Saturday, June 8, 2013

Croatia and a few little trips.

Hello little followers,

No, I've not forgotten about my blog. I just don't ever deem my day to day life to ever be exciting enough to keep blogging about it!
I just got back from two weeks in Croatia though, and that is exciting!

As my last update was October last year, I'd better do a bit of back tracking, as there are a few important life events to report on, that I will never forget.
I received the best birthday present of my life last year. Madi flew over to London to surprise me! I had absolutely no idea that she was coming. I had a halloween party the night before and had dressed up as a zombie Alice in Wonderland (as you do). Unbeknownst to me, I arrived home from a huge night of partying about the same time that Madi landed at Heathrow airport!
About two hours after getting home I got a phone call from Anna (mum that I work with) telling me to come downstairs to sign for a package. The fact that she could have signed for it and that packages don't get delivered at 7am escaped me at the time and I stumbled downstairs. To my complete surprise Madi was sitting in my living room. I don't think I have ever been more excited/overwhelmed!

We had a whirl wind month while she was here. We explored London, all the touristy places and my favourite place in the city, covent garden. We also had a fabulous weekend in Paris too. It was such a cloudy overcast weekend though, we couldn't actually see the top half of the Eiffel Tower. I was back in Paris in the middle of winter and when I went to see the tower that day, it was a gorgeous, albeit freezing day, but it was snowing and I wish Madi had got to see Paris that day, instead of the day we were there. Paris is so much colder then London, but such a pretty city. It was so lovely to have Madi here, the girls I look after loved having her here too and they ask about her and my mum everyday. It's so nice, that even though I'm on the other side of the world, my kids that I look after are still so close with them.

Taking Madi to the airport was horrible. I've always been the one that does the leaving, and whilst saying goodbye is always hard, when you are leaving you are excited for your adventure ahead and that helps a little bit with saying goodbye. Being the one to put someone that you love so much on a plane, was heart breaking and my homesickness instantly doubled. I miss my sister very much.

Christmas soon crept up on me though, which made me even more homesick. It is so hard to be away from home at that time of year. It wasn't a white christmas in London last year, just a cloudy, cold one. I had a lovely day though, with the girls family and their family friends. We had a proper christmas lunch, turkey with all the trimmings. Even brussels sprouts! I tried to skype home, but was a blubbering mess, so hung up and drank a lot of wine instead!   

I spent new years eve at my most favourite bar in the whole world, Graffiti. The bar staff and my close friends make up my little London family, and are a huge part of the reason I've stayed in London. I've met the most amazing people in this city.

A quick trip to Amsterdam for Easter with three fabulous ladies was the next thing on my agenda, we had lots of fun. My friend Claire and I went and spent the day in Edam, which is where I went the first time I was in Holland with my Contiki tour. We hired some bikes and cycled around. We even temporarily joined a Contiki group as I couldn't quite remember how to find the windmill that we wanted to see. Lots of shenanigans, tram rides, cheese eating and tulip buying later we all headed back home to London.

My next trip was in May when I spent two weeks in Croatia. For the first week I did a sailing trip with Sail Croatia. We started in Dubrovnik and made our way up along the coast to Split. I've never spent that much time on a boat before and was a little bit worried about getting sea sick, but I was totally fine. I did get land sick though! (I'm sure that's not what it's actually called) After about three days on the boat, whenever I got off the boat I constantly felt dizzy and couldn't stop swaying. Wine helped mask the symptoms though. It really is the cure for everything! 
We stopped in Mljet, Korcula, Hvar and Stari Grad. Everywhere we went was very beautiful. Crystal clear waters, very mediterranean terracotta roof tiles, gorgeous mountain and ocean views all along the coast. The local people are lovely and so friendly, the food is good and served in very generous portions. It was quite similar to some of the landscapes I saw in Greece and a lot of the food has quite an italian influence.  
The people on my tour were all really nice and really fun, and we all drank way too much and partied every night. I would recommend Sail Croatia to be done with friends and not solo though.
My second week was very chilled out. I stayed at a lovely hotel on the island Brac, which is visible from Split and about an hour on the ferry. It was the first holiday I have had in a very long time that I got to just chill out and read books. It was total bliss. I really recommend you go check out Croatia in the summer time. It's pretty touristy, but so lovely for a little get away.

So that's what's been keeping me busy lately. My next trip is a weekend away to Ireland, maybe a sneaky trip back to Spain and then home for Christmas, which I'm so excited about!
I hope everyone is doing well at home, I am missing everyone as always.
Can't wait for december to get here!

With love, always
Sara
xxxxx


A few little life lessons from Sara:
* Beer pong on a boat is not the best idea.
*When you think you are done packing, especially ladies, take five things back out, you have to much stuff. Trust me, you don't need that extra top and fancy shoes that are "just in case". 
* Sunscreen. Use it. 
*Travel insurance. Buy it. Every time. 
*When you travel always make sure you have £100 hidden away for emergencies. Doing this has saved my butt a couple of times.
* Wine fixes almost anything. So does duct tape.

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