Camden Town

Yesterday Marthe, Liz, Annie and I went to visit Camden! Camden is a really interesting place, although within 15 minutes we were getting yelled at for taking photos by a very rude stall holder. We had burgers for lunch at Byron and went to Camden Lock Market, I was really regretting having lunch at Byron because all the food stalls looked so amazing but I was just to full! We looked at heaps of stalls but after a while I felt as though I was suffering from Deja Vu as many of the stall had a lot of the same items. I had to leave early because I was meeting my Mum in the city for her last night in England before she went back home to Australia. 

Love,
Sarah.

Ps. Oooooh I start classes tomorrow! Exciting!

Home Sweet Home and a Family Dinner

I've been living in my flat for a little over a week now so I thought I would give you the grand tour! My housemates and I went on a little trip to Ikea on Tuesday. I bought a new sheet set to replace the horrendous ones that were provided and I also got a lamp so I no longer need to run to bed in the dark, Hurrah! 

 I got a cactus at Ikea for £4.50, his name is Mary

We had a Family dinner so that we could all get to know each other a little better, it was also Annie's 21st birthday on Monday so we had a little birthday celebration for her. Annie cooked the roast chicken and veggies AND the brownie (which we frantically stuck candles in whilst Marthe tried to distract her by showing her pictures of her family) and it was delicious. I think we will be having more of these dinners! After dinner we all went into Marthe's room and watched Bridget Jones's Diary.

These are some but not all of my housemates from left to right: Ingrid, Me, Marthe, Annie and Liz (she doesn't live with us but she is a honorary member). Anastasia and Maria are missing from this picture.

I am having a great time in London so far, I start classes next week. The facilities at Middlesex University are amazing, I was completely blown away by everything at the Grove building, it is excellent. More on uni stuff another time.

Later Skaters,

Love Sarah.

A quick hello

I'm just popping in for a quick update on my current whereabouts. I've moved in! I'm living in a hall of residence in London and my room mates are lovely (Harry Potter fans, Vintage lovers, great taste in telly, the list goes on). I'll give you a tour of my room once I've settled in. I have so many things to buy like coat hangers etc.
So far everything is going really well except for one thing, my wisdom teeth (or so I believe) are giving me hell at the moment they are seriously so painful. I went to Boots and grabbed some painkillers and numbing gel and booked my self a dentist appointment for next tuesday. Anyway enough of that.
I saw my first ever Squirrel today and oh my gosh it was so cute! I can't wait to see more. I also saw a double decker bus with L plates on which amused me.

Chin Chin for now! I'm off to go watch Doctor Who on BBC iPlayer (yay for not seeing "this video is unavailable in your country")

Love Sarah

PS. There are more Europe photos to come I just need to find the time to upload them all and write something somewhat interesting about the places I went.

Ciao Roma!

I arrived in Rome at 8pm after a long 24+ hours of travelling from Melbourne, Australia. My first views of Rome were out the window of our transfer from the airport to our hotel,  I was so exhausted that I didn't even notice that the steering wheel was on the wrong side! but I certainly did notice the crazy driving and the reversing in the middle of an intersection! We got to our hotel and I pretty much passed out from exhaustion. The next morning we went exploring and by the end of the day I was completely in love with the city, almost everyone was friendly, the weather was fantastic and the sights are beautiful. Rome is an amazing city that I will definitely be going back to.

-Sarah

PS. I've been a little bit slack at maintaining this blog and now I have a massive backlog of pictures from Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre and Venice. Hopefully it won't take me long to catch up! I got to Paris today and have a couple of hours tonight to catch up with everything.

The Lasts

So in the past week I have been experiencing something that I like to call 'The Lasts'. These are moments when you realise that this is going to be the last time you are going to do something before you leave. Today was my last visit into Melbourne City and my last melbourne train ride. It's strange thinking 'I'm not going to be able to do this thing for at least a year', even for the most mundane things  like catching a train, going into the city, going to Savers...eating your favourite cereal. It is odd and sad saying goodbye to these things but I think it is extraordinarily exciting to experience 'The Firsts' that will be happening in the next few months. How thrilling!

Love Sarah

Days until departure: 6

PS. Got a GoPro and it is awesome!

Visa and last day at work

Today was my last day at work and they surprised me with a loverly bouquet of flowers and we all drank champagne in the lunch room! Also, a big pat on the back for the UK border agency for getting my visa to me in record time, they only took 12 days including posting it from Australia to Manila and back again! Can I just say that it is such a relief to have my passport back safe in my hands! This past few weeks have consisted of saying goodbye to good friends, reading through the numerous travel guides that have been gifted to me and receiving my first english money!

Love,
Sarah

Days till departure: 8

Packing

So it has begun, the dreaded packing. How does one pack for 12 months? I just know I am going to forget something important! I cannot believe that I'm actually leaving in 2 weeks. I received an email from the Visa team in Manila that my visa was being dispatched so I will hopefully be getting it by the end of this coming week which means I don't have to postpone all my travel arrangements, Hoorah!

My good friend Yolande who is going to be studying in Copenhagen, Denmark is leaving in 5 days, I am so nervous and excited for her! We are definitely going to be visiting each other. She has set up her own travel blog to document her experiences over at todenmarkbound.tumblr.com. Go say hello!

I should keep on packing and then I'm off to my own farewell family dinner!

-Sarah