After returning from my latest trip I managed to pick up a couple of different temp assignments for a week or two before Richemont called me to say they wanted me back!! This was great news as I enjoyed working for Richemont, they were a great company and I learnt a lot working there. I ended up working there until my time was up in London.
The start of my weekend trips away was local, in Birmingham, to stay a night with my friend who was studying there. Charlotte showed me around and we hung out in the small city where the sun was shining for us. We did visit the Cadbury Chocolate factory which of course we felt ill from so much chocolate afterwards but well worth it.
The following weekend was the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee which meant an extra-long weekend, perfect to book a European trip away, Prague in the Czech Republic it was. I went solo and managed to meet some great people on the walking tour and at the hostel where I stayed.
Prague was very pretty and I ended up having a couple of big nights. The city was full of interesting history and I visited the Terezin Concentration Camp as well as the Jewish Museum which taught me a lot about the Jewish history within Czech Republic. A few of us went to see the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra which was pretty impressive. I felt like I did a lot in Prague and there was some great food to be eaten including bagels and some friend cheese – perfect!
Back in London I went to Oxford for the day with a mate where we did the free walking tour with Footprints Tours which went through the stunning University campuses and Harry Potter locations. Oxford was beautiful and the buildings were so grand and impressive! Ideal for a day trip from London.
The following weekend was Lovebox Festival in Victoria Park with a friend who had come over from Adelaide. The festival had people such as Emile Sande, Rita Ora, Groove Amada, Friendly Fires etc. On the Sunday my cousin and myself went to Windsor where we strolled about the town and checked out Windsor Castle – the Queen was not home. Queen Mary’s doll house is quite something though.
Next up was a weekend trip to Budapest in Hungary with a group of friends from Adelaide. There was about six of us girls and we had a grand old time going on the free walking tour with free Budapest Walking Tours and hanging out in the Szechenyi Bath which had about 30 different pools to choose from – incredible. We ate and drank ourselves silly with a couple of big nights and having a jolly good time. Such a good trip with the girls and I loved Budapest, it was really beautiful.
Next weekend it was Wimbledon time so a few of us went on the Friday night to watch a couple of games (with some Pimms and strawberries and cream of course) and then I did an organised day trip to Bath and Stonehenge with a girl from work. It was pretty much impossible to do the both without your own means of transport so a tour it was. Stonehenge was mysterious and Bath a picturesque little English town.
My first gig in London was Aussie hip-hop band, Hilltop Hoods, with a few people from Adelaide – great to be in a room with sooo many Aussies again and to see artists who were actually from my home town of Adelaide!
After more Friday night tennis at Wimbledon (this time watching the Federer/Murray final from the hill), it was then a day trip to the Isle of Wight with a friend for a massive walk along the coast. We ended up walking for about five hours and roughly 20km – in the rain!! We were drenched by the end but it was stunning and felt so rewarding afterwards. The Sunday included Wireless Festival with my housemates in Hyde Park which involved whole lot of mud and it was quite suiting that Rhianna sung ‘Umbrella’. We also saw Pitbull, Labrinth, Calvin Harris and Rizzle Kicks in the muddy Hyde Park.
Dublin was next and it was time for an easy-going weekend as I was getting pretty run down and not feeling 100% from being so non-stop. People can’t believe it when I say that I did not drink at all when I went to Dublin – I was just not up for it and it was a trip that I kept more to myself instead of going out and meeting people. I still did the free walking tour with Dublin’s Best Hostels and went on a day trip to Howth where I went for a massive walk along the coast/cliff edge, stunning.
I am quite proud of my first trip to Wales which I organised all myself and I suggest to anyone they do something similar. I caught the train to Cardiff for the first night and the next day I got the bus to Swansea and then another bus to the Rhossili Bay for a massive day of walking along the Gower Coastal track – it was absolutely stunning. From Rhossili Bay (which was named one of the best beaches in the world) I walked along cliff edge, beach and scrub for 30km to Pennard which took roughly 7 hours in the most perfect weather. I caught a bus to Swansea to check out the little town before getting the train back to Cardiff – I was buggered. I explored Cardiff the following day and caught the train back to London late in the afternoon. A great ‘Welsh’ weekend back to nature.
