Oh beautiful St. Ives

St. Ives is a place I visited back in June and has since left me with the constant longing of wanting to go back. It is a truly picturesque place which is an ideal setting for artists. The entire time I felt the urge to grab some paints and just sit looking out to sea and attempt to capture the setting as best as I can. I don't think I've ever connected with a place so deeply. It's difficult to explain but I just completely fell in love. 
Maybe it was a combination of the place I'm in right now in my life, or the company I was with or even just the place itself. St. Ives is a place I know already I will be drawn back to, as it seems to have captured something in me I can't seem to forget. It's captured something in me like it seems to have done within anyone who is lucky enough to visit this beautiful little part of the world. One day I will return eagerly clutching a bag full of art supplies, and I shall not leave until I have spent all my money on prints/postcards of local artists amazing works and sampled a sausage roll and pasty from every pastry shop. 
Until that day arrives I shall leave you with some photos which should capture why I love St. Ives so much.

Overpacking

I don't know what it is but I am terrible at overpacking. I always try to pack for every eventuality as you can't always predict the weather or the outcome of the trip. It doesn't matter how well I think I've packed, there may be times when that one essential item is left behind. In the rush of packing I usually forget something - Just have to hope it's nothing too important as you can pick up replacement bits from the shops.
Making sure you've got everything you need is all well and good until it comes to carrying the case and realising you probably didn't need all these items after all. After this the day is filled with finding the nearest lift or escalator, and using arm muscles you didn't realise you had.

Five new places challenge

This year I set myself the challenge of travelling to five new places either in or outside the UK. I wanted to do this as a way of trying to explore new places and making the most of my free time away from my studies. I love making bucket lists and my travelling one seems to be never ending, therefore this seemed to be a good way to tick pff some of the places on my list.

1. Bristol
I knew I was going to be visiting Bristol sometime this year after being invited by my boyfriend to visit his family and hometown. My first visit was back in April which I blogged about here.

2. Exeter
My boyfriend is a bit of a foodie so we took a day trip one Saturday to the Exeter food festival, which was a great experience. I didn't blog about it as we didn't get to see much of the city itself outside of the food festival, except for a brief sitdown by the Cathedral and 15 minute wander round the museum before it shut. As Exeter isn't far from uni I'm sure we'll be making another day trip there at some point.

3. Dublin
What a trip. I think this trip meant so much to me as it was the first time I went on a plane and travelled outside the UK without the aid of a responsible adult, (well my friend is responsible of course but you know what I mean). My friend and I met up in Bristol and travelled over from there. It was mainly a sightseeing and walking kind of trip, and was a break I think we both needed. You can read about our trip here.

4. St. Ives
Where do I even begin describing St. Ives?! It is such an incredible place that my attempts of describing it won't do it enough justice. Since publishing this post I have blogged about my trip to St. Ives which you are welcome to read here.

5. Mediterranean Cruise
In recent years my Dad and I have started these 'Dad and Daughter holidays' where we take a week out each year and go travelling somewhere together. Last year it took me on my first cruise round the Mediterranean and this year we signed up for the next leg of the cruise. You can read about last year's antics here.

Wandering around Dublin

To celebrate the end of exams and deadlines, a friend and I decided to meet up for a trip to Dublin to kick off the summer holiday. For me it was a big deal as it was my first trip away without the planning or supervision of adults; school trips and family holidays. It's fair to say that the trip had an eventful start involving and airport repack at the airport. Just goes to prove that two girls can live out of a back pack and small suitcase for a four day holiday. It was the start of many hilarious moments of the trip, from accidentally walking in one someone's panorama photo to dropping ice cubes into a woman's bag.

Our trip to Dublin can be described as a sightseeing holiday filled with walking and museums. Not the usual student summer holiday you'd expect with late nights and plenty of drinking - though our trip had to include a visit to the Guinness Storehouse. Just by walking around the city we were able to stumble across small cafes, shops and museums which helped us to get a general feel for the city. By walking we were able to save money on buses and time we'd spend keeping track of bus timetables, though this method of sightseeing inevitably leads to an early night in. On my next trip to Dublin I want to experience more of the nightlife, particularly since hearing about the well known Temple Bar which is a must see for tourists.

If you want to make the most of your trip on a limited budget it's well worth taking our approach of researching places that are free to visit as a way of saving money from bigger expenditures such as travel and accommodation. My friend suggested hosteling which is something I had not previously thought about. After my experiences of hosteling in Berlin and Dublin I can say it is worth doing as it provides you with the opportunity to meet people on their own travels and proves a moe relaxed atmosphere as you can cook and make yourself a drink in a communal kitchen and have multiple lounge areas. However with regard to sharing a room with other people my friend and I agreed we may not do it again. We didn't have a problem with the people we shared with, but felt we felt we couldn't entirely relax in the room as you didn't have total privacy. That's more for a long stay trip, but if it was an overnight stay I'd room share again.

Some of the daftest stories are the most memorable

We all have those stories that stick with us fora number of reasons. I would like to take a moment to appreciate the moments that aren't meant to be a big deal but are the ones that stick with you. The moments you think about and just smile at. It can be anything from ongoing inside jokes, to a classic moment that is often retold at meetups, or even a moment you keep to yourself.  These are the stories you look back on, the 'remember the time....' moments. The ones that will stay with you for years to come. I've found that a lot of these moments have occurred during my time at uni, with friends both at university and from back at home. Moments like this may seem daft at the time but looking back they're the ones that go down in history for you to remember from time to time.

For me I'm not ashamed to admit that when I think about these kind of moments I immediately think about nearly crying with happiness over a toothbrush, being surprised at the train station with Kit Kat chocolate bars and learning not to drink Jaeger bombs ever again after experiencing my first and only hangover (to date!).

Stepping out of your comfort zone

Sometimes we all like to stay within our comfort bubble surrounded by our familiar settings and regular routines. It's not always easy to step outside of that space and make room for change, however long that may be for. Although there are times when these changes may be necessary in order to progress and make new experiences to look back on. The thought of leaving your comfort zone canbe worrying but trust me, its completely worth it in the end.

Meeting the parents and exploring Bristol

This year I have set myself a challenge to travel to five new places I haven't been to before. This could be either inside or outside of the U.K. The first destination ticked off my list is Bristol where I travelled to after my stop in London on my return to uni. Before going I had heard so many good things about Bristol, therefore I'm pleased to say that I was not disappointed. Bristol will hold a special place in my heart for many private reasons which I will not go into detail about on here. All I will say is that I travelled to Bristol after being invited by my boyfriend and was able to be shown around a city that is greatly loved by the man I love, (soppy I know but I'm happy so roll with me here). Staying with my boyfriend also meant staying in his family home and importantly meeting his parents. I remember being worried about it before the trip as I'd never done 'meet the boyfriend's parents' before, and didn't want to say or do anything daft and generally make a fool out of myself. Thankfully I had nothing to worry about as they were all lovely and welcoming.

There were plenty of museums and shops for me to explore so I was happily left to my own devices to wander around the city for a bit, coming across various food and craft market stalls. My museum stop mainly consisted of me buying more art books, after telling myself not to due to lack of suitcase space,(but somehow it all still fit!), and snapchatting various puns and images I knew friends would find amusing. Though I will admit there were a few cake stops en route.... Mainly I just enjoyed being able to take in the sights of a new city, with my own personal tour guide. A sight that is a must when visiting Bristol has to be walking across the Clifton Suspension Bridge at night, overlooking the city. I can't explain how much I love this view. Hopefully next time I'll walk up quick enough to watch the sunset.