Well summer positively flew by, it was awash with drizzling rain, scorching sun, interspersed with the odd bit of exercise and travelling. Following the massive successes of the Olympics in London, I decided not to stay around pondering my life, after some brief money earning I spent an expectedly cold week surfing in Cornwall. I am not one to relish sitting around doing nothing, so had one day at home before jetting off to Venice with one friend and two strangers for three weeks. We arrived at the scorching Marco Polo airport and spent two days jumping trains, waiting in the sweltering heat for water taxis, and losing ourselves in the street mazes of Venice. We also went to Murano and Burano, famous for their glass blowing and lace making, both beautiful, and a welcome tranquility from the hustle of Venice itself. The weather continued on our side as we travelled to Pula, Croatia, for Outlook music festival. Unfortunately as we reached the beach, the rain began. We were all completely unprepared - no long trousers, warm jumpers, and certainly not a waterproof tent! The four of us managed to squeeze into our 2 man tent for four nights however, even visiting Pula city in the day. There I made one of my most exciting discoveries of the trip...a coffee shop once lived in by James Joyce during his European travels! I studied Ulysses last year, and, despite the 1000 pages needed to read, found I really enjoyed it. My media and communications course at Colorado State University this summer, helped me to further appreciate how use of the written word has changed and developed from its early beginnings. Five days in Pula was followed by the beautiful Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, where we met some fantastic people and even spent an evening at a University student club. On advice that the small city housed many bookshops, I went on the hunt, and bought myself a small poetry book (in Slovenian) to prove my dedication to learning the language so I can go back! (I haven't started this challenge yet though). After a very busy few weeks visiting cities and national parks, we finally caught a few days to relax on an island just off Split, Croatia, where the weather was kind (and the price of our accomodation!) With just two days left, my new friend and I had the longest coach journey ever, through Bosnia to our surprise, to discover the walled city of wonder, Dubrovnik. My friend left before me for her flight home, leaving me alone for the first time in a foreign country for 24hours. The nerves set in the night before, but the morning came and I spent a brilliant day travelling to a secluded island and wandering the city, trying to avoid deep life thoughts. I do not enjoy pondering anything too significant, but I loved my 24hours alone and would definately do it again. Travelling alone is eye-opening; no arguments, worries or disputes, time is your own and decisions can be changed to suit yourself. Transferring at Barcelona airport was the most stressful part of my entire journey, however now I'm back on English soil, I have a new focus, washing packing and socialising - I have one day before the mighty 3rd year begins...
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About meI enjoy writing and have had experience from my degree and through working on news posts. I hope to use this blog as a summary of extraordinary things I've discovered or witnessed in everyday life. Archives
March 2020
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