SKIATHOS, GREECE | A PHOTO DIARY

Hey everyone!


After having not visited the tiny island of Skiathos for almost ten years, I finally managed to go back to one of my favourite places. Not much has changed in my absence, except the Mamma Mia overload. This tiny island, and surrounding islands where used as film locations for the movie and the  locals have taken this as a great business opportunity! There's even an outdoor cinema in the main town that offers weekly viewings of the movie, with their own added twist! Settle down with a glass of wine and watch the film under the stars, by the end everyone will be up on their feet dancing and singing along!

Skiathos is a small island in the Northwest Aegean sea, situated in the group of islands known as Sporades. It's about six miles long, and four miles wide, with Skiathos Town being the most populous place. For me it was like returning home, my family used to visit for our holidays and I knew where I was going. Everyone is friendly and you will never feel unsafe.

This year we stayed a five minute walk from the town centre, which meant we could take in the great nightlife that this tiny island has to offer. Plenty of bars and restaurants that line the harbour, and the main road of Papadiamanti. Most of the food is very traditional, with plenty of places to grab a Gyros!

From the town you can grab a short boat across to the unpopulated island of Tsougria, which is a protected natural habitat and a perfect place to spend the day relaxing. It doesn't get too busy, and the water is crystal clear. There's a small taverna on the beach, and remember to bring your snorkelling gear!

Jump on a boat tour around the island, or a tour that visits the nearby islands of Alonnisos and Skopelos. Or do both! Why not? Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the dolphins that live in the waters below!

The airport in Skiathos is very small, so small that it stretches from one side of the island to the other and has become a popular destination on the island for both plane spotters and those who are looking for an adrenaline rush. You can stand at the end of the runway, and feel the power of the planes engine as it speeds down the runway.

If you're able too, rent out a car for a couple of days so you can drive around the island and explore. We managed to visit the monastery for the first time, which has glorious views from the mountains and you can learn about some of the islands history. There's a shop that sells wine and liquor produced from the monastery itself. 

Whilst we had the car we decided to drive to the Il Kastro, a place we had also never explored before. Read up on this ruined town before you go, as it has a lot of history. It used to be the capital of the island, and a walk through the narrow pathways makes it easy to imagine the old society come to life around you. It's not easy to get to, no busses and very steep roads if you are going to drive. Some boats stop here, but require a very steep hike to reach. The best way to visit is to either rent a 4x4 or book on to a tour that stops here. Just bring sensible shoes and a bottle of water! It's definitely a hidden gem on the island, and so secluded that it will never be busy.

 Skiathos is full of lots of different beaches, some family favourites include; Mandraki, Koukounaries, Troulos and Tsougria as previously mentioned. But if you're looking for a relaxing place to swim without the sand, then head over to the Tennis Club to use the pool for free.

I will always keep coming back to visit this wonderful place, it holds so many of my memories and it's just beautiful. I want to bring everyone I know so that they can experience the island for themselves.

Thanks for reading, xo
*As with all pictures featured on my blog, they are all taken by me unless otherwise noted. I use a Canon S120 and iPhone 6S. 

A DARWIN SUNSET | PHOTO DIARY

 Hello everyone! 

By now you can probably tell that i'm a big fan of sunsets, and i also like to take many photos of each one i see. 

Travelling Australia i was lucky enough to see my fair share of breath-taking skies, and here i would like you share with you the sunset that has the number one spot! 

To set the scene: The place is Darwin, sometime in April. We've spent the day exploring, finishing it off with a rather spicy, inedible curry that i attempted to make. Our hostel didn't have too much to offer, so we decided to take a wander, no aim in sight. We stumble across a footpath that leads down through overgrown trees, so we decide to follow the path. What we see is pictured below, the photos not doing it justice. 

There was only a handful of people on the beach, and the water was incredibly calm. It was still warm, not a sound to be heard except the occasional fish jumping out of the water, or someone skipping pebbles along the shoreline. 

When i zoomed in with my camera, the colours of the sky turned even more orange. Creating what looks like a watercolour painting. Just look at the light hitting the water, creating a 'stairway to the sun'. 

 As the sun hid further behind the horizon the colours in the sky changed quickly. Once it was gone the pink and purple tones became more prominent, hitting the water and reflecting the colours. Your whole vision was filled with these wonderful colours.

One of these pictures now sits on a canvas in our living room, reminding me every day of how truly astonishing mother nature can be, and how lucky enough i was to be in the right spot at the right time and capture this moment for everyone else to see. Nature at her best. 

Thanks for reading, xo

THE BEST SYDNEY SUNSET | PHOTO DIARY

Hello everyone! 

Last week there was no post, and there's no excuses really. I just had no idea what to write about, which is why this week i'm bringing you a photo diary. Less typing for me, and you get to see some of my Australia photos. 

So here's a little back story to put these photos into a concept. 

I was going from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour, and we got on the ferry and as we turned the corner we noticed that the sun was beginning to set. Perfect timing some would say! It was also one of the best sunsets i'd seen during my travels. The lighting was perfect, with that slight orange haze and made for some great photos. Thank goodness i had my camera on me! We weren't on a special sunset cruise around the harbour, which i know you can do, we just paid our normal fare and were lucky enough to see what we saw. 

 It was amazing to see how the sun light was bouncing off the Opera House and changing the colour of it! 

One of the places were the boat stops, en route to Darling Harbour, is at Luna Park. Now for those who don't know, this is a small theme park company. They have parks in a few Australian cities. Most famous for the face on the entrance to the park, as seen below. What you cannot see, as it is hidden, is the huge grin that this face has. 

 As you can see, the colour of the sky is beautiful! I hope you enjoyed looking at my photos, and i'll hopefully see you next week! 

Thanks for reading, xo

2 MONTHS GONE

My oh my, has it really been 2 months since the last update? Yes. That is correct.

Since we last spoke i have been all over Australia, currently in a little town called Portland about 4 hours from Adelaide.

We did eventually find jobs in Sydney. Which meant we had to drive 40 hours straight to make it back to the big city in time to begin. It was at a fruit farm, pruning flowers and then the fruit later on. It started out okay, good enough pay for what it was and we had a cheap campsite. Eventually though we had to leave because they were in trouble with the council and then finding somewhere to stay became harder and more expensive. In total it was around 5 weeks before we packed up and left. We had almost two weeks without any work because the fruit was not growing as quickly as expected and we felt we were being treated unfairly. Our friendly employers were becoming not so friendly. So we left. For me it was only two days before i was scheduled to leave anyway but for my companions it was a good couple of weeks. But y'know, some things work out for the better.

We stayed in Sydney for around a week and my friend from the UK flew in. Then we decided to drive to Melbourne and do the Great Ocean Road. This is something me and George have already done about a month into our Australian adventure, but it was amazing and it wasn't entirely the same, we made sure the change it up. Including going to a wildlife sanctuary and seeing the cutest baby dingo i have ever laid my eyes on!

Just before we hit Melbourne we decided to rent a house on Phillip Island, infamous for it's penguin parade every evening. Here we celebrated my 20th birthday and then a few days later got robbed. Yup, this happened to us whilst we were having a lovely walk along a beach and came back to find our lock had been forced and i was short of my wallet. An Ipad and a camera were also in the mix. Not a lot got taken, but the most valuable to us. My wallet has two memory cards full of pictures from the past 7 months, which have now gone forever pretty much and the other two were also full of photos. C'est la vie. We didn't let this hold us back. Just a few tears were shed.

That evening we drove into Melbourne were me and Jordan were booked into a hostel for the night. One of the best i have stayed in so far, might i add. (Discovery Hostel) It was bang slap next door to The Queen Victoria Markets. We went for lunch with a lovely couple he had met on his flight over. We explored the markets, bought an engraved ring for $15! and a dog tag for my dog back home. We also went to the Eureka Tower which is the tallest building in the city and from there we could see the MCG and watch the AFL final! Pretty awesome. We also went to a market called Finders, which was full of independent stores and, dare i say it,  basically Pinterest as a market. Cute little knick-knacks and food and drinks everywhere! I loved the place.

Our next stop was the Great Ocean Road, i have written about it in a post before and nothing has changed. It is just as beautiful. Except this time we went swimming in Loch Ard Gorge and saw an awesome sunset. The weather was in the high 30's for a change so it was a lovely drive.

The next few days are going to consist of wineries, German towns and Adelaide. After that we will all go our separate ways until Christmas! I am going to explore Western Australia, the others are finding work and Jordan is popping back to Melbourne before meeting me in Perth.

I'm excited to see what the next few months bring me! See ya! x

BROKEN DOWN IN TABOOMA | PHOTO DIARY

Pretty much as soon as we crossed the border into Victoria we came across a fire, and then got stuck in traffic. We were heading to Croajingalong National Park and were meant to go to the Thurra River to see the big sand dunes but we got half way and our campervan wasn't sounding to good so we found a place called Tabooma were we broke down for the night. The only bonus was the spectacular sunset over the lake that we got to witness.

Because we were so close to the lake there were bugs everywhere! The place also had no running water and the toilet was a hole in the ground. On our way down to the lake we came across a wombat who was having a good scratch on a fallen down tree. 

 It was a very clear night and due to Tabooma having no street lights, we could see the stars very clearly. At this point i was very happy that my camera had a setting for taking photos of the stars because i managed to snap this photo, which i'm quite proud of! 

The next morning we had to jump start the campervan with the help from a couple of very kind strangers, and then drove to a town called Orbost were we took the van to a garage. Turns out the exhaust had completely come apart, which is why it sounded like we were in a jumbo jet and had to drive with ear plugs in!