A Woman consumed by

Wanderlust;

Where have you gone?

Hey guys,

Where are you all?

Just to let you all know that I have moved sites. I’m on the same web url (www.awomanconsumedbywanderlust) but I am on a different wordpress platform.

If you have enjoyed all of my content so far and want to read more, then head over here, sign up with your email to get my new posts straight to your inbox… you lucky devils!!

Would love for you to come along on my journey and follow the new and improved A Woman Consumed by Wanderlust.

Things you should thank your mum for

lifestyle

Mum, I’m thankful for when you used to moan at me to take my umbrella outside or to wear a raincoat. Although it wasn’t initially raining, you always knew when the weather was going to change. I think a change in career is necessary for you, you weather woman! I always learnt the hard way.

Mum, I’m thankful for you being there to cheer me up with a movie, homemade cooking and a hug. I know whenever I cry it makes you cry too. Thank you for sharing my pain and offering so much comfort for when I came home crying because of bullies or because I got a bad grade at school.

Mum, I’m thankful for everything you have taught me. You are the person who taught me how to tie my shoelaces, how to wear makeup properly and how to follow my dreams. Everything I’ve learnt is because of you, thank you.

Mum, I’m thankful for all those times you’ve hated a boy because he made me cry. You have always squeezed me tight and told me everything will be alright. You were never judging when I would go back out with him a million times, even though I knew you disliked it.

Mum, I’m thankful for you always being honest, even though I didn’t like it sometimes. Thank god you didn’t let me out of the house with those black lips or that awful choice of outfit. I could always rely on you to be honest and to never let me leave the house looking like a scruff. Just like you, I’ll always be honest.

Mum, I’m thankful for those times you’ve accepted my lies because I was too afraid to tell the truth. I know you feel I was being dishonest, but I was only protecting you. I’ve learnt from those mistakes.

Mum, I’m thankful for all those times you’ve re-read my C.V a hundred time, helped me with job applications, helped me move into University and sat with me when I was learning to drive. I’m sorry for those near misses and scaring you with my erratic driving.

Mum, I’m thankful for knowing when to let me go. I know it can be sometimes difficult watching your child leave the nest, but I know that you understand that I have to spread my wings.

However, Mum, I’m thankful for knowing that whenever I fall, you will be right behind me to pick me back up.

It’s time to be thankful to our mum’s who put up with so much and expect so little in return.

Dedicated to my mother,

Perks about traveling with your other half

Lists, travel

A couple of blog posts ago I wrote about the difficulties traveling with your other half (find it here;). But I failed to mention what is great about traveling with your partner. A lot of people are often worried about testing their relationship by traveling all around the world. But personally, I’ve loved it!

You always have someone to talk to.
You never get that awkward feeling when you move into your new dorm or you’re the newbie in the hostel. At least you have someone to share the awkwardness with and to talk to.

When you’re feeling down they pick your right back up.
That’s what’s so great about traveling with your boyfriend/ girlfriend, they just know when you’re upset, stressed or just homesick. What’s great is they know just how to pick you right back up and put a smile back on your face!

You never waste food.
Don’t you hate cooking for one? I mean you always have far too much food. You never want to throw it out and waste a good meal. But I mean you can’t have the same pasta reheated for three nights in a row. With a partner and specifically one that eats a lot (mine), you never have to worry about waste..he’s like a walking garbage can.

Sharing troubles or concerns and helping each other out.
The truth about traveling is that you will have your hardships along the way.
Sharing them with your partner often unloads the burden and together you can beat the money troubles. You always look out for each other and offer support financially and emotionally.. n’aww!

You get to share some of the best memories of your life with someone you love.
Whenever you get home and you try to tell everyone about your adventures, it doesn’t always come across as wonderful as it was. “You have to be there moment” taints many travel stories. But sharing those memories with your partner, means you have your own little paradise. Not many people will experience what you are experiencing, share the memories together and enjoy being with each other, away from the everyday troubles and stresses.

Photo blog- St Kilda

Australia, Photo blogs, travel

There’s so much beauty in a sunset. When you have the right ingredients a sunset can be so magical; A clear sky, a beautiful backdrop and warm crisp air sounds like the perfect sunset, right?!

In St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia; Luke and I have spent many evenings watching the sunset. We would munch on our $5 Pizza hut and watch the day draw to a close. After the sun had set, we walked along the pier to see the penguins. Yes that’s right, there are penguins in Australia, who would have thought, eh!

We cuddle together as the breeze from the sea swarms every inch of our body. We stand and listen out for the chirp of the penguins. I followed the sound of chirping and spot a penguin trying to clamber up onto the rocks. Magical, that’s all I can say about this very moment! Truly magical.

Travelling woes for people in a relationship

travel

I feel like Carrie Bradshaw. Okay maybe I don’t have her fashion style and her wardrobe, but I do kind of feel like her. Writing in her apartment with the breeze coming through the rustic looking windows looking down on passers by. The noise from my Victorian style window feels just like New York. I can hear the cars passing by, the building site opposite and the buzz of people entering the nightclub, which is right below our room. Luckily I was so shattered last night that I didn’t notice the chaos. Luke on the other hand, didn’t get to sleep until late. Thank god for the Sims 4!

It’s nice to get away from shared dorms to have the privacy of your own bedroom, just the two of us. It can be difficult being a couple and exploring the world in hostels and shared rooms. I’ll be honest, it’s difficult to have a moment of intimacy without fear of someone intruding and swinging the door wide open.

5 travelling woes of traveling
as a couple.

It’s difficult to make friends. Not sure whether this is just in my case, but we’re finding it hard to make many friends. I think that maybe some people feel intimidated about talking to a couple. It’s a lot easier if you’re by yourself and people just notice you’re alone and steer more towards you. I get it!! Don’t get me wrong, we’re not complete loners out here, we’ve made some friends.. and of course we have each other. But that enjoyment of meeting new people can be slightly daunting. Maybe we need to do the approaching and ask the routine backpacker questions.

Sharing the same bed is a no go. I mean have you seen the size of those little creaky single beds? We’ve shared a single bed only a couple of times. Believe me, you either wake up sweating or crushed. It’s best to stick to your own beds. However it’s sometimes nice to have the whole bed to yourself without getting awkward spooning arm.. you can just starfish.

Forget your sex life. Intimacy is just a no go. I mean having sex in a shared room is not something I’m up for. In most hostels showers and toilets are single sex only. But I suppose, if you’re lucky enough to have nobody else in your room, there’s a once in a blue moon chance that you can have sex when travelling together. You even have to sneak in an occasional snog before bed… be prepared for this!

You kind of have to eat the same meal otherwise it can be a bit of a waste. Eating the same thing as each other can save you a load of money. However it’s not great if one of you has shitty intolerances and your other half if forced to eat gluten free toast, sorry bub! Come to a compromise, try new foods and save some money.

Giving each other space. Although this isn’t a problem for us, I guess some couples may find it difficult to have alone time. Following an argument, there are not many places you can escape to. Whilst we were staying in a hostel in Sydney, a guy did join our room at 1am, because he had fallen out with his girlfriend. Arguments and giving each other the right amount of space can be a difficulty when traveling together.. you just gotta work through it guys and dolls!

However, If you can put up with each other for countless hours, countless days, countless months and sometimes years…. Then I guess countless countries will be a piece of cake, right?

Do you have any woes to add to my list?

Why Air bnb is such a good idea

travel

Image courtesy of death to stock

I had never heard of Air BNB for a quite a while to be honest.. I know I’m not very traveler savvy. But oh my gosh, when I found it I couldn’t believe what I was missing out on. It’s amazing!!

I think the first time I heard about this concept was on ‘Fun for louis’ youtube channel. He mentioned air bnb a couple of times and I thought I need to check this out.- This was after I booked to go to OZ.

Whilst arranging things for out last minute trip to Australia (Don’t know what I’m on about- where the heck have you been?- Catchup here). I realised quickly how expensive it was going to be in Hostels for new years and Christmas. I panicked a bit.. that’s what I tend to do when I’m sometimes not organised, I panic. I always thought I was all laid back and never liked to plan, turns out I’m a planner in denial.

I looked at a variety of hostels and spent the majority of the day with my mum in the office trying desperately to work out where we could stay. So I checked out air bnb. And voilà.. my obsession with Air bnb was born. I found somewhere to stay for the two weeks in a place called Newtown, which was only two stops from Sydney CBD.. so easily accessible by train. The price was just right and so much cheaper than a hostel. It’s crazy that it was cheaper to have a room all to ourselves then stay in a hostel with like 12 other people.. crazy!!

I forgot to explain what Air bnb actually do; oops! sorry!!

Air bnb is a website that operates around the world. You are able to tailor make your searches to how much you want to spend, whether you want just a room or an apartment and how many people are staying. It then matches your search with real life people looking for someone to stay in their house. These people may have a spare room, or need you to cover their rent, or they have a holiday home. The site is totally free, although there is a service charge for both you and the person letting out the room.

So when christmas and new year came, we were happily staying in Newtown. We lived with some awesome people, had an amazing time exploring a new place and got to have the private time that we needed. This is why Air bnb are just amazing..

Need some more convincing?..

I’ve put together 10 reasons why Air bnb Is awesome.

It works out sometimes cheaper than regular hostels and you get more for your money.
It’s great for when places up the price for events such as christmas, bank holidays and sporting events.
You get to meet some amazing people.. whether this be your hosts or housemates
Not all the accommodation on there is cheap, so it you want to treat yourself to a luxury apartment with some privacy then this is possible.
You get to experience some amazing surroundings. I’ve heard of people staying in a tree house, on a boat and in a bus before.
Great for big groups that want to stay together.
You get to interact with the locals and experience real life traveling.. rather than that touristy stuff.
You can host yourself and offer your spare room to people from all over the world.
You are able to cook proper healthy meals (if they let you use the kitchen), rather than use the skanky hostel kitchens.
It’s totally free to look and join!!

Have a look and check it out for yourself.

Canberra is the capital of OZ?

Australia, travel

Did you know this?

Both me and Luke had no idea that Canberra is in actual fact the capital of Australia. On our journey from Sydney to Melbourne, we took the Grey hound bus and stopped off for a night in Canberra.

I’ll be honest with you, no offence to anybody that lives in Canberra. But I think it’s probably one of the most boring places to visit… SORRY!! I’m just being honest.

We were originally going to stay in their YHA hostel for three nights. But thank god, we didn’t. The highlight of this trip was probably getting a tandem bike and riding around the city. It was very hot, the lakes were beautiful and there were a few cute cafes that we could see. Canberra is home to a lot of the political buildings and the people who live there are mostly business minded and corporate men and women.

The next day, we decided not to go exploring, only because we had our big rucksacks as we had to check out at 10am and we didn’t want to pay an extortionate amount for a locker. Instead we paid for a couple of hours and explored the city a little more.. by this I mean window shopping and eating maccies… sorry Canberra, but you weren’t for us.

I did vlog some of the trip, feel free to check it out!!

Have you been to Canberra, Australia? what were your impressions?

First impressions of Melbourne

Australia, travel

So, I’m here.. if you hadn’t already guessed. I’m here in Melbourne, Australia. Currently sitting on the rooftop of YHA Metro listening to Spotify, trying to drown out the horrendous noise coming from the building site opposite.

There’s a woman currently hanging her wet laundry out on the plastic red chairs. I’m guessing she doesn’t want to pay $4 to dry her clothes..fair enough. My moods have been currently up and down (mother natures a bi*ch) and I’ve felt so stressed with the stresses of traveler life- and by that I mean money.

But some news, at last! Both Luke and I have got work washing Jaguars for the launch in Melbourne… YAY!! At least that’s a start right? This woman is actually using all the bloody chairs to dry her clothes.. I hope they blow away!!

It took me a while to get in the swing of things here in Melbourne. I always go on about how I have itchy feet and that I like to keep moving… but I actually don’t mind spending time in one place for a little while. I think it kind of takes me a while to get settled into my new surroundings. I’ll admit it now! I hated Melbourne when we first arrived, it’s just not Sydney. But Now I’ve been her for a week I can kind of appreciate how amazing this city is. That’s just it, isn’t it. Sometimes it takes a while to see the beauty of a place and be able to navigate your way around easily before you can actually start to enjoy it. Before I needed Luke to show me how to use the trams and where to go. But now I can happily walk down to grab my boost or my avocado (obsessed with avocado on toast at the moment).

I think that a lot of people have always raved about Melbourne, that’s why I was disappointed when I first arrived. But I’ve learnt, that everyone has different tastes.. one part of the world excites one person and bores another. I’m just going to use this time to get on my feet, start saving so I can have more wanderlust adventures.

So here’s to the next chapter.

Blue mountains trip- Photo blog

Australia, Photo blogs, travel

If you ever travel to Australia and in particular Sydney or Melbourne. You have to check out the ‘Blue mountains’. I heard it mentioned to me a couple of times by my brother and our friend at the hostel. I never looked into it.

Instead last sunday (Travel is $2.50 on a sunday wherever you go) we took the two hour train journey to the blue mountains. We got off the stop ‘Katoomba’ and got the local bus to see the three sisters. We did a variety of walks from beginner to intermediate and later took the train up to the top.

Be prepared this is a full day excursion and there are so many different walks. Grab a map and do your research.

*Travel companies will charge extortionate prices. It’s best to do it yourself, it’ll be worth it*

I’ve researched these three sisters below to uncover their story.

According to aboriginal legend the three sisters; ‘Meehni’, ‘Wimlah’ and ‘Gunnedoo’ were members of the Katoomba tribe and lived in the Jamison valley. The three sisters fell in love with three men from another tribe (the Nepean tribe). However marriage was forbidden. But of course men never follow the rules. The three brothers planned to capture the sisters by force which started a war between the tribes. An elder turned the three sisters into stone to protect them, but was later killed fighting and nobody could turn them back.

I love this story about the sisters, however with further research it appears that these rocks appeared due to land erosion. Over the years the sandstone had become eroded due to natural elements.

Which one do you believe?