Pompeii

Greetings from Naples!!

I’ve been really busy the past few weeks and I meant to finish up my post on Cinque Terre but literally have had no time at all + the draft is on my laptop ... but will write about my Naples trip on the go here so as to reduce my backlog. Seriously wish I’d blogged about all my trips in the past bc they are nice to look back on and also so many recommendations on places and all. But anyway I will eventually get to them - I think.

So, I am in Naples right now. YM and I landed this morning at 10am here, but we’d been out of the house since 3am. Regarding pre-trip preparations - YM did all the planning for the itinerary (lol serious not even kidding) - she booked the flights and the accoms, as well as the actual itinerary. What I did was to apply for days off on those days, hehe. We managed to get flights at a pretty good price (~£50 return), and Airbnb for £88 for 3 night’s (for the both of us). Our Airbnb is quite nice but simple - it’s in a central location and our host is really friendly and gave us great recommendations so far. I’ll rave about that later at the end of the trip as we’re still staying here now.

The journey to Naples was quite a close shave as we’d almost missed our flight. We saw the wrong gate number so went to the wrong section of the gates, then once we got off the terminal train there was no way of going back. We had to call for the help via the airport phones and the transport staff came to bring us to the correct gates ... pretty sure we were the last ones to get on but at least we barely made it!!! In all honesty nowadays with the amount of surprises I have had during my travels I wasn’t even panicking anymore LOL was just quite chill and was sure that we would be fine ... I mean the worst case scenario get the next flight to Naples (been there done that on the missing flight part sadly) but anyway we did make it in the end. Then both of us promptly knocked out and slept for the whole flight.

Getting to the Airbnb from the airport took quite a while - we had to get the Alibus which is an airport shuttle running between the airport, stazione centrale and port. It costs €5 and is valid for 90 minutes after the first validation. We got off at the central station Garibauldi, then YM wanted to stop by this famous bakery called Sforgliatelle Attanasio. So a Sforgliatella (still having issues pronouncing the “sf” consonants) is this croissant-shape-like pastry that has multiple layers and is apparently usually filled with ricotta cheese. The bakery is so popular it was super crowded and they have a specific queueing system in place where you have to go to the counter first to order, pay then get a ticket number, then they will call your number and prepare your order for you. I guess as they were mostly locals they are presumably familiar with the menu. However we were pretty clueless and ended up getting the ticket number first then ordering and paying but they saw we were evidently not locals and were fine with that. YM got both variations of the Sforgliatella - crispy and original, while I got a chocolate filled one as I don’t take cheese. She strongly recommends the crispy Sforgliatella, by the way. The chocolate one was pretty good too, the sauce had a thick and silky texture - I would like to compare it to Nutella except that they're not that similar in taste but anyway just amazing texture and had lots of filling AND the best part was it wasn’t liquid enough to drip which was amazing and defo made it less messy to eat. The pastry texture is exactly the same as the Sforgliatella with multiple layers so I guess it was just a different flavour. And they were only like €1.50 or €1.20 can’t remember. Side note the train station area is apparently quite dodgy, and we were warned to be wary of pick pockets.

Got the pastries, then took the metro to the stop near our Airbnb using the same Alibus pass as it was still within the first validation time. Checked into our Airbnb, got changed as it was really hot, and then we set off for Pompeii! To get to Pompeii from Naples we had to take this train called the Circumvesuviana, which literally translates to around the Mt Vesuvius. The ticket is €3.50 and you have to buy it from the ticketing offices so we just went to Toledo which is our closest metro and found one of those ticketing stands just right outside the office and bought 2 tickets from there. Had to catch the Circumvesuviana from Garibauldi, YM got a quick lunch as I had a wrap from Stansted, then boarded the train. Journey took around 40 min, I think the view must’ve been amazing but we were both super tired and slept again for the whole ride.

Arrived at Pompeii. Tickets are €15 each and you can join a tour guided group for ~€12 per person, but neither of us wanted to follow a group so we just got the normal tickets. Apparently people can spend up to 3 days there but of course that is probably if you are super into archaeology or ancient history.

We spent the afternoon walking around and spent almost about 5-6 hours in Pompeii. Weather was super hot (guess we got lucky) and really sunny so was great for photos. Unfortunately I have little knowledge of archaeology / history so found it hard to really understand in general and after a while all of the ruins started to look the same to me ... but we managed to cover more or less the entire city. Some of the main prominent attractions are: the Forum, the Temple of Apollo, the Basilica, a few of the rich houses that were well preserved, Villa of Mysteries, and of course the Amphitheatre which was unfortunately closed. Water fountains are everywhere in Pompeii, so no need to worry about running out of water and they also have quite a few toilets. We also saw some exhibitions of artefacts as we were exiting the site, so was a very productive afternoon.

We fell asleep on the train back to Naples again, but arrived in Garibauldi and went for dinner. As it was Sunday most of the restaurants that YM had bookmarked were closed, but we managed to find a Pizzeria Trianon which was very near the famous Pizzeria da Michele. Took us about 20 min to walk from Garibauldi to there, where we were actually the very first customers. YM ordered a Margherita and I got a Marinara con Prosciutto. The pizzas were huge but they were only about €4 each, not including the 15% service fee that is the standard for eating in. I don’t consider myself a food critic or connoisseur but YM said the pizza was too oily as the oil was literally dripping from the pizza. I thought the pizza was rather good for the price HAHA so was very satisfied.

Managed to finish 1 whole pizza each and we were absolutely stuffed. Came out and saw a gelato shop. I hadn’t had a drink with my pizza as the drink prices were quite expensive so ofc was craving a gelato I mean we are in Italy! Land of gelato! The gelateria is called Gelateria Al Polo
Nord, just opposite Pizzeria Trianon. Prices start from €2 but they had so many good flavours. We tried the mela annurca (Apple breed(?) local to Southern Italy) and melon and both were so good and blended in so well. Have photos but a bit difficult to post on mobile site so might add them later but 100% recommend!!! The gelato lasted us half of our 30 min walk back home which made the walk back less tiring of course.

That’s about all for day 1 I’m super late didn’t actually finish this post last night but setting the publish time to yesterday lol. Still trying my best tho will write about day 2 in Naples tomorrow!

Arrival in Pisa

Got busy since my last post and forgot to post again but making it a point to blog about my current trip in Italy (as well as upcoming trips!!!). Been super busy with work the past few weeks but glad to have a break this weekend.

Took the evening flight from Stansted yesterday - went straight from work to the airport. Slept pretty late the night before as I had to pack and back up my photos from my phone to laptop which took ages and still didn’t even finish. Met YM at the airport and check-in and everything was pretty smooth and we each bought a meal deal for dinner. Slept almost the entire flight because I was so tired and only woke up when the plane landed.

We arrived in Pisa close to midnight and took the Pisa Mover, which is this train shuttle service between Pisa airport and Pisa Centrale train station. It was really nice and quick and was only €2.70 per person. I think we arrived at the train station in less than 5 minutes, but the area around the station was unsurprisingly super deserted at that hour. Our Airbnb was closer to the leaning Tower, so walked via the Main Street but took a while before we finally found our Airbnb. The host was really sweet to us and offered lots of tips and advice and the room was pretty nice but we were only staying for one night sadly!

Got up at 7 this morning to wash up + pack. Currently on the train to La Spezia, weather is meant to be really hot today and very looking forward!

Money Diaries: Day 2

7:10AM

Took the bus to the DLR station instead of walking like I do usually bc it was -3 deg this morning - free bc I have a travel card. I was not ready to leave the house after 2 whole days ... but actually it didn’t feel that bad. The station was really crowded and even the train was more crowded than usual. Actually taking the bus proved to be a really good idea. I’m going to do it until the days get warmer.

7:35AM

Arrive at office. I get some breakfast from the pantry (free).

12:00PM

Lunchtime. Had to call Royal Opera House as T and I have decided on the date to switch the tickets to. Waited about 10 min before finally getting through. It’s £2 to change each ticket so £4.

Went out to buy lunch + had to go to the post office (£2.68). Got a chai soy latte from Starbucks on the way back (free from my health insurance woo!) and got a salad from Tossed as I had a discount code (£4.47).

19:53PM

Home and typing this on my phone (I actually hate using the laptop lol). Was so cold on the way back! And transport was free because of my travel card. The Vitamasques hydro face mask which I did yesterday turned out to be really good and I saw a girl selling one on Depop for less than half the price. £3. But Vitamasques also just sent me an email today with a 40% off code, so I’m quite tempted to order more ... nooooooo.

Also got an email that my VS return from a month ago has been received and processed! -£19.69 ahaha. Currently waiting for my housemate to return home as he offered to cook dinner (thankful for amazing housemates).

23:29PM

Pretty late now, but tonight I managed to video-call my parents for an hour, finished my leftovers from yesterday and K cooked ravioli and pasta so had some of that too. I also managed to sell my American Apparel jeans which I never wore and will never wear on Depop to a really nice girl and hoping it will fit her!! But okay not counting in those amounts like refunds etc bc I'm trying to track my spendings here. But I will have to make another trip to the post office tomorrow again.

On a side note, my Missguided order from yesterday as well as the ASOS order from Saturday have both arrived today, but I haven't had the time to try on anything yet ...

Day 2 total: £14.15

Breakdown
Food/Drink: £4.47
Entertainment: £4
Clothes/Beauty: £3
Travel: £0
Other: £2.68

Money Diaries: Day 1

12:37PM

Woke up at 5am not feeling better at all so called in sick. Currently hiding under 3 duvets ... and had no idea it was snowing until I checked fb but that explains why it’s so cold I guess. The heating in the house is switched off at the moment and in all honesty, I have no idea how or even where to change the settings. Just ordered some takeaway from Just Eat as I have no food at home except for snacks and instant noodles ... £14.56.

That’s actually pretty expensive for a single meal compared to Meal Pal which I’ve just signed up for (but not yet activated my account will probably do so later in the week as not at work today anyway), but I did order enough food for 2 meals I think so that would include dinner. Really craving a smoothie as well but have no juice at home, might pop out later if I feel better but doubt it. Now I just need the food to come quick bc actually starving ... bless the people who do food deliveries on cold days T_T

16:12PM

Food came early. I ordered a chicken + mixed veg with rice, chicken noodle soup and a wonton soup. Was not worth the money, but well it was the cheapest Chinese takeaway in the region. Made some of the French tea from Maison Bourgeon that I bought in Toulouse last year, and I think the random yellow spot stain I found on my palm might have been from washing out the tea thing yesterday. I haven't opened the bowl of wonton soup yet so not sure whether it'll be good, but I only finished half the rice and the chicken noodle soup so saving the rest for dinner!

Agreed to do a swap on Depop with a girl - swapping my Topshop satin maxi skirt (which I will honestly never wear because it's too big and too long for me) for her Real Techniques Drape + Colour Brush set and YSL Black Opium Gift Set. Had to pay £0.33 in all for Depop + Paypal fees.

In the meantime also tried on stuff from my Missguided order from last week. I ordered a bikini set and a lilac crop top, everything was on sale. Didn't like the lilac top at all and contemplating whether or not to order another size for the bikini bottom (obviously I will return one of them) - and also they have free next day shipping now!!

16:54PM

I caved in. Terribly. Was meant to just order one bikini bottom, but then the stuff which I had in my bag were selling out in my size so obvs I had to get them first ... Also I would feel bad getting the delivery for just ONE item. Also the free UK next day delivery was ending in a few minutes, and they normally charge for delivery, so I might as well have bought them first - got a pair of lilac joggers, a pair of black culottes and a pair of black trousers. They are for work so that's fine. It's always fine if it's for work ... isn't it. £64

The first item was the Purple Double Side Stripe Jogger. They are 50% off now. I wasn't going to get them at first when I first saw them last week because they featured a blogger wearing it and the colour looked completely different. But today I went to take a closer look and realised the photo of the blogger they had was a completely different pair of trousers as the one in her photo is missing the front seams down the leg. I am hoping the actual pair will be true to the colours on the website:

The other stuff were the 2 pairs of black trousers for work: the Black Belted High Waist Cigarette Trouser and the Black Crepe Culottes. Both have quite good reviews, and anyway they are basic trousers. But it's still quite cold now so don't think I will be able to wear the culottes until summer. I currently only have 3 pairs of black trousers for work which isn't really sufficient. And they were half price!! I did order them in 2 sizes though, which means I can still get £26 back. So my net spendings should only be £38.

I am going to close the website now so that I stop looking at things to buy.

Total for now: £78.89 (omg). I don't think I have to spend anymore for today though as I already have dinner covered.

On a side note, I was organising my Pinterest and realised the stuff I put up for sale for the CNY flea last year - I actually managed to sell about 20 items as I had to delete them off the page.

19:26PM

Had the chicken noodle soup and wonton soup for dinner, still haven't finished my chicken and veg with rice yet. Did a face mask after dinner - Vitamasques Hydro Face gel mask is amazing. I got it from my February Glossybox last year and finally took the time to use it today. My skin has been really dry and flaky and the mask says up to 120 hours / 5 days of hydration ... well we shall see about that. But it was my first time using a hydro gel mask and it felt pretty good. Had to stop myself from ordering more of them until I actually see the results. They are also rather expensive for one-time masks as they cost £8 each usually.

I take back what I said about not spending anymore today. Had to book Stansted Express tickets for April. Good that I'm booking them in advance as they are cheaper. £21

Also, I made a really stupid mistake when I booked my flights because I forgot I booked tickets to see a ballet on the same night. Now I have to change the tickets for the ballet ... but waiting for T to tell me which other day she can make it. Bad planning on my part argh.

20:19PM

Just booked my return ticket for the trip in April because when we booked the outbound we hadn't decided on how many days to stay for the trip. Decided to come back on Monday instead bc travelling is tiring, and also can save on one extra day of accoms. £21.45

Now I don't think I'll be spending anymore for today since 1) I don't have anything to buy atm 2) Royal Opera House is closed and T hasn't replied me about the dates so can't change the ballet tickets yet 3) Going to sleep soon as have to go to work tomorrow 4) I have £3.83 left in my debit card. I hope the refunds for the stuff I returned on Saturday comes through tomorrow (please).

Day 1 total: £121.34

Breakdown
Food/Drink: £14.56
Entertainment: £0
Clothes/Beauty: £64
Travel: £42.45
Other: £0

First post of 2018

Hi again. It’s been more than a year since I last blogged omg. But last year was really busy with final year and exams and apps and all. I might resume blogging this year just because I’ve been travelling so much and I do want to be able to remember what happened HAHA.

I’m ill now and down with a really bad cold and lost my voice today. I also have an exam tomorrow as well as the remote cert which I’m not even sure if I can do at this point seeing as I can’t really speak. Also I’m pretty sure there used to be an app for Blogger, now it’s just annoying to blog on my phone ...

In other news I’ve been following the Money Diaries section on Refinery29. Pretty interesting and despite them not having invited me to contribute (obviously) I thought it might be fun to try it out for a week and see where is my money going. And it is the end of the month next week (hooray!) but I’ve spent so much since Christmas and I’ve also made a pact to myself to not buy anymore clothes ... the sheer amount of clothes I own at the moment is actually horrendous. I’ve put some stuff on Depop and eBay now so hopefully they’ll be able to find new homes! But yes, starting tomorrow I’m going to record my spendings and see how much I spend in a week.

First post; back in London

First post of 2017, and I got back to London a few hours ago. The past week in Strasbourg has been eventful but also weaved with sad moments because it was my last week, and I have no idea if I'll be going back. Final term (of uni wow) starts tomorrow and I need to focus again. I had such a good holiday though I really don't want it to end :(

Goodbye 2016, thank you.

As always, I tend to do a last post of the year on New Year's Eve to remind myself of the past year and just recap everything. So, a monthly recap of 2016:

- January: Italy trip, quiet times back in Strasbourg after half the Erasmus gang left, snow in SXB, weekend in London, Car's birthday weekend in Paris

- February: Visited V in Brussels, day trip to Antwerp, hanging out with K, Italy round 2 with YL, exploring Venice alone (amazing place) and meeting up with YS there, back to SXB for classes

- March: Oh Wonder concert in SXB, day trip to Colmar, generally quiet and mostly classes and revisions

- April: Birthday with friends, Paris after my birthday, exams, Dijon with A and YX

- May: Post-exams with amazing weather, 10 days in Spain, went back to London, collected keys and moved into new house!

- June: Came back to SXB, Hamburg to visit V, last 2 weeks in SXB and pre-internship prep, packing, goodbyes :'( , back to London, BM garage sale and started internship

- July: Internship, hanging out with friends on the weekends

- August: Internship, came back to SXB for K's birthday, end of internship, P's birthday back in London, left for Paris to visit YM!

- September: Paris and day trips with YM, came back to SXB for 4 days, back to London for the weekend, BM garage sale 2, left for Tours, farming for 2 weeks, back to London

- October: Start of uni, apps and networking, came back to SXB for one weekend, O's birthday, lots of work and school basically

- November: More work and school, interviews, figure skating etc, Black Friday sales and BM sale round 3

- December: More work and school and figure skating, Lazy Oaf and BM garage sale round 4, started working at HCo, came back to SXB for Christmas and New Year!

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If 2015 was an amazing year, then 2016 was a strange year. On 1 Jan 2016 I embarked on my first solo trip to Italy full of positive vibes and everything felt so refreshing and full of hope. But this feeling didn't continue for the rest of the year, even though I wish it did. The first half of 2016 was exciting and adventurous - I'd booked so many travels and I remember going back to London on a whim, weekend in Paris, mid-week trip to Belgium, Italy again and exploring Venice on my own, day trip to Colmar, Paris after my birthday, exploring Dijon with friends, 10 days in Spain, and finally my last Erasmus travel to Hamburg before returning and departing Strasbourg. Erasmus was like a dream, and sometimes I felt I lost myself in it. The second half of 2016 came like a reality check, and there were moments where I felt truly miserable, lonely, tired and disenchanted. Following my short respite of exploring France and farming in the Midi-Pyrénées I was back in UCL and launched into an intense period of work and apps. But hard work pays off, and I'll always be grateful for all the opportunities and second chances I've been given. And through the ups and downs of this year I've become more conscious and aware of my own priorities. I guess it's true that sometimes you gain some and you lose some, but I always believe what's meant to be will be. 2017, I think I'm ready.