Aussie Travel Blog- Loving Life Down Under!

G'day mate! How you going?

I'm having a fabulous time over in should-be-sunny Australia, a country I am fast falling in love with after flying in to charismatic Melbourne in early February. I loved the quirky laneways between sweeping streets amid Victoria's notoriously unpredictable weather. I stayed with friends I made at summer camp in New York and on the Kiwi Experience bus, so my time in this glorious city was a much more personal affair then simply backpacking in the most popular central hostel. I was a little under the weather after a hectic few last days in Queenstown so movie nights, nice lunches and pool days kept me busy until I recovered. The (free-woo!) atmospheric St Kilda festival was great, driving along the Great Ocean Road was pretty (yet I've been spoilt by New Zealand's epic panoramas) and enjoying the sights and smells at the Victoria Night Market was saliva-inducing. I also enjoyed just exploring the city on foot between lunch dates, dog walks and dinners, especially bohemian Brunswick Street fuelled by T2 teas (dangerously addictive!)

Adelaide- I love you

Next I flew to Adelaide (no nine and a half hour bus ride for me, thank you Jetstar for being super cheap) to stay with another fab friend I met at camp. Again I was shown the delights of this under-rated city by those who knew it best, sampling delicious treats at the quaint Germanic Hahndorf Village, taking in panoramas at the summit of Mount Lofty, hitting the quietest beaches, drinking beer at my first AFL game and braving the epic vineyards of McLaren Vale for free wine tastings in 41 degree heat! I timed my visit to the city to co-incide with their annual Fringe Festival, which was awesome! The Garden of Unearthly Delights is a fairy-lit wonderland of fun and frolicks, where I was amazed by beatboxer Tom Thum and his singing companion from the Tom Tom Crew over a bucket of chilled ($40!) wine. The festival opening parade was great fun too- the streets were packed and the atmosphere was of the festivally type I love. In Adelaide I also enjoyed getting my amateur photographer on in the Botanic Gardens, shopping by the big silver balls (!) and lusting over the quirky fashions on Rundle street.

From Adelaide I flew to Sydney to meet my friend Anna from back home. We enjoyed walking along Darling Harbour, checking out the Art Gallery of NSW, the bat-ridden Botanic Gardens, the art galleries of The Rocks, St Paddy's Market and of course the iconic Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We had a lot of fun doing the awe-inspiring Bridge Climb, which gave us amazing views of the city and actually taught me a lot about Sydney's history and that of the Bridge. We stayed in 790 on George which has a great location and befriended some of the long-term travellers in search of work. We hit the Mardi Gras parade in bright dresses, colourful make-up and ponchos (blasted Autumn weather) and I had a HOOT getting involved in the revelry of the parade and post-parade central city nightlife, which was far less seedy than the dodgy Kingscross area I had sampled earlier in the week!

A short train ride took us to a family friend's house in Matcham on the Central Coast, where we spend most of our time chilling by the pool, eating well, entertaining their cute kids and sunbathing on the beach- a well deserved rest period before we embarked on a camping weekend up the coast. Our first night was spent watching the sunset, heating beans in the fire and drinking goon in the southern hemisphere's largest sand dune network near Newcastle. This was unreal- I had what could have been the Sahara beneath my feet, the Amazon in the background, the unadulterated starry sky above me and the crashing surf just a life-threathening dune drive away.

Our cohort drove along the shore to Anna Bay and then Tomaree Head, where we hiked to the summit for a stunning view of the surrounding islands. That night was spent at Seal Rocks, where I tried my hand at surfing (I stood up a few times but was basically just pushed onto the wave by my friend-come-surf instructor so didn't do much of the hard work myself) and even did some morning yoga on the beach. After exploring the other beaches in the area we drove to Valla Beach where we walked along the shore trying our best to avoid stepping on the tiny sand crabs, went 'adventure rock climbing' and checked out the cool caves and rock formations too.

Stunning view from Tomaree Head

Next was Byron Bay where we stayed at the phenomenal Arts Factory Lodge hippy retreat. I did yoga and meditation with a singing chick from our 10-bed teepee, chilled out in hammocks by the water, made jewelery from trinkets we bought in town, visited Nimbin, learned poi and sang along to the hostel's wonderful talent show and post-show jam in the street. LOVED IT. We also enjoyed the $5 Mexican night at Cheeky Monkeys where we came joint 7th in the pub quiz, not too shabby, and mooched around the town eating gelato (I had 4 scoops in one day, cost me £12 but it was UNREAL).

Stay tuned for my re-cap of Surfers Paradise, Brisbane, Noosa, Hervey Bay, Fraser Island and beyond- woo so much still to look forward to! :D

New Zealand Travel Blog #2 "Awesome Kiwi Experience!"

I write this from Queenstown in the stunning South Island of New Zealand, and I have lots to report about my last few days!

After smelly Rotorua we went to the powerful Huka Falls (which looks like mouthwash it's so blue) and then hit Taupo, where I had my very first skydive! It was absolutely UNREAL! We had a scenic flight up to 15,000 feet above the huge Lake Taupo (which is the same size as Singapore!) strapped snuggly to my instructor and more excited than nervous. Once the oxygen mask was on the nerves kicked in a little, but on watching all my fellow passengers tumble out of the plane before me there was nothing but cold hard adrenaline! 1... 2... 3 and WAHOOO HOLY S**T! We twirled out of the plane and I think I forgot to breathe as we hurtled towards the earth, disorientated at first until I figured out what was blue sky and what was water, then just blown away by the feeling of freefalling through clouds and sunlit sky. Once the parachute opened I could actually stop swearing and start taking in the incredible views, even steering the parachute by myself :D

That night we went on the Taupo Bar Crawl, winning a half price voucher for a boat trip by being super fast to roll a coconut from hips to chin between Anna and I, with only minor bruises incurred. Other challenges taken on by the revellers included Kareoke, Balloon Popping and a Wet T-shirt competition, and a good night was had by all! The next day Anna and I went on our boat trip to see some Mauri carvings which was nice and chilled, with only one chorus of 'I'm on a Boat' quitely sang.

Our bus then headed into the Tongariro National Park, where much of Lord Of The Rings was filmed. Movie buffs might reecognise Mount Doom (or Mount  Ngauruhoe as it's Mauri name reads) which dominates the landscape there. We also visited  Gollum's Pool; since then I've watched all three LOTR movies and now feel cool being able to point out spots I recognise from NZ's stunning landscape. Other fun facts- apparently Kiwi Director Peter Jackson used New Zealand's SAS or army or something for the realistic fight scenes in the Battle of Helms Deep, but the injury register was so long afterwards that the Kiwi president wouldn't let him use them again for other battles in the film!

From there we moved on to the little-known River Valley lodge. I couldn't tell you where it is, not because it's a secret just it's in the middle of nowhere down a steep valley on the bank of a river! It's beautiful there though, we played volleyball and sunbathed and just had a well deserved rest. The river is great for rafting but is very cold as it's melted glacier water (I felt the chill when forced to jump in fully clothed for my Uno forfeit, though the wine took the edge off!)

Though I could have stayed at River Valley for days on end, we moved on to New Zealand's capital; Wellington. As it was the last time me and Anna could go out together before her return to England, we toasted our time together in the city. Luckily, though it was a Sunday, luckily the following day was a bank holiday for 'Wellington Day' so we could dance along to a live band as though it was a Friday- fate much? Wellington's free Te Papa museum was fantastic and we spent the next day exploring the city, enjoying the cable car up to a great viewpoint and botanical gardens, and eating- happy days :)

After an early start and a sad goodbye the next morning and I found myself on the ferry to the stunning South Island (choppy to begin with but it got much better) for our first South Island stop; Kaiteriteri. This is on the edge of the Abel Tasman National Park, and it was a great place to relax for a couple of days; sunbathing, playing mini golf and being big kids on the park and flying fox. Back on the bus we braved the wind to walk along Cape Foulwind, spotting seals lounging on the rocks and taking in the views, a whopping 16,286 kilometres from London (said the sign).

A couple more walks through lush forests, along raging coastlines and through the blowholes of Pancake Rocks and we found ourselves at Lake Mahinapua. We stayed at 82 year old Les's place; barrack-style set of basic accomodation in the middle of nowhere, but 50 metres from his legendary 'Poo Pub'. This is where every Kiwi Experience bus has a steak meal cooked by Les and our driver guide followed by a raucous fancy dress party. Our theme was 'Bad Taste' and boy did everyone lower the tone with their costumes! Pregnant nuns, cross-dressing paedophiles and stuffed-animal thongs were the order of the day, the drinks came in jugs and the jukebox played some belters- epic night!

We stopped at Lake Matheson for the picture-perfect mirror views of the mountains in the lake and a glimpse of NZ's two tallest snow-capped mountains, followed by Huka River, sparse bushland and on to Wanaka. Nothing much to report at Wanaka, it's pretty but small, but there's an awesome Puzzling Place that boggled our minds for a couple of hours! We moved on to a bungy jumping site (not for me thanks!) and on to the #1NZ party place; Queenstown. My first night was epic but I probably should have shared my World Bar teapot and not rinsed the 11pm free bar! I'm here for a few more days then chilling out at Lake Tekapo before heading to Christchurch for my flight to Oz- I have LOVED my time on the Kiwi Experience bus, bring on Oz!

New Zealand Travel Blog #1 "Sweet As Bro!"

My friend Anna and I embarked on our little adventure last week, and MAN are we loving it! We flew from London to Hong Kong for two nights, only losing one phone and lots of sleep on the way! Hong Kong was great- incredibly clean and excellent transport, really cheap noodles (stay away from the vegetable dumplings if you're a veggie, we found lumps of something  suspiciously like pork in ours!) and tasty BBQ beef rice rolls. We got the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong Island from Kowloon and stepped from a mish-mash of shanty-town and hotels to sweeping boulevards and business lunch restaurants. Other things we learnt: the rice wine is strong and insanely cheap but does not taste good, haggling on the markets will get you a good deal and they will escort you to a cash point if you need one, and the 'light show' that takes place every night at 8pm is kind of over-rated, though we had some lovely wine and nibbles on the harbour side that made it seem much better!

Next we flew to Auckland, New Zealand's sprawling but uncharismatic northern city, and were picked up by my friend from summer camp; Brooke. Brooke was a STAR- the time we spend with her and her lovely family was amazing (I am still going on about her Mum's beef and the pool) and we had a hoot with her friends on a night out in Whangarei. We also had a corker of a night in Paihia at the Base Hostel bar, then drove up to the northernmost point of New Zealand; Cape Reinga, the next day. Momma Cat purred along nicely during the scenic looooong drive, Tracy Chapman was belted out and we still enjoyed the swirling Pacific/Tasman meet and views despite the weather being foggy!

Brooke drove us back to Auckland after a 'sweet' beach day ready to start our Kiwi Experience on the notorious buses. We've found the bus trip great so far- it's so easy and convenient, plus a great way to make new friends, it's just the journeys are long and the driver's ipod can be... well... interesting! Our first bus stop was Mercury Bay where we went on an awesome glass-bottomed boat trip around Cathedral Cove, learning about the different marine life and geographical features of the rocks there, exploring caves and doing some ace snorkling- we even touched sea urchins and saw an octopus!

Next stop was Hot Water Beach where geothermal activity beneath the sand means you can dig your own hot pool when the tide is out and have a nice long soak, but be warned- parts of it are BOILING and toes can get toasted! We stayed in a brand new block of cabins on a cool campsite where we made teriyaki chicken on the BBQ with mugs of wine and our new friends :D good times! The following day was a beach day with only minor sunburn acquired, but we missed the last shuttle so had to hitchhike with a French family back to our campsite! First time for everything, right?

We stopped off at Karangahake while on the bus the next day to walk through the old pitch-black railway tunnels and along the gorge swing bridges which was a cool way to bond with our group. That afternoon in Waitomo we went on the incredible 'Black Abyss'- an exhilarating combination of caving, tubing, zip-lining, abseiling and climbing through the pitch-black but stunning Ruakuri Cave, mesmerised by the glow worms on the cave ceilings and amazed at our seemingly endless energy supplies! I think the hot drinks and sugary snack provided en route during the 5 hour caving expedition helped, plus the adrenaline! It was one of the best (if not THE best) things I've ever done!

Now we're in Rototua which smells a little funky because of the thermal activity and sulphur geysers around, but that does not affect our sunbathing as you can't smell it from our pool! We had a wonderful night in a Mauri village or Marae where we learnt about their customs, beliefs and way of life, enjoyed an awesome traditional dance, song, weaponry and poi show, then had a huge feast of delicious foods cooked in a hangi beneath the ground (with vino of course!) before many amusing sing-songs on our waka (bus) on the way back! SUCH a fantastic night, followed by an entertaining bungy-run competition in the hostel bar (which I didn't enter, not in a maxi dress!)

Tomorrow we go to Taupo and we're going to do a Skydive- wish us luck!

Review: The Jenny Craig Diet Plan

My two weeks spent testing out the Jenny Craig Meal Plan diet are over, and it's time for me to share my experiences with you, my fabulous readers :)

Although I was approached by a lovely Jenny Craig affiliate (via this blog- woo!) and asked to test out the program, I will aim to be unbiased and honest, but hopefully still informative and kind of useful to anyone considering trying it out too. Here goes!

I've already outlined the three main tenets of the program HERE, but in my experience I found that the 'Food' part of the program far outweighed the significance of the 'Body' or 'Mind' sections in my daily thoughts. For me, considering how much exercise I was doing, how my body shape was changing and how I was feeling at regular intervals in the day didn't feature in my thoughts as much as what my next meal would be (though those of you who know me and my foodie ways will not be surprised by this!)

I started the program on a Friday, just before I went to stay with friends for 10 days in Birmingham. The inconvenience of having half my suitcase filled with food was cancelled out by the incredible convenience of having all my meals practically ready to eat! As I was staying away from home, I was also away from the temptations usually found in my house (my biscuit barrel and I were all too closely acquainted) though my friend did tempt me into baking chocolate cake with her... twice. Having said that, the odd indulgences I had didn't totally throw me off track, because I was mindful of quantity, occasionally had my treat instead of the recommended Jenny Craig snack and also had the added pressure of feeling that I'd need to confess my sins to my consultant if I took it too far, so tried not to.

My consultant Alison was great (she even sent me a Xmas card); we'd arrange a convenient time for a quick chat, when she asked how I'd been getting on and we'd discuss any challenges I had faced or any problems I needed help to overcome. She would remind me to follow the plan as best as I could, to drink plenty of water and to get in the recommended exercise, but I think I found having a consultant most helpful because I felt it made me accountable to someone other than myself. I'm naturally quite a teacher's pet, so I just wanted to be a top student!

The pack you are sent with the plan is very thorough, easy to read and informative, plus it's filled with motivational advice like "Break The Cycle" and "Affirm Yourself". You can fill in certain sections and analyse your eating styles (I'm somewhere between a social eater and an emotional eater) and activity levels (I was in the 'Action' stage before my gym membership expired) and then follow the steps to progress to healthy levels of eating and activity, with the help of your consultant, and the support of the Jenny Craig online community.

You're supposed to take your measurements before and after starting the plan (I didn't- shoot me), but I did notice my waist seemed smaller after the two weeks, and the scales said I'd lost 3 whole pounds- result! I've even decided to keep this vintage pair of shorts I was selling because NOW I can zip them up! Wahooo!

If I hadn't have had at least one Big Night Out, and more than one episode with share pouches and the aforementioned cake, then I know I'd have lost more, because I do believe the plan definitely causes weight-loss if you stick to it. How can it not- calories are controlled, exercise is encouraged and you have a support network, it's the three-pronged attack that does it!

I found the whole program incredibly easy to follow, it was like paint-by-numbers, you cannot get it wrong, you can only not do it properly! Portion sizes are not a problem at all, as you can supplement meals with as much fresh salad and vegetables as you like (there's a handy list of 'Free Foods' you can peruse HERE along with a sample menu). I never went hungry, and even had a few meals out but tried to make healthy choices (not sure Pizza Express goats cheese and chicken salad is super healthy, but MY GOD is it tasty!)

I did end up occasionally switching the meal I was supposed to have with one I preferred from the menu (I'm not big on instant noodles) so didn't exactly follow it to the letter, but I'm still pleased with the results, and enjoyed pretty much all of the food I had! I did a little bit of exercise most days, which I only sometimes filled in on my trusty sheet, and I usually forgot to tick off each item of food I ate, but as it was just for my benefit I wasn't too fussed. Noting my huger level before and after eating made me more responsive to my body, and having a plan to follow where you can see what will be going into your body makes you less likely to add in 'baddies', because you would have to admit it on your lovely neat little chart, and I didn't want to mess it up with too many scribbles of 'vodka x lots' and 'cake'. I did find it hard to get in all the dairy and fruit snacks I was supposed to have, which surprised me as usually I have no problem with regular eating, but I think my tea addiction helped on the dairy front!

Tuna Ratatouille with Durum Wheat and salad

Some of the food on the plan was divine, like the roast chicken meal, the tuna ratatouille and the lasagne, but sometimes I found the texture of the chicken a little strange, and having to squeeze the food out of a packet both off-putting and a little tricky to get it all out! I gave my friend Anna the extra day's pack of food I was sent but her feedback was rather less positive. Anna thinks all muesli tastes like cardboard so she wasn't overjoyed with her breakfast, though I love cereal so I actually enjoyed the muesli when I had it during the two weeks (though the chocolate and yogurt coated flakes are definitely better!). She noted that she felt 'peckish' at around 10am, and so had her Jenny Craig chocolate biscuit (yes, chocolate biscuits, on a diet plan, wahoo!) which she loved, obviously :)

For lunch she said the rosemary potato pot was quick and tasty, but she was not keen on the added croutons (I'm a Team Crouton player myself). Anna supplemented her day's diet with fruit and veg, so she wasn't hungry again later in the day. Dinner was supposed to be a Thai vegetable curry which I had tried before and enjoyed, but my chum was so turned off by how it looked when she squeezed it out of the packet ("like grey dog food") that she didn't eat it! I must admit that some of the foodstuffs on the program are far from being aesthetically pleasing when you first see them, but the flavours are really tasty and with a little stir or fluff up and the addition of fresh and colourful salad and vegetables, they end up looking much better and tasting great!

As you can see from my experiences vs. Anna's, opinion on the program's menu is largely based on personal preferences. I'll try anything going, but for people who know what they like and like what they know, this diet plan might not be the one for them. A more flexible plan that requires you to make you own decisions about what you eat would be better for people who are confident in doing so, for example the Dukan diet or Weight Watchers, which allow more flexibility than meal plan diets. Having said that, the principles I have learnt from the program can be applied to your own diet, if you eat 6 times a day and ensure you get 5 portions of protein, 2 fats, 2 fruits, 3 dairy, 5 starches and minimum 3 portions of veg or salad. Though this sounds like math, once you are familiar with portion sizes, it might start to be part of your regular thought cycle so you can eat a healthy balanced diet without being on the meal plan. Myself? I'll be too busy worrying about bikinis and beaches for the next four months, but I'll try!

I think the plan is great for anyone who needs the extra guidance, enjoys the convenience and wants to kick-start a diet or re-educate themselves about having a healthy balanced diet. Personally, I wouldn't be able to do the plan for a long period of time, because for people who love cooking their own food and want to eat what they fancy, not what's on the menu, it's hard to follow a set menu. In the future, I'd be happy to try out other diets and meal plans, but as I'm going travelling in a couple of days, I think I'll be surviving on what I can get! I will try and remember what I've learnt from this experience though, namely about portion size, regular eating, balanced diet and of course, not eating half of a whole chocolate cake... twice...

HELLO to the Jenny Craig Meal Plan Diet!

Although it may be snowing outside and my thermal socks are seeing a lot of use, my thoughts are straying to my post-Xmas travels to New Zealand and Australia, where bikini season is in full swing! I am also well aware of how Christmas indugences usually cause us to put on a little bit of winter insulation, which I do NOT need after my summer going super-size in the US!

To both prevent any further weight gain and also in a bid to start losing a little of that which I've gained, I have embarked on the Jenny Craig weight loss program, which you can read all about right HERE.

The program is basically a three-pronged attack the help you either lose weight, maintain your current weight or re-educate yourself on what (and importantly; how much) to eat in order to have a healthy balanced diet.

Firstly (this is the main thing for me), you are provided with the right foods in the right amounts in the 'Food' part of the plan. I received a HUGE box of goodies containing all my meals and a few snacks to last two weeks, delivered direct to my door. It was strangely exciting to rifle through my planned diet, and it got me excited to try all the delicious-sounding meals (more on that later).

The contents of my stomach for the next two weeks!

Secondly, you are put in touch with a consultant who is like your go-to person if you have any problems, need to confess a slip-up or need advice on how to handle a potentially dangerous situation (I had a Big Night Out planned, but I tried to counter-act my many vodka/diet cokes by dancing for 5 hours, skipping my daily 'goodie' and drinking lots of water). My lovely consultant Alison is thus helping my tackle the 'Mind' part of the program, I've spoken to her twice already and feel like I'm doing pretty well!

Thirdly, there's little point in putting the right fuels in your body if you don't supplement that with exercise to help boost your weight loss and your mood, hence the 'Body' part of the program. The calorie content of the diet plan is according to your level of activity, mine is 1200 per day (not including 'free foods') but I've been walking loads and I danced until 4am on Fri night/Sat morning so I'm getting in some workouts, kind-of!

Now, the Food! Breakfasts are packets of flavoured porridge, tasty wheat flakes or muesli, and you add milk and fruit. Lunches are almost instant (soups, noodles, instant potato, salad pots etc) with salad, but often require you to be near a microwave or kettle. I've managed to fit the plan into my erratic schedule so far by eating my tuna pasta salad while shopping instead of my potato and croutons, and I chose soup during a lunch out because that's what I was supposed to have anyway. Dinners are very tasty so far, and include curries, lasagne and roast chicken- not typical diet foods by any means, but these are calorie controlled and you get the amount your body needs, but can supplement your portion with vegetables or salad. You also get a delicious snack like the white-chocolate and caramel cereal bar, which I LOVE, and eat fruit and yoghurt between meals too, though I've found it tricky to fit in so many food breaks (surprisingly!)

Chocolate Coated Wheat Flakes- YUM!

I have a couple of meals out to navigate whilst on the plan (which are allowed but you must try and be mindful of your choices) so we shall see how I deal with those! Watch this space for my grand review of the whole program and my experiences overall, but for brief updates check my Twitter and the Jenny Craig Facebook Page, where I will be posting regularly! Wish me luck!

Christmas Holiday Essentials!

So many of us choose to go away over Christmas, be it travelling to be with family, travelling to get away from family or heading for some winter fun in the sun, but what essential items should you take with you over the festive period?

Here's my list of the top 5 essentials that what would be going in my sleigh/suitcase if I was to spend the holidays away from home...

1. Alcohol :) Preferably home brewed sloe gin or something festive like mulled wine, advocaat for eggnog or Glayva for a warming hot toddy. I always find that a day of my Mother's overcooked turkey, my grandad's snoring and the Queen's speech becomes much more bearable after a liquid breakfast of the adult kind. If I were on holiday overseas, I'd have hit the duty free en route and stocked up on festive spirit(s) to help the party season go with a clink, why not? HEY it's the holidays! Share a bevvy or five with the people you love!

2. Decorative Ribbon- the kind you curl with a scissor edge. Any gift can be jazzed up with a bit of ribbon, even if it's wrapped in the Christmas Eve newspaper because you yet again left it too late this year goddamit. Little rolls of the stuff can even be stuffed into shoes when packing to save space, and any bottle of wine you pick up can instantly be made to seem extra special. You took the time to curl the ribbon didn't you? WIN.

3. A Sparkly Dress- Christmas isn't Christmas for me without a smattering of sequins, so I would always pack a really jazzy little number for all those party season dates you'll have in your diary. Failing that, dress up on Christmas Day, just because it's Christmas- the only day on the calendar during which sequins are acceptable day attire. Sparkly dresses are also proven to increase your chances of experiencing a mistletoe kiss by up to 74%. Yeah, that's a real statistic. This jaw-dropping one from Lanvin is a jaw-dropping £1,635, but this high-street gem from Dorothy Perkins is equally fabuous and a much more purse-friendly £60...


Lanvin at Matches, £1,635




Dorothy Perkins, £60


4. Morning Rescue Kit- No-one wants to be hungover on Christmas Day, the turkey just won't taste right ( vote 'hair of the dog'- see point 1. on this list). What you need, is channel your inner Boy Scout when packing, and Be Prepared. I don't mean include your sparking flint and Swiss army knife (though the latter usually has a corkscrew. Just sayin'), I'm talking about your rescue kit for those mornings after the night before, using mini-bottles where possible to travel light. Mine would consist of: pain killers, Berocca, eye mask for lie-ins, Vitamin B, Touche Eclat, lip balm, Sex and the City on DVD and ideally a small elf who would bring me food, give me foot rubs and close the curtains for me if I took a dislike to daylight.

5. Festive Extras- A Santa hat is actually quite sensible if your winter break is somewhere chilly; keep your ears warm, reduce heat-loss through the head and emit festive cheer on the slopes! Tinsel could replace your usual piece or ribbon/luggage strap that you use to distinguish your baggage on the conveyor belt, and red lipstick could be used not only for vixen lips but for an impromptu Rudolf nose if the situation suddenly called for it  (this could happen- a couple of twigs more and you've got yourself an easy-peasy fancy dress outfit). A few small baubles bit in the suitcase could be used as wine glass markers (HEY that's my zinfandel, my bauble is terracotta coloured, yours is the one with squiggles on!) but could also be used as silly earrings or even bobbing apples during a seasonally-confused games night. Here's an extra travel tip- fit all these items into a compression sack (like this one from Rutand Outdoor) and squish it all down to save space. They also keep all your clothes in neat little sacks that make great weapons in pillow fights!

Hopefully my handy hints and tips will stand me in good stead for winning This great competition from Thomas Cook to win a fabulous Antler suitcase, which is very shiny and sexy, and I want very much!

All together now (Mariah warbles optional):
Santa won't you bring me one thing I really need, won't you please bring the suitcase to me-e-ee!

Post-Camp Travel Stories- NY, Toronto, DC, MD and PA

Well I've been a busy bee since my last post, but my 5 months in the US of A are officially over (for this year- more on that later!) and I thought I should share some of the stories and pearls of wisdom I gleaned from my time travelling the states after working summer camp.

From camp I got the train (not the right one- I missed that!) to Buffalo in north-west New York state. The vibe I got from Buffalo was kind of strange- it was like a ghost-town during the day, all high-rise office blocks but only homeless people on the streets. By night things got a little more fun, at least they did in my eyes (I had my first cocktail with some sushi at the lovely SeaBar around 1pm. A couple of Oktoberfest pints and some vanilla vodka later, my time in Buffalo was perking up!) Moral of the story- only go to Buffalo if you're going to Niagara Falls, or you're old enough to buy alcohol in America!

SeaBar's lunch special- sushi, noodles, miso soup and tea, plus a cocktail!

I meant to go to Niagara Falls from there but had so much fun with my first hostel friend that I didn't get round to it until I got to Toronto- a bustling cosmopolitan-feeling city in Canada with a central square that seemed to look to Times Square for inspiration (though it didn't have quite the same brash austerity as the NYC photo-op favourite). In Toronto I found good shopping, helpful people, a busy bar/club scene (though it was quite expensive) and some lovely European girls who I am still in touch with.

I ventured to Niagara Falls all on my lonesome, choosing to travel by bus and get a local shuttle down to the tourist mecca that is Clifton Hill. Considering the falls are a beautiful natural phenomenon, the gaudy facades of the ubiquitous Tussaud's and Ripley's seem to jar, but fair play to the tourist board who are laughing all the way to the bank as tourists decide to 'make a day of it' at all the amusement arcades and could-be-anywhere entertainment venues. As you can see it wasn't my favourite place but I'm glad I did the Maid of the Mist tour, even if I got soaked, got water in my camera and almost froze to death, because the high-winds/rain/waterfall spray combo caused quite a ruckus amongst the excitable Japanese tourists, which amused me no end.

Back to Toronto in time to catch my 11 AND A HALF HOUR BUS RIDE to Washington DC. No, I didn't get a wink of sleep, and yes I did have to sit next to a snoring man, but I arrived to glorious weather in a beautiful historic city that I'd been excited to see. Also, I was on Megabus (cheap as chips and free wifi) so I amused myself on the Internet for most of the journey!

Washington DC turned out to be AMAZING- after my hostel had no record of my reservation and so postponed my check-in for 7 hours, I went exploring to the White house and the fabulous FREE museum mile, before I came across hundreds of people making some sort of pilgrimage down by the monuments. I befriended 3 awesome girls, who explained that Obama was about to make a speech to open the Martin Luther king memorial, and there was to be a free open-air concert afterwards. The next few hours were amazing- Obama's speech was powerful and moving, and I got to sing along to Stevie Wonder (who forgot even his own song lyrics but blew us all away), Sheryl Crow, James Taylor and others, whilst getting one shoulder sun burnt and dancing with my new found friends. They even loaned me some trainers and brought me along to one of their awesome Zumba classes the next day! That's what travelling is all about, just exploring and going with the flow, making the best of it and making friends, plus having incredible opportunities just because you were in the right place at the right time :D

The Whitehouse

After a good night out in the gay district at DuPoint Circle with my hostel friends, I made my way to Baltimore to meet my first CouchSurfing Host, Michelle. for those of you unfamiliar with CouchSurfing, here's the lo-down. You sign up to an international website, make a profile like on Facebook, and can either request couches to surf on, arrange to meet other surfers for coffee or a drink, or just hit them up for insider tips on where they live. You can host fellow surfers if you have a spare sofa or bed, but I just wanted to meet someone cool who would show me around and let me stay, and I'm so glad I did it!

You may think CouchSurfing is like advertising yourself to rapists and murderers, which to some extent it is, but there are safety measures in place via the site and you must be a bit careful. You can research and contact your host first, there's no obligation to stay once you meet them if you get a bad vibe, and you can get in touch with other people who have stayed with them too, to see what their experience was like. On the whole the site is full of interesting and worldly people who just want to treat others how they'd like to be treated. It's rather philanthropic actually, and my experiences were wonderful :D I didn't even have a couch, I had my own bedroom, bathroom and key!

In Baltimore I walked along the beautiful harbour at sunset with my surfing host, we cooked together and planned my first full day there. I did the touristy things and went shopping, to markets and art galleries and up the observation deck, generally embraced the rainy day and then chilled with Michelle over some rum punch that evening. A friend I'd met in Thailand and Vietnam came and met me for dinner and drinks with his friends, and he ended up staying with my next couch surfing hosts in Philly a couple of days later- making the world smaller one step at a time!

Baltimore harbor

In Philly I couch surfed in a huge house full of multicultural people with interesting stories to tell, and enjoyed a house party that night before I saw Philly's sights and got my art gallery fix. From there I headed to New York City, where I stayed until my flight home on Halloween.

Time for a few pearls of wisdom-
1) Couch Surfing is an amazing idea and I'd recommend anyone to try it, but you have to trust your instincts and do your research before you stay with a stranger. Don't be naive, but do be open to people from other cultures and let them into your life too, many a life-changing conversation can be had over a cup of tea on a stranger's sofa!
2) Hostels are very communal, so if you like to strut around naked for a while after you shower, it probably isn't for you! Remember that other people have different sleep patterns to you, have different levels of messiness and are not there to ensure you have a nice stay. Usually you'll befriend many people in your dorm. Occasionally, you will hate them. It's hit or miss! Here's some more tips from TravMonkey...
3) I've learnt to pack light, and pack cleverly, but include things you really value. Use multi-tasking products like scented lotion (no need for perfume), face wipes (for face and body), and thick scarves (cardigan, pillow, blanket, bag, you name it!). If like me you like accessories, then include your lightest, smallest ones, rather than none at all. If you have to match, then take mix'n'match clothing so whatever you wear will go together. Take black shoes and a black handbag, they go with everything! Earplugs and an eye mask are essentials. Take more than one! Consider sleeping tablets, lip balm and painkillers, plus a torch and a padlock for in the hostel. Something you don't wear at home, you won't wear travelling! And allow for fluctuating weight- I put on over a stone at camp, but lost half a stone travelling after. Stretchy pants are KEY!
4) Alcohol is a great way to make friends. Always buy enough to share!
5) Don't plan every day, let yourself just go with the flow, join in others' plans and stumble across things that you enjoy. So what if you spend 2 hours in a book shop and only half an hour looking at some monuments. Don't worry about being selfish, you don't have to change what you want to do to fit in with someone else. It's your trip, make it matter to you!

Picture I took from the Empire State Building- HOW Awesome!

New York City is amazing and I think everyone should try and experience it at least once. The atmosphere is just fabulous- one day I will live, work and play there, wearing black and feeling cool just because of my address. At the beginning I was helped up and down stairs with my luggage, was given directions by NYPD and looked up in awe at the skyscrapers looming overhead. I followed my map like it would lead me to treasure and I got paranoid about pick-pockets every time someone brushed past me. I sat in awe in front of pieces of art that I'd read about as an art student, and gleefully took pictures of Times Square in all weathers. I sang along to Broadway stars in Ellen's Stardust Diner, gave a standing ovation at Mary Poppins, and queued for 2 hours for panoramic views form the Empire State Building.

By the end I carried my Starbucks coffee cup and steamed up my sunglasses with it whilst walking purposefully like all the locals. I sat and read outside the Central Library (SJP's wedding venue in SATC), I gave homeless people my left-over food and toiletries, and I strode out of subway stops as though I knew which way was East and which was West. I hunted down the best vintage warehouses in Brooklyn, spent a night in Queens, went to a weekend thrift market and even haggled in Chinatown. I avoided eye contact on the subway, didn't sit next to the guy with his pants down, shared a giggle with a guy dressed as an Angry Bird. I EMBRACED life as a faux-local, and enjoyed every minute of it!

I will be returning to America next year after a second summer back at camp. This time, I'll hit New York with my 'cwo-fey' cup and eke out all the places that tourists miss, no doubt blogging along the way. Watch this space for more travelling adventures!

Floral Flare Fever...

So I meant to share my excitement over finally plucking up the courage to wear my floral palazzo pants, and now i'm converted!

Mine were a bargain from Primark (don't judge, I am a student!) and they were debued in Berlin just before I went to NY, teamed with a long black vest and a statement necklace, plus a gold scarf in the daytime...

By day- palazzos, leather and sunnies

By night- palazzos, sandals and 'pose'

 They are UBER comfy, surprisingly flattering if worn with a fitted top, and bang on-trend, not to mention nice and airy for when the sun hopefully comes out!

These chifon flares from Therapy at House of Fraser are MEGA- floaty, floral and almost like a maxi-skirt, they remind me of Monet's waterlillies. Currently £36 down from £45- get them quick!

These ones are £34 from Rare, and are finely pleated but still floaty- nothing wrong with a bit of subtle textured detailing!

Rare, £34

These ones from Love Label are huge, look mega comfy and have a more Jackson Pollock-esque feel to them, as does this jumpsuit from BooHoo.com, which is only £18- that's for practically a whole outfit!

Love Label, £35

 

BooHoo, £18

If you're not a fan of the wide leg, try a similar print on a more slim fitting trouser. These white ones from Matalan are only £14 and ASDA do a fabulous pair of printed palazzo trousers for £16.

Now it's coming into Autumn yours can still be worn! Save then for less windy days though as the flapping-round-the-ankles flare is not something others will covet!