Sydney Explorer

I'm off to Cairns this weekend to visit friends who have just moved there, and I can't wait! I know the city reasonably  well, as I did my 3-months farm work an hour away and it's a great little place for a holiday!  Known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and famed for its backpacker vibes, this small city in northern Queensland has it all, and then some! With an average yearly temperature of 28 degrees you’ll rarely be disappointed by the weather (unless a cyclone hits, which is a very real possibility) and with the reef, rain-forest and amazing beaches on your doorstep you’ll spend most of your time outdoors. There’s literally SO much room for activities!  Not only is Cairns the perfect place to explore some of Australia’s most amazing natural wonders, it’s also got a buzzing nightlife and social scene – making it the perfect destination for a getaway!

I've now been living down under for almost 9 months, which is pretty mental! Time has literally flown by and I feel like I've done so much, but also nothing at all! I've lived in Queensland, completed my farm work, moved to Sydney and got a job I love. But I don't feel like I've seen any of Australia. 4 years ago I travelled the East Coast, and did some of the main sights along the way, but there's still so much to see and do in this amazing country! I've decided to put together a list of things I want to see a do before I leave Australia!

Last December my mum, brother and I went on a short weekend break to Stockholm. When I say short, I really mean it! It was more of a whistle stop tour of the city than an actual city break, but we still got to see and experience enough to make it a worthwhile trip. 

Life in Sydney is great, don't get me wrong. The weather is great (this is a big thing for anyone from England). Even in winter the sun always shines and you can walk around in a t-shirt most days. You've got countless beaches on your doorstep and loads of places to explore outside of the city. But nothing compares to home and there are some things that I really miss about London.

Last week marked my 6 month anniversary in Australia. 6 months. How did that happen? Time seems to have flown by, but living in London also feels like a lifetime ago, and I really do miss it. After 5 long, long months of hostel living, myself and 2 friends FINALLY moved into a flat in the wonderful Newtown. Never again will I take my own personal space for granted. And never again do I want to live in a room with 9 other people. Never.

It's now been over 1 month since Glastonbury 2017 closed it's gates; and I think I'm just about ready to talk about it. This year would have been my 10 year anniversary at Worthy Farm but moving to Australia kind of got in the way this year. For me, Glastonbury has always been a special, magical place and I find it hard to describe exactly how amazing it is to people who have never been. But I'm going to try.

Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia is one of the nicest cities I've visited and was the 3rd stop on my inter-rail tour last summer. I instantly fell in love with the city and it's people and was so glad to be spending nearly a week in the country. Ljubljana is super small for a capital city, but that adds to it's charm. The city centre is compact, with a small river running through the middle and a hill top castle overlooking the city.

Time to dish the dirt on the actual farming. There are only a few types of farms around Innisfail; papaya, rambutan and (by far the most common) banana. I was lucky and ended up on a banana farm with my 2 friends, so that automatically made life slightly easier. However, rumour has it that banana farming is one of the toughest things you can do. The first 3-4 weeks were by far the hardest and the thought of quitting crossed my mind more than once. 

First things first, apologies for the complete radio silence over the past 5 months – shocking, I know! I’d like to make my excuses and claim I’ve been stuck on a banana farm in the middle of nowhere, with no form of communication with the outside world. But that would be a lie. Apart from the banana farm part, that is all true. From February to May I was living and working in far north Queensland to complete my second year visa regional work. It was an experience, that's for sure. 

A hidden gem among the tropical paradises of the world, New Caledonia, an archipelago in Pacific Ocean, should definitely be on your perfect vacation dream list. The country is incredibly rich when it comes to culture and history but also very diverse in its flora and fauna. Of course, beautiful beaches and lagoons are a perfect spot for a great relaxing day or fun water sports. But, if you need a few more reasons to plan your next trip with specifically New Caledonia in mind, keep on reading.

I've just returned from an amazing (and stupidly freezing) trip to Berlin! I've been to Germany a fair few times and it's one of my favourite European countries, but prior to this trip I'd never been to Berlin. I'd heard so many amazing things about the city, especially the night life, and I was so excited to go! I'm also a bit of a history geek, so wanted to squeeze as much culture as I could into my trip. However, my main priority was to sample the nightlife, so I'd accepted that sightseeing might take a backseat on this trip.

Due to some bad planning/ incorrect train timetables online, we only had around 20 hours to spend in Vienna. We did a complete whirlwind tour of the city and managed to see some of the main sites - albeit very quickly!  We arrived into Vienna in the late morning and by the time we had booked our on-going train to Ljubljana and checked into the hostel, it was mid-afternoon.

On January 12th 2017 I'm taking the plunge and moving to Australia! It's something I've always wanted to do, ever since travelling there in 2013, and now it's actually happening. Despite my leaving date quickly approaching it still hasn't quite sunk in that I'm moving to the other side of the world. Gulp.

The first stop on our interrail tour was Prague, capital of the Czech Republic. I'd heard amazing things about Prague from friends who had visited, so my expectations were pretty high. We arrived late on the Friday evening, so there was no time to do anything other than check in and go to bed.

  I've just returned from the most amazing 17 day inter-rail trip around Eastern Europe and am seriously suffering from the post-holiday blues. I went with 10 (yes 10) friends and, despite one argument, the trip went swimmingly. We started our trip in Prague then made our way to Bucharest via Vienna, Ljubljana, Lake Bled, Zagreb and Belgrade.

It's been a while since I've done a food post, so I've gathered together a couple of foodie recommendations! When I first moved to London I regularly featured my restaurant suggestions and favourite places to eat, and this has started to slip in recent months. This is mainly due to the fact that I've now found my favourite places to eat and, like the creature of habit I am, I like to stick to them! Burgers and Asian food feature heavily this week and it's all veggie friendly.. Enjoy!

Last weekend I went on a (very) short trip to Edinburgh! We had planned a uni girls reunion in the Scottish capital and I couldn't wait for my first visit to Scotland! Sadly my trip was cut short due to a horrendous sickness bug and I left on the Sunday morning, rather than catching my planned flight home in the evening. This really sucked, as we'd planned and paid for more activities on the Sunday, but there was no way I could have strayed far from a toilet, so a 5 hour train home was my only option. Despite my trip being cut short, I had a lovely time in Edinburgh and would love to go back again to explore the rest of the city and see more of the country.

In less than 1 month I'm off with a group of 10 (yes 10) friends for an 18 day inter-rail trip around Eastern Europe! To say I'm excited is an understatement!! I've been lucky enough to have visited the majority of Western Europe, but for me Eastern Europe has remained relatively untouched. So, in an attempt to see and do as much as possible we've got a pretty packed itinerary and are cramming in a whopping 6 countries! We fly into Prague, Czech Republic and make our way through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia, finally ending up in Bucharest, Romania where we fly home. This may seem like a lot to squeeze into 18 days, but we've planned it to a tee and hope to have enough time to explore an area in each country for a couple of days at a time.

As you know, it’s important for me to visit at least one new country every year . With this in mind, I thought I'd do a post on getting ready for a trip. The preparation is a big part of the event because it puts your mind at ease and gets you excited for your upcoming adventure!

I know at this time of year people are usually planning trips away in the sunshine; but (if you're organised) these will have been planned for quite a few months in advance. Now is actually a good time to get ahead of the crowd and be thinking about winter holidays. Summer has just arrived and the majority of people aren’t thinking of a winter holiday just yet, so it's the perfect time to book! Plus, booking early means you can usually can get amazing prices and deals. Skiing and snowboarding holidays are such fun, even if you are a beginner! They're my favourite type of holiday so are the perfect choice for a winter getaway. I would love to ski in Canada one day, so I’m sharing my love for all things Canadian today. I've been there in the summer before, but it would be a great destination choice for a winter holiday! Source