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Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts

26.7.17

My First Time: Flying Solo

At 19 years of age, I finally ventured off on my first solo adventure to a different country. Although this trip was only a short haul flight; from London to Glasgow, it was definitely filled with a few bumps along the way.

So what did I think about traveling alone? It was definitely a lot quieter, that's for sure! But I also enjoyed it. I'm quite an independent person but this experience has enabled me to become more self-reliant and organised. However, the waiting around did become a bit tedious, as classic me had used up all of my 3G and the airport Wi-Fi was only free for an hour, so I was sitting around waiting like a lemon for the majority of the time. Although, for once, I had come prepared and brought along my book and had downloaded my music on Spotify so I didn’t need really any internet, it’s not like people were blowing up my phone either, clearly not very popular .

Landing in Glasgow was straightforward as I didn’t have any luggage to collect and my cousin and aunty were already waiting for me. So, it’s safe to say that the outwards journey was a walk in the park.

After spending the weekend getting some final bits for our bridesmaid’s outfits and of course the dress fitting, it was now the Sunday, and I was due to fly home. This didn’t go quite as planned. Originally, I would catch my 21:00 flight from Glasgow, get home, go to bed, and go to work in the morning. But of course, nothing for me is ever that simple.



My flight gets cancelled. Not only this, but the alternative flight that was provided by EasyJet for free then sold out, meaning I was technically stuck in Scotland… Thankfully, my uncle managed to find me a flight with British Airways for the following morning but this was an extortionate price and it still meant that I wouldn’t make work, but at least I would be home.

The flight back was, again, fairly straightforward. Basically the same as the way there, apart from the fact that BA were playing operatic music as everyone boarded the plane, I suppose there’s a first time for everything.

I actually managed to make it back in one piece, with all of my belongings, who would’ve thought! Not going to lie, but I’m slightly dreading flying to America on my own now…

Until next time,

Nadia


xo

10.5.17

Uni | Finishing First Year

The time has come; my first year at university is over. All assignments have been submitted, all exams complete, meaning I won’t have to return to the lovely campus that is the University of Roehampton until September, with the odd occasion in-between for university events. Other than that, I am done, complete, finished!


It’s safe to say that this past year has flown by. I know everyone tells you that to begin with; that your time at university will be over before you know it, but quite honestly I wasn’t expecting it to go by that fast. A part of me is gutted that I won’t be able to see my flatmates every day, but in return, I’ll be back home with my family. Since being at uni, I've honestly met some of my now closest friends, as well as memories that I certainly won’t forget, like breaking my arm (lol), going on tour, Frigby, and of course weekly Fez nights out. I just hope second year will be just as good, minus the injuries.


I do have a few things to look forward to for second year, like living with familiar faces, being with everyone again, and of course, study abroad!! From January to May I'll be in North Carolina continuing my studies and I honestly cannot wait, but the 8 hour flight there can, safe to say I don't travel well. 




Until next time,

Nadia

xo

30.4.17

London | Sites to See

 London is a beautiful city regardless whether it’s day or night. Day time is perfect for sightseeing and exploring what the city has to offer, and of course, shopping. Below are a few of the places that show off what London has to offer.


1.     Southbank
Southbank is one of London’s iconic tourist attractions. Largely known for Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and of course the London Eye. However, this is not all Southbank has to offer! There is also Southbank centre book market for those who prefer something a bit quieter and there is also Gabriel’s Wharf, which is filled with a mix of independent shops, cafes, bars and restaurants.


2.     Portobello Road/ Notting Hill
If you’re the type of person who loves shopping, street food and vintage shops, then Portobello Road market is the pace for you! Being home to a mixture of unique and quirky shops and food stalls it is definitely the coolest block in town. Also sharing the spotlight here, is of course, Notting Hill, with its iconic brightly coloured houses, and oh yeah, Notting Hill (the film with Julia Roberts, yeah that one) was also filmed here. 


3.     Hyde Park
One of the greatest and greenest sites in London, Hyde Park is filled with a number of memorials, statues, events and of course hundreds of tiny little furry friends. It’s the perfect place to chill out with friends, workout or explore and get lost in the hundreds of acres of land.



These are just a few of the variety of places London is home to. If you enjoyed this blog post, then be sure to look out for part two!

26.4.17

ILOVETOUR | Croatia 04.17

Waking up at 3am isn't normally my call of duty, but here there was an exception; I was off to Croatia! Tour had finally come and I couldn't have be happier. Now, the majority of you reading this are probably confused as to what Tour is; I play netball at uni and our team, along with many other sports teams from my uni as well as others, all head off to a foreign country to play our sport and have a bit of a holiday, and this year we're off to Croatia.



At the airport, all tour fresher’s got paired with returners. As well as this, all fresher’s got handed a whiteboard with tasks in order to win ourselves our cutlery for dinner, set from their paired returner. My tasks were as follows: in order for me to win my fork I had to jump into the pool fully clothed, for my spoon I had to ask not only one boy, but four boys for their email addresses, yep you read right, not their numbers, their email addresses… and finally, for my spoon I had to do three back-to-back shots of tequila.

After this we were handed our tour t-shirts and mine left me speechless. "She rode me too hard, but I left her sore". Now, despite the frisky and sexual connotations, the story behind this is a lot more innocent than you may think. *flash back* It was after a classic night out at Fez when me and my friend were pretty gone, herself more than I, and I thought I'd try and be helpful and give her a piggyback back up to our flat. What a bad idea that was. I managed to get her on my back and make a couple of steps forward, the next thing I knew we were both on the floor and I had broken my elbow:))). *back to the present* Despite me telling you this story, I will admit that the back of my tour t-shirt definitely implies something else.

In my hotel room, I was sharing with another fresher, like myself, and a returner, one of whom neither of us had been paired with. We were getting ready for our first night out, not quite sure what to expect but looking at the costumes that we had to wear that night, we 100% knew that we weren’t going to be able to keep our dignity looking the way we did (lol). All of the fresher’s had to dress up as convicts and all of the returners as police women. I kid you not, I honestly felt like I was the third member of bananas in pyjamas, or a gigantic Tesco’s carrier bag. Despite how hilarious we looked, we had a brilliant time. The tasks we had to do, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do them sober but when you’re pissed out of your head, who gives a fuck, right?



At breakfast the following day, I must admit, I wasn’t feeling too bad. Thank god too because this was the first and last day that we would actually play netball. You know, the thing that this whole trip was supposedly focused on *wink wink*. After about one full game of netball we all decided to head off to the beach, where I actually fell asleep and now have the world’s biggest tan lines on my back, lovin’ life.

Fast-forwarding to the second night out, and this night we were dressed as a blank canvas, which for us fresher’s was just a baggy white top. This was probably my favourite costume of them all, despite what my returner actually wrote all over me and made me wear a juice carton in my ponytail. Safe to say I looked pretty hilarious, but I didn’t care, it’s all part of the fun. I also managed to twist my ankle about a dozen times, even though I was wearing trainers, but I guess you can say that that was part of the fun too, right?


Day three and I was starting to feel it now. My throat was killing me, my body was covered in bruises, probably because we all kept rolling around in the sand and jumping into the water fountain, and I felt so sick. I was hanging pretty bad. So what did I decide to do, go to the beach with everyone and have a nap, of course:). It was safe to say though that being in the sun did actually make me feel a lot better, and come 9pm I was ready to go out and make a total fool out of myself, just like I do every other night out. As you’re probably noticing, the costumes tend to be a reoccurring theme for every night out, and night three consisted of all fresher’s being wrapped up in loo roll and Clingfilm to mummify us. All of this pretty much came off us throughout the night, but don’t be alarmed, we did have clothes on underneath. I would fill you in on what happened after we all got mummified but being honest, it’s all just a bit of a black blur…

My god, waking up had never been worse. I was still drunk. Going down to breakfast and I still had half of last night’s make up on, my hair literally looked like I’d been dragged through a bush backwards and the sight of food just made me want to throw up. I felt like shit the entire day and I was not looking forward to our final night out. I was not physically or mentally prepared for what was going to go down that night.


The costumes for night four were decent, we were cheerleaders. However, that meant that I had to wear my oh-so-lovely tour top, you know, the one with the innocent backstory behind it? Yeah that one. At pre-drinks we had to do the usual; down all of our drinks about ten times. I’ll spare you the grim details, but let’s just say that I now had less drink in me than I had drank. Not going to lie, but I don’t remember much of this night either, and I honestly don’t know how or when I got to bed. But what I do remember was that we had to be up at 6:30am to catch our flight, and my entire flat, luckily, got woken up by a returner as we managed to sleep through our alarm…


7am and I was sitting on the coach, still in last night’s outfit, with last night’s makeup, and once again, still drunk. The flight back felt like an eternity and once all the travelling was over and I was back at uni, I had never been so happy in my life to jump in the shower and go to bed at 4pm.

Until next time,

Nadia
xo