Aussie Room Tour.

So until now I moved here i've never lived on my own, which was a big leap when I decided that the first time I would move out would be to the other side of the world. My friends and family have been nagging me for pictures of my room and I suppose doing this post would be a good way to remember it after i've left as well.

Little panorama shot of the main part of my room. Behind me is the kitchen and bathroom.

So i'm in a little studio apartment near to my University campus, which is a bonus when I have to be up for a 9am lecture (which still rarely happens but don't tell Mum). I love having my own little kitchen. I'm no where near Jamie Oliver but i'm trying to start to learn how to cook more things. 2 months in and i'm still a bit rubbish (I set fire to spaghetti last month) but i'll get there eventually!

Smallest chopping board ever.

Definitely my favourite thing about my room is having a balcony. I don't really spend a lot of time on it, I just love the fact that I have one. When it gets to around 3/4pm the sun is in the right position for me to do a bit of sunbathing!

The view from my balcony.

My second favourite feature in my room is my tapestry. One of my friends from back home (Tom, who's blog you can read here) has one and I loved it so much I decided to copy him like I always do. And I also have a slight obsession with elephants at the moment.

Probably the only time my bed has been made all semester.

And of course, here's the must-have photo wall filled with all of my favourite people. There are a few photos that have been added after living here such as the Harbour Bridge group photo and me chilling with a Koala.

My collection of photos - most of them of friends and family back home with some additions from Australia!

Next to my photo mirror I have my mini scratch maps stuck up. These came in a Travel Journal that I bought from Waterstones in the UK. I have a full scratch map at home but these mini ones are perfect to take with you and i'll probably stick them up in my student house when I get back to Leeds too.

Also with my Harbour Bridge certificate!

The bathroom is pretty standard with a small shower, loo and basin. It was a bit dull when I first moved in so I brightened it up a bit with a nice shade of bright pink. I also have a washer/dryer, but I don't use the dryer part as i'm terrified i'll accidentally shrink my clothes. Hanging my clothes on the balcony dries fast enough anyway.

My exciting bathroom!

My desk has the usual stuff, TV, DVD Player, notebooks, reading books, pens, DVD's etc.

My desk: mostly used for procrastination.

So there's my lovely first little flat! Unfortunately I don't have long left in it now. Soon it will be time to start packing it all away and giving some of the things I can't take home to my friends that are staying.
𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕝

Sydney!

It's Spring Break, we're in Australia and we've all got the travel bug. So myself, Val, Louisa and Priya booked a trip to Sydney.

Day 1
The flight there was pretty late in the afternoon, so once we had checked into our hostel, we hopped on a train into the centre of Sydney. We walked around the harbour for a bit (not the section that the Harbour Bridge or Opera House was on) and looked for a restaurant to eat dinner. We all had a hankering for some oriental food so as soon as we spotted a Thai restaurant we got excited. However it wasn't until after sitting down that we realised we had gone into the wrong restaurant. We were now in fact in an Indian restaurant, which was fine, but we laughed a bit about how useless we were.

The beautiful Darling Harbour.

Day 2
After waking up bright and early myself, Priya and Val went for a walk through the Botanical Gardens, which is celebrating its 200th birthday this year. It was beautiful. At the end of the Gardens though, was our first view of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
After stopping and taking plenty of Snapchats, Instagram pics and videos, we carried on walking to get a ferry into Darling Harbour where the Sealife Centre and Wildlife Centre were waiting for us.

Sailing past the Opera House & under the Harbour Bridge on the ferry.

First it was the Sealife Centre, where we saw Jellyfish, Sharks, Turtles, Clownfish, Stingrays and Penguins.

Pingu, some Jellies and Nemo.

For lunch we went to Sydney's Hard Rock Cafe and the food was amazing. Obviously we then ventured to the Rock Shop. After lunch it was time for the Wildlife Zoo, where we saw a Tasmanian Devil that kept chasing its tail, multiple Koalas and Kangaroos, and our favourite, Rex the Crocodile.

Rexy.

In the evening we went on a Ghost Tour through Sydney. Our guide took us to multiple venues in the city and told us interesting stories about murders, suicides and hauntings. Some sent a shiver up your spine but they were very interesting to listen to!

Day 3
We started the third day off with a stroll through Madame Tussauds. We stopped to pose alongside the likes of Leonardo Dicaprio, Iron Man, Audrey Hepburn, Oprah, Ryan Gosling, Brangelina, ET, Jackie Chan, Wolverine, The Queen of England and Marilyn Monroe.

Sitting in my rightful place with the Royal Family, doing some hurdling, striking a pose with MJ, hanging out as a T-Bird, chilling with Steve Irwin, breakfast with Audrey, being a drag queen and feeling Ryan Gosling's abs.

Our Merlin passes included some pretty cool discounts, including getting up, close & personal with some koalas for $5, including a free printed picture, and we were allowed to take as many pictures and selfies as we wanted. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to touch them, which was difficult as they just look so cute and cuddly!

Me & Samara, the cutest little thing i've ever met.

Next was the Sydney Eye Tower, the tallest structure in Sydney's skyline, standing at 309 meters.. The view was spectacular and you could see all around Sydney. Afterwards we made our way back to the hostel to prepare for the activity that we'd all been waiting for...

So high up!

The Harbour Bridge Climb. The absolute tip top highlight of the whole trip. I honestly don't know how to put it into words and do it justice, but i'll give it a go. I'm not brilliant with heights, and the first part of the climb was on a mesh kind of metal, where you could see the ground below you (we were already 50 meters high) and that bit was absolutely bloody terrifying. Once we were up on the top arch of the bridge it was solid metal and even stuck out a bit at the sides so it didn't feel as bad. If i'm honest I was completely fine once we reached this part. When we had reached the top of the arch we felt like we were on top of the world. We were now standing 150 meters high and the view of the city at night was the most amazing thing any of us had seen. It's something I won't forget for a very long time.

Squad.

Day 4
After 3 very long days of doing nothing but walking we decided to spend our final day before our flight relaxing by the beach, Bondi Beach to be exact. It was beautiful and the weather was gorgeous. We went for a swim and the waves were huge (one took my sunglasses with it). It was great to have a lazy day and to top up the tan. There's no way I can face going home to the UK just as white as I left. And for the first time in my life I spent the day at the beach and didn't burn.

Bondi Beach.

The next trip some of us are hoping to go on is a few days in Tasmania. Fingers crossed!𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕝