Sydney to Newcastle

Sydney has been incredible. It’s such a cool vibrant place but very expensive. 

After my chilled day at the beach, I decided to head to Taronga Zoo. A few people recommended it to me, they said the views were awesome. 

A short ferry ride and I was there. I was quite disappointed to hear the cable cart wasn’t running but just walking around the zoo, I managed to get to the top for the view. 

I’m not really a big fan of zoos. It’s not natural to keep animals enclosed. Plus, through my travels I’ve seen some incredible animals in the wild. I’ve seen the  elephants in South Africa and the penguins and sea lions in The Galápagos Islands. 

I thought I’d spend the whole day there but it only took 2.5 hours to see everything. I was excited to see native animals however the skippies were sleeping (which I totally get as it was so hot) and there was literally one koala. 

After the zoo, I headed back to Manly. I loved it there before so I went for some lunch, shopping and the coastal walk. I walked to Cabbage Island which was gorgeous. 

The next day I’d booked a Hunters Valley wine tasting tour. I booked it via Groupon and saved a heap of money. Pick up was early but it was worth it. 

Traffic heading out was so busy. It took nearly four hours to reach our first stop which was a vodka distillery. Trying all the different flavours at 11am was interesting. They also made liqueurs so I bought a passion fruit flavour- yum. 

We had a lovely lunch included and two vineyard tours/wine tasting. I think we tried maybe 15 different wines. 

My favourite place was the last where there were two gorgeous dogs who I got to pet. I also bought two great bottles of wine. 

I learnt that Hunter Valley can’t grow Sauvignon grapes as it’s too hot. The Hunter Valley region is famous for it Semillon and Shiraz. Both very good wines. 

As you can imagine, I was pretty smashed by the end of the tour so I was tucked up in bed by 8:30pm. 

Feeling refreshed the next day after my 12 hours sleep, I headed back to the Botanical gardens for another jog. It was so nice and I always feel so good after exercising. 

I left Sydney and got the train to Newcastle. It was a three hour journey and cost $5. So cheap! Unfortunately there was a really creepy man on the train who insisted on staring at me most of the journey. I felt so uncomfortable but my luggage was such a pain to move, I just turned the other way. He pulled out a bottle of red wine and necked it like it was water (like someone else I know...).

I had one night in Newcastle to meet up with my crazy friends I met in Ibiza. It was so cool catching up with Chloe and Jess (or Helga and Jesus as they’re also known as). They’re awesome girls but my liver could only take one night with them. 

We had drinks on the balcony of my hotel. Then we had a quick drink in the hotel bar before roaming the streets of Newcastle to find out where was open. We had to do the usual shopping trolley push, running after Jess as she was more drunk and Chloe giving Jess a piggy back, all this before we’d even technically gone out!

We went to this first bar/club where the music was pretty good. We were dancing away and Jess was doing an awesome dance routine (included falling up steps) then the bouncer came over and asked her to leave. I’ve never been chucked out a club before so that was a first lol

We headed to another place which again had pretty good music but such a mix of people. We were chatting to a cool group of guys and girls who work at the mines. One guy was showing me pictures of the 80 ton digger they just built- so impressive. 

I’m at that age now that I know my limits. I switched to soda and lime early so by the time it got to 2am, I just wanted my bed. I got a taxi back to the hotel and hit the sack. 

I was up and feeling fresh as a daisy so I was completely hyped for my hike. Chloe showed me pictures of gorgeous Mount Tomaree so we decided to walk up to the view point. 

The hike wasn’t too far but it was so hard in the heat. After walking down we were going to go for a swim but there were so many dead prawns and octopus along the shore line so decided against it. 

Now I’m at the airport waiting for my flight to Brisbane. It’s only been a few weeks since I saw Vicki in Dubai but I’m super excited to see her again and hang out on her tuff. Also beyond excited to meet her fur baby Beagle called Toby. 

G’day from Australia

G’day mate! So I’ve finally made it to Australia. It’s funny as Australia has always been a country I said I’d never visit as I thought everything here could kill you. Snakes, spiders, plants... however I’ve heard too many cool things to not visit and met so many awesome Aussies that I had to check it out for myself. 

I was a bit anxious about the flight time but it was fine. Flight to Dubai was nice and easy, 7 hours then a mad dash to the gate to catch a 14 hour flight to Sydney. I was lucky to have a spare seat next to me so I could stretch out and sleep. 

I decided to stay at an Air BnB in Darlinghurst. It’s a great location. I arrived just before mid night and the kind taxi driver waited with me until I made it inside (had to figure out how to find the keys).

After waking up at 5:00am (and requesting a lullaby song to help me sleep from Peter, thank you baby) I managed to get a few more hours sleep before waking up and heading out for a jog. 

This seems to be a holiday ritual now. The first morning I wake up, I like to go for a jog to explore the local area. Sydney was no different and I headed to the botanical gardens for my run. 

The heat was pretty intense even at 8am but it felt great to stretch my legs after such a long time travelling. When I first caught a glimpse of the opera house over the harbour, it was breathtaking (and not just from the jogging!).

I decided to stop in the cafe in the gardens for some breakfast. The usual carrot cake and iced coffee. It’s so nice now being able to eat carrot cake and not feeling sad. For those who don’t know, carrot cake was the only thing I ate after Dean passed away and it was always my ‘go to’ food when I was sad about Dean. 

The gardens were so peaceful although there were lots of people exercising (Tai Chi anyone?) and enjoying the slightly cooler weather. 

After heading back to the apartment, it was time to freshen up before meeting my friend Jo. I haven’t seen Jo since we left school in 2002 so it was a long overdue catch up. 

We headed back to the botanical gardens. This time it was nice to simply wander around and take everything in. We headed towards the opera house and central quay. We decided to hop on the ferry to explore Manley. 

After a 30 minute ride, we arrived in Manley. It was super busy being a Sunday but it was so nice people watching and seeing families enjoying their weekend together outside. 

We headed to a restaurant overlooking the ocean to have some lunch. It was time to start on the Australian wine. I do love my kiwi wine but you can’t beat a good Australian Sauvignon blanc. 

After lunch we took a stroll along the beach and sat on some rocks. It’s been lovely catching up with each other and even hearing some gossip I totally missed at school - I do love karma. 

After a few hours chilling, it was time to hear back to the ferry. On the way back, we had some amazing frozen yoghurt - the flavours here are so good. In general the food is really good. Plenty of choice although a tad expensive. 

Cocktails overlooking the opera house were calling. We watched a storm clouds gather so much momentum. All the smaller clouds were drawn to the bigger cloud, it was majestic. 

The rain came down so fast and heavy. I do have this strange fear of thunder and lightning but thankfully it wasn’t too bad. The sky lit up over the opera house was pretty amazing. 

It felt like we hadn’t stopped all day and by the time I got back to my apartment, I’d walked over 32,000 steps. I was so beat and ready for bed. 

Strangely I woke up again at 5am. Peter (already preempting) had sent me another song (best boyfriend ever!) and I managed to get back to sleep for a few more hours. 

Today I’ve headed to Bondi Beach. It’s a lot quieter today being a Monday and the sea isn’t as rough as at Manley. I’ve been a little bit cautious so I’ve just paddled instead of going fully in, I just keep thinking of all the things that could be lurking beneath... I’ve listened far too much to Daddy. 

I hope you all have a lovely Monday. I’ll be thinking about you all on your morning commute whilst I catch a few more rays on the beach. 

Girls trip to Dubai

What a trip! I’ve always enjoyed Dubai but it seems better each time I visit. I can’t believe I’ve visited Dubai three times and Abu Dhabi once. I rarely go to the same place twice, but Dubai does have its appeal. 

This trip was planned for my lovely friend, Vicki’s, birthday. We first met in The Philippines last April. Then she popped over to London in August and now we’re in Dubai. 


It’s awesome making friends through travel. We’ve got similar mind-sets, pretty chilled but also very outgoing. From the moment I saw Vicki at the airport, we were in fits of laughter. 


We luckily both arrived at similar times, me from snowy London and her from sunny Brisbane. After a short taxi ride to the hotel, a freshen up at the Hilton JBR then it was time to hit Cove Beach Club. 


The weather in Dubai is usually so nice but it was overcast and windy as hell. We tried to brave the sea but it was too chilly. Nothing warms you up more than wine though. 


The ladies nights in Dubai are amazing. It cost us AED100 (roughly £20) for entrance to the beach club, lunch and unlimited drinks until 5pm. We got there at 11am. Needless the say, we got our money’s worth. 

After six solid hours drinking, chatting to some friendly ex pats from Ireland and embarrassing Vicki with a pre birthday dessert and singing, it was time to head back to the hotel. 

I’d love to tell you about the taxi ride back however, we kind of can’t remember leaving the club. My memory loss when drinking is so bad sometimes. And it appears Vicki is the same lol

We ended up falling asleep when we got back to the hotel. We woke up at 11pm (5 hours nap) and decided to go grab some dinner. Everywhere is open so late so it was easy heading to Chili for dinner. 

The next day was Vicki’s birthday. I bought some personalised banners to put in the room and Vicki loved them. We had breakfast then chilled for a bit. The weather wasn’t great so we shortly got ready to head to The Fairmont Hotel, on the palm, for afternoon tea. 

The hotel was stunning! Gorgeous flowers everywhere and the staff were so friendly. The food was delicious and the iced tea so refreshing. It was nice to sit back and just chat about life. I’m so pleased to have made such a lovely friend in Vicki. We’re very similar so it’s cool hanging out. 

In the evening we got ourselves dolled up and headed out for free drinks. Again good old ladies night offered us free drinks. We decided to walk to one of the hotels, I forgot how many people stare. I thought we were fairly covered but apparently not. 

After a taxi (Vicki insisted) ride to Tribeca for more drinks, we walked into a cool club. The music was awesome and we soon got chatting to a group of ex pats. 

I did some research and it turns out only 1/5th of people living in the UAE are locals (Arabs), the rest are ex pats. I was pretty shocked by that. 

The group we got chatting to were lovely. Many local Essex lads. All very friendly and they were heading to another place called Mahiki’s (same chain as London) so we decided to go with them. 


The music in Mahiki was amazing!! We danced all night. I love how friendly and open people are. I was chatting to the guys and they were saying what it’s like living in Dubai. It sounds fun but so superficial. 

We remembered our taxi ride home this time and left about 2:30am. We woke up the next day (Friday) with every intention of going to brunch however the thought of day time drinking was not appealing to either of us. 

The weather has been terrible. So unusual as it’s often lovely so we decided to explore a little. We headed to Dubai Mall. I wanted to show Vicki the water fountains but sadly the show is only in the evenings. 

We hopped in a taxi to check out some Souks. The shopping is great here but rather expensive. All the perfumes are amazing, so different from the high street brands. 

After a nap (another great think about Vicki is she likes naps too!), we walked over to the marina. Lots of beautiful yachts and the buildings lit up at night is stunning. It reminds me of the Hong Kong skyline. 

After our two big days/nights, we decided on an early night. Finally the sun decided to show on Saturday so it was time to chill on the beach (after my morning jog) ahead of the desert safari. 


The car for the safari was full with seven of us. We sadly got stuck next to a lady who suffered from motion sickness. The whole ride we were praying she wouldn’t be sick and thankfully she held in her pink sick until we got out of the car. Me being the horrible person I am, had an inappropriate fit of giggles. There’s been quite a few of those this trip.

I think with the stress of the competition and how busy work has been, I’ve needed this time to be silly and relax. Sadly though my mind hasn’t been able to switch off and I’ve been having some slight panic attacks and bad dreams. Hopefully they’ll pass soon. 


The desert safari was great. Walking over the silky sand was lovely. The sun set so quickly. The red sky looked incredible. The food was traditional Arabic food and then entertainment. One thing we couldn’t understand was for such a reserved country whom dress conservatively, how can they have belly dancers jiggling their boobs in public?

We had a huge night planned for Saturday. Trey Songz was playing at White Dubai however by the time we returned from the desert, we were both pretty knacked so we went to somewhere local for a drink. It was a pretty quiet night as Saturday is there Sunday night so drinks were cut short for another early night.  


Sunday was another beautiful day. It’s typical only two good days of weather but I hear we’ve had much better weather than the -5 degrees at home. 


I’ve had such a great time with Vicki. I’ve laughed so much. Mainly laughing at how I can’t pronounce things properly (I want a crepe is not I want a crap) and also it’s been so nice being with someone so like minded. Usually I’d be sad to go home but I’m very excited. I’ve felt so guilty leaving Shiloh in the kennels with the cold weather. I’m also very excited to see a certain man. 


I’ll be back 19 days then heading off again. So excited to be heading to Australia and it’ll be super to see Vicki again. I know once again how lucky I am that travel and have such amazing experiences.