a fantastic city! Here are just a few of the things that I have discovered so far. The Shopping Options Currently, I am avoiding clothes shopping unless it’s essential but if I wanted to go on a shopping spree, Melbourne would not disappoint! From the big name high street and designer shops in the Central Business District, to the quirky independent stores and vintage shops on Brunswick Street…

  • The Day it Happened

    I was cold. It had been warmer in London. I was wet. In London the sky had been blue without a rain cloud in sight. I was tired. Staying awake for most of the previous night packing and re-packing my backpack had been a bad idea. My shoulders were still aching from the hour I’d spent wandering around with my heavy backpack trying to find my hostel and I was starting to wonder if I had already missed the best of the European summer weather by opting to travel  towards the end of August and into September. This was my first multi-destination trip and I had chosen to fly the solo…

  • Why I Choose to Fly the Solo Flag When Travelling

      In the past, my solo trips have attracted a variety of responses ranging from “You’re so brave!” to “It would’ve been more fun if you took someone with you!” and “Didn’t you get lonely?” However, for me, choosing to travel solo has benefited me in ways that I could not have imagined. As an introvert, I recharge my internal batteries by taking time out alone. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with friends and family and I have great fun when I do so – but I find it tough to be around people 24/7. A solo trip just provides an extended opportunity to re-energise – and…

  • Barcelona-Bound Runaway Train

    When I decided to take an InterRailing trip in 2013, Nice and Barcelona were on my list of must-see destinations. From the research that I had conducted beforehand, I knew that travelling between these two cities was no easy feat but I hadn’t realised just how long-winded the journey could potentially be. When I went online to check the different route options, I found that the shortest option would take eight hours and involve at least two changes.  I would also need to buy seat reservations for some of the trains but I decided to wait until I had arrived in Nice to do this. Big mistake. When I got…